Reunion in Death (In Death #14)(25)

"A lot of women would've felt embarrassed, angry."

"Yes, and how foolish is that to measure yourself against a silly ornament? My reaction was the opposite. In fact, his relationship with her went a long way to helping me resolve what had happened between us. If his happiness, even temporarily, depended on a beautiful set of br**sts and a giggling young girl, well, he wasn't going to get that from me, was he?"

She sighed, set her cup down. "She did make him happy, and in her way loved him. You couldn't help but love Walt."

"So I've heard. Someone didn't love him, Mrs. Pettibone."

"I've thought about it." All humor fell away from her face. "Thought and thought. It makes no sense, Lieutenant. None at all. Bambi? God, what a name. She's foolish and flighty, but she's not evil. It takes evil to kill, doesn't it?"

"Sometimes it just takes a reason."

"If I thought, for one instant, that she had done this, I'd do everything I could to help you prove it. To see her pay for it. But, oh God, she's a harmless idiot who, if she manages to have two thoughts at once must hear them rattling together in that empty head of hers."

She couldn't, Eve thought, have said it better herself.

"And what reason could she have to do this?" Shelly demanded. "She had everything she could want. He was incredibly generous with her."

"He was a very rich man."

"Yes, and not one to horde his wealth. The divorce settlement was more than fair. I'd never have to work again if I didn't love my work. I know-because he told me-that he'd gifted Bambi with a substantial trust when they married. Our children were generously provided for and each has a large share of World of Flowers. The inheritance each of us, and yes, I'm also a beneficiary, will receive upon his death is considerable. But we have considerable already."

"What about business associates? Competitors?"

"I don't know anyone who'd wish Walt harm. As for business, killing him won't effect WOF. The company's well-established, well-organized, with both our children taking on more and more of the administration. Killing him makes no sense."

It had made sense to Julianna, Eve mused. The woman did nothing unless it made sense. "Since you've maintained a good relationship, why didn't you attend his party?"

"It just seemed awkward. He urged me to come, though not very hard. It was supposed to be a surprise, but of course he knew about it weeks ago. He was very excited. He always was like a little boy when it came to parties."

Eve reached into her bag, drew out Julianna Dunne's two photographs. "Do you know this woman?"

Shelly took both, held them side-by-side. "She's very pretty, in both looks. But, no, I've never seen her before. Who is she?"

"What were you doing the night of your husband's party?"

She drew a small breath, as if she'd known this was a blow she'd have to face. "I don't really have what you'd call an alibi as I was alone. I did work out in the garden until almost sunset, and one of the neighbors might have seen me. I stayed home that night. Friends had asked me to dinner at the club, The Westchester Country Club, but I didn't feel like going out. You might know them. Jack and Anna Whitney. He's a police commander in the city."

Eve felt her stomach sink. "Yes. I know the commander and his wife."

"Anna's been trying to fix me up since the divorce. She just can't understand how I can be happy without a man."

"And are you? Did you wonder that if your husband's relationship with his current wife failed, as you felt it would, he'd come back to you?"

"Yes. I thought of that, considered that. And the fact is I don't think he would have come back."

A butterfly, creamy white, flitted across the porch and fluttered down to flirt with the potted flowers. Watching it, Shelly sighed.

"And I know I wouldn't have had him if he did," she added. "I loved him, Lieutenant, and he'll always be a vital part of my life. Even now that's he's gone. This is a man I lived with, slept with, had and raised children with. We share a grandson we both adore. Memories no one else has, and those are precious. But we weren't in love with each other anymore. And I've come to like the life I'm making on my own. I enjoy the challenge, and the independence of it. And while that baffles Anna and some of my other friends, I'm not ready to give that independence up. I don't know that I ever will be. Walter was a good man, a very, very good man. But he wasn't my man anymore."

She handed the photographs back to Eve. "You didn't tell me who she was."

She would hear it, Eve thought, either through the media or her connection with Anna Whitney. "She's the woman who gave Walter Pettibone poisoned champagne. And our prime suspect."

...

"I liked her," Peabody said as they drove back to the city.

"So did I."

"I can't see her hiring a hit. She's too direct, and I don't know, sensible. And if the motive was payback for the divorce, why not target Bambi, too? Why should the replacement get to play grieving widow and roll around in an inheritance?"

Since Eve had come to the same conclusions herself, she nodded. "I'll see if Whitney can give me any different angle on the divorce and her attitude toward Pettibone. But at this point we bump her down the list."