Reputation(23)

“So you have quite an extensive medical history for someone so young.” Dr. Strasser settled into a stool in front of the computer.

I touched the heavy purse at my feet. “I’ve brought all of his paperwork. It goes back almost seven years.”

Strasser looked surprised. “You two are old enough to be married seven years?”

“We’ve been married for fourteen years, actually,” I admitted. “Straight out of college.”

Martin sent me an annoyed look, as if he didn’t see the point to disclosing personal details.

Strasser glanced at the papers in my hands. “I received some of your history, but certainly not seven years’ worth.” He held out his hands and gestured for the files. “May I?”

“Oh.” I pushed the purse forward. “So these are doctors’ notes, scans, dates of surgeries, and then I kept this separate log of medications Martin was taking and when they stopped working, or the side effects he got from them, that sort of thing. It includes blood pressure information as well.”

“My. Very thorough. Good job with this.”

God, how he’d looked at me, even then. Where have you been hiding, you divine thing, his eyes seemed to say. Where had that love gone? And when did it go?

“Did Greg have any other enemies?” Willa asks, jolting me from my thoughts.

My mind feels sluggish. “He was really well liked. Truly, the only enemy of his that I can think of is . . .” I trail off. Wave my hand.

Willa frowns. “Who?”

“Forget it. Never mind.” But I was about to say, again, Me.

Has my sister read my mind? Given the guarded way she’s looking at me, I think yes. I laugh offhandedly. “I am on the cops’ suspect list. I certainly had motive. And I was the one who found him.”

“But you didn’t do it.” Willa sounds resolute. Thankfully.

“They’re just covering all the bases. They have surveillance of me leaving the parking lot at a certain time of the evening, and if I drove really quickly—like ninety miles an hour—burst into the house, and stabbed Greg immediately, the timeline could fit.”

“But you said you passed out on the bathroom floor.”

“I know. I did. Except no one saw me do that. Then again, there are no witnesses saying I came home at a different time than when I did, either. And like I said, that surveillance image in the parking lot doesn’t give me much time to get back here and stab Greg.”

Willa sits back, her hands curled around her knees. “What about your girls?”

I pause. “What about my girls?”

“Where were they the night it happened?”

“I thought Aurora was home, but it turns out she was at a friend’s house two doors down.” I turn my head from side to side, feeling my neck crack. “Lilly. They usually sleep in the guesthouse in the backyard. The police already talked to both of them. Neither heard a thing.”

“And what about Sienna?”

I look at my coffee. The creamer is a congealed layer on top. “She was on campus. At a party.”

“They seem really out of it today.”

“Do you blame them? It’s a shock.”

“They seem more than shocked, actually.”

I frown. “What do you mean?”

Creak.

A figure has stepped into the hall: a beautiful twentysomething girl with bouncy red hair, wearing a dark blue leather jacket. It’s Raina Hammond, Sienna’s friend from school. I jump to my feet. What the hell is she doing here?

“Mrs. Strasser.” Raina’s eyes are full of sorrow. “Oh my goodness, Mrs. Strasser. I was standing right there with Sienna when she heard the news. I am so, so sorry.”

“Raina . . .” How did this girl get in? I’d just checked the door—it was locked. Did she say anything to the reporters? Is she a reporter? “This isn’t a good time.”

Raina’s eyebrows arch. “Sienna invited me. She’s upstairs, right? Staying here for a little while instead of the dorms?” She makes a strange choking sound. “I really, really need to see if she’s holding up okay.”

I notice Raina’s red eyes and blotchy skin. Has she been crying . . . about Greg? I’m confused. Raina barely knew Greg.

Raina wipes her eyes. Her gaze shifts to Willa. “Are you Sienna’s aunt Willa?”

“Yes . . .” Willa says cautiously, seemingly picking up on my vibe.

“Nice to meet you. Sienna thinks you’re the bomb.” Raina sniffs, then points upstairs. “Can I go up just for a sec? Please?”

“Um . . .” God, I’m too tired for this. “Fine. Sure. Whatever.”

To my horror, Raina wraps her arms around my shoulders. She smells like flowery perfume and expensive leather and vodka. A tendril of silky hair slithers across the back of my neck like a spider, and I jump back. “Okay, okay,” I say. “Go on.”

Raina’s booties thump on the risers. Willa’s gaze is on me, and I sigh. “That’s one of Sienna’s college friends—she was out with Sienna the night Greg died, actually. They go to Aldrich together. Raina used to work for Dad—that’s how Sienna met her, I believe—but she doesn’t anymore, I don’t know why. But I don’t get a great vibe from her.”