“I would never hurt Georgia,” Rocky said emphatically. “I was –am– a bad husband with a wandering eye,”and dick,“but that doesn’t mean I didn’t care for her. I loved Georgia; I always have and always will. I fucked up with her, but I can’t regret my kids, Detectives.” He took a resigned breath and said what we both already knew was true. “I had been sleeping with Georgia for a few months. I’m not even sure how it happened. I just showed up at her house one day and one thing led to another.”
I just stared at the philandering man sitting across from me who acted like cheating on his wife was no big deal. “It just happened. One thing led to another.” Affairs didn’t just happen and a person could easily prevent one thing from leading to another by never putting themselves in that position in the first place. I didn’t believe for five seconds that he just showed up at Georgia’s without ulterior motives. He knew that Georgia was lonely and he took advantage of her. Did he tell her that he loved her to get back in her bed? Did he tell her he was leaving Nadine? He must’ve told her something to keep her quiet, because only the housekeeper knew about the affair. Of course, I wasn’t about to tell him that. Let him think multiple people saw him sneaking in and out of Georgia’s house.
“You weren’t worried that she’d tell Nadine? Surely she hated Nadine’s guts after she stabbed her in the back and had an affair with you,” Adrian told Rocky. “You’d think she’d jump at the chance to get even with Nadine.”
“Georgia didn’t want me back,” Rocky said softly. “She told me so after the last time we were together. She was happy with how things were between us.”
What he said didn’t jive with what Josh and Wanda Honeycutt said. Both of them emphatically said that Georgia wanted to be loved and sex without strings was the furthest thing from being loved. Was it possible she was playing Rocky’s ego, making him think she didn’t want him so that he’d work harder to get her?
“We’ll ask you what we’ve asked everyone so far. Who would want to hurt Georgia?” I asked him.
“I honestly can’t think of anyone who’d want to hurt her. I mean, she was kind of bitchy to just about everyone, but still…” Rocky shook his head.
“Who stands to inherit her estate?” Adrian asked. We were still waiting for her attorney to provide us with a copy of her estate, including her will. He had asked for a little bit of time since he was focused on making final arrangements for his client.
“I don’t know,” Rocky replied. “I’m sure she changed her will after our divorce, but I’ve never seen a copy of it. She didn’t have any siblings and both her parents are deceased. I was her only family once upon a time.” Once upon a time were words associated with fairy tales. Being married to Rocky was more like a Grimm fairy tale rather than Disney.
How fucking pitiful was it that Rocky had been her only family? It made the sadness I had felt listening to Josh speak about Georgia even stronger. I was even more determined to give Georgia justice. “We’re going to need the name and phone number of the lady friend you spent time with in Tennessee to verify your alibi for the time of the vandalism yesterday,” I told Rocky, sliding a pad of paper and a pen to him.
“No,” he said, sliding it back across the table. “I have a gas receipt that is time stamped and has the address of the gas station in Tennessee from yesterday. That’s going to have to be enough, fellas.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a gas receipt confirming just what he said.
“We’re done here anyway,” Carrington said. I had almost forgot the pompous asswipe was in the room. “This has been a complete waste of time for us both,” he told Rocky. He then turned to the captain, choosing to ignore Adrian and me, and said, “You’ll need to call me if you want to speak with RockyorNadine Beaumont again.” He put his hand on Rocky’s shoulder and said, “Let’s go.”
Rocky andThe Thirdleft our station without so much as another word to us. The captain looked at Adrian and me then said, “Well, what do you guys think? Did he hire someone to kill Georgia?”
“What would be his motive?” Adrian asked. “He seemed to be telling the truth when he said Georgia didn’t want him back and was happy with keeping their relationship as it was.”
“Maybe,” I said. “He’s such a sleazebag politician that it’s impossible to know when he’s selling you something or telling the truth.”
“I wonder if he even knows what the truth is anymore?” Captain Reardon puzzled out loud. He shrugged his shoulder and added, “He sure doesn’t want us knowing who he was with in Tennessee.”
“That’s for sure,” Adrian replied.
“It could be important to the case to find out her identity.” I held up the receipt and added, “I wonder if this gas station has cameras aimed at their pumps to ward against theft.”
“I like the way you think, partner,” Adrian said, slapping me on the back.
“Call the gas station and ask. Let them know it’s for an official investigation and ask them to email the footage to us ASAP.” He rose from his chair, signaling that our discussion was over. “Good work, guys.”
“Now what?” Adrian asked me once the captain left the room.
“Well, Mrs. Honeycutt couldn’t tell if anything was missing and thought all of her jewelry was accounted for, so I think we can rule out theft,” I replied. “Someone was looking for something that might’ve had personal value instead of financial.”
“Maybe we’re asking the wrong people about Georgia,” Adrian said. “Maybe we need to talk to someone who didn’t like her so much. I think a lot can be learned from people who considered her an enemy rather than a friend.”
“Like who?”
“Pastor Harrison’s wife, Darlene,” Adrian said.
I didn’t attend any of the local churches, but I knew who he was talking about. I pictured the short, quiet lady with mousy brown hair and pale blue eyes who was the exact opposite of her boisterous husband. “Why her?” I couldn’t imagine she was anyone’s enemy.
“According to gossip, she was engaged to Rocky when Georgia moved to town. Rumor has it, he took one look at the young blonde and Darlene was a distant memory.”
“Is there anyone in this town that Rocky hasn’t dated or slept with?” I asked facetiously.
“Me,” Adrian replied with a grin that made me laugh.
“I mean, seriously. The man must be hung like a horse in order to get all the action he does because it sure as hell isn’t his looks or his personality,” I told Adrian.
