“Speaking of Fort Knox and valuable things,” I venture with the subtlety of an amateur sleuth operating a jackhammer at a library, “that Montana ranch invitation sounds pretty serious.”
Rex chuckles as if he’s just been caught planning grand romantic gestures. “I know it sounds fast, but when you get to be my age, you don’t waste time with games. I’m thinking of retiring now. Besides, I’ve got a beautiful place outside Billings—horses, mountains, the whole western fantasy. It seemed like something Bess might enjoy.”
“And if she doesn’t want to go back with you?” I ask with the direct approach that’s served me well in both marriage and murder investigations.
“Then I guess I’ll have to learn to love the high seas,” Rex replies with the good-natured resignation of a very smitten man who’s already calculating the cost of permanent cruise ship residency.
The sound of commotion from the speed dating area draws our attention back to the romantic battlefield, where Nettie appears to have caused quite the stir. She’s surrounded by approximately half the male participants, all of whom seem to be hanging on her every word like she’s dispensing the secrets of unlimited buffet access.
“Would you look at that,” Richard observeswith something approaching awe. “That woman’s got more charm than a snake oil salesman at a medicine show.”
“That’s Nettie, all right,” I mutter.
“She’s got quite the following,” Rex observes, clearly impressed by Nettie’s ability to command attention from men half her age and twice as desperate.
“Nettie could convince Congress to actually agree on something,” I reply, watching her gesture with enthusiasm while discovering her true calling in competitive romance. “She’s got this gift for making everyone feel like they’re the most interesting person in the room.”
“Yes. It’s remarkable,” Richard murmurs, and I swear there’s something almost wistful in his ghostly voice. “She reminds me of someone I used to know.”
Rex turns his attention back to me as if making polite conversation. “What about you? Bess tells me you’re a new bride. How are you enjoying married life?”
“It’s incredible,” I say with a happy sigh. “Every day with Ransom feels like a gift. He’s my best friend and my favorite person all rolled into one.” I gesture toward the frantic dating rounds. “Watching all this, though, I’m grateful we found each other the old-fashioned way. These people are trying to cram entire relationship evaluations into the time it takes to order coffee.”
“Tell me about it,” Rex agrees. “But I suppose it’s better than the alternative. At least here, if you make a fool of yourself, you’re surrounded by strangers who’ll forget about it by the next port.”
“Unless someone ends up dead,” I say casually as if discussing the weather instead of homicide. “Then everyone remembers everything.”
Rex’s expression shifts and takes on a far more serious air. “That poor woman. Lavender didn’t deserve what happened to her.”
“Did you know she had enemies?” I ask, stirring my chowder as the steam rises between us.
“Everyone has enemies,” Rex says with a reluctant laugh. And I figure he’s lived long enough to accumulate a few adversaries himself. “But Lavender’s were more… well, they were more passionate than most.”
“Passionate how?”
Rex glances around to make sure we’re not being overheard, then leans in hard. “That woman, Claudette, the one with the marriage counseling business? She hated Lavender with the kind of intensity usually reserved for war crimes.”
“Any idea why?”
“Oh, I know exactly why,” Rex says as if he’s witnessed the drama firsthand. “Claudette and Lavender weren’t just professional rivals. They had a much more personal connection.”
Richard suddenly goes very still beside me, his ghostly presence snapping, crackling, and popping as if he, too, were waiting with bated breath to hear what comes next.
“Personal how?” I prompt. Something in Rex’s tone is making my detective instincts ping like a sonar system in dangerous waters.
Rex takes a long sip of his chowder, clearly savoring both the soup and the dramatic pause. “Claudette and Richard—Lavender’s husband—they were having an affair.”
I suck in a quick breath and can’t seem to exhale.
A loud roar goes off to my left as Richard explodes into a constellation of angry red stars and disappears faster than my common sense around chocolate, leaving me sitting across from Rex with the shocking realization that I’ve been getting relationship advice from a man who was cheating on his murdered wife with her biggest enemy.
Sometimes the most dangerous affairs aren’t the ones that end in divorce—they’re the ones that end in murder.
CHAPTER 21
Suddenly Hitched—What a Trip!
Hello, Trixie!
