She ended the call, cast her eyes to the ceiling.
She got up, walked around her board, and shook off the simmering annoyance.
And sitting again, she decided to go in chronological order with the ex-wives of Henry Barrister.
Angelica Frank Barrister LeVoy Gruber enjoyed a mimosa by the pool on a sunny day in Hawaii. To Eve’s eye, the hundred-year-old first wife had undergone enough work to tighten every inch of her skin to the point it might split apart in a dozen places at any sudden movement.
It took Eve about five minutes to deduce she’d get nothing out of the woman beyond a grudge held for nearly three-quarters of a century.
“I’m not surprised to learn Henry was a thief. He cheated on me with that redheaded slut, among others. I made him pay for it. If I hadn’tfound it too much trouble, I’d have attended his memorial. I’d have worn a red dress and danced the cha-cha.”
She kept that one short, reasonably certain if the woman had known anything, she’d have been happy to spill it. As long as it smeared shit on her first ex-husband.
She tried wife number two, the redheaded slut. Darla Starling, actress, still had red hair. She’d also had work done, but Eve thought the woman looked a lot more human than number one.
She had big blue eyes, and a single tear slid down her left cheek with what Eve saw as beautiful and practiced grace.
“It’s still hard to accept Henry’s gone. And now his son! I didn’t really know Nathaniel.”
“Nathan.”
“Of course. Henry and I weren’t blessed with any children during our time together. We had a fiery relationship. It just burned itself out.”
“Before that happened, did he tell you about or show you the vault?”
“No, and I refuse to believe Henry had any part of all that.”
Like the graceful tear, the look of umbrage seemed well practiced.
“He can’t defend himself, so I will. He loved art, and had a brilliant collection, right out in the open! He loved buying jewelry. I have a lovely collection from our time together. He’d never do this. I didn’t know his son well, or his daughter, but I’m inclined to believe they’re responsible.”
“That’s unlikely, Ms. Starling, as some of the items in the vault were stolen when they were, literally, children.”
“Well. I’ll never believe it of Henry. He was honest, hardworking, generous. We had a wild and burning love. He would have told me.”
“He was involved with other women during your marriage.”
“As the flame began to die. He had a weakness, and that blond bitch seduced him. He cast her off, didn’t he? Her and the others. We even tried to rekindle the flame, but it was done. Only quiet embers remained.”
She tossed back her hair. “Trust me. He didn’t have any part of this, but if he had? If he didn’t tell me, he didn’t tell any of those who followed me.”
When she finished that conversation, Eve took a tour of her office, then stopped by Roarke’s.
“If you cheat on me with a redheaded slut or a blond bitch, I’m going with wife number one’s method. Number two’s making him out to be a hero, one with whom she shared a fiery passion, and who had a weakness for women who seduced him. Poor Henry. The first couldn’t drum up the energy to attend his funeral, but if she had, she’d have worn a red dress and danced the cha-cha.”
Sitting back, he swiveled in his big leather chair. “You’re always dancing at my funeral.”
“Steer clear of redheads.”
“Noted.”
“Abernathy’s going to get me the information I want. He let me know, straight off, that they looked at you for a lot of the thefts.”
“Well, you had to expect that.”
“I did. I’m going to tackle wife number three. The first two didn’t know anything.”
“Number three would be the victim’s mother.”
