“Depends on what the wife was doing.” Carlotta gives a suggestive laugh. “If you were stepping out on him, he had a right to know. Though personally, I think cheating is just advanced relationship shopping.”
“Carlotta!” I hiss because comparing adultery to retail therapy is not helping my investigation.
“What? I’m being supportive!” she protests. “Life is too short for bad husbands and dull nighttime activities.”
Hear, hear,but I don’t dare say that out loud.
Muffin actually laughs at this, which suggests Carlotta’s inappropriate commentary might be more therapeutic than I thought.
“You know what? You’re absolutely right.” Muffin shakes her head at the thought. “Duncan was both of those things—a bad husband and dull in the bedroom.”
“How long had you been seeing Marcus?” I ask, trying to redirect the conversation toward useful information. I should stomp on Carlotta’s toes for derailing us.
“Two years,” Muffin admits. “He’s everything Duncan wasn’t—kind, funny, supportive of my writing. He actually reads my books and doesn’t criticize them for being unrealistic female fantasies.”
“Unlike some people,” Lenny growls. “I’m guessing Duncan thought romance novels were beneath his intellectual, sophisticated tastes.”
I bet they were, too. Oddly enough, I’ve read a few chapters of my own romance novels to both Noah and Everett from some of my steamier selections, and neither of them seemed to think they were above it all. In fact, they appreciate the template they provided for the bedroom. During different timelines of our relationships, of course.
“Marcus has been pressuring you to leave Duncan, hasn’t he?” I continue.
Muffin nods, her expression growing more distraught. “He’s been patient, but lately he’s been saying I needed to choose. He didn’t want to be someone’s secret anymore.”
“Smart man,” Carlotta approves. “Nobody likes being the side dish when they’ve got main course potential.”
I shoot Carlotta a look sharp enough to slice pie, but she’s blissfully oblivious, humming along in her own self-satisfied universe.
“Duncan filed for divorce the week before the festival,” Muffin continues. “He was furious about Marcus, about my books, about everything. He said he was going to take me for everything I was worth in the settlement.”
“But if he died while you were still married,” I point out carefully, “you’d inherit everything instead of losing it in divorce court.”
The silence that follows is so heavy it could crack an egg.
“Well,” Carlotta says cheerfully, “that worked out nicely for you! Death is so much more profitable than divorce.”
“Oh my word, Carlotta!” I gasp, because even for her, that’s impressively inappropriate.
“What? I’m just pointing out the obvious financial benefits,” sheharps. “Muffin here is a smart cookie because she recognized a good investment opportunity when she saw one.”
I try not to roll my eyes at the baking references, but in truth, they somehow seem to ground me.
Muffin’s face goes through several interesting color changes, finally settling on a shade that suggests she’s either embarrassed or calculating whether she can get away with murdering Carlotta, too.
I wouldn’t stop her. I might even help hide the body.
“I didn’t kill Duncan for money,” Muffin says firmly. “Though I won’t pretend the inheritance isn’t convenient.”
“How convenient?” I ask, because when someone mentions convenient inheritance money, my investigative instincts perk up with the intensity of a bloodhound catching a scent.
“Very convenient,” Muffin admits. “Duncan had increased his life insurance policy a few years back. Substantially. Plus, I inherit his share of the chocolate company, the estate, the investment portfolio...”
“How substantially are we talking about?” Carlotta asks with obvious interest.
“Twenty million dollars,” Muffin replies quietly.
Carlotta whistles appreciatively. “Honey, that’s not just convenient, that’s life-changing! You could buy your own chocolate empire with that kind of money!”
Lenny’s expression grows thunderous. “Follow the money, Lottie. It always leads to the killer. Twenty million dollars is enough motive to murder half of Vermont.”
