"That's a shame." There was no mistaking how Amara felt about her husband. “Please tell me she's dead too?”
“Tess?”
"Yes. The little tramp,” she muttered.
"No. She’s still alive. But if she turns up dead, I'll know where to look."
"It's just a figure of speech.”
"When do you plan on coming back to Coconut Key?"
"Now that Andrew’s gone, I can come back at any time. But I think I'll stay out here for another week or two before dealing with that mess.”
"Did Andrew ever talk to you about his work?"
"Not really. To tell you the truth, I found fish to be boring.”
"You don't know what he was working on?"
"We didn't talk much lately. Once I found out about the affair, I shut down and withdrew. We stopped talking to each other. It was just a matter of time before we went through the process.”
"You seem detached."
"How am I supposed to feel? Am I supposed to grieve a man who betrayed my trust, trashed our marriage for some cheap thrills? Things had been going downhill for a long time, Deputy. We both ignored it. I should have spoken up sooner. I'm not getting those years back. He took the best from me. I'm mad about that. I'm not going to lie.”
"I'm sure you've got plenty of good years left."
"Oh, I know I do. I'm just not hot and 25 anymore. Every year, there's a new crop of younger models just waiting to steal your man,” she said, full of bitterness.
"I'm sure you'll do just fine.”
"I appreciate the vote of confidence, but you don't even know what I look like.”
"I looked up your DMV photo and your socials.”
"Well, look who's done their homework.”
"Is there anyone else you can think of who may have wanted to harm your husband?”
18
"Well, some of Andrew’s work led to new protected zones that cost fishermen a lot of money,” Amara said. “It’s safe to say he didn’t make a lot of fans in that community.”
I shared a look with Jack.
"Anyone in particular?” I asked.
"I couldn't say. But that was months ago, when the new zones went into effect. I know he got some hateful comments on social media and maybe a few calls at the house. But that was about it.”
I thanked her for the information and offered our condolences, though she wasn't upset at all.
"I think it's safe to say we can scratch her off the list," JD said when I ended the call.
"It's time we talked to Bobby Fallon.”
We headed over to 1215 Castaway Lane. The couple lived in a little yellow bungalow with a picket fence, a red brick walkway,and a red door. A few tall palm trees swayed with the breeze. The colorful flower beds were well-tended.
JD parked the Porsche at the curb, and we hopped out, pushed through the gate, and strolled to the front porch.
