The chief took a deep breath. “Forgetting Millie for just a moment, is there anybody who wanted your brother dead?”
“No,” Lonnie said. “He excelled as an attorney in the big city. People loved him. He had a good political career in front of him if he unwisely wanted one.”
Silas reared up. “He wanted it. He had a good chance to go far in this world.”
“Is there any possibility that someone in the political world wanted him dead?” the chief asked.
“No.” Lonnie snorted. “He hadn’t even really looked into that option yet. I’d say he was about five years away from it. He was enjoying being a lawyer. He was living large, winning cases, and making money.”
“What about the family business?” Scott asked. “Rumor has it you all had a dustup.”
Silas blew out a breath, filling the room with the smell of pepperoni. Old pepperoni. “There was no dustup. Clay wanted us to diversify, and we just want to do the fishing and guiding that we’ve always done. That’s hardly a dustup.”
“What about your other brother?” the chief asked.
“Haven’t seen Glen in a couple of months,” Lonnie said. “He wanted us to buy him out of the family business, and we said no. The terms of the trust don’t allow us to sell to anybody else, so he found himself stuck.”
“Hey, we’re making money,” Silas said, his voice rising. “I don’t know why Glen refuses to take part in the business.”
Lonnie cracked his knuckles. “I think he wants to start some other business, something to do with real estate. He wants to flip houses, and he needed seed money. I think he asked Clay.”
Silas’s jaw went slack. “He asked Clay? Did Clay give him money?”
“I have no idea.” Lonnie tipped back his coffee, his tone bored.
“We’re looking into his finances now,” the chief said. “We’ll keep you informed.”
Silas looked from his brother to the chief; for the first time grief showed in his eyes instead of anger. “Great.”
“Was Clay dating anybody?” Scott asked.
“No,” Lonnie said curtly. Silas looked at his brother and remained quiet.
The chief stared at Silas. “What do you know? Don’t hide things from me. I need to find out who killed your brother.”
Silas’s eyes darkened. “Clay worked as a hotshot lawyer in the big city and got as much tail as he wanted. Don’t think he took any woman seriously, but I’m sure he didn’t sleep alone very often. In fact, he had a goofy smile on his face the last couple of times we got together. I have no clue what chick occupied his brain, but he definitely made time with a woman or three. Who knows. Maybe four.”
Lonnie placed his cup on the metal table with a loud thunk. “Clay wasn’t looking for romance. He was a one-night-stand kind of guy, which is probably why Millicent Frost killed him.”
“Huh?” Silas sputtered.
Lonnie glared. “Think about it. She’s pining for him, they meet up at the bar, then they go to his home and fuck? Then he tells her he doesn’t want anything serious. She’s pissed and hurt, and she waits until he’s asleep. He’s helpless, and she goes for a knife.”
Silas reared back. “That does make sense.”
“Not really.” The chief studied the two men. “I don’t want to share too much about the investigation, but maybe this’ll take the hot off your iron. I had Millie examined at the hospital, and they did not engage in any form of sexual encounter that night.”
Silas swallowed. “Then why did she end up in bed with him?”
“Dunno yet,” the chief said. “For now, the judge just granted me a search warrant for Clay’s phone records. There’s a backlog right now, though, and it could take a while. If you boys could ask around and get me information, I’d really appreciate it.”
Silas drew both bruised hands down his equally bruised jaw. “I know that you like Millie, Chief. But you have to consider her a suspect.”
“I do.” The chief’s expression softened slightly. “I arrested her and had her examined at the hospital. She’s on my list, and if I discover she killed Clay, I promise I’ll make sure she lives the rest of her life in prison.”
Scott remained motionless. He knew Millie didn’t kill Clay, but her fingerprints remained on that knife. She admitted to grabbing the handle out of shock that morning—moreover, she owned the weapon.
“I trust you, Chief,” Lonnie said. “But we know who killed our brother. And believe me”—his gaze slashed to Scott—“she will pay.”
