“He grabbed you?” I tried, and failed, to keep disapproval from coloring my voice.
“Yes, but it’s not like he left a bruise or anything. Only, he did hold me pretty tight. Which made me feel … uneasy, I guess.”
“You continued to see him after that?”
“Look, Miss Manners, it wasn’t as bad as you’re imagining. And at the time I just thought … well, I believed it showed he was passionate about me, you know.”
Ihmphed before replying. “You’ve been reading too many of those bodice rippers you stock. You should have dumped him as soon as he pulled that little stunt.”
Julie sighed deeply. “I know. But I’d just broken up with Henry right before I met Lincoln. You remember Henry—the monosyllabic guy who always seemed more interested in watching sports than in making love to me.”
“You wanted to dive into a more passionate relationship with someone a bit mysterious? I can understand that. I may have done something similar once or twice in the past. Before Brent, of course.”
“I suppose I was veering too far in the other direction. But anyway, I’ve always played it so safe in my love life. I just wanted to experience something a little more exciting. Which unfortunately translated into me deliberately ignoring the red flags I noticed when dealing with Lincoln.”
“Live and learn,” I said.
“I suppose.” Julie didn’t speak again for a few seconds. “I just wanted you to know, in case the investigation turned up some stuff that might make you wonder if Lincoln was … abusive.”
It was my turn to fall silent for a moment. “Was he?”
“Not to me. Not really. But I did get this phone call from another girl he’d dated on the sly a while back.”
“Someone from Beaufort?”
“Yes. I’d rather not mention names, if you don’t mind. No use dragging her into this.”
“Okay, but if she experienced his abusive side …”
“She said there had been some instances, but I don’t know …” Julie cleared her throat. “I didn’t believe her at first, of course. I just thought she was a jealous ex trying to stir up trouble.”
“How in the world did she know you two were dating?” I asked, wondering if Julie had been less than careful in her dealings with Lincoln. If they’d been seen around town, it might’ve stirred jealous feelings in more than one woman, if my suspicions about Lincoln’s playboy tendencies were correct.
And that could mean more suspects, I thought.Someone besides Julie could be a jealous “other woman.”
“She said she saw us in the …” Julie cleared her throat again. “In a restaurant in town. Which was stupid of me, I know. We should’ve met outside Beaufort. We usually did, but there was one day when I was just too tired to drive anywhere.”
“You don’t have to share her name with me, but maybe you should tell the police,” I said. “If she knew Lincoln, she might also know people who had it in for him.”
“You mean besides her, or me?” Julie’s tone was edged with bitterness. “I don’t know, I think this sort of thing just looks bad for both of us. Since we are both women Lincoln mistreated and all that.”
“Maybe, but it also might point the finger of suspicion away from you, especially if he had a pattern of abusing women.”
“That’s the thing—I don’t know that he did. Like I said, he never really took it that far with me. And as for the woman who contacted me—well, I only have her word about what happened between them.”
“But why would she call you? Do you think she might’ve wanted money to stay silent about your relationship? Although,come to think of it, that’s a bit of a stretch. It’s not like you’re rich.”
“No, but Lincoln is. Was.” Julie inhaled an audible breath.
“Maybe she thought he’d pay up but didn’t want to approach him directly. She might’ve wanted to use you as an intermediary because she was scared of him …”
“I can’t imagine this person trying to shake down anyone,” Julie said.
“But how well do you really know her? Isn’t it possible that in an attempt to blackmail Lincoln, this woman could’ve asked him to meet her at the carriage house that night? Perhaps he did, meaning to pay her, but it all went horribly wrong. Maybe he even threatened her and she had to defend herself.”
“I suppose. Although why would she have had that knife? I mean, I can understand stealing the key to sneak into the carriage house to meet Lincoln, but the knife part doesn’t really add up.”
Julie sounded strangely reluctant to pursue this line of inquiry, which made me wonder just who the woman might be. I respected Julie’s discretion if this involved a friend, or even one of her bookstore regulars, but felt compelled to urge her to take action to protect herself. “Consider this—maybe it was Lincoln who swiped the knife and the key. He might have planned to get into the carriage house to talk to someone, like this other woman, in private. And if he wanted to warn someone to remain silent about his misdeeds, he could’ve taken the knife as a weapon. Or even as protection, if he was concerned that whoever he was meeting could become dangerous. At any rate, you should tell the police about this, if you haven’t already. This woman could be another viable suspect.”
