“Good.” I stared at the walls for a moment too long.
Liam nudged my arm with his elbow. “If it makes you feel any better, there are some things that I can tell you about Crystal.”
Now this was a development. “What sort of things?”
Liam raked his fingers through his hair. “Well, for one, Crystal was always a big tease.”
How did this help me? “Okay,” I said slowly, trying to figure out how this made sense or got Sluggs’s attention off me and onto—heck, anybody else.
“She was always dating this guy or that one. Or helping some married man cheat on his wife. No, Crystal wasn’t a good person, and for all the bad she did, she made it even worse when it came to regular guys. Some men adored her, absolutely loved her. I don’t know why. I didn’t understand it. Those were the ones that Crystal teased. Made them think she liked them, that they had a shot, and then Crystal would just ignore them as if it was a game.”
“So she was mean.”
Liam nodded. “That she was.”
“Can you think of anyone in particular who she had done that to?”
He grunted. “Offhand, no, I can’t say that I do. Sorry, Clem. Wish I had a better answer for you. I just remember that she would tease ’em and then leave ’em. Maybe it was one of those men that finally got tired of all her games. Maybe he’s the one who murdered her.”
Even if it had been one of those men, there was no way to prove it. I thanked Liam for his help and asked if he’d be at the apple festival this upcoming weekend.
He smiled. “Course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Now,” he told me, “you get on out of here. There’s still a lot more work that me and the guys need to do. And I’m sure that you’ve got some finishes to purchase.”
“I do. At the rate you’re going, I’ll be behind on getting those in for Hadley.”
Liam clicked his tongue. “Better get on your job, Clem,” he teased.
“Aye, aye, captain.”
I gave him a little salute and walked back outside. Lady had found herself a dead squirrel and was rubbing her body all over its carcass.
“Oh, Lady, that’s disgusting. Don’t do that.”
“But Clem,” she argued, “this is the best perfume in all the world.”
Sure it was.
“You’re going to smell like dead squirrel and stink up my truck—not to mention the house.”
“You’ll get used to it,” she said proudly.
I didn’t want to get used to it. I didn’t want to have to smell it at all.
Sighing, I headed over to the truck, calling Lady to come along with me. As I was getting in, Hadley Hutto pulled down the gravel drive.
I got out to greet her. “Hadley, it’s looking good in there. The guys are super hard at work. This barn is going to be a home before you know it.”
She beamed. “Oh, that’s great. I can’t believe that it’s coming along so fast.”
“It sure is. Want me to give you the tour?”
She batted me away. “No, Liam can do it. He’s been so nice. All of y’all are so nice. I’m so glad that I went with your company.”
“Well, if you’d gone with Crystal, you wouldn’t have a contractor at this point.”
Hadley’s gaze darted to the ground. “Right. I sure wouldn’t. I wouldn’t have much of anything except a boyfriend who used to be hers.”
Her words triggered a thought. “So, did you ever tell Crystal that you and Pete were together?”
