“I obviously saw him in the morning, and we spoke about a few things." She looked down. May felt a tiny flicker of doubt. Something seemed slightly off-kilter in the way she was describing the morning.
"Did you notice anything unusual about his behavior? Did it seem like anything was bothering him?"
"No, he seemed totally normal."
"What was your work event?"
"It was a meeting in Minneapolis, with the managers from the firm. I work for a sportswear firm," she explained.
"And the meeting carried on all day?"
"No, it was a morning meeting, but I stayed on in the hotel, doing some work, and I took my managers out for dinner afterward," she said.
"And that finished around what time?"
"I'd say around nine thirty or ten."
"Where did you go for dinner?"
"We went to a steakhouse. Steak and Sides. Maybe you know it?"
"I'm not really up to date on Minneapolis restaurants," May said. "What hotel did you stay in?"
"The Grove Inn. It's a good, well-priced chain hotel."
May was impressed by Molly’s ability to answer coherently. For some reason, she’d expected that she would have fallen apart a lot more than she had. But now they were going to tread into more dangerous territory.
"Tell me what happened when you came home."
"I arrived back at about seven-thirty a.m. I saw immediately that the garage door was open, and I guess my first thought was that Ed had just left in a hurry and forgotten to close it. Then, when I saw the side door was also open, I thought he was still inside, that maybe he'd forgotten something and had rushed back for it. I never, ever thought I'd find him dead. It was such a shock!"
"And what happened when you found your husband?" May asked.
"When I realized he was dead, I guess I just struggled to process it," Molly said, tears filling her eyes. "I was so shocked. I felt so sick. But luckily, with my dad being the sheriff, I knew what to do. I left the scene immediately and called 911." She was gasping with sobs again.
May was scribbling down the details.
"Did you call Ed last night?" she asked.
"No. I'd already told him I would be too busy to call," Molly said apologetically. May looked up, surprised, and beside her, she heard Owen clear his throat.
"Can I see your phone, please?" Owen said.
Molly looked uneasy. "You can, but if you don't mind, the battery is quite low, and I've been getting a lot of calls and messages that I'd better respond to. Can you be quick?"
"Sure," Owen agreed.
May watched him as he took the phone, wondering what he was hoping to find. Was he looking to confirm those hotel bookings? Or was there another reason? Owen quickly scrolled through the phone. His face looked stern and thoughtful.
Then he spoke, and what he said shocked May to the core.
"It looks as if things weren't so good between yourself and Ed," he said.
May nearly fell off her chair. She stared at Owen in horror, but over and above her horror was the realization that it was, often, the spouse who was the prime suspect in these cases. She had been neglecting that fact because she felt so sorry for Molly, and because of Jack, and because of all their history. And there had been signs. Now, she realized she’d ignored them.
In fact, Owen had been the one doing things correctly here. Not May. Owen's face looked even more intense as he scrolled through her phone. As for Molly, she was looking pale.
"Look, I can explain," she stammered.
