Read Online Now You See It by Cáit Donnelly - Free Book Online Page B

response. Her nostrils flared at the throat-clogging reek of disinfectant and stress sweat. She concentrated on keeping her body still, her demeanor composed, even though she wanted to toss her head like a frightened horse and run for safety.
    “Keep your hands on the table,” Mike had told her. “Just pretend it’s poker.” She was good at poker. Not lucky, but good at bluffing. Would they think she was bluffing now? Swell .
    He gave her arm a reassuring squeeze as Abernathy and Olsen took seats across the table, and Lyons drew a chair over from the wall to sit beside them.
    Olsen pulled out a small recorder. “Ready?” he said.
    Mike nodded, and the session began.
    The first questions covered the same ground as yesterday’s interview, establishing her identity and Mike’s, her address, her whereabouts over the weekend.
    Then Olsen shifted in his chair. “How was your relationship with the deceased?”
    As Mike had instructed, Gemma waited a beat before answering, in case he had something to interpose. This time, he didn’t. “My husband and I were separated, but the divorce wasn’t final.”
    “When did he move out of the house?”
    “June seventeenth.”
    “Was the separation amicable?”
    “I suppose,” she said. “As much as something like that can be. I think we were both happier to be separated.” Her life had certainly been easier without him around. She didn’t think saying so would be at all helpful.
    Olsen nodded, and to Gemma’s astonishment, asked, “How do you get along with your mother-in-law?”
    “Julia? I barely know her. She and Ned had some long-standing feud going, and it spilled over onto me. I think that was the problem. I know she’s never forgiven him for marrying me.”
    “When did you speak with her last?”
    “Last night. I called yesterday afternoon to tell her Ned was dead.” Gemma grimaced. “She called back twice to yell and swear at me. I haven’t taken her calls this morning. When I see it’s her on caller ID, I don’t answer. It’s not very charitable of me, I guess, but I just can’t do it right now.”
    “Did you know she’s asked for your husband’s body?”
    “No, but it doesn’t really surprise me,” Gemma answered.
    “So, when did you last see your husband?”
    “Thursday. He came by to pick up some more of his clothes and things.”
    “Did you argue?”
    “No. Not at all. It was all very civilized.” Julia would have been proud of us, the old battle-axe.
    “Did he seem worried or preoccupied at that time?”
    Gemma quirked an eyebrow downward. “Preoccupied. A little stressed, maybe.” That sounded better than “childish and pissy.”
    “Did he give you any explanation?” Olsen reached for a bottle of water and took a fast sip.
    “No, he didn’t.”
    “What was Mr. Carrow’s annual income?”
    “I’m not exactly sure. It varied from year to year, as I understand it.”
    She sensed Mike’s surprise.
    “You’re not sure?”
    Olsen’s skepticism stung, and Gemma forgot Mike’s rules and tried to explain. “He kept that information pretty much to himself. It was one of the things we disagreed about. We never were able to work out any kind of compromise.”
    Mike broke in. “The income varied, and Ms. Cavanagh was preoccupied with her own business.”
    “Yes. Educational consulting, you said.”
    “That’s right.”
    More questions followed, about her income, their friends, Ned’s lifestyle since the separation. She had no idea about that one.
    As if he’d felt her inner tensing Mike said, “My client has already said she wasn’t aware of the details of her husband’s work.”
    “Why were you and your husband separating?”
    “People change,” she answered. “We grew apart. It happens. Do you know when his body will be released?”
    “Not yet. A few days, most likely,” Abernathy said.
    “Ms. Cavanagh,” Olsen began, “what’s your relationship to Braden McGrath?”
    Gemma flashed on Brady at Mike’s kitchen