Part 5 (2/2)
Ethan moved with such confidence in his home that Angel almost forgot he was blind. He had a brooding masculine manner, and he gestured with an easy grace. Perhaps being blind had taught him to move differently than most men, and she found the long fingers of his hands captivating. Ethan made beautiful music with those hands.
Watching him was mesmerizing.
”Who would do such a terrible thing?” He gulped down his drink. ”Everyone loved her.” After a long moment, he asked, ”Was this a mugging? I have no idea why Livie would have been at a park, especially at that hour. Not when she...was supposed to be with me.”
”We'd like to know why she went to that park too,” Angel said. ”Did she use drugs of any kind?”
”No.” He sounded adamant until his voice softened. ”Not that I know of.”
She glanced at her partner. Given the new evidence found on the body, now would be the time to ask about Olivia's love life. She thought it best to find another way to get what she wanted-to avoid upsetting Ethan-but no matter how she worded her question, there'd be no easy way to broach the subject.
”Please forgive me, but I have to ask a very personal question. When was the last time you and Olivia had been intimate?”
Ethan turned his head and stared through her.
”How is that pertinent to your investigation?” he asked. ”I don't understand.”
”The question is routine. The medical examiner will need to know for exclusionary purposes if he finds something during the autopsy. Now please, answer my question.”
When Ethan stalled, Rachel Blevins fidgeted in her chair. Angel would have expected the publicist to intervene in the interest of protecting her client, but the woman didn't interfere. Cronan must have noticed the same thing.
”I've changed my mind. I can use coffee. Anyone else?” her partner asked.
Angel shook her head, and the publicist did the same. When Ethan didn't respond at all, Cronan turned to Rachel.
”Show me where the kitchen is?”
”Uh, yeah. Sure.”
After her partner left with Rachel, Angel was alone with Ethan. She knew Cronan well enough to know that he'd been deliberate in splitting up the publicist from her client, hoping Ethan would be freer to share. Rachel also had strong opinions about Olivia Davenport. If the woman didn't have to worry about the feelings of her client, she might be brutally honest. Divide and conquer was worth a shot. Angel couldn't let Ethan off the hook. She needed his answer.
”Please, Mr. Chandler. Answer the question. When was the last time you had s.e.x with Olivia Davenport?”
Rachel Blevins had seen through Gabe's ruse to get her alone, and she didn't look happy about it, but the fact that she came with him told Cronan something. She wanted to spill her guts. An ornery woman like Rachel always did, even though she probably wouldn't make it easy. She crossed her arms and glared at him when they got to the kitchen. All pretenses of civility were done and gone.
”I can show you where he keeps the java, Slick, but don't expect me to make it for you. Suzie homemaker, I'm not.”
”Why am I not surprised?” He matched her stance. ”Do you know if Olivia Davenport cheated on Ethan?”
”Ha.” She grinned and leaned against the kitchen counter. ”You know something or else you wouldn't have asked the question, tough guy. Don't give me the same bull your partner laid on Ethan. Routine, my a.s.s.”
”Your a.s.s would be anything but routine.” He c.o.c.ked his head and smiled.
Rachel narrowed her eyes-pretending to be offended-before she eased into a grin.
”I'm not sure I like that you've checked out my a.s.s.”
”Oh yeah, you do.” Cronan raised an eyebrow before he rummaged through kitchen cabinets looking for coffee. ”A woman who goes to as much trouble to look the way you do expects men to notice. Now where is that coffee? And answer the d.a.m.ned question.”
Thirty Minutes Later ”This is shaping up to be a movie of the week, a flick on that women's channel,” Cronan said with a straight face as they heading for the front exit. ”You know those cable TV shows where all men are bad and someone's gotta die?”
Angel rolled her eyes. ”Oh, please. You're such a guy.”
”Why do I get the feeling that wasn't a compliment?” He opened the front door for her and let her pa.s.s. Once they got outside Ethan Chandler's building and were beyond earshot of the media circus, Angel made sure an overzealous reporter hadn't followed them before she compared notes with Gabe as they headed for their ride.
”He had s.e.x with Olivia last weekend, not the night she was killed. So we're missing one condom donor,” she said. ”Ethan was definitely hurting, for real.”
Angel knew what it felt like to lose someone special. Maybe she'd projected her grief onto Ethan, but she preferred to think she was a good judge of character.
”Did he know his girlfriend cheated on him?” Cronan asked. The abrupt question surprised her.
”I, ah...never asked. I mean, it never came up.”
”Never came up? Come on, Angel. You ask the questions and they answer. That's how it works.” When her face heated, her partner changed the subject. ”According to Vampira, Olivia didn't have a monogamous bone in her body. She would have screwed anything breathing. PR lady wasn't sure that breathing was a strict requirement. Her words, not mine.”
Cronan reached into his pocket for his car keys.
”Rachel didn't have any real proof,” he said. ”Only her suspicions, but she'd seen Olivia flirting, even when she had that poor schmuck with her. If that's true, Olivia was a real piece of work, with a mean streak worthy of her mad skills.”
Normally Cronan didn't speak ill of the dead-unless they deserved it.
”You believe what Rachel told you?”
”I don't know.” He shrugged. ”I've got a feeling she'd lie about her own mother if it gave her an edge. She's got no...soul, you know?”
”Yeah, I hear that.”
Cronan unlocked the vehicle and looked over his shoulder at her. When she caught him staring, she shrugged and asked, ”What? Do I have something in my teeth?”
”No, it's just...” He flipped the keys in his hand, avoiding her eyes.
”Come on, buddy. How long have we been doing this?” she insisted and propped her hands on the roof of the vehicle. ”Now tell me. What's up?”
”You got a little distracted back there. You do a good interview, but you didn't press him. You walked on egg sh.e.l.ls to avoid the subject of Olivia cheating.” He stood outside the driver's door and turned to look up the street as he spoke. ”Jealousy can be motive for murder, Angel. If he knew about her extra-curriculars, that could've set him off.”
”In case you didn't notice, the guy's blind, Gabe.”
”Yeah, but where do you think the phrase *blind rage' came from? And murder for hire is an equal opportunity employer. Even a guy with a handicap can hire a pro.” He heaved a sigh. ”My gut tells me this had to be personal. Most pros wouldn't use a knife like that. I'm just sayin' we need to keep our options open. We haven't ruled him out as a suspect yet. Or was there another reason you gave him Angel Lite?”
”What are you talking about?”
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