Part 30 (1/2)
”Go Yanks!” Nina said.
”Go Phils!” Jill chimed in, and they all laughed.
Nina said, ”Sorry we have to meet here, on the street. Martin didn't think we should meet you at home, since we don't really know each other.”
”I get that, and you have to be careful.” Jill bent down to pet the puppy, an adorable round-eyed little dog, with ears as floppy as a baby bunny. ”She's so cute! I love that face.”
”Isn't she something? Corgis are actually dwarf dogs, bred to herd sheep. Let's go for a walk before it rains.” Nina and Martin started walking, and Jill fell into step with them.
”So, Nina, tell me a little about yourself. I saw on your Facebook page that you work at Pharmcen.”
”Yes. I'm in Pharmacovigilance.”
”Is that even English?” Jill knew what it meant, but she wanted to get Nina talking.
”I know, I get that a lot.” Nina smiled. ”Pharmacovigilance keeps track of adverse events of drugs, for reporting to the FDA. There's almost fifty people in the department, and I just became second-in-command. I'm a VP now.”
Martin snorted. ”They gave her a t.i.tle, but no raise.”
Jill let it go. ”Congratulations, Nina. A promotion counts for a lot, in this economy.”
Nina beamed. ”I think so, too. If they have to lay people off again, I won't be one of them, I hope.”
Martin checked his watch. ”What do you need to know about the dog?”
”Right, of course.” Jill didn't want to arouse suspicion. ”Was she hard to housebreak?”
”She's almost housebroken,” Nina answered, warming to the topic. ”I crate her, but she hates it. Sometimes she cries in her crate at night, which breaks my heart, so I take her out, love her up, and put her back in. Martin doesn't want her sleeping with us.”
Martin rolled his eyes. ”I'm the bad guy.”
Jill held her tongue. She could see the fissures in their marriage easily, though she had missed so many in her own.
”I keep the feedings and walks regular, and I crate her when I'm not playing with her. I walk on a schedule, three times a day. She even pees in the same places.”
Jill smiled. ”You've got this down to a science.”
Martin laughed. ”That's Nina to a T. She's the one who wanted the dog, not me, but I went with it. Only problem, it sheds like crazy.”
Nina elbowed him. ”Don't tell her that.”
Jill saw her opening. ”Martin, what other bad stuff can you tell me? I want the truth.”
”You got it!” Martin turned to her. ”She bites your heels when you walk.”
”She bites?” Jill feigned worry, and Nina gave him a playful shove.
”Honey, go for your run, get! You're giving her the wrong idea.”
”Does she really bite?” Jill asked, with ersatz concern. ”I don't want a dog that bites.”
”She doesn't bite.” Nina turned to Martin, nudging him again. ”You, get going!”
”Okay, okay.” Martin shook Jill's hand. ”I only do one lap, or I have a heart attack. Nice meeting you.”
”Nice meeting you, too. Thanks for the tips.”
”Take care.” Martin gave Nina a kiss on the cheek, then took off, jogging, and Jill waited until he was out of earshot.
”Nina, I really came to ask you about someone we both know. Neil Straub.”
”What? Who?” Nina blinked, and recognition flickered through her lovely blue eyes. ”I don't know any Neil Straub.”
”I know you do. I'm his ex-wife and I knew him as William Skyler.”
”I don't know what you mean.” Nina glanced down the sidewalk, where Martin was lost in the crowd.
”Yes, you do. I saw your Visa receipt in his car, from Sephora. Please talk to me before Martin gets back.”
”No, really, I don't know any Neil Straub.”
”I'm sorry, but I have bad news for you. Neil died last Tuesday in Philadelphia, and I think he was murdered.”
Nina gasped. ”What? How? That can't be true.”
”So you do know Neil Straub.”
”Wait, no, yes.” Tears sprang to Nina's eyes, and her tone turned pleading. ”Please don't tell my husband. He can't suspect a thing. He gets so jealous.”
”I won't. The coroner says Neil died as a reaction to a mix of prescription painkillers, anti-anxiety drugs, and alcohol. But I don't think so.”
”Drugs, Neil?” Nina asked, bewildered. ”He never took anything like that.”
”Do you know anybody who would want to kill him, and why?”
”Is this really true? He's really ... gone?” Nina's eyes brimmed with tears, but she wiped them away, and Jill's heart went out to her.
”Yes. I'm so sorry.”
”I haven't heard from him in about a week.” Nina sniffled, trying to stay in control. ”I called and called, but he didn't return my calls. I was so hurt, so angry. Oh my G.o.d, I thought he was ditching me, but all this time, he was...”
”I'm sorry.” Jill wanted to be sympathetic, but she didn't have much time until Martin came back. ”He hasn't been back to the apartment, but they don't know he's gone, either. They don't know him as William Skyler. They know him the way you do, as Neil Straub.”
”He is Neil Straub.”
”You didn't know he had a double ident.i.ty?”
”No, of course not.” Nina flushed.
”Do you know why he did?”