Part 28 (1/2)
The two again shared a look; then Alison said, ”Because he murdered Dana.”
And I'd been worried about being tactful.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE.
I glanced from Alison to Becky. ”Jerry murdered his wife?”
They nodded in unison.
”Do you have proof?” I asked.
”No,” Alison said, ”but in the last months before she died, she told us that if something happened to her, we should tell the police Jerry did it. So we told them, and they acted like we were airheads. Turns out both detectives we talked to knew Jerry through the pharmacy.”
”Everyone thinks Jerry's Mr. Nice Guy,” Becky said. ”He's an expert at hiding his true personality.”
”Except in front of us,” Alison added. ”He hates us. He did everything he could to keep Dana away from us. We'd steal her away from work at lunchtime so he didn't know.”
”Dana went along with that?” I asked.
”She was scared every moment,” Becky said, ”but she went along with it.”
”Did he physically abuse her?” I asked.
Alison tapped her temple. ”He played mind games with her. He'd be sweet for a few days. Then he'd accuse her of having affairs, of turning their son against him, of hiding money so she could leave him-”
”While he was actually the one being sneaky,” Becky finished. ”When Dana found out, she confronted him. It caused a big fight that ended with her telling him she wanted a divorce. The next thing we heard, they were taking a trip to Australia to fix their marriage.”
I saw Alison roll her eyes, so I said, ”You don't believe that?”
”Dana wanted out,” Alison said. ”Their marriage was beyond repair. The only reason she would have gone was to let him down gently.”
”Then Dana got a blood clot on the way home and ended up in intensive care,” Becky said sadly, ”giving Jerry the perfect setup.”
”How conveniently it all worked out for Jerry,” Alison said.
”You don't think it's possible that the nurse gave her too much heparin?” I asked.
”Sure, it's possible,” Alison said, ”but it's more probable that Jerry knew Dana wasn't going to stay with him and planned a way to kill her that would make him appear innocent.”
She'd just voiced my theory. ”Do you think Jerry is one of those guys who can't stand the thought of Dana being with anyone else?”
”With Jerry, it would be about the money,” Becky said.
”He was a control freak,” Alison said. ”He watched every dime Dana spent. He'd go berserk if she bought a new lipstick before the old one was gone.”
”Are you absolutely sure Dana was going to leave him?” I asked.
”That's how she was talking before they left,” Becky said. ”After she got on that plane for Australia, we never heard from her again, so there's really no way to know what she was thinking then.”
”Of course she was going to leave him,” Alison said to her friend. ”She told us so.”
”She could have changed her mind,” Becky argued.
”No way,” Alison retorted. ”She was determined to get away from him.”
Both women took sips of coffee, as though they needed to calm down.
”I think it's time to tell you why I wanted this meeting,” I said.
Over the last of the coffee, I explained the investigation into Lori's murder. Neither Alison nor Becky was offended by my ruse, and both were delighted that Jerry was finally being investigated.
”Do you think Lori found something that proved Jerry murdered Dana?” Becky asked.
”That's the only way it makes sense for him to kill Lori now,” I said. ”We're going to interview Jerry again, so I hope I can get him to let something slip. And that reminds me. You mentioned that Dana caught him sneaking around. Do you know who the woman was?”
”He wasn't having an affair,” Becky said.
”That we know of,” Alison amended. ”Dana found out he was gambling again. He'd gotten them into deep financial trouble about six months earlier and had supposedly sworn off gambling. But a few weeks before Dana died, someone she worked with saw Jerry at the boat.”
At the word gambling, my ears began to buzz. ”Do you know which boat?”
”The Calumet Casino,” Alison said.
That was quite a coincidence.
”Then she found out he'd been going there on a regular basis,” Alison said. ”He had been able to hide it because he handled their finances. Once Dana looked into it, she found out they were up to their ears in debt again.”
”Do you know whether Jerry took out an insurance policy on Dana before she died?” I asked.
The women glanced at each other. ”No, but we've wondered that for years,” Becky said.
”Even if he didn't,” Alison said, ”with the settlement he received from that lawsuit, he has to be set for life. First thing he did after the case was over was to get himself the biggest, fanciest truck money could buy. For a guy supposedly grieving over his wife, Jerry has been one happy camper.”
As soon as Alison and Becky were gone, I called Marco. ”I've got great information on Trumble. I'll tell you about it when I see you. Is it okay for me to come down by myself?”
”No vigilantes in sight, but I'd still rather come get you.”
”Is Vlad there?”
”You want him to come get you?”
”No, silly. I was just checking to make sure he hadn't had a problem getting to work.”
”Are you referring to the incident with the men in the white van carrying baseball bats, which you somehow forgot to tell me about?”
”I'm sorry, Marco. There's too much going on. I can't keep track of it all. I guess it was Vlad's story to tell anyway.”