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.So he asked me to come along.”Grace shook her head in wonder.“Pathetic.”On the floor, Debby made a noise somewhere between a growl and a whimper.Jacob sighed.“And both times you and Walter got together, you drank Rumple Minze.Tossed the stuff back like it was water.I knew you’da never noticed a little addition until it was too late.”Grace glared at him, and I wondered for a brief moment whether he was trying to get her to kill him.But she had rested her forearms on the island counter to take the strain off them and seemed more interested in Jacob’s tale than in shooting him.“I bought a bottle of it—wasn’t easy—I hadn’t bought a bottle of booze for almost twelve years—and some drain cleaner from the Safeway.Got the idea from Walter himself, joking about drinkin’ drain cleaner and talkin’ about how Sophie Mae here made her soap.I ’member my grandmamma used to make soap with lye from the grocery store, too.You ’member that, Debs?”Debby didn’t respond.After a few moments, Jacob continued.“I mixed it up with some water, and I mixed it strong.Then I worked off the seal of the Rumple Minze, poured out half, and replaced it with the lye.Then I reattached the seal with a dab of superglue.”Crude, but effective.“I gave the bottle to Walter to give to you,” he said, looking back at Grace.“A kind of send-off gift, get on your good side a little.I figured you’d drink it after you got home, and since you said you hadn’t told anyone you were up in Seattle, no one would think of looking up here if you died.”Grace looked angry, sure, but also oddly speculative.“Clever,” she finally said.But Richard looked confused again.“I don’t understand.I thought you flew in on Sunday.But you were here before Walter died?”“Yes, Dickie-Bird.I was here before he died, and I didn’t tell you.”“Why?”“Because I didn’t want you to cock it up.”“But …”“Oh, shut up, Richard!”“Why?” Meghan asked Jacob.And while I could understand someone wanting to pour lye down Grace’s throat on general principle, I wanted to know what Jacob had had in mind, too.“She wouldn’t give Walter a divorce.He’d tracked her down in California and asked her to sign the papers, but she kept putting him off.She’d ask for money, and he’d give it to her, but then she’d want some more.Two times he gave her money to fly up here so’s she could sign them.The first time she changed her mind.And he knew she’d do the same thing this time, too.“How was he gonna marry my sister if he couldn’t get a divorce from that one?” He pointed at Grace, who regarded him with a spellbinding stare.“She told him to go ahead and get married anyway.She’d done it.Twice.But Walter didn’t want to do that.He said he was goin’ to take her to court, get the divorce anyway, even if it made a stink.” He pointed at her again.“And you threatened to bring Debs into it.I couldn’t let you do that.She didn’t even know he was still married to you.”“Well, you’ve certainly brought her into it now, haven’t you?” Grace said.Jacob looked at Debby, who sat rocking, her knees up to her chin, both arms wrapped around her legs.His eyes filled with tears.“I was only tryin’ to make it better for her.Make it so’s she’d get somethin’ she wanted for once.She deserved to be happy,” he whispered.Grace sniffed.“You all heard him, right? So you know I didn’t kill Walter.”Unenthusiastic nods all around.“So how did he die?” I asked.“He didn’t drink.Why would he have decided to jump off the wagon that particular morning?”Jacob shook his head, at a complete loss for words.Meghan frowned.Debby was off in her own little world.Richard looked confused again.But Grace watched me, her dark eyes glittering with … satisfaction?“You were there,” I said.She didn’t respond, but the corners of her lips turned up an infinitesimal degree.“You made him drink the schnapps.”“I didn’t even know about the schnapps,” she said.“What did you say to him?”She shrugged, a tiny movement of her shoulders to indicate how trivial my question was.“He threatened me.He said he’d have me arrested for bigamy.”“Bet you didn’t like that.”“Not much,” she admitted.“I said a few things to discourage him.”“Like what?”She waved me off.But I’d seen how she laid into Richard on a whim, heard about how she’d treated Walter when they were young, and he’d only recently recovered.I could imagine how she’d react to a direct threat.Grace had been there at Walter’s house that morning—she’d told me as surely as if she’d spoken the words—and he told her he wouldn’t put up with her manipulations any more.She’d pulled out the big guns.Debby.Erin.Richard.Direct attacks on Walter himself.After she’d left, he’d remembered the Rumple Minze Jacob had given him.Poured himself a glass.Didn’t drink it.Took it outside.Debated.Tried to distract himself by looking at his job for the morning, the raised bed he’d be building in our backyard.Couldn’t quite put the glass down.Thought about calling Jacob, his AA sponsor.Didn’t make the call.Finally gave in.And when the burning started, he ran to the closest faucet.In my workroom.And there he’d died.Even if it hadn’t happened exactly like that, I was close.We’d never know for sure, because no one had been there when Walter died [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]