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.”“What does that mean?”“That this might not have anything to do with Maddie’s murder, but.she used to be married to Dicky Massri.”She had the satisfaction of seeing Jake’s jaw drop.He said at last, “That.hasn’t turned up anywhere yet.”“They were married in Egypt.There were immigration issues, though—among other things.They divorced nearly two years ago.”“Go on.”“That’s basically it.Mother remembered the marriage—” Despite her best intentions, at the last instant A.J.couldn’t admit to breaking and entering Dicky’s apartment.“We thought that there might be a lead here.Something that would, at least, cast doubt on the case you’re—the police—are building.”“And?”“I don’t know.Maddie swore she hadn’t stayed in contact with Dicky.Unless she was one heck of an actress, she didn’t even know he was dead.But it’s obvious that she and Mother weren’t the only two women he had romanced with an eye to.um.fleecing.”“Is that what their generation calls it?” Jake was still dour.“Was Maddie being blackmailed?”“No.I’m sure she wasn’t.I don’t think she even knew he was in the country.The scam with her was to marry her and then keep asking for money.Eventually she got fed up and divorced him.Like I said, I’m convinced she didn’t even know Dicky was dead.”“How did she take that news?”A.J.cast her mind back.“She was shocked.She didn’t shed any tears over him, but she wasn’t gloating either.” She admitted, “In fact Maddie burst out laughing when she learned Mother had been involved with Dicky.Granted, she had a very odd sense of humor.”“Did she have any theories about who might have popped her ex?”A.J.shook her head.“No.The last she’d heard he was still in Egypt.But something did happen today, and I think it has to tie in with her death.Anything else is too much of a coincidence.”“Go on.”“She found out that a friend of hers, Peggy Graham, had recently committed suicide.Except Maddie didn’t believe it was suicide.”“No one ever does.What makes you think it ties into her death?”“She was so shocked at the idea.She even said at one point she thought it might be murder.”Jake’s green eyes narrowed.“Did she have any grounds for such a claim or was she just talking?”“I don’t know, but she was killed only a few hours later.”“Who overheard her say she didn’t believe Graham’s death was an accident?”Reluctantly, A.J.said, “Just Mother and I, although Maddie was obviously upset when she left the hairdresser’s.”“That wouldn’t be unexpected.She’d just heard of her friend’s death.”“There was a phone call while Mother and I were talking in the kitchen after Maddie had gone upstairs to rest.”“Who called?”“That’s the thing.The phone only rang once.”Jake rubbed his forehead.“In other words, someone could have just dialed wrong.So far none of this is getting us anywhere.”“What if Maddie went upstairs and phoned someone? And that one ring was the person calling her back to arrange a meeting of some kind? If Maddie was waiting for the call, she’d have snatched it up immediately, which would explain why there was only one ring.You could check the phone records, right?”“Yeah,” Jake said slowly.“So you think this person called Maddie back to arrange a meeting of some kind and then killed her?”“I think it’s a possibility.”“And they killed her because she didn’t believe Peggy Graham committed suicide?”“I don’t know why she was killed.Maybe it’s something else entirely.She was pretty wealthy.Maybe it’s something as mundane as that.But there’s some connection here.I know it.”Jake looked skeptical.“Did this Graham woman know Massri?”“I don’t think so.But I don’t know.” A.J.considered this idea more carefully.“It seemed like maybe something had happened between Maddie and Peggy.She said they weren’t as close as they used to be.”“Wouldn’t she have mentioned it if this Graham woman was seeing her ex?”“Probably.I know there is one obvious connection.”He waited.A.J.knew how it was going to sound before she said unwillingly, “They all went to the same hairdresser.”For what seemed like a very long time Jake didn’t move a muscle.At last he said, without any inflection at all, “Seriously?”“I know what you’re thinking,” she said quickly.“I know how it sounds.But there’s something there.I mean, just the fact that Maddie was killed after we went to The Salon [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]