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“That’s what you get from watching those soaps all the time,” Danny declared earnestly. “They turn your mind to mush.”

“Hey, watch your tongue, young man!” said Melanie, then seemed to collect herself. “You’ll stay for dinner, of course, Mrs. Kingsley,” she said.

“Oh, no,” said Odelia. “I couldn’t.”

“Nonsense. Skinny little thing like you? It’s obvious you haven’t had a decent meal in ages. If you were living under my roof I’d fatten you right up. Put some meat on those bones.”

Odelia didn’t seem to want fattening up, and after some wrangling, managed to escape the woman’s hospitality unscathed and so did we.

We had one more person to talk to, you see, and I had a feeling Deith Madison wasn’t the kind of woman who liked to be kept waiting!

CHAPTER 27

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We met Madison’s wife in the driveway in front of her majestic villa. She was on her way out, and when we arrived, gave Odelia a supercilious look, before declaring, “I’m not a difficult person, Mrs. Kingsley, but I do appreciate punctuality. So I’m afraid we’ll have to do this some other time.”

“I just need five minutes of your time,” Odelia hastened to say.

Deith Madison ostensively checked her watch, then said,“Make it three.”

“Witnesses told us that you and your husband had a row yesterday in his office. Would you care to elaborate what that row was about?”

“No, I would not. What happens between husband and wife is nobody’s business except theirs. Next.”

“Could it have something to do with the fact that your husband’s girlfriend Natalie Ferrara is expecting his baby?”

The woman’s mask didn’t crack, indicating an extreme level of self-control. “I don’t know where you get your information, but I can assure you it’s all filth and lies. And if you dare to print any of this, I’ll sue you and your paper into oblivion. Last question!”

“Where were you last night, Mrs. Madison?”

For the first time emotion flashed across the woman’s face. I interpreted it as surprise. She quickly regained her poise. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I was home last night.”

“Alone?”

“Since my husband was in the habit of working late at the office, it wasn’t unusual for me to spend my nights alone. So yes, I was home alone last night. Now if there’s nothing further,” she said, walking to a waiting yellow Mercedes.

“Rumor has it that your husband didn’t kill himself, Mrs. Madison, but that he was pushed. Care to comment?”

This seemed to spark her interest.“Who told you this?”

Odelia shrugged.“A reliable source.”

Deith studied Odelia carefully before responding.“Please share your suspicions with the police. I find it hard to believe Michael would have killed himself. He wasn’t the type.” She got into the Mercedes, and before long we were being sprayed with gravel as she drove off at a respectable rate of speed.

“What do you think?” asked Odelia, as we stared after the disappearing car.

“She seemed truthful enough,” I said. “Except for the part about the pregnancy. I’m pretty sure she knew all about that, and that’s what that fight was about.”

“I agree,” said Odelia. “But until we get her into the police station, she’ll never admit to that.”

“So why don’t you make a citizen’s arrest?” Dooley suggested as we got back into our own car.

Odelia laughed.“You need to have probable cause to make an arrest, Dooley. A suspicion that someone is lying isn’t enough.”

“I think she did it,” my friend insisted. “She found out about that pregnancy, and got so upset she shoved him out of that window.”

“It’s possible,” Odelia agreed as she started up the car. “But we need more than a hunch to make an arrest. We need evidence, and a solid case against Deith.”

“You’ll get there,” Dooley assured her. “I have every confidence in you, Odelia.”

Odelia grinned.“Why, thank you, Dooley. That’s very nice to hear.”

And since our interview with Deith was cut short, she decided to squeeze in one more person before she called it a day.

That person was Natalie Ferrara, who featured high on our list.

Unfortunately for us we didn’t find Natalie home. We did find her brother Luke though, who had reluctantly dragged himself up from the couch to answer the door, and resumed his position the moment we walked in. He was watching the same football game the Mitchells had been watching, only he was surrounded by junk wherever you looked: plates with half-eaten sandwiches, empty plastic wrappers, pizza boxes, cans of beer and soda, an overflowing ashtray on the table, and a pervasive smell of marijuana causing me to cough the moment we entered.

Looked like Natalie’s brother wasn’t exactly making himself useful!

“Nat’s out,” he said as he took a sip from a container of beer. “I can give her a message if you want.”

“No, that’s all right,” said Odelia, looking around for a place to sit, but not finding any.

Luke burped.“Want pizza? You’ll have to shove it in the microwave if you want it hot, though.”

“I’m fine,” Odelia assured him. “So you heard about what happened to Michael Madison?”

“Who? Oh, that guy. Yeah, he died, right?”