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“It does to them. They have this warped idea that marriage is evil, and that it must be prevented at all cost. Which is why Dunc didn’t want anyone to know that we were together. He never wanted to be seen with me, and never mentioned me to his friends.”

“You were his guilty secret?”

“Yes, I was. At least to those four idiots. They wouldn’t have accepted it if Dunc had come right out and admitted that he’d fallen in love and wanted to get married.”

“But he must have told them at some point—he told Omar Wissinski this morning.”

“Omar was the one he was closest to. So it stands to reason he’d tell him.”

“Do you think he told the others, too?”

Justina nodded.“He must have. And you see what happened. He told them and now he’s dead. Draw your own conclusion. I know I have.” She broke into a fresh wave of tears, with Odelia handing her a tissue to stem the flood. “He was such a sweet man. So tender. Not like the others.” She shook her head. “Inever understood how he could be friends with them. They were so different. So very different.”

“Did Dunc ever mention an incident that took place thirteen years ago?” asked Odelia. “A hit-and-run accident where a little girl was killed?”

Justina frowned.“I don’t think so. I think I’d remember if he did.”

“We have reason to believe that it was his car that was involved. The day after the accident a green Mustang was brought into a garage and the mechanic was asked to make sure that all traces of the accident were removed. The mechanic kept a notebook, recording every job he did, right down to license plates and the work involved. Which is how we know that it was your fianc?’s car that killed Poppy Careen that night.”

“He never mentioned any of that to me.”

“What do you think happened to that Mustang?” asked Chase.

“Dunc doesn’t even own a car. He got rid of it years ago, and has refused to drive one ever since.”

“Did he tell you why?”

“He hated cars. Said they are the cause of too much pain and suffering.”

Chase and Odelia shared a look.“That could be why he got rid of it,” said Odelia. “Because of the accident. He refused to drive a car ever again after what happened.”

“It’s possible,” Justina allowed. “But like I said, he never mentioned an accident to me.”

“Thank you for your time, Miss McMenamy,” said Chase, getting up.

“Talk to his friends, will you?” said Justina. “Find out which one of them killed Dunc.” Her voice broke. “And make them pay. Make them all pay!”

Chapter 17

“Odd,” said Dooley once we were in the car again.

“What is?” I asked.

“Well, he was an artist, and now he’s been turned into a work of art himself.”

“Yeah, as if the killer was trying to make a point. But what point? And why?”

“Do you think his friends killed him because he wanted to get married?”

“It’s possible, of course,” I said. “But it seems like a very weak motive to want to kill a person, don’t you think?”

“Unless you really, really hate marriage.”

“Yeah, I guess.” I thought about Justina’s words. She really seemed convinced that one of Dunc’s friends was behind his murder, so at the very least we had to talk to them. But still, it all seemed like a strange coincidence that first Jona Morro would be killed, and now Dunc. And Jona’s murder seemed connected to his gambling habit, while Dunc… “Do you think Dunc was a gambler?” I asked, addressing Odelia.

She half-turned to me.“You mean, because of his connection to Jona Morro?”

“It would explain why both friends died in similar circumstances only a day apart.”

“Would you say the circumstances of both deaths are similar? Morro was killed in a holdup, and as far as we can make out, nothing was taken from Dunc Hanover’s loft.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” I said, sinking back onto the backseat once more.

“What is he saying?” asked Chase.

“He’s looking for a connection between Jona Morro’s murder and Dunc Hanover’s.”

“The only connection I see is that they were friends and were both involved in the hit-and-run accident that killed Poppy Careen.”

“So we’re back to that, are we?” asked Odelia.

Chase nodded.“We better find out if Dominic and Rick Careen have an alibi for this morning. And can you ask Scarlett when exactly Wissinski left his office?”

“Do you think he could have killed his friend?”

“You heard what Justina said. These guys seem to take this bachelor business pretty seriously.”

“If that’s what killed Dunc, we better talk to the other two bachelors. Joel Timperley and Sergio Sorbet.”

“Zeus!” Chase grunted.

“You’re a fan, aren’t you?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Well, you’ll get to meet him soon.”

“We’re going to meet Zeus, Max?” asked Dooley.

“We’re going to meet the actor who plays Zeus,” I clarified. “Not the real Zeus.”

“Is there a real Zeus? And does he control the weather?”

“I doubt it, Dooley. At least I’ve never seen him, have you?”

“Al Roker?”

“He doesn’t make the weather, he just presents it.”

“Oh, right.”