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“He never did assault you, did he? You just made that up because Commissioner Necker asked you to. You cut a deal so Donny would walk free, in exchange for your testimony against Detective Kingsley.”

Veronica was giving her just about the meanest look any woman had ever given her, but Odelia didn’t care. She had proof, and she wasn’t letting go.

She tapped her phone.“You know what I’ll do? I’ll publish these on the front page of tomorrow’s Hampton Cove Gazette. Let the good people of this town draw their own conclusions. I’ll blur out the X-rated parts, of course. Don’t want to shock people more than is strictly necessary.”

“You can’t do that,” said Veronica hoarsely. She looked appalled.

“I can and I will,” she promised.

“Look, I didn’t kill my father, all right?” said Veronica. “I would never do that. I loved that man. He was a deeply flawed individual, but he was also a very sweet guy. The problem was that he had the mental age of a fifteen-year-old, which made me feel like I was dealing with a younger brother, not a father. I still loved him, though, like the funny, goofy guy he was. And as far as money is concerned, he set up a trust fund in my name when I was born. I don’t know how much is in there but last time I checked there were millions. So it’s not exactly as if I’m hard up or anything. And I was happy for Jasper. He’s more mature than my dad ever was, and he was like a second father to me. He deserved everything that was coming to him, including the wedding. It wasn’t easy being Dad’s significant other—just ask my mom. Jasper had to make a lot of sacrifices over the years, and I didn’t begrudge him anything.”

“Millions of dollars?” asked Rubb, eyes wide. “So you’re loaded, babe?”

She smiled.“Pretty much. I didn’t want to tell you as I was afraid you’d only like me for my money and not for me.”

“You told me the only money you had was your allowance.”

“Which is probably more than you’ve made in your entire life.”

He whistled through his teeth.“Well, I’ll be damned, babe.”

“Look, what about the poison?” Odelia asked, not liking the direction this conversation was taking. Veronica should be confessing by now, but instead she was making a pretty convincing case she was innocent in JPG’s murder.

“What poison?” asked Veronica with a frown.

“The spider venom. The only one who could have supplied that was your boyfriend.”

“Hey, don’t look at me, crazy lady,” said Rubb. “Like I told you yesterday, I had nothing to do with that spider stuff. I might be able to get my hands on some top quality narcotics, but I don’t know the first thing about some weird spider venom. Besides, why would I kill my best customer? That’s just crazy.”

“Because you wanted to help your girlfriend vouchsafe her inheritance.”

“I didn’t even know she was loaded, all right? She never told me.”

“And with good reason,” Veronica said. “Now I know you love me for me, and not for my money.”

“I’ve always loved you for you, babe.”

“Listen, what about Chase Kingsley?” asked Odelia, who hated to admit she was starting to believe these two were innocent after all.

Veronica hesitated.“If I tell you what happened, do you promise to delete those pictures? I so don’t want them on the Internet. I’d die of shame.”

“I promise not to publish them. I’ll keep them, though. Just in case.”

“All right. Yes, I did lie about Detective Kingsley.”

“Don’t tell her that, babe. They might put me back in prison.”

“No, they won’t,” she said. “This time I’m getting you the best lawyer money can buy, whatever Mom says. And I’m going to tell her everything.”

“Why don’t you begin by telling me everything?” Odelia asked.

“You were right,” said Veronica. “I set up Detective Kingsley because Commissioner Necker made a deal. In exchange for Donny walking free, all charges dropped, I had to make up a story about Detective Kingsley harassing me. I filed those charges and that restraining order, just like he asked me to, and the next thing I knew, Donny was sprung from prison.”

“Did the Commissioner tell you what it was all about?”

She shook her head.“I never spoke with Commissioner Necker himself. Everything was arranged through Donny’s lawyer, who swore us to secrecy.”

“And a lousy lawyer he was.”

“Mom forbade me to get a decent one, so this one was all we had,” Veronica explained. “I’m pretty sure he was working for the Commissioner all along. They just needed someone to agree to do the dirty on Kingsley.”

“Will you retract your statement?”

“I will,” she said.

“Why the restraining order against Donny?” she asked.

She rolled her eyes.“That was Mother’s idea. She’d seen how easy it was to get one against Kingsley, so she told me to get one against Donny. She’d never liked him.”

“That woman hates me,” grunted Rubb, waggling his beard indignantly.

“What’s not to like?” asked Odelia. “Having a drug dealer for a son-in-law is probably every mother’s dream.”

“She’s right, you know,” said Veronica. “You have to stop with that drug business, babe. It’s going to get you killed one of these days.”