“Mr. Yates, I’m Detective Hubel Brandt.” Her hands were clasped in front of her. “Before we begin, I understand you’ve waived your right to counsel, is that correct?”
He’dwhat?
“That can’t be right,” Cassie muttered more to herself than anyone else.
Eddie wouldn’t be that stupid. Not with all his schooling and experience. He knew better than to?—
Eddie nodded.
“I’m going to need a verbal confirmation, Mr. Yates,” Detective Brandt stated bluntly.
“Yes, I’ve waived my right to counsel.” Eddie’s voice sounded cold. Wooden.
Just like at the cemetery.
The detective opened the folder to reveal something but from where Cassie stood, she couldn’t see its contents.
“Do you know what these are?”
Eddie’s gaze lowered to the folder then away. “Morello cherry pits.”
“And do you know where my crime scene techs found these?”
As if completely void of emotion, a man she clearly never new said, “Well since your people found them, I’m guessing they told you they were in the trunk of my car.”
“As a matter of fact, they did.” The attractive detective made an abrupt change in topic. “Tell me why you tried to kill Cassandra Montgomery today.”
Cassie held her breath and waited on pins and needles to hear the man’s answer. Never, not in a million years, would she ever have guessed the conversation that followed…
“Because.” Eddie shook his head in disgust. “She ruined everything.”
“My god.” Cassie was too stunned by what she was hearing to pay any attention to the incessant headache still pounding throughout her skull. “He’s not even trying to deny it.”
“How did she ruin everything, Edward?” Brandt dropped the formalities.
Eddie shifted in his seat, the sound of metal clanking unsettling as his cuffs slid against the pipe. “If she’d been a better wife to Russ, he wouldn’t have had to look elsewhere. And if Russ hadn’t been looking…”
“Fucking bastard.” Archer’s low growl preceded an even harsher, “Russ cheats on you, and this asshole’s blaming you?”
Yes, that was an unpleasant turn of events, for sure. But Cassie was still hung up on how her and Russ’s marital problems had affected Eddie enough to make him risk everything just to get rid of her.
Then he began to talk.Reallytalk. And what he revealed would stay with her for the rest of her days…
“About two months ago, I came home early from work. Wasn’t feeling well.”
“I remember that day.” Cassie looked at the two men beside her. “It stuck with me because Eddie never went home early or called in sick. But he’d spent more time hugging the toilet that morning than in his office, and I finally talked him into going home and getting some rest.”
“What happened when you got home?” Detective Brandt asked calmly.
“I found my wife in bed with Russell Montgomery.”
Cassie stared blindly, her brain struggling to process the man’s answer. “Wha…what did he just say?”
“Your wife…that would be this woman, correct? I believe her name is Lori?” Brandt slapped another photo down onto the table.
She didn’t have to see the picture to envision the woman’s face. Lori was Cassie’s best friend, after all. And Eddie had just claimed…
“So you’re saying this woman, your wife, was having a sexual relationship with your business partner and friend?”