“Where were you on March 11th between seven p.m. and one a.m. on March 12th?”
“Is this a trick question? You knew exactly where I was that night.”
He glances at the camera nestled in the corner. “Please answer the question for the record.”
With a half-smile, I lean back in the chair. “Seven p.m. I was at home getting ready for a meeting with afriend. Eight p.m. he came to pick me up. We had dinner at The Alchemist. Then I went home around midnight and went to bed. I’m happy to give you his number to confirm.”
He rolls his eyes. “Can we check your security cameras as well to confirm your whereabouts at the hours you weren’t having dinner with yourfriend?”
“Of course. My bodyguards can give you their statements, too.” I lean forward, examining his expression like he’s dissecting mine. “That timeframe, is that when Gia…?” If that was the time Butterfly Man killed her, Jacob couldn’t be him. He was with me all the time.
Unless he killed her right before or after our date.
Hello, I’m Jacob Torrance. I shoot people dead and then go buy flowers for the woman I like, go out with her, talk sexybooks and eat vegan ice cream for dessert. And I’m the stupid woman who is falling for it.
“Why were you going to Edgartown’s lighthouse in the middle of the night, right where we discovered the body of your assistant?”
“I already answered that question. I had trouble sleeping and decided to go there. It’s one of my favorite spots. I go there all the time. You can ask Spencer, the lightkeeper. I even texted him to see if he could do me a favor and let me in. The view from the gallery is the best, and we go way back, since my wedding photoshoot.”
“Why do you need bodyguards, Mrs. Abel?” he asks.
To protect me from you, I guess.“I’m a celebrity. Better safe than sorry.”
He puckers his lips on a grunt. “When was the last time you saw your husband, Mrs. Abel?”
Why is he asking me about Blake? “The morning of March 5th. Why?”
“He’s an ex-cop, right?”
“Retired early, yes,” I answer warily.
“Why? Why did he retire?”
My fingers instinctively move to my mouth, but I clench my fist under the table before they give me away. “My career was taking off, and he decided to retire to become my manager. Can I ask why all these questions about Blake and what he has to do with Gia or Saldana?”
“Has your husband had any affairs during the course of your relationship?”
I cock a brow. Where does this come from? No one knows about Gia and Blake except me, Tristan and the team, and Butterfly Man. What does Jacob really know? And how? Could he really be my stalker? “I’ve had doubts. Only doubts.”
“I see, and how is your current relationship with your husband, Mrs. Abel?”
My jaw clenches. “We’re getting a divorce.”
“Because of suspicions of his infidelity?”
“Because Blake Abel is a violent man, Detective.”
Jacob’s eyes gleam as if he’s just discovered a precious secret, as if he hadn’t already known. “How is he violent, Mrs. Abel?”
An angry sigh leaves my chest. “Last year, we had a fight, and he pushed me down the stairs. The police wouldn’t help, so he got away with it. I asked him for a divorce. He refused to give me one, said he’d go to therapy and work on his issues. Unfortunately, the medication he was prescribed was too strong. He’s developed a substance abuse issue that has gotten out of hand, so I’ve filed for divorce myself.”
“How did he take it?”
“Not nicely.”
“Do you or your husband own a gun?”
The question catches me off guard. Of all the things I expect him to ask, this isn’t it. He said Gia was shot. Does he suspect the murder weapon is a gun Blake or I own? I blink, trying to hidemy surprise. “I don’t own any guns, but Blake does.” And it is nestled in my dresser. Butterfly Man has made sure of it.