A flush crept up his neck.“No.I was with Grace.”
“The entire evening?”
“Yes,” he said, then reached for the desk phone.“You can ask her yourself.”He pressed a button.“Grace, could you join us for a moment?”
Less than thirty seconds later, Grace entered the office, her steps hesitant.“Yes?”
“Sheriff Graves wants to know where I was last night,” Keir said, watching Jenna rather than Grace.“Please tell her.”
Grace's cheeks colored.“He was at his apartment.I was there too.”
“All night?”Jenna asked directly.
Grace's gaze flicked to Keir, then back to Jenna.“Yes.All night.I’m … we’re …”
“We’re living together now,” Keir said, completing her thought.
Grace nodded, avoiding eye contact.
“Thank you, Ms.Thompson,” Jenna said.“That will be all for now.”
After Grace departed, Keir spread his hands in a gesture of openness.“I know that was awkward, but as you can see, I have an alibi.And while my relationship with Grace isn't exactly a secret in Trentville, I want to be clear that it didn't start until after Claudia and I separated.”
Jenna didn't bother challenging the timeline, which contradicted what she'd heard around town.“Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to harm Claudia?Did she have any enemies, anyone she was afraid of?”
Keir leaned back in his chair, eyes distant as if searching through memories.“Claudia was well-liked.She was a good teacher, involved in the community.She did weekly story hours for kids at the local library.She enjoyed all that, felt fulfilled.”His brow furrowed.“But there was...something …”
Keir fell silent for a moment.
“Something happened recently,” he said.“Something that really upset her.”
Jenna leaned forward, alert.“What was it?”
Keir met Jenna's gaze.“I don’t know exactly.But there was someone who terrified her.”
CHAPTER SIX
Jenna leaned forward slightly, her attention fixed on Keir Kingsley.His expensive office chair was tilted back just enough to suggest casual confidence, but his eyes betrayed him—darting between her and Jake, then down to his manicured hands.Jenna thought maybe he was stalling, and patience had never been her strongest virtue.
“Mr.Kingsley,” she prompted.“You said your wife was afraid of someone.Who?”
Keir swallowed hard.A bead of sweat traced the edge of his hairline.He adjusted his tie and cleared his throat.
“Look, maybe this sounds crazy,” he finally said.“But Claudia told me quite seriously that she was afraid of her acting teacher.”
Jenna felt a jolt of recognition.She knew immediately what acting teacher Keir meant.She had never met the man personally, but she knew of him.Gregory Ashton, the director at Trentville’s Mountain View Theater, had blown in from New York like a storm front three years ago, bringing with him airs of Broadway and leaving behind a trail of both admirers and detractors.His reputation in town was divided between those who thought he was brilliant and those who considered him some sort of sadist who ought to be fired.
Jake asked Keir, “Do you mean Gregory Ashton?”
Keir looked relieved that they knew the name.“Yes.Gregory Ashton.”
“Tell us about that,” Jenna said, keeping her voice even.“When did she mention this fear to you?”
“When we met for coffee last week.The meeting I mentioned earlier—about the house and finances.”His eyes found a spot on the wall behind Jenna's head.“She seemed...I don't know.Different.Quieter.”
“Different how?”Jake asked.
“Jumpy.Distracted.”Keir's brow furrowed.“At first I thought it was just the awkwardness of our situation.But then she mentioned that she had dropped her acting class.And the way she said it … her expression …”