Leanne hesitated, then stepped aside."She's in the living room.And if she asks you to leave, you leave.Understood?"
"Understood," Miles said.
They followed Leanne through a narrow entryway into a spacious living room with exposed brick walls and hardwood floors.Large windows let in the evening light.Fiona Williams sat on a leather couch with a box of tissues in her lap.She was younger than Miles expected, maybe late thirties, with blonde hair and delicate features.Her face was blotchy from crying.
"Mrs.Williams," Miles said gently."I'm Agent Sterling, this is Agent Stone.We're very sorry for your loss."
Fiona looked up at them with hollow eyes."They said he was murdered.That someone killed him in a hotel room."Her voice broke on the last words."He was having an affair.The police didn’t exactly tell me, but they did a terrible job keeping a straight face.All this time I thought he was working late and he was with some woman in a hotel.He just…he…that bastard…"
Leanne moved to sit beside her sister, putting an arm around her shoulders."You don't have to talk about that right now."
"Yes, I do.They need to know."Fiona wiped at her eyes with a tissue."I didn't know about the affair.I had no idea.Does that make me an idiot?That my husband was renting a hotel room for a month and I didn't notice?"
"You're not an idiot," Vic said."People hide things.That's on him, not you."
"Did your husband mention anyone threatening him?"Miles asked."Anyone he was having problems with?"
"No.Michael didn't talk about work much.He'd come home stressed sometimes but he never said why.I just assumed it was normal job pressure."Fiona twisted the tissue in her hands."He'd been more nervous lately.The past few weeks especially.I thought maybe there was a big deal going south or something.But it was probably the affair.Probably guilt finally catching up to him."
"What about enemies?"Vic asked."Anyone who might have wanted to hurt him?"
"Michael worked in finance.I'm sure people didn't like him, but he never mentioned anyone specific.He was good at his job.He made a lot of money.That's all I really knew.Whenever a conversation would get too close to the heart of his work, he’d get this fucking…thisattitude.He’d…he’d…”
She went from angry to gut-wrenchingly sad in the space of about two seconds.Her angry words turned into huge sobs.She buried her face in her hands and rocked back and forth as Leanne hurried over to hug her.
Miles glanced around the room.There were framed photographs on the mantle above the fireplace.Some showed Williams at various events, always smiling, always polished.In several of the photos, the platinum Rolex was visible on his wrist.He looked around for only twenty seconds or so before Fiona had shifted gears again.She was still fuming and apparently, that was winning out over sorrow right now.
"Your husband wore a platinum Rolex," Miles said when he thought she seemed open to more questions."Did he own any other platinum jewelry?"
Fiona nodded."His wedding band.He had it plated in platinum about a year ago to match the watch.He said tungsten looked cheap next to platinum and he wanted everything to coordinate."
"Do you remember who did the plating?"
"Some jeweler in Manhattan.I don't remember the name.Michael handled all of that himself."She looked down at her own hands, at the simple gold band on her finger."He cared more about his jewelry than I did.I just wore what he bought me for anniversaries."
"Can you think of anything else that might help us?"Vic asked."Anything unusual about his behavior or routines?"
She thought about it for a moment, wiping the tears that ran down her cheek away quickly, as if she was ashamed of them.
"He was distracted.That's all I can tell you.He'd forget conversations we'd had, forget things he was supposed to do.I thought he was just overworked."Fiona's voice hardened slightly."Turns out he was just too busy lying to me."
Leanne stood up suddenly."I think that's enough.My sister just found out her husband was murdered and cheating on her all in one fell swoop.She doesn't need you two asking the same questions the police already covered."
Miles held up a hand."Just one more question.”
Leanne sneered but said nothing else.
“Mrs.Williams, did your husband ever mention feeling like he was being watched?Or did you notice anyone unusual around the house?"
Fiona shook her head and for the first time since they’d arrived, she looked slightly concerned about the question."No,” she finally answered.“No, nothing like that."
"All right."Miles handed her his card."If you think of anything else, please call me.Day or night."
Fiona took the card but didn't look at it.She just stared at the tissue box in her lap, tears streaming down her face.Diane walked them back to the front door, her expression tight and her steps so hard that it seemed like she was trying to stamp a hole in the floor.
"She loved him,” Fiona said.“Even after finding out about the affair, she still loves him.That's what makes this so awful."
"I can’t begin to imagine what she’s going through," Vic said.“But I hope you understand that we’re only trying to do our jobs—to find out who did this.”