Don't Cry Now Read Online Free PDF Page B

you mind if we ask you a few questions?” Captain Mahoney asked as Detective Kritzic opened the door and stepped inside.
    â€œThat’s quite a crowd,” she muttered, clearly flushed by her brief encounter with celebrity.
    â€œMr. Wheeler, this is Detective Natalie Kritzic.”
    Detective Kritzic nodded, self-consciously tucking an autographed picture of Marla Brenzelle behind her back. “I understand you’re her director,” she said. “I’m a big fan.”
    I’m in serious trouble, Bonnie thought. The world is in serious trouble.
    Rod accepted the compliment graciously. “Whatever I can do to cooperate, I’ll be happy to…”
    â€œYou’re Joan Wheeler’s ex-husband?” Captain Mahoney asked.
    â€œYes.”
    â€œMay I ask how long you were married?”
    â€œNine years.”
    â€œAnd you divorced when?”
    â€œSeven years ago.”
    â€œChildren?”
    â€œA boy and a girl.” He looked to Bonnie for help.
    â€œSam is sixteen and Lauren is fourteen,” she offered.
    Rod nodded. Everyone watched while Captain Mahoney jotted down this latest information.
    â€œDid your ex-wife have any enemies that you know of, Mr. Wheeler?”
    Rod shrugged. “My ex-wife wasn’t exactly Miss Congeniality, Captain. She didn’t have many friends. But enemies…I couldn’t say.”
    â€œWhen was the last time you saw your ex-wife, Mr. Wheeler?”
    Rod gave the question a moment’s thought. “Christmas, probably, when I took over some gifts for the kids.”
    â€œAnd the last time you spoke to her on the phone?”
    â€œI can’t remember the last time I spoke to her on the phone.”
    â€œAnd yet, according to your wife, she often called your house.”
    â€œMy ex-wife was an alcoholic, Captain Mahoney,” Rod said, as if this somehow explained everything.
    â€œWere you on good terms with your ex-wife, Mr. Wheeler?”
    â€œDon’t answer that,” Diana advised from across the room, her voice quiet but forceful nonetheless. “It has no relevancy here.”
    â€œI have no problem answering the question,” Rod informed Diana curtly. “No, of course we weren’t on good terms. She was nuttier than a fruitcake.”
    â€œGood one,” Bonnie heard Diana mutter, not quite under her breath, as she raised her hands in defeat, her eyes rolling to the top of her head.
    Captain Mahoney allowed a slight smile to crease the corners of his mouth. “According to your wife, your ex-wife called her this morning to warn her she was in some kind of danger. Do you have any idea what she might have been referring to?”
    â€œJoan said you were in danger?” Rod asked his wife, his voice echoing the look of incredulity that had settled, like a mask, over his features. He brought his hand to his forehead, rubbed it until it grew pink. “I have no idea what she was talking about.”
    â€œWho would profit by your ex-wife’s death, Mr. Wheeler?”
    Rod looked slowly from Captain Mahoney to his wife, then back to Captain Mahoney. “I don’t understand the question.”
    â€œI advise you not to answer it,” Diana interrupted again.
    â€œWhat are you asking?” Rod asked impatiently, although it was hard to tell whether his impatience was directed at the police or at Diana.
    â€œDid your ex-wife carry any life insurance policies? Had she made a will?”
    â€œI don’t know whether or not she had a will,” Rod answered, each word carefully measured. “I know she carried life insurance because I paid the premiums. It was part of our divorce settlement,” he explained.
    â€œAnd who is the beneficiary of that policy?” Captain Mahoney asked.
    â€œHer children. And myself,” Rod added.
    â€œAnd how much is that policy for?”
    â€œTwo hundred and fifty thousand dollars,” Rod replied.
    â€œAnd