Where Truth Lies Read Online Free PDF Page B

these days.”

    “Because of your affair with Steven?”

    “That, but mostly because of Fred’s arrest. The people in New Hope worship him. He was so much more than their police chief. He was their friend, their champion, their advisor. They could talk to him about anything. Fred was always there, ready to help. I can’t even tell you how many marriages he saved, just by making each couple talk to each other. The residents revered him almost as much as they do Father Donnelly, who’s pretty much of a saint in these parts. And now, Fred’s in jail and it’s all my fault.”

    “Guilt is a heavy burden to carry, Denise. And it doesn’t change anything. All it does is make you feel bad.”

    “I wouldn’t feel half as bad if Fred was guilty, but he isn’t. He didn’t kill Steven!”

    There was a conviction in her voice as she spoke those words that made Grace pay instant attention. “I don’t understand. From what I heard—”

    “I know what you heard. None of it is true. My husband did not kill Steven Hatfield.”

    “Wasn’t his gun found outside the gallery? With his fingerprints on it?”

    “Pft.” Denise gave a disdainful toss of her blond curls. “Do you think for one second that anyone with an ounce of intelligence would drop the murder weapon as he fled? Which is what Chief Nader says happened.”

    “It does sound a little…”

    “Sloppy. And Fred is anything but sloppy. That’s what I told Josh. The man worked with Fred since the day he got out of the army. He knows him better than anyone.”

    “But you said there was an investigation.”

    She rolled her eyes. “If you can call that an investigation. The little Josh did, he did for show.”

    “What do you think happened?”

    Looking restless, Denise stood up and started walking around the gallery, stopping to look at a painting every now and then. “It all started at Pat’s Pub, where Fred likes to stop for a beer every evening, you know, just to shoot the bull with his friends. That evening, he walked in on a conversation that sent him into orbit. Cal and Lou Badger, two hopeless morons, were talking about me and Steven, apparently in vivid details.

    “Fred would have killed them with his bare hands if Eddie—that’s the pub’s owner—hadn’t stopped him. Then he stormed out, and because he was in such a rage, everyone assumed he was on his way here, to the gallery.”

    “He wasn’t?”

    “Fred isn’t the type to make a scene in a place of business. He’s much too decent to do that. He went home to wait for me.”

    “So you can vouch for him? You can give him an alibi?”

    “No.” Denise’s shoulders slumped. “I was working on a new line. I make jewelry,” she explained. “And I didn’t leave my shop until about seven. When I got home, the police were there, handcuffing Fred.”

    “If your husband didn’t do it, then who did?”

    “Take your pick.”

    That was a strange comment. Steven wasn’t the type to have enemies. “What do you mean by that?”

    “Steven had his share of enemies in this town, starting with Buzz Brown.”

    “Who is Buzz Brown?”

    “He owns a large farm on Route 232. Six months ago his wife became very ill. Buzz tried to sell his property to a developer so he could move Alma to Arizona, but Steven, who was a member of the township planning board, strongly objected to the developer’s plan to build three hundred single-family homes on the site.

    “When the township residents heard that the subdivision would destroy the character of the area, increase traffic and raise taxes, they started attending the planning board meetings and voiced their concerns. As a result, the application was denied and a few weeks later, Alma died. Buzz held Steven personally responsible for his wife’s death. They never spoke after that.”

    “Six months is a long time, don’t you think?” Grace asked. “Assuming that Buzz Brown was mad enough to kill, why didn’t he do it right