A Farewell to Yarns

wanted her out of his life, all he had to do was divorce her.“
    “And pay a huge alimony,“ Shelley said.
    “I don’t think it would matter to him. He’s got so much more money than he can ever spend, and I’m certain Phyllis wouldn’t have asked him for much. He would have known that about her. No, the one Chet might have wanted to get rid of was Bobby, not Phyllis. Bobby was really the one wrecking his happy life.”
    The three women sat silently for a moment, contemplating. Finally Shelley said, “Go back to this theory of yours about Bobby being the killer. Was he there?“
    “Oh, yes. In all his radiant glory. Hung over and being thoroughly nasty.“
    “He came in about one o’clock,“ Fiona added. “At least somebody did. There was door slamming and swearing that woke me up. I assumed it was several people, but it could have been just one noisy one talking to himself.”
    Shelley considered. “I don’t know, Jane. He’s brash, but I don’t think he’s got that much nerve. To kill his mother, then stay in the house waiting to be found. Who called the police, by the way?“
    “I didn’t think to ask. I guess he did.“
    “No, I don’t think he’d have the balls for that. He’s arrogant, but I suspect he’s a coward at heart. Most arrogant people are. Besides, how would he benefit from her death? He’d have to know that Chet would cut off the funds to him the minute Phyllis was gone.“
    “But who knows?“ Jane insisted. “Suppose Chet had turned a lot of assets over to Phyllis and she’d willed them to Bobby? Chet’s a lot older than Phyllis and might have thought it would be easier for her to get along someday without him if half their assets were in her name.”
    Fiona said, “That could be. A lot of couples prefer dividing assets to having them in joint custody. It doesn’t make sense legally, but some people still do it. If that were true, the boy could have it all at once rather than at the pleasure of his mother.“
    “I can’t imagine Phyllis having the sense to make a will,“ Jane said. “But maybe, under the circumstances, she did. But would Bobby know what was in it?”
    Shelley gave her a pitying look. “Phyllis? She told him everything. You saw them together. She was desperate to find anything to arouse his interest in her. And I’m sure talk about a will would do it.“
    “I think you may be right. Now, while we’re considering domestic suspects, what about John Wagner?“
    “John Wagner!“ Fiona exclaimed. “You don’t mean the John Wagner who lives over on Oak Lane, do you?”
    Jane nodded.
    “He’s a perfectly odious man. I wouldn’t put anything past him.“ Noticing her companions’ startled expressions, she explained, “Shortly after we moved here, he approached Albert about a community fund-raising project to buy a couple of lots and turn them into a park. Albert was disposed to be helpful until your Mr. Wagner laid out the plans. The way he saw it, I would contribute virtually all the money, Albert would do all the work, and Wagner would get all the credit, including having the park named for him. Of course, Albert refused, and Wagner became extremely offensive about our finances and status.”
    Jane could well imagine. He probably made some crack about it really being Richie Divine’s money, not theirs. At least, that was the sort of thing he’d say.
    Fiona’s face was flushed. The memory really rankled. “I’m sorry. That’s entirely beside the point. I shouldn’t have mentioned it.“
    “No, I’m glad you did,“ Jane assured her. “Let me tell you the things he said about me when we were on the volleyball team—“
    “Jane, that’s hardly relevant,“ Shelley said. “We’re agreed that he’s a son of a bitch. But does that mean he’d murder his stepmother? And if so, why wait all these years?“
    “Well, for one thing, she was in Chicago, right under his nose. I don’t think she’d been back here since he became and adult. It would have been a lot harder to fly into the island and get out again without being noticed. But that doesn’t matter. I don’t think he would have killed her. I think he would have killed Bobby, or tried to. See, it’s the same with Chet or John Wagner. The thing that changed in their lives was the addition of Bobby. It was when he came along that everything started to go wrong.“
    “How would he have known where they were?“ Fiona asked. “She only saw the house yesterday afternoon and