Alien in the House

them why we haven’t punished anyone for Santiago’s death. Or Edmund’s. Or Eugene’s.”
    “Eugene was punished for Santiago’s death,” Lydia said with a sniff that I was sure was supposed to sound like she was a second away from breaking down. Couldn’t speak for anyone else, but I didn’t buy it.
    “Actually, I think he was punished for something else.”
    “What’s that?” Gadoire asked, as Vance joined us.
    “Eugene was a bad boy, wasn’t he? I mean, he seemed like this nice, normal guy. But he was cheating on his wife with a former supermodel.”
    “That was over,” Lydia snapped.
    “Funny, three days ago you said you didn’t know about his affair with Nathalie. So I’m betting you did, and while it was going on, too, not just after it was over. After all, you’re not a stupid woman. So I’m also betting you knew that, once Nathalie had broken their affair off, Eugene took up with someone else in the group. Pia Ryan to be exact.”
    “We barely knew her and my personal business is none of yours.”
    “It is when you murder people in my home. Then it becomes all my business. There’s a lot of murder going on right now—lots of representatives dead, and everyone’s just acting like it’s business as usual. But the way Santiago was killed, that was showy. In a really bad way.”
    “What does that have to do with me? Other than my husband being shot in your driveway?”
    “Why the phony outrage, Lydia? That’s exactly what you wanted to have happen.”
    “Kitty,” Cliff said in a warning tone, “be careful with what you’re saying.”
    “Why? See, I’m just a nosy person. Can’t help it. Always been a failing. So when someone I care about gets murdered, I just sort of have to find out why. Pathological, really. Just had to dig into what the hell was going on. And while I dug, something kept bothering me, over and over again.”
    “What was that?” Abner asked. Was sure he thought I was going nuts and he was baiting me. Worked for what I wanted, so I was good with it.
    “Well, all the things Eugene told me before he died.” Lydia stiffened but didn’t speak. I continued. “He’d been set up by Pia Ryan to kill Edmund because Pia had convinced Eugene that Edmund was a robot.”
    No one in this group snorted or even looked shocked. Not a surprise, really. “That rumor’s been around for a while,” Culver said. “Not about Edmund, just in general.”
    “I’ll bet it has. I can buy Pia using Eugene to help her kill off someone. But what I can’t buy is that she’d do all the work to get him primed and ready, and believing that there were many more ‘robots’ out there, and then set him up to be caught red-handed.”
    “This is truly farfetched,” Lydia said, with a little laugh. “But do go on.”
    “Someone quite wise in the ways of murder and killing suggested I ask not just why Santiago, accidentally standing in for Edmund, was killed in such a public and showy way, but to find out who would benefit from Edmund’s death, or from Eugene’s capture.”
    Lydia gasped. “Nathalie’s benefiting. Do you think she’s the one who did this?”
    “Not really. She isn’t power-hungry, and she doesn’t want to be a politician. For her, this is all a loss. Because her husband forgave her for her affair and their marriage was stronger now. No, I think the person benefiting from Edmund, Eugene, and Pia dying is the person who hasn’t forgiven one affair, let alone two.”
    “What do you mean?” Abner asked. This time he sounded interested.
    “You mean you think it’s Lydia,” Vance said. “I mean, she’s power-hungry, her husband was cheating on her, and she’s vying for the job as Ap—ouch!”
    Rhee stepped on his foot. “I am so terribly sorry,” she said politely. Cliff and Chuckie both had their phones out and were texting like mad.
    “There’s a backroom power struggle going on.” Well, that was easier than doing the whole Sith Lord explanation, and it was still accurate. “In order to curry favor with the big boss, lower level lieutenants have to do things, including kill off people the big boss wants out of the way. They’re in competition with each other for the right-hand man slot. Pia and Lydia were two of these lieutenants.
    “Lydia has no love for Eugene any more—he’s not interested in her Washington career and cheated on her with a woman far more attractive than she is. She’s got no love for Nathalie Brewer, either, who she can