Ashes to Dust (Las Vegas Mystery)
and let Tyson deal with her. I didn’t want to talk to her. I don’t like dealing with people like that.”
“And Tyson? How did he usually react?”
She shook her head slowly, frowning. “Like he does with just about everyone who pisses him off: yelling, name-calling, swearing.”
“Did he ever threaten her?” Snow asked.
“No. He doesn’t threaten people. Just yells, swears, and throws things—but not at anyone. He’s all bark and no bite.”
“Is there any chance that he might have tried to harm her?” Snow said.
April shook her head. “No. That’s not like him. He doesn’t even like to spank the kids. He makes me do it.”
Snow nodded. “Were you home with him Tuesday night?”
She looked down at the table, her face flushing. “No. He was home alone. I didn’t get home until around five in the morning. I had the kids with me.”
Alice and Snow glanced at each other, then back at April.
“Do you mind if we ask where you were?” Alice asked.
She swallowed, pressing her lips firmly together. She continued to stare at the table without answering.
“Tyson thinks you’re having an affair with your boss,” Alice said. “Is that who you were with?”
She let out a short laugh and looked up at Alice. “No. That’s silly. My boss is a nice guy. We’re good friends. He has a family. I’ve never been involved with him. Tyson has an overactive imagination.”
“Who were you with?” Alice pressed.
April sighed. “Okay, there has been someone else. He stopped me for speeding. He’s a police officer—works for North Las Vegas. He’s a really nice guy. I gave him my cell phone number. He called me, and it developed from there.” She shrugged. “It was one of those things. I wasn’t looking for an affair—it just happened.”
Alice and Snow said nothing.
“He’s wonderful,” April continued. “He picks the kids up from school for me sometimes and takes them to his place. They adore him. I spent the evening there with him Tuesday night.”
“So no one can vouch for Tyson’s whereabouts Tuesday night,” Snow said.
She shrugged and nodded. “That’s true, unfortunately. But I’m sure he was home all night. He couldn’t have gone anywhere for very long.”
“What brings you to that conclusion?” Alice said.
“Because I took the garbage out before I left for work Tuesday morning. When I got home Wednesday morning, there must have been at least twenty empty beer cans in there.”
Snow shifted his eyes toward Alice and raised an eyebrow. He leaned forward, pulled his notepad out of his back pocket, and scribbled.
Alice looked at his notation, rolled her eyes, and shook her head. To April, she said, “How many beers does Tyson drink in an hour?”
“Two, on average,” she said.
“And what time does he usually start drinking?”
“Around nine o’clock in the morning.”
“So,” Alice suggested, “if he drank from nine a.m. until three p.m., that would be twelve beers. Then even if he got back as late as nine p.m., he could have easily finished off eight more beers by one a.m.”
“That’s true,” April said. “I guess empty beer cans isn’t much of an alibi.”
“No, it’s not,” Alice agreed. “It suggests that he was sitting around drinking and brooding, and possibly got himself worked up into a frenzy—and acted on impulse.”
Snow scribbled some more, then looked up at April. “How are you dealing with all of this?”
April folded her arms. “This has been pretty bad. Worse than anything I’ve ever been through in my entire life. I’ve tried to get Tyson to see a counselor, but he has always refused. I know there aren’t any jobs around here, but I suggested to him that he could drive a truck. They always need long-haul truckers, and the pay isn’t that bad. He’d have to live in a truck practically all the time. And sleep in it, and eat at those truck stops. But it wouldn’t be that bad. A lot of people do it. But he didn’t like that idea.
“And now all of this is going on with the murder of our landlady. The police have been interrogating both Tyson and me, and some of our friends; now you’re here. Everybody’s been looking at me funny, and I know they’re talking behind my back about it.
“Anyway, Donald and I have talked about this, and he wants me to move in with him right away. I think that’s best; in fact, I know it’s best. I need a clean break from this situation. So I’ve decided to notify Tyson that
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