Ashes to Dust (Las Vegas Mystery)

along.”
    “And you were okay with that situation?”
    “I had two choices,” Miller said. “I could stay, or I could leave. If I left, there was no hope for me. If I stayed, she might change her mind about me, and the situation could improve.”
    “What caused you to leave, finally?”
    “Laura, Crystal, and Erin had a girls’ night out together. Apparently they got back to Erin’s house and continued to party. Laura was too drunk to drive, so she sent me a text message saying she would be spending the night. I had been asleep. I woke up to an empty bed, got up to check my messages, and found her text message. She had only sent it a half hour earlier, so I called her and offered to pick her up. She said she would spend the night there.”
    “And the reason,” Alice interjected, “that you didn’t want her spending the night…?”
    Miller arched his eyebrows. “I didn’t want Erin Potter putting the make on my girlfriend.”
    “What about Crystal?” Snow asked. “Was she also spending the night?”
    Miller shrugged and shook his head. “I don’t know. I imagine so.”
    Snow raised an eyebrow, imagining the scenario. It was an attractive image. “So what happened after that?”
    “She came home the next morning—or I should say later that morning—and we argued about it. She told me she wanted me out of her house. So I left.”
    “During the argument you never struck her?” Alice said.
    “I didn’t even touch her,” Miller insisted. “I’ve never hit anyone, ever, in my entire life. You can ask anyone who has known me.”
    “There was a time when you pushed her? When she hit her head?” Alice said.
    Miller shook his head. “Nothing like that ever happened.”
    “After all that—why did you want her back?”
    “I loved her. I always have.”
    “Even though to her you were nothing more than a stand-in?”
    “That may sound stupid and pitiful to you,” Miller said, his eyes beginning to dampen. “But I always hoped I would someday graduate to something more in her life. If I just gave up and walked away for good—I would never have that chance.”

    “She must have been something terrific in bed,” Snow said, backing out of the driveway.
    Alice wrinkled her face up at him. “You men are all alike. All you think about is sex.”
    Shifting the Sonata into drive, Snow gave a wave to the camper and accelerated down the street. “In the teen years,” he said, “I would have to say that’s true. But as we mature, we begin to appreciate some of the finer things in life.”
    “Like beer and food,” Alice suggested.
    “And sporting events,” Snow said. “We must have something to watch while ingesting the beer and food.”
    “What about Dancing with the Stars ?”
    Snow moaned. “Good God. If I were a woman, I think I’d kill myself.”
    Alice chuckled softly.
    “At any rate,” Snow said, “what do we do now? We’ve got Kevin Miller on the rotisserie, as he said. Should we continue down that road, or what?”
    “We don’t have anything concrete yet,” Alice said. “We have Erin’s word against Kevin’s. That won’t get us anywhere. We need to talk to more people.” She reached behind her and pulled a flat black case up off the floor of the back seat. She set it on her lap, unzipped it, and removed a twelve-inch notebook computer from the case. After removing a mobile broadband connect card from the pocket of the case, she plugged it into a USB port and booted up the computer.
    “What are you searching for?” Snow said.
    “I’m wondering whether Kevin Miller has an ex-wife somewhere. We could talk to his family and friends. But I’m fairly sure they would be reluctant to say anything negative about him. You never know. But I was thinking it might be better to start with a negative viewpoint and work our way up—if we have to.”
    Snow nodded. “Good thinking. I like the way your mind works.”

They were sitting in Alice’s office, Alice at her desk in her swivel chair, Snow beside her in his chair. The speakerphone was positioned between them on the desk.
    The woman’s voice came through the speaker a little tinny, yet clear. “Hello, this is Deanna.”
    Alice leaned toward the speakerphone. “Hello, Deanna. This is Alice James, and I have with me my associate, Jim Snow.”
    Snow leaned forward. “Hello, Deanna. I want to thank you for taking the time to talk to us. We know how valuable Sundays can be, and we want you know how much we appreciate