Love Can Be Murder

chiropractic clinics. She had always been the personality of the trio, as well as the fashion plate—and still was, as evidenced by her Tory Burch tweed jacket over Decca jeans and the Fendi bag—things that Penny recognized from the Saks ads in the Post.
    Wendy was a quiet, petite, raven-haired beauty from Atlanta who had never been married. She ran an art gallery—perfect for her reserved nature and refined taste. Only Wendy could look so feminine in her tiny Versace glasses and tailored boyish clothes, her long hair pulled back into a simple ponytail.
    Liz lifted a gift bag. "Where do you want the gag gifts?"
    Marie pointed to a gaily decorated table just inside the door. "Put them there and Penny can open them later. I'm going to get a round of drinks." She grinned at Penny, then skipped out of the room, leaving the three of them alone.
    Penny flushed under Liz's direct gaze. "What—you couldn't call and tell us that you and Deke were getting a divorce?"
    "You didn't call me when you got your last divorce," Penny pointed out.
    Liz shrugged. "You'd only met Richard once. Besides, I wasn't exactly torn up about it."
    Penny lifted her chin slightly.
    "Not that you're torn up about it," Wendy said quickly, then winced and touched Penny's arm. "Are you?"
    "She's having a party, isn't she?" Liz said, swatting at an errant balloon.
    "What happened?" Wendy asked, her voice laced with curiosity and concern.
    Penny shrugged and tried to sound philosophical. "Deke found someone else."
    Liz rolled her eyes. "How young is she?"
    "Young," Penny admitted. "And...voluptuous. I caught them together...in our bed."
    "I'm so sorry," Wendy said, giving her a hug.
    "Well, I'm not," Liz declared to Penny. "You've never looked better in your life, so the divorce must be agreeing with you."
    "You're gorgeous," Wendy agreed.
    "Thanks," Penny said, knowing they were trying to make her feel better, and letting them.
    "Are you changing your name back to Francisco?" Wendy asked.
    Penny nodded. "Already done."
    "I assume you got the house," Liz said, tapping her foot.
    "No, but I had a good attorney—I called Gloria Dalton."
    Liz's eyebrows climbed. "Gloria is a great attorney—she didn't get you the house?"
    Penny smiled. "Deke got the house, but I got the rental property across the street."
    "Which is your health food store," Wendy said. "Right?"
    "Liz pointed it out to me when we drove in—it looks terrific."
    "Thanks, I really love it. And business is good, knock on wood."
    Wendy's dark eyes widened. "But you're across the street from Deke in the house—that's kind of icky, isn't it?"
    "It hasn't been easy," Penny conceded. "His girlfriend moved in."
    "Well," Liz said dryly, "that explains the pink paint job. I knew that wasn't your handiwork."
    Penny made a face and shook her head. "I confronted Deke about it this morning and he said it's what she wants."
    Wendy frowned. "Who is this woman?"
    Penny sighed. "The town bimbo, unfortunately. And she owns the local tanning salon."
    Liz snorted. "Couldn't Deke at least have been original?"
    "Did the two of you just grow apart?" Wendy asked.
    Good question, one that Penny had asked herself a hundred times. "We must have," she said carefully. "We were happy for the first few years we lived here, but I was bored working in his law office, so I suggested opening the health food store. Deke was against it, but in the end he gave in—I think he believed it would go under within a couple of months and I'd come back to work with him." Penny made a rueful noise. "I thought it was a good thing, that maybe we were spending too much time together, but that's when things started to go south."
    "Is his mother still alive?" Liz asked.
    Penny nodded. "And she's still the mayor. She always tried to interfere in our marriage, but Deke stood up to her." Penny frowned. "At first. Then his practice started to slide. When I left to start the health food store, his business dropped off even more, and his entire personality changed. I think he blamed me for leaving him without an office manager. He was jumpy and irritable, and...paranoid."
    Liz crossed her arms. "Paranoid?"
    "Paranoid might not be the right word—stressed. He was stressed all the time, working longer and longer hours. That's when I began to suspect that something was wrong."
    "Sounds like drugs," Liz muttered.
    Penny bit down on the inside of her cheek. She had considered the possibility, and it would have explained a lot of things, like his