Love Can Be Murder

it was just too, too ludicrous. "Not really. It was a small crowd. Everyone seemed to have a good time."
    "We'll need a list of everyone who attended. What did you do after you left the party?"
    Penny looked up to gather her thoughts. "I went back to my apartment and I had—let's see—four voice messages on my recorder from Deke that he needed to talk to me." Then she winced. "No, wait, I need to go back... before I left Caskey's, I ran into Sheena Linder and she told me that Deke was looking for something at the house and that he thought I might know where it was."
    "For the record, Sheena Linder is Deke's girlfriend?"
    "Yes."
    "And she's the woman he had an affair with that ended your marriage."
    Penny wet her lips. "That's correct."
    "Okay, so Sheena tells you Deke wants to talk to you. Did she tell you he was home?"
    Penny frowned. "I don't remember exactly. I guess I just assumed that he was home, since he wasn't with her."
    "Where is your apartment?"
    "Over the beignet shop, across from Caskey's, on the square."
    "Uh-huh. So why did you decide to go to see Deke?"
    "The phone was busy."
    "Why didn't you just keep calling? Or let him call you back if it was so important?"
    "Because I—" Penny stopped. B.J. She'd forgotten all about meeting him. A flush began to work its way up her neck. How long had he waited? "Because I... wanted to go back and enjoy the festival."
    Maynard pivoted his head to address Allyson. "Do you mind if I ask a few questions?"
    Allyson's mouth twitched. "Go ahead." Although it was clear that she did mind.
    "So, Ms. Francisco," he said, "you decide to walk to the house to see what your ex-husband wanted."
    "Right. It's only a three-block walk."
    "Do you have any idea of what he was looking for?"
    "None whatsoever."
    "Can you venture a guess?"
    "Knowing Deke, it was probably a cigar lighter, or something like that."
    "Mighty helpful of you to be so worried about what it was he needed."
    Penny took another drink from the bottle of water. "I've tried to remain cordial after our split."
    "You didn't have any animosity toward your ex-husband?"
    "No."
    "None at all? I should warn you that we'll be questioning your friends and employees."
    Penny swallowed hard. "Well, I wasn't pleased that he had the house we lived in painted pink."
    "That's all?"
    She wet her lips and glanced at Gloria—when they'd been alone, she should have told her attorney about the fact that Deke might have been hiding assets. Gloria must have seen something in Penny's expression, because she lunged forward in her seat.
    "My client already said that she endeavored to remain cordial. Move along or this interview is over."
    Maynard sighed. "Okay, tell me what happened when you arrived at the house."
    "I rang the doorbell, but no one answered. I assumed Deke was still on the phone, and when I leaned on the door, it opened."
    His eyebrows shot up. "So, let me get this straight—the door was open when you got there, and you didn't think it was strange?"
    "Not really. The front door swells—you have to apply a lot of pressure to close it. I just assumed whoever had closed it last didn't take the time."
    He leaned his chin on his hand. "So you just went into the house?"
    Penny bristled. "I announced myself."
    "Did Mr. Black answer?"
    "No."
    "Then what did you do?"
    She decided to skip the fact that she'd snooped a bit. "I heard the television in his office—the door was ajar, and I could see that the light was on. I yelled a couple of more times from the foyer, then I went up and I...found him."
    Maynard leaned back and crossed his arms. "Can you be more specific?"
    She moistened her dry lips. "I opened the door and he was lying on the floor, with that thing coming out of his chest."
    "The wire stake."
    She nodded.
    "We'll get back to the stake," he promised, "but tell me what happened next."
    "I knelt over him to see if I could find a pulse, but there wasn't one." She closed her eyes briefly. "And that's when I got sick...I was just so scared, and I'd had a few drinks at Caskey's." She grimaced. "I don't usually drink."
    Maynard sighed heavily. "So you threw up on the deceased. Then what? Did you call 911?"
    "No. I thought about it," she added quickly. "But then it occurred to me that whoever had killed Deke might still be in the house. I heard a noise downstairs, so I picked up a cane to defend myself."
    "But if you were afraid, why didn't you call 911?"
    Because I was more afraid that this would happen. "All I could think