Love Can Be Murder

crazy you'd rather he be dead than with someone else."
    "That's not true," Penny said, exasperated. "If I were going to kill Deke, I certainly wouldn't have done it with a garden stake!"
    "Oh? How would you have killed him?"
    Penny opened her mouth to describe her fantasies but clamped it shut when she realized she'd been baited.
    Allyson smiled. "I think you were obsessed with him."
    Penny pressed her mouth together, suddenly close to tears. "I loved Deke, but when our relationship ended, I let it go."
    "Really?" Allyson gestured to Maynard, who reached into an inner jacket pocket and removed a plastic evidence bag. Inside was the lovebirds ornament emblazoned with Deke and Penny, forever. "Do you always carry this around in your purse?"
    Penny puffed out her cheeks in an exhale. "No. Deke gave it to me when we were first dating, and it was special to me. I forgot about it and left it in the house when I moved out."
    "And when did you get it back?"
    She bit down on the inside of her cheek. "Tonight."
    "When tonight—before you murdered Deke?"
    "Stop badgering my client," Gloria interjected.
    "Answer the question, Penny."
    She wiped her clammy palms on the thighs of her borrowed sweatpants and sighed. "When I got to the house, like I said, I thought Deke was still on the phone because he didn't answer when I called his name. I figured while I waited for him to finish his call, I might as well go to the attic and get the ornament."
    "Steal it, you mean."
    "It was mine," she countered. "Deke wouldn't have cared—it just wasn't worth bothering him."
    "But you didn't want him to know," Allyson said. "After all, he was engaged—you didn't want him to know you were still in love with him."
    "I wasn't in love with him, I just wanted the keepsake, that's all."
    Allyson crossed her arms. "There's blood on your clothes, Penny."
    She lifted her hands. "I must have gotten it when I leaned over him."
    "The CSI tech says they look like projected bloodstains, not transfer stains, which means you were standing in front of him or over him when the blood was spurting out of him."
    Penny winced and shook her head. "That's impossible. I didn't kill him. I wasn't there. He was already dead when I found him."
    Allyson held up her fingers, counting off. "You had motive, opportunity, and you just happened to be the one who found the body. From where I'm sitting, this is practically an open-and-shut case."
    Penny's stomach bottomed out. "But I didn't kill Deke."
    Allyson pounded her fist on the table. "Then who did?"
    Gloria stood abruptly. "Figuring that out is your job, Chief. Are you finished? My client is obviously exhausted from her ordeal."
    "I'm finished, all right." Allyson's hand hovered over the handcuffs at her side, but Maynard cleared his throat.
    "Give us a minute, Counselor." He looked at Allyson and nodded toward the hallway. She followed, looking none too pleased.
    When the door closed, Gloria collapsed into the chair. "Penny, this is serious, and I have to tell you, I'm in way over my head here. If they arrest you, you have to get another attorney."
    Penny bit her lip. "There's more."
    Gloria held up her hand. "Whatever it is, I don't want to know."
    "But this concerns you." Penny looked at the window. "Can they hear me?"
    "No. They're not allowed to listen in when a suspect talks to their attorney."
    Penny lifted her eyebrows. "I thought you knew nothing about criminal law."
    Gloria sighed. "That's about the extent of it. What is this thing that concerns me?"
    "Deke's paralegal told my employee Marie Gaston that Deke hid assets during the divorce settlement."
    Gloria closed her eyes. "Oh, this is bad. And when did Marie give you this information?"
    "During the party."
    "Before or after you stabbed the voodoo doll?"
    "Um...before."
    Gloria mouthed a curse word.
    The door opened and Maynard returned, alone. "Today's your lucky day, Ms. Francisco. We decided not to make an arrest until the crime scene evidence has been processed."
    Penny almost wet herself with relief.
    Then Maynard's eyebrows came together in a dark frown. "You're free to go, but don't take any trips. Oh, and a search warrant is being served on your apartment as we speak." He left the room, banging the door shut.
    Gloria melted into her chair. "Tell me you burned that voodoo doll."
    "It's at my apartment."
    "Oh, God, we're in deep shit."
    Penny winced. "More like deep voodoo."

Chapter Thirteen

    Then stir things up again...

    "ARE YOU SURE YOU’LL BE