Love Can Be Murder

stabbed."
    "Oh."
    She started to get up. "Look, this was a bad idea...I'm in a lot of trouble...I shouldn't even be here...with you."
    He put his hand on her arm. "Maybe I can help."
    She looked down at his big hand, thinking how wrong everything seemed—Deke was gone and another man was touching her, offering help. Her eyes welled with tears, and she was afraid to move or speak. Mortification rolled over her in waves.
    "Shhh," he murmured. "Don't break down...not now. There are too many eyes."
    He was right. She blinked furiously just as Ted returned to slide two mugs of coffee across the table. She sat back down and drank deeply from hers, feeling somewhat calmer. "Are you saying that I should hire you to help clear me?"
    He shrugged. "Maybe."
    "Are you any good?" The words hung in the air, thick with the implication of what might have happened tonight if she hadn't gone to Deke's.
    A little smile curved his mouth. "The best in three states."
    What was he going to say? Still, she believed him. Yet the urge to tell this man everything scared her a little. "Do you have some sort of ID or something that says you're what you say you are?"
    He withdrew his wallet and showed her a card-sized registration for his agency. Beaumont Investigative Agency. "I started the business with my brother about five years ago."
    Then he showed her his Louisiana driver's license—on top of everything else, he was photogenic. She nodded, satisfied.
    "Are you still interested?" he asked, then smiled. "In my help, I mean?"
    The idea of relying on him was unnerving simply because she was so physically attracted to him, which was a bit insane considering her situation. Regardless, it wouldn't hurt to have someone with his expertise on her side until things settled down. "Are you expensive?"
    He winked. "Don't worry—you can afford me."
    "Okay, you're hired."
    He nodded, as if it had been a foregone conclusion. "Now, tell me more about this voodoo doll."

Chapter Fourteen

    Keep stirring to prevent anything from sticking...

    PENNY TOOK A DEEP BREATH, then told B.J. about the gag gifts and how everyone had goaded her to stab the voodoo doll. "It was just a joke, of course."
    A half-smile curved his mouth. "But it probably felt good."
    She nodded sheepishly. "Of course now I feel terrible."
    "Was it a bad breakup?"
    She shrugged, loath to share all the sordid details. "I caught him with Sheena, I moved out, I filed for divorce."
    "Rather recently, I assume?"
    "It all started about ten months ago, and it was final this week."
    He grunted. "So, his girlfriend tells you he wants something, you call and the line is busy, then you go to his house and find him dead."
    "Right. In his office."
    "You still have a key to the house?"
    She pursed her mouth. "Probably a couple." One on the extra key ring in her purse that the police had, dammit. She told him about the door being open.
    "And what was he stabbed with?"
    "A garden stake."
    "Come again?"
    "A wire garden stake with a flag on the end. I, um, used them this week to stake off a garden next to my business."
    He looked at her as he drank from his cup, as if he was wondering whether or not to believe her innocence. "I guess the police put you through the wringer," he said carefully.
    "Yes."
    "So why didn't they arrest you?"
    "A detective from New Orleans was there—I think he believed me. It seemed to me that he didn't want to make an arrest until the crime scene was processed."
    "What was his name?"
    "Maynard."
    B.J. nodded. "He has a reputation for being fair. Did you have an attorney present?"
    "Gloria Dalton. She's my divorce attorney."
    He looked alarmed. "Divorce attorney?"
    "She told me I'd have to find someone else if I'm...charged."
    "The police must have set a record for obtaining a search warrant."
    "Did I mention that Deke's mother is the mayor?"
    "Ah."
    Ted returned with a platter of sausages and bacon swimming in brown grease, three fried eggs, and four pieces of toast drenched in butter.
    Penny stared. "You're not going to eat all of that?"
    He proceeded to cover everything with a layer of salt. "Want some?"
    She made a face. "No. You're clogging your arteries."
    "Probably." He shoveled in a huge amount of food and chewed heartily. "So, does your ex-husband have any enemies?"
    "I don't know—maybe. He's an attorney, so I'm sure he's pissed off a few people along the way."
    "Did he have any girlfriends other than Sheena?"
    She flushed. "I don't know...wait. When Sheena first arrived