Love Can Be Murder

video is hardly incriminating," Gloria cut in. "All you have is a divorced couple running into each other, and Penny just told you what happened."
    "So you still maintain your innocence?" Maynard asked Penny.
    "Absolutely. Either this was a random act, or someone is trying to frame me."
    "Speaking of which," Gloria said, "did you ask the officers where they found the handgun they allegedly removed from Penny's apartment?"
    "Yes," Allyson said. "It was hidden beneath the dry moss around the bottom of a potted tree." She angled her head. "Does it ring a bell now, Penny?"
    Penny's eyes went wide. "The ficus tree... it was sitting in the foyer of the house. I took the tree with me when I moved out." She glanced from face to face. "I had no idea about the gun. Deke must have put it there."
    "So you're saying it's Deke's gun?"
    "I never saw a gun in our house while I was married to Deke."
    "Did Mr. Black own a gun?"
    "Not that he ever told me."
    "Who is the handgun registered to?" Gloria asked.
    "It's unregistered," Maynard said.
    Penny covered her mouth with her hand. "Maybe the gun is what Deke was looking for. Maybe that's why he kept calling me. Maybe he realized I'd taken the tree."
    Maynard looked at Allyson, and Penny felt the first glimmer of hope that they might be thinking there could be more to Deke's murder than a simple crime of passion.
    "Maybe Mr. Black was afraid for his life," Gloria said, obviously warming up to the argument. "And he suddenly needed the gun."
    Allyson pursed her mouth. "Maybe it was Penny he was afraid of, especially since she'd stolen his gun."
    Penny swallowed. "I didn't steal his gun—I told you, I didn't even know it was there."
    "But you did steal the tree?"
    Penny sighed. "It’s a lousy tree."
    "Ms. Francisco," Maynard said, "your employees told us some interesting things this morning."
    Penny bit down on the inside of her cheek.
    "They both said that you were quite upset over the divorce."
    "As anyone would be," Gloria said. "What's your point?"
    "Marie Gaston told me that you spent a great deal of time spying on your husband's house across the street."
    Penny's stomach lurched. "Th-that's not true." She managed a little shrug. "I glance out the window occasionally, just to see what's going on along Charm Street. Marie was thinking of yesterday, when I realized Deke was having the house painted pink. I was... offended. Did Marie happen to mention her friend Melissa boasted of having an affair with Deke?"
    He nodded. "We talked to the woman, and she has an alibi."
    Penny closed her eyes briefly—so much for that theory.
    "Ms. Gaston also informed me she told you at the divorce party that Mr. Black's paralegal had told her that Mr. Black had hidden assets during your property settlement."
    Penny's knee bounced erratically. "That's right."
    "And you were understandably angry," he pressed.
    She wet her lips. "Yes...at first. And then I decided I would give the information to my attorney and let her handle it."
    Maynard opened the brown paper bag and removed the voodoo doll sealed in a plastic bag. Penny's stomach pitched and rolled. The pin that she'd driven into the doll's chest strained against the clear plastic. Maynard carefully removed the stabbed doll and laid it on the table in front of Penny. Details that had escaped her at the party now leaped out at her. The doll had been fashioned out of plain muslin fabric, and the little raveled edges in the head seam were a remarkably good imitation of Deke's recent hair plugs. The eyes were hand-stitched black X's, spookily prophetic of Deke's blank stare when she had found him in his office. The miniature black suit was made from strips of dark fabric tucked and folded over a white “shirt” and glued-on red tie. Someone had put a lot of time into crafting the likeness.
    "Ms. Francisco, did you make this doll?" Maynard asked.
    Penny frowned. "What? No—I told you I got it as a gag gift."
    "And so far, no one we've talked to admits to bringing the doll."
    "Maybe they're frightened," she said. "After all, it was supposed to be a joke."
    "Maybe not." Maynard used the tips of his fingers to pull back the front of the tiny jacket on the doll. Inside was a stamp-sized, gold-embroidered monogram: D.A.B. Penny inhaled sharply. Part of Deke's new image had been having his monogram added to the inside pocket of his suits when he'd bought them. "Th-that was made from..."
    "From one of Mr. Black's suits," Maynard said, nodding. "So it seems