“He said it would be a quick thirty or forty grand. But it wasn’t the money he was after. It was the opportunity to play out some stupid fantasy. To be the big author. You saw him that night at the restaurant? The way he signed books and flirted with all the women.”
“You … were in love with him?”
“In love with him? He was my husband.”
“Uh-oh,” Betty Jean mutters. “You mean … I slept with a married man?”
“There didn’t look to be much sleeping involved,” says Anita. She laughs at the shock on my face. “What? You think that just because Jefferson was a few years older than me that our relationship was weird? It was love at first sight. For both us. Archie didn’t approve, but it was a little too late for him to tell me what to do.”
A few years older? Sounds like someone has some serious daddy issues. I think I’ll keep that observation to myself, though.
“If everything was so great between the two of you, then why did he cheat on you?”
“Because he was a greedy S.O.B. who couldn’t keep his paws to himself.”
Travis was right. It was literally a crime of passion.
“When Jefferson told us that the real J.W. Quicksilver had confronted him, I begged him to leave town right away,” continues Anita. “But he was having too much fun. He wanted to get his kicks and play famous author one more night. Archie and I left town, but I didn’t want to go without Jefferson. We were about fifteen miles out when I convinced Archie to turn around and come back.”
“So you went to The Harbor House?”
Anita nods. “By that time, it was around five, so we thought he’d be at the bar. When I realized he wasn’t there, I had a pretty good idea where he’d gone.”
“To Betty Jean’s house?”
“She practically th
rew herself at my husband the night of the signing. It was obvious what she wanted. And he wanted to fulfill some sick groupie fantasy. So I snuck out a side door to the restaurant and walked to her house. When I got there, some old woman was peeking through the window. I waited until she was gone, and then I took a look myself.”
“And then after Betty Jean left to go to the store, you went inside?”
She snorts. “She even did me the favor of leaving the door open. I wasn’t going to kill him. But there he was, sleeping on that chair with this stupid grin on his face. She’s eighty years old! What sort of sick age difference is that?”
“And you’re twenty-five,” says Betty Jean. “I hate to break it to you, but I’m a lot closer in age to your departed husband than you were.”
“Shut up! Or I’ll—”
“Anita,” I plead. “Don’t do anything you’re going to regret.”
“It’s too late. I killed my husband. And now she’s going to pay too.” There’s a crazy look in her eyes that’s making my palms sweat.
Who did I text 911 to? It could be any one of my contacts. But I really hope it’s Travis. Or Will. Or even Brittany. At this point, I’d even take my mother.
Paco starts to whine like he wants to do something. But we’re on the other side of the room. It’s too far away for him to jump on Anita and surprise her. I could signal for him to slink over toward her. I know he’d understand. But I don’t want to take a chance on him getting hurt. Besides, I really do think I can talk her down. I just have to find the right bait.
And then it hits me. I think I know her Achilles’ Heel.
“Archie never suspected anything, did he? After you stabbed Jefferson, you walked back to The Harbor House, pretending to be inside the whole time. When you went out to the car, what did you say to him?”
“I … I told him that I’d seen Jefferson and that he refused to come with us.”
“So when he found out that Jefferson never met anyone at The Harbor House, he knew you’d lied to him. That’s when he realized that you murdered Jefferson.”
“I regretted that. Archie was good to me. I felt bad lying to him.”
“Yet here you are, letting him take the fall for a murder you committed. It’s not too late to do the right thing. Now that Archie has told the feds where the money is, he could get a light sentence. If he was cleared of the murder charges.”
“You, on the other hand,” shoots off Betty Jean, “will go away for life.” The minute she says this, she realizes her mistake.