“It also tells me you think Whitt is a dick. I suspect his offspring was a cheating bully in high school, and it got covered up. I wouldn’t be shocked if it turns out he had some cheating bully in him when he started in college. And the fact his record’s pristine leads me to believe more got covered up.”
“I love you for your cynical mind.”
“Who wouldn’t? It tells me the Cosner kid liked getting a buzz on more than studying, and probably didn’t have the guts to bully and cheat once he lost his cohorts. He’s a loser.
“And for Hayward, it tells me she had at least one parent who made her stick it out, then at least pretend to work for a living. That could be a pisser when all that money’s just there, and now you’re hooked up with a rich boy whose mom might be president one day. You’ve got an image to maintain.”
She drank some coffee. “All of them do.”
“It doesn’t seem like motive for murder.”
She gave him a bland stare. “Didn’t spend much time in high school, did you?”
“We don’t have high school, so to speak, in Ireland.”
“Whatever it’s called there.”
“I went when I couldn’t get out of it.” Smiling, he sipped more whiskey. “There are a lot of ways out of it.”
“Not in state school, so I can tell you grudges and resentments formed in high school root deep. And plenty of people—you have to know some—never fully leave high school, either because they were the big deal, or because they were less than nobody.”
He glanced back at her board. “You’re right about that, aren’t you? So, persons of interest or suspects?”
“We’ll keep them as POIs for now. But that rounds back to me being very interested in talking to Rodriges. It’ll be tomorrow afternoon. I’ll tag you when I have a better handle on the when.”
“Good enough. I’m going to finish up a bit of work while you set up your tomorrow. Then, since apparently we had a fight this morning, we need to make up.”
“I thought we already did.”
“You’re the one with the Marriage Rules.” He toasted her before he finished off the whiskey. “There must be a notation on makeup sex.”
“Maybe.”
“If not, write it down,” he advised, and strolled into his office.
14
She woke in slow, easy layers, and decided that makeup sex definitely promoted a solid night’s sleep.
Roarke and Galahad watched the morning financial reports across the room. Over her head, the sky window showed a bold blue sky.
A pretty good deal all around.
She rolled out, headed straight for coffee. Because makeup sex meant she hadn’t had the energy to get up for a sleep shirt, she drank the first sips naked.
“That’s a fine sight in the morning,” Roarke commented.
“I figure naked’s a fine sight for you any hour of any day.”
“You wouldn’t be wrong.”
She studied him in his perfect suit, perfect tie. “Since I can’t go through the day naked, you pick out what I need to wear.”
Fingers still lazily scratching the cat, he studied her in turn. “Are you quite well, Lieutenant?”
“I’m going to start the day with a memorial, go down to East Washington and take on a nasty-assed headmaster, shift over to deal with a pampered mean girl before coming back, working on a couple of bullies. And very likely a whole bunch of high-priced lawyers.”
She walked toward the bathroom for a shower. “You’ll figure it out quicker.”