Free Divine Justice by Cheryl Kaye Tardif Page A

It doesn't seem like they're mourning a common loss. Marilyn treats him like the hired help."
    "Brother James does make a good butler."
    "Yeah, but the question is, did he make a good brother?"
     
    Jasi's first impression of Monty Winkler's home office was that it was like stepping into a cold, gloomy cave. Every piece of furniture was black and the walls were navy blue. A man's room, and a complete contrast to the floral garden of Marilyn's sitting room.
    In the dead silence, a clock ticked loudly above the door.
    She pulled on a pair of latex gloves. "Glove up."
    Natassia blushed. "I left mine in my tote bag."
    "No problem." Jasi pulled another set from her jacket pocket. "Here you go."
    "I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. I'll be more prepared tomorrow."
    "Don't worry about it. I've got your back."
    The look her new partner gave her was one of surprise.
    "What? You think we don't watch out for one another?"
    Natassia shook her head. "It isn't that. I'm used to…well, you know…it takes time to connect with an already established team."
    "Established." Jasi snorted. "You make Ben and I sound like an old, married couple."
    In some ways, that wasn't far from the truth. Ben certainly knew her better than anyone else did.
    "Now tell me," she said. "Did you see anything when you touched Marilyn's hand?"
    "I saw a wife accusing her husband of being unfaithful."
    Natassia described her brief vision.
    "Marilyn sees herself as a victim of her husband's infidelities. She didn't trust him. When she confronted him, Monty acted disconnected."
    Jasi's mouth thinned. "Marriage has become as unstable as a house built directly over a fault line. One quake can bring it down in a heap, until all that remains is nothing but destruction and garbage."
    She ignored the curious look Natassia gave her and moved toward a bookshelf.
    "Do you think Marilyn did it?" her partner asked.
    "Killed her husband?" Jasi shook her head. "I can't see her doing all that. In a drugged state, Winkler would have been a dead weight. No pun intended. There's no way she would have been able to move him."
    "What if she had help?"
    Jasi chewed on this for a moment. "Who?"
    "Maybe James was tired of being demoted to hired help. Maybe he's in love with her, or wants a piece of the pie. Someone's going to inherit a lot of money."
    Natassia was right. It wouldn't be the first time someone was murdered for money.
    "Marilyn does seem close to her brother-in-law," Jasi agreed. "We'll look into the insurance policy when we get back to the hotel."
    "I think that's what was in the briefcase."
    "I saw that too. The bit of paper sticking out said something about two million dollars."
    Natassia stopped rifling through the papers on Winkler's desk. "You think that's the beneficiary payout?"
    "That's exactly what I was thinking. But I'm curious why Marilyn would lie about it."
    "If James is her lawyer, maybe he hasn't shown it to her yet."
    Jasi surveyed the room, frustrated by the lack of clues.
    "Didn't anything in your vision stand out?" she asked.
    "The phone call Winkler got seemed important."
    "Any idea of a timeline?"
    "I'm guessing it was the night he disappeared."
    "Why do you say that?"
    "He was wearing the same suit he wore that night."
    "Great catch, Natassia."
    "Thanks."
    Jasi wandered over to the massive desk, one of those modern interlocking styles. On the right side of the desk was a filing cabinet. She tugged on it. It was locked.
    Keys will be in the desk drawer, she thought.
    Sure enough, a set of five keys rested in a small tray in the top drawer of the desk. Beside it was a handheld device.
    "We're in luck," she said. "Winkler left his 'com behind." She removed the device from the drawer. "It's an older commercial model. Nothing like the high tech ones we have."
    "His wife said he always took it with him."
    "What I'd like to know is why he'd leave this behind?" Jasi held up a worn brown leather wallet. "He's got about two hundred bucks in here. And his