Free Murder on Potrero Hill by M. L. Hamilton Page B

had the potential to make so much more money as a doctor, but she chose to work for minimum wage.”
    “It’s what made her happy.”
    The officer shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. You like working at the bank?”
    “It’s a job.”
    Her gaze shifted to the photographs. “Bet you’d rather take pictures though?”
    Jake glanced at them as well. “Few people can make a living doing that.”
    “Still, it must have rankled. You working so hard, while she pissed around in a coffee house.”
    Jake shifted uncomfortably. He was beginning to think agreeing to this wasn’t the best idea. What the hell did they want? “As long as Zoë was happy, that’s all that mattered. I don’t mind my job.”
    “Did you have a good marriage? I mean marriage is hard in the best of circumstances, but it must have been really hard marrying someone like Zoë?”
    “What does that mean?” Jake’s voice came out sharper than he intended. He flinched when he heard the bedroom door open. He shifted to look over his shoulder and could just see Officer D’Angelo disappear into the room.
    “You weren’t exactly from the same social class, now were you? She’s the trust fund kid from a wealthy surgeon and you are the third child of work-a-day stock.” She looked at her pad. “Your father worked in factories, didn’t he?”
    Jake turned back around. “What the hell is this about?”
    “I can sympathize. I can’t even imagine how hard it must have been. She was used to so many things. Things not even your bank salary could provide. It must have caused friction.”
    Jake rose to his feet. “Okay, I don’t know what this is about, but I want to know why you’re here.”
    Officer Brooks also rose and Jake marked that her hand went inside her coat. Gun ? He was so stunned, he wasn’t sure how to respond. He sensed the other officer looming in the doorway of the bedroom. A cold sweat broke out across his body and he felt his stomach knot.
    “Take a seat, Mr. Ryder,” said Officer Brooks. The tone of her voice was no longer gentle or warm. This was a woman who was used to being obeyed.
    He sank down onto the chair, his knees trembling, and gripped the arms. He could hear her partner cross the hard wood and come up behind him, but he didn’t turn to look. He kept his attention focused on the woman until she slowly removed her hand from her coat.
    “Are you familiar with a drug called warfarin, Mr. Ryder?”
    That took Jake by surprise. “Should I be?”
    “That’s what we’re trying to find out. You see Zoë had unusually high amounts of warfarin in her system when she died.”
    Jake’s eyes widened. It suddenly made sense – the delay in releasing her body, the movement of her remains to the Medical Examiner’s office, the visit by the police…except it didn’t make sense. Zoë died of a ruptured aneurysm. Dr. Singh had been certain.
    “Wait,” he said, tunneling his fingers into his hair. “What are you saying? She committed suicide with this stuff?”
    “No, Mr. Ryder,” came Officer Brooks chilling tones, “that’s not at all what I’m saying. Tell me, how did you feel about becoming a father?”
    Jake looked up through his fingers and stared at the officer. He didn’t know what to say. His brain wouldn’t fit everything together. What the hell was she talking about? If Zoë had this warfarin in her system when she died, what did that have to do with their baby?
    He rose to his feet again so swiftly neither one of the officers had time to react. “I want you out of here,” he said, pointing to the door. “I want you out of my house immediately! What the hell are you accusing me of doing? What the hell is this all about?”
    Officer Brooks rose, snapping closed her notebook and slipping it into her pocket. “We just wanted to ask you some questions. Nothing more.”
    “Get out of my house now! I’m not answering another thing. I don’t understand what is going on, but I damn well know this can’t be