Free Too Big To Miss by Sue Ann Jaffarian

that he lives just about an hour from here?"
    Now it was his turn to be surprised. We both drank some coffee. He flagged the waitress over for a refill.
    "Sherrie, while you're at it, could you get Wainwright a bit of water?"
    "Sure, Greg," the waitress answered. She flashed a megawatt smile at him that was more than just good service.
    Shortly, she returned with a plastic bowl and placed it on the ground by the patient dog, patting him on the head before leaving. I could hear the animal lapping at the water with great gusto. It made me smile. In the middle of all this crazy intrigue, his eager drinking made sense. It was normal and natural.
    "I knew about the son's existence," Greg said. "Nothing more. Because she told me she hadn't seen him in years, I assumed he lived out-of-state, or at least far away."
    "The boy and his father live in Santa Paula."
    Greg was surprised again. "Santa Paula isn't that far away. Do you think maybe the little guy at the service was her husband?"
    I thought about it before answering. "Could be. But the attorney said he spoke to Sophie's ex. He claimed he didn't want anything to do with her or her estate. In fact, he said to just mail him a check for their son if anything was left."
    "So everything goes to the boy?"
    "Yes. Except for a few personal bequests. Including something to you, I might add." He brightened a bit at my words, but his smile was tainted with sadness. "Everything else is to be liquidated and given to the father as trustee for the son. I'm told the son is about twenty now."
    "Is there much of an estate? I never got the feeling Sophie was rolling in dough, just comfortable."
    We had finished breakfast and were sipping coffee. I looked at my watch. I still had another hour before meeting Zee and Cruz.
    "More than I expected," I explained. "Stocks, savings, jewelry. The house, of course, which is mortgage-free. A rough initial estimate came in just over a million."
    "Nice," Greg said, sounding impressed. "Sounds like she was a good saver. You think maybe she was killed for the estate? If so, that would point to the ex or the son."
    "Yes, but I don't think so. Supposedly, the boy didn't even know she existed and her ex wants to keep it that way. Since the boy is the only heir, no one else would have benefited financially from her death."
    "So money wouldn't be the motive for murder."
    Although it was on both of our minds, this was the first time either of us had used the M word.
    I threw out another idea. One I had been chewing on like a piece of Juicy Fruit. "Maybe the ex-husband wanted to make sure Sophie remained dead to their son."
    Greg mulled it over a bit. "It's a possibility. Maybe she was trying to contact the boy and his father didn't like it. That could certainly be a motive. Get her out of the way permanently."
    There was something else I had been dying to bring up, but didn't know how without seeming ghoulish. Greg hadn't mentioned again that he'd seen Sophie die. Many others couldn't shut up about it. Leaning forward, I posed it to him in a quiet, almost non-existent whisper.
    "Greg, you said you saw Sophie kill herself."
    He nervously ran his fingers through his longish hair, and his handsome face quickly turned from thoughtful to distraught. He looked away, toward the beach across the street.
    "Yes," he said quietly. "First she held the gun in her mouth. Then I saw the aftermath."
    I had only seen the dried blood, and that had been enough.
    "The detective said the gun was registered in Sophie's name, and that there was gunpowder residue on both of her hands."
    Greg nodded. "The residue would make sense if she shot herself. She held the gun with both hands. Like this."
    He demonstrated, holding a spoon in both hands and sticking the bowl just inside his lips. The sight of it made