Free Revenge by Debra Webb Page B

everything. Nothing wrong with that for those who chose that lifestyle. Had Jess’s mother lived, she would have been the same way. Lily’s relationship with her husband wasn’t that different even now.
    Jess could not imagine leaving all that control up to the man in her life – when she had a man in her life.
    She supposed Dan was kind of in her life. Sort of.
    No one made Jess’s decisions for her. The last time that happened, she’d spent from age ten to eighteen in a carousel of foster homes. The day she turned eighteen she made up her mind that would never happen again. Her livelihood and happiness would never depend on anyone else.
    She hauled herself back to the present. Following up on the statements made by the widows was nothing more than a formality. Lori had taken each, one at a time, to Frances’s balcony and gone over her statement while Jess attempted to explain how the investigation worked and the roles the ladies played in bringing to light the events of the past twenty-four hours. Prescott and Cook had already done the initial interviews but Jess needed to do this. Mostly to reassure herself that she wasn’t missing anything.
    That was working out just great so far. Not .
    Bless their hearts. Jess reached for more patience and waited out this latest squabble. They were cute as buttons and for the most part sweet as could be. Except maybe for the twins. Those two were vicious little old ladies from what Jess had gathered so far. Looked as if they were ready to throw Frances under the bus and back up a couple of times.
    During a moment of silence as they all caught their breaths and wet their whistles, Frances stared longingly at her tea as if she wished it were something far stronger. ‘Ladies,’ she said in a surprisingly calm voice, ‘I said nothing about killing Scott Baker or wanting him dead. What I said was,’ she stated firmly when mouths opened to protest, ‘I hoped to live long enough to see him eat those words and die . I didn’t mean I wanted him to literally die. I meant he should go to hell.’
    ‘You could’ve just said that,’ Lucille demanded. ‘Maybe then we wouldn’t be in this hellacious predicament.’
    A collective round of gasps from the others punctuated the statements.
    Frances looked heavenward. ‘God, help me.’
    Jess cleared her throat. ‘Ladies.’
    All eyes shifted to her. At least she had their attention again. The question was, how long could she keep it?
    ‘None of you are suspects in this case. You are only persons of interest. But your statements are important to the investigation.’ Jess kept her hands folded in her lap in hopes of presenting a calm, cool demeanor. She sure didn’t need any of these ladies having a stroke or a heart attack. Try explaining a scene like that to the press. ‘Anything you remember beyond what you’ve shared in your statement could be useful in finding the person who did this awful thing.’
    Molly and Polly shared a look. ‘You mean we’re not in any sort of trouble?’ the latter asked.
    ‘No, ma’am,’ Jess assured her. ‘We only needed to go over your statements regarding where you were last night and to discuss whatever you might know about any enemies Mr Baker may have had.’
    ‘You mean beyond every single soul he met?’ Lucille challenged.
    ‘Do you know of any specific person or persons with whom Mr Baker had trouble?’ Jess tried again.
    ‘Scott Baker was a very savvy businessman, Jess,’ Frances said. ‘He told me once that he’d never met anyone he couldn’t charm when it came to negotiations.’ She lifted her glass in a salute. ‘Besides me, of course.’
    ‘No one other than the seven of you were against this new construction?’ Jess tried a different tactic.
    Heads wagged. ‘They’re all too afraid to speak up,’ Lucille explained.
    ‘Why would anyone be afraid to speak up?’ That was the first time she’d heard that one.
    The widows clammed up as if she’d asked which one lost