Free A Wicked Truth by M. S. Parker Page B

students.” Rheingard made it a statement.
    “I'm not contesting the suspension,” I said. “Doing that would cause more harm than good, and I care about my kids.”
    “You didn't answer my question,” Rheingard said.
    “No.” I met his gaze and held it. “I don't think I need to be kept away from my students. I don't believe I'm putting them in danger. But I do believe that everything that's going on could be confusing for them.”
    There was a moment of silence where Rheingard jotted something down in his notebook. I didn't see the point of writing something down when there was a recording of the exact same thing here, but I wasn't a cop. Maybe he was writing down something about my body language. Or maybe it was his lunch order. Who knew.
    “Are you aware, Mrs. Lockwood, that your in-laws believe you had something to do with your husband's death?” Detective Rheingard asked.
    No shit, Sherlock. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I'd been the one who'd told them that the Lockwoods were coming after me.
    I kept my answer brief. “Yes, I'm aware.”
    “They've brought some rather interesting things to our attention,” Detective Reed said.
    “I'm sure they did.” My voice was dry. I couldn't wait to hear this.
    Reed leaned across the table towards me and paused a long minute before asking, “How long ago did you and your lover start conspiring to murder your husband?”

Chapter 11
    Jasper.
    They thought Jasper and I had planned to kill Allen.
    The very idea was ludicrous.
    Until I remembered that the file and the documents I'd brought to them incriminated Jasper in Allen's death. And since Jasper and I were living together...
    Shit.
    “Jasper and I didn't kill Allen.” I kept my voice as steady and calm as I could make it.
    “Right.” Reed leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. “Your husband just happened to die, and a few months later, his best friend moved into your house.”
    I set my jaw and lifted my chin. I wasn't going to rise to take the bait. Jasper and I had done nothing wrong.
    “Let's talk about that insurance money, Mrs. Lockwood,” Rheingard spoke. “According to our sources, you claim you didn't know about the insurance until you received a call from them, is that right?”
    I nodded. I wasn't even going to ask who their source was. It didn't matter.
    “Allen and I had taken out small policies on each other, just enough to cover funeral expenses no matter what our finances would be like at the time of our deaths. That was the only insurance I knew of until I got a call that Allen had taken out a million dollar insurance policy on himself.”
    “You had your attorney, Mr. Henley, hold the check for you?” Rheingard continued.
    “Yes. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the money, so I asked Mr. Henley to hold it for me until I did.”
    “But you've since decided that you wanted the money,” Reed put in. “Or rather, you wanted to give it to your lover.”
    My mouth tightened and my nails dug so deeply into my palms that I knew I was going to have marks. “I decided that I was going to give the money to a charity or something like that. I wanted my former in-laws to see that I didn't care about the money.”
    “But you didn't give the money to a charity. You gave it to the man you were sleeping with.”
    I had a feeling Reed would've used a much less genteel term if the recorder hadn't been sitting in front of me.
    “Allen left Jasper a million dollars from his trust to start a clinic, something that Allen and I both knew Jasper wanted. With Allen's family contesting the will regarding the distribution of the trust, I didn't know how long that money would be tied up. So, yes, I gave Jasper the insurance money so he could start his clinic.”
    Rheingard made another one of those notes on his notepad. “Your attorney will confirm the dispensation of the insurance policy?”
    “Yes. I'll make sure he knows to give you anything you need.” I