Free Shear Murder by Nancy J. Cohen Page B

“Sorry, I forgot to offer you something to drink. Or I have lots of cake. The neighbors have been generous.”
    “No thanks, I've just had dinner. But go ahead if you're thirsty.” She watched while he poured himself a Scotch and soda from a bar in his wall unit. His hand shook as he held the bottle. Was their conversation disturbing him?
    “Torrie yelled at me for wasting money on inanimate objects,” he said, his back to her. “So I asked, what about those rocks she wore around her neck? ‘Oh no, they count as wardrobe, and as a fashion reporter, I have an image to project,’” he mimicked in a high falsetto.
    “Did she ever help you in the shop?”
    “Are you joking?” He whirled around to face her. “Torrie never wanted me to give up the insurance biz. I sold life insurance when we met,” he said, responding to her questioning glance. “Got quite a good income, too. Then I got burned out on telling people they were gonna die someday.”
    “So you turned your hobby into a business?”
    “Exactly. I'd hoped our investments would make up the difference, but things don't always work out the way you plan.”
    “Tell me about it.” Wondering which thread to pull, his financial status or the property issue, she decided to come at either of them from an oblique angle. “You couldn't have foreseen what happened at the wedding. I'm so sorry.”
    Grasping his whiskey glass, he sank into an armchair. “Torrie thought it was so cool she got Jill's wedding booked at Orchid Isle. She's friends with the developer's wife, you know.”
    “Yes, I met them briefly at the reception. Leanne seems like a nice woman.”
    “Nice but flighty. She needs a man who's fully devoted to her, but Falcon's balls are cut off by his mother.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “Didn't you see Cornelia at the wedding? The older lady who sat next to him in the pew?”
    “Oh, yes.” Marla remembered the white-haired lady with the stiff coiffeur.
    “Cornelia rules the nest in their household, and she makes her disappointment clear that Leanne hasn't conceived. According to what Torrie told me, Leanne planned to end Cornelia's interference in her life.”
    Oh yeah? How so?
Not wishing to stray from their current focus, Marla targeted her next question to Scott's relationship with his wife. “You and Torrie never had children, right?”
    “We're childless by choice. I always wanted to do more traveling, but Torrie has been consumed by her job. She wanted that editorial position real bad. Now it looks like Hally will get it by default.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “There's an opening at their magazine for a higher level job, and they both were contenders.” He drew his mouth down in derision. “Torrie won't have to worry about that anymore.” Hanging his head, he appeared lost in his own memories.
    “Am I tiring you?” Marla didn't wish to overstay her welcome. Why had she come? Oh, right, Jill had asked her to put in a good word regarding the property issue.
    “No, no.” He waved a hand. “I'm not used to being alone, so I'm glad for the company. My brother is supposed to come over later and help with the arrangements.”
    “Jill said you could call her if you need anything.”
    “Ha. More likely the other way around. She put you up to this, didn't she?” He took a drink at Marla's protesting shake of her head. “She's hung up over their land. Doesn't care that her sister is dead, just what's gonna happen to her income.”
    “I think Jill cares a great deal about her sister's death,” Marla said quietly, “but this was an unresolved issue between them. She'd feel better if the two of you reached an agreement.”
    “You mean she'd feel better if I didn't step into her sister's shoes and usurp the family business. She thinks Kevin can find another tenant. Well, good luck. That land is contaminated, and it's gonna take a lot of money to clean it up.”
    “Isn't that the oil company's responsibility? Jill says you can make more money