Free Lia Farrell - Mae December 02 - Two Dogs Lie Sleeping by Lia Farrell Page A

unlocked.”
    “Weren’t you upset about that? I thought security was supposed to be very tight.”
    “I saw cars in the parking area, so I figured somebody else had left it open.”
    The detective looked at her doubtfully. “Are you holding something back, Bethany? Did you meet with Ferris anywhere else?”
    Bethany Cooper shook her head but didn’t meet his eyes.
    “Don’t lie to me, Mrs. Cooper; I can’t help you if you lie to me.” His voice was very quiet, almost tender.
    She didn’t say anything, so after a pause Wayne continued, “Where did you go after you left the Booth Mansion on the second?”
    “I went home.” Bethany stood up abruptly and reached down to the floor for her purse. “Detective, I heard that Tommy died there. Is that true?”
    It was the second time she had referred to him as Tommy, and Wayne wondered whether everyone called him that, or only women who knew him intimately. Both July Powell and Miranda Booth Stackhouse had called him Tommy and now Bethany Cooper.
    “Yes. He was shot and died there,” Detective Nichols told her. He considered telling her that Tom Ferris died from a bullet in the back, just to see her reaction, but they’d kept that quiet.
    She said nothing, just exhaled and closed her eyes for a second.
    Deputy Fuller rose to his feet. “You’re free to go, Mrs. Cooper,” he said. “Thank you for your time.”
    “No, wait a minute,” Wayne interrupted . “You’re a married woman. Why were you meeting with a man alone at the Booth Showhouse?”
    She didn’t answer, just shook her head. Standing, she tucked her hair behind her ears and left the room.
    “What was that about?” Rob Fuller asked. “You made me look like a jerk. I told her she was free to go and then you asked her another question.”
    “I made you look like a nice guy. I made myself look like a jerk. I wanted her off balance.” Wayne pulled the sheriff’s note from his pocket and spread it on the table so the deputy could see it. Ben had reminded Wayne to ask Bethany about the nature of her relationship with Tom Ferris. She apparently was the first person who knew he was back in town. They still didn’t know why.
    “Well, now I feel like a jerk,” Rob mumbled.
    “It’s all right. I didn’t have time to let you know beforehand. You were fine. We’ll be talking to Mrs. Cooper again.”
    Bethany Cooper was just leaving the building as the men entered Dory’s area.
    When the office door closed behind Bethany, Wayne said, “Dory, take a look at Mrs. Cooper, will you?”
    Dory stood up and watched Bethany Cooper walk out to her car.
    “Do you think Bethany was the person we saw on the video leaving the Mansion on the evening of the murder?”
    “She could have been. She walks like a dancer. Let’s look at the disc again.”
    They could see the woman in the hooded jacket entering the house at 5:30 on August second and leaving at 5:59. After reviewing it several times, they were sure. It was Bethany Cooper , and she had been in the house for almost twenty minutes, much longer than she had admitted.
    “I need to talk with her husband, Dan Cooper,” Wayne said.
    “How come?”
    “Don’t play coy with me, Miss Clarkson. No doubt you opened Ben’s note to me,” he said, looking sternly at her.
    “Not a doubt in the world,” she said cheerfully, not looking in the least abashed or impressed with his deductive powers.
    “You’re incorrigible. I want to find out whether Bethany told her husband that Tom Ferris was in town. There’s something funny about her demeanor , and I don’t think it’s because she and Ferris were in a relationship. Either she’s holding something back or she’s protecting someone, maybe her husband. And I’d like to talk with July’s husband, Fred Powell. Today if possible.”
    “It’s getting late. I was about to leave,” Dory said, but at his flat stare, she called Fred Powell on the phone and handed the receiver to Wayne.
    “Hello, Detective,”