“A look?” Chandler leaned up against the door. “You think Michael’s having an affair because of a look?”
“Not just the look. Think about it. Michael drives all the way from Fairfield, gets out of his car, walks down the sidewalk, turns around and walks back, then just leaves? Why?”
“It is kinda weird.”
“He has to know her. She was what he wanted to see. It fits. It’s why I wanted to follow Michael in the first place.”
“How could you know Michael was having an affair?”
“I didn’t. It was just a hunch.”
“I don’t know, Jack. This seems sort of weak. Even if he is having an affair, that doesn’t make him a killer.”
“Statistically, seventy-eight percent of the time, when a woman is killed it’s by someone she knows. Michael would be the prime suspect if they hadn’t lost focus and arrested Jay.”
“That doesn’t mean Michael killed her.”
Jack paused. “No. But right now, we just need to get the cops to look at other suspects—to actually get back to investigating instead of locking in on Jay. If Michael’s having an affair, then he has a motive for killing his wife. We bring the cops proof of an affair, and they have to look more closely at Michael.”
Chandler raised an eyebrow.
Jack leaned over the steering wheel and stared out over the hood. “Or maybe I’m just getting desperate.”
He pulled into a parking space across from the bistro. “Good, the blonde’s still here,” he said, pointing her out to Chandler. “I want to see where she goes.” He shut off the engine. “Same deal as before? I’ll start behind them, you cover this side of the street?”
“Okay.” Chandler held out his hand and they knuckle-bumped.
“We’ve got good timing. They’re paying the check now.”
As the two women left the bistro, Jack casually followed them down the block. They were just chatting away, completely unaware of Jack. The brunette’s hands flew in all directions, and once in a while, Jack heard her loud laugh.
They took a left at the corner and headed toward a building set back from the road. It was a glass and steel building crafted into a mix of modern art and office space. Floor-to-ceiling windows looked out on the trees that surrounded the building on three sides.
As the women went inside, Jack turned back and met up with Chandler. “Let’s go get the car.”
“Don’t you want to check out the building?” Chandler asked. “From a distance,” he added quickly.
Jack grinned. “Yeah, but we can do that from the car.”
A few minutes later they were parked in the building’s lot. The big windows meant they had a direct view into the interior—which was a typical cubicle farm.
“Look at the girl at the front desk,” Chandler said.
Jack looked. “That’s the chatty brunette.”
Chandler’s hand shot out. “And there’s the blonde. See, she’s walking near the big fake plant on the left?”
Jack leaned against the steering wheel. The blonde sat down at a cubicle near the end of the building and disappeared from view.
Jack rolled down his window, and Chandler followed suit. A cool breeze blew through the open windows, bringing with it the smell of freshly cut grass and the scent of lilacs from the bushes behind them.
Chandler played with the rubber seal around the window. “Why didn’t Michael talk to the blonde?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he wants to lie low. Everyone knows that the cops always look at the husband. Put yourself in Michael’s shoes now. Would you want to get caught with another woman and have the cops look harder at you?”
Chandler nodded, considering.
“And what if he did do it? What do people do after they commit a crime?”
Chandler made a face. “A crime like killing your wife? That’s a mindset I can’t understand.”
“You have to try. Remember when I stole that case of soda?”
“Yeah, I remember.” Chandler frowned. “I got grounded for a week because I was there.”
“Sorry. Again,” Jack added. “I was seven, by the way.”
“It was still stupid. I told you it belonged to the store. Who just leaves a case of soda on the sidewalk?”
Jack waved his hand. “Whatever—that doesn’t matter. The point is, I knew it was wrong. So I hid the case in the shed, and then I couldn’t sleep all night. I kept thinking that Aunt Haddie knew I’d stolen the soda. I thought the store owner and the police were watching me. I went out to the shed to check if it was still there three times that night. And finally I confessed. The guilt and fear of getting caught drives you crazy.”