We walked a bit more down the lake, each lost in our own thoughts, when we found an injured bird by the water. It was a blue jay and was bleeding.
"It's going to die," Bridge said with sadness. "Should we try to make it more comfortable?"
I thought about what I would want if I were the bird. Then I reached down, broke its neck and put it out of its misery.
Chapter Twenty One
Leads and Letdowns
PRESENT DAY
DETECTIVE GRAY SHOWED up at our house that night, waking us both.
We came downstairs sleepy-eyed and still a little tipsy from drinking too much wine at the Davenports’ house. Gray invited himself in and sat down in the living room, pulling out a notebook and turning to a fresh page. "I need to ask you both some questions about Jim. I understand he was a private investigator that often worked for you?"
Ash nodded. "Yes."
"And what did you have him working on now?"
"What is this about?" I asked.
"Your P.I. has gone missing, and I'm trying to find him. You both were close to him, and people close to the two of you often go missing or end up dead. So it seemed a safe place to start."
"He was trying to find out about Jon's murder and who might be threatening to kill Ash," I said. "You know, doing your job."
"Did he find anything useful?"
I was about to say that he had, but Ash cut me off. "No, nothing."
The detective looked from Ash to me and then sighed and closed his notebook. "You know my number if you happen to remember anything else. Let me know if he turns up, okay?"
We walked him to the door and Ash held it open for him. "Of course. Good night, detective."
Once we were alone, Ash poured himself a drink and offered me one, but I declined. "Why didn't you want him knowing that Jim had found something?"
"Because we didn't know what he found, so that information wouldn't have done them any good and might have led them down the wrong trail."
The way he said this made me pause. "Ash, what did you have Jim doing when he called about that lead?"
Ash looked at me, his dark eyes unreadable. "He was following you."
Chapter Twenty Two
Kill the Bitch
ONE MONTH AGO
I TRIED TO get out of a bachelorette party. Of course, Bridgette would hear none of it. I suggested a quiet dinner at a nice restaurant. And so of course we ended up at a male strip club.
We had front row seats to the “raunchiest ranchers in town.” Cowboys in assless chaps danced around the stage pulling off bits of their clothes to reveal ever more chiseled, waxed and oiled skin. I found it all comically horrifying and we couldn't stop laughing as Bridgette shoved dollar bills into their cock straps.
"Ash would die if he knew I was here," I said as I sucked down something that was far too sweet and didn't taste nearly alcoholic enough, which meant it would kick my ass.
She batted away my concern with a wave of her manicured hand. "I told him. He thought it was great. He just said to make sure they didn't get too frisky with you."
I guffawed. "I can't believe he was okay with this."
Bridge shrugged and sipped her clear drink. "He trusts you."
Her face turned serious as she looked at me. "Just, don't ever ruin that trust, okay? Don't ever cheat on him. He loves you and it would break him. Cheating is just… it's the worst thing you can do to someone you love. It's unforgivable."
My mouth went dry and for a minute I thought she somehow found out about Jon. If that were the case, though, we'd be having a very different conversation right now.
I wondered if her recent distance from her parents and their fighting had anything to do with cheating, but a cowboy shoved his bits in my face and I forgot to ask.
I drank more and was lured into a stumbling drunkeness I wasn't expecting. As Bridgette walked me out and called a cab, I petted her blond hair. "You're so pretty."
She laughed. "You're so drunk. Lush."
"I'm allowed, it's my almost wedding day."
"It is. And you are. Come on, I got us a hotel tonight."
I nodded and rested my head on her shoulder once we were in the cab. "Bridge?"
"Yeah?"
"What would you do if you caught Jon cheating?"
"I'd hurt Jon. Bad," she said in a quiet and serious voice. "And then I'd kill the bitch he was with."
Chapter Twenty Three
Wedding Cake and Murder
PRESENT DAY
MY WEDDING DAY arrived. Again. The thrill of the event was dampened by the loss of Jon. None of us could entirely erase the sound of his car blowing up as we prepared to walk down the aisle together. None of us could fill the hole left by the loss of the best man. But we tried to embrace the joys the day gave us.
We'd relocated the wedding to an intimate garden near Harvard. We wanted a location not tainted by the events of Jon's murder. We would have a small reception after, with cake and champagne, then a larger reception that night on the Davenport yacht.