She nodded. “So I understand, but I prefer not having a second party verifying any alibis I’m interested in. You never know when someone is not being honest. And I’m sure you’re aware that at least one of your parents, specifically your mother, might have been a suspect had Sheppard Granger revealed the fact that your father had an affair with his wife, Sylvia Granger.”
She watched his jaw twitch, letting her know he didn’t like being told that. “Let’s be real, shall we, Ms. Sweet? We both know why that was never brought up in court. Granted, I understand my mother went to see Sheppard Granger while he was out on bail and asked him not to mention it because of their alibi, and he agreed. But only after his attorney checked out my parents’ alibi. But then, Sheppard was a smart man. He’d known that mentioning his wife’s affair with my father would have given the prosecution even more reason to argue that Sheppard Granger had a motive for killing his wife. He did the smart thing in leaving my parents out of it. And besides, like I said, they were on a cruise at the time Sylvia Granger was murdered.”
“How convenient.”
“Yes, and how lucky for them not to get caught up in that scandal. They were on that cruise trying to restore and rebuild their marriage. As you can see, it worked. My parents have been married a little over forty years now.”
“That’s admirable, considering the fact your father’s affair with Sylvia had your mother angry enough to hire a private investigator to prove her suspicions were true and then send proof of the affair to Sheppard Granger.”
“Only because Sheppard Granger needed to know what kind of woman he was married to. Sylvia Granger was evil, and she used my father to get what she wanted.”
Jules raised a brow. “Which was?”
“A way to make her husband jealous, I imagine. I understand Sheppard had begun spending more time with Granger Aeronautics and less time with Sylvia. I heard she was beginning to feel somewhat neglected.”
Jules didn’t say anything for a minute. “You seem to know a lot about how she was feeling, Mr. Greene. Let’s see, you were around twenty-six or twenty-seven back then, right? An attorney fresh out of Harvard Law School, who went straight to work with Miller, Wyatt and Barnes.”
Then, without missing a beat, she asked, “And where were you the day Sylvia Granger was murdered?”
His gaze darkened with suppressed anger. “I wish I could say I was on that cruise with my parents, but I can’t. I was here in town, but in court that day. All day. That can be verified.”
“I’ll make sure that it can. And what about your visit to Leigh Imerson? Not long after her husband’s accident, you were inquiring about his investigative report on Sylvia’s murder. Why were you interested? Were you afraid some damaging information was in that report? Whom were you trying to protect? Your parents or yourself?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Really? Well, personally, I think that you do know what I’m talking about.”
His jaw twitched again as he leaned forward on the sofa. “Let’s cut the bullshit, Ms. Sweet. You’re a PI who goes by the name J. B. Sweet, but you’re really Juliet Bradford, and your sister is married to Jace Granger.”
She wasn’t about to try to figure out how he had discovered that, either. “The fact remains that I am a PI. A darned good one, who plans to prove Sheppard Granger didn’t kill his wife and expose the real killer.”
“As far as I’m concerned, the real killer is in jail. Sheppard Granger killed his wife, so trying to prove otherwise is a waste of your time.”
Jules stood, smiling. “No problem. I have time to waste. Thanks for seeing me in your parents’ stead. Hopefully, next time I have a question, I’ll get a chance to talk to them.”
“I’d advise you not to hold your breath waiting for that to happen.”