Jeremy nursed his beer slowly, though he knew the waitress was anxious to bring him another. He would have to go through his brother’s extra two and then his own before he needed to order again, and he knew as well that the woman was working for tips. He motioned to her and asked for one of the cold ones, so he could give her a few dollars, even though he was sure his brother had tipped her well. It wouldn’t hurt to have the waitstaff on their side.
Without being obvious, he kept track of who was coming into the bar. An attractive black woman of an indeterminate age was there with an Asian woman of about thirty and a brunette Caucasian who looked to be about twenty-five, and the whole group greeted the cops when they arrived, then took a table on the opposite side of the room. He walked over on the pretext of inspecting a poster advertising the upcoming Halloween festivities to listen in. The women turned out to be lab techs from the coroner’s office, so it was natural that they were buddies with the cops.
He walked back to his own table and took his seat again, aware that he was being followed. He turned and was surprised to see Jonas Burningham’s wife, Matty. She smiled at him. “Mind if I join you?”
“Please do,” he told her politely, rising to pull out a chair for her.
She joined him, looking around.
“You out by yourself?” he asked her.
“I…I thought I might find Jonas here,” she admitted.
“I guess he comes here a lot after work,” Jeremy said.
“I guess,” she agreed. She flipped her hair back and looked over at the band. She waved. He wondered who would wave back.
He wasn’t surprised to see that it was Vinnie. Good old Vinnie. He knew everyone.
“Do you come here a lot?” Jeremy asked her.
“Now and then,” she said. The waitress came over and Matty ordered the house drink, which combined two kinds of rum and three kinds of fruit juice.
The place was filling up. There seemed to be a lot of young people tonight. He heard one girl asking anxiously if she had arrived in time for the three-for-one special. He turned slightly, glad of the table Aidan had chosen, and knowing exactly why he had chosen it. He could easily see the band, the room and the door from here. Someone came in just then to join the party from the coroner’s office. None other than Jon Abel.
“Oh, there’s Jonas!” Matty said, and smiled, when she saw her husband enter a moment later. She half rose, and her smile faded when she saw Jonas head straight for the bar and immediately start talking to several of the women congregated there.
Jeremy rose. “I’ll let him know that you’re here,” he said. He strode to the bar, easily elbowing his way in next to Jonas.
“So what time does the ship leave in the morning?” Jonas was asking a blonde.
“Early.” The girl laughed. “But we’re partying it up tonight. You can sleep when you’re dead, right?” she added.
“Your wife is here,” Jeremy said flatly, without looking at Jonas.
He felt the other man stiffen. “Thanks,” he said curtly.
When Jeremy turned to watch, he saw Jonas slick his hair back and smile. “Matty!” he called, as if thrilled beyond measure to see her there.
Jeremy stayed where he was for a moment. Then he looked around curiously, feeling a prickle at his nape telling him that he was being watched. He looked down the bar. The elderly black man with the dignified face was watching him. The other man gave Jeremy a nod of approval, then shook his head with a look of disgust—for men who cheated on their wives, Jeremy assumed. Jeremy smiled in return and decided to go meet the guy. He looked away for a moment to see Jonas sitting with Matty, and when he looked over again, the man was gone.
Jeremy headed back to the table. Not only was Jonas there, but Jon Abel had also come over. He also noticed that during the few minutes when he’d been at the bar, more people he knew had arrived, as well.
Mason Adler, who saw him, grinned and waved.
And Hal Vincent, homicide cop, who was walking over to join the other cops in the room.
Jeremy caught Hal staring at him. The man didn’t seem happy to see him there. Jeremy stared back, but the cop didn’t wave at him or otherwise acknowledge that he was there. The guy was probably just tired and feeling harassed by the Flynns.
Mason, however, called out to him. “Hey, you going to go up and play something with the group tonight?”
“Not tonight, I’m just hanging out,” Jeremy called back.
Vinnie was watching him from the stage. Jeremy felt it. When he turned to look toward the band, he found that he was right.
“You should join us, man,” Vinnie called.
“Maybe later.”
As he moved on toward his table, he saw that Matty was gazing lovingly at Jonas, who was still acting like the perfect husband.
Sorry, Matty, your husband is an ass, he thought.
But could he be something worse?
9