I was pleasantly surprised when Eric smiled and welcomed us warmly to his office. I could only conclude that it was Jane he was happy to see, because even though he and I were friends—or we had been before he was forced to lecture me—he still had his doubts about me. It hurt a little, but I’d have to get over it.
Standing, he gestured toward the two visitors’ chairs in front of his desk. “Have a seat, please.”
“Thanks,” I murmured as we both sat.
He moved around the desk and sat down in his chair. “How are you doing, Jane? I know this is a rough time for you. Is there anything you want from me?”
And with that, he won my complete approval.
“Oh, I’m fine,” she said quickly. “Thank you. That’s not why we’re here.”
“Then to what do I owe the pleasure? Are you having problems with the Valentine’s Parade?”
I laughed. “None that you can fix, but thank you for asking.” Oh, if only he could arrest Whitney and Jennifer on general principle, but Tommy would probably protest his wife being locked up in jail. He was such a killjoy.
“We had a question about the coroner’s results,” Jane said, then hurried on before he could comment. “Can you tell me if your investigators found any sleeping pills in Jesse’s house with his name on them?”
Eric’s smile faded and he glared right at me. It was unfair, but not unexpected. And probably well deserved since the sleeping-pill theory was mine.
I held up both hands in a show of peace. “We’re not trying to interfere. Jane’s simply concerned that you have the wrong idea about her uncle. Jesse was a real straight shooter when it came to things like sleeping pills and painkillers. He never took them. We’re hoping you’ll keep looking for evidence of foul play, because there’s no way he popped a bunch of sleeping pills.”
He took a deep breath that expanded his muscular chest even farther. “Don’t even think about investigating this on your own, Shannon.”
I blinked. “I’m not.” Okay, maybe I was, a little. My girlfriends and I had asked a few questions around town, but he didn’t need to know that. Especially since we hadn’t turned up much.
Jane rushed to my defense. “It was my idea to come see you.”
Eric’s disbelief showed plainly on his face.
I jumped in. “The thing is, we figured that if your guys didn’t find a bottle of sleeping pills with Jesse’s name on it, then somebody must’ve brought them into his house and tricked him into taking them. And that means he was murdered.”
Jane clutched her hands together in her lap. “If Uncle Jesse had resorted to taking sleeping pills, I want to know why. Because he was never into anything like that. He used to pride himself on being able to tough it out, probably because of his Navy SEAL training.”
Eric sat back and crossed his arms over his formidable chest. “So you would feel better if you knew someone else was responsible for overdosing him?”
I frowned, not liking the way he put it.
Jane pressed her lips together to keep her composure. “Nothing is going to make me feel good about any of this, but at least I would know that Uncle Jesse hadn’t been suffering from insomnia or something even worse.”
If Jesse had been suffering insomnia, I knew the reason, for it was sitting in my safe-deposit box right now. Having that priceless necklace in the house would keep anyone awake at night.
Eric glanced from me to Jane and slowly back to me again, then shook his head in resignation. “Don’t make me regret this.”
“You won’t,” Jane said instantly.
“I’ll tell you what you want to know, but it doesn’t leave this office—do you understand?”
Both Jane and I nodded rapidly.
“If I find out either one of you talked to anyone else in this town, I’ll toss you both in a cell and throw away the key.”
He meant it, I could tell.
“We won’t say a word,” I said.
“Never,” Jane insisted. “I promise.”
“I’m only telling you two because you knew Jesse so well and because . . . I can’t believe I’m saying this, but oddly enough, I trust you both.” He shook his head, probably because he was breaking one of his own cardinal rules. “The crime scene techs didn’t find a prescription bottle, but—”
“I knew it!” I said.
“But,” Eric repeated loudly, “that doesn’t mean he didn’t have one. We’re following up with his doctors and pharmacy.”
“Won’t it be a problem getting that information?” I asked. “Sometimes doctors aren’t willing to—”
Jane cut me off. “If you have any problems at all, let me know and I’ll talk to Jesse’s doctor and pharmacist. I used to take him to the doctor and I picked up his prescriptions, so I know everyone involved. I’ll get the information for you.”
Go, Jane, I thought, silently cheering her on.