Page 13 of Little Bitter Truths
“Not that I recall.”
“What about Clive Simmons, a man who worked at Golden Harbor Senior Care?”
“What about him?”
“I heard he made some threatening comments to Wren when he was fired.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Clive was let go because he was messing up some of the patients’ medications.Wren never mentioned it to you?”
“No.Not a word.”
The waiter returned, setting our food in front of us.I reached for a fork, but Cooper just sat there, staring at his food like he’d lost his appetite.
I studied him, trying to decide what to say next.
“There’s something else I need to ask you,” I said.
“Go ahead.”
“When was the last time you saw or spoke with Wren?”
There was a long pause.
“I didn’t speak to her,” he said.“I stopped by Mia’s house that night.”
My fingers tightened around my glass.“What night?”
“The night she was … you know …”
“Murdered?”
He nodded.
“What time were you there?”I asked.
“Around dinnertime, I guess.”
Silence settled between us, and in a sharp turn of events, the grieving husband sitting across the table from me didn’t appear as harmless and innocent anymore.
5
Cooper kept his gaze on the table, his fingers curled around the edge like he needed something to hold on to after the admission he’d just made.
“Before you decided to go see Wren that night, how long had it been since the two of you spoke to each other?”I asked.
He met my gaze, his eyes red and puffy, though whether it was grief or strain from the conversation we’d been having, I wasn’t sure.
“A week, maybe longer,” he said.“I sent her a few text messages and tried calling her a couple of times.She ignored both.”
“That must have been hard for you.”
“I tried not to assume the worst.I told myself she needed space and that I should respect that.But the longer I went without hearing from her, the harder it was to give her the time she needed.”
He reached for his soda, taking a few sips before setting it back down again.
“You texted and you called, and when she didn’t respond, you decided to drive to Cambria to see if she would talk to you face to face,” I said.
