Page 9 of Wild Sentinel

She buzzed us through the gate, and we stepped into the courtyard. The lush oasis had a trickling water wall.

The light in the foyer illuminated Chelsea as she made her way to the door. The frosted glass blurred her figure. She unlatched the deadbolt, pulled open the door, and looked at us with a somber face.

We didn’t look like your typical cops—JD with his long blond hair and Hawaiian shirt. Me in a T-shirt and cargo shorts.

Chelsea Edwards was a good-looking woman. In her mid-20s with stylish short blonde hair, she had flawless skin, ice blue eyes, a cute nose, and full pouty lips. You’d have to be a fool to run around on a woman like that.

Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, but she seemed to handle it well. In fact, she looked angry. Not an unusual reaction. Grief and anger can overlap.

"The deputies came by half an hour ago and told me,” she said, blotting her eyes with a tissue. “But they didn't have many details. They just said he was shot during a performance. Can you tell me more about that?”

"Certainly," I said, then gave her a recap.

A slight chuckle escaped her lips. "The Universe has a sense of irony, doesn't it?”

"I find that can be the case at times."

"Serves him right.”

JD and I lifted an astonished brow.

"How so?”

"That's where he met the slut.”

That hung there for a second.

"Melissa,” I said.

"Little tramp.”

"So you were aware of the affair?”

She huffed. "Of course. Do I look stupid?”

"No, ma'am.”

"I'm very sensitive to people, their vibes, their behavior. I knew the minute he started running around on me.” She seethed, and her eyes narrowed. “He thought he was so clever. He left clues everywhere. I mean, he really was such a moron. I pay all the bills around here. I have access to the cell records, including his. I saw all his phone calls. It wasn't hard to figure out what was going on. I tracked his phone through the cloud. He was too stupid to turn off location services and tracking.” She sighed. “Don't get me wrong, Jonathan was a genius. Just a dipshit when it came to common sense stuff.” She frowned and blotted her eyes again. "I don't mean to sound callous, but maybe this anger is my way of coping. I loved my husband. I really did. I was devastated when I found out he was cheating on me. I didn't know what I was going to do.” She lifted a saucy eyebrow. “But I figured two can play that game.”

"You’re seeing someone else?”

"I don't see how that's anyone's business, but yes.”

"Did Jonathan know about your affair?”

"I don't know, and I don't care. But I think Jonathan was too concerned with his own world to be bothered with mine." She frowned again and shook her head. "You know, when we first got married, I made a lot of sacrifices for him. There were a lot of long nights and missed weekends because of his work. He promised me that it was for a good cause, and afterward we’d have all the time in the world to spend together. When he retired, he didn't know what to do with himself. He went full-on into acting. Started taking classes, doing plays, community theater, whatever he could find. Stupid little independent films. It's not like there's a huge film scene here, but there's something. I hardly ever saw the man.”

"The man you are seeing now, does he know about your husband?”

Her face wrinkled, and she looked at me like it was a silly question. “Of course. What am I going to do? Lie to the guy I’m cheating on my husband with? That’s too many lies to manage.”

“Did you lie to your husband?”

“No. He never asked.” She thought for an instant. “I guess I lied by omission.”

“Maybe your new boyfriend wanted your husband out of the way?” I didn’t want to grill the grieving widow too hard, but maybe she wanted her husband gone. It sure sounded like it.

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