Page 48 of Fury In Death

“I like my inanimate objects to stay inanimate.”

They passed guest rooms, another sort of lounge, guest baths, and found both uniforms and the cohab in a sitting room with dark blue walls and a pair of bright white sofas, two chairs of small dark blue crescents and spheres over a bright white field.

Tables, clear cubes, held skinny lamps. Photos, dust catchers, and whatnots sat on clear shelves so they seemed to float on the air.

Another unnerving choice, in Eve’s opinion.

Joleen Everly sat in the corner of a sofa. A whippet-thin woman, she wore slouchy black pants, an untucked white shirt, and low-topped black kicks. She had poreless and perfect skin the color of polished oak, a full mouth, heavy on the bottom lip. A kind of crown of hair topped her narrow face, the black base layered with a froth of muted gold.

Her eyes, red-rimmed, clouded, were dark as midnight.

“Ms. Everly, I’m Lieutenant Dallas. This is Detective Peabody. We’re very sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.” Her voice, contralto, rich, held steady, but Eve noticed the tremor in her hands.

“We understand this is a difficult time, but we need to ask you some questions.”

“I want to know who did this. I want to know who could have done this to Ezra. I need to know who. I need to know why.”

That rich voice broke on the last word. Joleen squeezed her eyes shut, gripped her hands together. Eve watched her bear down for control, then open her eyes.

“I’m ready to answer questions.”

“One moment. Officers?”

Eve took them aside. “The morgue and the sweepers are on the way. Detective Callendar’s working on the e’s. Go on down, keep the scene secure until they arrive.”

“Yes, sir. This one’s got some moxie.”

As Eve stepped back over, Peabody asked, “Ms. Everly, can I get you some more tea?”

“No. No, this is fine. I started to get a soother, but I don’t want to be soothed. I loved Ezra very much. I know some people, because of the age difference, think I’m with him for the money, the status. Hell, I’d have married him if that’s what I wanted. I didn’t want marriage, never have, and we were fine this way. We were happy. I loved him.”

“You’ve been out of town?”

“Yes, the last two days. I’m a stylist, and I have a client who had an important event in Memphis. She wanted me with her. I travel for work fairly often. You need to check all that, I suppose. I can give you my flight information, the hotel information, my client’s contact.”

“Yes, that would be helpful. You arrived home about noon.”

“Yes. The car service picked me up at the shuttle station—the flight landed at about eleven-twenty, I think. I only had a carry-on.”

“And when you got home?”

“I came in, dropped my bags by the stairs. I called out. We’d texted yesterday so he knew when I’d get home. He said he’d make a welcome home lunch.”

Her eyes glistened with tears she blinked back. “He liked me to eat healthy. He actually liked to cook, make healthy meals that didn’t taste healthy.”

Smiling, she flicked a tear away. “Cooking was, he said, just another science. So I called out, and I started back, as I expected to find him in the kitchen. And I saw him. I saw him, and I stumbled back. I—I fell, and I couldn’t get up for a minute. Longer? I’m not sure.

“I got my ’link, and I called for the police. I didn’t call for an ambulance. I knew he was dead, so I called for the police. The nine-one-one operator was very kind because I couldn’t get my breath at first.”

She picked up tea that had to be cold. “I sat there with him. I didn’t want him to be alone. I know that’s foolish, but I didn’t want to leave him alone like that. Then the police came.”

“I don’t think it’s foolish,” Peabody told her. “Doing a loving thing is never foolish.”

“It was all I could do for him because I wasn’t here. It was all I could do.”

“Ms. Everly, was Dr. Dent worried about anything or anyone? Had there been any threats, confrontations, conflicts?”