Linda Lovely - Marley Clark 02 - No Wake Zone by Linda Lovely Page B

his
illness, I’m—taa daa—the lone suspect.”
    “That’s ridiculous.” I tried to inject astonishment into my
response even though the FBI agent had given me a preview of coming
accusations.
    “Tell Marley about the search,” Julie prodded.
    Darlene gnawed her lip. “Sheriff Delaney asked to search our
house. Said he didn’t have a warrant but wanted to keep things quiet. I agreed.
I had nothing to hide. ’Course I didn’t plan on his deputies cleaning out my
medicine chest. They even confiscated my hormone replacement pills. If my hot
flashes return before I get a refill, they’ll get to see true homicidal rage.”
    My friend’s flash of sass signaled she was far from cowed.
    Darlene sighed. “They fingerprinted Julie and me. Said they
needed our prints to exclude them from any unidentified prints in our bedroom
or bath.”
    Harvey dealt out the drinks. Now that the Olsen offspring
had departed, he’d reverted to his fond uncle persona. “They fingerprinted me,
too.” He laughed, then rolled his eyes. “I suggested that any notion that ‘the
butler did it’ was a true cliché.”
    Darlene chuckled. “Join us, Harvey. Bet you could stand a drink.”
    “Thanks, just the same. I’ll have mine later. And I won’t be
toasting that prick Quentin Hamilton.”
    “Yeah, sorry you got caught in his crosshairs,” Darlene
said. “Hamilton reprised his grand inquisitor role after the sheriff left.
Badgered both Harvey and me about documents. I told him to take it up with the
sheriff, who’d already searched the house stem to stern.”
    She ran a finger around the rim of her glass. “Hamilton’s decided I’m too stupid to have killed Jake all by my lonesome. He’s hinted
Julie’s the brain behind some devious plot. He grilled her about work. I warned
Julie not to answer the dickhead. He’s evil. She wouldn’t listen.”
    “Oh, Mom.” Julie groaned. “I confirmed what the bastard
already knew. He hoped I’d lie. So I told him, yes, I have access to cyclogel.
And, yes, security is loose as a goose for all kinds of substances in our lab.
We stock lots of nasty concoctions—stuff far more deadly than cyclogel—and I
could waltz out with samples any time.”
    Darlene sighed. “Did you have to add it would be tough for a
stranger to steal cyclogel from your lab?”
    Julie bit her lip. “It’s true. We don’t display cyclogel,
snake venom extracts or mushroom toxins like produce at a fruit stand. A thief
would have to know where to look. He’d better know what he’s doing, too. I
won’t touch puffer fish toxin without double gloving.”
    Darlene shuddered. “I hate this. How safe can it be?”
    Her daughter rolled her eyes in an exasperated pantomime.
    Darlene shrugged. “Hey, if condoms break, so can rubber
gloves.”
    “Too bad I didn’t arrive sooner,” Duncan said. “I’d have put
an end to the questioning.”
    “Well, at least you were here to keep the other heirs from
skinning me alive.” Darlene raised her glass in a salute. “I still can’t
believe Jake signed a new will the day before we married.”
    Good grief. I’d walked in on the reading of the
billionaire’s last will and testament.
    A smile tugged at the corners of Darlene’s mouth. “Boy, was
Kyle steamed. Gina may have been pissed, too, but it’s hard to peer through her
alcoholic haze.”
    My jaw dropped. Given the bitter protest, it appeared
Darlene hit the inheritance jackpot. Though it was none of my business, I was
dying to know how all the heirs fared.
    Duncan interrupted my higher math speculations. “Marley, you
can let Ross know the Maritime Museum is a beneficiary. Jake bequeathed the old
cottage on the estate plus funds to feature it in a new museum wing. He also
established a trust for capital improvements, acquisitions and operating
funds.”
    I grinned. Wow. “Ross will be thrilled. I can’t wait to see
it. My cousin’s sure enamored.”
    “Want to take a look now?” Darlene asked. “If so,