Weave of Absence by Carol Ann Martin

attention. “Are you telling me she named him as beneficiary?”
    I nodded. “Now do you get it?”
    He took another bite of chicken and chewed in silence for a moment. “If it was anybody else, I’d flat out tell them there was nothing to investigate. But I have to admit, you do have an instinct for these things. I’m probably going to regret this, but . . .”
    â€œThank you. I’m telling you, there’s something wrong with the man.”
    Suddenly Winston hurtled straight into thetable, trying to look over the top. The next few seconds seemed to play in slow motion. Glasses fell over, splashing wine everywhere. Then the table dipped, and plates, glasses, and cutlery went crashing to the floor.
    â€œWinston!” Matthew said. The dog froze. He studied the mess in silence and then slunk away with his head low. “You should feel guilty,” Matthew called after him. He squatted, picking up broken pieces of porcelain.
    I hurried to the kitchen to get a mop. “Don’t be upset with Winnie,” I said. “The table is old. I should really get a new one.”
    â€œI’ll take a look at it. Maybe I can fix it.” As soon we finished clearing up the mess, Matthew assessed the damage. “I’ll swing by with some tools tomorrow and it’ll be as good as new.”
    â€œI guess that brings us to coffee and dessert,” I said. As I ground coffee, Matthew brought the conversation back to Bruce.
    â€œWhere does this Bruce guy live?”
    â€œHe’s been staying at the Longview for the last month, maybe longer. I don’t know much about him.” I shrugged. “Marnie says he was a successful financial advisor, sold his firm, and came out here looking for a place to retire.”
    â€œRetire? How old is the guy?”
    â€œI don’t know for sure, but I’d say he must be around forty-five or so—maybe even younger.”
    â€œReally?” He leaned against the doorway, folding his arms. “I thought you were going to say hewas in his sixties or older. But if he’s only in his forties, he’s awfully young to be retiring.” He said this as if retiring young suddenly made Doherty more suspicious. He continued. “In my experience, a successful financial advisor will postpone retiring for as long as he can. He’ll take on assistants or even partners. That way he can enjoy as much free time as he likes and still keep the money rolling in. Maybe the guy wasn’t doing as well as he wants everyone to believe.”
    â€œThere’s something else too.” I felt like a real jerk for saying this. “Not only is he younger than Marnie by about a decade, but he’s handsome. And you know Marnie. She’s the salt of the earth, and anybody who gets to know her loves her, but she wouldn’t exactly win any beauty pageants.”
    â€œThat doesn’t mean a thing. Some men like a woman with some meat on her and with some experience.”
    â€œHow do you like your women?” I asked. As soon as the question was out, I wanted to bite back the words. Then I reminded myself that everybody kept telling me I should flirt with him. His eyes met mine with a mischievous glint.
    â€œOh, I don’t know. I like them pretty. Pretty is better than ugly. And I like them smart. Smart sounds better than stupid.”
    â€œVery funny. Well, there are plenty of pretty and smart girls around. How come you’re still not dating anybody?” Now I knew I was pushing it.
    â€œMaybe because the girl I like isn’t available.”He was still looking at me, but I couldn’t read his expression.
    â€œYou’re in love with a married woman?” I was shocked. When I’d first moved to Briar Hollow, I’d imagined that something might have been going on between Jenny and him. To my relief, I’d soon found out that all they shared was a friendship. If Matthew was in love