ôThe thing is, Charlene,ö said Odelia, ôthat you called Valina yesterday, and made some threatening noises, apparently. So threatening, in fact, that you scared the living daylights out of her.ö
Instead of looking rueful, Charlene actually broke into laughter.ôI did! Yes, youÆre absolutely right. I called her and gave her a good verbal beating, IÆm afraid. Of course at the time I was feeling a little overwrought.ö She held up her hands. ôNow I know what they say. Never pick up the phone in anger. Count to ten and take a deep breath. But I mustsay I didnÆt feel like counting to ten, or taking a deep breath. I felt like going in there, guns blazing, and letting her have it, double-barreled. And yes, I probably shouldnÆt have done that, and in hindsight IÆm sorry I did, but whatÆs done is done. And if you must know, what she told me took the sting out of the whole thing, and I felt much, much calmer.ö
ôShe told you that Alec never swiped right, never went out on a date, and was only interested in looking at profiles of women answering to the description of this so-called Black Widow,ö said Odelia.
ôThatÆs exactly what she said. And thatÆs exactly what I needed to hear. So I apologized, told her I still thought it was a rotten thing to do to expose her clients like that, and hoped sheÆd fix her site so it wouldnÆt happen again, and she promised me she would and that was that.ö
ôSo you didnÆt go down there last night and shoot an arrow through her heart?ö asked Chase.
CharleneÆs eyebrows rose. ôOh, my God! How can you even ask me that!ö Then she closed her eyes and made a waving gesture with her hands. ôIÆm sorry. Of course you have to ask me that. After that phone callàö She opened her eyes again and placed her hands flat on her desk. ôI did not go downto the offices of Valina Fawn last night, and I did not shoot Valina through the heart with an arrow. You happy now? Are we good?ö
ôItÆs not a question of me being happy or unhappy, Charlene,ö Chase grunted, looking distinctly unhappy, I would have said, ôbut of asking the kinds of routine questions we always ask under these circumstances. When we talked to ValinaÆs PA she told us that your call was responsible for the worst five minutes in ValinaÆs life. And then of course thereÆs this.ö He nodded to Odelia, who placed her phone on the desk and played that video.
Charlene watched it dispassionately.ôIÆd completely forgotten about that, actually,ö she murmured. ôWhen was this?ö She frowned at the screen. ôOh, thatÆs right.ö
ôWhere was this taken?ö asked Odelia.
ôYou know where it was taken, Odelia,ö said Charlene with a touch of stiffness.
ôBrookwell,ö said Odelia.
Charlene nodded and leaned back in her chair, then gazed out through her window at the scudding gray clouds.ôBefore I met your uncle, I was a single woman for a long time. A widow, actually. I met Jim at Brookwell, and for a while we were the clubÆs top archers. Won all the competitions, had a great time. We got married a year after we met, and I was happyùactually happy that IÆd found the great love of my life. Until one of the other club members told me that sheÆd seen Jim kissing a girl in the dressing rooms late one night. It soon transpired that Jim hadnÆt just kissed this one girl, but a whole slew of girls. Turned out that he had quite a reputation at the club as a ladiesÆ man,though I would have used a different word for his behavior. When I confronted him he said it was just a dallianceùor dalliances, pluralùand none of it meant anything. Not really. He seemed to expect IÆd tolerate his behavior. As if sleeping with other women was what all men did. Jim died fromheart failure before I had a chance to divorce him, but I would haveùin a flash.ö
ôMy God,ö Odelia said.
ôIt took me a long time to get over the betrayal, and when I met your uncle it took me an even longer time to accept that not all men are like Jim. That there actually are some decent men out there. So naturally when I discovered that AlecÆs name was on that listàö
ôIt brought back your ex-husbandÆs betrayal.ö
Charlene nodded.
ôWhat about Brookwell?ö
ôThe moment I found out about JimÆs affair, I quit the club and have never set foot back there again. Too many bad memories connected with that place now. Good memories, too, of course, as you can probably tell from that video, but unfortunately the bad ones seem to have a habit of canceling out the good ones.ö
ôDo you still have a bow lying around, Charlene?ö asked Chase.
Charlene shot him an intent look, then finally shook her head.ôI burned it. All of it.ö
Chapter 11
The Brookwell Archery Club is located on what had once been a farmerÆs field but where now a clubhouse had been erected and several lanes where club members could practice their art. Carlotta Brook, along with her husband Dennis, was on hand to answer a few questions about the club, and even though they didnÆt look overly concerned, it was obvious from the way Dennis kept a steady eye on Chaseùnot unlike the eye he kept on his target when firing off another arrow from his quiverùhe wasnÆt completely at ease.
Then again, when the police drop by asking a lot of questions in connection to a murder inquiry, it takes a strong soul not to be affected. Even innocent people tend to crack under the strain when seated across from Chase when heÆs got his copÆs cap firmly lodged on his cranium.
ôSo, Dennis. I couldnÆt help but notice that your name was on the Valina Fawn site,ö said Chase, opening the interview with a shot across the bow.
ôYes,ö said Dennis, shooting a quick glance at his wife. ôYes, it was.ö
Carlotta had turned her head away and was staring icily in the opposite direction.
We were seated in the clubroom, where usually a fun and frolicking atmosphere prevails, but which was now completely devoid of club members.
ôThough IÆd like to go on record and say that I never cheated on Carlotta. Not even once. Sorry, what did you say, darling?ö
Carlotta had produced a sort of disparaging snort, but otherwise kept mum.
ôNo, but what I mean to say, I never once went out with anyone. I never even swept up, or down, or whatever it is you do on these sites.ö
ôSwipe right if itÆs a match, I believe,ö said Chase.
ôYes. Yes, of course. Swipe right. Well, I never did. I only swiped left.ö
Carlotta turned back to her husband, looking furious.ôYou told me you never swiped at all! That the only reason you were on the site in the first place was to see what Jaymie was up to!ö
ôJaymie?ö asked Odelia.
ôOur daughter,ö said Dennis, nervously licking his lips. ôShe told us she was on the site, and so I created a profile just to see what it was all about.ö
ôTo spy on your daughter, you mean,ö said Chase.
ôNo! Absolutely not. Justà well, you know. Keep up, I guess.ö He smiled an obsequious smile that didnÆt quite meet his eyes. In fact he had a sort of hunted look on his face that reminded me of certain species of dogs when theyÆve been bad and are locked up in their kennel for the night, so they can have a good long think about their appalling behavior.
ôDo you think Dennis was locked up in the doghouse last night, Max?ö asked Dooley, proving he was on the same page.
ôIt wouldnÆt surprise me,ö I said as I took in the manÆs furtive behavior. He even looked a little unkempt, I thought. As if he had slept in these same clothes.
ôLook, darling, I never meant for you to find outùI mean it wasnÆt my intention for you toàö His voice trailed off, and he slumped a little more in his seat.
ôWhat can you tell us about your movements last night?ö asked Chase, deciding to put the guy out of his misery. ôLetÆs say between midnight and two oÆclock this morning?ö
ôI was home,ö said Carlotta. ôFast asleep at that time as usual. Early to bed, early to rise has been my motto ever since I was a professional archer.ö
ôAnd you, sir?ö asked Odelia.
ôMe?ö Dennis said in a small voice. ôWellà home, of course.ö