“Well it’s not like he didn’t deserve it!” Kell snapped.
I dropped my hands to my hips. “How the hell did he deserve that? You don’t even know him!”
“I know he killed his last wife,” he shot back.
“No, you asshole, you don’t know that! You don’t know shit and neither do I, all right? So just relax.” I sighed, stepping away and placing a hand on my forehead. “This is a fucking shitshow. And where are your things? Did you even sleep?”
“How the hell am I supposed to sleep when I think my sister is about to get murdered? He’s lucky I didn’t call the fucking cops on his ass.”
“Oh my God, can you please stop using words like cops and murder? Look, last night I got a little paranoid, okay? But things are better today and he explained himself, so I shouldn’t have jumped the gun and sent you those texts.”
“The fact that you even had to send that message says enough, Samira.” He peered over his shoulder. I looked with him and we could still see Roland marching toward the house, his shoulders hiked and his head down as he held his lip. “How the hell could you marry him? I told you to stay away from that man!”
“I know you did, but I also heard him out and I don’t believe he’s responsible for what happened with his first wife.”
“Wow,” he scoffed. “He must really have you dick-whipped. Or attached to his money. Is this some kind of retaliation for me having to cut you off? Because if it is, then we can fix that—”
“No—it’s not about any of that.” I glanced over again. Roland was farther away now, passing Melanie’s shed.
“Look, I found something, okay?” I told him in a lower voice. “Something personal from her.”
Kell’s eyes narrowed. “Something like what?”
“She used to write in these journals . . .”
Kell cocked his head, confused. “Okay?”
“Her journals tell a lot about what was happening while she was with Roland—before she died. I haven’t finished reading them yet, but I think there’s something in there that might explain what led her to drive over that cliff.”
“That’s a stretch, Mira.” He scratched his head. Then he rubbed his arms. “Fuck, it’s cold.”
“Let’s ride back to the house.” I collected my clubs and Roland’s and placed them in the back, then climbed behind the wheel of the golf cart, heading back to the station.
“She cheated on Roland with his cousin,” I said.
“What?” Kell spat. “She wrote that in her journals?”
“Yes. Apparently, she was seeing a therapist and he told her to write down where she thought her marriage went wrong. She goes deep. You wouldn’t believe some of the things I’ve read so far. She had a sister who lived here for a while too.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. And supposedly she didn’t show up to Melanie’s funeral. Roland told me he hasn’t seen her since Melanie died and he finds it strange since they were close.”
“Maybe she was in denial about her death. Happens more often than we think.”
“No, Kell, I’m telling you. Something isn’t adding up with this. I want to take this as just one big coincidence, but knowing Melanie cheated on Roland with his cousin and that her sister didn’t show at the funeral is really fucking weird. The way she describes her sister is like you and me, as far as our bond goes. Well, in a way. If one of us died, we’d show up at the other’s funeral, no matter what we have going on.”
I parked the cart and focused on Kell. “That’s why I need you to do me a favor.”
“What kind of favor?” he asked, rubbing his arms with chattering teeth.
“I need you to find out where her sister is.”
“What? How the hell am I supposed to do that?”
“I don’t know! You have resources with the agency, right? You guys can dig deep to get rid of the bad stuff—you tell me about it all the time. Have whoever does the digging to look for you. I’ve tried googling her but can’t find anything. She’s not on social media, but she has to be out there somewhere and if she is, I feel like she knows something.”
“Fine, I’ll see what I can do, but I’ll be honest. Sounds like you’re trying too hard to prove your new husband is innocent. What if it turns out he isn’t?” Kell asked as we made our way toward the mansion. “What if you find out something you don’t want to know?”
I didn’t know how to answer that, so I didn’t. Instead, I said, “You have to apologize to him.”
“Apologize?” He balked. “For what?”
“You punched him on his property, Kell. You embarrassed him.”
Kell rolled his eyes and I stopped walking.
“If you don’t, I’ll leave your ass out here in the cold. This is my fault, okay? I feel bad. You have to apologize.”