Part 19 (2/2)
”Yes, but they have a different dynamic than we do. It's apparent that Gimli-er, Jake-relies on Betsy to run his business.”
”Really? It seemed to me as if she was scared of him, what with the way she greeted him.”
Stella shook her head. ”She's scared of his outbursts and what he might do when he loses his temper, but she's not scared of him. She has too much control.”
”Control? Really? I didn't get that.”
”Sure. Betsy takes care of the office, devises the marketing campaigns, runs the ads, acts as spokesperson, and even makes sure Jake gets to his estimates on time. Jake does the work, but she drives the business. We were on our way out the door and she was still trying to get us to sign them to do our well work.”
”And what does Betsy get out of the deal?”
”Same thing my mother did: money, shopping sprees, financial security ...”
”And the flirting? What's up with that?”
”She's probably bored. Not only is her husband rough around the edges, but she gets to see that roughness every day, nearly all day.”
”Hmmm. You think you'll ever get bored of me?”
”So long as every woman you meet is undressing you with their eyes, I don't see how I possibly could.”
Nick grinned. ”Betsy was driving you nuts back there, wasn't she?”
”Only every single time she looked, touched, or spoke to you,” Stella replied with mock cheerfulness.
”Yeah, I thought so; you don't exactly have a poker face. The question is, did Betsy drive Jake nuts too? If what you're saying is true-that she's the driving force behind the business-she might have been pus.h.i.+ng Jake to do something about Weston.”
”We saw for ourselves that it doesn't take much to move him to violence. I wonder how far he'd go if Betsy left him unchecked.”
”Or if Betsy had put the bug in his ear to begin with.”
Stella made a sudden turn onto Main Street.
”Um, honey?” Nick said. ”You're going the wrong way. You should have made a left.”
”I know where I'm going.”
”Not if we're heading to Perkins, you don't.”
”Who said we were heading to Perkins?” Stella asked.
”We did. This morning. To see if they have an AC adapter for the mattress, remember?”
”Of course I do, but there's something we need to do first.”
Nick groaned. ”Oh, no. The last time you said that, we wound up in Guadalajara.”
”Where else was I going to find an authentic mariachi costume? Certainly not in Acapulco.”
”Our cruise s.h.i.+p left without us.”
”But we had a good time waiting for the next one.”
”I guess ... so, what do we need to do this time?”
Stella paused for effect. ”Check out Weston's house.”
”No, we don't.”
”Yes, we do.”
”Why?”
”A few reasons. First, I want to see for myself if Maggie's painting is there.”
”Not that again. Didn't we both agree that it was useless to search for something that may or may not exist?”
”We did, but Maggie was so convinced-not only that the painting existed, but that Weston stole it. I think she deserves to have someone at least look into it.”
”It's not our fault no one looked into it. When you're named Crazy Maggie, people just don't put much stock in your claims.”
”She didn't give herself that name,” Stella mentioned.
”Yes, she did. She got it the minute she started waving guns around.”
”Maybe she just waves guns around because she's frustrated. She obviously misses her husband, and the police don't believe her treasure story-I'd be frustrated, too.”
”There are better, safer ways to deal with frustration-like yoga, for instance. But, moving on, what are your other reasons for wanting to see Weston's place?”
”I'd like to get some better insight into the man himself.”
”You mean aside from the fact that he was a grade-A jerk?”
”Yes. It's a rather one-dimensional view, don't you think?”
”Not if it fits.”
”You're right, maybe that's all Weston was: a jerk. But on the off chance he had a family, donated to charities, or had some other secret component to his life, I'd like to find out what it was.”
”Uh-huh, because a guy who commits mortgage fraud might be a benefactor to a school for orphaned boys.”
”No, but there had to be something he cared about-something that drove him to do the things he did.”
”Stella, I know you like to think the best of people, but Weston seems like the sort of guy who didn't need a reason, apart from money, to do the things he did. He hurt people in order to get ahead and line his own pockets.”
”You're probably right.”
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