Chapter 25

"What?" she couldn't have heard him correctly. "Jonathan. We were just with them last night."

"I know. It's pretty surreal."

"What happened? How's Hazel?"

"All I know is they found his body on the beach this morning." He picked up a pair of her jeans and a shirt and handed them to her. "I don't know anything about Hazel yet," he said as he searched the drawers for her bra and panties, trying to be quick and shut the drawers softly. "They aren't saying much of anything other than they want to talk to us." He found the drawer she had them in and handed some to her. "I'll wait for you out here."

Jennifer could no longer tell where the spinning from the hangover ended, and the spinning from the information began. How could it possibly be that Paul was dead? Surely they had the wrong guy. She dressed quickly, noticing that he had been careful to pull a flesh-colored bra and not the black one to go under her the pale pink shirt he had pulled out for her. She was impressed with his ability to think things through even under pressure.

Stepping into the bathroom, she ran a pick through her hair and pulled the sides back into a barrette, leaving her bangs free. Feeling she didn't have time to put on makeup, she splashed fresh water on her face and toweled it dry.

Deeming herself at least somewhat presentable, she made her way to the living room where she discovered Jonathan was with a local officer and a face she knew, "Nico. How are you this morning?"

Jonathan turned to look at his wife as she entered the room. She was breathtaking without even trying. The shirt he had picked for her was a sheer material, pale pink with little white flowers embroidered all over it. The neckline scooped, giving just a hint of her cleavage. He hadn't seen it on her before this moment, but he was sure she would be wearing it often if he had his way.

"Good morning Mrs. Hart," Nico greeted her. "This is Inspector Jean-Claude Severac. I have been working with him while I have been undercover these last six months. He is here to help with the death of Mr. Paul King."

"Inspector."

"Madame Hart."

"Mr. Hart was just telling us a little about your evening last night." Nico caught Jennifer's eye, "And your rough morning. It seems he thinks there was more in your Blue Devil than alcohol. Do you remember your server?"

"Our server? I don't even remember being served."

"See what I mean? The one bottle of champagne the four of us shared would not do that to her. Even with the mixed alcohol." Jonathan added.

"So why do you think you were not so affected, Monsieur Hart? Madame King was as bad as your wife," Inspector Severac questioned him.

"Because I was… rather in a hurry to return to our bungalow last night." He watched their facing, looking for signs they understood his meaning. They obviously missed it. "Don't you see? I didn't drink as much of it as the rest of them did."

"So of the four of you…" the Inspector tried to keep up.

"... I was the only one who didn't finish my glass, Inspector Severac."

"How is Hazel, Nico?" Jennifer stepped in to change the subject.

"She's pretty shaken." Nico tried to be as delicate as the circumstances would allow. "She, like you, remembers little of the evening."

"So she doesn't know how Paul ended up on the beach?"

"No idea. Hazel woke early this morning, and Paul was gone."

"She woke early this morning?" Jonathan questioned, looking at Jennifer, before looking back at Nico. "Then there's no way she could be as bad off as my wife. When Jennifer woke, it was almost noon. And even then, she needed aspirin and your arrival to get out of bed fully."

"What are you saying, Mr. Hart," Nico pressed.

"I'm saying, knowing how Jennifer was affected by whatever was in that drink, I find it hard to believe she was awake very much before ten, and definitely not enough to realize Paul was not with her."

"What, exactly, does that mean to you, Monsieur Hart?" It was the Inspector's turn to press Jonathan for more details.

"All I'm saying is when they brought the drinks to our table, Jennifer and I seemed to be the only ones concerned about where they came from and who exactly our mysterious benefactor was." Jonathan looked over at his wife again, "And of the four of us, Jennifer was by far the most affected by the drinks." Thinking back on their evening, Jonathan added, "Even as we headed out of the restaurant, Jennifer was the only one who seemed intoxicated at all. We may be newlyweds, Inspector, but I have seen my wife drink before last night. And believe me, she can hold her alcohol. However, I was the only one who didn't drink much of the drink. I was beginning to question what all was in the drink even before you knocked on the door. So, can you see why I think it's a little suspicious that she was able to wake up early?"

"Are you trying to say she killed Paul?"

"Not yet. Though I would sure be looking her direction."

"Are you suggesting we just go accuse her of murder?"

"No," he looked back at Jennifer, "but maybe we can talk to her?"