liquid for a moment, then glanced at his wife, who’d swung around on the couch to look at him. He let out a long sigh. ‘‘I asked Peggy to drop off the presents I’d purchased for Mitzy. She offered and since she didn’t have any plans and I wanted everything here before Mitzy got home and I wasn’t sure what time I could get off work, I thought, why not?’’
Oliver had rattled that off a little too quickly. Jack looked at him, wondering why the man would lie about something as innocuous as having Peggy drop off the gifts. Except for the fact that the woman was now dead in his foyer.
‘‘So you had already bought all the presents?’’ Jack asked, trying to pin down the lie. ‘‘When was that?’’
‘‘What does it matter?’’ Oliver snapped. Mitzy hadn’t said a word but she was still looking at her husband, a hard brittleness in her gaze.
‘‘It matters to me,’’ Jack said. And it appeared to matter to Mitzy as well. ‘‘When did you purchase the gifts? I’m sure you have the receipts or the clerks at the stores can substantiate your story.’’
Oliver glared at him. ‘‘I had Peggy buy everything this afternoon.’’
Mitzy turned back around, picked up her martini and drained half of it.
‘‘Where did Ms. Kane buy the chocolates?’’ Jack asked.
Oliver seemed to hesitate as if he might be considering lying. ‘‘Sweet Things.’’
‘‘Her choice? Or yours?’’ Jack asked.
‘‘Mine. I’d called ahead so I got exactly what I wanted,’’ he said, glancing at his wife’s back, as if he thought that fact was going to save him. But Mitzy seemed more interested in her drink than her husband now. Jack could understand that.
‘‘Cash? Or charge?’’ Jack asked.
Again Oliver seemed to hesitate, then said, ‘‘Charge. I would imagine Peggy still has my credit card.’’ The realization definitely didn’t make him happy. ‘‘I should have known Peggy couldn’t handle this.’’ He didn’t seem torn up over his secretary’s death and that bothered Jack. But Oliver was upset over something and it had to be more than getting caught sending his secretary out to do his Valentine’s Day shopping.
It also made Jack wonder how Peggy had gotten the job and why. ‘‘How long has Peggy been your secretary?’’
‘‘Too long,’’ Mitzy commented under her breath, then turned her baby blues on Jack. ‘‘Obviously, Oliver only hired her because he felt sorry for her and look where it’s gotten him.’’
Where had it gotten him? Jack wondered.
‘‘Just a little over a year,’’ Oliver said as if Mitzy hadn’t spoken.
‘‘Are you saying she wasn’t a good secretary?’’
‘‘Adequate,’’ Oliver said and finished his drink.
‘‘But you kept her on,’’ Jack persisted.
‘‘Finding anyone who wants to work in River’s Edge is next to impossible,’’ Oliver said.
Mitzy emptied her glass.
‘‘When did you arrive at the penthouse?’’ Jack asked Oliver.
‘‘Right after Mitzy.’’ Oliver glanced at Tempest as if he expected her to either corroborate his story—or contradict it. ‘‘I came up the back stairs.’’
Jack lifted a brow.
‘‘The elevator was blocked, remember?’’ Oliver said. ‘‘I wasn’t even aware I didn’t have my key.’’
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