Chapter Thirty-One #2
“We’ve analyzed the security footage and identified almost everyone who was around your husband that evening,” Detective Fox said in a crisp voice.
“The cameras don’t cover every part of the restaurant, so it’s possible that Mr. Abadi interacted with other people that evening that the cameras didn’t capture. ”
I continued to stare at the last images of my husband.
“Can I have copies of these?” I asked. “I’d like to show them to my children.
” But would they want to see the photos now that they knew about the secret house?
I’d called them every day since they’d found out about Lizzie Martins.
Ayla barely picked up. Adam was always in a hurry to get off the phone.
“I’m sure that can be arranged.” She pointed to one photo with a red-tipped nail. “As I said, we’ve been able to identify almost everyone.” She tapped the face of a man next to Ali. “Do you know this man?”
He was a stranger to me. “No, I’ve never seen him.” My gaze slid over the photo until it landed on a familiar face. I scrutinized the image more closely, the baldness on top and band of dark hair curving around the sides. Chills scattered through me.
“I do know this man. But what was Bill Warren doing at a Channel Three event? He worked with Ali at the accounting firm. He had nothing to do with the TV station.”
“Who is Bill Warren?” Nasser asked.
I explained about Bill Warren and Fake Jake.
Nasser shifted in his seat. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“I tried to on the elevator.”
“What exactly happened?” Detective Fox interjected.
“Bill Warren came to my house on two separate occasions. You can ask my sister.” I looked to Nasser. “Lulu was there the first time this guy came over. She saw him. He picked up Ali’s computer and dropped off things from his desk.”
“He said he was a friend from college?” Nasser seemed to search his memory. “I’ve never heard of the guy and I was Ali’s roommate all four years at school. I think I would have met him.”
Detective Fox scribbled some notes on a notepad. “Mrs. Abadi, did Bill Warren ask you for anything else or bring you anything else?”
I thought back. “He did ask if there were any of Ali’s work papers at the house. I looked but I didn’t find any.”
She stood up. “If you’ll excuse me for just a minute. I need to check something.”
After she left, I looked at Nasser. “Why would Ali’s coworker lie about who he is?”
“I can’t think of an aboveboard reason. Can you?”
“No.” I picked up the photo. As I stared at the grainy image of the only man I’d ever loved romantically, countless interactions with Ali flashed through my mind.
The mundane. The loving. His smile. The way his mouth tightened when he was mad.
How cherished he made me feel. How I could always depend on him. The depth of my love for him.
You know that I would never do anything to hurt you, right? His words from our second honeymoon came back to me. I never loved anyone more than I love you. Nothing means more to me than you and our family.
The common thread of reflections from the people who knew him best—Nasser, his college friends, and even his colleagues—flooded my thoughts.
Ali wasn’t the cheating type.
Ali loved Amira.
He wouldn’t cheat on her.
Seemed so into you.
Always so pleasant and thoughtful.
All Ali ever talked about was you and the kids.
Everyone thought he was a devoted family man.
Hard to believe that Ali led any kind of double life.
Something clicked in my brain and it was like I’d known the truth all along.
If only I’d trusted my instincts from the beginning.
Ali would never cheat on me. I knew it in my bones.
I sagged into the chair, relief flooding me.
I felt light, almost giddy. But I still needed to prove what I knew in my gut, and to fully restore and protect Ali’s reputation, especially for his children.
Nasser’s voice broke into my thoughts. “Cuz looks good,” he said, peering over my shoulder.
I soaked in my husband’s face. The smile I missed so much. The man I knew had been true to me. “He looks preoccupied.” My throat clogged. “I hope his last hours were good ones.”
“He loved you,” Nasser said softly. “You made him happy.”
The image swam before my eyes. “I did, didn’t I? But there are so many unanswered questions. Like Cozy Glenn and Lizzie. And why was there Xanax in his system?”
He blew out a breath. “I wish I knew.”
“What about this Fake Jake business? Do you think it’s connected to the break-in?”
“It’s possible. The police will find out.”
Detective Fox returned a short time later. “We’ve arranged to obtain Mr. Abadi’s laptop. We’re going to examine the device to see what Bill Warren might be searching for.”
My gaze darted between them. “You think he wanted to go through Ali’s computer before mailing it back?”
“We’ll look into it,” Detective Fox said. “Now, in regards to your husband’s work things, Bill Warren apparently told the firm that you asked him to bring the contents of Mr. Abadi’s desk to your house.”
“I did no such thing. I’ve never heard the man’s name before today.
He called me, as Fake Jake, and said he was going to deliver a box packed up from my husband’s desk.
” A shiver ran down my spine. It had never occurred to me to question Fake Jake’s identity.
“I thought he was the real Jake. And the real Jake was someone I sort of felt like I knew because Ali talked about him a lot.”
Nasser leaned forward. “When will you speak with Mr. Warren about this new information?”
“He is out of the country at the moment. We’ll interview him as soon as he’s back in the US.”
“Do you believe my client is at any risk from him?”
“I have no reason to believe Mrs. Abadi is in danger. Mr. Warren’s interest seems to lie in Mr. Abadi’s computer and whatever information he believes is on the device,” Detective Fox said. “If he wanted to harm Mrs. Abadi, he’s had ample time and opportunity to do so before now.”
“That’s good to hear,” I said, some of my anxiety easing.
Nasser came to his feet. “If that’s all—”
“Actually,” Detective Fox said. “I have some more questions for Mrs. Abadi.”
Nasser settled back in his seat.
“Yes?” I said.
“In interviewing some of Mr. Abadi’s friends and acquaintances, it has come to our attention that you threatened to kill your husband if he ever cheated on you.”
An incredulous laugh erupted from my throat. “That’s ridiculous.”
She watched me carefully. “Do you deny threatening to kill your husband?”
“Of course I deny it! I never threatened Ali.”
“This would have been a few years ago when you were leaving a friend’s wedding.”
“We’re Arabs. We go to a lot of weddings,” I retorted. “You’ll have to be more specific.”
“This was a wedding at the Parkview Hotel. You were waiting for the valet to bring your car around, and a wedding guest overheard you threatening your husband with death if he was unfaithful to you.”
I tried to remember back and realized she was talking about the time we went to Rula’s sister’s wedding. When Ali said that he thought her husband, Marwan, slept around.
It would be hard to let another woman sink her claws into you, I remembered telling him. It might be easier to shoot you.
He’d laughed. So you’d murder me. Got it.
A chill went through me. Were the police seriously asking me if I’d wanted to kill my husband? “We were joking around,” I told the detective. “I said I’d shoot Ali if he cheated, and he threatened to kill any man I cheated with. Neither of us was serious. It was just . . . couple bantering.”
Her steady gaze remained fixed on my face. “And you’re sure that’s all it was?”
My cheeks were hot. “I’m positive.”
Nasser stood again. “Mrs. Abadi has answered your questions. I think we’re done here.”
I jumped to my feet, eager to follow Nasser out.
“Am I being paranoid,” I asked him once we were alone in the elevator, “or are the cops really out to get me?”
“Like I said, the spouse is often the perpetrator in situations like this,” he said. “Law enforcement is predisposed to thinking you’re the guilty party.”
My stomach turned over. “That’s just great.”
“That’s why I don’t want you talking to the police when I’m not there.”
I nodded. “You won’t have to tell me again.”
Anger flared in my gut. I was fed up, tired of being unjustly accused, of having my home broken into and being harassed by people like Fake Jake. I was determined to learn the truth, to prove that Ali wasn’t a cheating jerk. And nothing and no one was going to stop me.