Chapter Forty-Six Bennett
| Forty-Six |
Bennett
Bennett’s eyes widened. He gave Bridgette a plaintive look. “Of course I didn’t kill Poppy! And if you really thought that, why have you waited all this time to confront me?”
“I just got her letter. It was mailed to my old address. My cousin lives there now, and she put it aside and forgot about it. She was cleaning out the house for her move and found it and sent it to me.”
“Can I see it?”
She handed the letter to him. His eyes scanned the page. Poppy had told Bridgette that she was unhappy. That she had discovered Bennett’s secret and was planning to divorce him. Fortunately, she hadn’t disclosed what the secret was. He thought quickly. Looking at Bridgette, he tented his hands.
“Okay, yes, we were having problems. But we were trying to work things out. We loved each other. We weren’t going to divorce.”
“What secret was she talking about?”
“She was jealous that I was still in touch with an ex-girlfriend. She wanted me to cut all ties, but she’s an old family friend and I couldn’t.”
Bridgette scrutinized him. “Were you cheating on her?”
“No! Poppy was the love of my life. I’ve never stopped mourning her.”
Her eyes went to the ring on his finger. “You still wear your wedding band?”
He had a decision to make. If he went along with the lie and she found out that he’d remarried she might never stop digging. He shook his head.
“I recently got remarried.”
“So I guess you did finally stop mourning.” She stood up. “I know there’s no proof you did anything. But I still don’t believe it was an accident.”
“Bridgette, please. You’re wrong. I would have never hurt her.”
She scoffed. “You’re smooth. I’ll give you that. You’re hiding something. I don’t know how, but I’m going to figure out what.”
As she stormed off, Bennett watched, relieved to see her go. He wasn’t worried. His secret had died with Poppy.