Veronica seemed to be unable to come to grips with the idea that Ron, the father of her son, might have killed his former lover, Mary Austin. She wasn't quite sure why the thought was so unbelievable. She knew from experience how ruthless and heartless Ron could be. Just look at how he treated her--and their son. But murder? Ron wasn't the type.
Oh, please. Anyone was the type if they were pushed hard enough. Maybe Mary had been after Ron to leave Mavis and marry her. Maybe Ron had killed Mary in a moment of rage, of temporary insanity. Veronica could see that happening.
"Did you hear?" Chelsea asked in a hushed tone as she paused in front of Veronica's desk. Everyone seemed to be whispering at work that day and there was an air of definite unrest.
"Hear what?"
"About Mavis Schuyler. Apparently, she's missing."
"Mavis Schuyler?"
Mavis Schuyler. Ron's wife. The third angle in the triangle Veronica had been enmeshed in all those years go. Veronica remembered how Mavis had been almost thirty years earlier. She doubted that she'd changed too much since then...
"Excuse me, ma'am, but you can't just walk into Mr. Schuyler's office!"
The woman who had swept into Veronica's office stopped and stared at her as if she'd just encountered a squashed bug on one of her false eyelashes. "I'm Mrs. Schuyler and I can do anything I damn well please!"
So this was Ron's wife. Instantly, Veronica felt young, inexperienced and extremely gauche. Mavis Schuyler was beautiful and dressed in an expensive outfit that made Veronica's clothes seem even more discount store than usual. Why would Ron even look at her when he had a wife like Mavis waiting for him at home?
"Are you new?" Mavis asked, her eyes flicking up and down over Veronica, clearly unimpressed with what she saw.
"I've worked for Mr. Schuyler for almost three months."
"The flavor of the week," Mavis replied. "Tell me, are you sleeping with him?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"You heard me: are you sleeping with my husband? You wouldn't be the first and you won't be the last but listen, my dear, he'll never leave me so don't get your hopes up."
Mavis lifted her nose high into the air before heading into her husband's office, leaving Veronica behind, open-mouthed and suddenly very aware of the fact that she was doing an incredibly stupid thing...
Veronica stared at her co-worker. "What do you mean, missing?"
"She didn't come home yesterday and now the police have been called in. They suspect foul play." Chelsea rolled her eyes. "And we all know what that means--they should be calling our fearless leader in to see what he knows. The police always talk to the spouse first since they're usually the ones who did it."
"Did Peter tell you about it?"
"Are you kidding? Peter is a regular Boy Scout. He never breaks the rules and he never talks about cases with me. No, I heard from someone in HR."
Veronica had to look away. Like everyone else at Schuyler Industries, she'd heard the rumors about Peter Van Husen and Mavis Schuyler. She'd also spotted the two of them walking into the Hen House Bar and Grill a few weeks earlier and they hadn't looked like they were going in for the $4.95 burger basket. From everything Veronica had heard, Mrs. Ron Schuyler had made Chelsea's husband into her latest Boy Toy. It made Veronica sick. The Schuyler's had to have one of the worst examples of marital bliss in the world. "Peter hasn't told you anything?"
"Actually I haven't seen Peter since Saturday. He's had to work a lot of overtime."
"Oh." So Peter hadn't been around for a few days either. Turning back to her computer, Veronica wondered if it was possible that Mavis Schuyler had run off with another man--such as Chelsea's husband. "Well, I hope they--I mean she--shows up soon."
Veronica also hoped that Mavis Schuyler hadn't fallen prey to the same man who murdered Mary Austin. A man whom Mavis just might be married to.
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