Page 26 of Hell Hath No Fury
Eric, she thought,and Nell. “He made an offer. I turned it down.”
Fergusson jotted some notes. “How well did you know Mr. Jones?”
“Not well. We went to school together, but I hadn’t seen or heard from him in over ten years.”
“You went to school with him?”
Had she volunteered too much? “Yes.”
“Which school?”
“High school.”
“So, you really have known him for quite some time.”
She thought about asking Fergusson how well he knew everyone he went to school with but decided to keep silent. He hadn’t actually asked her a question after all.
“Do you know his wife Ashley?
“I was acquainted with her. Again, in high school. Not since then.”
“You weren’t friends?”
Emma thought about the definition of friends. Ashley had been a cheerleader. Emma had been in the photography club. But to tell Fergusson they weren’t friends could be interpreted as the opposite. Emma liked the word she’d used and stuck with it. “We were acquaintances.”
Fergusson scribbled. “When was the last time you saw Mr. Jones?”
“Yesterday at about eleven a.m.”
“Where were you last night? Say between six o’clock and eight this morning?”
“On my property. This morning, we stopped at Eric Baker’s house—” Emma knew immediately she’d said too much.
Fergusson’s eyes sparked in interest. “Eric Baker? Who’s he?”
Emma sensed he knew exactly who Eric was, and he probably knew his part in Sonny’s attempt to purchase her farm. She shot a look at Matthias, who stood watching from about thirty feet away. He must’ve readhelpin her expression because he started toward them.
“Fergusson,” Matthias said, his voice sounding like a snake hissing through ground glass. “I think you’re done with her.”
“Not really,” he replied.
“Yes. Really.” Matthias fixed his gaze on Emma. “Wait for me in the Jeep. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
Fergusson raised a hand, signalingstop. “I still have a few more questions for Ms. Anderson.”
“Not now,” Matthias said.
“Then when?”
“When she has an attorney present.”
A slow sneer spread across Fergusson’s face. “You want to play it that way, do you, Honeywell?”
“I’m not playing.”
Fergusson swung his gaze to Emma. “You letting him speak for you?”
She fought an urge to smile and say “Hell yeah.” Instead, she said simply, “Yes.”
