“I suppose I must begin by explaining honestly that I did not like Allison McAllister.”

“But I did-” Frank started.

“Of course you did. She flirted outrageously with you,” Peggy said, glaring at her husband. “Now if you will allow me to continue…”

“Please.” He narrowed his eyes and glared back. Susan wondered if this was going to be one of the shortest second honeymoons on record.

“Allison approached us the first morning we were here. We had spent the night in a motel near the airport in Miami, took the first plane out in the morning, and were here in time for brunch.”

“That way we get an extra day at the resort without paying for an extra night,” Frank explained. “We always do that on vacation.”

“I’m sure these women aren’t interested in your cheap ways.” Peggy picked up her glass and then put it back down without drinking. For one moment, Susan had thought she was going to pour it over her husband’s head.

“So Allison approached you,” Kathleen prompted.

“We were placed at a table right next to her. And, of course, we said hello right away.”

“Frank has a hard time ignoring attractive women. Even when he’s on his second honeymoon.”

“We don’t have all day,” Kathleen announced, downing her drink in a few gulps and acting as though she was about to get up.

“And we’re going to tell you about meeting Allison,” Peggy said. “I’m sorry. Sometimes it’s difficult to forgive and forget. As you will learn,” she added to Kathleen.

“You sat next to Allison while you enjoyed the first brunch of your second honeymoon,” Susan prompted.

“Yes. And, of course, we introduced ourselves, as people do in a place like this. And Allison was very helpful. We couldn’t get into our cottage immediately, and she suggested we use her cottage to change in so we could use the pool and start to get some sun.”

“How nice of her,” Susan said. “Which cottage was she in?”

“Number nine. It’s the first two-story cottage you come to walking down the beach. I think she may have been the only single person here staying in a cottage that large. I must admit I was disappointed when I discovered that we had reserved one of the smaller cottages nearer the restaurant.”

“We’re all staying in one-story cottages,” Kathleen said. “So you went to number nine and changed into your swimsuits.”

“Yes, and we-the three of us-went out to sit in the gazebo. We were actually sitting together so close to the spot where she died that it makes me shiver. Perhaps even in the same deck chair. Even now when I think about it…” Peggy actually shivered.

“My wife is very emotional,” Frank said.

She glared at him before continuing. “Frank was tired and he took a rather long and noisy nap, but Allison and I got along so well. We chatted about ourselves-you know the way you do-and I told her about our second honeymoon. And she told me that she was here to meet a man, a man she has been in love with for years. At first she didn’t mention your husband by name. But then she started saying Jerry. She did seem to feel slightly uncomfortable admitting that this Jerry-well, your Jerry,” she added, glancing at Kathleen. “That he was married. I mean, I’d told her about the woman who wrecked-almost wrecked-our marriage, so it was quite natural that she wouldn’t feel comfortable admitting to being the other woman, although in a very different situation, of course.”

“Why do you think the situations were so different?” Susan asked.

“Well, Frank’s affair was just a physical thing.” Peggy looked over at her husband, and Susan thought the expression on her face just dared him to disagree with her. “Allison, on the other hand, had been in love with your husband for years and years. I believe she actually said decades.”

“So she claims she was in love with him when he was married to her sister,” Kathleen said.

“Yes. I suppose that’s why they kept their affair a secret.”

“And did she explain why they didn’t get together after she died?” Kathleen asked.

Apparently Peggy didn’t hear the sarcasm in Kathleen’s voice. “She did mention that. She said he was so broken up over her sister’s death that he didn’t know what he was doing for years afterward.”

“He didn’t know what he was doing?”

“She said he had a breakdown. Poor man. Anyway, he married you and had children and then, years later, Allison ran into him.”

“Where?”

Peggy looked at Susan as though she had asked something odd. “In the town he lives in, of course.”

“Oh.” Susan looked over at Kathleen. She knew they were both wondering what had brought Allison back to Hancock after all these years.

“Yes, she said she ran into him on the street while she was shopping. I told her that their meeting like that sounded like it was meant to be, and she agreed with me.”

“And then what happened?” Susan asked.

“Their affair started up again almost immediately.”

“She kept coming to Hancock?” Kathleen asked coldly.

“No, she said they met at her place in New York City. He took her out to dinner, to see the latest plays, and to art exhibits, as well. She said the last few years have been the best of her life.”

“Years?” Susan asked. Kathleen merely glared at her empty glass without speaking.

“Yes, years,” Peggy affirmed.

“And you’re saying that Jerry and Allison went to restaurants, theaters, museums, and art galleries without running into any of our friends?” Kathleen asked.

“Oh, but don’t you see? That wasn’t a problem for them-unlike my husband and his trashy paramour who couldn’t explain to my best friend why they were together in the lobby of the Plaza in the middle of the afternoon in the middle of the week.”

“Why wasn’t it a problem?” Susan asked.

“Because she was his ex-sister-in-law. They had a relationship that everyone knew about. They didn’t have to worry about being seen together.”

“And you don’t think that a mutual friend might have told Kathleen if she ran into Jerry and Allison together in the city?” Susan asked.

“Actually, a friend of mine did see them together a little over a month ago. They were having lunch together in the bar of the Four Seasons,” Kathleen said slowly.

“But that doesn’t mean anything really,” Susan insisted. “Jerry works near the Four Seasons. He has to eat lunch. That meeting could have meant nothing.”

“And why, if Allison and Jerry really were seeing each other all over the city back in the States, did they meet here?” Kathleen asked.

“Because Jerry wanted to tell you about their relationship without your children around. He wanted to ask you for a divorce so he could marry Allison.”

TWENTY

Kathleen carefully put down her glass and pushed her chair back. She stood up, snatched her straw bag off the floor, slung it over her shoulder, and stamped out of the bar without saying a word. Susan followed immediately.

Kathleen headed straight for her cottage, climbed the stairs to her deck, yanked open her door, and stormed right in.

“You didn’t lock your door,” Susan said, trailing her friend into the cool, dark interior.

“Jerry’s in jail, a strange woman just informed me that my marriage is a big lie, and you think I should be worried about locking the cottage door in case someone wants to steal a few suitcases full of overpriced resort clothing?” Kathleen’s final words were muffled.

“Kathleen! You’re crying!” Susan was shocked. “You don’t believe the garbage that woman was saying, do you?”

“Part of me doesn’t. And part of me knows that every woman whose husband has betrayed her has refused to believe the truth when she first heard it.”

“Kathleen, it’s not the truth. Jerry wasn’t in love with Allison. I’m sure of it.”

Kathleen grabbed some tissues from the box by the bed, blew her nose, and dried her eyes. “Okay. Susan, think about this as though you don’t know the people involved. If we had been told that story about someone we had never met, you and I would be sitting here discussing those poor, foolish women that Jerry had cheated on.”