The Ex-Wives Club (Alibis Collection, #2)

by Sally Hepworth

For Danny and Ian, who wanted to be characters in my book. Careful what you wish for, boys.

With thanks to Lise Carlaw, Nicole Coulon, and Françoise Berge, for teaching me the very worst French words.

he didn’t have the “yellow fever,”

DISGUSTING

“Did you check the security footage?” she asked him. He leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms above his head. “Yep,” he said. “Nothing.”

Do we believe that he actually did it ir shoukd you double check?!

Anita, Mary-Jane, and Rosie met every Friday at the same time, in the same corner booth—a steady, comforting tradition that had begun shortly after Ian divorced MJ, and that had, in recent months, grown to include his soon-to-be third ex-wife, Rosie. They called themselves, somewhat unimaginatively, the Ex-Wives Club.

The article also suggested that free food for life was in the divorce contract, which wasn’t true. Still, the ex-wives never paid a dime. Free food was the least Ian could do for them, and while he enjoyed grumbling about it, he must have agreed because he never brought a bill to their table.

like a very beautiful, very petite praying mantis.

“Was he always such an asshole?” Rosie wondered out loud. “Yes,” MJ said. “Just not to us. It was why we fell in love with him. It made us feel special.”

She didn’t appear intimidated by the fact that she’d been called in to the police station to give a statement about her dead boss. If anything, Detective Li was the one who was intimidated.

“’e is the boss. ’e can pleasure himself in the freezer at eleven if ’e chooses.”

Yvette examined her fingernails. “My job description does not include taking him home to tuck him into bed, Detective.”

lmfao

It was a gift, her ability to make one feel stupid without raising her voice, breaking a sweat, or even lifting an eyebrow.

He looked blank. For Christ’s sake. His only job so far, other than to sit in on interviews with her, was to go through all security footage.

ha told you

You’d think he could at least pretend to like his children,

Again, she didn’t leave. Instead, she leaned forward and took Rosie’s green smoothie out of her hand. Before her father could summon her a third time, she threw it in his face.

GOOD FOR YOU!

Daisy shrugged, her gaze dropping away. “It’s a long story. But the short version? I was offered a place at Harvard, and he was an asshole about it. He talked about how expensive it was, and wanted to know why I couldn’t just go to university here.”

But the man must be a bona fide psycho if he didn’t love Daisy. He found it difficult to imagine anyone more lovable than she was.

Needless to say, if you’re looking to find fault in someone, you tend to find it.

“Max!” screamed the head chef. “Ice! Now.” As Max was processing this thought, he noticed Yvette ducking into the freezer. She emerged a moment later with a bucket of ice. “Here,” she said. “Oh,” he said, taking it. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“Daisy!” he bellowed, not pausing on his way to his office. “My office.” Daisy didn’t move. “No.” Ian stopped walking. She took off her apron. Her hands, Max noticed, were shaking. Ian turned. “Did you hear me, Daisy?” “Yes, I heard.” She threw the apron on the floor. The kitchen, usually loud, became very quiet. The chefs focused on their food, the commis kept their eyes on their stations. Only Danny, pausing from mopping the floor, gawked unashamedly. “In that case,” Ian said, “you’re fired.” Daisy wore a look on her face that Max had never seen before. Contempt. “You’ll regret that,” she told him, and she left.

Detective Li, being single herself, felt attacked. “I suppose she’ll verify this then?”

Why would you be offended by him loving his mom and making sure she wasn't lonely?!

Emma appeared to think about this. “‘Boyfriend’ sounds a bit juvenile, doesn’t it? I prefer ‘man-friend.’” Li very nearly laughed. “Man-friend then.” “Although,” Emma continued, “I suppose the terminology is a little moot, since he’s dead.”

“No,” she said. “I wasn’t alone. I was in bed with Max Curley.”

oh...scandalous

And it was, for a while. But it all ended, the night of the accident.

“That’s correct,” Ian said. “But I wasn’t driving. My wife was.”

wtf???

Ian thought that was the end of it. But it wasn’t. For Rosie, it was just the beginning.

“Let me out of here or I’ll—” But she couldn’t finish the threat. Because Ian put his hands, tight, around her throat.

Why hide that?!

“Yes. But don’t worry—it’s Ian’s.”

“Yes. But don’t worry. I punched him in the nose. Hence the blood.”

“Good. And you’re sure you don’t know where Ian is?” Emma hitched her bag up on her shoulder. “I locked him in the freezer,” she said. 56 There was a short silence. Then Yvette threw back her head and laughed.

“But every wife threatens to kill her husband. On a daily basis! Ex-wives do it on an hourly basis!”

Danny opened his mouth. But before he could speak, his face froze. “Danny?” Li prompted. His face remained frozen for another few seconds; then he blinked, shook his head. “Uh . . . yes. I went home.” And there it was. Danny and Daisy had alibis. Which meant they were, officially, out of suspects.

uhm...no

Roger wanted Ian to look at him and know what was coming, the same way Isla must have looked at Ian behind the wheel. Finally, Ian did look him in the eye, though he looked more curious than concerned. 66 “This is for Isla,” Roger said, and he swung. He’d never been much of a baseball player, but this was an impressive swing. The sound of the bat connecting with Ian’s head was less impressive—not the thwack he’d heard in movies, more of a dull, wet, slappy sound. It propelled Ian backward into the back wall of the freezer. His eyes rolled back, and he slid down onto the floor.

An eye for an eye.

oh how weird

It hadn’t taken Yvette long to get to the bottom of what happened the night of the party, and during that time she learned enough about Ian Curley to know that she wanted to be involved in his takedown.