The Gray Zone by Daphna Edwards Ziman Read Free Book Online

of their business what it’s doing there,” she continued, “if you know what I mean.”
    Jake rubbed his eyes with his right hand.
    “Oh, relax, Jake, for God’s sake. You look awful.”
    Jake looked closely at Suzanne. In his opinion, she didn’t look awful enough.
    She continued, “You know, I was talking with Glen this morning …”
    Glen Green. The governor of Nevada and an old friend of Suzanne and Porter’s. Suddenly it clicked for Jake. When a congressman dies during an election, his wife is often asked by the party to run for the seat. Name recognition alone can pull a victory. Come to think of it, even dead politicians had won seats when the public voted for a familiar name instead of the warm body. Given Suzanne’s friendship with the governor, his support would be almost guaranteed. Why hadn’t Jake thought of that before? It also explained Suzanne’s cozy new relationship with Alana Sutter.
    Suzanne seemed to notice the shift in Jake’s eyes. “So you see, all this wig nonsense is really quite silly, and I’m going to need your help to convince those … those
gumshoes
in there.”
    Typical Suzanne. Distract with charm and then go straight for the jugular. It was both her most endearing and her most irritatingtrait, depending on which side of it you were on. Jake had done plenty of rearranging facts and calculated overlooking of evidence in his career, but this was another story. This was a plea to suppress evidence in a federal murder case. The murder of his best friend, and
her husband
.
    “I’ll take that coffee after all,” vamped Jake.
    “There isn’t any coffee,” said Suzanne.
    “I know.” Jake sank onto the couch. He decided to test how serious she was. “You know, they found blonde hairs in the wig.”
    Suzanne wheeled toward him, her face stormy. Then, in an instant, her features rearranged themselves into a smile. She pointed to her hair. “Blonde,” she said.
    “
Long
blonde hairs,” pressed Jake.
    Suddenly Suzanne was standing over him, like a hawk on a mouse.
    “Listen,” she hissed. “I am not going to have it come out that Porter was with a hooker. Even if she did kill him. Even if it means his murder goes unsolved. He’s gone—but I’m still here. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
    Jake was surprised to feel a wave of pity for Suzanne. The wig was the least of her problems. Claiming it was hers just complicated matters and made her look like a liar. But he’d faced much more formidable pressure from clients, and he was not going to be intimidated. He laughed.
    “Oh, Suzanne” was all he said. He watched as she straightened up, searching his face. As quickly as she had become a bird of prey, she returned to her Blanche DuBois routine.
    “It’s so hard being left with two children. They’re devoted to him, you know.” She glided in front of Jake. “Tell me you didn’t know,” she whispered, resting a hip on the arm of the couch.
    “Of course I know they’re devoted to him.” Jake sat back. Herealized that wasn’t what she meant, but evading the question was easier than trying to answer it. Besides, he was wrestling with his own feelings of betrayal and didn’t feel like getting mired in Suzanne’s as well. But there was no getting out of it.
    “You’re avoiding my question, Guv.”
    Jake winced to hear the nickname Porter had given him in the earliest days of their friendship.
    “Was I the only one in the fucking dark?” she asked.
    Jake took a breath. “He never said anything to me, either.”
    Suzanne’s eyes glazed and she turned toward the Maurers, holding a handkerchief to her face.
    “You know, they say a wife always knows. But I didn’t. I had no fucking clue.” For a second Jake glimpsed, in the slight droop of her shoulders and hands, the vulnerability she’d had when the three of them had first met. Over the years she had hardened so much that Jake had been unable to remember what she was like in the first place—and why