“Steph isn’t going to be happy when she discovers that her husband was seeing a prostitute,” said Dooley. “Unless they had an arrangement, of course.”
I smiled at my friend.“What do you know about marital arrangements, Dooley?”
“It was all over General Hospital last week. Doctor Jake was caught having an affair with one of the nurses, only his wife knew all about it, and was having an affair with the plumber. Turns out that’s the kind of arrangement they had to keep things interesting.” He frowned. “Though Gran said only trouble could come from this, and she was right. In the next episode Doctor Jake’s wife said she wanted a divorce on the grounds of extreme cruelty and inhuman treatment. Turns out Doctor Jake’s nurse was his wife’s younger sister, and she didn’t like that.”
“No, I can see how that would break the terms of the arrangement,” I said. It gave me pause, though. If Dooley was right, and the Felfans had an arrangement whereby they could cheat, perhaps Jeff’s visit to a prostitute was a common thing in their marriage. We would have to speak to Steph, ofcourse, and I could already foresee that the conversation would be fraught with a touch of awkwardness.
CHAPTER 16
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Steph had arrived at the scene, and one look at her was enough to tell us she was heartbroken by the news. So even though they might have had an arrangement, clearly it didn’t include one of the spouses being shot to death by their casual partner.
Odelia and Chase talked to Steph in the flat’s living room, which was located at the front of the building, and looked out across the street. It was modestly appointed, with plenty of IKEA furniture in bright and pleasant colors, and I could tell that Hailey and Cipriana had enjoyed each other’s company from the framed pictures of the two of them together, mugging for the camera and goofing around.
“Is that her?” asked a teary-eyed Steph, studying one of the pictures.
“No, that’s the roommate,” said Odelia. She pointed to a picture that showed Cipriana, her glorious red hair aflame by the rays of a setting sun, her freckled face smiling as she held a small puppy in her arms.
I looked around for a sign of the puppy, but saw nor smelled a canine presence anywhere. Too bad. If a dog had been there, he might have proved a good witness.
“I don’t understand,” said Steph. “He said he was meeting a work colleague. So how did he end up here?”
“Who was the work colleague?” asked Chase dutifully.
“Um, Clive Balcerak. He works in the same department, but never got on with Jeff. So when he sent a message saying he happened to be in town, and asked to meet for a chat, Jeff thought it was a great idea.”
“Where was Jeff supposed to meet Clive?”
“I have no idea. You can check his phone.” She paced up and down the room. “So you’re telling me this woman shot Jeff and then she shot herself? But why?”
“There’s no easy way for me to say this, Steph,” said Odelia, “so I’m just going to come out and say it. Cipriana Cilke was a prostitute. She and Hailey both. This flat is where they invited men—paying customers. And the room where Jeff and Cipriana were found was the room where she didher… well, her business.”
Steph blinked as she processed this information.“Oh, wow,” she said quietly. “I did not see that coming.” But then she frowned. “Wait—are you telling me Jeff was here to have sex with this woman? No way, Odelia. Absolutely no way. Don’t you think I’d know if my husband was having sex with another woman? I would.”
“She wasn’t Jeff’s girlfriend, Steph. She was a woman men paid to have sex with.”
“Still…” She bit her lower lip as she thought about this. But then shook her head. “Uh-uh. No. Just no. Jeff would never do something like that. He wasn’t the kind of man who visits prostitutes. And besides, he was meeting Clive Balcerak.”
“It’s possible that Jeff used his colleague as an excuse to come here?”
Steph hesitated, then said in a small voice,“You know what? I don’t know. I mean, I don’t think he would do a thing like that, but I just don’t know. It’s true that these last couple of months have been difficult for us. I mean…” She made a tentative motion with her hand as she bit back tears. “Ever since Zoe was born… Well, you know how it is. Nothing much was happening in the bedroom department. So maybe Jeff was unhappy about that. And maybe he had certain… needs that weren’t being met. Needs that I couldn’t meet. I mean, men are different than women. Some men see sex as sport. Like going to the gym.”
“Yes, I know,” said Odelia quietly.
“But Jeff wasn’t like that. He simply wasn’t. He was a gentle, beautiful soul. The most wonderful man I ever met. And he was the father of our beautiful little girl. Who will have to grow up without a father now, all because of this…” She gestured to the picture of the red-haired prostitute. “Why? Why did she have to do this?”
“We don’t know,” said Odelia. “But I promise you we will find out.”
“Was she depressed or something? Was she having mental issues?”