Val immediately disliked him, growing increasingly annoyed by the pompous grinning. He was an attractive man and he knew it. She hated this type. Worse yet, the realization of how unkempt she looked was embarrassing to say the least. It put her at an immediate disadvantage in dealing with him. It would be hard to put him in his place when she looked like something even the cat wouldn’t drag in.

“Well, Detective Styles…” Her words still went nowhere. She was so irritated that she had lost her train of thought.

“Let me explain.” He crossed his arms and looked right into Val’s eyes. “My partner and I have been privately hired by Colin Turner. I tried earlier to talk with Dr. Blythe but he’s unavailable and says he will be for the rest of the day. I bumped into Ms. Carmondy and she told me that you knew Julia DeHaviland quite well. I was hoping to ask you some questions about her.”

Val had been at the medical examiner’s offices long enough to know that when Blythe was unavailable he didn’t want to, nor did he need to, speak with you. This meant that this investigator wasn’t anyone important. Blythe didn’t need to be polite with him. Nor did she. And she didn’t want to be polite. This jackass was working for Julia’s husband, her killer.

“Privately hired? Oh, so you’re not a real detective,” she said.

Jack looked down at his arm and pinched himself in an exaggerated, affected manner. “I think of myself as very real. Though I’m not normally referred to as ‘detective.’ Mr. Styles or Jack will do just fine.”

Val’s irritation soared. “How can you work for that murderer?” she snapped.

“Who says he’s a murderer?” Jack asked calmly.

“Everyone,” she snapped again.

“So, he’s tried, convicted and sentenced all without ever stepping into a courtroom?” He had an air of superiority that Val couldn’t stomach. Every word she lashed at him, he replied with a smart retort.

She tried again. “Does he need to waste the taxpayer’s money?”

“I’m not paid by your taxpayers.”

“No, Colin’s paying you with Julia’s money.”

Jack just grinned.

Touché, Val thought. She was about to ask him to leave when he spoke up.

“So, what can you tell me about Dr. DeHaviland? I have Colin’s version, which I will admit is not the most flattering. She really couldn’t have been that bad,” he said.

Val hissed, “He was a lousy two-timing bastard. How dare he badmouth her?” She lingered on the dare as if she herself would call Colin out.

“Please continue.” Jack sat back down and crossed his arms, letting Val rant. She went on, the events from her last conversation with Julia erupting. “The last thing she said to me is that he wouldn’t win.”