“He had an accident with one of his own kitchen knives? Someone slit his throat?” It wouldn’t have surprised her. If she’d been married to Cliff she would have murdered him before they’d reached their first anniversary. She would have tossed him into the ocean where, no doubt, his body would have sunk without trace, dragged to the bottom by the weight of his ego.

Greg, steady, reasonable and unflappable at all times, would have pointed out that there were different sides to a person, but the only side of Cliff Whitman that Mel wanted to see was the back of him.

“Not his throat—” Mary-Lou was eager to share the details “—but he’s dead. I guess that’s what happens when you get into your flashy sports car—such a cliché for a man of his age—and show off in the Hollywood Hills.”

“Dead?” Mel felt a twinge of guilt. She’d been maligning a dead guy, which made her a little uncomfortable. On the other hand she hadn’t known he was dead when she maligned him, and also this was Cliff Whitman. It was hard to have generous thoughts about someone who had destroyed the relationship of two people she loved (she heaped most of the blame on Cliff) and ruined their perfect unit of four. And yes, she was emotionally involved because one of those people had been her best friend and the other her brother, and yes, two decades had passed, but Mel hadn’t forgotten. But still... “Dead how? He crashed?”

Did Nate know? Had he heard?

“Car went off the road into a ravine. And get this...” Mary-Lou lowered her voice, which somehow made it even louder. “He had a woman with him.”

Mel’s stomach dropped as if she’d been pushed into the ravine with him. Joanna. “No.” She couldn’t breathe. The sense of loss was crushing, and then came the guilt. Guilt that she hadn’t tried harder to mend the rift while she’d had a chance.

“Mel? You’re white as paper. Sit down! Don’t you pass out on my floor.” Mary-Lou fussed over her. Pulled out a chair. “Are you sick? What’s wrong?”

“Joanna—” Mel thumped onto the chair and managed to choke out the word. “It’s just a shock, that’s all. I can’t believe she’s gone.”

“Gone?” Mary-Lou was looking at her strangely. “She hasn’t gone anywhere. Are you thinking—? It wasn’t Joanna in the car.”

“You—what?” Mel grasped the seat of the chair. “Why did you tell me it was?”

“I didn’t. I said he had a woman in the car. No one knows who, but it wasn’t Joanna.” Mary-Lou patted her shoulder. “Sorry to give you a fright. The news report said ‘unknown woman.’ She’s been taken to the hospital. No more details have been released.”

Unknown woman.