“Your fiancé?”

“Yes,” I lied. Maybe if he thought I had a fiancé, he’d stop doing his Fabio impersonation.

No such luck.

“Why are all the good ones always taken?” he said with a wink.

I followed Eduardo back to his tiny bungalow. My visit was almost over, and I still hadn’t managed to work SueEllen into the conversation. I had to say something. And fast.

“I can see why SueEllen was such a big fan of your work,” was the best I could come up with.

“Yes, she was,” he said, without a trace of modesty.

“Such a tragedy, the way she died.”

“A tragedy,” he echoed.

By now we were almost at the front door.

“Who on earth would want to kill her?” I asked.

“I have no idea,” he said, a note of caution creeping into his voice.

“Do you know that the police suspect Heidi?”

“No, I didn’t know. But I’m not surprised, given that scene at her birthday party.”

“I don’t think Heidi did it,” I said. “In fact, I’m sure it was someone else.”

“Oh?” he said, his smile frozen.

“I was thinking that maybe somebody had a key to her house, and let himself in while everybody else was gone.”

Note the strategic use of the word himself.

“Wow,” he said, making a big show of checking his watch. “Would you look at the time? I’ve got to rush to another appointment. You talk it over with your fiancé, and get back to me, okay?”

He held the front door open for me, but I didn’t leave.

“Look, Eduardo,” I said, abandoning my art lover pose, “I heard SueEllen threatening you the night of Heidi’s birthday party.”

“Is that so?”

By now his eyes had lost their sexy glint; they were as cold as the chrome on his high tech furniture. Fabio had definitely left the building.

“I was standing outside the poolhouse. I heard everything. SueEllen said she was going to tell everybody about your ‘indiscretion,’ and that it would ruin your career. And then, the very next day, she died.”

His eyes narrowed.

“What are you implying? That I killed SueEllen to keep her from talking?”

“It’s an interesting theory.”

And then he surprised me. He threw his head back and laughed.

“You’re crazy,” he said. “Yes, SueEllen was a bitch, and yes, she was threatening to air my dirty laundry in public, but I sure as hell didn’t kill her.”

“Just how dirty was your laundry?”

“None of your business.”

“I know, but tell me anyway.”

He laughed again.

“Why not? I’ve got nothing to hide. The truth is, SueEllen caught me having sex with a teenage girl, the daughter of one of my biggest customers. She was pissed that I’d been cheating on her. SueEllen and I were lovers, but you probably already knew that.”

I nodded.

“Everybody knew it,” he said, “including her husband, I’ll bet. Anyhow, she threatened to tell the girl’s mother and everybody else on her Rolodex.