“You didn’t have an affair with her?” Decker asked. “It could be relevant to my investigation.”

“No,” Donaldson said. “No, I didn’t. Our relationship was strictly business.”

Decker paused a moment to let Donaldson know his statement was suspect. Then he said, “What kind of business?”

Donaldson ran his hands over his face. A diamond ring decorated his right ring finger, a gold band on his left. “My specialties are acquisition and development. Mrs. Darcy and I were…how should I say this? Her father-in-law owned a parcel of land that Manfred was potentially interested in acquiring. I had approached Pappy Darcy—as they call him—around two years ago, and our substantial offer was rebuffed. Which was fine. Around a week later, Mrs. Darcy…Linda approached me with the idea that perhaps given enough time and enough incentive, realizing the position for potential profit, that maybe if we were to present to Mr. Darcy the entire picture for gain on the upside, it might be possible using untried tactics—”

Decker interrupted. “You and Linda were scheming behind the old man’s back.”

“We weren’t scheming,” Donaldson said. He resettled into his desk chair, his breath smelling of scotch. “We were talking business contingencies.”

“How to talk Pappy Darcy into selling off the land,” Decker said.

Donaldson hesitated, then said, “Basically, yes.”

“And?”

“And we tried several different approaches,” Donaldson said. “None of them successful.”

“When was the last time you tried an approach?” Decker asked.

“We came to him around a month ago. Not me personally, of course. A representative from my office.”

Decker told him to go on. Donaldson said that Pappy Darcy wasn’t interested. Nothing more was discussed between the two of them. But Decker read in his eyes that there was more. He pressed Donaldson for details.

“Well,” Donaldson said, “this was told to me secondhand, but it was said that Pappy Darcy got quite irate—obscene in his condemnation of the salesman, Manfred, and Linda—”

“Linda?” Decker asked.

“He seemed to feel that Linda was behind it all.”

“She was, wasn’t she?”

Donaldson paused, seemed to choose his words. “She was instrumental in keeping our interest alive, but he accused her of masterminding the whole idea. That simply was not the case.”

“But she was keeping the whole idea alive,” Decker said.

“She had a vested interest in Pappy Darcy selling the land, true,” Donaldson said. “Her husband had a third interest in the land. His share would have netted her a handsome profit.”

“How much?” Decker asked.

“Around one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. A lot of money for a honey farmer.”

A more than tidy sum for anyone breaking his back to earn his keep, Decker thought. But something else came to him. He asked Donaldson, “Who owned the other two thirds of the land?”

Donaldson looked uncomfortable. Then he said, “Well, it’s public record anyway. Pappy Darcy of course, and Luke’s sister.”