“Good.” Decker smiled. “She’s going to redo our computers.”

Oliver was impressed. “How’d you arrange that?”

“She offered.” He pointed to some chairs. “What’s up?” After Marge and Oliver recapped last night’s conversations with Jared Little and Delia Defoe, he said, “What’s the next step?”

Oliver said, “I got off the phone with Nick Little about ten minutes ago. He reacted almost identically to his brother. Yes, there had been occasional arguments between Mom and Dad, but what couple didn’t argue? Unlike Jared, he was vague about the contents of their disagreements. It was clear that although he doesn’t have much of a relationship with his mother, he’s not about to implicate her in anything bad.”

“Ben was in charge of her trust money,” Marge explained. “That has to build resentment.”

“Enough to murder?” Decker asked her.

“I don’t know. Her mom said that she always wanted to marry money. Not only didn’t she marry money, but the money she was promised wound up being controlled by her husband.”

“If she did a murder for hire, the money had to come from somewhere,” Decker said. “You say the bank accounts are clean.”

“She blazed through her insurance policy,” Oliver said. “We all think she gambled most of it away, but maybe some of it went to pay off debts for a job well done.”

Decker said, “I still don’t see what she had to gain by bumping him off. If she wanted money, she was better off keeping Ben alive. It was clear that her parents weren’t going to give her control over her money. With her husband holding the purse strings, she had more of a chance of getting something out of the deal.”

No one spoke.

Decker said, “Until we have more information about Melinda’s personal spending habits at the time of the murder, let’s not push too hard. Go over her finances again and get a clearer picture of where her insurance money went.”

Oliver said, “I’ll see what I can do.”

Marge said, “What about Phil Shriner, Scott?”

Decker said, “I thought he told you that he didn’t know her until after the murder.”

“That’s what he said,” Marge told him. “Neither one of us saw him as entirely truthful.”

Oliver said. “I still think they were boffing.”

Marge shook her head. “That’s the one thing I don’t see. Melinda is just too…I don’t know. He’s so old for her.”

“If you’re desperate for money, Marge, your taste goes out the window.” She conceded the point. “I’ll try to set up an appointment with Shriner some time this week.” He turned to Marge. “How busy are you?”

“I have a couple of court appearances, plus, I’m still hunting down Jervis Wenderhole. If I can’t make it, go without me. It might even be better, talking to him man to man.”