Wow. Alice flinched. "I thought they were friends with benefits. That's not exclusive."
Jennifer studied her nails. "Don't be rude."
Alice settled her attention on Vicki. "I'm not trying to be rude at all. Where is Peter?"
Vicki bit her lip. "At work or at home."
A scoff came from between Jennifer's lips. "Victoria is trying to talk me out of going, but I'm planning the stage perfectly."
This sounded sketchy. Alice crossed her hands. "What are you talking about?"
With a toss of her hair, Jennifer was the epitome of a soap star. "I'm setting him up to admit everything."
Alice's eyes widened as she saw how Vicki's face lost color. "Admit what?"
The laugh that Jennifer uttered sounded bitter. "Some woman was in his bedroom last night."
Vicki rubbed the back of her neck, almost exactly like her brother, as she said, "How do you know?"
With a click of her heels, all attention went to Jennifer. "It wasn't my perfume I smelled."
In defense Vicki argued, "What if it was mine? I'm his sister and I could have spilt something on him."
Jennifer crossed her arms but stood with one leg to the side like she was modeling her shoes. "No, it was too floral. I'm not stupid and it was more than that. I could tell Peter had sex and it wasn't with me."
Alice piped into the conversation. "So don't call him and find someone else."
Jennifer's mouth opened as she studied Alice. For a split second, Alice repeated high school and felt that small. "That's too easy."
No, she'd not turn back into a quivering mess of a teenager. She was an adult now. She lifted her chin as Vicki suggested, "Let him see you with another guy and walk away."
With a sad spark in her eyes, Jennifer leaned closer to Alice. "You're both missing the point. It's fun to smoke a man's entire world. He thinks he can lie? I'll show him he's the one being a fool."
Alice's stomach clenched as she asked, "How?"
Jennifer tossed her hair to the side. "I already asked Rafe to find out who the girl is."
Alice and Vicki both asked in unison, "What?"
The police should be working on finding her would-be killer, not exploring Jennifer's sorry excuse for a love life. Alice kept a tight grip on her thoughts and didn't say anything else.
Jennifer shrugged. "He'll find her."
If he did, then he wasn't spending enough time on her case. Alice squared her shoulders. "Did you have proof to give him?"
Jennifer smiled. "I'm sure there is DNA on the sheets."
Vicki's voice shook. "You took his sheets?"
Jennifer turned her focus to Vicki. "He'll never know."
Alice blinked. Rafe Soliz was her friend, but he had mentioned Jennifer in high school too. Her breaths were shallow. He wouldn't put Jennifer's nonsense case first when she had a real case, would he?
Vicki's jaw clicked. "How?"
Jennifer went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of iced tea. Then she returned. "He has maids and Caro told me everything."
Alice shook her head. "You're crazy."
