She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “God, I was such a fool.”
I didn’t say anything, allowing her to take her time.
She swallowed hard, still keeping her gaze down. “Archie was my world, but then he ruined everything.”
“How?”
Her face hardened. “I spent over adecadeloving him. Being faithful and loyal to him.” Her mouth thinned. “I let him do whatever he wanted, and how did he repay me? By falling in love with that rich bitch.”
“Do you mean Janelle Raiden?”
“Of course I mean Janelle,” she hissed, finally looking up.
“Was Janelle your next scam?”
Scowling, she said, “She was supposed to be.”
“But Archie got… emotionally involved?”
“If you can believe it,” she said bitterly.
I straightened. “Let’s get back to why you faked your death for one minute.”
“Whatever.”
“Why would you do something that drastic? If you just wanted to be with Archie, why go that far?”
“Because he said it would be easy. He said we could be together and get a huge lump of money.”
“But you had to completely give up your identity. Your life.”
She sighed. “I didn’t have much of a life to begin with. Archie was my life. He was so charismatic, and I was so young. I trusted him.”
“Didn’t you think it was an odd thing to suggest? Most people don’t fake their deaths for money.”
“Of course it was odd, but he said it was easy money. I… I wanted to please him. He was worth giving it all up for, or that’s what I thought.”
“Scamming insurance companies isn’t easy.”
“We did it though.” She lifted her chin, looking smug. “Twice.”
“I see.” I frowned. “Getting back to the first scam… there was a body burned beyond recognition in the car. Whose body was that?”
She swallowed hard. “I don’t know.”
I lifted my brows. “You don’t know?”
She shook her head. “There were a lot of things Archie wouldn’t tell me. I… I just did what he said because I loved him. Trusted him. He handled everything. He was the clever one.”
“I find it hard to believe you have no idea where he got a body.”
She widened her eyes. “I swear. I don’t know who that person was. He didn’t tell me, and I didn’t ask.”
“Do you think Archie was capable of murder?”
Shaking her head, she said, “No. He could lie to your face and convince you of just about anything, but he wasn’t violent. He was just… morally fluid.”
That’s one way to put it.
