“No,” she said and sniffed again. “Seth and I were what we were. He was an exceptional trainer but an even better lover. He gave me something I needed—something that’s been missing in my life for a long time—and we were content with that.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“If you’re asking me if I was a scorned lover and took my revenge by killing him, you’re way off base, Sheriff. I cared about Seth, sure. But I wasn’t in love with him. Like I said, he simply filled a hole that exists in my life. With my husband gone so often… I’m sure you get the picture.”
“I do.”
“It was nice to have the attention of an attractive man. It was nice to be made to feel special and desirable again. It was nice to be wanted again,” she said. “But make no mistake, I had no illusions about what Seth and I were. All I wanted was what we had. Other than those moments we shared together, I didn’t want anything else from him, nor him from me.”
Spenser studied the woman carefully, searching for any sign of deception. But she saw none. Harper looked genuine, and Spenser heard only sincerity in her words. There was a poignancy in her voice that was striking. But the sadness quickly dried up along with her tears and Harper’s face hardened, her expression darkening as anger stole over her.
“I can’t believe he filmed us,” she said, her voice hard. “Why would he do that?”
Spenser shook her head. “I don’t know, Mrs. Harper.”
“There were others, I take it.”
“There were.”
“And do you think these secret recordings are why he was… killed?”
“It’s unclear at this point. We’re still pursuing a number of investigative leads.”
She looked away, staring into the distance and the wheels in her mind seemed to be spinning wildly. Spenser imagined it was a lot to take in. Harper swallowed hard and turned to her.
“Does this… these tapes… they don’t have to be made public, do they?” she asked softly.
“At the moment, I can’t say. I’m not quite sure how they factor into my investigation just yet—”
“Sheriff, my husband can’t find out that I was having an affair. Please.”
The panic in Harper’s voice was mirrored in her eyes.
“Please,” Harper begged. “This can’t get out.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t promise you this isn’t going to be made public,” she said. “Like I said, I have no idea yet how this plays into my investigation.”
Tears raced down her cheeks, and she looked like a woman who was watching a bomb that was falling, ready to blow up her entire life. Ordinarily, Spenser would have brushed it off. She’d always believed that if we make our own beds, we have no choice but to lie in them. And running around behind your husband’s back was a choice she’d made. For some reason, though, Spenser was gripped by pangs of sympathy for her.
“Mrs. Harper, I need to ask where you were on the fourteenth,” Spenser said.
“Uh… I was in Seattle that day, I believe,” she replied slowly. “Yes. I was in Seattle on the fourteenth. I sat on the board of the Merkov Museum, and we were in session all day. I got home sometime late that evening.”
“And you have somebody who can corroborate that?”
“The entire board, Sheriff.”
“Great. One last thing,” Spenser said. “Are you willing to give me your fingerprints and a DNA sample voluntarily?”
“Will this keep that video from ever seeing the light of day?”
“Again, I can’t make any promises, but if it’s not relevant to my case, I don’t see any reason any of those videos ever need to see the light of day.”
Harper frowned and her entire body seemed to deflate as she exhaled. “I suppose that’s about the best I can hope for.”
“It is. I’m sorry.”
“Yes, I’ll give you my prints and a DNA swab. Do what you need to do.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Harper.”
As Spenser collected her samples, she kept glancing at the woman. Although she knew her entire world was hanging by a thread and could be turned upside down at any moment, Harper seemed to be handling it all in stride. She looked worried, but she stopped just short of outright terror. It was an admirable display of self-control. Part of Spenser wondered whether there was some small piece inside Harper that wanted to be caught. That perhaps, deep down, and despite the fear in her eyes, she wanted some way to end her marriage, freeing her up to live her best life, but she didn’t have the courage within herself to end it.
“Thanks, Mrs. Harper,” Spenser said. “If I have any follow-up questions, I’ll give you a call.”
She nodded. “Of course. And please… do what you can to kill those tapes.”
“I’ll do my best, but I—”
“Make no promises. I understand. Just… please… do your best,” she said with a wry grin.
“Have a nice day, Mrs. Harper.”
Spenser walked out of the house, ninety-five percent certain Kelly Harper had nothing to do with Hamill’s death. But that remaining five percent meant she had to keep working. And that was what she intended to do.
