Cold Comfort (Malone Mystery Novels, #3)

Liz slid back into the chair and crossed her legs. She bounced the top leg up and down a little, causing her short skirt to climb a little higher. She didn’t seem to notice, but I did. After all, I was a trained observer.

“What was their marriage like?”

“Things were a little rocky,” she said.

“Were they separated?”

“Not legally. But they weren’t sharing a bed. Sutherland lived in the house. Zack lived in the guest bungalow in back.”

“Because?”

“He had some shortcomings she didn’t approve of. When he seemed to show little interest in addressing them, she kicked him out of the house.”

“What kind of shortcomings?”

Liz grinned. “You want them in order of severity or alphabetically?”

“Let me guess,” I said. “Booze, drugs maybe, extramarital affairs?”

Liz shook her sadly. “You’re so jaded.”

“No, I’m pragmatic. When couples have marital problems, those are the usual suspects.”

“Okay, all of the above,” Liz said. “And, he also liked to gamble and evidently wasn’t very good at it. On top of the other things, she tired of paying his gambling debts.”