Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Gary had barely sat at his desk when his phone rang.
“Detective? You have visitors. I’ve put them in Interview Room Two.”
“Do these visitors have names?”
“Only one of them gave their name. It’s Aiden Reynolds.”
Gary thanked him and finished the call. He glanced across to where Dan peered at his monitor. “You’re not going to believe this.” He stood and grabbed his jacket. “Mr. Reynolds wants to see us.”
Dan blinked. “Then let’s not waste time. Let’s go see what he wants.” He pointed to the notepad on Gary’s desk. “Don’t forget that.”
They hurried through the hallways to the interview rooms, and when Gary stepped into Room Two, he came to a halt.
Reynolds leaned against the table, talking to a woman Gary had never seen before.
She wore a white apron over jeans and a blouse, and a black baseball cap that covered her hair, brown interspersed with strands of gray. She wasn’t smiling.
Reynolds scowled at Gary. “You’ve been checking up on me.”
“I said I would, didn’t I? How did you get to hear about it anyhow?” The light dawned. “You got a call, didn’t you?” It had to be the guy at the DFF office, the one who’d worked with Reynolds.
Reynolds grinned. “You bet I did. Marty rang to tell me all about it, and it was a good thing he did.”
“Aren’t you going to introduce us to your friend?” Dan asked.
The woman snorted. “I’m not his friend. I wasn’t even that when we worked for the same company. I should be cooking breakfasts right now, but this asshole turned up and told me I had to give him an alibi.”
“Hey, don’t say that,” Reynolds retorted. “Just tell him where I was.”
“Okay, okay.” She rolled her eyes. “Keep your hair on—what you have left of it, at any rate.”
“Who are you?” Gary demanded.
“I’m Sonia Klopek. And on August twenty-eighth, 1992, I was on a date with this jerk.”
“Hey!” Reynolds glared at her.
Gary pulled out a chair and sat. “How convenient. I thought you had no idea what you were doing that day.”
“I didn’t.” Reynolds’s smug smile made Gary yearn to wipe it off his face. “But you know what jogged my memory? You getting them to check where I was working that day. As soon as Marty told me what he’d heard, I remembered.”
Gary gestured to the chairs. “Take a seat.”
“We’re not stopping. I’m here to tell you what you want to know, and then I’m outta here, and you’re gonna stop harassing me.”
“No one has harassed you,” Gary assured him.
“That’s what you say. Now, about that day…
I went back to Lenox. We’d left a shitload of materials there when we finished the pool house.
No one from the house had complained because they were all off on vacation someplace, and truth be told, I’d forgotten all about it.
” He frowned. “The boss hadn’t, though. He told me to get my ass back there, then bring it all to the material store. So I did as I was told.”
“That was Friday morning?” Gary checked his notes.
Reynolds nodded.
“Did you see Cheryl?” Dan asked.
That scowl was back. “I didn’t see anybody. I packed up my truck, then drove to Boston, to the office so I could hand over the list of materials. Didn’t want the boss on my back.”
“What time did you arrive at the office?”
Reynolds arched his eyebrows. “It was late afternoon. That’s all I can remember. And while I was there, I got talking to Sonia.”
“I was the receptionist back then,” Sonia explained. “And like I said, he asked me out on a date.”
“How can you be sure it was that date?” Dan appeared incredulous.
“Because August twenty-eighth is my birthday. What’s more, that particular birthday was my thirtieth, and up until the time this guy walked into the office, it had been a really crap day. Even the boss forgot, and he always remembered.”
“I took pity on her,” Reynolds said. “I hung around until the office closed and then took her to dinner.” His eyes gleamed. “Hey, how about that? I guess I do know what time this was after all. Office closed at six.”
That smug expression was starting to piss Gary off.
“So where was this date?”
Sonia cackled. “Applebee’s Grill. Totally forgettable.
Then he made it worse by inviting me back to his place.
” She glared at Reynolds. “Come have a drink,” she mimicked.
“Except a drink wasn’t all he wanted, which is why he got a smack in the mouth.
And that’s also why I wasn’t keen to do him any favors by coming here, except he gave me this sob story about how the police were trying to frame him for murder. ”
“Thank you for coming, Ms. Klopek.” Dan extended his hand, and Gary knew exactly what he was doing.
Sonia gave him a startled smile as they shook. “You’re welcome.”
“Is that it?” Reynolds stared at Gary. “Are we done?”
Gary glanced at Dan, who nodded. “Apparently we are. Thanks for clearing this up.”
Reynolds gaped. “Seriously? No more questions? You don’t want me to hunt through bank statements to prove we actually went to Applebee’s?”
“That won’t be necessary,” Dan said in a pleasant tone.
“Great. Then we’ll get outta here.”
Sonia smacked his arm. “You mean you’ll take me back to the diner before the boss gets in and I lose my job.”
“Sure thing.” Reynolds gazed at Gary, his eyes twinkling. “So long, Detective. Good luck with the case.” He strutted out of the interview room, Sonia following him.
When the door closed behind them, Gary glanced at Dan. “She was telling the truth?”
He nodded. “No doubt about it.”
“Then I guess we have to cross Reynolds off our list.” Gary sighed. “If ever there was a suspect that I really wanted to be guilty, it was him.”
“We still have Ian Gordon and Paul DiFanetti. Especially Paul.”
“True. Now all we have to do is prove it was him before he has us bumped off.”
Gary took a bite of his sandwich, followed by a mouthful of coffee. “I’m going to call some of the numbers from Brad’s address book, starting with a Sean Nichols.”
“Why start with him?” Dan gave him a pointed look. “And should you be doing that at work?”
Gary gestured to his half-eaten sandwich. “I’m not working. I’m on my lunch break. And if Riley can call his girlfriend every break he gets, I can make a few calls. As for why I’m starting with Sean, I don’t have a reason. I just opened the book at random and stuck a pin in there.”
Okay, it hadn’t been that random a choice. Gary was certain he recalled Brad mentioning someone of that name a few times when he came home during his breaks.
He peered at the entry and dialed.
“Sean Nichols.”
“Mr. Nichols, you don’t know me, but—”
“Whatever it is you’re selling, I’m not interested.”
“Well, that’s good, because I’m not selling anything.”
“Then what can I do for you?”
“My name is Gary Mitchell, and I’m calling because you knew my—”
“You’re not Brad’s little brother, are you?”
Gary was impressed. “Wow. You have a good memory.”
“He was always talking about you. Mostly about how sorry he was that you ended up with the ginger gene too.”
Gary laughed. “That sounds like something Brad would say. And the reason I’m calling is… I’m trying to track down his friends from college.”
“Sounds intriguing. Why?”
Gary decided to come clean. “I’m a detective with Boston PD, and I’m trying to find his killer.”
Silence.
“Mr. Nichols?”
“You get to call me Sean.” He paused. “The police interviewed me at the time of his death. I wasn’t able to help them. And I know they questioned all his college friends too. No one knew a thing.”
“I’ve only just learned some… facts about my brother, and I need to discuss them with someone who knew him.”
Another pause. “Then we should meet. I work in Boston, at the Fairmont Copley Plaza.”
“Would you be able to get away from work to talk to me?”
Sean chuckled. “Oh, I think so. I’m the manager. I can see you this afternoon about four if that works for you? Just ask for me at reception. And Detective Mitchell? I’m looking forward to meeting Brad’s little brother.” He hung up.
Gary glanced across to where Dan sat. “He knew who I was.”
“Brad was obviously pretty memorable. Will he see you?”
Gary nodded. “At four o’clock at the Fairmont Copley Plaza.”
Dan gave him a hopeful glance. “Can I come too?”
Gary chuckled. “I think that’s a foregone conclusion. Now let me finish my lunch. Then we’d better get some work done.”
That was if he could work with all the butterflies flapping around in his stomach.
They arrived at the hotel, and a neatly dressed valet showed them to Sean’s office.
Sean Nichols rose from his chair to greet them, tall, slim, and elegant in his gray suit. His light brown hair was flecked with silver at the temples, as was his neat beard at the chin. Gary wasn’t given to noticing guys, but Sean was very easy on the eye.
Beside him, Dan cleared his throat, and Gary knew he’d been busted. There was an amused expression in Dan’s eyes that told Gary they’d be discussing this later.
“Gentlemen, please, take a seat. Coffee is on the way.” They did as asked, and Sean looked Gary up and down. “You’ve changed quite a bit since I last saw you in Brad’s photos.”
Gary shrugged. “I get that a lot. It’s the beard.” They both chuckled before Sean gave Dan an inquiring glance. “This is Dan Porter. We’re working on a cold case, but—”
“But you thought you’d investigate Brad’s death on the side.” Sean leaned back. “What do you want to know?”
“You and Brad were good friends?”
Sean’s smile reached his eyes. “Oh yes. We met the first semester, and that was it, we were inseparable.” His face took on a faraway expression. “God, the things we got up to….”
“I can imagine.” Brad had always been the prankster of the family.
Sean laughed. “Oh Lord, I hope not.”
The time for small talk was over. “What we want to know is… did Brad have any boyfriends?” Gary’s heartbeat quickened.
Sean fell silent, his mouth open. Finally he spoke. “You know he was gay?”
“I do now.” He indicated Dan.
Sean frowned. “I don’t understand.” He stared at Dan for a moment. “I remember you. Didn’t you stay here pretty recently?” He widened his eyes. “Oh God. You’re that psychic. The one who helped the police—”