Chapter 21 #3
“Not that I’m aware of.” Melanie shook her head. “I think the one was looking into accounting of some kind, bookkeeping maybe. The others were younger, and I don’t know that anybody had any plans.”
Camden asked, “And the husband, was he really difficult, feisty? Would he have braced somebody, started a fight, then had them return for some payback?”
She frowned as she studied him. “I wondered many times if something like that might have happened because he was a handful, definitely the kind to piss off people. And he wasn’t exactly—I don’t want to say anything bad, but it’s not as if he was really a good upstanding citizen.
You wouldn’t have found him at a church.
You wouldn’t have found him doing any volunteering.
I mean, if it didn’t involve money, he didn’t see the point. ”
“Right, and we see a lot of that too, don’t we?”
“Oh, we absolutely do,” she agreed. “It doesn’t mean that’s anything against him, but that was definitely who he was.”
Camden filed that away. “Did you ever have any insights or knowledge yourself as to what you think happened?”
She shook her head. “No, honest to God. I mean, we all tried to figure it out so many times. I even went to other psychics, you know, thinking that maybe since Wendy was psychic herself, then maybe she could contact somebody and could let us know what happened. … But I never got anything,” she muttered. “It was pretty rough.”
“Do you know anything about her family, her parents?”
“I think she was an orphan. It’s one of the reasons why she married her husband.
She didn’t really have a whole lot of options, and her future wasn’t looking that great.
So, he was security, and I’m pretty sure that’s why she tied the knot with him, even though they were very different.
She also wasn’t against him though. I don’t know that she loved him, but I think she eventually came to that point to some degree. Times were different back then.”
“Of course,” he noted. “Okay, I won’t keep you too long.
I’m just trying to think of what other questions I could even ask.
I’m trying to get a feel for what the mood was in the family, like if anybody was at odds with them.
I mean, people made it sound as if her husband was definitely the kind of person to get into trouble and to not get out of it easily.
So, I just wanted to see whether you knew anything or had any idea if there was any trouble like that. ”
She shook her head. “Not really, not like that.”
Then he asked, “Do you know the young policeman who went on the original call for a welfare check and found them?”
She nodded. “Yes, of course.” She sighed. “It was almost like the killer found another victim because that poor young man was never quite the same afterward.”
“Right, and I understand he’s here. I did try to talk to him earlier today, but he wasn’t doing all that great.”
“Right, and no wonder,” she stated. “He’s not the strongest mentally.” When Camden didn’t say anything, she asked, “Or do you disagree with me on that?”
“Oh, I’m certainly not disagreeing with you,” he replied, as he considered her. “Should I be?”
She muttered, “Sometimes I just wonder, you know? When you go into law enforcement, then see something like that? Does it affect you for forever and a day?”
“I don’t know about his particular circumstances. As a cop, I’ve seen some terrible things, but nothing like that.”
“I guess I’m not being charitable, and that’s very wrong. I’m sorry.”
He shook his head. “Tell me what is on your mind, then I wouldn’t have to guess it after I leave because that’s the kind of guy I am.”
She shrugged and admitted, “I just thought that surely he could have done other things, and maybe it would have had a different outcome.”
“Okay, so now I’m really curious. What other things could he have done?”
She looked at him, surprised. “Apparently, he more or less passed out when he got to the crime scene. So, who knows what he actually saw there? Who knows if he missed something? I’m not here to accuse him, but it makes you wonder. Plus, of course, that wasn’t in the official version.”
“Right.” Camden stared at her. “It wasn’t. I’ve got the case files, but that certainly wasn’t listed.”
She raised her pointer finger. “And that’s the problem. So, there’s always that question, you know? Could he have missed something? It’s certainly been on my mind all these years, and I know I’m not alone on that.”
He stood up and shared, “Maybe I’ll go back and ask him.”
She nodded. “You do that. I’m not sure how he’ll take it, but I’m pretty sure he’ll have some attack to get out of talking to you,” she shared. “So, be prepared for that.”
“Will do.” As he stepped out of the room, he looked down to see a text message from Devon about her visit with Sarah. He looked at it and nodded. Maybe things were starting to fall together.
And with that, he headed back to talk to Mark again, to just see what the truth really was about his visit to the gruesome crime scene. He wondered if he should go see Robert again, as well. Maybe there was more that should have gone into that report.