Chapter 12
Wilton Residence
Vera was astounded at the very idea that Bent had for one second been naive enough to believe she would go home and rest. He should’ve known better.
She might stay seated on the leather settee in Thomas Wilton’s home office, but she would be a part of these interviews if she had to be propped up with the Sherpa-covered throw pillows the decorator had deemed a perfect complement to the room.
Bent had finally recognized he was fighting a losing battle and relented—as long as she drank the water and ate the chips he had insisted on picking up after they left the hospital.
She had no idea what purpose he thought the chips served, and she didn’t care. As long as he agreed to her terms.
Once they’d reached a compromise—mostly on his part—he’d given her a folder containing his latest notes and background info on Wilton’s household employees to review while he checked in with his team of deputies to see how the search here was going.
The ones he had sent to her house had found nada, of course.
As for the Wilton home, the interior of the house was done, and all were focused on the grounds now.
By the time Bent returned to the elegant office with the next staff member to be questioned, Vera had devoured the chips and drunk most of the bottle of water.
She had to admit that the combination of salt and water was helping with the nausea and the weakness.
She might even thank him for the suggestion.
Later, of course.
Today a whole slew of reporters had been waiting outside the gate to the property. No surprise, Nolan Baker had been front and center. Vera was pretty sure he’d taken a photo of her as she and Bent rolled past. The man was relentless. It was a miracle he hadn’t shown up outside her house already.
“This is Helen Carter.”
Vera snapped to attention as Bent gestured for the woman he’d introduced to have a seat. Carter took the chair on the left of the desk.
“Vera Boyett is my associate,” he explained as he settled into the chair on the right. “She’ll be assisting with the investigation.”
Vera looked from Bent to Carter. “Thank you for agreeing to speak with us, Ms. Carter.”
Even with the full head of gray hair, Carter looked to be no older than mid-forties.
But the background info sheet Bent had provided stated she was fifty-nine.
Maybe it was the trim figure or her manner of dress, but she looked great.
She was a widow and had been in charge of the kitchen in the Wilton home since it was built.
“I’m happy to help any way I can.” Carter studied Vera as she said this. “I’ve worked for Mr. Wilton since he moved to Fayetteville. He was an excellent employer and a fine man. We’re all devastated by this tragedy.”
“You knew his first wife then.” The statement was Bent’s way of leading into queries about his second wife. A strategy Vera employed regularly.
Since his second wife was the latest big change in Wilton’s life and the only survivor of the weekend killing spree, she would be the subject of close scrutiny. Based on Erwin’s statements alone, Alicia Wilton was a definite suspect. Not to mention finding the murder weapon under her.
Carter shifted her attention to Bent. “Of course. A lovely woman. Really lovely. Nothing like . . .” She cleared her throat as if she’d caught herself before saying too much.
“Ms. Carter.” Bent removed his hat and placed it on the desk.
“If there is anything about Alicia Wilton that will help with this investigation, I hope you’ll share the information with us.
” He glanced at Vera before meeting the other woman’s gaze once more.
“Mr. Wilton was brutally murdered. We need to find the person or persons responsible. I’m not suggesting Mrs. Wilton had anything to do with what happened, but it’s important that we look into all potential avenues. ”
“Alicia,” Carter began, “is not a nice person. I can’t say that she is capable of murder.
” She shrugged. “But . . .” She paused to swipe at the tears that had slipped past her lashes.
“But she is hateful and self-centered. No one on staff has been excluded from her insensitivity. She treats us like lower-class citizens. She never asks for anything. She demands everything.”
“Did you or one of the other members ever speak to Mr. Wilton about this?” Vera hoped the answer would be yes. She had no tolerance whatsoever for those who treated anyone as if they were lesser humans.
Carter lifted her chin. “I did. Yes. He apologized and said that he would speak with her.”
“Did anything change?” Bent glanced at Vera as he asked the follow-up.
Vera knew what he was thinking—it probably hadn’t changed one thing. The power Alicia held over her new husband was likely not related to her less-than-award-winning personality.
“Actually”—Carter shook her head—“it made things worse. Alicia became more careful about her digs. She even warned me that if I said anything to him again, she would see that I paid dearly. So I let it go. I love my work. I didn’t want to get fired because she wanted to be—excuse my French—a total bitch. ”
“Did you ever see any behavior or overhear any conversations that suggested to you Alicia was hiding things or activities from Mr. Wilton?” At this point Vera didn’t see any reason to beat around the bush. This woman was in the house every day, all day long. She surely heard many things.
“If you’re asking,” Carter said pointedly, “if she was fooling around behind his back, I’d say yes. She was always having these little private chats. If any one of us happened to pass the open door of wherever she was, she’d slam it shut. She was very secretive.”
Bent considered this news for a moment before moving on to his next question. “Do you know if Mr. Wilton became aware of whatever Alicia may have been doing behind his back?”
Vera imagined the answer would be yes, considering the tension Erwin had mentioned. Surely others in the household were aware of the discontent.
“I can’t be certain,” Carter admitted. “I suspected he knew. There was a sort of odd distance between them in recent weeks.” She looked from Bent to Vera.
“And I noticed the way he blew her off. You know like when she’d try to kiss his cheek, and he’d turn away.
Or take his hand, and he’d move out of reach.
He was not happy about something. You couldn’t help but notice the signs of trouble. ”
Vera’s instincts sharpened. One witness’s statement prompted curiosity in an investigation, but when a second witness confirmed the same, the game changed. The accusations were far more likely to be fact than innuendo.
“Did any of the other members of staff notice?” Vera asked.
“We all did. Ask Renata, the housekeeper. Since she’s really quiet and rarely speaks anything other than Spanish, Alicia talked more openly in front of her. Renata told me Mrs. Wilton was up to something.”
“When was this?” Bent’s shift in posture announced that his own interest in the scenario had spiked.
“Early last week. Then we all . . .” Carter’s breath caught, and she swiped at the tears overflowing now. “I’m sorry, Sheriff.”
“No need to apologize. Take your time.”
When she’d regathered her composure, she began again. “We all talked—the three of us, I mean. Renata, Jose, and me. It was after I heard about the murders, I went to their house. We all agreed that we should have realized something bad was coming.”
“Renata and Jose are together?” Vera shifted to the next page in the folder of info Bent had given her. The two employees had different last names. Renata Hernandez and Jose Martinez.
“They aren’t married, but they are together. They rent a house from me. It was my mother’s. A few months ago they were having difficulty finding a place, and the house was just sitting there empty since my mother passed.”
Vera nodded her understanding. The arrangement was obviously beneficial to all involved.
“Beyond giving them the news about Mr. Wilton, what else did you talk about?” Bent asked.
Carter drew in a deep breath. “As I said, all of us felt we should have seen something like this coming. We made the decision that we weren’t saying anything unless we were questioned and had no choice.
Mr. Wilton is dead. It sounded as if Alicia would probably die, too, so what was the point of allowing his name to be dragged through the mud?
He wouldn’t want his private business to become public gossip. ”
Vera could, on some level, see her point.
From all appearances, these people had great respect and admiration for Wilton.
“I completely understand how you might feel that way, but if what you three know can help us, then Mr. Wilton’s killer won’t get away with these unthinkable crimes.
Even if Alicia was part of it, chances are she didn’t pull this off alone.
We need all the help we can get to find the person or persons responsible for what happened at that cabin. ”
Carter nodded. “I can see that now. I think we were all just so upset that we weren’t thinking clearly.
I can tell you that we all firmly believe Alicia was up to something.
We talked about it on several occasions.
She would sneak away and stay gone for hours, then tell Mr. Wilton that she’d been home all day and was bored just so he’d take her somewhere for dinner or whatever. She’s conniving like that.”
“You have no idea where she went when she left the house on these occasions?” Bent pressed.