Chapter 25 #2
The same way they didn’t find anything useful at the farm after she and Erwin were attacked.
Erwin had recalled that their attacker had worn gloves, so they were never going to.
Breaking-and-entering cases were difficult to close with fingerprints alone unless there was a match in the database or an actual suspect for comparison. A suspect too stupid to wear gloves.
“You know.” Vera settled her glass back on the table.
She was feeling very relaxed just now. “Erwin has been at the top of my suspect list alongside Alicia Wilton all week. Particularly after I spoke with the mother of Nola Childers. That whole story of their years as roommates and friends and then Childers’s sudden, bizarre death and Erwin getting her position with Wilton—it was just too much.
How could she not be at the top? And after what I witnessed in Alicia’s hospital room and the news about her pregnancy, she dropped below Erwin on that list.”
“But you’re not so sure anymore.” Bent traced a trickle of sweat down his tea glass with a fingertip. “About either one. Not really.”
Vera watched the move with far too much interest. She tried to push away the image of him using that finger to trace a path down her body, but it wasn’t going anywhere.
Focus on the case . . . The other is for later.
“I am not. What we’ve learned about Erwin certainly makes her a bit on the odd side, but not necessarily a murderer—at least not in our case.
Parson confirmed her story about his arrival at the Wilton house.
She obviously was wrong about him being the attacker.
It’s not impossible that our attacker wore the same aftershave as Parson, but more likely she wants it to be him because it makes sense to her.
His brother was somehow involved with Alicia and ultimately ended up a victim.
Erwin wants to connect all the pieces. Her subconscious may be helping her along. ”
Vera exhaled a big breath. “Then we have Seth Parson, whose brother insisted he had not heard from Alicia in two years until about three weeks ago, so we can assume Seth is not the father of her child. And, if Larry Parson is telling the truth about when he arrived in Fayetteville, I don’t see how either of them could be involved.
Not really, considering Seth is dead. So the real question is, Who was at the cabin besides the four?
Alicia was clearly running from someone. ”
“You said yourself,” Bent countered, “that Erwin is hiding things—like the first wife’s affair and the second wife’s pregnancy. Maybe she was there or knows who was.”
“I don’t doubt she knows who was there, but that doesn’t make her a killer.
Frankly, I can’t be positive she knew about the pregnancy, but she certainly put on a show of being surprised when I told her.
” Vera rubbed at her forehead where the tension was building.
“She was obsessed, it seems to me, with Thomas Wilton.”
“Moving Erwin down.” Bent braced his crossed arms on the table. “Right next to the Parson brothers.”
Vera made a face. “But the first wife did die in a bizarre accident. What if Thomas Wilton wasn’t the fine, upstanding guy everyone believed he was—at least not where his wives are concerned? And maybe Erwin is hiding what she knows about that too.”
“I see where you’re going, but we don’t have anything other than the first wife’s suspicious accident to put in his guilty column, and he’s dead. So who, if anyone, are we moving up?”
Vera finished off her third glass of wine, which was more than enough, it seemed, since she was feeling far too comfortable.
“Okay. Okay. Let’s go through this again.
We can agree that Seth Parson and Sandy Owens were both lured into what happened.
Everyone we’ve interviewed until now would have us believe Alicia is the one who invited them.
So I suppose it actually makes sense—no matter what my gut tells me—to keep Alicia tied with Erwin on the list in spite of the pregnancy and all else.
She may have hired someone to kill her husband, and we just haven’t discovered it yet.
The rest of those killed were for show—to lead us off in other directions. She was injured to deflect guilt.”
“That would mean Alicia wanted the probable father of her child dead,” Bent reminded her.
Vera groaned in frustration. “Maybe.” Vera wasn’t convinced that was the case, but it was an option they couldn’t deny at this point.
Another thought occurred to her. She sat up straighter.
“What if it was Wilton who lured Seth here? All communications were via text before Seth and Sandy arrived—as far as we know. And Wilton did go pick the two up for the weekend at the cabin. Think about it. Given his history as a creator and a businessman, I wouldn’t take him for someone who allows others to be in charge of any aspect of his life. ”
Bent leaned back in his chair. “Good point. Maybe in the end it all went wrong, and Seth killed him.” His gaze narrowed. “After seeing what her old friend has done, Alicia kills Seth and Sandy.”
Vera made a face. “But who hit her in the back of the head? Who was she running from? There absolutely had to be another person involved—assuming the blow to the back of her head was sufficient to incapacitate her.”
“We haven’t found even one other potential suspect,” Bent reminded her. “Not a single business associate who wanted Wilton out of the way. Olson and Hastings have spoken to the entire list Erwin and the attorneys provided. As Erwin has said repeatedly, he doesn’t appear to have had any enemies.”
Vera propped her elbow on the table, rested her chin in one hand. God, she was tired. “That takes us back to Erwin, Carter, Hernandez, and Martinez. Those were the closest to Thomas Wilton. One of them has to know something about our fifth player.”
“Each one had something to gain from Wilton’s death,” Bent agreed. “So maybe it was one of them.”
“The probability makes too much sense to ignore.” Vera stared at her wineglass, wishing it weren’t empty, then she lifted her gaze to Bent’s.
“They worked together for Wilton, what? Five years for Erwin? Eight for the others? Why now? Why not last year or next year? What was the impetus that set this whole plan in motion after so many years of dedicated service?”
“The answer takes us back to the new wife. Alicia was the most recent change.” Bent stood, picked up Vera’s plate and stacked it on his own.
“She’s the newest factor in all their lives—that we know of.
Maybe the decision came as a result of how she was changing the boss or the situation. All four complained about her.”
“She is the most logical trigger.” Vera felt only remotely guilty for not getting up to help with the dishes.
But she was reasonably sure that moving right now would not be a good thing.
“We just need to know in what way the change or changes Alicia prompted set off this chain reaction—if, in fact, that’s what happened.
Something that will give us the evidence we need to cross the finish line. ”
Bent came back for their glasses. “We’ll interview all four again tomorrow. Separately this time. We might just get lucky.”
“We can always hope.”
This time when Bent returned to the table, he held out his hand for hers. “But first, I thought we might do that tonight.”
Vera frowned, confused, then she got it. She put her hand in his, pushed back her chair and stood. “I believe getting lucky tonight can be arranged.”
He put his arm around her waist and started the journey toward the bedroom. “Not to toss in a downer, but Hayworth called me.”
The attorney Geneva Fanning had hired. Vera suppressed the urge to groan. “You saved that until now.”
“I only thought of it now.” Bent paused at the door to the place where the magic happened. “He mostly just wanted me to know that he was taking her case and thought I should be aware she planned to pursue civil action against the department if we didn’t thoroughly investigate Jackie’s death.”
Vera gritted her teeth. She so wanted to punch Geneva Fanning. Then she rolled her eyes. But that might border on elder abuse. The need to tell Bent everything Luna had confided in her nearly overwhelmed her . . . but she couldn’t. Not yet.
“I don’t want to talk about work anymore.” Vera draped her arms around his neck. “You?”
Bent didn’t say a word, just lowered his mouth to hers.
Vera relaxed against him and put all the worries about murder and mayhem out of her mind.