Chapter 9
"Company security," Janice said. "They stopped by the house a few hours ago. They were looking for Preston. I told them they could find him at the country club. I asked what this was about. They said it was a minor security issue, and they needed Preston's assistance. Apparently, they couldn't get hold of him by phone. I couldn’t either. I called, but it went straight to voicemail. Not unusual when he’s playing golf.” Her eyes filled again, and she tried to hold back the tears.
She buried her face in a tissue for a moment, then pulled herself together. "What time did this happen?”
The tears spilled over again. Janice sobbed for a moment, then settled.
"I know this is difficult,” I said. “I'm sorry to keep asking you questions.”
"It's okay. You’re just doing what you have to do.”
"Did Preston own a pistol?"
"Well, he shot himself with something, didn't he?”
“Yes, ma'am. I just want to ascertain whether it was his pistol or someone else's.”
Her brow knitted. “Who else’s?”
JD and I shared a look, then I said to her, “You’re telling me he wasn’t suicidal.”
She shook her head. “No. He wasn’t suicidal.” Then she considered it. “Maybe I just didn’t know.” Her face tightened with guilt. “Maybe I missed all the signs. Maybe that’s why he’d been so distant lately.” The sorrow compounded, and she cried, “What if I’ve been a terrible wife?”
She broke down, bawling.
“I’m sure you were a wonderful wife,” I said, trying to soothe a pain that I couldn’t do anything about. Janice pulled herself together after a moment, and I asked, “How would you describe your relationship as of late?”
After some contemplation, she said, “Things have been strained lately. But I didn’t think they were that bad. Like I said, Preston was under a lot of stress at work.”
“I hate to ask, but had you seen any evidence to suggest your husband might have been having an affair?”
She looked horrified at the thought. “No! Not possible. Preston would never do something like that.”
She looked at me with disgust for even asking.
I shared another subtle glance with JD.
Her concerned eyes picked up on our body language.
“Is there something you're not telling?"
I hesitated, trying to figure out how to phrase it delicately. "We spoke with a witness who saw another young woman visit your husband on his boat on occasion."
Her skin went pale, and her face long. It took a few moments to respond. “Another woman? On his boat?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
"What does that even mean?”
"We don't know for sure.”
“It could have been anybody. I’m sure there was a legitimate reason. Preston was a good man.”
“Of course. Can you think of a reason he might have had a visitor to the boat on multiple occasions?”
It was a lot of information for Janice to process, and she didn’t want to process any of it. She finally stammered, "Do you know who she is?”
"We're working on that.”
Her brow wrinkled with confusion and denial. "I'm not sure what that has to do with my husband's death."
"She may have been the last person to see your husband alive," I said.
Her face tightened even more. "What do you mean?”
"It's possible she may have visited your husband earlier today. If so, she may have more information about what happened or his state of mind.”
Her lips quivered, and she looked devastated.
"Did your husband have any enemies?”
Still in a daze, it took her a moment to reply. "Not that I'm aware of.” She paused. “You said he shot himself.”
“I said it was an apparent suicide. But the medical examiner has not made an official determination.”
She squeaked out, "How long?”
“It may take a few days or more for a full evaluation.”
"No. How long was my husband having an affair with this woman?” The reality of the situation was beginning to sink in.
"I can't say for certain they were having an affair. We’ll look into your husband's phone records and other communications and see if we can make a determination.”
"I would like to know, one way or the other.”
I gave a subtle nod.
The room was silent for a moment.
I continued. "You said work was stressful. Can you elaborate? Was Preston having a problem with his boss or coworkers?"
Still flustered, she said, "I really don't know. Preston didn't talk about work in detail. Other than to complain about the pressure and some of the deadlines. A lot of what he did was classified, and he couldn’t discuss that with me.”
Given the nature of his employer, that wasn't unusual.
“Did the security staff from the company elaborate on the issue they were dealing with?”
Janice shook her head. "Nobody with the company ever says much. It's all cloak and dagger. Always has been.”
"Where are your children?”
"Chad is at football practice, and Felicity is at a piano and voice lesson."
"How old are your children?" I asked.
"Chad is 17, almost 18. Felicity just turned 16.” Her eyes filled with sadness again. "They're going to be devastated. I don't know how I'm going to tell them.”
It was a task I didn't envy.
"Did they both have good relationships with their father?"
Janice nodded. "Preston was a great dad.” Her eyes filled again, and she blotted them dry.
"I don't know what to make of this affair. I'm just having a hard time understanding why he would do something like that to me.” Her throat tightened, and her eyes filled, bouncing from one emotion to the next. “We met in high school. We’ve been together ever since. He's the only man I’ve ever loved.” She could barely finish the sentence before losing it again.
She sobbed into the tissue.
"I'd like to talk to some of Preston's friends,” I said. “People he might have confided in. Can you give me names?"
I had no doubt that Janice would be on the phone with Preston's friends as soon as we left, grilling them about the potential affair.
“You should talk to Dave Calhoun,” she said. “They’re golfing buddies. That's who he was supposed to be with today. I sure have some questions for him." Rage brewed in her weepy eyes.
"I bet you do. Do you have contact information for him?”
She nodded, wiped away the tears, and found her phone. I gave her a card, and she texted me Dave's information.
In a casual voice, I asked, "Have you been here all afternoon?”
"I went out and ran some errands. I picked up some stuff at the grocery store, then I dropped by the salon to get some product."
"What time was that?”
Janice thought for a moment. "Oh, I guess that was around noon. I got back here about 2 o'clock. Maybe 2:30 PM.”
I thanked her again and offered our condolences, then JD and I showed ourselves out. We stepped onto the veranda and made our way back to the Porsche.
"You think she knew about the affair?" JD asked.
"She sure seemed surprised by the news.”
"Maybe that was all an act. I mean, what better way to kill your husband than hire someone who looks like his girlfriend to go to his boat and blow his brains out?”
I gave him a doubtful look.
He shrugged innocently. "I know, it's a stretch. It sounds crazy. But we’ve come across crazier scenarios.”
We hopped into the Porsche and set out for STT-X. I had plenty of questions.