Chapter 7
Gabe stood at the end of the table, watching the doorway.
“Anything of interest?” she asked him as Burke stepped in behind her.
“If you consider silverware that looks like it requires a user manual, then yes—very interesting.” His eyes twinkled with humor. “But as far as the theft goes, doesn’t look like it’s a room we should waste any time on.”
Burke pointed at the large antique sideboard. “Did you check all the drawers?”
Abby expected a negative reaction from Gabe over having his work questioned, but he simply nodded.
“Then let’s have a seat and hope Victor doesn’t take long to get ready.” Burke pulled out a chair for Abby.
The guy had old-school manners. Both in this gesture and offering to take Sam’s cart up the stairs.
She liked his kindness. Would appreciate it, even.
If she knew the reason. Was it a sign of respect, or was it patronizing—thinking women didn’t have the same abilities as a man?
Even worse, did it indicate he was brought up with a privileged lifestyle that he adopted for himself?
A lifestyle like her snooty family lived.
They looked down on people who hadn’t been raised in the same social standing.
True, he was a detective, and her family would no more approve of his job than hers, so she was probably overreacting.
Gabe plopped down on the chair next to her. She’d avoided placing her arms on the dusty table, but Gabe didn’t care. He propped his elbows on top and put his chin in his hands. “I wonder how long this dude’ll take to get ready.”
Victor had spent the night in his chair in the library, and he hadn’t had a chance to change clothes. Still, he’d been kind enough to let them in and took Sam to the library to begin processing the forensics and take his fingerprints to eliminate his from others she might locate in the house.
“We have to remember his age,” Abby said. “He’s in his seventies and won’t move as fast as we do.”
“Don’t worry,” Gabe said. “I got the hint earlier. Dial it down a notch and be more respectful.”
She laughed. “See. Now that’s why I brought you along.”
Expression still serious, Burke dropped onto a chair across the table and held up his phone. “I made a list of questions for Victor last night, starting with the simple things we learned and building to Estelle. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to take lead here.”
“Sounds like a good plan,” Abby said, amazed he’d asked instead of ordered. “It’s fine with me as long as you don’t mind my input along the way.”
“Two heads are better than one.” He swiped his screen with a long index finger.
He seemed to want to get along. She did too, so she would make sure to keep things light and friendly between them. “Thank you for your consideration.”
Gabe looked between them. “I don’t know what’s going on with you guys, but your conversation is bordering on sappy sweet.”
Abby probably shouldn’t venture out of the professional realm, but she couldn’t resist giving Burke a playful grin.
He took a sharp breath and laughed. “Maybe it was a bit over the top.”
Gabe crossed his arms. “You grilled us on our early arrival, Ulrich, but you never said why you showed up at the crack of dawn.”
Burke stared at his phone as if he wasn’t going to answer, but then cleared his throat.
“Our department boat is booked for a training today, and I had to borrow one. My friend couldn’t be late for work to hand it over to me, so we had to meet early.
I figured, why hang on the mainland when I could get started here. ”
Gabe scratched the back of his neck. “You always dress like a banker?”
“Gabe!” Abby shook her head. “Filters, man. Not all thoughts are meant to be spoken.”
He shrugged, his gaze still on Burke. “Well, do you?”
Abby groaned.
“I like to dress professionally at work.” Burke lowered his phone and returned Gabe’s stare. “If it offends you, so be it.”
Abby waited for a fireworks show between the two of them, but Victor came to the door. Perfect timing.
His hair was slicked back against his head, bringing to mind a freshly waxed car. He wore a shabby blue sweater she suspected was pricey cashmere, but several holes ruined the appearance of luxury. He’d paired it with formal black wool trousers patched at the knee.
Burke nodded at the chair at the head of the table. “Have a seat.”
Gaze wary, Victor took a seat and clasped his hands together on the tabletop. “This seems so formal.”
“Formal is an interview at the station.” Burke smiled but it looked forced.
Abby took out her notepad and pen and set them on the table. “It always helps to get the victim’s viewpoint on the crime committed against them.”
Victor’s shoulders relaxed a notch. “Then go ahead. I’ll do what I have to do to locate the artifact.”
“You can stop calling it an artifact in this room,” Burke said. “We all know it’s a crown.”
“But I thought—” Victor shot an irritated look at Gabe, then back at Abby. “I thought you weren’t going to share this information with others.”
“Remember, I said I would share with my team, and Gabe’s a team member.”
“Fine. But I better not find out you’ve told other people. Like that forensic tech out there. She doesn’t need to know what’s missing.”
“Actually, she does. Having as much information as possible allows her to do her very best. Except for my team, I haven’t told anyone else, and everyone knows to keep it quiet.”
“Ditto for me,” Burke said. “The sheriff’s in the know, but he’ll be discreet.”
Abby told him about the dealer Nolan had located. “I’d like your permission to share a picture of the crown with this dealer.”
“No. No! Absolutely not! He’s just the kind of person who would spread the information like wildfire.”
“But I—”
“I said no. Now leave it alone.” That patronizing expression she was getting tired of seeing was back as he folded his arms.
Pushing further right now would be a mistake. She could lose him as a client, and she couldn’t let that happen. “Last night we discovered the fireplace grate in your office was warm to the touch. A fire had burned there shortly before we arrived in the room.”
His eyes narrowed. “I didn’t build a fire in there yesterday. In fact, I haven’t lit one since Sylvia cleaned it last. Tuesday is her regular cleaning day.”
Based on the state of the place, Abby had no idea what the woman cleaned, but she wasn’t about to ask and further irritate him.
“There’s no question someone set a fire in there.” Burke’s tone had grown a bit more forceful. “And the ash residue seems to be from paper, not wood.”
Victor lifted his chin. “What exactly are you saying?”
Burke sat forward. “Perhaps you remembered documents you didn’t want anyone to see and decided to burn them while we were checking the door locks.”
“Preposterous!” Victor slammed his hands on the arms of his chair. “I don’t have anything to hide. As you said, I’m the victim. Why would I hide something?”
“Let me speak candidly,” Burke said. “We both get the feeling you aren’t telling us everything you know about the missing crown.”
He glanced between her and Burke, then lifted his chin. “I don’t know why you would think that. Like I said, I have nothing to hide.”
“Then why didn’t you tell us about the hidden compartment in the floor in front of your fireplace?” Burke asked.
Victor’s eyes widened. “Compartment? What are you talking about?”
His sincere expression led Abby to believe him, but she continued to watch him for any deception. “A hidden hole in the floor by the fireplace. If you didn’t know about it, who could’ve installed it?”
He shrugged. “Any of my relatives who owned the house before me. Their families.”
“What about your housekeeper or estate manager?” Gabe asked.
Victor tapped his chin with a gnarled finger. “I suppose it could’ve been possible when I used to leave home, but since I’ve been a homebody? No. No. The noise would’ve alerted me. Besides, what reason might they have to install such a thing?”
“A question we’ll ask when we interview them.” Burke glanced at his phone for a long moment, then looked at Victor again. “One of the doors we were checking took us down to your basement. The one with prison cells.”
Victor’s lips pursed. “I was as shocked by them as you are, but they were installed when the house was built. Rumor has it my great-grandfather kept indentured servants down there, but I’ve never found anything to confirm such a rumor.
Regardless, I know they weren’t used by my grandfather or father, and of course I don’t use them.
I haven’t gone down there since the day I moved in and my father took me on a tour. ”
Burke arched an eyebrow. “Then why did we find a 1992 penny and a Tylenol packet there?”
Victor tilted his head. “Now that’s a most interesting question. Like I said, I’ve only been down there once, and that was back in the eighties.”
“What year did you move here?” Gabe asked.
“Late March of ’85. Just when the cherry trees out front were in full blossom.” He stared ahead as if he could see them, and his expression softened. “What a sight that was. Estelle especially loved them.”
“How would Estelle feel about the terrible state of the property and grounds now?” Burke asked.
Victor balled his fists. “I think you’re exaggerating. Sure, there’s some deferred maintenance, but it’s not as horrific as you declare.”
Gabe snorted. “When’s the last time you went outside and took a look around?”
Victor blinked at him. “It’s been some time.”
“How long?” Gabe asked. “It looks like repairs haven’t been made or landscaping trimmed in decades.”
Victor sniffed the air. “What does any of this have to do with the stolen crown?”
“Perhaps nothing.” Burke shifted his weight slightly, his posture open rather than defensive. “But in the early stages of an investigation, we look at every detail.”
Victor sighed. “Okay, well, in that case, ’92 was the last time I successfully stepped outside to go to the mainland. I might not have succeeded then, but I had to sign papers at the bank.”
“And you haven’t tried to leave since then?” Abby asked.
“I tried to go to the 2000 New Year’s celebration in Surfside Harbor. But as soon as I reached the ferry, I knew I had to turn around and hurry back up here.”
Wow. He hadn’t tried to leave the property in over twenty years, preferring to be shut up in this place. Abby couldn’t imagine it. “Anything special about that party to make you want to leave the mansion?”
Victor shrugged. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime event, but an uneasy feeling stopped me. I tried going outside a few times after that and couldn’t get over the threshold.”
“Have you ever considered working with a counselor to solve the issue?” she asked as gently as she could, so he would answer and she would know how difficult it was going to be to get him to go to the bank.
“Why should I? It hasn’t been an issue for me.
Without Estelle, there’s nowhere I really want to go.
I have enough money to have anything I want brought to me.
” He held up his hands. “I know. I know. You can’t understand it, but when Estelle went missing, I lost interest in everything.
She’s the love of my life. Not knowing what happened to her has devastated me. Broke me.”
“I’m so sorry, Victor.” Abby maintained soft eye contact, letting her silence communicate support. “I can’t imagine how difficult this is for you. When did she disappear?”
Victor didn’t hesitate but rattled off a date forty years earlier. “It was just a normal day. She took our small skiff into town to get groceries just like she did every week, but she never came back. Leaving our family without a wife and mother.”
“I can tell you miss her a lot,” Abby said sincerely as she thought not only about his loneliness, but also about his children without a mother.
“Every minute of every day.” His eyes turned glassy with tears.
“She’s the most special woman. Kind, compassionate.
Friendly to all and not a lick of prejudice in her.
Oh, and she’s funny. Such a good sense of humor.
And beautiful, of course. The best wife a man could ever hope for.
But she’s gone now, and dwelling on it doesn’t change that fact. ”
“What do you think happened to her?” Gabe asked.
Victor shook his head. “I honestly don’t know. Our marriage was strong. Sure, at first, she really didn’t want to leave Paris to live here, but she made the best of it and soon came to love it here.”
Burke leaned in slightly, displaying thoughtfulness not confrontation. “Could she have gone back to Paris?”
“I don’t think so. I hired a private investigator to look for her there. He didn’t find any trace of her, including flights or ship passages with her name on the manifests. So if she did somehow get back there, she’s not living under her real name.”
“Not to be insensitive,” Gabe said, “but do you think she’s still alive?”
Victor looked down at the table and fitted his fingers together. He held his pose until his fingers turned white. “I can’t—won’t—give up hope. I need to believe she is.”
Burke opened his mouth. A knock sounded on the doorframe, shifting everyone’s attention to Sam, who stood there.
She poked her head into the room. “Sorry to interrupt, but can I talk to you for a minute, Abby?”
Sam wouldn’t interrupt this questioning unless it was important, so Abby rushed to the door. “What is it?”
Sam leaned close and whispered, “I found something you and Burke need to see right away.”
Abby stared at her friend. “Can it wait? We’re just getting to the important questions.”
She glanced over Abby’s shoulder, her concerned focus directed at Victor. “I think you’ll want this information before you finish your questions. And I recommend you and Burke leave Gabe here to keep an eye on Victor.”
Of anything Sam had said, this comment raised Abby’s concern the most. “Let me get Burke.”
“I’ll meet you in the library.” Sam backed away.
Abby went to Burke and leaned close. “Sam needs to see us in the library. Now.”
“What is it?” Victor asked, sitting up higher in his chair. “What’s wrong?”
Abby ignored the questions and looked at Gabe. “I need you to stay here with Victor.”
Gabe gave a subtle nod.
“But I…” Victor let his voice fall off as if he didn’t know what to say. Or maybe he was too afraid to find out the answer to any of his questions.
“Be right back.” Abby hurried through the door, her mind unable to let go of the fact that Sam wouldn’t have asked Gabe to watch Victor if she didn’t suspect the old man of being involved in this theft. So what on earth had she located in the library to give her such a negative impression?