Chapter 20

20

Walter’s wife, Caroline Temple, is visibly upset about the violent murder of the Mertons. She insists on serving tea to the detectives in proper china cups, as if to pretend everything is normal. But Reyes understands—there’s nothing normal about being interviewed by homicide detectives in your living room for a woman like Caroline Temple.

“How well did you know Sheila and Fred?” Reyes asks.

“We knew them socially for many years—decades, actually.”

“Your husband said you and Sheila were close.”

“Did he? Well, it probably looked that way to him. But we weren’t particularly close. She wasn’t one to bare her soul. Walter was friends with Fred, but to be honest, I didn’t care for him.”

“Why didn’t you like Fred?” Barr asks.

She hesitates a moment and says, “You know men.” She gives an apologetic glance at Reyes. “It’s all about business and golf. They don’t really get into the personal stuff. But Sheila told me things that made me dislike him.”

“Such as?” Reyes asks.

“I don’t think he was an easy man to live with. He had a mean streak.” She takes a sip of her tea. “I mean—the way he sold the business out from under his son!” She tells them all about it, how hard Dan had worked, how upset he’d been, how he hasn’t found subsequent employment. How Fred told them he did it so that Dan wouldn’t run his business into the ground. “People don’t treat their kids that way. Sheila wasn’t happy about it, I can tell you that.”

“Did she try to change his mind?” Reyes asks.

“Nobody could change Fred’s mind. He was stubborn. I doubt she even tried. She never stood up to him.”

Barr asks, “Did Sheila seem particularly worried lately?”

“Actually, yes,” Caroline says. “She told me that she’d started taking medication for anxiety.”

“Did she tell you why?” Barr presses.

Caroline shakes her head. “No. I tried to get her to open up, but Sheila—she’d offer a bit and then withdraw. Stiff upper lip and everything. Me, I’m a puddle when I’m upset.” Caroline pauses, as if remembering something. “She did tell me, the last time I saw her, that the kids weren’t going to be happy about their father’s will—that it wasn’t going to be what they expected.”

Reyes flicks a glance at Barr. “How so?”

“I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me any more than that. As I said, she was rather private.” She stops to pour more tea and then continues. “The kids didn’t get along with their father, and it seemed to be getting worse. None of them liked him—she told me that. Fred seemed to enjoy mistreating them. The only thing he cared about was himself.” She leans forward, about to impart something important. “Between you and me,” Caroline says, “I’m pretty sure Fred Merton was a psychopath. Apparently lots of very successful businessmen are.”

---

•   •   •ted hasn’t gone into work at his dental practice this morning. He’s stayed home to offer emotional and practical support to his wife as she arranges a double funeral. Catherine is constantly on the phone, and people are coming to their door, offering condolences and leaving food. There are so many interruptions that Catherine is complaining that it’s hard to get anything done. Her laptop is open on the coffee table to catch any news updates on the murders.

Ted tries to help as much as he can, as he studies his wife and frets about what to do. He’s certain the police will want to formally interview her, and possibly him, as well. What the hell is he going to tell them? If he can’t get Catherine to change her mind, does he lie too? Say she was home with him all night? He doesn’t like it. He thinks she should come clean with the detectives.

But she’s already lied to them. Such a stupid thing to do—and he’s angry at her for it. He doesn’t understand her reasons. From what he can see, if the detectives think it’s one of the adult children, Dan is the most obvious suspect. He was behaving a little strangely yesterday. But one could argue that Catherine is behaving strangely too.

He thinks about the phone call. She called her mother’s cell phone on Sunday night, from her own cell. There will be a record of it. Won’t they ask her about that? They will see the time of the unanswered call and might think her parents were dead already, when Catherine and he both know that they were alive for some time after that. All of this runs through his mind as he stands on the doorstep accepting a covered dish from family friends.

He sees Jenna’s car pull up on the street while he manages some pleasantries to the well-wishers. They are beginning to leave as Jenna reaches the door, but then they have to hug her and offer their sympathies all over again.

“How’s she doing?” Jenna asks him when they’re finally gone.

She means Catherine. Ted looks at Jenna with new eyes, wondering why his wife is afraid to trust her. What history do they have? “Okay, considering,” Ted says. “I’m glad you’re here. How are you doing?”

“Better than Dan.” She walks past him and enters the house, and Ted follows her into the living room.

“We should talk,” she says, glancing between him and Catherine.

“What’s wrong?” Catherine asks, alert to trouble.

“The detectives came by Dan’s place yesterday after you left, while I was still there. They asked us a bunch of questions. It was fine, but Dan seemed to fall apart after they left.” She sits down beside Catherine on the sofa and says after a moment, “Do you think he could have done it?”

Ted watches as Catherine averts her eyes and says, “I don’t know.”

Ted swallows, feels slightly sick.

“Me either,” Jenna admits. There’s a long, fraught silence. Finally Jenna says, “I think he’s losing his grip. He seems convinced they’re going to think it was him. Because of Dad selling the business. And—did you know that he’s got no money?”

Catherine looks at her now and nods wearily.

“You knew? I didn’t. He says the police are going to come after him and they’re going to go into it with blinders on and convince themselves that he did it, and they won’t be able to see anything else.”

Ted clears his throat and suggests, “Maybe he should get a lawyer?”

Catherine turns to him and nods. “Maybe. In the meantime, we say nothing.” She turns to Jenna and looks her in the eyes. “Okay?”

Jenna nods. “Okay.”

“You didn’t tell them about what happened at Easter dinner, did you?” Catherine asks.

“Of course not.”

“Good.” She seems to relax a little. Then Catherine says, a furrow in her brow, “Dan isn’t wrong to be worried. Yesterday, as we were leaving his place, Irena told me she thinks the police might not believe it was a robbery at all. They might suspect it was one of us.”

“Why didn’t she say that to all of us?” Jenna asks.

“She probably didn’t want to upset Dan.”

Ted watches Jenna nod. “I imagine Dan has told you the good news?” Jenna asks.

“What good news?” Catherine says.

“He called Walter yesterday, after you left, before the police arrived.”

“What?” Catherine says sharply.

Ted can tell by her tone that Catherine isn’t happy about it.

“Dad didn’t change his will to benefit Audrey. He’d made an appointment, but he hadn’t done it before he was killed. So there’s that.” She adds, with a smirk, “I wonder if Audrey knows yet?”