Chapter 35

35

Go on,” Reyes says to Audrey, interested to hear what she has to say.

“That family had problems,” Audrey begins. “Sheila wasn’t good for my brother. She was weak and frivolous. She didn’t bring out the best in him. Fred hated weakness; it made him angry.”

“Then why did he marry a weak woman?” Barr interjects.

She glances at Barr. “I don’t know,” she admits. She sighs and says, “Maybe it was easier for him than marrying a strong one.” She pauses for a moment. “Sheila—she was a self-absorbed woman who didn’t show much interest in her children. It was a troubled family. They won’t tell you that, but I know. They want everyone to think everything was perfect. But the kids hated Fred.”

“Why?” Reyes asks.

“Because he was awful to them. Fred could be cruel, especially to Dan.” She takes a sip of her coffee, then continues. “Fred had more money than he knew what to do with, and he didn’t skimp on his kids, especially in the early years.

“Those kids were brought up accustomed to having wonderful things,” Audrey explains. “But then Fred started taking things away. His kids had disappointed him, you see. He had such great expectations for them when they were little. He was especially unhappy with Dan. Both girls have more going for them than Dan ever did, if you ask me. Anyway, Fred was a brilliant businessman, and Dan just didn’t have what he had. Dan wanted to please his father, but nothing was ever good enough. And Fred belittled him all the time, destroyed his confidence. It’s as if once he decided that Dan was never going to measure up, he couldn’t resist taking out his anger and dissatisfaction on him at every turn. He sold the company so that Dan couldn’t have it. I’m sure that it was probably the right business decision, but I also know that he did it with malice. He wanted to hurt Dan, for disappointing him.” She stops and takes a deep breath. “He could be petty that way.”

“So you think Dan killed them,” Reyes says.

“I don’t know,” she replies. “But I’m certain one of them did.”

“Why are you so sure?”

“Fred was dying. He had pancreatic cancer, and he knew he didn’t have much time. He refused all treatment, except painkillers. Anyway, he felt that he’d been overly generous to his kids, and that perhaps it had ruined them.” She tells them how Fred was going to change his will, and her conviction that at least one of the kids knew, that perhaps Fred, or possibly Sheila, had told them, and paid the ultimate price for it, before he could carry out his intentions.

Which certainly makes it unlikely that Audrey killed them, Reyes thinks. She was going to get the money soon anyway.

Audrey says, “If you ask me, one of them is a psychopath and had no trouble killing their parents. You just have to figure out which one.”

She sits back in her chair and says, “Let me tell you a few things about those kids.”

---

•   •   •around lunchtime, Lisa slips out of the house while Dan is puttering around in the garage. She takes her car, telling him she’s going to run some errands, though she has a different destination in mind. He’s furious at his sisters; he’s convinced himself that they have betrayed him, simply by thinking the worst of him. She hadn’t liked it either, and she can understand his feelings of hurt and betrayal. And fear. But she also believes his sisters want to protect him. When she told him this, he said, “You don’t know them like I do,” and refused to discuss it any further.

She doesn’t want the conflict between Dan and his sisters on display tomorrow at the funeral. She must bring him around somehow. They must present a united front; she can’t have it looking like he’s estranged from his sisters. And he’s so on edge, prone to unexpected outbursts.

The other thing is, she’s not entirely sure they’re wrong about him. She needs support. She needs comfort. Because she’s never been so frightened in her life.

She drives the short distance to Catherine’s house, thinking about what she’s going to say. She’s become quite close to Catherine since she married Dan. Lisa has confided in Catherine more about their financial situation than Dan would strictly approve.

She pulls into the driveway, noticing that the curtains in the living room are drawn. It’s hard to believe it’s only been three days since Sheila and Fred were discovered; it feels like so much longer. Her whole world has been turned upside down.

Catherine lets her in. As soon as the door is closed behind her, Lisa bursts into unrestrained tears. Catherine pulls her into a hug and Lisa lets it all out.

Finally, they sit down in the living room, and when Lisa is cried out, she apologizes. Ted has come into the room, but wisely leaves again, retreating upstairs. “I’m not coping very well,” Lisa says miserably.

“You’re coping as well as anyone would,” Catherine tells her.

Lisa looks back at her, noticing the tension in Catherine’s face, her body. She screws up her courage and asks the question she came to ask. “You know him. Do you really think Dan could have done it?”

Catherine averts her eyes for a moment and then drags them wearily back to meet hers. “I don’t know what to think.”

“Me either,” Lisa admits in a whisper. “Ever since they found those disposable suits.”

---

•   •   •after she’s finished at the police station, Audrey drives to Ellen’s house and pulls into the driveway. She needs to talk to someone, and there’s nobody else she can talk to about this other than Ellen.

“Audrey,” Ellen says opening the door, having spotted her car from the window. “You want some coffee?”

“Sure,” Audrey says, following her into the kitchen.

“What’s the latest?” Ellen asks as she busies herself with the coffee maker.

Audrey settles her bulk at the kitchen table, considering how much she should tell Ellen about where she’s been.

“I’ve just come from the police station,” she admits.

Ellen turns around and stares. “Why? What’s happened?”

“I told them the truth.”

“What truth?” Ellen asks, promptly forgetting about the coffee.

Audrey swallows. “I told them that I thought one of the kids did it. That Fred or Sheila probably told one of them that Fred was going to change his will in my favor.”

“Oh, Audrey,” Ellen says slowly. “Are you sure that was a good idea?”

“I don’t know,” Audrey admits. “Maybe not.”

“Are you absolutely certain Fred was going to change his will?” Ellen asks.

“Yes,” Audrey says firmly. She can tell Ellen doesn’t quite believe her. What the hell does she know about it? “I’m positive. He promised me. He wanted to punish his children. And I think he was rewarding me for my silence all of these years.”

“Silence about what?” Ellen asks, curious.

“Nothing you need to know,” Audrey hastily assures her.

---

•   •   •friday night after work, Rose lies down on her bed, still in her skirt and blouse, too drained to think about making something to eat. Instead, eyes closed, she stews about her situation, her thoughts going over and over the same ground. Her nerves are getting the better of her. She regrets, now, what she’s done. It was a mistake. Why did she do it? But she knows why—because she’s greedy, she’s impatient, and she took a shortcut. If she could go back in time and undo everything, she would.

After a while, she gets up off her bed and looks through her closet. She must find something to wear to the funeral tomorrow. She decides her black suit will have to do.