Chapter 43

43

Number 22 Brecken Hill Drive is a massive property—complete with a lavish Italian fountain in front.

“Jeez,” Barr says as they approach. “A bit much, don’t you think?”

Reyes doesn’t give an opinion. The owner, Amir Ghorbani, is expecting them. Reyes rings the doorbell, and an elaborate trilling can be heard echoing from inside. Barr rolls her eyes.

The door opens and a man about forty years of age greets them. He looks closely at their identification. “Please, come in,” he says and directs them into a large living room, where they sit down beneath an ornate crystal chandelier.

The house feels empty, quiet; Reyes doesn’t think there’s anyone else there.

As if reading his mind, Ghorbani says, “My wife and children are visiting family in Dubai.”

“As I mentioned on the phone,” Reyes begins, “we’re investigating the murders of Fred and Sheila Merton.”

The man nods. “It’s terrible. Everyone in Brecken Hill is upset about it. I’m fairly new here, but as far as I understand, nothing like this has ever happened here.”

“We understand you have some business with their son, Dan Merton,” Reyes says.

The man goes still. “Business? No, I don’t have any business with him.”

Reyes pulls out a folder and hands him the document that shows Dan Merton advancing five hundred thousand dollars to Amir Ghorbani, secured by a first mortgage on the house they’re sitting in. The other man reads it, clearly astonished.

“I’ve never seen this before in my life,” he says. “I have never borrowed money from Dan Merton. The only mortgage on this house is with the bank. That can’t have been registered. The bank would never allow this to happen.” Ghorbani looks at the paper again. “I’ve never heard of Rose Cutter. She is not my lawyer.” He sits back. “But I’ll tell you something else. I’ve seen Dan Merton sitting outside this house, at night, on several occasions. He’d sit out there in his car, watching the house.”

Reyes is surprised to hear this. It’s rather strange behavior. “So you’d met him?” Reyes asks.

“No. I hired a private detective to find out who he was.” He adds, “It worried me; I didn’t know what he was doing there.” He shakes his head, looking nervous now. “Someone got his money, but it wasn’t me.”

Reyes shares a glance with Barr. Rose Cutter has pulled a fast one on her half brother, Dan.

Ghorbani says, “Do you think he murdered his parents? He was here that night, Easter Sunday. Outside my house.”

“What time?” Reyes asks.

“I noticed him probably around ten thirty, maybe a bit earlier. He usually stayed for an hour or so, but he was gone that night after only ten or fifteen minutes. I remember looking out the window and noticing he’d left, because I would never go to bed until he was gone.”

---

•   •   •even with the surprise sibling, Ted thinks, as he drives them home, Catherine’s share of the estate will still be roughly eight million. Worth celebrating. But Catherine seems to be deeply distressed at finding out that Rose Cutter, who she’s always considered a close friend, is her half sister. He has to admit, it startled him too. It will change things between them, and he can tell Catherine doesn’t like it.

“Well,” Catherine says, leaning back in her seat, “now we know.”

Ted doesn’t want to bring it up, but he has to know. He asks, “What happened at the police station this morning?”

She turns to him. “They found a pair of my mother’s earrings in my jewelry box.”

“So?” But his mind is already racing ahead.

“So—they’re saying it’s a pair that went missing from Mom’s the night of the murder. They have some kind of inventory from the insurance company. But I borrowed those earrings a couple of weeks earlier. And after what Dan said at the funeral . . .”

“You can’t mean they seriously suspect you?” Ted asks in dismay, glancing at her.

“I honestly don’t know, but it feels that way.”

Ted stares at the road ahead of him, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. He feels like he’s in some surreal movie, driving down a familiar road while his life reels around him.

They drive the rest of the way in silence. Ted is thinking about the earrings. He doesn’t remember her borrowing any jewelry from her mother. But why would he?

Just before they pull into the driveway, Catherine says, “Ted, maybe you could back me up on the earrings? Say you knew I borrowed them?”

He parks the car and looks at her, worried. He’d decided he wasn’t going to lie to the police anymore. How can he be in this position? But Catherine didn’t murder her parents. It’s simply impossible. And Catherine just inherited eight million dollars. More, if Dan is convicted, because he’d forfeit his share.

“Sure,” he says.

---

•   •   •lisa was surprised by the revelation about Rose Cutter. She doesn’t know her. But she doesn’t see the problem. Eight million is plenty. They can share. But her satisfaction with the contents of the wills is marred by the way the attorney had looked at her husband. He obviously thinks Dan did it; he could barely hide his revulsion. She is overwhelmed with shame. She can’t bear for people to think of them that way. But the worst is the fear.

Dan sulks in the passenger seat beside her as she drives them home in her car.

“It’s okay,” Lisa says. “It’s still a lot of money.”

Dan snorts and says, “Too bad we can’t enjoy it.” She remains silent. “We should be popping champagne, planning a trip to Italy. Buying a new house. But we can’t. How would it look? People are already saying I killed them.”

“It will take time to settle the estate anyway,” Lisa says. “And once they find out who did it, then we will be able to enjoy it,” she says, trying to soothe him. Or maybe she’s trying to soothe herself.

He stares out the window, nervously gnawing on a thumbnail.

---

•   •   •jenna drives home from Walter’s office, thinking about the wills. She should be happy—she is happy. She’s going to be rich. But an unknown half sibling being treated equally with them—that rankles. She doesn’t really know Rose Cutter, although she met her at her sister’s wedding years ago.

She’s a bit uneasy about Jake. Jake has lied for her. Their fling—or whatever this is—is fun for now, but what if they get tired of each other? What if one of them wants to break it off? Could she trust him then?

It would be nice if they arrested someone, and she almost doesn’t care who, as long as it isn’t her.