Brian sat across from Chief Bowman in the interrogation room. He glanced to the one-way mirror, certain Joe stood on the other side, listening. While Brian disliked being on this side of the interrogation table, he understood why Bowman needed to question him.
“When was the last time you spoke to your wife?” Bowman asked.
“You mean ex-wife?” Brian corrected. “We’ve been divorced for ten years.”
“Okay. Ex-wife. When was the last time you saw her?”
Brian considered the question for a moment, trying to figure out what day that had been. Finally, he said, “It was Tuesday. She stopped at the station, wanted to talk to me. You can ask Colleen. Camilla signed in up front.”
“What did she want to talk to you about?”
Brian shrugged. “You probably already know, but her uncle passed away. That’s why she and her brother and sister came to town. There was the funeral last week. Camilla decided to stay in Frederickport and move into her uncle’s house. She was hoping we could come to friendly terms, since we would likely run into each other from time to time. You might say she was extending an olive branch.”
“So you and your ex had been on bad terms?”
Brian leaned back in his chair, his arms now folded across his chest. “Not bad terms. Not good terms. I hadn’t seen Camilla since she left town during our divorce. That was ten years ago. Frankly, it’s been years since I gave her much thought. A more apt description, it was awkward.”
“But you attended her uncle’s funeral? Took your current girlfriend with you?”
“Her uncle, Homer Carter, we were good friends. In fact, he’s the one who introduced us. We remained friends after the divorce. I used to go over to his house each week to play cribbage. But then he got Alzheimer’s, and, well, cribbage stopped.”
“I understand there was some sort of altercation at Mr. Carter’s funeral, between Heather Donovan and Camilla. Heather hit your ex-wife?”
Brian sat up abruptly in the chair, his arms no longer folded across his chest. “Heather didn’t touch Camilla. I was right there. But Camilla slapped Heather.”
“Why would she do that?”
Brian shrugged. “I’m not sure. But from things Camilla said, it bothered her seeing me with Heather.”
“You mentioned Heather claimed to have seen Camilla this morning, in front of her house.”
Brian inwardly groaned. The coroner had already determined Camilla had been dead for hours before Bowman and Joe discovered her—hours before Heather claimed to have seen her. When Brian had first recounted Heather’s phone conversation with Joe, he did not know his ex-wife was no longer alive. But when Bowman had walked into the break room and announced she had been missing over twenty-four hours, Brian’s gut feeling had kicked in that something was wrong, which was why he’d tried backpedaling what he had told Joe. “She was obviously mistaken.”
“I’d like you to tell me exactly what Heather told you this morning,” Bowman said.
Brian glanced at the mirror. If he wasn’t sure Joe was watching, he’d be tempted to give Bowman the abbreviated version of the conversation. Reluctantly, Brian repeated Heather’s phone conversation.
“Why would Heather say that? Obviously, she didn’t see or talk to Camilla this morning. Not unless the coroner is mistaken about the time of death.”
Sitting up straight and folding his hands on the table, Brian glanced at the mirror and then back to Bowman. He shrugged. “It was probably someone who looked like Camilla. After all, Heather’s only seen her a few times. After the woman asked if that was Heather’s house, Heather, believing it was my ex, asked if she was stalking her. That question probably freaked out the poor woman, so she just ran off. That’s obviously what happened.”
“When was the last time you saw Heather?”
“Yesterday morning, before work.”
“Where was this?”
“Her house. I had spent the night. I left there and came to work.”
“What time was that?”
Brian gave the time.
“I understand Heather ran into Camilla at Pier Café later that morning.”
“Yeah, she mentioned it. Heather likes to jog in the morning, and she stopped at the restaurant to use the bathroom, where she ran into Camilla. Afterwards, Heather finished her jog and went to work.”
“What was said between Camilla and Heather when they ran into each other?”
Brian shrugged. “You’ll have to ask Heather.”
“I will.” Bowman glanced down at the notebook in his hand and then back to Brian. “I’m curious about one thing. I understand Heather works for some nonprofit organization.”
“Yes.”
“When does she go into work?”
“She typically works from eight to five.”
“But she didn’t yesterday? It was after eight when she was using the bathroom at Pier Café.”
“Heather’s schedule can change. Yesterday, she didn’t have to go in until eleven.”
* * *
Brian stood with Joe in the office next to the interrogation room, watching as Bowman prepared to interview Camilla’s sister.
“It’s obvious Bowman intends to take over this case,” Joe said.
“I assume I’ll be a suspect, considering Camilla was my ex. Bowman probably feels you can’t be impartial since we’re friends.”
“I know you didn’t kill her.”
Brian reached over and gave Joe’s shoulder a quick pat. “No, I didn’t. But I’d like to find out who did. Why would someone want to kill Camilla? It makes little sense, and I refuse to believe we have some psycho out there randomly killing women. But I really don’t know what her life’s been like these last ten years. I don’t even know if she has a boyfriend out there.”
“I heard him tell you not to discuss this case with anyone outside the department,” Joe said, “and not to call Heather and tell her about the murder.”
“Yeah.”
“If it makes you feel any better, he told me the same thing, specifically mentioning my wife.”
Brian chuckled. “Yeah, he said it could jeopardize the case. I guess he forgot what Frederickport’s like. You and I not talking won’t stop the gossip, and he already interviewed Carla.”
* * *
Lucy dabbed her red-rimmed eyes with the tissue as she sat across the table from Chief Bowman in the interrogation room.
“I can’t believe she’s dead. Why would someone do this?”
“Can you think of anyone who’d want to hurt your sister?” Bowman asked.
Absently chewing her upper lip, Lucy shook her head for a moment and then looked up to Bowman. “I bet it’s that woman Brian’s been seeing.”
“Are you talking about Heather Donovan?”
“I think that’s her name. She’s a weirdo. Dresses all dark and creepy. I can’t even believe Brian is seeing her. What is he thinking?”
“I understand your sister claimed Heather struck her—unprovoked—at your uncle’s funeral, which made your sister slap her. But from what Brian says, Heather never touched her. Apparently, no one actually saw Heather hit Camilla, but some saw your sister slap Heather.”
Lucy stared at Bowman for a minute, not responding. Finally, she blurted, “I saw her. I saw Heather hit Cam.”
“You did? Did you tell anyone?”
Now biting down on her lower lip, Lucy shook her head. “No… should have. But I didn’t. I was hoping it would all blow over. I didn’t want all the drama.”
* * *
Ted sat across from Bowman, who had just asked if he had seen Heather hit Camilla. Ted shook his head. “No. But I believe my sister when she said the woman hit her. Cam isn’t the type to just walk up to someone and slap them. And I don’t understand why this Heather person would have such an issue with my sister. After all, Cam’s the one who ended the marriage, not Brian. And it’s been years. But it’s obvious the woman felt threatened by my sister, which is why she attacked her.”
“Other than Heather Donovan, do you know of anyone else who had an issue with your sister?”
Ted considered the question for a moment. “The only one I can think of is Flora. She was my uncle’s caretaker. She was living in my uncle’s house with him. Cam wanted Flora to move out by last Sunday, but Flora refused and told Cam she would have to evict her before she would leave. She wanted to stay until she could find a place to live and a new job. I can’t say I really blame her. She also claimed Cam promised her some sort of pension after my uncle died, if she was still taking care of him. Cam claims Flora misunderstood.”
“Who inherited your uncle’s estate?” Bowman asked.
“It’s divided equally between me and my sisters. But now, with Cam gone, I assume her share will go to her heir.”
“Who would that be?” Bowman asked.
Ted shrugged. “I don’t really know.”
After Bowman finished interviewing Ted and Lucy, he asked Joe to go somewhere with him. Brian assumed he was taking Joe to Homer’s house to interview Flora. But Brian was wrong.
* * *
Chris Johnson, aka Chris Glandon, initially purchased the Gusarov Estate to house the Glandon Foundation offices. He soon realized there was enough room on the property to relocate Glandon’s commercial ventures to Frederickport. Yet this didn’t mean the former Gusarov estate was suddenly teeming with people. Since the neighborhood was primarily residential, even with Chris’s finances and clout, that would not have been possible. However, many of the Glandon employees worked remotely. Aside from Heather and Chris, there were about a dozen full-time employees who worked at the site. They all parked on the property, behind a privacy wall, and most casual observers would have no idea an empire worth billions operated from what had once been the Gusarov Estate.
* * *
Heather sat at her desk, updating Chris’s calendar, when her office door opened, and the receptionist walked in. The woman looked frazzled. “Umm… there are two police officers asking for you.”
Heather smiled. The receptionist was new and probably didn’t know she dated a local cop. “Tell them to come in.”
The next moment, Chief Bowman marched into Heather’s office, Joe trailing behind him, and the receptionist lingering in the background, watching. Heather’s smile vanished as she tried comprehending why Bowman stood in her office glaring down at her, while Joe stood off to the side, his expression she could only describe as apologetic.
“Stand up, Ms. Donovan,” Bowman barked.
“Excuse me?” Heather remained sitting. She glanced at Joe, who motioned for her to stand, his expression pleading. Before she could comply, Bowman grabbed her by the wrist and jerked her to her feet while saying, “Heather Donovan, you are under arrest for the murder of Camilla Henderson…”
Startled by the assault, Heather let out a loud cry as Bowman read her Miranda rights. The next moment Hunny, Chris’s pit bull, charged into the room, barking. Bowman pushed Heather to the side and reached for his gun. Joe immediately grabbed Hunny by the collar and put himself between the dog and the police chief, who now pointed the gun in his direction.
Chris charged into Heather’s office next, yelling, “What the hell is going on?” and then froze in his tracks when he saw Bowman pointing the gun at Joe, who had pushed Hunny behind him, still holding her collar.
Bowman aimed the gun at Joe. “Get out of the way, Morelli.”
“I won’t let you shoot Hunny,” Joe snapped.
“The dog was going to attack me.”
“Because you grabbed Heather,” Joe argued. “She was naturally protecting her.”
With Bowman distracted by his conversation with Joe, and his gun now lowered, Chris quietly grabbed hold of Hunny’s collar, led her from the room, and locked her in his office. Chris returned a moment later and found Bowman handcuffing Heather. “What is going on?” Chris again demanded.
“We’re arresting Miss Donovan for the murder of Camilla Henderson.” Bowman shoved Heather toward the door, her hands secured behind her back.
Chris looked at Heather. “I’m calling Mel. Don’t say a word.”
Heather gave Chris a nod while tears streamed down her face. As Bowman led Heather from the office, Joe looked back to Chris and mouthed, I’m sorry.