It took two days for Amos and his crew to find out the information I wanted. On Thursday morning, Amos sat at my kitchen table and laid out the new information. The more he talked, the more chilled I became despite sipping on hot coffee.
I interrupted him. “Let me get this straight. Anna Hudson was the daughter of Darius’s first wife. Darius’s stepdaughter. You’re telling me during this marriage Anna’s dad had full custody?”
Amos nodded. “That’s correct. She lived in Charleston with her dad. Visited her mother during the holidays and some summers.”
“That fits with her and Monique becoming friends in middle school.” I shook my head, “So, Anna and Darius kept in touch somehow after he divorced her mother. Why?”
Amos moved the papers around on the table. “Looks like they weren’t in touch again until Anna was much older. By this time, she’d lost her mother in the car accident. Police reports state her mother was the drunk driver in the incident. She caused her own death and the death of the family in the oncoming van.”
“My goodness.”
“This is a theory, but it’s likely Anna’s mom, Jeanine started drinking long before her marriage to Darius. I suspect that’s why the father received full custody.”
“But you’re thinking Anna’s been harboring some blame towards Darius though?”
Amos nodded. “It’s possible, but it will be hard to prove unless Anna confesses. She graduated with a degree in accounting and pursued her career in a profession similar to her former stepfather, but there’s not a lot to indicate any animosity between them. She grew up in a different household and saw him when she visited her mother. Doesn’t appear to be much of a relationship.”
“Still she spent her preteen and teen years without her mother,” I interrupted. “That’s a rare thing. What happened for her mother to lose custody of her daughter? Are we sure her marriage to Darius had nothing to do with any leftover resentment in Anna?”
“We don’t have the woman’s word, but we’re looking into people who knew her, trying to track down what happened. What we do know is the marriage between Darius and Jeanine was short-lived and ended badly. In fact, according to the timeline, Darius started pursuing Carmen while he was still married. By the time Carmen was pregnant, Darius’s divorce was finalized.”
I frowned. “If only Carmen had known. She wouldn’t have gotten involved with a married man, no matter how charming he was.”
“I agree, and here’s something else that stood out to me. Darius’s third wife was only nineteen when they met. They married when she turned twenty-one. She also was pregnant but delivered the baby stillborn.”
“It’s interesting how his second and third wife was rather young.” I stared into my empty coffee mug. “How old was Anna’s mother?”
Amos pulled out a photo from an envelope. “Thirty-five. She was older than him.”
I took the photo from Amos and looked at the woman. It was almost like looking at Anna. Her mother’s features were slightly older. “She was a beautiful woman.”
I wanted to know one thing. “Amos, this is all great to learn about Anna’s past, but how do we find out if she went to see Darius that morning? Where was her hotel room?”
Amos grinned. “That’s easy. Darius was in 828. Anna was in 827.”
My jaw fell open. I felt the swooshing of air hit my lungs. “She was across the hallway? No one checked her room?”
I was in disbelief. I stood from the kitchen table and paced. “This was planned. She lured him here to Charleston.”
“Eugeena, calm down.”
“She wasn’t planning on Carmen coming by though.” I paced up and down, conscience that Amos was watching me with concern. “I bet she saw Carmen go in and come back out the room scared out of her mind.” I swung around, “I need to talk to Anna again.”
Amos stood from his chair, sending it flying backwards. “What for? We’ve just come to the conclusion the woman possibly had motive and was close enough to Darius to commit a crime.”
I nodded. “I’m still puzzled about Darius’s appearance at the bakery on Tuesday. When I think back, it’s like he wanted to tell Carmen something. But how did he know to find her there?”
“Maybe he was visiting Anna in her office a few doors down and just happened to see Carmen.”
“That’s why I want to see Anna. I want to know if Darius was really there.”
Amos looked at me as if I’d grown something on my face. “I still don’t get why.”
I didn’t know if I could really explain it to Amos. It wasn’t like I thought Anna was going to confess anything to me. “She talked freely with me yesterday. If I can talk to her about Darius and how he treated Carmen, maybe we can get more from her.”
Amos took a deep breath. “You know you and I have had some interesting run-ins with individuals who had no problem killing a person. This is one for the cops, Eugeena.”
“But the cops aren’t going to ask the questions I ask, and Detective Wilkes has made it pretty clear her focus is on Carmen. She never even looked into the woman who was across the hall from the man. I find that unbelievable.”
Amos stared at me. “It seems crazy, but the woman was one of the conference coordinators. Her police statement stated she was busy with conference attendees.”
“How convenient? She was busy the entire time.” I picked up the program from the table. “The conference didn’t start until nine o’clock. There was time for this woman to get away with murder.”
“What do you propose we do, Eugeena? Do you really think you can just talk to this woman when you suspect her?”
I thought back to all the television shows I’d seen. “Is it possible I can wear a wire? If I can get her to talk will it be admissible in court later?”
Amos slapped his hands to his head. “Woman, you have been watching too many crime shows. There is no way that would work.”
“How would we know if we don’t try? You said yourself she wasn’t going to confess to the cops. She has them fooled thinking she was busy with the conference.”
Amos let out a long sigh. “You’re not thinking this through. What if it goes too far?”
I smiled. “That’s why I will have you there with me.”