Laurie was regretting her decision to let Grace drive to their scheduled appointment to meet Peter Bennett. She was juggling the steering wheel with a Diet Coke in one hand while DJ-ing on her phone with the other, barely slowing as she sailed through a tight curve.
“Grace, did we rob a bank when I wasn’t paying attention?”
“Huh?” she yelled over the Beyoncé song streaming over the speakers.
“You’re like a getaway driver right now. Are we on the lam?”
Grace slowed slightly and turned down the volume. “Don’t worry. My grandmother taught me how to drive when I was twelve years old, and this is how Garcia women drive.” She swerved quickly to avoid a pothole. “See? Better than any New York City cabdriver.”
“I’m not questioning your skills, but I’ve got a kid waiting back home.”
Laurie had tried to conduct an initial screening interview with Bennett from New York, but the Harrington family’s former caretaker was too reserved on the telephone to convey the kind of information she’d been hoping for. Even though he said repeatedly he was trying to help, it had been difficult to obtain more than one- or two-word answers from him.
She hoped that meeting him face-to-face in his own home might make him more comfortable. And there was a reason she had brought Grace, who had a gift when it came to putting people at ease, as if the comfort she felt in her own skin were immediately infectious.
Grace finally eased to a reasonable speed as she navigated the GPS’s final turn—a narrow dirt road toward the end of a long block of what seemed to be new, opulent homes built as part of the same development.
As they neared the end of the road, they spotted a quaint cottage tucked away in a wooded area. The gravel driveway was lined on either side by a mix of lush decorative grasses. Beyond a vibrant garden worthy of a five-star resort, an ornate mahogany railing led to the front porch.
The door opened before they had a chance to knock. The man who stepped outside appeared to be about sixty years old, with a small frame, thinning blond hair, and weathered skin. He was not much taller than Laurie, who was five-seven, meaning that Grace towered over both of them in her high-heeled boots.
“Mr. Bennett?”
“Just Peter,” he said quietly, nodding awkwardly.
“I’m Laurie,” she said, offering him a quick handshake.
“And hi,” Grace said, waving enthusiastically. “I’m her girl Friday, Grace Garcia. This yard is so beautiful. It’s full-on winter with this gray sky, and somehow I feel like I’ve been transported to Hawaii.”
Peter’s face suddenly brightened. “Well, I’m glad you like it.”
Grace ran her fingertips along the sculpted porch railing. “And this is a work of art. Did you carve this yourself?”
He was still nodding, but now he was beaming with pride. “I’m a bit of a woodworker. Here, come inside. Sit in the rocking chair. It’s my latest little project.”
Grace let out a satisfied sigh as she lowered herself into the chair. “Little project? More like a masterpiece. I can barely put together a piece of furniture from IKEA, so I am truly in awe. Anyway, I could bend your ear about this amazing place for hours, but I know Laurie’s been dying to talk to you about the Harringtons.”
Sadness flashed in Peter’s eyes at the mention of their name. “I’m so glad they haven’t been completely forgotten about. I was trying to help before, but I’m no use on the telephone. This is better.”
Grace had worked her magic. Peter had already offered up longer sentences than Laurie had previously managed to get from him.
“My understanding is that you worked for them for some time,” Laurie said.
“Sarah used to joke that I came with the house.” He smiled at the memory. “I was admiring the house when it was being built, so as soon as I saw signs of a move-in, I dropped by, explaining how I could help out as needed. Most of my income’s from taking care of other people’s homes the way I’d take care of my own—if I had a mansion,” he added with a chuckle.
“How would you describe them as a family?” Laurie asked.
“Sarah Harrington was nothing short of an angel. Pure kindness. Proud of her children. Never a harsh word, always asking about my family.”
“You have family here?” Laurie asked. Jenna had mentioned that the town joked about Peter’s crush on Sarah Harrington.
“My wife passed a long time ago. But my son and his wife have their own restaurant up in Provincetown. My grandson Petey’s turning ten in May. Anyway, Sarah was always asking about my son. He’s not much older than the twins. Those boys were good kids, by the way. I’ll never believe they were the ones to do this. Not for one second.”
He was the first person other than Betsy Ward who had told Laurie with such confidence that the twins must be innocent. “Do any other suspects come to mind?”
He shook his head sadly. “I wish I knew. I’ve always thought it had something to do with him.”
“You mean Richard?”
“That’s right.” His mouth was in a stiff frown. “He put on a nice show, but if you work for someone long enough, you can tell when they’re not a good person. He didn’t appreciate Sarah. Treated her and the kids like trophies.”
“Did you ever see him get violent with his wife?”
He looked to Laurie in disbelief, pain registering in his eyes. “Why would you ask that? Was he… Do you know that for certain?”
Laurie’s poker face must have failed her, because his face fell at the realization. “I never saw anything, never suspected.” His voice shook with emotion. “Oh my goodness, that just breaks my heart. Poor Sarah.”
“Were you aware of any cameras installed inside the Harringtons’ house?”
“No, just the one camera at the front gate.”
“A woman who is being subjected to that kind of abuse will often show signs,” Laurie said. “Unexplained injuries. A black eye from when she claims to have walked into a door.”
Peter’s gaze was distant, and if he had heard Laurie’s question, it didn’t seem to register. “Her long sleeves,” he said, touching his own forearms absentmindedly. “Even outside in her own backyard on the hottest summer days, she always wore long sleeves. I’d ask her, Sarah, aren’t you roasting? She insisted she was always chilly, but it seemed impossible.”
Laurie would have to double-check with Frankie, but as she imagined the photographs she had seen of the Harringtons, Sarah’s arms were always covered. “Abuse survivors learn how to hide the injuries.”
He shook his head sadly. “You said something about cameras? They kept the system simple. Just the one camera at the front gate so they could see who was coming and going. Nowadays people have doorbell cameras for that.”
“So if there was something like a nanny cam inside the house, you weren’t aware of it?”
“That’s right.”
Laurie pivoted to the subject of the sidewalk graffiti. “Their former dog walker told us that you were the one who cleaned it up. That perhaps you were pretty upset with whoever did it?”
“You’re darned right I was. A practical joke is one thing, but I still remember the exact words. This Family is a Lie? Who does something like that? When I got there, she was a wreck, crying and shaking. I assured her it would wash off, but it was clear the words couldn’t be erased from her memory. I pulled the footage from the gate camera, and there was a quick glimpse of the person’s foot and one hand on the spray can at the very beginning of the paint job. I showed it to Sarah and wanted to give it to the police, but she said no. She was adamant. She said it could be some local kid who resented outsiders who had more than them. She didn’t want to get anyone in trouble. Like I said, pure kindness.”
The depths of Peter’s admiration for Sarah and distaste for Richard were becoming clear. “You sound like you cared for her very much,” Laurie said.
His expression suddenly changed, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. “The way you said that—it sounds tawdry. She was just a nice lady. A customer.”
“Some people around town seem to think you may have had other feelings for her,” Laurie said. “Showing special favor compared to your other clients, finding reasons to sit near her at the diner.”
“It’s okay to care about someone,” Grace offered, clearly trying to ease Peter’s apparent anxiety.
Peter was the caretaker. He would have known in advance that the camera was off-kilter. And even though he supposedly jumped whenever Sarah needed him, he left it broken for days. Despite his denials, he could also have known about the hidden camera inside the house. Richard may have been the original target, with Sarah walking into the scene accidentally.
“Do you ever go to Boston?” Laurie asked.
“Sometimes,” he muttered. His gaze had moved to the floor.
“The family has found flowers on Sarah’s grave a couple times. None for Richard, only for Sarah. That was you, wasn’t it?”
He pressed his palms to his face and rubbed his eyes. “You’re twisting everything around. I’m not some kind of pathetic stalker. She was a nice woman. That’s all. I would have never hurt her.”
“We think it’s possible someone may have meant to confront only Richard. Ethan saw Richard leave the party abruptly by himself. Maybe someone who cared very much about Sarah went to the house to protect her—to convince Richard to stop hurting her. If Sarah walked into a struggle—”
“If I had known she was being abused? Yes, maybe I would have tried to help. But I didn’t. After the murders, I spent what felt like days watching the video, wondering if there were any signs of trouble other than the one vandalism incident. Nothing. I had no idea she was in danger.”
“What do you mean, you watched for days?” Laurie asked.
He shook his head. “Just replaying things in my head.”
“That’s not what you said, Peter. You said watching the video. You had video footage of the Harrington family?”
“You’re twisting everything around again.”
“So explain it to us,” Laurie said. “It’s important.”
“I made a copy of the video from the front gate when I pulled it for the police,” he said. “You think that’s weird, don’t you?” His eyes darted to Grace nervously. “I promise, I just thought it might be useful one day.”
“Peter,” Laurie asked pointedly, “where were you when you found out about the murders?”
“At the Cape Cod Hospital. I mentioned Little Petey who’s turning ten? He was born that night at 8:32 p.m. Next thing I know, I’m getting a call from the police department asking how long the gate camera had been broken. You know how many times I’ve kicked myself for not fixing it before going to the hospital?”
She couldn’t think of a better alibi. She’d have to confirm it, but she believed him. She had seen his grief-stricken response when she first asked about any signs of domestic violence. He didn’t know until today that Richard had been harming Sarah.
“It’s not weird to have made a copy,” Laurie said gently. She understood. He had wanted a way to remember Sarah. “And you were right: It is useful.”
“Do you still have it?” Grace asked, clasping her hands in anticipation.
He nodded eagerly. “I can make a copy for you if it might help you find who killed her. I kept the graffiti footage, too.”
“Peter,” Grace said. “I think Sarah would be very grateful that you did this for her.”
He looked away, blinking back a tear. “I’ll be right back.”
He returned with a tablet computer. “Never thought I’d be so high-tech, but my son taught me all the tricks once people started installing their own security equipment.” He handed the tablet to Laurie. “Just hit play there.”
Grace rose from her rocking chair to peer over Laurie’s shoulder.
The footage gave a sideways view of the front yard where they had filmed Jenna earlier that day. “Coming up in a few seconds,” Peter said. “It’s real quick. See?” He tapped the pause button to freeze the screen. “That’s the little punk’s left foot and right arm at the bottom of the screen when he starts the job. If he’d been one foot closer, we might have gotten his face.”
The shoe was a light gray sneaker. The brand was unclear. The shirt was black and loose fitting, long-sleeved with broad white and red stripes near the elbow. It would be another detail for her to search for in the Harrington family photographs. If the twins had truly been angry at their parents, either or both might have vandalized the property in an early display of their resentment.
“Did you happen to notice anything else on the footage that might have been helpful? Apparently the police only kept the part showing the Harringtons coming home from the party and then everything after.”
He sighed. “No warning signs other than the graffiti. The camera was motion activated so it was just the family members coming and going. Sometimes me or the dogwalker. A van pulled into the driveway the day before the murders and then backed out, but it was from one of the local businesses. I even went so far as to ask the owner about it, just in case I was missing something. He said he overshot an address for a delivery and had to turn around. I couldn’t believe it when he said the police hadn’t come to talk to him. That’s when I realized the police were just blaming those boys—evidence or not. Anyway, I put the footage on here for you,” he said, handing her a thumb drive. “Hopefully it’s handy.”
Laurie thanked him again before asking whether he had ever overheard Richard mention any problems at his law firm.
He shook his head. “No, when it came to me, it was always about whatever work needed to be done on the property. He wasn’t the type to become friends with the handyman. Why don’t you ask Walter or Howard?”
Laurie was caught off guard at the mention of Richard’s law partners. “You know them?” she asked.
“Sure. When I was looking for extra work, Sarah recommended me to both of them. Walter and Betsy built a house around the same time as the Harringtons—not nearly as fancy, but a nice place. Then Howard came out a few years later, back when he was still married. The Wards started renting their house out years ago, but they had me get it ready for them to use this week. Howard’s pretty much around full-time though. Ditched city life for the Cape years ago. If Richard was facing trouble at the firm, the two of them could tell you.”
Laurie gave Grace a knowing glance. When Ryan had tracked down Howard’s contact information, he had only looked in Boston.
“That’s a good idea, Peter. Maybe we’ll swing by and see what they remember. Do you have the addresses?”
Laurie was so pleased she didn’t even mind when Grace drove like a bank robber to their next destination.