"She spoke mainly about their divorce."
"Then she told you that Roger was bi-sexual."
"Essentially."
"Did she tell you that he and Geneviève remained lovers long after the divorce?"
"Quite the opposite," Mike said. "But if Roger is Tony Burke's father..." He shrugged.
"According to my father, Roger and Geneviève shared an intense physical attraction that persisted despite her revulsion about his homosexual relationships. He didn't want to end their marriage, but she could not or would not forgive him." Paul sighed. "An intermittent affair persisted until Jim Burke's death."
Mike raised his eyebrows but said nothing.
"No one, at least no one I know of, connected those two events for some twenty years. And even then, the connection was both uncertain and improbable."
"Jim Burke was killed twenty-five years ago, not twenty."
"I know, and before I go any further, are you certain that Jim Burke was murdered. Could his death have been an accident?"
"He was bludgeoned. It was no accident."
"I was hoping otherwise."
Mike took another sip of wine. The sun had dropped below the treetops but still painted golden bellies on the clouds. He was willing to wait.
"Roger began his descent into dementia about five years ago. He became emotionally unstable and suffered from crying jags, during which he would confess to anyone who would listen that he had done terrible things. His sins ranged from playing tricks as a child to homosexual activity, from betraying Geneviève's trust to hiding Jim Burke's body." Paul gestured toward the wine bottle. "If we finish this, I have another."
"I'm fine for now, thanks."
"Of course Roger's behavior was an embarrassment, but no one actually believed that he was responsible for Jim's death. Jim had died in an automobile accident, twenty years prior."
"Did you hear any of these confession?"
Paul shook his head. "But my father did, on several occasions, and last night he told me about them."
"Had Laura?"
"Numerous times. She was the family member closest to Roger."
"But no one reported it."
"I can't speak for Laura, but my father never dreamed he was hearing a genuine confession. Roger was troubled by numerous imaginary demons. This was just one more."
"A reasonable reaction." Mike understood that Paul was straining to put his father's actions in a good light. "I doubt it would be admissible or if we'll ever go to trial, but I'd like to know what Roger said."
"It may make you more comfortable with your decision not to prosecute him."
Paul repeated the story of a distraught Geneviève calling Roger and telling him that she'd hit Jim over the head and now he wasn't moving. Roger drove to Geneviève's house and found a dead man. They'd hatched a plan to hide the body and make it look as if Jim had died in an accident. "This was on the eve of Hurricane Camille. Jim was one of many who disappeared. And so it stood for years, until..."
"Until Tony and Claire opened his studio and found human bones buried under sandbags," Mike said.
"Yes. Famous racecar driver discovers his father's skeleton. How'd you keep that quiet?"
"A Herculean effort."
"Indeed. But you'll present it in Laura's trial?"
"I expect a plea bargain. However, if we do go to trial, yes, because it helps establish motive. We have Claire's testimony—she helped open the chest—and Tony's testimony on videotape, because he's leaving for Italy soon. If we need more, he'll be back in June for a showing of Jim Burke's art. They also found more than a dozen finished paintings in the studio; Geneviève had sealed them up inside."
"Tante Geneviève angered quickly and didn't forgive easily. Roger told my father that she attacked Jim Burke in a fit of temper because he'd painted an ugly portrait of her. They burned the canvas at her insistence."
"We found remnants of a burned canvas in the studio," Mike said. "Someone had stuffed it into the wood stove."
"So it appears the story is true. At this point, I'm not really surprised." Paul looked away for a moment. "This takes us to Laura's motive. She ran into Geneviève the morning after Tony and Claire discovered the bones."
"We'd surmised." Mike said.
"According to Laura, Geneviève threatened to say that Roger killed Jim in a jealous fit, that she was the innocent bystander dragged into hiding the body and too afraid of Roger and his powerful family to report her husband's murder. She taunted Laura by saying her story might not be true but there was no way to prove it. Laura grabbed Geneviève by her shoulders, pleading, desperate because she'd heard Roger's story and knew he'd been involved. The next thing Laura remembers is Geneviève lying dead on the floor. She covered her face and left."
"And the aide, Iris Burton?" Mike said. "How does Laura justify that?"
"She can't. No one can, although I'm sure her lawyer will try. Could Geneviève's story have been disproved?"
"Perhaps."
"Sometimes it all seems pointless," Paul said. "The first time my father heard Roger's story, he laughed at Geneviève's so-called motive. Soon afterwards, Roger gave him a copy of A Portrait of Dorian Gray and said the book had inspired Jim. He also said that knowing Geneviève had killed for such a trivial reason destroyed his feelings for her, but Layton was still his son."
"Despite the DNA findings, Tony continues to refer to Jim Burke as his father."
"Claire does, too. She and I discussed it," Paul refilled both glasses. "She's far better than Tony deserves."
"He may appreciate his good fortune. His last words to me were, 'You're not getting her back.'" Mike's smile was rueful. "He imagines more of a relationship than actually existed." It was his turn to hold his glass to the light and study the wine.
"Shall we wish them well?" Paul raised his glass.
"To love." Mike touched his glass to Paul's. The toast was ambiguous but the best he could muster.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Patricia Dusenbury was raised in the northeast and went south for college. She married a southerner and currently lives in Atlanta with her husband and a very mellow Malamute. In her previous career as an economist, she was responsible for numerous dry publications. She is hoping to atone by writing mystery stories that people read for pleasure. Uncial Press e-published her first book, A Perfect Victim, in July 2013. Secrets, Lies & Homicide is her second book and the second in a trilogy featuring Claire Marshall.
* * * *
Uncial Press brings you extraordinary fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Put a world of reading in your pocket.
www.uncialpress.com
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER 39
CHAPTER 40
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Secrets, Lies & Homicide Page 26