by Simon Wood
A prickle of fear ran through Olivia. This wasn’t a friendly chat. It was an interrogation. “How long?”
“That depends on your answers. We do have a lot to talk about. Would you like coffee or soda?”
She shook her head.
He slipped into the chair opposite Olivia, pulled his seat forward, and nudged the table that sat between them. Since the flooring was slick, the table slid into her. He didn’t bother pulling it back. Olivia shifted her seat backward a couple of inches in response. The back of her chair hit the wall.
Is this a little trick of yours? she thought. Are you trying to make me feel cornered? The cheap psychological ploy wasn’t going to work on her.
“Do you mind if I call you Olivia?”
“No, I don’t mind.”
He opened his file and made a pretense of looking for something. He had something on her, or he thought he did. Had she made a mistake? She didn’t think so. Had Roy leaked something? He’d threatened to, but she couldn’t see him doing that until she’d paid him. Don’t panic, she told herself. Don’t volunteer anything. Let him do the talking.
“Okay, just a couple of things to confirm first,” he began. “You were with your sister the night your husband was killed, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.”
What did “hmm” mean? There was no disputing that she was with Clare at the time Richard was murdered. “Is there a problem?”
“Cassie Hill, are you sure you don’t know her?”
“No.”
“You sure about that? She was at your husband’s funeral.”
Play dumb, she told herself. “Yes. Who is she?”
Finz turned to a page in his file and tapped it. “That’s interesting, because a woman matching your description and driving a black Audi sedan matching yours was seen outside Miss Hill’s home on the evening of your husband’s murder, pounding on the door and shouting. Care to explain that?”
Olivia felt her face flush. She willed it not to show and failed. Finz smiled. He’d scored a point, and he knew it. Damn, she thought.
“Care to comment, Olivia?”
He obviously had a witness who might be able to ID her.
“Why were you outside Miss Hill’s home, Olivia?” He injected a heavy note of empathy into the question.
“I didn’t know her name was Cassie Hill.”
“But you were outside her home.”
She said nothing because Finz didn’t have anything. She wasn’t about to do his job for him by volunteering information.
“Olivia, if you think your Fifth Amendment rights are going to save you, they aren’t. Your silence will only drag this out.” He leaned back in his chair. “Okay, let’s come at this from a different angle. Your husband was having an affair and was using his athletic club as a cover. Did you know?”
Olivia broke eye contact and stared at the table. So Finz knows about Cassie and the affair, she thought, but does his knowledge extend to Infidelity Limited? She didn’t see how it could.
“I’m assuming you did because you went to his mistress’s house to have it out with them. I know you know. Look, this is embarrassing, but it’s just you and me. Why don’t you tell me about it?”
He waited for her answer, letting the silence work against her. The room seemed to shrink. She didn’t see a way out of answering his question. She could ask for a lawyer, but that would send up a red flag, inviting more scrutiny.
Olivia looked up at him. “Yes, I knew Richard was having an affair.”
Finz smiled a consolatory smile. “I’m sorry. How long had it been going on?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I just found out about it. It could have been going on months or years for all I know. I didn’t even know her name until you told me. How lame is that?”
“Not that lame. So that was you banging on Miss Hill’s door?”
She nodded.
“How’d you find out about the affair?”
“Through the athletic club. He’d forgotten his gym bag, so I stopped by to deliver it, and he wasn’t there. He came home claiming he’d had a great game. After that, I followed him one night, and it led me to her door.” Suddenly, tears were rolling down her face. She hadn’t meant to cry. She palmed them away.
“Did you confront them?”
“I never got the chance. They weren’t at home the night I banged on the door. That’s why I went to Clare’s. After we talked it out, I went home, and that’s when I ran into you.”
Finz frowned. She thought that answer would please him, but it seemed to be a disappointment. Had she punched a hole in his theory? Maybe being seen banging on Cassie’s door gave her an unexpected alibi. It screwed with his timeline. There was no way she could be in Concord, beating Richard to death, if she was at Cassie Hill’s house at the same time.
“Tell Miss Hill I’m sorry if I caused her any embarrassment with the disturbance.”
“I will. And I’m sorry your husband was cheating on you. That must have really hurt. You haven’t had much luck with husbands, have you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You have two dead husbands, both of whom died violently.”
“What are you implying?” Olivia asked through clenched teeth. “That I had something to do with that? Mark was killed in a car crash, and Richard was murdered. They aren’t even connected.”
“Aren’t they?”
“Not even remotely.”
“I’ll thicken the plot a little more. It’s not just two husbands, but three. Your sister’s husband disappeared and has never been found, isn’t that right?”
Finz was putting some of the pieces together. He couldn’t know about Infidelity Limited, but she still had to be careful. “So what are you saying? That I killed him too? He ran off. If you look for him, I’m sure you’ll find him fit and well.”
“You’re ignoring one common denominator.”
“I am?”
“Andrew Macready.”
Finz let his big reveal hang in the air. If it was supposed to scare her, it worked, but not for the reason he thought. She could see how Andrew would fit Finz’s cop-minded narrative, but she had to get him off that track. She couldn’t pull Andrew into her crosshairs.
“Let’s look at the facts,” Finz said. “Andrew was with Mark the night he died, and here he is again at your side shortly after Richard’s murder. I also believe he was in the vicinity when Nick ‘disappeared.’”
Olivia shook her head. “I’d seen Andrew once in twenty years. We’ve only been in contact since Richard died.”
“And he hasn’t left your side since.”
“He’s a good friend.”
“Just a good friend? Was your husband cheating because you were cheating?”
“How dare you. Stop accusing me just because you haven’t managed to come up with a single suspect.”
That remark seemed to wound him, and he sat back in his seat. “Look, I know it’s getting warm in here. Sure I can’t get you something to drink?”
Olivia sighed heavily. “Water, please.”
“Coming right up.”
Finz left the interview room and returned with a bottle of water. He uncapped it for her and put it in front of her.
Retaking his seat, he said, “Can I ask why you have two cell phones?”
Olivia jerked back from the question. Roy had really screwed her when he’d called her the night Finz came to inform her of Richard’s death. She knew that would come back to bite her. “One’s for work, and one’s personal.”
“May we see them?”
“No. Not without a warrant.”
“Why? Is there something on them you don’t want us to see?”
“Because they have nothing to do with you or your investigation. There’s client information on my work phone, and my private information on my personal phone.”
“I can get a warrant.”
She hoped he wouldn’t. If he did, it woul
d prove she was a liar about having a “personal” phone. While examining Roy’s burner wouldn’t prove anything, it would raise suspicions, since it would have almost no information on it. The burner might have to meet with an unfortunate accident in the near future. “Then get one.”
“Do you know why I find your phones of interest? According to your husband’s phone records the night of his death, he received a call at nine fifteen. Miss Hill says the call came from you and that was why he left her. Care to comment?”
“As I told you before, I didn’t call him.”
“Do you have your phones on you?”
She didn’t like where this was going. “Yes, but I’m not giving them to you.”
“I don’t need them. Are they on?”
“Yes.”
He pulled out his cell and dialed the number Richard had received the call from at nine fifteen. Neither of Olivia’s phones rang. Whatever number he was calling, it wasn’t hers. Finz’s confident expression evaporated.
“Not the result you were hoping for?” Olivia said. “I told you the call didn’t come from me.”
He pocketed his phone and said, “Look, Olivia. Can I be frank with you? We’ve reached the point where we need to stop playing games and be honest with each other because it’s the only way we’re going to end this.”
You have nothing; you have nothing, she kept telling herself. She wasn’t sure if that was true or a lie she told herself to help her keep it together.
“Here’s what I think happened, Olivia. Your husband was cheating on you, and you found out about it. Your high school buddy is a former soldier with the strength and skill to beat a man to death. I think you two lured him out to a remote location, and you let Andrew treat Richard like a piñata. That let you get your pound of flesh and also get out of the marriage with a pretty nice insurance settlement. That’s premeditated murder.”
It was a reasonable theory, but Finz was wrong about most of it. It did sound a damn sight more believable than the truth, but everything Finz had was circumstantial at best. He couldn’t prove any of it. But could he convince a jury?
“If someone else orchestrated this plot, tell me, Olivia, because as far as I can see, it’s the only way you’re going to avoid a life sentence.”
Her chances of untangling herself from this mess with Infidelity Limited were dwindling. Finz might not have the hard evidence, but he was getting closer.
“Time to tell the truth, Olivia. It’s your only way.”
The truth will set you free, she thought. How naive those words sounded in her mind. Maybe it was time to come clean with Finz. Roy and Finz were squeezing her from both sides, and she had no leverage with Roy. Maybe she could get some with Finz. What if she made a deal with him and traded her knowledge to trap Roy? She wouldn’t come out of it clean, but at least she’d take Roy down with her. She didn’t want to do it, but she didn’t see another option. She closed her eyes.
“C’mon, Olivia. You know you want to do the right thing,” Finz said.
A cell phone interrupted the conversation. The harsh ringtone made both of them jump.
Olivia was so in the moment with Finz she didn’t immediately realize whose phone was ringing. It took her a second to recognize the standard ringtone of Roy’s burner phone.
“Ignore it.”
“I have to take it.”
“It can wait.”
“It’s my lawyer.”
Her response startled him, and he leaned back. She took that as an opportunity and grabbed her phone from her purse.
“Hello?”
“Olivia, you betrayed me,” Roy said. “You lied to me, and you didn’t do your job.”
Oh my God, she thought. He knows about Amy and Heather. How did he find out about them? What went wrong? Her stomach churned. She gripped the table for support.
“So I had no choice but to do it for you. You need to clean up your mess,” Roy said and hung up.
Olivia dropped the phone.
“Everything okay?” Finz asked.
She jumped to her feet, pushing the table into Finz. “I have to go.”
“We’re not finished.”
“We are.” She snatched up her purse to leave. She got two steps toward the door before Finz blocked her path with his body.
“What was that call about?”
“Please step aside.”
“Olivia.”
“Am I under arrest?”
Finz was silent for a second. “No.”
“Then get out of my way.”
Finz stepped aside, and she bolted for the street.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
In her distress, Olivia rushed out of the police station and headlong into traffic. A car locked its brakes to avoid slamming into her. She ignored the cursing and jumped behind the wheel of her car.
She glanced back at the police station. Finz stood at the entrance with a bewildered look on his face. He took a step toward her. She couldn’t let him interrogate her, not when it was all falling apart. He was too close to working it out. She gunned the Audi’s engine and lurched into traffic.
She drove. It didn’t matter where. She just needed to get away from Finz. She made sure she was out of Concord and Finz’s grip before stamping on the brake pedal, sending her car lurching over to the side of the road.
She called Roy. He didn’t pick up.
“Shit.”
Was it a bluff? She dearly hoped so. There was no doubt Roy had unearthed their deception, but would he really hurt Heather and Amy? He never got his hands dirty. That was his rule. But every rule got broken eventually.
She called Heather on the burner phone she’d bought after she and Andrew had coached them on what to do when they set up the deception. The call went to voice mail. She wasn’t sure if she should leave a message. The smart money said don’t, but the fear said do it.
“It’s me. Call me.”
She called Amy’s burner phone next. The phone rang and rang.
“Come on. Come on. Come on.”
Her heart sank when it clicked through to voice mail.
“Call me. He’s onto you.”
She hoped that message would shock Amy into responding, but Roy’s tone had scared her. He’d always played the benevolent intimidator, but this time he sounded like a stone-cold killer.
She stared at the phone in her hand. The plan had been to never make contact through regular, traceable lines of communication, but that didn’t matter anymore. She called Heather’s office number.
“Moore Fitness, how may I direct your call?”
“Heather Moore-Marbach, please.” Olivia’s mouth was so dry that the words scraped her as they came out.
“Mrs. Moore-Marbach isn’t in the office today.”
“When do you expect her back?” Please say soon, she thought.
“Not until after the weekend. Would you like her voice mail?”
“No, I’ll call back later,” she said and killed the call.
The phone slipped from her grasp, landing in the foot well between her feet. What have you done, Roy? she thought. Her imagination tried to look ahead, but her fear blacked it out. She’d made a terrible, terrible mistake.
She wanted to wait to see if Heather or Amy called her back, but she didn’t have that luxury. Roy was a shark, and he never stopped moving. After he chased down one prey, he moved on to another. Her survival instinct, as battered as it was, kicked in. If Roy was coming for her, she had to keep moving too.
She pulled out her cell phone and called Andrew.
“What’s up?” he asked. The rapid pneumatic pop of a nail gun in full operation punctuated the background.
“Everything. Finz cornered me. He said it was for a chat, but he hauled me in for an interrogation.”
“That’s okay. Finz has no suspects. He’s going to focus on you.”
“At the end, Roy called,” she said, cutting him off. “He knows I didn’t kill Amy.”
Silence.
&nbs
p; “I’ve called Heather and Amy, and I can’t get an answer. Roy said that he’s done something to them. I think he has. He’s done it to punish me and them.” She felt a wave of tears well up, threatening to break through.
“Where are you?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I tore out of the police station. I’m in Pleasant Hill somewhere.”
“What do you want to do?”
Go back one month, she thought. Go back to a time where she could exist in ignorance of Richard’s cheating and the knowledge that Infidelity Limited existed.
Roy wanted to punish her and make her choke on her lies, so how would he do that? The answer came to her.
“I want to go to their house in Morro Bay. If Roy’s done anything, it’ll be there.”
“We’ll do that. Go home, and I’ll meet you there.”
She thought of Finz. “No, Finz knows something is wrong. I can see him waiting for me.”
“Then meet me here at the new house.” He gave her an address in Hercules. “We’ll go from here.”
She found Andrew’s job site easily enough, although the drive had been difficult. She didn’t know if it was shock kicking in, but she’d lost control over her body. The strength had left her legs, her grip on the wheel was weak, and her focus was shot. As soon as she arrived at the site, she handed him the keys.
They tore along the freeway, with Andrew at the wheel of the Audi. Her plan had backfired, and Roy was taking his revenge. He’d warned her of what he was capable of, and now he was making good on his promise. How far has he taken it? What did he do? She stared into the black pool of possibility and closed her mind to the emerging answer. She didn’t want to face it.
Road signs counted down the miles to Morro Bay. They didn’t stop for anything other than gas, and Andrew kept his foot down. They didn’t talk during most of the drive. What was there to say? They’d screwed up, and Roy had found out about their deception. If they didn’t talk about it, Olivia could delude herself that nothing bad had happened.
She glanced over at Andrew, his focus solidly on the road ahead. His knuckles shone white from his grip on the wheel. She took comfort in the fact that she wasn’t the only one who was scared.
Fifty miles out, she called Heather and Amy again. Once more, the calls went to voice mail.