“We’ll get to that in a second.” Max opened her notepad. “Okay, Senator, I’d like to get right to the point. In a previous conversation with the private investigator, you told him that you’d met Jeffrey Barrett when your daughter’s cardiologist recommended using him after your daughter, Arianna’s condition worsened. Can you tell me when that was?”
“I realized afterward that I misspoke when I said that. I actually met him during my campaign. He contributed to my election and attended my victory party.”
“You did not know him before then?
“No. I did not.”
“When did your affair with Dr. Barrett begin?”
Just as she was about to respond, her attorney cut in. “My client refuses to answer that question. That’s no one’s business.”
“It is when we have a murdered wife and pictures proving the affair. How do you suppose that’s going to look to a jury?”
Jacquard leaned over and whispered something in the senator’s ear.
“No, I’d like to respond.” He shook his head unfavorably, but she ignored him and continued. “We lied about our affair because we figured you’d suspect we had something to do with Helen’s death.”
“Unfortunately for you, that’s exactly what we think. Lying about it only made it worse. Okay, so here’s what’s puzzling. After Helen’s death, you two picked up right where you left off. How do you explain that?”
“Helen had an affair first.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because Jeffrey told me.”
“Was that before or after you’d started screwing her husband?”
“I resent your tone, Detective.”
“Oh gee, I’m sorry. Answer the question.”
“Jeffrey approached me. It didn’t start out as an affair. And yes, we met during my campaign in 2011. After I’d been elected, we maintained contact as friends, and one day, he called and asked me to have a drink with him to discuss his wife.”
“What if I told you Helen Barrett wasn’t having an affair and didn’t start having one until 2013?”
“I’d say you were misinformed.”
“Because Jeffrey told you otherwise?” Max’s brows rose. “Is that right?”
“Well, yes. He’s an honest man.”
“Hmm.” Max took a quick glance at Riley. “And you both sailed out to the middle of the ocean where you thought no one would recognize either of you so you could have complete privacy?” The senator sucked in her breath. “I guess you didn’t think we’d find out about the Peninsula Marina?” Max snickered. “Did you not think you’d be recognized when you named your yacht after a bill you got passed, and with Dr. Barrett’s yacht being called Mister’s Mistress? That was like hanging a neon sign outside. You’re lucky your constituents weren’t paying attention. Did you honestly think no one would notice, or that you could get away with it?” Max frowned. “Or did you think that you’re somehow smarter than us?” She shrugged. “So, Senator, so tell us about it.”
“Jeffrey was distraught when he found out Helen had been cheating on him and thought I might be able to help him understand what was happening with his wife.” Max did not comment, but the expression on her face clearly upset the senator. “Detective, you make it sound like this was some sordid affair when it wasn’t like that at all. Yes, they were married, but they’d been doing their own thing for some time.”
“But that was according to Jeffrey. Wasn’t it?” She nodded in agreement. “Yeah, and you make it sound like he was justified. The problem now, though, is Helen is dead, and I can’t get her side of the story, but the good news for us is she’s talking from the grave.” The senator’s body stiffened in shock. “She was a smart cookie and certainly a lot smarter than either of you. And you know how I know this?” The senator gave her an empty stare. “We found a note from Helen Barrett stating she had incriminating evidence against you and the doctor. What do you suppose she’s going to tell us?”
“I haven’t the faintest idea.”
“Kay,” Jacquard said, “I’m telling you to shut this conversation down now.”
“Quite frankly, Mathias, I’m so tired of looking over my shoulder. I just want to live my life, and I can’t do that with this crap hanging over my head.”
“All right then,” Max said, “let’s talk about how you felt when Jeffrey decided to remain with his wife, even going so far as to renew their vows.”
“Obviously, I wasn’t happy, but that’s the chance you take when you date a married man.”
“Just like that, huh?”
“I’m not proud of it, but it is what it is, Detective. I’m a healthy forty-one-year-old woman who still has needs and wants.”
“Are you saying you understood Dr. Barrett’s need to stay with his wife?”
“No, but I did accept it.”
“I don’t believe you, Senator.”
“Well, you can believe what you want, but I swear, I haven’t seen him intimately since before the renewal of their vows.”
“Really? You’re really going to sit here and look directly into my eyes and tell me you haven’t seen him intimately? Really?”
“Yes, really,” she replied emphatically.
Max pulled a photograph out from the file and slammed it down on the table in front of her. “Then how do you explain this photograph from Monday night?” Max said, pointing to the date stamp. “A nice little threesome going about their business as if nothing ever happened—the happy little family living in a love nest in New Jersey away from the crowds of people who might recognize them. I’d say that was pretty naïve of both of you to think we wouldn’t put a tail on you.” Max frowned, waiting for a response, but none came. “If you are that naïve, then maybe it’s a good thing for the residents of New York that you’ll be losing your stripes at a jury trial.”
The senator’s shoulders squared, but she was visibly upset and shaking. Her eyes darted around the room.
“Do you want to tell me now?” Max asked.
“My client refuses to answer your question on the grounds it may incriminate her,” Jacquard intervened.
“Senator, you can tell me now or you can face a jury and let them decide your fate. You’re looking at quite a few years behind bars. That means you will be nothing more than a faint memory to your daughter.”
Jacquard rolled his eyes. “She’s just trying to get you riled up, Kay. Don’t fall for it.” The senator nodded slowly and then began to fidget in her seat, cupping her four fingers over the others. She snapped her head toward the door when it opened and a uniformed officer walked inside with Jeffrey Barrett in tow. The minute Jeffrey realized it was the senator he took two steps backward as though ready to run in the opposite direction.
“Uh-oh,” the officer said looking surprised. “Geez, Max, I’m sorry. The desk sergeant said the room was free.”
Upon seeing him, the senator gasped and called out his name. “Jeffrey.” His eyes dropped downward. “Jeffrey!” He ignored her. “What’s wrong with you?” she asked, but again, he remained silent. The senator turned to her attorney, a baffled expression on her face. Jacquard said something to her in a low voice, and she quieted down, but a mask of confusion covered her face.
“Max, I need to see you for a minute,” the officer said.
“Can it wait?”
“No. I don’t think you’ll want to wait for this information.”
“Okay.” Max held her finger up. “Please excuse me for a minute.” She shut off the recorder. Just before exiting, she turned to Riley. “Will you take Dr. Barrett to another interview room while I speak with the uniform?”
Riley jumped up and led the doctor down the hall. When Max finished talking with the officer, she returned to the room and tried to gauge the senator’s reaction to everything that had happened in the past fifteen minutes. It was obvious anger was swelling inside the woman’s chest because the triangle at the base of her neck was visibly pulsating like a stuttering dial tone.
“Th
ank you for waiting,” Max said to them when she returned to the room and placed a manila folder down on the table. Riley returned a few minutes later and sat down. Mr. Jacquard leaned toward his client and again whispered in her ear. As much as the woman tried to hide her panic, it was very obvious she was scared. Max pressed the recorder button down and continued, “Senator, I thought you’d like to know, the officer who was just in here with Dr. Barrett picked him up at his residence and brought him down for questioning. Unfortunately for you, Senator Stansbury, he found the doctor packing his suitcase. He was planning to leave town without you.” Max tilted her head to the side and raised her brows. “Do you still think Dr. Barrett is an honest man?”
The senator gasped. “I’m telling you, Kay,” Jacquard warned. “Don’t listen to her.”
“Do you know what else he had in his possession?” Max waited a few seconds for effect and noticed an increase in the pace of the senator’s breathing. “A single one-way ticket to the Republic of Macedonia in the name of Souley Regains. And oddly enough, he had a passport with his picture using the same name. It sounds to me like he was jumping ship and letting you take the fall for whatever Helen Barrett was referring to in her note. Knowing that, do you still want to stand by him and let him do this to you?”
“Jeffrey wouldn’t do that to me. He loves me, and he loves my daughter. I’m his ticket to the one thing Helen couldn’t give him—children.”
“Fine. You can believe that fantasy all you want. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“I don’t need a warning, Detective. We’re in love, and that trumps everything.”
“All right, then let me ask you this. Did you call him when my officers were at your house to bring you down here for questioning?”
“What exactly are you getting at?”
“If you told him that you’d been summoned for questioning, I’m sure he knew he’d be next and figured he’d better bail out before we found out too much. Too bad for him, we caught him in the act.”
“Jeffrey wouldn’t do that to me and Arianna.”
“You’re a fool if you believe that. Answer the question. Did you call and tell him you’d been summoned to come down here to the precinct?” Max said with a raised voice.
The senator gave a slow nod. Tears gathered in her eyes. “You’re trying to trick me into saying something against the man I love. I know him well enough to know he wouldn’t bail on me. We’ve been through too much together, and our relationship is rock solid now that Helen is out of the way.”
“Kay,” her attorney urged in a strong voice, “if you don’t shut up, I’m going to walk out that door. Just remember, he has nothing to lose but money and prestige. You have a daughter.”
“Senator, you have a choice here,” Max said.
“Then show me some kind of proof that you’re telling me the truth.”
Max opened the file folder and pulled out the plane ticket and passport Jeffrey had in his pocket and showed it to her.
“That son of a bitch,” she said sharply, abandoning any pretense.
“So now, are you ready to tell me how you two conspired to kill Helen? Because I’m beginning to think maybe it was you who killed Helen.” Stansbury stiffened at the challenge. “Listen, I can understand you being the jealous mistress who figured getting the wife out of the picture would clear the path for you to be together, but I never figured you for a dummy.”
“I did not.” Her words shot out emphatically. “I had nothing to do with Helen’s death. Nothing.” She held her hand up in a swearing position. “Not a thing.”
“Are you saying Jeffrey may have?”
“I don’t know.” She raised a dismissive shoulder.
“But you’re having second thoughts now that you know he was bailing on you, aren’t you, Senator? Honestly, I totally understand and wouldn’t blame you one bit. I’d be angry too, especially after all the time you’d invested in this man and then he turned around and dumped you for his wife.” Max shook her head to make the senator think she could relate to her situation. “The man you intended to marry who gave her the sensuous wedding night he’d promised you. I’ll bet that just killed you, didn’t it?”
The senator took a quick intake of breath.
“Kay, I’m warning you. Don’t fall for this crap,” Jacquard warned.
“I’ll bet you even pictured them in the act, didn’t you? And that’s when you decided to wipe her out. With her out of the way, Jeffrey would have to come back into your arms, and the three of you could live happily ever after in some far-off exotic place that has no extradition treaty with the United States. You’d both be free and clear to do whatever you wanted without any worry. Isn’t that right, Senator?” The woman remained silent, biting down on her lip so hard it started to bleed. “You actually trusted this man with your life and your child’s life?” Max paused for a second, hoping the impact of her statement would spur the senator to tell the truth. “It’s a shame the plan backfired.”
“No. There’s got to be some explanation as to why he only had one ticket. We had big plans.”
“There is only one explanation, because he’s already implicated you. He said it was your idea.”
“What? He’s lying.”
“That’s enough.” Jacquard stood and pulled the senator by the arm. “You have nothing but circumstantial evidence. We’re out of here.”
“I don’t think so, Mr. Jacquard. We have more than circumstantial evidence. I’ll be holding the senator for seventy-two hours.”
“No,” she screamed. “You can’t do that. My daughter. I have to get home to her. The sitter will be leaving shortly.”
“Then I think you’d better call her father with your one phone call and make other arrangements.”
She burst into tears. “Her father is dead.” Mr. Jacquard tried to console her while Max buzzed for a uniform to take her into custody. A few seconds later, the door opened. “Take the senator to a holding cell.”
“Wait,” she said. “I’ll tell you what I know.”
“Kay, I’m advising you not to say a word.”
“Mathias, shut the hell up! I can’t do this anymore.”
“Then I’m out of here. You know you’ve just lost your place in the political arena.”
“The hell with the political arena. My daughter means more to me than my political status. I’m sorry, but I have to do this.”
“You’re playing right into their hands,” Jacquard said.
“Mathias, you saw Jeffrey. He didn’t respond to me nor did he make eye contact. I’m sorry you don’t agree with what I’m doing, but I have to, for me and Arianna, and hope the court will take pity on me because I finally told the truth.” The door slammed, and the woman heaved a forceful breath.
“Do you want something to drink before we begin?” Riley asked.
“Yes. My mouth is parched. But before I talk, will you speak to the DA so he’ll go easier on me?”
“Your cooperation will go a long way, and the DA will know you admitted to your responsibilities. What he’ll do with that information is anyone’s guess. I can’t guarantee a positive result, but you’ll be far better off admitting the truth than if you lie. Do you still want to talk?”
Stansbury stared into space. She inhaled deeply and blew it out. “I do. What kind of role model would I be for my daughter if I don’t confess to my wrongdoing? My only hope is that someday she’ll understand that I did it for her.”
Regardless of what Kay Stansbury had done, Max couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. She nodded for her to begin. “Go ahead, Senator. Please tell us what happened.”
“My daughter, Arianna, is six years old. She was born with a defect in her heart that eventually got worse, though we didn’t know about it until two years ago. She was near death until Jeffrey saved her life. The transplant was actually on her birthday, you know?” She stopped to dry her tears. “What would you have done if it was your daughter, Detective?” Max stared at her but
remained silent. The senator began to cry harder. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t let my daughter die because she wasn’t next on that list of transplants.” She took a sip of water and tried to calm down. “Jeffrey and I thought we had the perfect plan of what to do and when to do it, and then he got careless one night when we were talking on the phone. He didn’t see Helen hiding behind a pillar on their back patio listening to his side of our conversation. For months, she kept threatening she’d go to the authorities. Jeffrey decided to beat her at her own game and froze her out of all their monetary holdings, and refused to release the freeze. That’s when Helen decided to take matters into her own hands and began to blackmail me. Seeing that she wasn’t going to back down, I convinced Jeffrey to unfreeze the accounts and pretend he was in love with her again. The renewing of vows was his idea, but he had to convince her he was sincere . . . and he did a good job.”
“And she obviously believed him?”
“Apparently. And afterward, when he looked so happy, I wasn’t sure what was ahead.”
“You started to worry?”
“Yes. I have to be honest. It could have been worse, but I was happy I still had my daughter.”
“Is that why you killed Helen?”
Stansbury held up her hand. “I swear to you,” she said, shaking her head, “as God is my witness, I had nothing to do with Helen’s death.”
“You know, he’s blaming you for killing Helen,” Max lied.
“What?” Tears gushed down her cheeks like a broken dam. “I don’t understand why he would do this to me. Why would he give my daughter a heart transplant, then turn around and do all the things you’ve said?” The senator looked dazed. “None of this makes any sense,” she said. “You’re making this up so I’ll confess, aren’t you?”
“No, Senator, I wish I were making it up. You saw him when he came in here. He ignored you—didn’t even look at you. You have to know this wasn’t something he just arbitrarily decided upon as an afterthought. Oh no,” Max said, shaking her head. “This was his plan all along. By giving you something, such as your daughter’s transplant, he lured you into believing he was committed to you and your beautiful daughter so you’d never suspect he was capable of doing such a thing.” Max shook her head. “Yeah, I’ve seen creeps like this before.” Max noticed Stansbury’s tears lessening as the conversation continued. Her face was tense.
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