Hostage to Fortune

by J A Whiting

  “What do you think, Blondie?” Tony asked. “Is that rich Wilby guy responsible for his wife going missing?”

  “I’m not sure yet. Just because Wilby is pompous and arrogant, not to mention that he’s one of the richest men on the planet, isn’t reason to think he’s guilty. But, his story about what happened makes me question its truthfulness. I know John Wilby was only three at the time, but what he remembers creates a flicker of suspicion in my mind. Something about the whole thing feels off to me.”

  Augustus grunted. “Jackson Wilby might be a hostage to fortune.”

  When Claire tilted her head to the side, her blond curls fell over her shoulder. “I’ve never heard that phrase. What does it mean to be a hostage to fortune?”

  Augustus explained, “It means acting in a way that could cause problems for you in the future.”

  “I see,” Claire said. “Something bad Wilby did in the past might end up creating problems for him now. Sort of like karma coming back to bite him.”

  “If he did cause his wife harm, then I hope trouble catches up to him soon,” Tony huffed. “What’s wrong with some people? How can someone kill another person? How can someone create so much hurt?”

  With a sigh, Augustus said, “Those are questions without answers, I’m afraid.”

  Lady rubbed her head against Tony’s knee and the man scratched the dog behind her ear. “People should be more like these two sweet dogs. There’s not a mean bone in either one of them. Such lovable creatures.”

  Claire smiled at the Corgis and it almost seemed like they smiled back at her.

  Under a bright blue sky, Ian and Claire jogged side by side along the Charles River passing other people who were out for a stroll or a run to enjoy the beautiful early evening weather.

  “My partner in this cold case, Glenn Anderson, has brought up some details that I didn’t know. Glenn got the impression that both Jackson and Cheryl might have been seeing other people which added additional stress to their relationship.”

  Claire’s eyes widened. “Really? What gave Glenn that idea?”

  “A few comments or slip-ups that people made about the couple. It might not be true at all.”

  “Did Glenn look into the rumors?” Claire wiped some sweat from her forehead as they kept up a quick running pace.

  “He tried to, but people clammed up and he couldn’t find out any more.”

  “Does he know who Cheryl and Jackson were supposed to be seeing?”

  “He said the rumors pointed to a family friend, Jason Spencer, and a friend of Cheryl’s, Lisa Richardson. Spencer owns a car dealership in Dedham and Richardson is an accountant living in Medford. Some people thought Jason was seeing Cheryl, and that Jackson was involved in an affair with Lisa.”

  “Are you going to talk to Lisa and Jason?” Claire asked.

  “I have appointments to see them in the middle of the week. Glenn thinks it best if someone new questions them. They weren’t that forthcoming with Glenn back in the day and he thinks they might speak more freely with someone new.”

  “The passing of time might make them speak more freely, too,” Claire pointed out. “A lot of years have gone by. They might not think there’s any reason to hide an affair since it happened so long ago.”

  “Will you come along when I go to see them?” Ian requested.

  Claire agreed to accompany her boyfriend. “Were there any other suspects in Cheryl’s disappearance? Were there any possible scenarios that might have explained why she went missing? Did anyone see her driving around that evening?”

  Ian and Claire slowed to a walk as they watched a couple of crew teams row up the river.

  “Two people thought they saw her car that night,” Ian said. “One was the pastor of one of the churches in town. He thought he saw Cheryl driving down the road faster than she should have been.”

  “Where was the pastor when he saw her?”

  “He was inside the church near the front doors. Cheryl attended the church and the pastor was familiar with her car.”

  “Who else saw her driving by?” Claire asked.

  “The woman who took care of Cheryl and Jackson’s kids. She was coming out of a grocery store and noticed Cheryl drive by.”

  “Did the pastor or the daycare provider think everything was fine? Did anything make them think something was amiss?”

  Ian said, “The pastor thought her speed was out of character. She was driving much too fast. The daycare woman told police that she thinks Cheryl saw her, but she didn’t wave or smile or acknowledge her in any way.”

  “Both behaviors could point to Cheryl’s state of mind,” Claire suggested. “She was obviously in a hurry if she was speeding, and it sounds like she noticed the daycare provider, but didn’t respond to her as you’d expect her to.”

  “What do you think about the sightings?” Ian asked.

  “I think Cheryl was probably in a big hurry to get away from something ... or someone.” Claire’s expression clouded. “If Cheryl was seen by two people who knew her, then she couldn’t have been killed at the house.”

  “That’s right. There were signs of a fight in the kitchen, but there were no signs of any blood.”

  “So if people saw her driving around, then she had to have been killed somewhere else,” Claire stated the obvious. “And her car was never found.”

  “No, it wasn’t.” Ian ran his hand over his head. “Cheryl might have been killed in the car, and whoever killed her got rid of the body and the vehicle.”

  “If Jackson is the killer, then the murders and the ditching of the car couldn’t have happened very far from the house because he came back not too long after the aunt arrived to take care of John and Kimberly.”

  “If someone else is the killer,” Ian said, “the murder and the hiding of the car might have been done some distance away from the Wilbys’ home.”

  “Wherever the car went, it sure was placed in a darned good hiding spot.” Claire’s facial expression changed. “What time of year was it when Cheryl went missing?”

  “It was January.”

  “So it must have been dark when Cheryl left the house,” Claire guessed. “If it was dark, the pastor and the daycare woman might be mistaken about seeing Cheryl. Maybe it was a similar car and they assumed it was Cheryl.”

  “I’ll bring that up when I meet with them.” Ian nodded. “I’m working on getting permission to visit the family’s former home in Arlington. Jackson Wilby still owns the place and rents it out. We’re talking with the real estate management company to allow a visit.”

  “Do you think it’s unusual for Wilby to still own the house? It must hold a boatload of sad memories,” Claire said.

  “Maybe he just can’t let it go,” Ian said.

  “If I lived in a house where something awful happened that destroyed my family, I’d want nothing to do with the place ever again,” Claire said firmly.

  “Not everyone reacts to incidents in the same way though,” Ian pointed out. “Jackson might hold tight to memories of the way life used to be for him, and maybe he just can’t bring himself to lose that house … since he lost everything else there.”

  Claire looked at Ian with sad eyes and took a deep breath. “If that’s what Jackson really feels, then my heart breaks for him.”

  7

  “My sister was a wonderful person. I still miss her every day.” Cara Smith met Claire and Ian at a coffee shop in Boston’s Back Bay.

  Sixty years old with short, stylishly cut blond hair, Cara was slender, energetic, and direct. “I can’t believe how the years have flown. Twenty-five years since Cheryl went missing.” The woman shook her head in disbelief. “And I still loathe Jackson with the same level of intensity.”

  “Have you always disliked Jackson?” Claire asked.

  “I should be ashamed to say I’ve never liked him, but I’m not. At the beginning, people told me to give him a chance, that if I got to know him better, I’d probably like the man.” Cara leaned fo
rward. “You know how sometimes you meet someone and you take an instant dislike to them? You don’t know why, but you don’t want to be around the person, you don’t want to waste time on the person, you just don’t want anything to do with him. That’s how I felt about Jackson. He had sort of a smug, arrogant way about him even back before the company took off. His manner was off-putting to me. He seemed selfish, like he’d take advantage of his own grandmother.”

  “Did he know you didn’t like him?”

  “Sure. I was civil to him, even friendly at times, but it was for the sake of the family. I would have loved it if he’d never met Cheryl. That was even before the whole mess happened.”

  “How did Jackson act around you?”

  “Same as I did. We’d smile, ask how the other was doing, and then move on.” Cara shrugged. “I guess neither of us wanted to cause an issue in the family.”

  “Do you have other siblings?”

  Cara shook her head sadly. “It was only Cheryl and me.”

  “Did your parents like Jackson?”

  “Our father had passed away before Jackson entered the picture. Mom was diplomatic. She would never say anything negative about him, but I knew she wasn’t pleased he married Cheryl.”

  “Can you tell us what Cheryl was like?” Ian asked.

  Cara leaned back and turned her gaze out of the window. “Cheryl was so smart. She was ambitious. She was fun and funny and so great to be around. My sister was a kind, caring person. She’d give you the shirt off her back. Cheryl had great ideas. She drew up a business plan for the home goods store while she was still in grad school. She won the entrepreneurial prize at graduation. I knew she was destined to do great things.” Cara looked from Ian to Claire as she rustled around in her bag for her wallet. “Have you seen a picture of her?”

  “Only what was in the news,” Claire said.

  “Here are two pictures I keep in my wallet.” Cara handed them to Claire. “She loved running. She was so good at it.” The woman chuckled. “Cheryl was athletic, not me. I preferred to watch her run.”

  In one photo, Cheryl stood in her running clothes smiling brightly at the camera. She had long straight blond hair and big blue eyes. In the second picture, Cheryl held her new baby daughter and had one arm around her son, John. She was beaming at her little boy.

  “The picture with John and Kimberly was the last photo taken of my sister.” Cara’s eyes looked a little misty.

  “Can you tell us what happened on the day Cheryl went missing?” Ian asked gently.

  Cara swallowed, took a deep breath, and straightened her posture as if she were steeling herself for the task. “I got a call from Jackson. It was about 9pm. I was in my pajamas and my husband, Dan, had lit a fire in the fireplace. We were planning to watch a movie. When I answered the call, Jackson told me he and Cheryl had a fight and Cheryl left the house. He said he wanted to go look for her and asked if I could come and watch the kids.”

  “I was angry. I can feel my blood start to boil right now.” Cara looked down at the tabletop trying to collect herself.

  “What made you so angry?” Claire asked.

  “Cheryl told me that Jackson wasn’t pulling his weight, not at work and not at home. Everything was falling on her. She was making all the important decisions at work. She was the one taking care of the kids, making dinner, cleaning up, shopping. Jackson always had some excuse not to help. I felt like he was impairing my sister’s ability to be successful. Cheryl was the brains. She’d made five, ten and fifteen-year plans with projections. She’d started to interview some really talented people to take over some of the positions in the company that she needed to delegate. She was doing too much and she wanted to bring in some experienced people who could help with marketing and technology.”

  Ian nodded. “Did you agree to go watch John and Kimberly?”

  “I did. I changed out of my pajamas and drove over to the house. It was about a fifteen-minute drive. When I arrived and Jackson wasn’t in the house, I nearly blew a gasket. He left a three-year-old and an infant alone. Can you believe that? It was late at night and he left the kids all alone. I couldn’t believe it. John was asleep and when I went into the living room, he sat up and reached out for me. He said that his daddy hurt his mommy. I almost dropped to my knees. What did he mean? My heart was pounding. I saw things overturned in the kitchen and I got scared. I called the police and reported my sister missing.”

  “Did Jackson come back to the house?”

  “I packed up John and the baby and took them back to our house. John had stayed overnight with us plenty of times so he wasn’t afraid or upset to be there. He felt at home with us. I don’t know what time Jackson went home because we weren’t there waiting for him.”

  “You petitioned the court to be the children’s guardian and the court agreed,” Ian said. “Why did you want to take John and Kimberly into your home?”

  Cara blew out a breath. “Jackson behaved irrationally when he left the kids alone. He’d had a physical fight with my sister. I didn’t trust him. I had worries that he’d hurt Cheryl.” The woman bit her lower lip. “How could Jackson be entrusted with the children’s care? My mother, myself, and my husband wanted John and Kimberly to live in a safe and loving environment. For years, we all held out hope that Cheryl would come home. We wanted John and Kim to be here, safe and sound when she returned.” Cara brushed at her eyes.

  “You raised the kids,” Claire said.

  “I loved those kids. With all of my heart. My husband did, too. You know Kim passed away eight years ago? We loved those kids like they were our own. They were our own, John is our son. We couldn’t have kids of our own. We were blessed to be able to raise John and Kim and have them in our lives. I hope my sister is proud of the way John has grown up.”

  “Do you still have hope that Cheryl is alive?” Claire asked.

  Cara’s face nearly crumbled, but she cleared her throat and held it together. “Cheryl died twenty-five years ago. I’m sure of it. I know it in my heart. She’s never coming home.”

  “Did Cheryl and Jackson have any enemies?” Ian asked after giving the woman a few minutes to collect herself.

  Cara’s eyebrows knitted together. “Not that I knew of. You mean business adversaries?”

  “I don’t mean anyone in particular. Did your sister mention anyone who had threatened them or who’d had an argument with them?”

  “I don’t recall Cheryl ever mentioning anything of the sort. Things were normal as far as I knew. Cheryl would have told me something like that.”

  “We understand there were rumors about Jackson and Cheryl’s fidelity to one another,” Ian said.

  Cara’s face hardened. “Jackson might have cheated on my sister, but my sister would never have cheated on her husband. That’s a fact. I know people like to talk. I also know people lie for attention or to seem important. Cheryl didn’t cheat.” Cara gave a quick chuckle. “How on earth would she have time to have an affair with a full-time job and two kids? It’s absurd. My sister dedicated her life to her children and to her business. She didn’t have a moment to herself. She was either on the job or taking care of the family. I’d watch the kids three times a week so Cheryl could go out for an hour jog. It was the one way she could keep her sanity.”

  “Do you think Jackson cheated on Cheryl?”

  “I think he did because Cheryl thought he was seeing someone.”

  “Did she suspect someone in particular?”

  Cara frowned. “She suspected a friend of hers, Lisa Richardson. Lisa still lives in the area. She’s an accountant. She lives in Medford.”

  “You think your sister was stressed out at the time of her disappearance?” Ian asked.

  “I’d say she was, yes.”

  Ian used a soft voice when he asked, “You don’t think Cheryl could have taken her life, do you?”

  Cara’s eyes went wide. “Absolutely not. She would not leave her children. They were her life. Period. Nothing else real
ly mattered. Sure, the business was extremely important to her, but she’d drop it in a heartbeat for her kids.”

  The woman took a deep breath. “On the other hand, Jackson was all about himself. He didn’t care that Cheryl had to do so much. He never lifted a finger to help. He acted like the big know-it-all boss at work, but he relied on Cheryl to make the big decisions. He relied on Cheryl to make the strategic plans that would move the business forward. Jackson was mighty lucky that she’d found and hired the people she did. Without the team that Cheryl put together, the company would have gone down the drain. At least, Jackson was smart enough to hand over the reins to people who knew their stuff. They’re the ones who grew that company into what it is today. Jackson takes all the credit, but I know him. He couldn’t manage to build that business on his own. No way in heck.”

  “Do you think Cheryl’s stress might have caused her to take off? Leave and go somewhere else to start a new life?” Ian proposed the possibility.

  “No. Cheryl would never leave without her children. I know that for sure. That boy and girl were the lights of her life. And furthermore, Cheryl would never cause our mother such pain and heartache. She didn’t take off. No way.”

  “If we asked you to consider who could be suspects in Cheryl’s disappearance, are there people you would name?” Ian asked.

  Cara’s jaw set. “Yes, one person. Jackson Wilby.”

  8

  Claire, Ian, Nicole, her boyfriend, Ryan Foley, Robby, his friend, James Pearl, Tessa and Tony had a wonderful meal at a fancy restaurant near Boston’s waterfront. Walking through a high-end hotel lobby on the way out of the restaurant, James and Robby eyed a grand piano set in the corner of the beautifully-decorated lobby and then smiled at one another.

  James sat down on the piano stool while Robby stood beside him. Both were music students in the city and they were about to begin an unscheduled performance.