Eyeing Laura with a cool, appraising glance, Joe merely said, “Mrs. Carswell. We meet again.”
Chapter 8
An occasional memento of past folly, however painful, might not be without use.
Miles stepped forward. “Hello, Joe. I’m not sure if you remember me…”
“Mr. Carswell,” Joe replied with a genuine smile; seeing it was a brief reminder of his former self. Joe stood up and extended his hand. “Of course, I remember you. It’s good to see you, though I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances. How have you been?”
“Pretty well, pretty well,” Miles replied. Miles had always gotten along great with Joe and, in fact, had been his strongest champion to Uncle Marty. But as close as Miles and Uncle Marty were, Miles still couldn’t convince him of Joe’s merits. Eight years ago, Joe was just starting out on the force. He was, in Uncle Marty’s words, “nothing but a blue-collar cop,” and as such he viewed the match as “degrading” for both him and his daughter. It didn’t help that Laura agreed with Uncle Marty. Laura adored Ann—just as she had adored her mother. She wanted the best for Ann and, unfortunately, that didn’t include a marriage to Joe at age twenty-two. Ann found herself opposed by both her father and the woman she looked to almost as a mother.
“We were told that Michael’s body was found on the St. Michaels property. Don’t tell me that you are on this case,” said Miles.
Joe nodded. “I am, sir. I’m a detective, now.”
Miles smiled. “Congratulations. I always knew you’d go places.”
Joe nodded briefly, the compliment seeming to remind him of those who didn’t have such confidence. Ann stared at the floor, clearly uncomfortable.
Joe deflected the awkwardness of the situation by introducing his associate. “This is Sergeant Beal,” he said. “Sergeant Beal, this is Mr. and Mrs. Carswell.”
“Pleased to meet you,” she said.
“And you as well,” Miles said with a smile. “My, but sergeants have definitely gotten prettier since my day.” Sergeant Beal smiled coyly at this and threw a challenging glance at Joe. Yup, I thought, she likes him. And if I had to interpret that glance she gave him, I would say she wonders why he doesn’t like her.
“Well, we might as well sit down,” Miles said. Joe moved aside so he and Laura could find a seat. Ann came and sat next to me. Her hands were nervously twitching. I reached over and grabbed one, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“What do you need to know from us?” Miles asked.
“From what we know so far, it appears Mr. Barrow died of blunt force trauma to the head. His remains were found under the foundation of the pool. We are trying to gather information as to when he was last seen. Do you remember when you last saw him?”
Miles frowned as he thought over Joe’s question. “I think it must have been at Marty’s Fourth of July party,” he said. “Is that right?” he asked, looking quizzically at Laura.
She shook her head apologetically. “I couldn’t tell you, Miles. Remember, I was out of town that weekend, visiting my mother.”
“Oh, yes, I’d forgotten. Well, I think it was at the party.” Miles looked over to where Reggie sat. “I believe it was soon after that that we learned the money was missing.” Reggie nodded. Miles continued, “I remember thinking that it was a good thing I was out of town when I found out what he’d done because I’d probably have…” Miles abruptly stopped.
“Killed him?” said Joe.
Miles gave a rueful smile. “Well, that’s a stupid figure of speech under the circumstances. But I probably would have done my best to mar that pretty face of his. You’ve no idea what his theft did to the company. I left the day after the party and was in New York for two weeks for a meeting with a potential client. By the time I got back, everything was in utter disarray.”
“I understand it was a large amount—one million dollars?” said Joe.
I forced myself to take a sip of coffee mainly to hide my wholly inappropriate smirk. Every time they mentioned that amount all I could hear was Dr. Evil’s voice from
Miles nodded. “It was all the worse because it was Michael who took it. Marty loved that boy like a son; he thought he was the perfect pick to run the company one day.”
At this, Frances made a noise and Scott shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Miles glanced in their direction, wincing slightly as he realized his gaffe. Joe noticed as well and quickly asked Miles, “Why were you not considered to take over, sir?”
“Oh, Marty knew that I was going to branch out by then. I had decided to start my own landscaping business. We would still partner for various projects, but I’d no longer work for Reynolds Construction.”
“This was an amiable break, then?” Joe asked.
“Perfectly. In fact, Marty was responsible for setting up the meeting in New York back then and later for steering several clients my way.”
“Did you talk to Michael at the party?”
“Of course, but about what, I really couldn’t say. Nothing important—just chitchat.”
“And was that the last time you saw him?”
Miles nodded. “Yes. As I said, I had to go to New York City the next day for a business trip. I was gone about two weeks. Laura called and told me what had happened, both with Reggie ending the engagement and with Michael’s embezzlement.”
Joe nodded. “And how about you, Mrs. Carswell,” Joe said. “Do you recall the last time you saw or spoke with Michael?”
“I believe that it was the week before the party. I had lunch with Reggie and Michael. We discussed some of the details of the wedding. They were going to be married at the house, on the back lawn. We’d ordered the bridal canopy and were discussing the flowers for it. I remember that Reggie wanted it covered in pink and white roses.” She glanced over at Reggie with a melancholy smile. Reggie studied her manicure, pretending not to notice Laura’s look. “Anyway,” Laura continued, “everything seemed fine. I had no idea what Michael had done or what he was planning. It came as an utter shock to me. I can’t tell you how devastated I was to learn the truth. Michael had us all fooled.”
“Yes, it must have been upsetting to learn that your instinct was wrong,” said Joe to no one in particular.
Laura flushed. Beside her, Miles said, “Easy, Joe.”
“My apologies,” said Joe, suddenly standing up. “Well, I think I have everything I need for now. I’ll be in touch with you again once I get the coroner’s report. And of course, I’ll want to interview Mrs. Reynolds when she returns from her trip.” With the barest glance in Ann’s direction, Joe said, “Again, please accept my condolences. I’m sorry that this investigation must take place so soon after your loss.”
Ann stood to walk him to the door, but Joe anticipated her. “No need to disturb yourself further on my account. I’ll see myself out.” He turned and headed for the door. Sergeant Beal jumped to her feet and hurried after him. Seconds later, we heard the front door open and shut.
There was a collective sigh of relief at their departure. No one spoke at first; no one looked at each other. It was Reggie who broke the awkward silence. “Ann,” she said, “you really are a crap hostess. You forgot my glass of wine. Now, if you please, I think you’d better bring me the whole bottle.”
Chapter 9
