The boy had a slender, pale face. His natural expression appeared to be worry. “I saw it after the police came.”
“But not before?”
He shook his head, then glanced at his aunt. Roz gave him a reassuring pat on the knee of his jeans.
“Did you see the man when he was talking to your dad?”
He shook his head again. “No. I was upstairs. Then Roz called us down to dinner but there was no man here.”
A few more questions and they let him go.
“Do you want to see the twins together or one by one?” Roz asked.
Pinto sighed and rubbed the stubble on his jaw. “Together is fine. I know this seems like a waste of time. But we just have to do it. You know. So we can say our report is complete.”
Somewhere a clock chimed. Was it seven o’clock or eight o’clock? Despite the horror of what they had seen, Pavano was starting to feel hungry.
The twins plopped down on the couch, all blond hair, wide eyes, and innocence. They were very cute, Pavano observed. They looked smaller than their twelve years. Their voices were little boys’ voices.
The two cops chitchatted with them for a few minutes. The boys had funny accents, sort of English, sort of Irish. They didn’t seem at all fazed by having to talk to policemen.
Their answers turned out to be a lot more interesting than those of the other two kids.
“Did you see the man talking to Mr. Sutter?”
“Yes, sir,” the one with dimples seemed to be the one who liked to talk. “We saw him in the den with the new pa.”
“The new pa?”
“That’s what they call Mark,” Roz interjected.
Pinto leaned forward in the big chair. “You saw them in here when you came home from school?”
Both boys nodded. “He was talking to the new pa, telling him bad things.”
Pavano’s breath caught in his throat. He squinted at the expressionless boy. “Bad things?”
“For sure. He said he had bad news. The new pa looked very sad.”
Pinto and Pavano exchanged glances. Pinto cleared his throat. Roz suddenly looked troubled, her lips pursed tightly. She started to say something, but Pinto motioned for her to remain silent.
“So what did you do?” Pinto asked.
“Sammy and I took a ball and went outside to play.”
“Did you hear the man have a fight with your dad?”
“No. They weren’t fighting. Just talking, right, Sammy?”
Sammy nodded his head solemnly.
“Were they arguing? You know. Shouting.”
“No. Just talking,” Daniel insisted. “But I think Pa was a wee bit angry.”
The quiet one spoke up. “Daniel and I went out to play catch. With a tennis ball.”
“Where did you play?” Pavano asked.
“By the driveway. You know. Next to the garage.”
“And so you saw the man’s dark blue car?” Pinto asked.
They both nodded. “The ball bounced off it a couple of times, don’t you know. But it didn’t make a dent.”
“And did you see the man leave the house?”
They nodded again.
“Did you see him get into his car?”
Daniel nodded. “He got in his big car. And the new pa shouted at us.”
“He said get out of the way,” his brother chimed in. “He said the man was backing up and we should get out of the way.”
“So what did you do?”
“We went back to our house. In the garden.”
“Your house?”
“Their room is in the guesthouse,” Roz explained. “That’s where they’re staying.”
“You went back to your room? And you didn’t hear anything strange? Did you see anyone come to the driveway? Did you hear a shout or a fight or anything weird?”
The twins exchanged puzzled glances again. They shook their heads.
“We didn’t hear anything. Not a peep, sir.”
Pavano heard a baby crying somewhere.
Roz jumped to her feet. “That’s Axl, my little boy. He’s waking up from his nap. Officers, I have to go upstairs and get him. I’m afraid this interview session is over.”
Pinto climbed up with a groan. Pavano’s head suddenly felt like solid granite.
They followed Roz to the front. Before they could exit, the screen door swung open. A uniform cop, one of the crime scene guys, poked his head into the house.
“Sergeants, one more bit of info you can add to your report.”
“What’s that?” Pinto asked. Pavano pulled out his phone to write it down.
“That blowtorch in the garage? We went over it. Looks like it’s been used recently.”
33
“I wish I was there with you, Mark. I’m so sorry I’m not there to help you. Roz must be a mess, too.”
“Lea, is it too late for the jitney? Can you get a train? I’ll pick you up in Southampton.”
“Mark, you’re breaking up. I can’t hear too well. Are the kids okay? Are they upset?”
“I don’t know if they realize what happened. I think they’re mainly confused. I’m going to talk to them later. After the police leave. You know. Try to see how they feel, what they know.”
“How can you explain it to them? A murder right at our house?”
“I’ll just be straight with them. I mean, I don’t know how else to handle it. Just tell them what happened and be there for them.”
“Oh, wow. I have the shakes just thinking about it. Right in front of our house. And you didn’t hear anything? You didn’t see anyone go up to his car?”
“None of us did. Listen, can you-”
“I’m worried about the kids, Mark. Poor Ira. Something like this. . a horrible murder in our front yard. . I mean, how much more traumatic can it be?”
“He was up in his room. I don’t think he realizes. . I’m going to sit down and talk to them all. Get their feelings out in the open.”
“I can’t hear you very well. You keep breaking up. I’ll try to get back as fast as I can, darling. I’ll cancel my meeting for tomorrow morning. I’ll let you know what jitney I’m on. I’m so sorry I’m not there with you, sweetheart.”
“Are you feeling okay? I really didn’t think you were ready for the city. Those nightmares you were having. And. . and the tomato soup thing. .”
“You’re breaking up, Mark. What did you say?”
“Do you feel okay?”
“Actually, no. Maybe you were right. Maybe this city visit was too soon. I feel weird. I can’t really explain it. Kind of like I can’t concentrate. I don’t really feel I’m totally in control. It’s nothing. I’m sure. Just tired, I guess.”
“Please get home as fast as you can. We need you here. I. . don’t know what’s going to happen. I mean, when word of this gets out. You know. I’m a public figure now. The publicity. ‘Gruesome Murder in Bestselling Psychologist’s Driveway.’ It could get bad, Lea.”
