Pushing Up Bluebonnets

concentrate our efforts on all of you.' I smiled.

'That's ridiculous. None of us would have hurt her.'

Kate said, 'Who do you include in that us?'

Hunt seemed relieved to interact with my kinder, gentler sister. 'Anyone in the family. Adele and me, for sure. Certainly neither Scott nor Simone. Simone is my stepdaughter and since she didn't show up—'

'Actually, she did show up,' I said.

'Really? How was she?' he asked.

I was surprised by his reaction. He seemed genuinely concerned. 'Pissed off,' I answered.

The wrinkles on his forehead deepened. Definitely worried, but why? Of course all these people knew things they weren't saying, and Hunt was no different, but he might be a weak link in the chain of the unspoken.

He pressed his lips together and shook his head. 'Let me apologize for Simone. She's—anyway, I'm sorry.'

'Don't worry about causing me any discomfort. See, I even had the roof of my mouth tattooed, so I can take whatever she or any one of you wants to dish out,' I said.

Hunt's eyes widened. Guess he believed me about the tattoo.

'Abby's kidding,' Kate said.

But Hunt didn't seem to hear her. Still dwelling on his stepdaughter? I wondered.

'Were there other times you and JoLynn interacted?' Kate asked. 'Anything else you noticed about her mood or demeanor?'

'As I said before, I don't usually pick up on those things.'

'But your stepdaughter is able to get your attention?' she said.

He hesitated, seemed to be considering how to respond. 'Since you've met Simone, you must realize she gets most people's attention. As for JoLynn, she was a pleasant person who could discuss books. World affairs were another story. She didn't have much to add to those conversations. Aside from Elliott, Scott seemed the closest person to JoLynn. Have you talked to him?'

'We have,' I said. 'But you know what, Mr. Hunt? I sense you know more about this girl than you're saying.'

His face reddened. 'I do not.'

I leaned even closer. 'Was there talk in your family about how big her slice of the pie might be now that Elliott Richter has welcomed her into the family?'

Hunt still wouldn't make eye contact. 'This line of questioning . . . is, well—'

'All I need is a simple yes or no.'

He finally looked at me. 'No. We don't discuss money.'

'Ah. So Mr. Richter keeps you guessing about your wife's inheritance,' I said. 'No wonder you people are all as tense as terriers watching a rat hole. Thanks for your time.'

He stood and nodded, his jaw tight after that remark, one I wished I could take back. Making nice with these folks might be a better approach, but my patience had been used up.

'Good evening, ladies.' Hunt offered a polite smile and left the room.

Kate said, 'Why were you so hard on him?'

'Because I'm frustrated. Everyone's holding back. Leopold's probably Adele's puppet, but he has a weakness: his stepdaughter.'

'You're right about that. And you can assume anything related to JoLynn, even that crying episode, was duly reported to Adele.'

Another knock on the door and Matthew stuck his head in the room. 'Would you mind if my wife and I came in together?'

I glanced at Kate. 'Your call, Doc.'

'That would be fine, Mr. Richter.' She smiled at him, probably hoping to show me how to get on the right side of folks.

He widened the door and he and Piper came in hand in hand. Since we had not spoken to these two at all, even at dinner, I had no clue what to expect.

Matthew hurried to bring over another chair to face us and waited until his wife sat down before he took his seat. He said, 'Before you start asking questions, you should know that Piper has been so busy in the last year with the whole wedding thing that she hardly knows JoLynn.'

I looked at the bride. 'But you've had several months since the wedding, right?'

Piper's thin face colored. 'I have my own circle of friends and besides, she didn't seem to show any interest in getting to know me.'

Indeed, the world obviously revolved around Piper. I said, 'No one seems to have taken time to get to know JoLynn.' I shifted to Matthew. 'Tell me you're different.'

'Different how?' He was deflecting the question, maybe hoping to figure out what we wanted from him.

'Did you welcome her into the family?' I said.

'Certainly. But we were busy planning a wedding around the time she showed up. Besides, I had to adjust to becoming her uncle. I knew next to nothing about my sister, Katarina—we were so many years apart. I only knew she was some kind of saint. The way my father reacted to JoLynn's arrival? Well, it was as if my sister had risen from the dead.'

Now we were getting somewhere. 'Katarina was his favorite?'

'What does Matthew's childhood have to do with this?' Piper gripped her husband's hand tighter.

I wanted to come back with something a lawyer might say, like 'It goes to motive, ma'am,' but Kate saved me by addressing Piper.

'You're the newest member of the family. What's your take on JoLynn's relationship to everyone?'

'My father-in-law kept her as isolated from the rest of us as possible,' she said. 'He's a very complex man whom we all adore. But sometimes we simply do not understand him.'

'Why do you think he kept her isolated?' I said. This wasn't the first time we'd heard this tonight.

But Matthew cut in before his wife could respond. 'Ask my father. That's about him and JoLynn, not us.'

'Sorry if we've upset you, Matthew,' Kate said in her soothing therapist tone.

'He's not upset,' Piper said. 'Matt is the calmest person I know.'

'Okay,' I said. 'So you don't think your father is playing favorites again?'

'You're here to find out who harmed JoLynn, right?' Matthew said.

'In part,' I said, 'but my real job—'

'If you're implying I tried to kill JoLynn so I could have Dad all to myself, that's plain stupid. If you haven't noticed, I'm a grown man, not an adolescent.'

I nodded. 'And no one in this family could be accused of adolescent behavior.'

'I don't appreciate your attitude,' he said.

'And neither do I,' the Piper piped in.

'Let me give this to you straight,' I said. 'Chief Boyd is investigating a murder attempt on someone who lived in this house. I'm here because your father wants to find out exactly what happened and why. JoLynn could have mentioned things in passing to family members that might help me get to the bottom of this. I'm merely trying to gather information tonight, not to accuse anyone of anything. But the bunch of you make me feel like I'm riding circles around a swamp. What's in that swamp, Matthew?'

'I have no idea what you're talking about.' He studied his diamond-encrusted watch.

'Right. Guess I'll have to tell your father none of you were much help.'

He looked up quickly. 'I don't know anything about JoLynn. What I do know is that my father is an idiot. And you can tell him I said that.'

'An idiot when it came to JoLynn?' Kate asked.

'Yes.' Matthew Richter rested back in the chair and sighed in frustration. 'He's a meticulous man. He does extensive background checks on everyone he hires, but he lets her take over his life