“And?”
“Richard Hollick claimed he hadn’t seen Gloria Forrester in at least a year.”
Rosa opened her mouth, but before she could ask, Miguel answered her next question.
“I also interviewed three of the waitresses who claimed to know Gloria Forrester. They didn’t see her last night. Have you been to the restaurant?”
Rosa shook her head. “No.”
“It’s not a big place. Gloria couldn’t have used their restroom facilities without someone seeing her. In fact, we must assume, since they are confirmed acquaintances, that Gloria would’ve extended a greeting to someone. At any rate, without a witness that can place Gloria at the Lobster Bar during that time, she doesn’t have an alibi.”
“That doesn’t mean she killed Victor Boyd.”
“No, but her lying about her whereabouts demands further investigation. I was able to connect with your friend Joyce Welks through Detective Sanchez’s contacts, and she insisted that Gloria had an intense hatred for Victor Boyd. Do you know about her history with Boyd? Or her feelings toward him?”
“Everyone in school hated Victor Boyd,” Rosa murmured as if this information would somehow make up for the fact that her cousin had blatantly lied. “But she was a lot younger than him. For all I know, she didn’t have reason to know him at all.”
“Speaking of Victor Boyd,” Miguel said. “Sanchez looked into the census for the Boyd family. Turns out that Victor’s father, Joseph Boyd, wasn’t killed in the war. He was, in fact, the man I’d interviewed, alive and well. Sanchez spoke to him in person and confirmed it.”
Rosa ducked her chin in confusion. “I don’t understand. Why would Victor have lied about such a thing? If he was that desperate to fit in or to feel people’s compassion, wouldn’t he have been nicer to everyone?”
Rosa was processing out loud, but Miguel answered her anyway.
“His dad’s so-called death was a cover-up for where he really went.” Miguel rubbed the back of his neck. “Mr. Joseph Boyd was imprisoned in December 1941 on charges of draft evasion and participation in a draft-card burning.”
Somehow Victor Boyd’s extreme badgering of several of the other students at school now made sense. While other parents were dying with honor in the war or helping the war effort, Victor’s father had been dishonored. Victor had lied so that no one would discover the real reason his father was out of the picture.
Miguel mouthed, “I’m sorry,” before backing out the room, and Rosa was once again alone behind the one-way mirror.
Miguel stepped back into the interrogation room just as Gloria’s lawyer arrived. The man, dressed in his brown suit with gray hair trimmed short, looked vaguely familiar. Rosa assumed she had met him at some point during her younger years when she’d been in Aunt Louisa’s company.
After delivering the glass of water to Gloria, Detective Sanchez sat opposite the lawyer and set up the reel-to-reel recording equipment. Miguel took the remaining chair.
Gloria’s eyes were glossy with apprehension, and Rosa felt immense sympathy. She knew what it was like to be in her cousin’s position. As Vivien Eveleigh’s best friend, Rosa had automatically been put on the suspects’ list for her murder, and even though she was soon cleared, the experience of being questioned as if she could be capable of murder had shaken her.
“I’m assuming you’ve refrained from asking my client any questions until I arrived?” the lawyer said.
“Of course, Mr. Nabor,” Miguel replied. “But now that we are all here, let’s begin.”
Detective Sanchez turned on the recording equipment. After stating the location of the station, the date, and the room number, he gave the names of those in attendance.
Miguel cleared his throat. “Miss Forrester, we’d like to ask you a few questions regarding the death of Victor Boyd.”
“I didn’t kill him,” Gloria blurted.
Mr. Nabor raised a hand in warning. “Miss Forrester, I must remind you that you’re not required to answer.”
“I want to get this straightened out.” She splayed open her hands. “I didn’t kill Victor, and I don’t know who did.”
Miguel appeared unfazed by Gloria’s outbursts. “What were your feelings toward Mr. Boyd?”
Rosa pinched her lips. She wished Miguel wouldn’t bring up hearsay, but she knew it would come up in court anyway, should it get to that. Better to get to the root of the matter now, but still, it rankled Rosa to watch it.
“I didn’t care for him,” Gloria answered, “but I didn’t think he should die. More like go to jail.”
“How did you know this boy who was so much older than you in school?” Miguel asked.
Rosa wondered the same thing.
Gloria glanced at Mr. Nabor, who repeated, “You don’t have to answer anything you don’t want to.”
Rosa silently urged Gloria to speak freely and honestly. Quieting herself now would only make her appear guilty.
Gloria placed her hands flat on the table and looked down at them. “When I was eleven, I had an . . . encounter with Victor at school.”
“An encounter?” Miguel pressed. “Do you mean he attacked you?”
“Oh Lord!” Rosa’s hands flew to her mouth. How had she never known this?
But Gloria explained. “Not attacked, exactly. He ripped a gold pendant from my neck. It had been a gift from my dad before he went off to war and was my most prized possession. At the time, we hadn’t heard from Daddy for several months, and in fact, we didn’t hear from him ever again, so the loss of the pendant was heartbreaking to me. Victor said if I told anyone, he’d find me and make sure I never talked about anything again. I ended up lying to my mother; I told her I’d lost it. She was so upset, calling me careless and irresponsible.”
Rosa felt a wave of pity for Gloria.
Gloria finished her account by saying, “It took me years before I could even speak about Victor at all.”
“So, Victor Boyd threatened you?” Miguel confirmed in a soft voice. Gloria nodded; her gaze still fixed on her hands.
The confirmation gave Gloria a
