“Gage, I’m well aware that I’m stubborn, but I will gladly accept that help when it’s time. It’s not time.” She patted the chair and massaged Sheriff’s neck when he moved to her, leaning next to the right arm of the recliner.
“Just tell me when.” Gage took a deep breath, crafting his next question. “May I ask you a few other questions, on a much different subject, and politely ask you to answer the questions without pushing back?”
She nodded, frowning at the same time. “Of course you can. What sort of question is that?”
“It’s a sensitive subject.”
“And you think I’ll push back?”
“I hope you won’t.”
Claudia shrugged. “You can ask me anything, Gage.”
“Thank you,” he answered. “Here’s the first one: Did your husband have any enemies—business or otherwise—that you’re aware of?”
The question seemed to take her by surprise. She pondered it for a moment. “Well, ‘enemies’ is a strong word. He had rivals, all of them centering around business.”
“Could he have had rivals or enemies you didn’t know about?”
She thought about it a moment. “Yes.”
“Thank you. Next question: Could anyone outside of your family have profited from his death?”
She smiled a humorless smile. “Now I understand why you asked me not to push back.” Stacking her hands on top of one another, she answered. “Of course there were those who could benefit. Truthfully, I wasn’t as aware of his business dealings in recent years. After the events we discussed, about my affair, I stepped away from the business. At that point the only thing I focused on were safety measures and preservation devices such as stop-losses, trusts…that type of thing, which I enjoy—but I left the business altogether.”
Gage nodded his understanding. “Who could have profited, Claudia?”
“Too many to name.”
“No specific individuals?”
Her eyes searched the room. “No, no one in particular. As I said, there would have been many. The only single person who I know that could have quickly benefited passed away ten years ago. He and Karl started a commercial real estate venture together and it grew like a weed. But, during its greatest period of growth, he and Karl were at odds with each other. I was worried, but never to the point of murder or even a physical altercation.” She shrugged. “The partner died in a terrible crash on the Autobahn. At my direction, Karl bought out all the shares and the partner’s family seemed quite pleased with the valuation. I can think of no one else,” she answered solemnly.
“But there could be others—you simply don’t know about them?”
“Of course. Certainly his business rivals believe they’ll benefit now that he’s gone,” she replied. “But there could be hundreds of rivals. Real estate is an enormous business.”
“Who runs the Vogel business now?”
“The business and holdings are being systematically liquidated. In real estate, it’s not good practice to up and sell. We’ve engaged a number of professionals to seek maximum value as the holdings are settled. It may take five years.” It seemed she was struggling to control her irritation. “There, I answered your questions.”
“Thank you.”
“Now, you must tell me why your line of thinking is wandering off in peculiar directions?”
“Fair enough. I respect you, Claudia, so please don’t take this the wrong way.” He paused, steeling himself. “I have serious doubts that either of your daughters hurt your husband.”
Claudia didn’t react at all. Her resulting question was flat and icy. “Why do you say that?”
“I’m primarily going off of instinct, but I do have a few reasons. And please know it’s hard for me to disagree with you, Claudia, but I’m speaking from the heart and I know you’d rather me do that than be dishonest.”
“True. But I want to know exactly what’s made up your mind?” she asked, a note of displeasure in her voice. She tilted her head. “Have you slept with either of them?”
Wow.
“No, Claudia, I haven’t.”
“No sexual contact with them of any type?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“I believe your daughters are telling me the truth about their innocence.”
“Oh, really?” She nodded knowingly. “So, you’ve been talking with them, spending time…associating?”
“Just here and there. But, earlier today, while you were sleeping, I met with both of them.”
She said nothing. Pressed her lips together.
“They seem collectively genuine.”
“Who set that up?”
“They did. I had no idea I’d be speaking with them.”
“Go on…there’s more. I can tell.”
Gage’s smile was wan. “You’re very good at reading people.”
“Out with it.”
“Today, I went for a ride on Perle. It’s become one of my favorite things to do here. As you know, it’s been snowing. So, when I got to the center of the north side of the fence, I ran across a culvert I’d never seen before. It was hidden below the brambles and drains off into the—”
“Into the creek that runs just outside the fence,” she interrupted. “I know exactly where it is because I had that drainpipe put in. That northern area was a swamp for nine months of the year because the water had nowhere to go. We had the ground sloped there so it drained properly. It’s probably been twenty years, now, since we put that in.”
“Claudia, on both ends of the pipe are steel grates. A raccoon or something like that could slip through, but not a person—not even a child.” Gage sat forward and demonstrated with his hands as he talked. “The grate had been cut on both ends—no small feat. Once I realized the pipe was open, Thomas and I checked the detection system, and a person coming through that grate wouldn’t have set it off. Lastly, the rebar grate had been cut fairly recently. It would’ve allowed someone access to the estate without anyone knowing.”
“How do you know it was cut recently?”
Gage explained how the cuts
