“How long has she been married to Richard?”
“Hmmm…I think about fifteen years. They started dating shortly after the bank transferred him here, and they got married a year or so later. They don’t have any kids, just lots of dogs and horses.”
“Alright. Valerie should be here any minute now. I want you to observe her reactions and take lots of notes.”
“That I can do.” As a journalist I was accustomed to watching peoples’ reactions, body language, and facial tics. They revealed a lot about a person, especially in stressful situations when their guard was down.
Ten minutes later I stood in the room adjacent to the interview room behind one-way glass. Valerie Harcourt sat on the right of a small rectangular table and Tyler sat on the left. Valerie twisted her body sideways on her chair, clearly uncomfortable. She avoided direct eye contact with Tyler as she fidgeted with her purse strap. She stared blankly into space, barely acknowledging his presence. She was either in shock, medicated, or both.
“Tell me about Richard,” Tyler said. “Did he mention any plans to visit Lombard Wines today?”
Valerie shook her head. “No, but Richard told me what happened when he went over to Antonio’s place on Friday. He said that Antonio was pretty upset when he found out the bank was going to foreclose on the winery. That Antonio hadn’t been himself lately and was acting kind of unpredictable. Richard feared for his safety and thought Antonio might retaliate somehow. Antonio even threatened to kill Richard if he foreclosed on Lombard Wines. Richard never thought he would actually do it, but he worried just the same. He told me to keep our doors locked at home, make sure the driveway gate was locked, and to generally be aware of things.”
“When did he tell you this?”
“Friday night after work, right as we were sitting down to dinner. He had just come back from Lombard Wines.”
Tyler scratched his chin as if debating his next words. “Valerie, this may be a rumor, but I have to ask. Were you and Richard having marriage problems?”
Valerie let out a small laugh, though it sounded empty. “I guess everybody in town knew about Richard and Desiree’s affair but me. I’m such a fool for not knowing because all the signs were there. His so-called business trips, the late-night calls…”
“Anybody would be surprised, Valerie.”
She sniffled and took a tissue from the box on the table. “I always thought we were happily married. Boy, was I blindsided! I only found out a month ago, believe it or not. And to think it has been going on for five years!”
“How was your marriage otherwise?” Tyler asked.
Valerie shrugged. “Does it matter? Everything I thought to be true was a lie. How would you feel if your spouse had a years-long affair you knew nothing about? I was furious and told Richard that I was filing for divorce right away.”
“How did he react?” Tyler asked.
“He…he said he was sorry, that he didn’t want to lose me. He told me he would immediately break it off.”
“And did he?”
Valerie shook her head. “Not at first, no. He gave me a bunch of excuses that he needed more time to end things with her. But when I hired a divorce attorney a few days later, he pleaded with me to stay. He said he wanted to work on our marriage and begged me not to go through with it. So…that’s where we ended up. Trying to move forward somehow. I put the divorce on hold, and we went for our first marriage counselling session a couple of days ago. Richard was supposed to tell Desiree it was over on Friday night.” At the mention of Desiree, her eyes flashed with anger.
As Tyler scribbled notes, I studied Valerie, who had changed into more comfortable attire. She wore a baggy fleece jacket over her linen shirt, which was now wrinkled and dirty. She had swapped her designer jeans and boots for sweatpants and sneakers.
A grieving spouse usually didn’t care about her appearance. She chose comfort over fashion. A killing spouse cared very much. Her clothes were a costume, and she dressed to play a part. Which role was Valerie playing?
Tyler set his pencil down and stared at Valerie. “Why did you go to the wine festival looking for Richard? A lot of people said you were pretty upset.”
“You better believe I was upset!” Her voice rose in frustration. “Richard promised to break it off with Desiree and never talk to her again. Instead, I find out that he picked her up that morning and took her to the wine festival. Wouldn’t you be upset?”
Tyler didn’t respond. Instead, he asked, “Where were you this morning, Valerie?”
“You think I did this? You’re out of your mind, Sheriff Gates.”
“Just answer the question, please.”
“I was out on the trails with my horse.” She sobbed.
“Did anyone see you?” Tyler stood and moved his chair out from behind the table. He moved it down the side of the table, cutting the distance between them in half, the table no longer a barrier between them. He sat down and pulled his chair even closer. Now the distance between them was only a few feet.
All I saw was his back. I focused even more closely on Valerie.
She didn’t answer the question. Instead, she shrank back in her chair looking scared.
Tyler repeated it. “Any witnesses that can confirm your whereabouts, Valerie? Did you talk to anyone on the trail?”
Valerie bit her lip and shook her head no. “Am I a suspect?”
“I’m only trying to get to the bottom of things. Did you kill Richard?”
“Why would I kill him? I just told you, I would have filed for divorce if Richard hadn’t begged me not to. I was already ending things.”
“Divorce can be expensive—you wind up giving your cheating husband half of everything. Now that he’s gone, everything is yours. Problem solved.”
“No, Sheriff. Our mortgage was paid off and we had plenty invested.
