Page 64 of Dirty Looks

“Was Mr. Lidle in distress after the trip to the hospital?”

“I assume so,” Geoffrey said drolly. “His wife had just died.”

“Yet when he’d found out she’d been poisoned and hospitalized he wasn’t in a hurry to rush home. In fact, his trip to the hospital this morning after she’d died was the first time he went.”

“Mr. Lidle is a very busy man, as was Ms. Kitty. They understand the pressures of scheduling and priorities. It’s their station in life.”

“Mmhmm,” Jack said again. “So Robert and Phineas get back from the hospital and what happens?”

“They met privately in here until the rest of the family arrived,” Geoffrey said.

“Did they now?” Jack asked. “Big business to attend to after the death of the matriarch.”

“I wouldn’t know,” he said.

“I thought you said it was your job to intercept personal communications for Robert Lidle,” Jack said.

Geoffrey’s lips pressed together tightly, but he said nothing.

“What calls did you intercept this morning? Or maybe Robert answered the phone himself? Or maybe when we announced ourselves at the gate it made him nervous and he decided to end things before too much information got out.”

“I couldn’t say,” Geoffrey said.

“Oh, I think you can,” Jack said. “You’ve been Mr. Lidle’s personal secretary for how long?”

“Twenty-one years,” he said.

Jack nodded. “Then you know. And by the time we’re done, youwillsay. We’ve found Emma Lidle.”

There was no reaction from Geoffrey except for a slight tightening around his mouth. And then Officer Plank was at the door.

“Plank,” Jack said, “Would you show Geoffrey back to the room with the others? Keep an officer on him, and make sure he’s separated and doesn’t talk to anyone who isn’t a cop. Martinez can start taking statements. And then I’d like you and another officer to go collect Astrid Nielsen from the staff cottage and bring her back here.”

“Yes, sir,” Plank said, and guided Geoffrey down the hall.

“Small entry wound matches the small caliber weapon,” I said. “Powder burns around the entry wound, so that’s consistent with close-contact firing. Once Daniels gets in here she can swab for powder residue on his head. There’s no exit wound, so that .22 is rattling around in there somewhere. Interesting timing, huh?”

“Yeah, interesting,” Jack said, and I could hear the irritation in his voice. “I was really looking forward to questioning him.”

“There’s no evidence to show he killed his granddaughter,” I said.

“I know. But he’s got a built-in alibi anytime he wants one. Geoffrey has access to every aspect of Lidle’s life. He knew exactly the kind of man he was. And I bet he knows what happened to Evie.”

“He was lying about not having seen Astrid,” I said.

“Yeah, I caught that too,” Jack said. “I’m pretty sure he’s made his living lying.”

I took photographs and then measured the wound on his temple. I took his body temperature, which was still almost at normal. I looked for other wounds or indication of distress, but there was nothing.

“I’ll be able to give you a conclusive ruling once I take x-rays and I can measure the angle of the bullet wound,” I said.

“Anything under his head?” Jack asked. “Any paperwork?”

“Not that I see,” I said, shifting his body slightly. “Wait. There is something.”

There was a small envelope beneath his head. It was heavy and expensive and inside was his personal stationery and a handwritten note.

I read it aloud. “It’s my fault. I’m sorry. ~R”

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