Page 45 of It's One of Us
Moore looks at her notes. “‘A dirty white van with an extension ladder on top.’ Did it have windows?”
Olivia closes her eyes to recall. “No. It was a panel van. There’s got to be a thousand just like it, crawling all over town.”
Moore looks as if she’s trying to make a decision. Finally, she says, “I don’t want to alarm you, but I saw a van that matches the description you just gave me cruise by your house while I was there looking into the break-in.”
All of the breath leaves Olivia. “My God. He left here and went to my home?”
“Possibly. I’m going to have a car put on your house. And check the cameras coming in and out of the neighborhood here, and there, to see if we can’t capture a license plate. We’ll print this place, compare the latents to the ones from your husband’s office. Put them in the system, maybe get lucky and get ourselves a suspect. This is what we do, Mrs. Bender. Don’t worry, okay? We’ve got your back.”
Sure you do.“Do you think this is Park’s son?”
Moore pauses before answering, thoughtful and calm. “I honestly don’t know. I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but I’m going to look into all of this. I promise.”
“Have you talked to the people at Winterborn?”
“Sort of.” Moore glances toward the door as if to escape but sighs and crosses her arms. She is wearing small gold hoops in her ears, and they catch the light as she moves. “There’s a lot we still don’t know. Winterborn is the primary source of the multiples, but they have thrown up every wall they can, are insisting on warrants before they release any information. We’re working on that. But we have talked to the parents of some of your husband’s biologicals, and they all chose him as their donor from Winterborn’s catalog.”
“What, they go shopping for donors? From a catalog? Like, J.Jill shows up in your mailbox with sperm donors instead of sweaters? That’s insane.”
Moore coughs out a laugh. “Something like that, though it’s all done online. Mr. Bender seems to have been a popular donor. Winterborn claims an 80 percent live birth ratio, though we’ve discovered they have no requirements for their clients to report, so that number means nothing. They’re a broker. They sell sperm to women who want to have kids. It’s that simple.”
Olivia’s watch buzzes discreetly from her wrist. She glances at it. Park is calling. She declines.
“Don’t they have some sort of regulations that stop them from using the same donor a ton of times? I remember a report out of Georgia about a sperm bank that let this happen. But that donor had psychological issues, if I recall, and there are lawsuits.”
The watch buzzes again.
“Yes, I know the case you’re talking about. This is different, in that apparently your husband only donated a few times, and that was years ago. Frozen sperm works fine, clearly, versus fresh... But in case you’re worried about lawsuits against Mr. Bender, no. He never misrepresented himself. There’s nothing criminal here. Not on his end, of course. The issue is why Winterborn allowed so many women to buy Mr. Bender’s sperm. Sadly, it’s a relatively unregulated industry, one that depends on the ethics of the sperm banks and the doctors running it to do the right thing and limit the number of times a donor is used. Most do. Some don’t. Winterborn is clearly one of the ones that doesn’t. It’s not illegal. Unethical as hell, but not illegal. Many states are starting to change the laws, but as of now, they are untouchable.”
“And you’re sure one of Park’s children is a killer?”
“I am.”
“So it stands to reason Beverly’s killer broke into Park’s office and brought me the paperwork to discover the truth?”
“That sounds a bit like a mystery novel, but it is possible. Again, I don’t like jumping to conclusions.”
Olivia’s watch continues buzzing. She keeps hitting Decline.
“Why though? Why would... I’m going to ask you again, Detective. Am I in danger?”
Moore doesn’t answer, and Olivia blows out a breath. “Okay. I can get out of town for a few days. I have a job. I can—”
“Let’s have you stay here where I can keep an eye on you, okay? I don’t want you running off alone right now.”
“Maybe I want to be alone.”God, would everyone please just leave me alone?It’s all she wants, space to heal, to throw herself into work, to hide away from her traitorous husband and his illegitimate brood. Getting a start on redoing Annika’s beach house gives her a perfect escape on every level. She can push back a few weeks here, especially since the marble is ruined. By the time she returns, this could all be over.
Ah, but you will never be able to separate your husband from the twenty-eight biological brats he has, will you?
Moore is getting antsy. “Understandable. But humor me. I’d prefer not having to investigate any more killings, okay?”
“You think this guy might try to killme?” The sentence ends on an unattractive shriek, one Olivia is embarrassed to make, but the idea that she might have been in real danger sends a flood of adrenaline through her after the fact. Moore puts up both hands.
“No, no, I’m not saying that at all. Bad choice of words, and I’m sorry. But I’d much rather be ten minutes away from you if something goes wrong than six hours. Stay put, okay? I’d really appreciate it.”
Olivia nods.
“Great. Let me get you with our artist. Do you have time now?”
