Page 21 of Memory of Murder
“Where were you that final week before the murder?” Jack asked. “You stated that you were visiting your grandmother in Rockford, but I didn’t find any statement from your grandmother confirming your alibi.”
A hint of pink flushed her cheeks, and Anne barely resisted the urge to grin.
“It should be there,” Eve argued. “Perhaps it was lost.”
“Can anyone confirm you were at your grandmother’s?” he asked.
“Well, since my grandmother is deceased, as are my parents,” she admitted, “I suppose you’ll have to take my word for it. She was ill at the time and needed me. My parents were on a month-long cruise.”
“The prosecution suggested that Neil Reed was having an affair.” Anne moved in a hopefully more constructive direction. “Were you aware of this? Did Mary give any indication of being worried about something like this?”
“She did mention having concerns about him.” Eve’s full attention turned to Anne. “Your mother was very intuitive. If Neil lied to her, she would have seen right through his efforts.”
“If he was aware of this,” Anne countered, “why would he bother lying? Then again, Mary had no history of violence. She didn’t own a gun. There was never an explanation of where the gun came from.”
“I’m afraid I have no idea. I can only say that she had concerns about her future husband. Perhaps it was merely cold feet.” Eve lifted her hand toward Anne. “Or perhaps it was because she’d learned she was pregnant and any second thoughts were a little late. Whatever the case, she is the only person who could possibly have had a motive to kill Neil. There was no one else.” She stood, obviously ready to dismiss them.
“One final question,” Jack said as he, too, stood.
Anne followed suit. Hoped his question was one that would leave the woman with something to think about.
Eve looked to him in expectation.
“Was Neil the one who introduced the senator to Michael Smith? It seems his work and investments in BioTech were very good moves.” He glanced around the room. “Obviously it changed your life.”
She blinked once, twice. “I’m afraid I have no idea. My husband served as lead counsel to Michael Smith and his company for a decade. I don’t recall how they met. You would have to ask my husband, and he is very busy. He has to return to DC next week for the new session. I doubt he’ll have time to meet with you before then.”
“No problem,” Jack insisted. “There are public records I can look through. I’m sure the senator disclosed his employment with and investment ties to BioTech when he took office.”
“I’m sure.” The senator’s wife led the way back to the front door. She waited there and watched as they exited.
When she would have closed the door Anne decided to take one last shot at unsettling her. If the endgame was to rouse a reaction, they needed a good, strong final move.
“I’ve always wondered,” she said to the woman standing in the doorway to her own private castle, “why no one—and you were her best friend—visited Mary in prison or helped with me after I was born. It was a shame I had to be thrust into foster care.”
Eve stared at Anne for a long moment. “I can’t speak for anyone else, but I can tell you that I was young and uncertain about my future. Kevin hadn’t proposed, and frankly, I had no idea where my future was going. I simply couldn’t take on the added responsibility.” She looked away for a few seconds before meeting Anne’s gaze once more. “It’s a shame, though, what happened to you. I hope you won’t allow the past to define your future.”
When Anne and Jack were in his car driving away, she couldn’t decide if she wanted to scream or to cry.
She had worked very hard not to allow her past to define her present or her future.
But this…this thing they were doing was different.
Wasn’t it?
Suddenly she felt uncertain again. Why even go down this path? What did it matter, really?
“She wanted to make you feel unsure of yourself.” Jack apparently read her mind.
“She did that rightly enough.” Anne collapsed deeper into the seat and stared out the window. All those hurtful feelings related to her mother and the loneliness crushed in on her.
“I’m guessing,” he said with a quick glance at her, “that we completely unhinged the lady. I’ll bet she’s on the phone right now calling her husband and demanding he take some sort of action.”
A smile tugged at Anne’s lips. “And next she’ll call her friend Carin and warn her that the you-know-what is hitting the fan.”
Jack laughed. “Exactly.”
Anne drew in a really big breath and let it out slowly. “I swear it felt exactly like she was trying to tell me there was money to be had if I was willing to let this whole thing go.”
