Page 23 of Holmes, Margaret and Poe

A few minutes later, a tall, lean man in gray slacks and a crisp white shirt that set off hair the color of tarnished silver came to the reception desk. He had a face as chiseled as a soap opera actor’s.

“I’m Rolf Himmel,” he said. “You’re lucky you caught me here; I was on my way to court. Do you know I’ve only just learned?”

“What? That your wife’s missing?” Bree said.

Himmel glanced at the receptionist, who was trying hard to appear interested in his phone. “Let’s go back to my office.”

Bree followed the attorney down a dimly lit hallway. Most of the offices on either side were dark.

“Where is everyone?” Bree asked after he’d shown her into a large, well-appointed corner office.

“Construction next door,” he said. “Jackhammers involved. Most of the staff are working from home for the next two weeks, but I’m in trial, so here I am. And now I understand Leigh Anne has been missing for days?”

“No contact with anyone whatsoever since Friday morning. I understand that’s unusual for your wife.”

“Leigh Anne can be needy,” Himmel said. “But she’s gone radio silent on me before.”

“But not on her assistant, Jill Jackson, or Elena Martin.”

“Well, they would know, wouldn’t they?”

Bree’s brows knitted. “When exactly did you last talk to your wife, Mr. Himmel?”

“Rolf,” he said and thought about it. “Two weeks ago?”

“I guess I don’t understand,” Bree said. “Are you married or not?”

“Ahh. Technically, we are, although we’re estranged.”

“Technically?”

“Yes, like everything about our marriage.”

“Do you want to explain that?”

“Not unless it’s necessary.”

“I’m sure the police or the FBI will ask you, so yes, it’s necessary.”

The attorney gazed at her a moment, then sighed. “If you repeat this, I’ll deny it. I’ll claim our marriage was real and based on love at first sight. I’ll tell a story of love fading under our crushing workloads, me here, Leigh Anne over at Amalgam. The two of us growing apart. A trial separation at first. Nowdivorce is looming after the initial public offering. It will be an amicable parting.”

Bree didn’t take her eyes off him, thinking through what he’d just said. “It was a sham marriage,” she said.

“It was a marriage of need and convenience.” Himmel chuckled. “And a lot of torrid sex at the beginning. Just to make it look good.”

“Let me guess: Leigh Anne needed a green card?”

“She did, but it was more than that. She claimed she needed dual citizenship for tax reasons, which was BS. But I liked Leigh. Wanted to help her out.”

“How long ago was this marriage?”

“Almost four years now.”

“I don’t understand. She was thinking tax haven back then?”

“Amalgam was as sure an idea as they get. Right from the beginning, you knew it was going to be big,” Himmel said. “But I didn’t understand about the tax haven and did not want to know.”

“How long was the marriage supposed to last?”

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