Tuesday, March 23rd
St. John, Mrs. Lynne Abbot’s home, 10:30 a.m.
Neil arrived at Lynne Abbot’s home. Bob had contacted the woman and had told him she sounded particularly nervous. First, she had tried to say that she was busy, but then she had agreed to meet the Inspector. She had insisted on talking to him in the morning, because she had a commitment for lunch. John had remained in Rosary, because he had been called for an attempted robbery in a shop, and the other agents were all busy at the training center.
Lynne Abbot lived in a beautiful villa just outside the town. The house was modern, but not as big as the sumptuous residence of the Lewises.
A woman came to open the door. Neil judged her to be in her early forties or late thirties. She had dark hair and dark eyes. When she saw Neil, she couldn’t help giving him an admiring glance.
She let him in and introduced herself: “Hello, Inspector. I am Lynne Abbot.”
She led him to the living room, and she invited him to sit in an armchair. She sat down opposite the Inspector on a loveseat. It was evident that she was trying hard to keep her nervousness in check, but the way she constantly shifted in her chair and crossed and uncrossed her legs betrayed her emotions.
Neil smiled pleasantly and said: “Mrs. Abbot, I know you have spoken to one of my agents on the phone a few days ago, but you must be aware that there has been a murder, and we are double checking every alibi of the people connected to Mrs. Stacey Lewis.”
Lynne smiled and replied: “Of course I can understand, but I had never met that poor old woman.”
Neil asked: “How long have you known Dana Morgan?”
“Let me see ... I think we met for the first time a year ago in a boutique downtown. We were looking for a dress, and we started to chat. We began to meet regularly on Wednesday.”
Neil asked: “Do you confirm Dana was with you all the time last Wednesday from lunchtime to the evening?”
Lynne Abbot had the same reaction as Mrs. Craig the day before; she looked alarmed, and she answered: “I have already told your agent. Yes, Dana was with me all the time. In the evening, she told me she wouldn’t go back to Rosary, because she didn’t like to drive in the dark. I don’t know what she did afterwards, but it was 6.30 p.m. when I left her in the parking lot. I know exactly because I checked the time.”
Neil had one more question: “Do you know anything about the life of Dana before you met her?”
Lynne relaxed a little, and she replied: “I only know that she was married to a notary in Rosary for a few years, then she separated, and I think she came to live in St John. To tell you the truth, she has never told me much about her life and about her ex-husband. In reality, we usually talk about gossip and shopping, not about our private life.”
Neil pressed her: “Didn’t she tell you she has a son?”
Lynne looked at him surprised and answered: “Does she have a son? No, she never said anything. Certainly, he doesn’t live in St John with her.”
Neil was really perplexed, and he was looking forward to talking to the dermatologist, Dana’s new partner. ‘Does he know she has a son?’ he wondered, while he was leaving Lynne Abbot’s home.
***
St. John, Dr. Mike Stone’s private practice, 11:45 a.m.
Neil arrived unannounced at Dr. Stone’s private dermatological practice. He hoped he would not have to wait for a long time.
He entered a small waiting room, where nobody was sitting on the plastic chairs. A nurse approached him. He smiled and showed her his badge. He said politely: “I am sorry, I know that I have not called in advance. I am Inspector McKinley from Rosary. I was in St. John for an investigation, and I hoped the doctor could give me a few minutes of his time. I would like to ask him some questions about a person.”
At that moment, the doctor opened the door, and a patient came out of the room and left. The nurse called him and said: “Doctor Stone, Inspector McKinley from Rosary would like to talk to you.”
Neil was going to repeat his apologies, but the doctor gestured to him to enter his practice.
Neil didn’t particularly like the doctors’ rooms and the hospitals in general. He had had enough when he had been in hospital for a long time after the shooting and his leg injury.
The doctor went to his desk and looked at the Inspector over his round glasses. Neil judged him to be in his late forties or early fifties. He was short and slim, with receding dark hair and brown eyes. He asked: “Inspector, I can’t imagine what you want to talk to me about, but, please… I can give you a few minutes before my lunch break.”
Neil remained standing, and he explained: “I would like to talk to you about a person you know, Mrs. Dana Morgan.”
The doctor looked at him for a moment as if he didn’t know who Dana was, then he smiled and answered: “Oh, Dana ... She came to me… Let me think… Yes, I think it was more than a year ago for a problem with her skin, a little mole on her neck.”
Neil was waiting for him to go on, but the doctor looked at him, as if he had said everything he knew. So, the policeman was forced to ask: “Don’t you have a relationship with Mrs. Morgan, Doctor?”
The doctor cleared his throat and asked: “Did Dana tell you this?”
Neil answered cautiously:
“No, Doctor, not directly at least. I think your name came up in our investigation.” He didn’t know why, but he preferred not to say that Dana had referred to the doctor as her ‘partner’.
The Doctor sounded irritated when he answered: “Dana and I have gone out together a few times. We went to concerts and events, but ... I wouldn’t talk about a relationship... And I think she is planning to go back to live in Rosary... In any case, I haven’t seen her for a while now. I have been busy with a few conferences in Ottawa and Toronto, and I came back last weekend.”
Neil was disconcerted, to say the least. He ventured to ask: “What do you know about her life before you met her?”
The doctor was now visibly annoyed, and he answered curtly: “I know she was married for a few years in Rosary, then she separated and came to live in St. John. I am not interested in her life.”
With that, he opened the door and made it clear that the conversation was over. Neil left him without another word. Now he was starting to see why Dana had been looking so depressed the previous day. He was looking forward to talking to her in the afternoon.
***
2:00 p.m.
“Hello!” She didn’t ask who the person at the other end of the line was, because she had recognized the caller id. She already knew it would not be a pleasant conversation. She got up from the chair and went to close the door of her bedroom carefully.
“Hello, I was waiting for your usual call. Don’t you need my cover tomorrow? I think you told me last week you had a good time with your lover.”
“No, I don’t need your cover because Tom and I have decided to take a break.” She knew she sounded nervous, but she couldn’t help it. One thing was sure, she would never ask that friend for a favor anymore.
“But why? I thought you were going to leave your husband. And now? Why this change?”
She detected sarcasm and suspicion in the voice of the other woman, and she started to be aware that she had to be very careful. If that woman was…
“In fact, we decided to stop meeting until I tell my husband about us. Tom doesn’t want to hide anymore, and I can’t blame him. In the next few days, I will find the chance to talk to my husband.”
“So, you don’t need my cover anymore, do you?”
“At least for the time being. But we could go shopping together next week, if you have time.” In reality, she knew she had to stay far from that woman.
“Call me next week, if you want.” The call was abruptly interrupted, and the woman remained with her mobile phone in her hand. Had her friend understood her uneasiness? Had she believed what she had told her about her husband and her lover? She realized she was sweating and her hands were trembling. Why was she so afraid of her friend now?
***
Rosary school, 4:15 p.m.
Robin came out of school, hoping his mother would be waiting for him after talking to the police. He looked around and his face fell, when he saw Tony smiling at him from the car. He said goodbye to his friends, and he got into the passenger seat.
Tony asked him, as he did every day: “Everything alright at school?” Tony was the only person who tried to give a little warmth and affection to the boy.
He looked at the driver and asked: “But... Where is mum? She told me she would be here until the funeral. Is she still at the police station?”
Tony looked at him questioningly, and he said: “I haven’t seen your mum all day. I think she has gone back to St. John. She is coming back tomorrow for the funeral, I am sure.”
Robin tried to hold back the tears. Why did his mum run away? Why didn’t she stay with him? He missed his mother so much, especially since his grandma had gone to heaven. And now? Neil would certainly be angry with his mum. He had told her to go to the police station, and she had not done so. Would the police arrest her? Would Neil be angry with him, too? What would the Inspector say if he knew what he was hiding? Would he still want him on the volleyball team?
As soon as he was at home and in his bedroom, he took out his mobile phone. He was the only one among his schoolmates who had a cell phone. It was a gift from his mother. She had told him he could call her any time, but, in reality, she almost never answered.
He dialled her number, and he let the phone ring once ... Twice ... ‘Come on, mum, talk to me, I need to hear your voice, I need to know that you didn’t ... Oh, my God’ He put the mobile phone on his desk, and he threw himself on the bed, unable to hold back the tears anymore. He embraced his pillow, and he started sobbing.
After a while, when he had calmed down and he was drawing on his sketchbook, his father appeared at the door and told him:
“Barbara and I have to go out tonight. Barbara has prepared dinner for you, when you feel like eating.”
His father went out without another word. Robin had never minded staying alone, but now the house was completely deserted, because Carmen didn’t live at his grandma’s home any more and Tony had already left. Aunt Margaret was never at home in the evening and she had never offered to keep him company. Robin looked around and decided to call Mario after dinner, just to talk to someone and feel less lonely.
***
Rosary Police Station, 5 p.m.
John reached Neil and his agents in the large open space on the first floor of the police station. Neil was watching something on Bob’s computer. When he heard the door open, he turned and smiled at his colleague.
“Hello, John. Everything alright?”
“Yes, Neil. And you? What did you find out in St. John?”
Neil put John up-to-date with what he had discovered. Then he said, winking at his colleague: “I am worried, John. I think I am losing some of my charm ...”
John looked at him questioningly, and Neil resumed: “Yesterday, I had told Dana that I wanted to talk to her this afternoon, but she hasn’t turned up.” Bob interjected jokingly: “Even our Prince Charming here is sometimes let down by his admirers.” John started to laugh and said: “Have you tried asking her ex-husband?”
“I was going to, but then I thought better. I think I will see her tomorrow at the funeral, and I won’t let her run away this time.”
John nodded, and Neil went on: “Bob was telling me something about the two witnesses that have provided an alibi for Barbara and Dana. I think it is very interesting, isn’t it, Bob?”
Bob turned to John and said, tapping on the keys of his computer: “Mrs. Craig is the wife of one of the bank managers here in Rosary. She has been married for ten years, they don’t have children, and she doesn’t work. Mrs. Abbot is married to a business consultant who is often out of town. They don’t have children. They have both said that they know very little about Barbara and Dana and about their past lives, but both are eager to say that their friends were with them all afternoon.”
John thought for a few moments. Then he took out his mobile phone.
“I have no way of finding out anything about Mrs. Abbot, but I think Anna’s son-in-law, Mark, works in the bank managed by Mr. Craig. Mark is very reserved, but maybe he knows something.”
Neil nodded, and John put the phone on speaker and dialed Mark’s number. Mark answered after a few rings. In the background, they could hear children’s voices.
“Hello, John. How are you?”
“Hi, Mark. Sorry to disturb you. I am at the police station, and Neil and the agents are with me.”
“Don’t worry. I have just arrived home with Mario and Giulia.” He turned to the children and said: “Go to your bedroom, please. I am on the phone. One minute, and I will be with you, ok?” They heard a door closing and silence.
“Is there anything I can do for you, John? Hello, Neil, hello, everybody.”
Neil said: “Hello, Mark. We are sorry to disturb you at home.”
John resumed: “Mark, am I mistaken, or one of the managers in your bank is Mr. Craig?”
“Yes, John, he is.”
“Do you know anything about his wife? She is the one who said that Barbara was with her all afternoon last Wednesday.”
“I have met his wife only once or twice, but ... John, you know that I never listen to gossip, especially among colleagues. Anyway, take it with a grain of salt, but someone says that his wife has a lover. A colleague of mine said that she saw her with a man, a man nobody knows here. This is just what I heard. What I know first hand is that I went to talk to him in his office a few days ago, and he was shouting on the phone with his wife, because, when he had gone home, she wasn’t there. I just heard his part of the conversation, but it was not a pleasant dialogue between husband and wife, I can assure you.”
Neil said: “Thanks, Mark. This could be useful. Say hello to Mario and Giulia for me.”
“Oh, I will certainly do it. Mario is looking forward to volleyball practice next Saturday.”
“So is Alan.” John replied.
When the call ended, Neil invited John to sit in his office.
When they were facing each other, he told his colleague, choosing his words carefully: “John, yesterday I talked to Dan Gordon. He told me that Alison Stevens has shown no improvements so far. I suggested announcing on TV that she is better in order to force her attacker to do something.”
John nodded and said: “Yes, I think it is a good idea.”
Neil went on: “I would like to send Steve to Fredericton to give Dan the piece of glass you found on the scene of Luca’s accident. Maybe they will find a mechanic or coach builder there ...”
John lowered his gaze and sighed.
Neil said kindly: “John, I know you don’t want to make Anna suffer more than she is already doing, and, I can assure you, neither do I, but... If someone is responsible for the death of an honest and upright person, he must pay for what he did, don’t you think?”
John raised his eyes and said: “Thank you, Neil, for going to the bottom of this. You are right, and I know. I will take you that fragment tomorrow, ok?”
Neil smiled and nodded. John added: “I only ask you to come with me if we have to tell Anna.”
“Of course, John, don’t worry.”
***
8:30 p.m.
“What is it now?”
“Haven’t you watched the news?”
“Of course I watched the news, but… What can I do?”
“Didn’t you tell me you had a contact at the hospital? What does your contact say?”
“Unfortunately, she isn’t working because she is in bed at home with the flu.”
“You must do something. We can’t let her talk to the police.”
“I must do something? You are the one she can recognize.”
“And what if she saw you when you attacked her?”
“I am sure she didn’t. I was very careful, more careful than you, I dare say.”
“But don’t think that if she recognizes me, I will leave you out of this. I have already told you. I won’t take the blame for the murders.”
“Ok, ok. I will see what I can do.”
“Do it quickly…”
ns216.73.216.175da2
and then Add to home screen.