Pushing Up Bluebonnets

13

I turned to Kate and held up the folded paper. "Funny place to save something," I said.

Kate offered her disapproving-mother stare. "Maybe the clock was unstable and what you've removed was making it work correctly."

"There is nothing correct about that clock and the damn thing's lucky I didn't bring in the Lady Smith and put it out of its misery." I started to unfold the paper because I could tell there was printing on it, but someone knocked on the door, so I stuck it in my pocket. After I called, "Come on in," Leopold Hunt entered the room.

"Thanks for waiting around so long," I told him as I sat back down.

"No problem." Hunt sat opposite us. "Elliott's pretty upset about this whole thing with JoLynn. I'll do anything I can to help."

Hunt reminded me of our computer company's CEO. He was trim, had expertly dyed hair with just enough gray to look distinguished and wore a striped silk tie now loosened. His suit jacket had been left behind somewhere.

"What's your opinion of JoLynn?" I asked.

That seemed to throw the guy off, which was what I'd hoped. "Opinion? You think I had an opinion, Miss Rose?"

"It's Abby. Your observations? Is that a better question?"

"Well, let me think how best to describe her. Pretty. Intelligent. Cheerful, for the most part. I—I don't know what else to say."

Kate said, "Cheerful for the most part. Did you see her when she wasn't so happy?"

"We all have our days. It was nothing really." He laughed nervously.

"Are you worried about talking to us?" I said. "Because Mr. Richter wants us to find out anything and everything we can to assist the police in investigating this murder attempt."

With the mention of Richter, he started talking rapidly. "Sh-she was in here, in the library, one day. I came in to grab a book we needed for a business meeting Elliott had arranged here at the house. He sometimes does that. Anyway, she was sitting over there." He pointed at the window seat. "You can't exactly ignore someone when they're crying, so I asked her what was wrong."

"And her answer?" Kate asked.

"She said nothing was wrong, she just needed a cry. But she was wedged into the corner. She had a book clutched to her chest and—take this with a grain of salt because I know little if anything about women's emotions—she seemed extremely sad."

"When was this?" I asked.

"Maybe two months ago."

"You have no idea why she was sad?" I said.

"I couldn't even offer a guess, but she looked so lost . . . like a small, scared child."

I leaned forward. "You didn't ask her anything else?"

He squirmed, avoided my stare. "I don't recall. But I offered her my handkerchief and she refused."

"She give you any explanation?" I said.

"She asked me not to tell her grandfather. But I never would have done that anyway. Elliott and I have a business relationship and weeping relatives aren't the kind of thing we discuss. It's not like I knew the girl more than to say hello. The whole episode was very awkward— for both of us."

"Ah, awkward," I said. "Kind of like this little talk right now?"

"To be honest, yes. I have no idea what you expect from us," he said.

"You seem like a smart guy," I said. "We want to know what JoLynn shared about her past and who might have wanted to kill her. And since no one has given us any possible suspects, I guess we'll have to continue to concentrate our efforts on all of you." I smiled.

"That's ridiculous. None of us would have hurt her."

Kate said, "Who do you include in that us?"

Hunt seemed relieved to interact with my kinder, gentler sister. "Anyone in the family. Adele and me, for sure. Certainly neither Scott nor Simone. Simone is my stepdaughter and since she didn't show up—"

"Actually, she did show up," I said.

"Really? How was she?" he asked.

I was surprised by his reaction. He seemed genuinely concerned. "Pissed off," I answered.

The wrinkles on his forehead deepened. Definitely worried, but why? Of course all these people knew things they weren't saying, and Hunt was no different, but he might be a weak link in the chain of the unspoken.

He pressed his lips together and shook his head. "Let me apologize for Simone. She's—anyway, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about causing me any discomfort. See, I even had the roof of my mouth tattooed, so I can take whatever she or any one of you wants to dish out," I said.

Hunt's eyes widened. Guess he believed me about the tattoo.

"Abby's kidding," Kate said.

But Hunt didn't seem to hear her. Still dwelling on his stepdaughter? I wondered.

"Were there other times you and JoLynn interacted?" Kate asked. "Anything else you noticed about her mood or demeanor?"

"As I said before, I don't usually pick up on those things."

"But your stepdaughter is able to get your attention?" she said.

He hesitated, seemed to be considering how to respond. "Since you've met Simone, you must realize she gets most people's attention. As for JoLynn, she was a pleasant person who could discuss books. World affairs were another story. She didn't have much to add to those conversations. Aside from Elliott, Scott seemed the closest person to JoLynn. Have you talked to him?"

"We have," I said. "But you know what, Mr. Hunt? I sense you know more about this girl than you're saying."

His face reddened. "I do not."

I leaned even closer. "Was there talk in your family about how big her slice of the pie might be now that Elliott Richter has welcomed her into the family?"

Hunt still wouldn't make eye contact. "This line of questioning . . . is, well—"

"All I need is a simple yes or no."

He finally looked at me. "No. We don't discuss money."

"Ah. So Mr. Richter keeps you guessing about your wife's inheritance," I said. "No wonder you people are all as tense as terriers watching a rat hole. Thanks for your time."

He stood and nodded, his jaw tight after that remark, one I wished I could take back. Making nice with these folks might be a better approach, but my patience had been used up.

"Good evening, ladies." Hunt offered a polite smile and left the room.

Kate said, "Why were you so hard on him?"

"Because I'm frustrated. Everyone's holding back. Leopold's probably Adele's puppet, but he has a weakness: his stepdaughter."

"You're right about that. And you can assume anything related to JoLynn, even that crying episode, was duly reported to Adele."

Another knock on the door and Matthew stuck his head in the room. "Would you mind if my wife and I came in together?"

I glanced at Kate. "Your call, Doc."

"That would be fine, Mr. Richter." She smiled at him, probably hoping to show me how to get on the right side of folks.

He widened the door and he and Piper came in hand in hand. Since we had not spoken to these two at all, even at dinner, I had no clue what to expect.

Matthew hurried to bring over another chair to face us and waited until his wife sat down before he took his seat. He said, "Before you start asking questions, you should know that Piper has been so busy in the last year with the whole wedding thing that she hardly knows JoLynn."

I looked at the bride. "But you've had several months since the wedding, right?"

Piper's thin face colored. "I have my own circle of friends and besides, she didn't seem to show any interest in getting to know me."

Indeed, the world obviously revolved around Piper. I said, "No one seems to have taken time to get to know JoLynn." I shifted to Matthew. "Tell me you're different."

"Different how?" He was deflecting the question, maybe hoping to figure out what we wanted from him.

"Did you welcome her into the family?" I said.

"Certainly. But we were busy planning a wedding around the time she showed up. Besides, I had to adjust to becoming her uncle. I knew next to nothing about my sister, Katarina—we were so many years apart. I only knew she was some kind of saint. The way my father reacted to JoLynn's arrival? Well, it was as if my sister had risen from the dead."

Now we were getting somewhere. "Katarina was his favorite?"

"What does Matthew's childhood have to do with this?" Piper gripped her husband's hand tighter.

I wanted to come back with something a lawyer might say, like "It goes to motive, ma'am," but Kate saved me by addressing Piper.

"You're the newest member of the family. What's your take on JoLynn's relationship to everyone?"

"My father-in-law kept her as isolated from the rest of us as possible," she said. "He's a very complex man whom we all adore. But sometimes we simply do not understand him."

"Why do you think he kept her isolated?" I said. This wasn't the first time we'd heard this tonight.

But Matthew cut in before his wife could respond. "Ask my father. That's about him and JoLynn, not us."

"Sorry if we've upset you, Matthew," Kate said in her soothing therapist tone.

"He's not upset," Piper said. "Matt is the calmest person I know."

"Okay," I said. "So you don't think your father is playing favorites again?"

"You're here to find out who harmed JoLynn, right?" Matthew said.

"In part," I said, "but my real job—"

"If you're implying I tried to kill JoLynn so I could have Dad all to myself, that's plain stupid. If you haven't noticed, I'm a grown man, not an adolescent."

I nodded. "And no one in this family could be accused of adolescent behavior."

"I don't appreciate your attitude," he said.

"And neither do I," the Piper piped in.

"Let me give this to you straight," I said. "Chief Boyd is investigating a murder attempt on someone who lived in this house. I'm here because your father wants to find out exactly what happened and why. JoLynn could have mentioned things in passing to family members that might help me get to the bottom of this. I'm merely trying to gather information tonight, not to accuse anyone of anything. But the bunch of you make me feel like I'm riding circles around a swamp. What's in that swamp, Matthew?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He studied his diamond-encrusted watch.

"Right. Guess I'll have to tell your father none of you were much help."

He looked up quickly. "I don't know anything about JoLynn. What I do know is that my father is an idiot. And you can tell him I said that."

"An idiot when it came to JoLynn?" Kate asked.

"Yes." Matthew Richter rested back in the chair and sighed in frustration. "He's a meticulous man. He does extensive background checks on everyone he hires, but he lets her take over his life without even knowing her last known address."

"How do you know he didn't research her past?" I asked.

"Because if he had, he would have discovered what I did. That she doesn't seem to have existed before she showed up here. Does that tell you something?"

Piper's eyes were wide when she turned to her husband. "I thought we weren't going to talk about that, baby."

Finally something. I said, "Did you hire someone to check her out?"

"I was worried about my father, that's all," he said.

"I take it that's a yes?"

He drew a deep breath and said, "Okay, yes. Are you happy? Can we leave now?"

"Who did you hire?" I said.

"That's none of your business," Piper said.

But I could tell Matthew's wheels were turning. He knew I reported to the man with the money.

"I hired an investigator named Rocco Green. He told me there was no record of any driver's license for JoLynn Richter and no vehicle was ever registered in her name. I wasn't sure what to do after learning that," he said.

"Did you tell your father?" Kate asked.

"Yes," he answered. "He said I should stay out of his business. Obviously he didn't care because that was six months ago and she's still here. Or . . . was here."

And you're hoping she won't come back, I thought. "Did this detective learn anything else during his background check?"

"No. He said I'd need her Social Security number if I really wanted to find out about her, and well, I couldn't give him that."

His eyes drifted away from mine and Piper wasn't looking at me, either.

"Because you couldn't find her Social Security number?" But I knew the answer. The tips of his ears were bright red and Piper had taken a keen interest in her fingernails.

"You're making a lot of insinuations," Piper said, still not making eye contact.

"You searched her room, right?" I said to Matthew. Then I looked at Piper. "And maybe you helped."

Matt's flush deepened and Piper smoothed a strand of hair away from her face.

"No need to say more," I said. "You've both been a big help."

Kate and I left Magnolia Ranch for Houston after ten p.m.—which was late for Kate, but she wasn't complaining. She seemed more like her old self than I'd seen in months. I told Elliott Richter I'd use what information I'd gotten from the family to help research JoLynn's past. He'd pressed me for specifics, but I said I needed to sort through what we'd learned first. He hadn't been exactly forthcoming with me about JoLynn from what Matthew said, and before I reported on those interviews, I wanted to calm down, maybe understand why.

"That was an interesting evening," Kate said once we reached the main highway. "Why do you think Richter didn't tell you what Matthew learned?"

"I don't know. Maybe he wanted me to find out for myself—he is paying me a lot of money, after all. But oh boy, Aunt Caroline would have loved every minute of tonight." I steadied the steering wheel with my left hand and reached into my right pocket. "By the way, I forgot to turn that clock back on. But let's see what's written on this." I handed over the folded paper.

Kate turned on the map light. "Could be some old note that came with the clock. Who knows? Maybe we'll end up on Antiques Roadshow showing off something Washington wrote to Jefferson."

"You watch Antiques Roadshow?" I said.

"Well, yeah. Lately."

"Dreamer," I said. "There's nothing old about that paper. Looked brand-new to me."

"You're right," Kate said. "This is a Xerox copy of a newspaper article. The print is small and all I can make out is the headline. 'Mysterious Katarina Richter Succumbs to Cancer.' "

I nearly swerved off the road. "You're kidding. That's the same article I found online. The one that talks about Katarina's disappearance and how at first they thought she'd been kidnapped. Do me a favor? There's a plastic grocery bag in the backseat. Could you put that paper in there? Cooper Boyd has JoLynn's prints and I'd like to see if she handled this paper."

"You think she put it under the clock?" Kate said.

"I have no idea. Could be something Richter saved. But JoLynn spent time in that library, according to both Leopold Hunt and Richter himself. If this article meant something to her and if she had a clue that people were searching through her things—which of course they were—she might have hidden it."

"What does the article say?" Kate asked.

For the rest of the trip home, I filled her in on my Internet research into the Richters, Katarina and missing persons. Then we discussed the bigger picture the Richter family had presented—their lack of concern about JoLynn's welfare, the threat she represented and, beneath it all, what I had felt and Kate confirmed: smoldering hostility.