No Place to Deceive Read online

  Olivia was surprised. What was Justin doing here, and how would Wayne react to that? She went out to the waiting area, where Nate was fidgeting on a small bench.

  “Nate,” Olivia said, “I’d really love to talk to you.”

  “About what?” Nate perked up instantly.

  “About anything you’d like to talk about.” Olivia tried to befriend him.

  Nate seemed to like her and was game. “Sure,” he said, gathering his backpack. “It’s about time I talked to someone.”

  Olivia was pleased to hear that. “Great, let’s go,” she said as she guided Nate to the empty room where Christine and Heidi had just been sitting. Olivia felt uneasy about her time with both of the women. She instinctively felt it would be much better talking to Nate now.

  “How are you holding up, Nate?” Olivia asked.

  “I’ve been better,” he said. “How about you?” Nate looked tired and lonely, with his long brown hair hanging down on his forehead. He was definitely unusual, but there was also something endearing about him.

  Olivia smiled at him. “I’m doing fine, thanks for asking,” she said.

  “Seems like you had a rough time before with Andrea,” Olivia commented as they settled down.

  “Andrea’s definitely creepy,” Nate responded. “But at least she’s not in the family, really, and I’ll never have to see her again.”

  “Did Andrea give you a hard time?” Olivia kept on it.

  Nate shook his head. “No one actually gives me a hard time.”

  “Really? How come?” Olivia found him fascinating.

  “Because,” Nate answered brusquely, “I’m on top of things. I see what’s in front of my nose. I always did and always will.”

  “What do you see about this situation, Nate?” Olivia became conspiratorial, as if it were just the two of them against the world.

  “I see that my mom’s in big trouble.” Nate scowled.

  “Your mom?” Olivia was startled by his response.

  “Yeah, she’s just lost her husband, hasn’t she?” He looked at Olivia oddly. “And she’s not the strongest tree in the woods.”

  “Yes, of course, I see what you mean,” Olivia replied.

  “No, you don’t. You don’t really see. No one here does,” he answered.

  “I’m trying.” Olivia smiled.

  Unexpectedly, Nate smiled back. “I know you’re trying,” he said, “and that’s why I like you.”

  “Why, thank you.” Olivia was touched.

  “You don’t know what to do next though, do you?” Nate said then.

  Nate threw Olivia off balance. “It’s confusing, for sure,” she admitted. “Any suggestions?”

  Nate seemed to like being talked to like an adult, as if he had something valuable to contribute. But suddenly, he pulled back. “I don’t have any ideas,” he said, clamming up.

  “What was your parents’ marriage like?” Olivia tried a new tack with him.

  “How do I know, really? It wasn’t my business,” he answered abruptly.

  “Were they happy?” Olivia bypassed his objection.

  “How does anyone know who is or isn’t happy?” Nate grew disturbed.

  “Are you hiding something from me, Nate?” Olivia pulled her chair a bit closer.

  “Maybe? I have a right to hide things, don’t I?” He suddenly looked strangely at her.

  “Not when there’s a murder investigation going on,” Olivia answered softly.

  “But if the person who was murdered was my father, I have a right!” Nate insisted. “I’m a victim too, aren’t I?”

  “Why would you want to hide things, though?” Olivia was all over it. “Don’t you want to help us find the killer?”

  “Maybe I do and maybe I don’t,” Nate replied, confusing Olivia further.

  “You were close to your dad?” She dove in further.

  “At times we were close, other times we weren’t,” Nate answered crisply.

  “Nate, you’re hiding something, and I feel it,” Olivia responded. “Please tell me! You’re not glad that your father is gone, are you?”

  At that Nate stood up boldly. “That’s a dumb, stupid question.”

  “Answer it,” Olivia demanded.

  “I wouldn’t say I’m glad exactly,” Nate finally burst out. “But I’m not stupid either. I knew all along he had another life.”

  Olivia was astonished. “You knew?” She could barely breathe. “How did you know?”

  “I told you I’m not stupid,” Nate repeated. “I always wondered about him. Then, one day I found the secret photo album that my father kept under his bureau. His gig was up!”

  “Did he know that you found it?”

  “No,” said Nate. “Why would I give that away? I wanted to see all the pictures he added to it, know how things were going. I had to know what was in store for us, didn’t I?”

  “Do you know where that album is now?” Olivia asked tentatively.

  “I have it!” Nate’s eyes gleamed. “Where else would it be? I even brought it down here with me when we came to Florida.”

  “It’s in your room at the hotel?” Olivia felt breathless.

  “Yup. I brought it because I knew it would be important in finding the real killer,” Nate added.

  “Does your mother know about it? Does Calia?”

  “Nobody knows but you and me,” Nate whispered.

  “Nate, will you show it to me?” Olivia was on pins and needles.

  Nate paused a long time and looked at her closely. “I will,” he said finally. “I have to go back to my room and get it.”

  “Oh my God,” Olivia breathed. “I’ll get someone to go with you.”

  “Fine,” Nate agreed. “We can look at it together then. In fact, why don’t you come over to my hotel with me you’re finished here. We’ll go someplace secret and open it up. I’ll wait and we can go together.”

  “Good idea,” said Olivia, “perfect. Let me call Chief Dowl and see if I can leave the station now.”

  *

  Olivia put a call in to Dowl immediately. “Can I go back to Nate’s hotel with him now?” she asked. “He has something in his possession that might be crucial.”

  “What?” asked Dowl, startled.

  “I’ll tell you all about it after I see for myself,” said Olivia.

  “Sure, you can go there with him, but not this second,” Dowl replied. “In fact, I was just going to call you. I’ve gotten new information from Andrea and I’d like you and Wayne to join the interrogation right now, to see what you think.”

  The case was beginning to spin like a whirling top, thought Olivia. “Of course,” she replied. “I’ll have Nate wait for me here.”

  “Good,” said Dowl, “come right in now and join us.”

  *

  When Olivia entered the interrogation room, Wayne was already there, seated a few feet away from Andrea. He waved Olivia in and pointed to a seat near him.

  “Glad you’re here,” he said.

  “Of course,” said Olivia. “Fill me in.”

  “Maybe we should let Andrea fill you in herself,” Wayne suggested, looking right at her.

  Andrea shrugged. “I talked to Olivia already,” she said.

  “Really?” Dowl was surprised.

  “We spoke briefly,” Olivia recalled. “Andrea told me about her relationship with Penny, that they were like sisters. And that she worked for Mort.”

  “I also told you I never had a father,” Andrea continued, bitterly. “Seems everybody has a father but me.”

  “Yes, I recall,” said Olivia, deciding not to mention that many people didn’t have fathers, or had fathers they didn’t like very much.

  Andrea spun around toward her. “And I also told you that I didn’t like Mort that much. Remember?”

  Olivia did remember. “Yes,” she said, “it troubled me.”

  “Right, and so now everyone else is also troubled,” Andrea continued, “because I also told them somethi
ng else.”

  “What?” asked Olivia nervously.

  Andrea’s face grew taut as she looked over at Wayne.

  “Tell her everything,” Wayne exclaimed. “We need all eyes on the case.”

  Andrea looked away, though, and grew quiet, not wanting to go on.

  “Andrea told us that Mort made a pass at her,” Wayne spoke for Andrea.

  “Made a pass?” Olivia was surprised.

  “Yes, he did.” Andrea’s voice grew edgy. “And then he got scared and paid me money not to say a word.”

  This was a whole different level. “Not to say a word to who?” Olivia was disturbed.

  “Well, for starters, Mort knew I was very close to his daughter, Penny,” Andrea said.

  “Did you say anything about this to her?” Olivia looked askance.

  “Of course not, why would I? And I didn’t take his money, either. I asked him what kind of woman he thought I was. He grinned and said all women were the same kind of women.”

  “Do you have evidence of this?” Olivia was appalled.

  “You, too, asking me for evidence?” Andrea began to look frazzled. “You, too, suspecting the victim, shaming her? I could understand why Wayne or Dowl would ask that, but you? Another woman?”

  “Hold on, wait a minute.” Olivia felt frightened. “I’m not shaming you. It’s a reasonable request.”

  “You are shaming me!” Andrea bit her lip hard.

  “What about his wife?” Wayne jumped in then. “You mentioned there was tension between the two of you.”

  “Of course there was tension! Why wouldn’t there be?” Andrea insisted. “Christine was always jealous of me. She was jealous that I was so close to Penny. She didn’t want another daughter in her home. And she was always letting me know that Mort belonged to her! Only her.”

  “Why would she have to let you know that?” Olivia felt rankled.

  “She must have seen the way Mort looked at me. Others saw it too. Ask Margaret, the next door neighbor, if you like. She commented on it many times. She told me Mort was totally drawn to me, probably couldn’t live without me.”

  That seemed farfetched to Olivia. “How would Margaret have known something like that?” Olivia didn’t know what to believe here. Andrea already had developed a fantasy that she and Penny were sisters. Was it possible she was fantasizing about her relationship with Mort as well? Not only was it possible, it was likely, thought Olivia.

  “Very often when Margaret would drop in to visit, I’d be there with Mort and Christine,” Andrea went on. “Margaret saw what was going on and even mumbled about it a few times. I told her, don’t worry, every dog has his day. He’ll definitely get punished for this one day.”

  The room grew silent when Andrea said that.

  “Punished how?” Dowl asked, his face getting tight.

  “Punished, just punished,” Andrea murmured. “No one gets away with everything scot-free. Some things, maybe, but not everything. Do they?”

  Olivia took a ragged breath then. Andrea’s comment startled her. It didn’t sound good.

  “Andrea told some of this to us earlier,” Dowl went on, intensely. “I’ve actually asked Christine to come and join us, to see what she says about it all.”

  “How dare you? This is my private interview.” Andrea was horrified.

  “There’s nothing private about a murder investigation,” Dowl informed her. “A man is dead and we have to find out why and who.”

  *

  Christine arrived in a few moments, looking more upbeat than before. She’d put on a gleaming beaded necklace of red and pink that she hadn’t worn before.

  “That’s quite a necklace,” Olivia mentioned as soon as Christine sat down.

  “It’s number one on my line.” Christine ran her hand over it lightly. “Makes me feel better when I’m down.”

  Andrea stared at the necklace as well.

  “Mrs. Townsend,” Dowl started the interview off, “I regret having to bring up this matter, but we can’t hold anything back.”

  “What matter? Ask me whatever you like.” Christine was now in grand form, her voice loud and piping.

  “It’s come to our attention that your husband might have shown personal attention to other women that was inappropriate,” Dowl went on carefully.

  Christine simply threw her head back and laughed. “Ridiculous! Like who, exactly?”

  “Like Andrea, perhaps. Andrea mentioned that your husband made a pass at her,” Dowl continued.

  At that Christine laughed louder. “Yes, yes, of course she thinks that. Andrea lives in a dream world of her own. She only wished he would make a pass at her, so she could steal him away from me.”

  Olivia felt dizzy listening to Christine speak. There was a hollowness in her tone that was nerve-wracking. Olivia looked over at Andrea, who seemed entirely untouched by Christine’s comments.

  “Andrea was always jealous of both Penny and myself,” Christine continued. “I told Penny not to bring her around so much, but Penny refused to listen. Penny can be headstrong if she wants. I told her that Andrea was not part of our family, although she fancied herself to be.”

  Andrea stood up suddenly and glared at Christine. “Penny never said a word to me about this,” she uttered. “She told me I was always welcome, and Mort said the same thing.”

  Christine scraped her throat violently. “Oh, please,” she uttered. “Take a hint, why don’t you? What else could they say? You threw yourself all over us! We couldn’t get away!”

  Andrea turned her back forcefully on Christine and walked to the other side of the room.

  Wayne got up and followed her there.

  “You don’t have to follow me wherever I go,” Andrea shouted at Wayne. “I can come and go as I please. I don’t let wretches like Christine get to me.”

  “Look how bad-tempered she is, too.” Christine took advantage of the outburst to attack Andrea further. “But don’t worry, we’ll get it all cleared up. My brother Angie is on his way here now with Margaret. Angie’s been pinning people down, talking to everyone.”

  Olivia was delighted that Margaret would be here soon. It seemed she was an important part of the puzzle. They all wanted to hear what she had to say.

  “For now, you both can go home,” Dowl said to both Christine and Andrea. “We’ll be in touch again shortly.”

  “And what if I don’t want to?” Christine piped up.

  “It’s better this way for everyone,” Wayne said to her kindly. “Olivia and I will let you know what happens.”

  “Yes, when this is over, call me immediately,” Christine ordered, as she stood up grandly and swept out of the room.

  After Christine left, Andrea walked out quietly, not looking at anyone or saying a word.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  After Andrea and Christine left, in almost no time at all, a loud knock sounded on the door.

  “Open,” Dowl called out. “Come in.”

  “Is Christine still here?” Angie boomed out as he entered with a wan, agitated, middle-aged woman.

  “No, she just left,” Wayne announced. “All clear.”

  “Okay, Margaret, see, I told you Christine would be gone when you got here,” Angie said to the woman.

  Margaret looked around the room hurriedly to make sure they were alone. “I don’t know what I’m doing here.” Her words tripped over one another. “I haven’t done a thing, and I’ve never been to a police station before.”

  “Being here doesn’t mean you’ve done anything wrong.” Wayne stood up to greet her. “You’re just here to help us understand Mort better.”

  “But I don’t really want to be here,” Margaret insisted.

  “This is a murder investigation,” Wayne said softly. “You have to tell us what you know.”

  “I must?” Margaret began to tremble a little.

  Angie suddenly jumped in. “Margaret’s an important witness! She told me that Andrea had a vendetta against Mort. Andrea mentioned
it to her.”

  “What kind of vendetta?” Dowl’s forehead creased. “That’s a pretty serious accusation.”

  “I didn’t mean a vendetta actually.” Margaret immediately corrected Angie. “Mort just made Andrea uncomfortable, and me, too. Andrea and I talked about it once in a while.”

  “How did Mort make you uncomfortable?” Olivia was all over it.

  Margaret spoke in hushed tones. “Mort was an odd guy, not exactly as he seemed. One night I saw him looking into my house through the bushes. He was staring right up into my bedroom on the second floor. I screamed, but no one heard me.”

  “He was a peeping Tom?” Wayne looked amazed.

  “I don’t know if he was a peeping Tom, but he was definitely looking right into my bedroom window,” Margaret insisted. “Thank God, I was dressed. I shut the light immediately and when I looked down there a little while later, he was gone.”

  “That’s scary,” Olivia empathized.

  “Terrifying,” Margaret agreed. “I couldn’t sleep all night. I kept getting up and going to the window again and again to make sure he wasn’t there.”

  “Did it happen more than one time?” Dowl questioned.

  “No, just that once,” said Margaret.

  Dowl shook his head slowly. “Unlikely,” he said. “Usually peeping Toms do it over and over.”

  Margaret took offense. “I never said Mort was a peeping Tom. I said one night I saw him do it. Who knows how many other times he did and I never noticed?”

  “Anything else?” Dowl wasn’t finding this very convincing.

  “Well, Christine was definitely very jealous of Andrea,” Margaret marched forward bravely. “Once when Mort and Andrea were in the backyard I heard Mort try to get Andrea to leave. He told her Christine would be home soon and he didn’t want to upset her. But Andrea refused to go.”

  “You heard this firsthand?” Dowl looked at her closely.

  “Absolutely,” said Margaret, heating up now. “Another time when I heard Christine and Mort fighting she told him he’d better get Andrea out of their home, or else!”

  “Or else what?” asked Wayne.

  “Or else there would be hell to pay,” Margaret uttered. “And Christine isn’t the kind of woman to make statements in vain. But I couldn’t really blame her, either. Andrea hung around too much. Once I told Andrea that she was there too often and she just guffawed. This is my home, she finally said. I was flabbergasted.” Margaret suddenly looked exhausted. “That’s all I have to say.”