“Both houses are owned by out-of-towners,” Carly said. “Both are from New York. The house up on Cobleskill Road is owned by Schuyler and Lilly Adams.” They heard the click of the keys on her keyboard before she continued. “Looks like he's a lawyer and she's a designer, interior. There is a picture of them on his website, they look to be in their mid-to-late-fifties. No kids are mentioned in the bios of either. Big donors to the children's cancer research hospital.”
Sometimes it was amazing what they could learn just running a public search.
“Thanks, Carly. What about the second house?”
Again they heard the keyboard click away before she answered. “Kyle Reardon and Roger Blake. One's a doctor, the other an architect.”
“A couple?” Nick asked.
“Kyle's bio says he likes to spend time with his partner at their summer home in the Hudson Valley but doesn't mention who that is. Roger's bio says nothing.”
“I'd wager yes, then,” Vivienne said.
“And so, unlikely to be someone we're looking for,” Ian added, saying goodbye to Carly and ending the call.
“Let's talk to them anyway and see if we can find anything out. Maybe they saw something,” Nick interjected.
Ian agreed and turned into Simon Willard's long driveway.
While they waited for him to open the door, Ian scanned the area from the porch. Like Timothy, Simon had a clear view of the house where Rebecca had been staying, only his was from the side, looking toward the garage doors. His view also took in the field and tree line where they'd found her body. If he wasn't the man they were looking for, maybe he had seen something.
Ian was about to mention this to Vivienne when the door swept open, revealing an older gentleman with a long face and brown hair gone mostly gray, wearing a sweater vest over his long-sleeved shirt. Rapidly the man's eyes went from him to Nick then landed on Vivienne. Simon Willard straightened away from the door.
“Vivienne DeMarco, what a surprise.”
CHAPTER 23
IN A SPLIT SECOND, both Ian and Nick flanked Vivi without making a sound. She studied the man but for the life of her couldn't place him.
“Do we know each other?” she asked.
Simon Willard chuckled. “No, dear, of course not. But my wife, my late wife, was a big fan of yours. If she were still alive, she'd be speechless seeing you here.” It seemed to dawn on him that something was unusual about this visit, and he frowned. “Not to seem inhospitable, but what are you doing here?”
Ian took a half step forward and introduced himself. “How do you know Dr. DeMarco, Mr. Willard?”
The man's fingers gripped the door handle, but he answered. “My wife was one of her professors her first year in college. I remember Claire coming home and telling me about the sixteen-year-old prodigy in her class.”
“What did she teach?” Vivi asked.
“Psychology, for years. Professor Claire Downs. Perhaps you remember her?” he suggested.
Vivi did, she remembered her well. “Her class got me interested in psychology. Until then I was pure, hard science. She was an excellent teacher.” She looked at Ian as she spoke, making sure he understood the man was telling the truth, at least about this.
Simon beamed. “She'd be thrilled to hear you say that.”
“I hadn't heard she'd passed away. I'm sorry to hear that,” Vivi offered her condolences.
Simon inclined his head. “Thank you. We moved here about five years ago, ironically because I had cancer and we wanted a slower, quieter life. I'm clean as a whistle now, but she passed away from cervical cancer.”
“I understand how you might know of Dr. DeMarco from your wife, but may I ask how you recognize her now?” Ian asked.
“Oh, Claire followed her career out of curiosity for years. She used to say a student like you,” he said with nod in Vivi's direction, “came along once in a lifetime. So she kept track of you. And when you started giving your own lectures, she would go. Occasionally, I went with her. In fact one of your lectures was our last trip into Boston before she died.”
Ian seemed to be weighing all this, while Nick stood silently beside her. He hadn't moved an inch but she could feel the tension radiating from his body.
“Can I ask what this is about?” Simon finally asked when Ian offered nothing.
“You have a good view of the farm across the way,” Ian said. Simon nodded, waiting for more. “Do you know the woman who used to stay there?”
Simon swallowed, “The woman who was found in the well a few days ago, right?”
Ian nodded.
“Well, I saw her on occasion,” he said. “Saw the lights from the house, of course. But no, I can't say I knew her.”
Simon Willard wasn't telling the whole truth. He didn't strike her as the rape, torture, and kill kind of man, but then again, she'd seen stranger things.
“You seem unsure about that, Mr. Willard,” she pressed.
He opened his mouth to say something, closed it, and then opened it again. “I didn't know her,” he repeated.
“This is a murder investigation, Mr. Willard. Even if you didn't know her, if you know something you should talk with us,” Ian said.
Simon's eyes went to Ian. A look of sadness passed through them before he spoke. “Would that I could tell you something about her death, Deputy Chief MacAllister, but I know nothing.”
For some reason, maybe it was the tone of his voice or the way his hand seemed to slump on the doorknob, but Vivi believed him. He might not be telling them the truth about everything, but she did believe that he didn't know anything about Rebecca's death.
They thanked him, and once seated in the car, Ian expressed the same sentiment. He asked Nick to look into the old man to tie up loose ends, but no one thought they would get any more out of Mr. Willard.
Vivi called to check on Meghan on their way toward the main road. When she hung up, both men were looking at her, Nick over the back of his seat and Ian through the rearview mirror. She gave a shake of her head, there was nothing new to report. Their visits had netted nothing, Meghan was still in the ICU, and they had two dead women and no plan.
“Why don't we swing by those other two houses before we head back to the station?” Vivi suggested. Both were weekenders but maybe someone was home. With no other better plan, Ian headed in the direction of the closest of the two houses.
Kyle Reardon and Roger Blake's home was empty, but as they pulled up to Schuyler and Lilly Adams’ property, they spied a truck parked in the open garage and a man, much younger than mid-fifties, digging a hole in the garden. Beside him sat a sapling ready for planting.
He stopped what he was doing, straightened, and watched as they parked and climbed out of the car.
“Mr. Adams?” Ian said as they approached. The man was much too young to be the same Adams Carly had mentioned, and his eyes were watchful, darting between the three of them.
“Yeah,” he answered. He had one gloved hand on his shovel and the other on his hip. He didn't look threatening, but he certainly wasn't welcoming either.
“Mr. Schuyler Adams?” Ian clarified.
“Nope, wrong Adams. I'm Joe Adams, Schuyler's son.” Nobody stepped forward to shake hands. “Can I help you?” he asked after a moment of silence.
“We're investigating the murder of the woman who used to stay at that house,” Ian started waving toward the home that was visible, barely, from where they stood.
“Yeah, I heard about that. I think it's the first time I've ever heard of something like that happening up here,” Joe said.
“You'd be right, we haven't ever seen a murder like that before. How long have you been up here?” Ian asked.
Joe's eyes dawned in recognition of what was happening, which told Vivi two things—he had past experience with law enforcement and he wasn't all that surprised to find them at his door. She expected one of two reactions from him based on the expression on his face, flat denial of everything or hostility. But he surprised
her by taking an altogether different tack.
“I just got here this morning.” Just the answer, nothing more.
“Where did you come from, Mr. Adams?” Ian inquired.
“Brooklyn, where I live.”
“And have you been up here much in the past few weeks?”
He brushed a piece of hair off his forehead with the back of his hand. “No, I haven't been up here all winter. My stepmother, Lilly, asked me to come up and check on the house and garden for her. Some of her family were here last week and they aren't known for being overly considerate. She wanted to make sure everything was in order before she comes up for Memorial Day weekend with my father.” His sudden chattiness could have been nerves, but Vivi sensed it was more relief, relief at knowing that the time frame they were talking about was something he could account for.
“So, someone was staying here recently?” Ian clarified.
He nodded. “Lilly's two sisters and her mother. They usually come up every spring and shop, go to the spa, pretend they are more than what they are.”
“Meaning?” Vivi prompted.
He shrugged. “They aren't very nice to Lilly. She's made a different life for herself than the rest of her family. Better in some ways, in others, well—” Whatever he was going to say, he stopped himself. “Anyway, her family has always mooched off of her, expected her to pay their bills, buy their clothes, provide them with vacations and things like that because she can afford it.”
“Because she married your father?” Nick asked.
“Yes, no, well, in part, yes,” Joe answered. “She was actually left quite a bit of money from her father's side of the family. They left it to her and not to the rest of the family, which is why they feel entitled.”
“And she feels guilty enough to let them feel that way,” Vivi finished. Joe nodded.
“And then she married my father, and, yes, money is not an issue for them,” he added.
“Do you know when they were here?” Ian asked, bringing them back to the issue.
Joe shook his head. “I thought they were supposed to be gone a few days ago, but when I got here, I think they might have just left this morning.”
“What would make you think that?” Nick asked.
“There were water beads in the shower, a few crumbs on the counter. Nothing too out of place, or nothing I wouldn't expect knowing someone was here, it just seemed like they were here more recently than a few days ago is all.”
Vivi took a mental note of this, then filed it away. They could easily check up on that fact, especially since Ian was already asking for their names and contact info. Joe went into the house to look it up. A few minutes later he came jogging out with his gloves tucked in his pocket and a piece of paper in his hand.
“Those are quite some cuts you have on your hand,” Nick commented, as Joe handed Ian the sheet of paper. His casual comment was anything but.
“I work with rocks, wood, saws, and anything else that someone might want in their garden. I can get pretty banged up,” Joe answered, shoving his hands in his back pockets.
“You a landscaper?” Ian asked.
Joe nodded.
“You've mentioned your stepmother. Does your father know you're up here?” Ian asked.
Joe's jaw tightened before he answered, but Vivi would wager his reaction wasn't in response to Ian's suspicious tone.
“It's possible he knows. We're not that close,” Joe answered.
“Or close at all,” Vivi posited.
“Or close at all,” Joe agreed with a curt nod. “My father is, well, he's not an easy man to like. My life isn't what he expected of his only child, and to be fair, in my younger years I tried my hardest to make it that way.”
“But now?” Vivi pressed.
Joe shrugged. “Some people aren't meant to get along, he and I are some of those people.”
“How long have he and your stepmother been married?” she asked.
“It will be ten years June sixteenth.”
“That's pretty exact,” Nick said.
“That's because the day they got married was the day I quit drinking and doing drugs. Lilly is, she's too good for my father, but I'm glad she doesn't think so because, without her, I have no doubt I'd have been dead long ago.”
“More of a parent than your own father?” Vivi said.
“More of a parent than most parents these days,” was his answer.
“And do you recognize Dr. DeMarco?” Ian asked. The question, coming from out of the blue seemed to give Joe pause. He studied Ian before his eyes slid to her. His gaze didn't crawl over her, like Timothy Howell's, but stayed focused on her face. A small frown touched his lips.
“You look a little familiar but I don't think we've met. Or at least not since I've been sober. Have we met?” he asked. She suspected the concern she heard in his voice was more about what he might have forgotten than about what it might mean if they did know each other.
Vivi shook her head. “Not that I can remember.”
Joe studied her for another long moment before turning back to Ian. “Anything more I can help you with? I need to get this tree in today,” he said, with a gesture to the sapling.
Ian shook his head and they made their way back to the car. As they drove away, Vivi glanced back to see Joe watching them, hands on his hips, unmoving, and alone.
“What do you think?” Nick asked.
Wanting to give Ian the space to answer, she sat back and said nothing. Several minutes passed before he spoke.
“His animosity for his dad is pretty clear, but I didn't get the sense he was lying about anything. We can easily call his stepmother and verify his story. I want to check out the cousins, too.”
“And the fact that he thought someone else was in the house recently,” Nick added.
Ian inclined his head. “That, too.”
“You ruling him out?” Nick asked.
Ian shook his head. “At this point I'm not ruling anyone out until we have some definitive evidence that they aren't involved. I'll have Carly run some more background info on all of them.”
“You may want to ask Naomi and Brian for help on that, too,” Vivi suggested. “Carly can search the official sites, but if you want someone to dig around the net, legally,” she added, “they can do it better and faster than anyone else. And since you aren't likely to get warrants for any personal records or information, their computer skills might come in handy.”
“We'll see,” was all he said.
Vivi suggested heading straight back down to the hospital, but Ian wanted to drop Nick off at the station. When they arrived, they found Naomi and Brian waiting for them in the parking lot.
“Nick, why don't you run Vivienne back down to the hospital. Marcus is already there and can bring her home when she's done,” Ian said, surprising her.
“My cousins are here. Why don't I take a look at what they brought, then we can head down together?” And, even before he answered, she knew what he was going to say. He was back to not sharing.
“I'll take care of it,” Ian said, closing the door on any discussion. “I have access to all the facial recognition databases that we can run the pictures through and I can work with Carly on the background information on the men we talked to today. Why don't you head down, check on Meghan, then maybe, if there's time, head up to the lab to see how Sam and Daniel are coming along? I know you say he's good and I don't doubt it, but it would make me feel better to have your eyes on the evidence collected from Meghan.”
It was late in the day, and having her run up to Albany wasn't what Vivi thought Ian really wanted to accomplish with his suggestion. “Ian, what's going on?” she asked.
“Nothing, I just want to use our assets the best way we can. Keeping you here to do work Carly and Wyatt can do doesn't make a lot of sense,” he responded.
And again, she could tell he wasn't telling her everything. She studied his green eyes for a moment, and in them she saw not defiance but a question.
She didn't know what was going on but she knew he was asking her to go with it for the time being.
Confused but trusting him, she nodded. And before she knew it, she was parked in Nick's car and headed south to Riverside.
* * *
“Where's Vivi going?” Naomi asked as her cousin sped away with Nick.
“We have a file from the facial recognition program,” Brian interjected. Ian looked at Vivienne's cousins and hoped like hell Brian wasn't involved in any of this. Glancing at the file they'd handed him, he wondered if they'd included their own pictures. They didn't know he'd already seen them in all three of the videos. He supposed if they'd removed their own pictures, they might have a problem. But even if they were included, that still wouldn't answer the question as to whether or not Brian was a killer.
Ian took a deep breath and flipped the file open. In it were nine eight-by-ten pictures. Three men and two women he didn't recognize, plus Naomi, Brian, Travis, and Vivienne's uncle, Mike. At least they hadn't tried to hide anything.
“Come in,” he said with a gesture toward the station. They followed him in as he led them, not upstairs, but to his office.
“Everything is upstairs, why are we coming in here?’ Naomi asked. Ian didn't say anything until he was standing behind his desk. He laid the folder down and looked up. Both twins were looking at him expectantly. Vivienne's safety was the most important thing to him, but even so, he debated how blunt he could be with her family. He was about to say something when Brian spoke up.
“He has to question us, Nano,” Brian said, using the nickname for Naomi Ian had heard him use before.
“Us?” she said, although the surprise Ian heard in her voice sounded somewhat forced.
“Well, probably more me, since they know it's a man involved in the attacks. Is that right, Ian?” Brian said.
“That's ridiculous,” Naomi responded, crossing her arms, doing a good impression of being put upon.
“Yeah, it is, but he doesn't look like a man who is going to take no for an answer. And my face, my picture is in that file,” Brian pointed out.
Naomi's eyes narrowed on Ian's face, challenging him. He didn't mind and he wasn't going to back down.
Tainted Mind Page 26
