Nine Lives and Alibis by Cate Conte

Author:Cate Conte [Conte, Cate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

Chapter 26

I blinked. Maeve had a criminal record?

Mick leaned in, clearly interested in this new direction. “Tell me about that. Where and for what?”

“Well, let’s see.” Alice ticked off items on her fingers. “Extortion. Embezzlement. And I think there was an assault charge too, but somehow that was dismissed. It happened in Ohio or Missouri or somewhere like that. Before she met my son.”

“Who did she assault?” I asked. I couldn’t help myself.

“It was the man she was extorting. From what I could tell, he dropped the charges because he was embarrassed that a woman had assaulted him.” She turned to Mick.

“Do you think she had the potential to be violent with your son?” Mick asked. “If that was in fact him.”

“Of course I do. She was about to lose her golden ticket,” Alice spat. “And of course it’s him. I would know my son anywhere. A mother knows.”

“Okay. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It would’ve been hard to see … that far down, especially in the dark. Let’s take it one step at a time. Tell me what you mean by a golden ticket.”

“My son was quitting. Taking down the shingle and going off to do what he really wanted to do—help police departments find missing people.” She folded her arms across her chest. “He announced it last night in the newspaper interview, then talked to his team later. Said she was extremely upset. They all were.”

“Did Maeve threaten your son?” Mick asked.

“I don’t know,” Alice said.

“Do you believe he was afraid for his life?”

At this, Alice smiled a little. “No. Balfour trusted everyone. He was a good man.” Her voice broke a little. “But I warned him. I warned him about that whole crew. They all had something to lose if he retired.”

“And the crew is…” Mick looked at his notes. “Tomas, Sharlene, Manfred? Can you give me last names?”

Alice recited all their names as Mick wrote them down. “How long have they worked for him?”

Alice sighed. “A long time. They’ve all been with him for many years.”

I thought back to what Sharlene had told me earlier. “Sharlene told me twelve years for her and her brother. Maeve said ten, I think.”

Mick nodded. “I’m going to want to speak to them. But before I do, is there anything else you can tell me about your son’s frame of mind? Had he been depressed lately? Troubled or worried about anything? Any history of mental illness, depression, suicidal thoughts?”

Alice frowned. “If you’re suggesting my son put himself over the edge of that cliff, you’re sadly mistaken, Lieutenant. My son was happy. I actually hadn’t seen him this at peace in a long time. Choosing to change his business model was a good decision for him. He was even deciding if”—her voice broke and it took her a minute to regain control—“if he was going to move here.”

“Say more about changing his business model,” Mick said.

“He was finally realizing the people around him were taking advantage of him,” Alice said. “They were like leeches, and he was blind to it for a long time.

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