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“No,” Kit said, kindly but firmly. “It’s imperative that we speak with her.”
“Who’s at the door?” a man called, appearing behind the woman a few seconds later. He was older, his face bruised, his head bandaged, and his arm was in a sling. He gave Kit’s badge a wary look. “We gave a statement to the officer at the scene of the accident last night.”
An accident would explain why they weren’t accepting calls all night. Another mark in Reeves’s favor.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Kit said, assuming this was Vivian’s husband. “I hate to intrude, but I need to speak to your wife urgently. It’s related to one of her employees.”
The man’s eyes widened. “Which one?”
“Sam Reeves,” Baz said. “May we come in?”
“Is he all right?” the man asked, opening the door a little wider.
Kit gave him a neutral smile. “He’s unhurt. We really need to speak to Dr.Carlisle.”
“For a moment only,” the younger woman said firmly. “My mother needs her rest.” She aimed an arch look at the man. “So does my father.”
He rolled his eyes and opened the door completely. “Please come in. I didn’t get your names.”
“I’m Detective McKittrick and this is my partner, Detective Constantine.”
“McKittrick?” another woman asked from inside the house. “Richard, did she say her name was McKittrick?”
“Yes, dear. She says she needs to talk to you about Sam.”
Sam. Not Dr.Reeves.
“Tell them to come in and hurry.”
Kit and Baz complied, following the husband into a comfortably furnished living room where Dr.Vivian Carlisle sat on the sofa, elevating her leg that was encased in a plaster cast.
A serious accident, then.
Kit and Baz took the seats indicated, and Baz let out a quiet sound as he rested on a cushion that was much softer than it had looked.
He smiled ruefully at the older woman. “Long night. Looks like you had one, too.”
“I did. I’m Vivian Carlisle. What happened to Sam?”
“We need to confirm his account of his dealings with one of his clients,” Kit said.
Vivian frowned. “Where is Sam right now?”
“In an interview room at the precinct.” Kit watched the woman closely for a reaction. She didn’t have to wait long.
“What the hell?” Vivian demanded. “Why is he in an interview room?”
“Because he made an anonymous call to my direct line,” Kit said. “He referenced an ongoing investigation and we wanted to question him.”
“Took you long enough. He called you on Monday.”
So Carlisle had known. The marks in Reeves’s favor were piling up. “Can you tell me what you know about Colton Driscoll?”
Vivian glanced at her daughter and husband. “Can you two go in the study and close the door? I’d take them in there myself, but...” She gestured to her leg, waiting as they disappeared down a hall, their voices going silent after a door was closed. “Dr.Reeves has been concerned about Colton Driscoll for several weeks. He was worried when the man started talking about his ‘pretty young thing’ and her grave. He became more worried when Driscoll mentioned a new young woman. Driscoll is a compulsive liar. We decided that an anonymous phone call to SDPD would be in order, to make sure that Driscoll was telling the truth. We’ve been waiting since Monday for some announcement of the discovery of a body in the park, but none came. Sam’s become more and more concerned.” She tilted her head. “Did you find a grave?”
Kit nodded once. “We did. We brought Dr.Reeves in because he refused to tell us how he knew about the grave until we confirmed we’d found a body. He finally told us this story and that you could verify it.”
“He’s telling the truth. Sam Reeves is a good man. Too good, sometimes.”
