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“You only met him twice?”
“Yes, he works a lot. Leaves the house early in the morning and doesn’t get home until late. Travels constantly.” He pauses and I get the sense he’s omitting something.
“What did Alyssa say about him, if anything?” I ask.
“Not much. We didn’t really talk about him.” His gaze drops to the floor.
“Do they have kids?”
“No… although…” He clears his throat.
I lean forward, placing my palms on the table. “Mr. Hoyt, now is not the time to hold anything back. Please tell me what you know.”
“I think… I know that Alyssa was having trouble getting pregnant. I think he wants kids, and they’ve been trying for a while. I only know this because I offered her wine one day and she said she couldn’t and then blurted out the story. I think it bothered her.”
“What did?”
“The whole not being able to get pregnant thing.”
He’s starting to clam up—perhaps uncomfortable with gossip, or uncomfortable with me realizing how close he and the victim were.
A moment of silence stretches between us, my instincts tingling.
“Can I call you Amos?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Amos, Alyssa Kaing gave you a key to her home, her cell phone number, and apparently confided in you about some heavy things.”
“She’s lonely.”
“Lonely people don’t just hand out their house keys.”
He doesn’t respond.
“May I ask if you two had an intimate relationship?”
“N… no.” His eyes pop open. “No. No, nothing like that.”
When I don’t respond, he continues. “I promise, I would never. She’s, God, how much younger than me? Too young. No, I would never.”
“Okay. Sorry, I had to ask. What about Mr. Kaing? Was he jealous of your friendship with his wife?”
My question about intimacy has stunned him. He takes a second to compose himself. “Not that I’m aware of. Listen, Detective, I understand your job, but you are going way off track here.”
“I understand, and I apologize for the uncomfortable questions. I’m just trying to get every detail I can.”
He swallows deeply. “I understand.”
“Thank you. This key… the fact that she gave it to you in case of an emergency. Tell me more about this.”
“It happened about two weeks ago.”
“Can you remember exactly when? The exact day?”
“No. But she came to my house—she never does that, so it surprised me. She gave me the key and said that it would make her feel comfortable for someone else to have access to the home in the event of an emergency.”
“And what do you think she meant by ‘emergency’?”
