“I have, yes,” I begin, still not sure how I’m going to share what I think.
“Bluntly, please,” Lucy reminds me.
“Officially, there’s nothing of any interest to aprivate investigation concerning Mr. Van Wyk.”
Lucy doesn’t miss a beat. “Unofficially?”
I hesitate. “I will remind you again, that nothing I’ve told you or can tell you has any evidence to support it. It is subjective, and my opinion only.”
“Noted,” she says dryly. “But I don’t think you’ll surprise me.”
I wouldn’t bet on it.
But I’ve already decided to stick purely to the facts.
“I was able to ascertain that Van Wyk’s previous wife died a year before he married Amelia.”
“How did she die?” Lucy’s instincts lead her straight to the right question. She’d make a good investigator—or maybe she’s just a good sister.
“Suicide,” I say, trying to soften the delivery even though it’s brusque by its nature. “Specifically, she stabbed herself in the throat.”
“I see,” Lucy says. She’s almost composed, but her hands begin to tremble, despite how hard she clenches them. “Is there anything else?”
“Approximately four months before her death, his late wife initiated divorce proceedings. The case was subsequently discontinued.”
“Did she stop it, or did he?”
It’s almost rhetorical, but I answer anyway. “She did.”
Lucy nods. We both know what she was really asking. “Is that everything?”
Your sister’s husband carries a wickedly curved knife everywhere he goes and chops off fingers for a living.
“Yes,that’s all.”
Lucy draws a breath and lets it out in a long sigh, like it’s cathartic to hear confirmation, even if her suspicions were as she feared. “At least now I know,” she says, after a while. “I think I need some time to process this, but I’ll wire your payment in full.”
“I’m very sorry, Lucy,” I say, standing.
Lucy rises too, offering me a shaky smile. “Thank you for helping me. I can’t express enough how grateful I am. You’ve done as much as I could hope.”
I haven’t really done anything. Not while Van Wyk is still out there, and Amelia’s still trapped. But that’s why I hate taking personal cases.
“You’re welcome. Again, I’m sorry.” Sorry I couldn’t see him behind bars.
I walk Lucy to the door while Carol stays back, giving her support in silence.
Lucy pauses in the entranceway. “I’m glad I found you,” she says. “When I heard you left Dalton Reed, I thought I’d never get any answers.”
I tilt my head. “I thought you came to me because Carol told you I was familiar with Northbridge.”
“Oh… she did. But I already knew that, of course. No, I came to you because you were recommended.”
Always good to hear, and possibly more business. “May I ask by whom?”
“It was luck, really,” Lucy replies. “I spoke to another PI who wouldn’t touch this, then he called me back a day later and told me to try Dalton Reed.”
“Who was that?”
