“Don’t feel too bad,” she said. “Who would think of a paternity test? Pete was the cheater! Not one thing made us think Beth was anything but faithful to Pete.”
“Thanks,” Reid said, appreciating that she was trying to make him feel better. To everyone, Beth had been an angel. Humberto Garcia, the coroner, hadn’t tested Matthew’s DNA, and Beth’s body had been released to the family for cremation.
“What the hell was Beth Lathrop doing with a guy like that?” Miano asked. “It doesn’t track. He seems like kind of a loser.”
“He’s not, actually,” Reid said. “I could be wrong, but he seems like a decent, stand-up guy.”
“Yeah, buthomeless?” Miano asked.
Reid remembered what Leland Ackerley had said about Beth: that she loved and nurtured artists whose talent she believed in. And how Jed had said she took care of everyone.
“Well, if she wanted to get in Pete’s face,” Miano said, “she couldn’t have done better than choosing a homeless con. Ayoungerhomeless con. So much for the perfect Black Hall life.”
“Only on the outside,” he said.
“You know, if it turns out Jed’s the father, it would make a hell of a motive for Pete,” Miano said. “Jealousy over Jedandwanting to be rid of Beth so he could be with Nicola. Plus, the baby. Whose was it? I know, I know. The damn paternity test.”
“Right,” Reid said, feeling his chest constrict.
Pete and his lawyer had arrived. Mac Green had a full head of white hair, and he wore a perfectly tailored gray pinstripe suit. He had represented several of Reid’s suspects over the years, and Reid had a grudging respect for him. He did a good job for his clients without resorting to dirty tricks that Reid considered the stock-in-trade of many defense attorneys.
Pete sauntered over to Reid and Miano. Like his lawyer, he was dressed in a suit instead of his usual beach boy garb.
“Looking sharp, Pete,” Reid said. “You look as if you’re dressed for court.”
“I want you to know how seriously I am taking this.”
“This?” Reid asked. “The polygraph?”
“The fact my wife was murdered and you’re wasting time harassing me instead of doing a real investigation.”
“Harassing you? Correct us if we’re wrong,” Miano said, “but aren’t you the one who pushed for this?”
“Pete, we’re ready,” Green called sharply, and Reid could see the lawyer wasn’t happy with his client baiting the police.
“What a cocky son of a bitch,” Miano said when Pete and Green stepped away. “What makes him so confident?”
Reid didn’t reply. He felt nervous. She was right. Pete held himself with total assurance and an air of martyrdom, as if a great injustice was being done. Reid was looking forward to the results wiping that look off Pete’s face, but something told him not to be too sure just yet.
An hour later, when it was all over, his misapprehension was confirmed. Pete passed. The examiner had paid extra attention to his answers to questions about Jed, Nicola, and Beth’s last day. He told Reid and Miano there was no ambiguity: the machine had picked up no lies or signs of deception.
“Well then,” Green said as he and Pete walked toward Reid and Miano. “I hope this means you’ll be moving on.”
“Not quite yet,” Reid said. “We have a few more questions.”
“I think Pete has been helpful enough for today,” Green said.
“Yeah, it’s true,” Reid said. He smiled at Pete. “Beautiful day out there. Going to go sailing?”
“No, I have other things to do,” Pete said, sounding haughty.
“Ever do any night sailing?” Reid asked. “Get away from land, look up at that canopy of stars in the sky?”
“Where’s this going, Detective Reid?” Green asked.
“Just thinking of how nice it can be to get away from it all,” Reid said. “I’d sure like to.”
“As it happens, I do enjoy sailing at night,” Pete said. “Ocean races especially—Newport to Bermuda. Out there in the Gulf Stream, bioluminescence flashing against the hull. Do you know whatbioluminescenceis?”
