Page 42 of Investigation of a Quest

“Here.” Bel handed her the photo. She’d slipped it out of the wallet before sealing it in an evidence bag since she had a feeling that she’d need it for just this moment. “This will hurt. It might always hurt, but one day, the pain will simply be a reminder that you loved. And loving someone, regardless of how they respond, is never a bad thing. You have beautiful children, and I’m so sorry this is happening to you, but I think he did love you. It’s probably not enough, but it’s something.”

“How could he do this to me?” she sobbed. “How could he do this to our kids?”

“I don’t know.” Bel placed a palm on her back. “But they still have you, and one loving parent can give them the world. I would know.”

“Your dad had a second family?”

“No. I lost my mom years ago, though, but my dad never faltered. So instead of asking how he could do this, just promise that you’ll never abandon them. That’s what they need.”

“I… I don’t know how to tell them this.”

“Is there someone we can call? Having support here will make it easier.”

“What’s she like?” Mrs. Zoroaster blurted. “His other wife?”

“Um…” Bel froze. How to answer that question?

“I want to know, please. Is she pretty? Is she nice?”

“She seems like a good person,” Bel answered. “They have kids, too. Beautiful kids.”

“So he didn’t marry some young bimbo? I couldn’t bear it if he were trading me in for someone younger and hotter.”

“No, you two are the same age,” Bel said. “She’s kind and well-liked in her community. She’s a good mom from what I’ve seen, too.”

“A mom,” the widow repeated. “My kids have half-siblings… I don’t know what to do with that. Are we supposed to let them meet and become friends? Am I supposed to pretend they don’t exist? Am I supposed to be nice to this woman because I want to hate her? Did she know he was already married?”

“No,” Bel confirmed. “And we haven’t told her about you yet.”

“Poor woman.”

“And you don’t need to decide what to do just yet. Right now, you grieve and heal. Then you can decide. And perhaps if you’re up for it, you can answer some questions for us?”

“Sure.” The woman shrugged. “But can we call my sister first? She lives around the corner.”

“Absolutely.” Bel called Mrs. Zoroaster’s sister, and once she arrived and had a moment to digest the magnitude of the situation, they asked their standard detective questions. Did Oscar have enemies or money troubles? Did they notice anything weird? Was anyone following him? They went down the list, but like the other family members, this widow had no answers for them.

“One last question,” Bel said when they finally reached the end of the unproductive interview. “Does your husband have a home office?”

“Yes, upstairs,” the widow answered.

“Can we take a look?”

“Be my guest.” The woman shrugged. “First door on the right.”

“Thanks.” Bel and Olivia left her to her sister’s care and climbed to the second floor. Like the room in the Diggs home, this one was sparsely decorated, so it didn’t take long to find absolutely nothing.

“Maybe there’s something at his company’s office,” Olivia said. “A man leading a double life probably wouldn’t work at home often. Being at the office would make it easier to hide a second cell phone or conversations with his other kids.”

“It’s possible.” Bel slid one of the desk drawers open, but only papers and some old pens rested inside. Tempted to ignore the other drawers since they probably held the same junk, her fingers left the desk only to reconsider and pull out the second drawer. “Or we’re dealing with two different—never mind.” Her hand shot out and withdrew the tiny object they’d been hoping to find. “Piece of a yellow brick.” She shoved it in her partner’s face. “The professor, the doctor, and the liar. Whatever this is, whatever happened with this stone. They were all involved.” Bel spun in her heels and jogged down the stairs, extending her palm to the grieving widow. “Do you know where your husband got this?”

“Um… not really.” Mrs. Zoroaster plucked the rough piece from Bel’s hand and turned it over. “Is this that weird rock that was in his desk drawer?”

Bel nodded.

“I found it once while cleaning. I thought the kids shoved it in there,” the woman said. “I tried to throw it out, but Oscar freaked. Literally dug through the trash for it. Said it was sentimental because he got it on some trip he took before he met me.”

“How long ago was that?” Bel asked, her body’s cells vibrating.