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Something told her he was holding back, that there was something he wanted to say but wasn’t. She wanted to know, but she didn’t want to press. He’d be home soon enough. Maybe that would be the best time to talk everything through. There was something on her mind, though, that couldn’t wait.
“Bonnie, the housekeeper, came in today. It’s her scheduled day, so that’s not unusual or anything. But do you mind if I send her home?”
“You do whatever you feel is best, Juliette. But can I ask why?”
Juliette stood and went to the nursery doorway to look up and down the hallway. “I just have a strange feeling I can’t place. I’m on edge, and I don’t know if it’s the general situation, or because you’re gone, or because after Leanne I just don’t trust anyone working here.” Juliette hated to malign Bonnie, who seemed like a nice, genuine person, unlike Leanne. But she also trusted her instincts. “I don’t know that Bonnie’s why I’m on edge, but I don’t know that she’s not. I’d rather not take any chances.”
“Send her home and tell her not to come back until she’s contacted. I’ll pay her for the time, so she can think of it as a paid vacation. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. And, Juliette, you don’t need to ask me these things. You do whatever you want, and it’s fine by me.”
“Thank you, Wilhelm. I’ll send her home right away.”
A knock sounded, and Wilhelm said, “Someone’s knocking, Juliette. I should go. You send her home and make any other changes you want.”
“All right. Take care, Wilhelm.”
“Talk to you soon.”
Juliette hung up, checked on the babies to be sure they still slept soundly, and went to find Bonnie to send her home. Hopefully that would help her relax instead of the feeling that kept running through her like she was in danger of stepping on a livewire any moment.
Chapter Fifteen
Sven stepped into Wilhelm’s hotel room and gave Wilhelm what little information his sources had uncovered on Ralph already. It wasn’t much, but it made him look suspicious as hell. Debt, erratic behavior in a couple of casinos he ended up getting thrown out of in Vegas, and an unconfirmed affair with a high-class hooker he seemed to like to purchase expensive gifts for.
Expensive gifts on credit that he couldn’t afford.
He thanked Sven and left a message for the detective detailing these things, as well as the custody call. The information might be nothing as far as the investigation went, but at least it would help ensure that no judge would hand over two small babies to such a man.
He lay down and tried to think of pleasant scents and smells—the woods after a rain, the clean crispness of the first winter snowfall, freshly baked bread. Anything to replace the charred scent of death that clung in his memory.
*
Wilhelm woke to a knock at his door. When had he fallen asleep? He checked his watch—he’d slept for at least three hours. He licked his lips and opened the door to find the detective, his hand raised to knock, a manila file folder in his other. “You have something,” Wilhelm said. It wasn’t a question. It was written all over the detective’s face.
“Yes, and I thought this news was better delivered in person.”
He moved aside so the detective could come in. They sat at the round table in the corner with its free envelopes and pad of stationery in the middle. Detective Frasier slid the folder in front of Wilhelm. “After you told me about the call from Carol’s brother, I checked the station’s phone logs and found he’d called several times since the accident—even more than you. But rather than asking what happened or wanting to get to the bottom of it, his concern is having the case closed.”
Wilhelm opened the file to find a page of handwritten notes on top. Frasier’s handwriting, he guessed. He scanned them, but didn’t have the patience. “You think he did this?”
“I don’t know, but I consider him a person of interest. He calls several times a day, wanting an official determination of accidental death to be made as soon as possible. He thinks it’s ridiculous that we haven’t already moved on. I checked him out and found that he’s in a bit of a financial mess, and I suspect he’s counting on inheriting Carol’s part of the estate to dig him out. From what I can gather, he and his sister weren’t particularly close, so his sudden interest in caring for the twins raises my eyebrows a bit. Do you know if he’s in his sister’s will?”
Wilhelm flipped through the pages in the file. “I have no idea.”
The detective leaned back in the chair and stretched, then laced his hands behind his head. “I’m going to find out. If my hunch is right, he’s counting on getting custody of his sister’s kids to ensure that he also inherits her financial assets. Wanting the kids for the money doesn’t mean he had anything to do with the accident, of course. That just makes him an asshole who’s taking advantage of a sad situation. But it raises questions I’d like answered.”
“Me too.” Wilhelm wanted to pop his claws and shred the file in front of him, then find Ralph and do the same to him. “How are you going to figure out whether he’s a murderer or just an opportunistic prick?”
“I’m going to go have a talk with him under the guise of wrapping up the case. See if I can get him to slip with something I can use.” Detective Frasier stood and smacked Wilhelm on the shoulder. “Now that you’ve seen the car and have all the information I have, there’s no need for you to stay in Aspen, Wilhelm. You should go home and take care of your family.”
The detective said it so easily with no hesitation. Take care of your family. The only family he’d had for a long time had been his brother, and they didn’t speak. The idea of having family to take care of now sounded so foreign to him, but at the same time it felt so right. He found he missed the babies already, and longed to hold them both. He’d do the best he could to take care of them.
And Juliette. Juliette was his family, to
o.
With a tightness in his throat, he nodded. “Yeah, I should get back. But I could go with you to see Ralph—”
“That’s not going to accomplish anything. If he’s guilty, he’ll be on the defensive if you show up. And if he’s not guilty, but he feels guilty about the money situation, he’ll still probably shut down and not give me a chance to get good info.” The detective turned for the door. “Go home and let me take care of this. I’ll update you every step of the way.”
