AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No.”
“Did you have plans together last night?” Hamett asked.
“No.”
“Did you expect your wife to be home when you returned?” Hamett quizzed, pressing.
“Well, ye-es.”
“You don’t sound certain, Mr. St. Cloud,” Evinrud noted, jumping in again. If theirs was a good cop–bad cop routine, he was definitely taking on the role of the bad one.
Hale explained, “When I got home Friday, Kristina had left me a note that said she needed some space.” He hesitated, then, because it was going to come out, anyway, added, “She didn’t come home that night.”
Now the two detectives did share a look, and Hale could feel his pulse start to beat harder. They were acting as if he had something to do with her death. He knew that was the first assumption: the husband did it. But still, he hadn’t seriously believed he would have to account for his actions.
“Was she here when you got home last night?” Hamett asked.
“No,” Hale admitted.
“What time did you find the note on Friday?” Evinrud asked.
“I don’t know. Around six, maybe.”
“When was the last time you saw your wife?” Hamett was looking down at the notes he’d been scribbling, but when Hale didn’t immediately answer, he glanced up.
“I saw her Friday afternoon, sometime after two. She came to the office.” He was growing less and less interested in talking to the two detectives. He wanted to scream at them to leave him alone and go find the real killer, but that would do more harm than good.
“Was there a particular reason she came to your office?” Hamett asked.
Make love to me, and let’s put some heat back in this marriage.
“She . . . thought we needed to work on our relationship,” Hale said, hating the diffident tone in his voice. “The baby was due anytime. In fact, the baby came last night.”
“Congratulations,” Evinrud said.
Hale ground his teeth together and didn’t respond.
“Do you still have that note?” Hamett regarded him seriously.
Hale nodded and went to retrieve it. He’d crumpled up the note and tossed it into the trash. Now, when he looked into the bedroom trash can, the note lay right on top.
Changed my mind. I’m not mad. I just need a little space. Kristina.
Hamett was again looking down at his notes when Hale handed him the one from Kristina. The detective studied it, then asked, “What had she changed her mind about?”
“She’d said she would be waiting for me. Like I said, she thought we needed to work on our relationship.”
For the first time, Hale had time to think about that and realized that maybe something happened that caused Kristina to change her plans.
“What was the extra ‘emergency’ that made you leave the hospital for several hours while your wife was in surgery?” Hamett asked, bringing Hale’s focus back with a bang.
He had to hang on to his escalating temper with an effort. “I went to find Savannah—Detective Dunbar—who was driving
back from Portland after she heard about her sister’s accident. She was stuck in the snow on the pass and couldn’t get through. And she was in labor. I helped bring her to Ocean Park. A Clatsop County deputy was with me, if you need corroboration.”
“I’m sure it’s just as you say. We’re not trying to put you on the spot, Mr. St. Cloud,” Evinrud said, but there was no conviction in his tone.
“Will anyone remember you at the bistro?” Hamett asked, apparently staying away from that hot potato.
