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The parents looked at each other but didn’t answer directly, Mrs. Porter fussing with a handkerchief.
“We didn’t want to know,” Mr. Porter admitted. “It was more than about the incest, I’m afraid.”
“Did you ask Alan about the meetings?”
“Henry Wong was the detective that came to see us. We’re afraid of confronting Detective Stone and refused to talk to him. When he talks about Lily, he can’t wipe the contempt off his face. It’s horrible. Our daughter is dead! Was she killed with his service weapon? No one will answer our questions.”
“Does anyone else know about your concerns?”
“No, because we don’t have proof. And we don’t want Lily to look bad.”
“I understand. But why would meeting with Alan Stone make her look bad? She was only being a good citizen.”
They looked at each other again, and this time, Mrs. Porter began to weep.
“I’m so sorry,” Laura said gently. “This must be difficult. But anything you can tell me might help find the perpetrator.”
“Tell her,” Mrs. Porter said, sniffing. “We can’t hide it any longer without getting into trouble. And we might be hampering the case.”
Mr. Porter nodded and then addressed Laura. “But you must promise not to make this public.”
“I’ll only tell the people investigating her murder.”
“They were meeting to be together. Romantically.”
Oh my God,Laura thought.Alan Stone.No way.She took a slow, deep breath. Finally able to speak without judgment, she asked the primary question. “Does anyone else know about this?”
“No. Just you.”
“Do you have any proof? Any emails or voice messages from Lily?”
“No. She was so private, so careful. She was afraid of getting into trouble, of saying something libelous about the brother and sister who were married because of what that jackass Dan Chua said to her. He was the root of all of this trouble, mark my words.”
“What did Dan say to Lily that would make her afraid?” Laura asked.
Mr. Porter’s face reddened, his voice booming. “He ridiculed her for her beliefs! He accused her of being narrow-minded. One minute, he was ready to marry her, the next, he didn’t want to see her again. It confused her. She didn’t know what she believed any longer. She was already alone all the time and he made her an outcast.”
“Dear, she actually broke up with him first,” Mrs. Porter said gently.
“Whatever, he made her feel terrible, so you can’t blame her.”
“Of course not,” Laura said. “It’s difficult to have your beliefs questioned.”
“Then you agree with us!”
She didn’t, but it was better to let him have the last word in that regard. “Tell me what your gut feeling is about Alan Stone,” Laura said, stepping out on a limb.
The couple looked at each other again.
“It was more than a casual relationship,” Mrs. Porter said.
“There is someone else in his life,” Mr. Porter added. “But he’s not married! Lily said he was serious about her and wanted to break up with his fiancée so they could be together.”
“Wow. Poor Lily,” Laura said.
“She knew it was wrong, that’s the thing. She wasn’t raised that way.”
“So, you’re saying she knew seeing Alan was wrong because he had a girlfriend?”
