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“It was their word against his.”
“We believe them,” Sam said, giving him her most effective cop stare.
He was the first to blink. “My job was to defend him against those allegations. That’s what I was doing.”
“By smearing them?” Freddie asked.
“Whatever it took to protect my client and his reputation.”
“How do you sleep at night?” Sam asked.
“Quite well. Like you, I have a job to do. Is it always sunshine and roses? Hardly ever, but everyone deserves a robust defense, especially when their life’s work is at stake.”
“Did Dr. Blanchet indicate why he would’ve risked that life’s work by doing what he did to those women?” Freddie asked.
“He emphatically denied ever acting in an inappropriate manner with any of his patients. He was revolted by the accusations.”
“Did he seem suicidal to you?” Freddie asked.
“Not at all. He seemed determined and was looking forward to the opportunity to defend himself in court.” Leery leaned forward, elbows on his desk. “Do you think he did this? That he killed his family and then himself?”
“We’re investigating all possibilities.”
“There’s no way he would’ve done that. All he cared about were his kids and his wife and how this was going to affect them. He was sick over that. He loved his family more than anything, which is something he said often. I can’t picture any scenario where he could be responsible for this.”
“Is there anything else you can tell us that might be relevant?” Freddie asked.
“The people suing him—the women and their partners—there was a lot of anger in that group. You should take a close look there.”
“We’re looking at everything.” Freddie handed him his card. “Call me if you think of anything else.”
“I really hope you figure out what happened. I can’t stop thinking about those poor kids.”
“We can’t either,” Freddie said. “We’re working it as hard as we can. We’ll see ourselves out.”
When they stepped out into the chill, Sam zipped her coat and took a deep breath of the fresh air. “That guy gave me the creeps.”
“Why? Because he kept staring at you?”
“For one thing. That he was defending Marcel against the credible claims of four women and actually believed in him is disgusting.”
“Playing devil’s advocate,” Freddie said, “it’s his job to believe Marcel and defend him in the lawsuit.”
“It’s still disgusting, especially the part where he described the women as overwrought.”
“I was afraid you might throat-punch him when he said that,” Freddie said with a chuckle.
“I wanted to.”
“I admire your restraint.”
“Thank you. I do, too.”
“Is the lieutenant displaying restraint?” Vernon asked as he held the car door for them.
“There was a comment about women suffering from infertility being overwrought,” Freddie said.
“I bet you wanted to throat-punch him,” Vernon said.
