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“It’s clear to us that his life was about to implode in spectacular fashion.” Freddie chose his words carefully. “Do you think it’s possible that he might’ve done this to spare them the shame?”
“No,” Brittany said with more fire than she’d shown yet. “Absolutely not. Headoredthem. If you could’ve seen him with the kids, you’d never think he could’ve done this.” She pulled out her phone and scrolled through until she found what she was looking for. “This is him with the kids at Christmas.”
Freddie took the phone and leaned in so Gonzo could watch with him as Marcel played the piano, and the kids sang “O Holy Night” with him. His delight in and affection for his kids was visibly apparent.
“That’s who he was with them,” Brittany said after Freddie handed the phone back to her. “Always taking pleasure in everything they did and said.”
“I agree,” Rory said. “He would’ve killed himself before he harmed his kids.”
“How did his wife feel about the lawsuit and the accusations?” Freddie asked. “We spoke to her good friend Kelly, who knew nothing about it.”
“Lili was extremely upset by it,” Rory said. “Like the rest of us who knew Marcel well, she couldn’t understand why he would do such a thing.”
“So she believed the women, too?”
“She felt like I did. At first, she thought no way, but then four women came forward with the same story. What could she do but believe them? Things between her and Marcel had been tense for months since this came to light.”
“We noticed tension in their texts to each other,” Freddie said.
“They spoke only about the kids, as far as we knew,” Brittany said. “All our usual get-togethers had come to an end. Everything was a mess.”
“Can you think of anyone else who was angry enough with him to have wanted to hurt him and his family?”
“I can’t think of anyone who would harm those sweet kids,” Rory said as tears flooded his eyes.
“Neither can I,” Brittany said. “Anyone who knew Lili and the kids loved them.”
“Who was representing him in the lawsuit?” Freddie said.
“The guy’s name is Ed Leery. His office is by the National Mall.”
Freddie made a note of the lawyer’s name and would finish going through Marcel’s emails to him before reaching out to the lawyer.
“I have to ask where you two were the night before last.”
“We drove down to see my folks in Roanoke for the weekend,” Brittany said. “We just got back last night. I can give you their number to confirm we were there.”
“That’d be great.” Freddie wrote it down as she recited it. “This has been really helpful.” He put his card on the table. “If you think of anything else, please call me. The smallest detail can make the biggest difference.”
“We will,” Rory said. “Thank you for all you’re doing for them. They meant everything to us.”
When she leftAngela’s house, Sam asked Vernon to tell the twins’ detail that she’d be picking them up at school and taking them for ice cream.
Scotty had hockey practice after school, so he’d be home later.
She was looking forward to some one-on-one time with the twins during what would usually be a workday for her. This not-working thing had its benefits.
Sam waited in the car while Vernon and Jimmy coordinated with the twins’ detail to get them into her car, rather than their usual vehicle. She was beginning to get annoyed by the delay when the door opened, and two beautiful little faces appeared, grinning widely when they saw who’d come to pick them up.
She embraced them in one big hug. “Who wants ice cream?”
They shrieked with excitement, and after she seat-belted them in, they proceeded to tell her everything that’d happened that day in school, including about a boy in Alden’s class who ate his own boogers.
Sam remembered exactly who in her elementary classes had been known for eating boogers, peeing their pants and puking. You never forgot that stuff.
She directed Vernon to the Capital Candy Jar, where she and her sisters used to take Ethan, Abby and Jack when they were little. When they arrived, they waited more than fifteen minutes for the agents to set up their visit while Sam tried to be patient and keep the kids entertained.
“When can we go in, Sam?” Aubrey asked, her nose pressed to the window so she could see the shop.
