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Maybe he’ll get lucky, Faith thought.Maybe the family will cremate him.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Caroline Hucksley must have been a strikingly beautiful woman in her day. At fifty-two, she was still striking, but her beauty had grown severe and gave an impression of coldness that would exist even if she had shown any sign of grief at her ex-husband’s death. As it was, she took the news not with triumph, per se, but with a kind of chilly satisfaction that Faith thought wholly inappropriate in front of her son, Christopher, who was clearly broken up at his father’s passing. The twenty-three-year-old sat next to his mother, eyes red with crying, face wearing the same vacant expression Faith had seen on the faces of Julia Prescott and Daniel Campanelli.
“I keep thinking,” he said, “if I had been there. I know it’s stupid. It’s not like I had any way of knowing someone was going to hurt him. I just…”
He shrugged, and Michael reached forward and squeezed his shoulder briefly. Turk sat at his feet, his own expression subdued. Faith knew that in his own way, Turk felt guilty for William’s death. His guilt was just as misplaced as Christopher’s, but Faith felt the same guilt, and she knew it was useless to try to eliminate it. You just had to live with it and move forward.
“I can’t say I’m surprised,” Caroline said. “William had many enemies. He was a difficult man to get along with.”
“You got along with him for twenty-two years,” Michael pointed out.
“I wasmarriedto him for twenty-two years,” Caroline corrected. “When you’re nineteen years old, you make foolish choices. That was mine.” She took a sip of water from the frosted glass cup on the coffee table in front of her, then set it primly down on the coaster.
“He wasn’tallbad, of course,” she said. “No one truly is. He simply was what he was.”
“And what was that?” Faith asked.
She looked at Faith as though Faith had just asked the most foolish question ever. “A lawyer,” she said.
“He was a good lawyer,” Christopher interjected, for the first time showing frustration at his mother’s attitude.
“He was,” Caroline admitted, though Faith suspected Christopher was referring to his morals and Caroline was agreeing to his talent. She confirmed that suspicion a moment later when she said, “He was quite talented. I’ll say that much for him. He provided a very comfortable life for me and Christopher. I think that was why I stuck with him for so long.”
“Mom, not now,” Christopher said irritably.
“What?” she said. “I’m agreeing with you.”
Before the squabble could continue, Faith asked, “Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to hurt him?”
Caroline once more flashed an incredulous look Faith’s way. “Of course. He was a lawyer. He was never unfair to anyone, not from a legal standpoint, anyway, but people who are struggling blame anyone they can whether it makes sense or not.”
Faith wondered if Caroline was aware of the wisdom in that statement. “Anyone in particular?” she asked.
“No one comes to mind,” Caroline said. “When we were living together, there would always be the odd squabble, and one time a man came to his office shouting that William had robbed him, but William was able to talk him down before the disagreement came to blows.”
“When was this?” Michael asked.
“Oh, this was a long time ago,” Caroline replied. “Fifteen years or so. Christopher was just a boy. She smiled wistfully, and for a moment, Faith saw another side of the catty, austere woman in front of her. “Christopher looked at William like he was a superhero. Do you remember that, Christopher?”
“I do,” Christopher replied, nodding. “I was at the office when the guy showed up. He was all angry and red-faced and shouting. Big dude, too. Had to be six-five, almost three hundred pounds. Dad just came out with his hands open, talking calmly. The guy shouted at him a few minutes, then just calmed down and walked away.”
“How often would you see your father after he and your mother split?” Faith asked.
Christopher shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe once or twice a month. We all got along after the divorce.”
Faith looked at Caroline, who nodded. “William and I agreed to be civil for Christopher’s sake.”
“But the two of you didn’t get along?” Michael pressed.
“Well, we had our differences,” Caroline admitted, “but those seemed less important after we weren’t living together. I think we were better friends than we were spouses.”
“Were you friends?” Faith asked.
“No,” she replied with the faintest touch of regret. “No, by the time we ended our marriage, it was too late for that. The best we could hope for was civility, and that was all we managed.”
“So you wouldn’t know if there was anyone new in his life?”
