“Why did Mr. Wilton sell all the horses and goats?”
“Oh he hate them.” She blinked again, her expression startled. “I mean, after wife die he can’t stand to look at them.”
The reactions just kept coming. None of these questions should have startled her or had her struggling for an answer. Clearly, she was holding back.
“Did you know Alicia is pregnant?”
This time her expression was beyond startled.Shockedwas the better description. “I did not.”
“Were you and Jose aware that Mr. Wilton was planning to sell the place and move to California?”
Her expression closed, shut down like a television that had just been unplugged.
The interview, for all intents and purposes, was over. The rest of her answers were exactly the same: She didn’t know.
Vera pulled a card from her shoulder bag and passed it to Renata. “Please call me if you think of anything else or if you just need to talk.”
Renata took the card and studied it. She lifted her gaze to Vera’s. “It was the wife. She mean, mean lady. Not love Mr. Thomas. She kill him. Probably just want baby to be sure she get all money.”
Apparently she did have more to say.
“Are you sure about that?” Vera pushed, knowing full well she would only get the woman’s opinion or, possibly, the answer she’d been told to give if asked.
The stare-off lasted five or so seconds, then Renata focused on putting the card in her pocket. “I just see it coming. That’s all. She do bad things. Bad trouble was coming.”
Bad trouble definitely came. No question about that.
A couple minutes later the door opened and Bent appeared. Helen Carter assured both Bent and Vera that they should call or come back anytime if they had more questions.
Once Vera and Bent were standing between their vehicles, he handed her two sheets of paper.
“I asked Carter and Martinez to make a list of their weekend activities.”
Vera scanned first one, then the other. “This is pretty much word for word what Renata told me.”
Bent glanced back at the house. “How did it go with Renata?”
“She was definitely nervous. She insisted the killer was Alicia. As for my revelations, she didn’t believe the first wife cheated. She called her an angel. But it was the news about the pregnancy and the property sale that really rattled her.”
Bent considered this for a moment. “Martinez was more than just nervous. He didn’t want to answer any questions, but he did. He looked to Carter each time before answering. His body language spoke loud and clear—he was not happy to be questioned again. Like Renata, talk of the pregnancy and the property sale unsettled him.”
“Their answers were unquestionably scripted.” Anyone who’d spent any time at all conducting interviews could not have missed the telltale signs. “Carter made sure they all gave the same answers.” Maybe Vera was wrong to make Carter the leader in this, but that was how it felt.
Bent looked toward the house. Like Vera, he understood they would be watching and wanted to make them even more nervous.
“Carter was as cool as a cucumber.” Bent reached for Vera’s door and opened it. “But the question about the property sale was the one time she hesitated with her answer. Maybe she didn’t know, but I can’t see that being the case. Carter was at that mansion all day, nearly every day. How would she miss appraisers tromping around, measuring and taking photos?”
“Good point. Obviously the same applies to Erwin.” Vera hadn’t thought of that. Still, Erwin’s reaction to the news of the potential sale was obviously emotional. Whether she’d known about it or not before finding that appraisal, the idea pained her. Vera climbed into the driver’s seat of her SUV. “So you think our four are hiding something significant?” She would bet money on it.
Bent leaned in close to whisper in her ear. “I don’t think they’re just hiding something, I think they either did the killing or know whodid. Or possibly facilitated the effort. Maybe not all four were involved at the same level, but each one played some role in what happened.”
Vera looked toward the house once more, dared to hope they truly were getting closer. Then she turned to Bent, nose to nose. “I believe you just might be right, Sheriff. We only have to prove how it was worth it to all three to commit cold-blooded, premeditated murder for a mere ten mil each.” She gave a knowing nod. “Or maybe it was about what they stood to lose. After all, it makes sense that Wilton’s will would have changed if he moved on with his life. Maybe those big asset distributions would have disappeared along with their jobs.”
Bent grinned. “This is why I needed you on this one,” he admitted. He closed her door, and she powered the window down. “Where you headed now?”
“I have some research to do on Luna’s situation.” Vera needed to close that whole scene. For both her sister’s and her own sake. The look on Bent’s face signaled he had something else on his mind. “Did you have something you needed me to do?”
“Wilton’s attorney, Lee Kilgore, called. He has an opening for a meeting at eleven thirty this morning. After that he’ll be out of town for the next few days. As much as we need to hear what he has to say, I can’t be there. When Myra sent the text, she reminded me that the mayor set that press conference for eleven forty-five.”
