Vera made a face. She’d rather walk on broken glass than do a press conference. “You have to be at the press conference, so go. Don’t worry about the other. I can do the meeting with the attorney. I have a ton of questions for him, anyway.”
“Thanks.” He tapped the roof of her SUV. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
She gave him a knowing smile. “Looking forward to it.”
29
Carter Residence
Coldwater Creek Road, 11:05 a.m.
Helen watched as the sheriff and his hireling conversed with their heads close enough to kiss. What the devil were they talking about?
“She is suspicious of us,” Renata announced.
“You’re overreacting.” Helen didn’t take her eyes off the scene in front of her house until the two had driven away. Then she turned to the couple inside her house, who were making her batshit crazy. “I told you both”—she looked from one to the other—“that all we have to do is stay calm and answer their questions.”
“He believes it was me,” Jose argued. He jabbed a finger toward the sofa. “He sat right there and looked at me like I was the one.”
Helen stepped away from the window and braced her hands on her hips. What was she going to do with them? “First off,” she said to the man she trusted completely, “you are not the one.” She shifted her attention to Renata. “You are not the one. I am not the one. We all know this. They need to close their case, so they’re desperate to pin it on someone.” She flung her arm toward the kitchen. “On the counter by the back door is today’s newspaper. The top headline is about the murders at the Wilton property. If you bothered to read it, you would see that the bigwigs in town are pushing the sheriff to get this done. They want their community protected.”
“You think,” Renata ventured, “they are trying to trap us into saying something that makes us look guilty?”
Helen nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. I knew Thomas Wilton since he moved to this town. He trusted me completely. I had the run of his home. I made the food he ate ... the coffee and tea he drank. Like I told the sheriff, if I’d wanted to kill him, I could have done it long ago and with a lot less fanfare.”
Jose nodded, slowly at first, then faster as a grin claimed his face. “You did. He was not so happy when you put it to him like that.”
Helen laughed. “You’re right.”
Then Renata laughed. “But it’s true.”
“Damn straight.”
Finally the tension in the room returned to a bearable level.
Maybe they might just make it through this. She should have known the looming property sale would come out. It was only a matter of time.
Didn’t make any difference, she decided. None of it proved one damned thing.
The big question just now for Helen was, How the hell did that little bitch hide the fact that she was pregnant?
30
Lee Kilgore Law Office
Main Avenue, 11:25 a.m.
Vera parked on the west side of the town square. She had called Myra to get the details on the visit to Kilgore. Bent’s assistant had already faxed the attorney a copy of the warrant for the Wilton property. Not that the warrant specified the will, but it included the house and contents as well as the property. Hopefully Kilgore would answer her questions about the current will as well as the previous one. The man would have no idea if they had found the will and merely had questions about the asset distribution or beneficiaries. This would hopefully work to her benefit.
Kilgore was Thomas Wilton’s personal attorney. Wilton also had two corporate attorneys; both had been most helpful in providing information about his business. Hopefully Kilgore would be as well about the man’s personal affairs.
A call from Eve waylaid Vera’s exit from her SUV. “Hey, you have something for me?” She could always hope.
“Give me a sec.” Eve sounded flustered or out of breath. “Okay. Sorry. I had to run back up the hill to the funeral home.”
“Where were you?” Vera reached for her bag and draped the strap over her shoulder.
“I was at the CPA’s office down the street.” She blew out a breath. “Down thehill. Mila Davis works there. She’s the woman Luna told us about. The same one I heard the Busybody Buddies talking about.”
