Bent could see that being part of the setup as well.
“No way. Thomas is strictly antidrug, as am I. We’ve both dabbled in the past, but not anymore. I never knew Seth to use drugs either. I can’t say about Sandy, but I can tell you none were brought into the cabin. Thomas searched their things. He wanted everything on the up-and-up.”
“Did Sandy bring clothes and a handbag with her?” Bent asked.
Alicia frowned. “She did. Sure.”
He and Vera shared a look. Someone had taken those items to slow down the investigation. Not surprising. That same someone had gone to great lengths to convey a certain perception of the weekend.
“Thank you, Mrs. Wilton.” Bent glanced at Vera. “We appreciate you answering our questions. If you think of anything else, just let the deputy outside your door know you need to speak with me.”
“One more thing,” Vera said. “Were you and your husband arguing in the weeks or days before your weekend at the cabin?”
A new sadness settled over her face. “No. Not at all. I suppose we were both feeling the tension of Seth’s sudden appearance and the other decisions in front of us.”
“What sort of decisions?” Bent nudged.
“We were planning to sell the property and move. Thomas thought we needed a fresh start. With the baby coming and after all he’d been through.” She sighed. “It just felt like the right thing to do. We were moving to Southern California. He and his parents vacationed there when he was a child. He always loved it, he said.” She frowned then. “Did someone say we were arguing?”
“It was mentioned, yes.” Bent opted not to say by whom.
“Maybe we had a tense discussion or two. He wanted Valeri to come too.” She shrugged. “To continue being his assistant.”
“But you didn’t want her to come,” Vera suggested. “Because you felt she wanted Thomas all to herself.”
Alicia smiled, but it wasn’t pleasant. “Valeri is very good at her job, which Thomas truly appreciated and respected. But there’s something off with her. She finds a sore spot and rubs it until it bleeds. I mean, she loves to create trouble. Thomas told me she’s the one who warned him that Lena was cheating—which turned out to be true, but she flat-out lied about me. She’s the one who told him about seeing me with Seth.” She moved her head side to side, anger darkening her face. “I swear, I will always believe she’s the one who sent Seth all those messages.” Alicia looked from Bent to Vera. “If you really want to know what I think—the woman is a psychopath. Capable of anything.”
“She gossips,” Vera said. “She likes making trouble. Was there something more you saw? Something that scared you?”
“Perfect example,” Alicia explained, “she had Helen and the others believing I talked about them all the time. She would tell them how I wanted something done again or differently. She wanted them to hate me, and she succeeded. Once when I was out for a walk, I ventured into the barn. Jose was there, and he told me I’d better watch out or I’d end up like the other wife. Whether it was all Valeri’s doing or not, they all hate me.”
Vera looked to Bent then, and Bent asked, “Do you have any idea what he meant by that?”
“Well, I can’t be sure, but Thomas had told me that he would never understand how Lena failed to notice the problem with her saddle. It just didn’t make sense. He chalked it up to her being too distracted by her lover.”
“Did he ever say who she was involved with?” Vera asked. “He might be able to tell us his thoughts on her accident.”
“I don’t know who he was, and Thomas never said, but I can guarantee you Valeri knows. She knows everything. And if it doesn’t suit her purpose, she changes it.”
“Can you think of anything else that may have been bothering Thomas?” Vera asked.
“He wasn’t sure how Helen and the others were going to take the move.” She looked directly at Vera then. “But we had both decided we weren’t living our lives for anyone else a minute longer. We were going to live our lives for us and our child.”
“Was he concerned,” Vera asked then, “about their reactions to changes he intended to make to his will?”
Alicia made a sad face. “I’m sorry, but he never discussed the will with me. I know he was preparing changes, but he didn’t mention the details, and I didn’t ask.”
Just then the door opened, and Panter stuck her head in and suggested it was time to wrap up the visit.
Bent thanked Mrs. Wilton again and assured her once more that they would find the person responsible for this terrible tragedy.
He hoped like hell they could sooner rather than later.
Back in the elevator, Vera turned to him as they approached the lobby level. “Do you believe her? I noticed you didn’t ask about the knife.”
“I do. For now, anyway.”
Vera shook her head. “I knew Valeri Erwin was hiding something. Alicia Wilton is right: Erwin is a damned psychopath. Their stories are totally opposite.”
