“I didn’t think of it as dark and light,” said Lily. “I just feel awful for that poor young woman. I want her to find her peace.”
“What is her peace?” asked Eric. “Is it her work? Is it Javier and Chelsea? Is it her parents? How are we going to find any of that?”
“We start with the work,” said Cassidy. “If we can figure all of that out, maybe the rest will fall into place.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Eric and Joseph sat at the conference table speaking to Morgan’s mother. They were frustrated, annoyed, and pissed off.
“Ma’am, we’re trying to find out why your daughter killed herself. I would think you would want to help us with this,” said Joseph.
“She was depressed. I don’t know what to tell you. I didn’t do anything wrong. She was a happy kid and then suddenly she wasn’t.”
“Can you pinpoint a time when that changed?” asked Eric trying to control his temper.
“I don’t know. Seven, maybe eight years ago or so. She’d moved to New Orleans and then was traveling or something, doing paintings on the road. Strange thing to do. Then she called and said she was back in New Orleans.”
The two men stared at one another and shook their heads. They were not going to get anything worthwhile out of the mother.
“Are we done? I have a Pilates class.”
“Yes. We’re done.” The call ended and Joseph stared at his friend.
“I’m telling you right now that if the father reacts that way, I’m going to kill him.”
“You didn’t want to kill the mother?” smirked Eric.
“Oh, I definitely did but I’m more tolerant with women sometimes.” Eric just chuckled, dialing the father’s number. He picked up on the first ring.
“If you’re selling something, I’m not interested.”
“We’re not selling anything, sir. My name is Eric and my business partner Joseph is with me. We work for a security company called Legacy.”
“Okay.”
“We’re investigating your daughter’s suicide,” said Joseph.
“What’s there to investigate. She swallowed a handful of pills and died in her car in a strange neighborhood.”
“It wasn’t a strange neighborhood, sir. She lived in and around that area,” said Joseph through clenched jaw.
“Look, I hadn’t seen Morgan in probably four or five years. I was in New Orleans on business and called her to have lunch with me. She showed up, ate half of a side salad and said she needed to run. She barely looked me in the eyes.”
“Did she appear scared or nervous?” asked Eric.
“I don’t know. Not scared really but she was different. I would call her once a week just to hear her voice but she never spoke more than ten or fifteen words to me. I can’t figure it out. I thought we were close.”
“If you’ll forgive me, you and your wife seem to be indifferent to your daughter’s suicide. Aren’t you curious as to what pushed her to this point?” asked Joseph.
There was silence on the other end of the line, then a long, drawn-out sigh.
“I’ve asked myself why since the day I found out. According to my therapist, that’s normal but I cannot obsess about it.”
“You’re seeing a therapist,” said Eric plainly.
“Yes. I’m seeing a therapist and if you must know, it’s about my inability to admit that my relationship with my ex-wife is over.”
“I see,” said Eric. “Well, best of luck with that. If you think of anything else, please give us a call.” He didn’t respond, he just ended the call leaving Eric and Joseph to stare at one another.
