Vaughn clapped his hands together. “That’s wonderful news, isn’t it? The sooner we get answers, the sooner her family can find the peace they all deserve.”
“It may be wonderful news for Rosemary, but it it’s not so wonderful for us.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Georgiana came here to press us for information about Logan.”
Vaughn tapped a finger to the door, thinking. Then he said, “I’d like to speak to the detective alone.”
“What?” Tilly said. “No—why?”
He placed a hand on his wife’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “Trust me, honey. It’s best I speak with her. All right?”
“I don’t understand.”
Rosemary stepped into the Lamberts’ house as if she owned the place, looped her arm in Tilly’s and said, “Come on, friend. Let’s have a drink. What do you say?”
With a great deal of reluctance, Tilly nodded, and they disappeared down the hall.
And then there were two.
5
“I was thinking perhaps we could speak in private,” Vaughn said.
Given our lack of privacy options, I suggested we go for a drive. He agreed, and we were off. As soon as we pulled out of the driveway, I said, “Why did you want to speak to me alone?”
“I need to admit something to you,” he said. “I lied.”
“About what?”
“My son.”
“What about him?”
“When the chief of police came to see me, I wasn’t prepared for their questions. At the time, Logan hadn’t even been gone for a day, so my wife didn’t think anything about the fact that he hadn’t returned home yet. Chief Foley was determined to speak to Logan So, not wanting to alarm my wife, I said he’d left for the weekend with friends.”
“Was it something you made up, or was it what Logan told you?”
“I made it up. And look, I’m not a dishonest person.”
“Why did you lie, then?”
“I was trying to spare my wife. She’s been stressed about Logan’s wellbeing ever since Audrey died. I was hoping to find my son before anyone knew he hadn’t come home yet. And then the police showed up. I had to make a snap decision, and I did.”
“Lying to the police is never the right decision.”
“I get that, which is why I’m telling you now. I have every intention of going to the police department later to explain.”
“When you say ‘later,’ how much later?”
“Today, all right?”
“I’ll give you until the end of the day, and if you haven’t told them by then, I will. I appreciate the honesty, but you never should have kept it to yourself for this long. Your son has been on the run for four days.”
“I wouldn’t say he’s ‘on the run.’”
“Then what would you call it?”
