“The office, at least, will need to be sealed off until fully processed. If there was a break-in—”
“What else? That damn vault,” she muttered. “How did whoever did this learn about it, about what was in it? We were so careful. But… maybe my father wasn’t. He wasn’t as sharp as he’d been. The last couple of years, he hadn’t been as sharp.”
“Who might he have told?”
“I can’t tell you. Maybe he had a second snifter of brandy and bragged to someone at his club. Maybe he wanted to impress a woman. His age didn’t preclude him from wanting to impress women.”
Now she shoved her hands through her dark blond hair. “Or I suppose it could have leaked through the lawyer’s office. The house has good security. Not the best, in my opinion, but good security. I wish Nate had upgraded the system before doing the work on the interior.”
“Your brother inherited the house.”
“Yes. Our father had very traditional ideas. The son inherits the family home. Which was and is no problem for me. I’m more than happy with my condo. There were multiple bequests, for Nate, for me, for Aileen, for his granddaughters, for his staff.”
“The same staff?”
“Yes, Nate and Aileen kept everyone. No reason not to.”
“Any friction between you and your brother?”
Joy gave her a sour look. “I’d hardly admit it if there were, but others would be happy to tell you. So I can truthfully say no. Nate and I always got along. We needed each other—as our father was either focused on the company or on his current wife or female interest. And we liked each other. He was an easy man to like, so no, before you ask, I don’t know if he had enemies. None he told me of.
“Lieutenant, I really want to lie down for a while. Just lie down in the quiet. If there’s more, can we get to it later?”
“Sure, but we’ll need your clothes.”
“My clothes?”
“They also have blood on them.”
She looked down, shuddered. “Oh. Of course.”
Eve handed her an evidence bag. “Thank you for your help. And I’m very sorry for your loss.”
“I appreciate that.” She rose. “Can you tell me where they’ll take my brother?”
“I’ve asked the chief medical examiner to take care of him. I’ll leave his card if you or another family member wants to contact him.”
With a nod, she started out, then stopped. She turned back with a hint of fear in her eyes.
“Will you post a guard? If whoever did this comes back, gets in again. I don’t know where or how security was breached, but until we know and fix… We can hire private, but tonight.”
“We’ll have someone on the premises.”
“Thank you.”
Eve rose, walked over to where Peabody sat with the cook and the butler.
“I’ve got everyone’s statements, Lieutenant.”
“I don’t know if it’s early or late for you, but I’d be happy to fix breakfast for you and the rest of the police here.”
“I appreciate that, but we’re fine. Could I ask you, Ms. Fortigue, and you, Mr. Tyler, how long each of you have worked in the household?”
“Fifteen years,” Divine said. “I started the year after I lost my husband. John—Mr. Tyler—came, what was it—two or three years after me.”
“Two, and close to three. So over twelve years. Mr. Henry Barrister was a good employer. Mr. Nathan and Ms. Carville have been the same. Their daughters are delightful.”
“Uma—Ms. Acker. It’s about twenty-two years now, as she told Detective Peabody. Nearly half her life. She worked for the cleaning service before that.”
