I picture Seton kneeling over me when I came to. “She couldn’t have attacked me because it contradicts the timeline. I was on the ground here. The house was engulfed in flames, but Seton’s whole focus was on me. She didn’t know her mother was in danger until I told her. That was when she went into action-hero mode and ran into the inferno.”
“Pretty solid deduction,” Gilcrest says. He had to have worked most of this out on his own, and I wonder about the motivation behind this line of questioning. Maybe he’s testing my loyalties.
“Any hanky-panky between you and the chief?” he asks.
“Are we in kindergarten?”
“Sex. Have you had sex, or anything close to it?”
Nothing beyond a few lingering touches over the years. “Neither of us would make that mistake,” I say. “Too much baggage. And if the chief’s such a good cop, wouldn’t she have disclosed a sexual relationship?”
“Let’s hope,” Gilcrest says, nodding at my phone. “You can start that up.”
I tap record.
“Let’s go back a little further on the timeline,” Gilcrest says. “You got up to go for a run. Who was at the house?”
“Just me,” I say. “My mother had a client meeting in Finstock, and my brother left the night before.”
Gilcrest waits for me to continue.
“They found out about the podcast,” I say. “And I asked too many questions about my father. Reid didn’t want to talk about what had happened.”
“It got heated?” Gilcrest asks.
I nod.
“Who else was there?”
“My mother, Hadley, Paul Burke.”
“Paul must have gone to Burkehaven Farm for the night. And your aunt Hadley?”
“She walked to the bungalow.”
And she didn’t answer the door when I used the landline to call 9-1-1 the next morning, but my guess is that Seton has already filled the detective in on her suspicions. Unlike Seton, Gilcrest is direct in his questioning. “Your aunt wasn’t home when you used the phone,” he says, pausing for a confirmation I don’t provide. “Fine,” he says. “The chief told me your aunt arrived on the scene after you’d pulled Andrea from the fire. Does your aunt get along with Paul Burke?”
“They get along fine,” I say. “But Hadley travels a lot. She’s not here often.”
“What about your mother? Does Hadley get along with her?”
“Mostly,” I say. “They’re sisters. And my mother always lets Hadley stay at the bungalow when she wants to.”
Gilcrest looks up, grasping the implication of what I’ve said at once. “Yourmotherowns Idlewood. Did she buy Hadley out?” When I don’t answer, he adds, “Property records are public, Charlie. You can tell me now, or I can make a quick visit to town hall.”
“My grandfather left the property to my mother.”
This time, Gilcrest does make a note on his phone. The morning’s conversation with Freya has me questioning everything and anything that’s happened. And if this were an episode ofScene of the Crime, wouldn’t Hadley’s actions warrant a second look?
“Even if Hadley has a grudge against my mother,” I say, “why start a fire? And you told me the arson team would take the lead on this case.”
“They take the lead on the fire. I’m trying to find out who assaulted you.”
“My aunt Hadley wouldn’t hit me with a tree limb,” I say. “And a state detective investigating an assault? This is hardly a major crime.”
“It is when it’s wrapped up with arson.” Gilcrest intertwines his fingers. “See, it all connects. How’s the cash flow at Reid Construction? Any talk about unpaid debt?”
“My mother runs the business.”
