Page 21 of Go Alone

Marcus sat on the easy chair across from Oliver and took out his notepad. “How well did Deborah know the Mirzoyans?”

Oliver shook his head. “I’m not sure. Fairly well, I think. She liked them better than the Garfields.”

Marcus’s ears perked up at that. “Who are the Garfields?”

“The couple that owned the house before the Mirzoyans. They’re deceased.”

Marcus’s ears perked up further. “What happened to them?”

“I can’t recall. Deborah told me about it.”

“When was this?”

Oliver tilted his head. “This would have been five years ago. About a year after their house foreclosed.”

Marcus raised an eyebrow. That could be interesting. “Why did their house foreclose?”

Oliver’s eyes shifted to the left. “I’m not sure.”

Marcus nodded. He set his notepad down and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees and boring his eyes into Oliver. “There are two possible reasons you’re lying to me,” Marcus said. “One, you’re trying to protect yourself, and two, you’re trying to protect Deborah. In either case, the decision is a foolish one.”

Oliver swallowed. He looked to the left, but this time, he seemed to be trying to siphon strength from the flatscreen television behind Marcus rather than think up a lie. “Deborah falsified their income documents and accelerated a foreclosure action on the home.”

Marcus resisted the urge to whistle or say “wow” or otherwise let on how shocking it was to hear that kind of cruelty. “These were elderly people, the Garfields?”

Oliver nodded. “Deborah was… She could be…”

“There’s no reason for a filter right now,” Marcus said. “Protecting Deborah’s reputation will only make it more difficult for us to find her killer.”

Oliver sighed. “When Deborah wanted something, she would not take no for an answer. It wasn't like some people, either, where they just throw tantrums until they get something. If you deny Deborah something she wants she'd get… Vindictive. She had a cruel streak. That was a big part of the reason we separated. When she didn't like you, she would lash out in the most horrible way."

“So did the Garfields deny her something she wanted or did she just not like them?”

“Both, I think. The Garfields are an older couple, and they complained regularly about the children making noise or playing in their yard. They were rather surly. Deborah felt they didn’t fit with the neighborhood.”

“When did they move here?”

OIiver smiled bitterly. “About forty years before we did.”

“Right,” Marcus replied. He picked his notepad up again, then said, “Okay. So they didn’t like the kids and Deborah didn’t like them. What is the thing they denied her?”

“I’m sorry, but Deborah is the victim, right? Why are you talking to me like she’s a suspect?”

“We believe she was murdered because of some action she committed in the past related to a property dispute.”

“Well, she didn’t have a property dispute with the Garfields. She had a dispute, but the foreclosure had nothing to do with it.”

“Falsifying documents to get them foreclosed faster might count to our killer. Clearly does, actually.”

Oliver glared at him. “Well, then you have your answer.”

Marcus met OIiver’s glare with an even gaze. “I told you I’d have to ask uncomfortable questions, Mr. Holt. I assure you, I’m doing this to find justice for Deborah, not to cause you further pain.”

Oliver took a deep breath. When he exhaled, the fight went out of him. “I don’t know what set Deborah off about them. She and I were already on our way out by that time. I tried to be involved in as little of her life as possible. Other than… Well, you know.” He ran a shaky hand over his forehead, and when he spoke again, his voice was thick with emotion. “I still loved her, though. I always loved her. I hope she knew that. I hope she knew it wasn’t just…”

His lower lip began to tremble, and Marcus decided that was all he was going to get from him right now. “Thank you, Mr. Holt. Again, I’m sorry for your loss. If Deborah earned your love and loyalty, then I’m absolutely certain the good outweighed the bad.”

He couldn’t be certain of that, of course, but he’d been hard on a man who just lost the woman he loved.