Old Flames Never Die (Valentine Mystery) (18 page)

“Back to Liv Danforth, do you have any
reason to think she may have been involved in your father's murder?” Daniel asked.

“Liv? I doubt it. Why would she?”

“You tell me.”

“Spouses kill for passion and money,
right? Well there was neither here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Any woman would love to be in Liv's
position. She's got a husband with a big trust who doesn't care what she does
with it or with herself. As long as she lets him do his thing, she can do
whatever she wants.”

“Some women would like love, maybe a
family,” Tess said.

“Have you met Liv?” Kevin asked. “No.
She was about the money.”

“What about the money? You said people
kill for passion and money, but there wasn't either. But there was money unless
the trust is drying up,” Daniel asked.

“He would have made her sign a prenup
that would cut her off if he was murdered. No, she gets more money being
married to him than having him dead.”

“The foreman said she was here. Has she
moved back to the house?” Daniel asked.

Kevin shook his head. “She stopped by
this morning because she's doing some work in her bathroom. New tile or
something. I don't know. She came in, barely acknowledged us and then went to
her room.”

Daniel's brows grew together. “How long
was she here?”

“She left about one or so, I think. I'm
not sure.”

“Was she here the whole time?”

Kevin gave Daniel an exasperated look. “I
don't know. I assume so, but we tend to stay out of each other's way.”

“It almost sounds like you don't like
each other?”

“I don't like my dad, and by extension,
her,” Kevin said.

“Liv Danforth hinted that your father
wasn't faithful,” Daniel said. “Any idea who his mistresses were?”

Kevin shook his head. “I have no idea.”

“Do you know Theresa Cromwell?” Daniel
asked.

“No.”

Daniel studied Kevin for a moment, “Well,
I guess that is it for now.”

“Do you need to talk with Roberta?” he
asked.

They all looked to find her curled in a
fetal position. The scene was accentuated by a loud snore.

“We can talk to her later.”

“So, what did you think?” Daniel asked
as he Tess drove away from the Danforth home on their way to see Bobby Wilson.

“I don't like him.”

“As a person or for the murder?” Daniel
asked.

“Both. I was disturbed by his wife at
first, but the more Kevin spoke, the more I thought she had the right idea. If
I were married to him I'd drink myself into a stupor too.”

Daniel laughed.

“Why do you think she laughed at the mention
of Liv? “ Tess asked.

“I don't think she was involved in the
same conversation we were.”

“It's sad. Why do people live like that?”

“Money. Kevin had that right. You know
about that yourself. “

Tess nodded. She did know about that.
Her parents were the epitome of the rich couple who hated each other, but who
could win an Oscar for ability to keep up appearances.

“So let’s talk about Wilson again,”
Daniel said.

Tess had told him about the mineral
rights and mining on the way to the Danforth's, but reviewed it for him again.

“How much money do you think cyanite is
worth?”

“I haven't been able to do too much
research, but it's used in industrial materials, so it seems like it could be a
lot.”

“And it could be where Danforth planned
to get quick cash for those horses.”

Tess nodded.

“So where does that leave Wilson?”

“It leaves him with nothing until they
decide to build on or sell the land. But, it could take years.”

“Wilson made it sound like he and
Danforth were friends, but what kind of friend would do that?”

“It's cold,” Tess agreed.

“What happens to the partnership with
Danforth dead? Any chance he gets the money from mining?”

“He wouldn't get any of the mining money
unless it's in Danforth's will. What happens to the partnership depends on
several factors. In some cases the living partner has to buy the deceased
partner's share. Or the deceased partner can will his portion to the other
partner.”

“So Wilson loses either way?”

“Maybe. Probably,” Tess said.

“Anger and revenge are as powerful a
motive as money.”

Tess nodded and took a moment to gather
her thoughts for the next bit of information she needed to tell Daniel. “Did
the Senator tell you why he wanted to talk with Jack last night?”

“No. I figured it was Worthington
business and I try to avoid that.”

Tess shifted in her seat. “He wanted
Jack to find out if Liv wanted to sell the land in Bucks County.”

“Really?”

“Is he into land development?”

Daniel shook his head. “More likely he
knew about the mining.” He sighed. “I guess I'll need to talk to him.”

Daniel was quiet as they continued to
drive.

“So, is that why Jack left angry last
night?” he finally asked.

“No. He insinuated that Jack was having
an affair with her.”

Daniel let out a snort.

“You think that's funny?” Tess asked.
She already felt bad because she wasn't sure that Jack wouldn't see her telling
Daniel what the Senator has said to him as a betrayal. She didn't need Daniel
making light of Jack's feelings.

“No. I think it sounds like something my
grandfather would say. I can't blame Jack for being mad about that. Or for not
wanting to be a part of the family. If I had a choice, I might opt out as well.”

“Except your parents.”

“They make it tolerable to be part of
the Worthington family,” he agreed.

Daniel maneuvered the SUV into the
parking lot outside Bobby Wilson's construction office.

“Look at that,” he said.

But she'd already seen the black truck
parked in front of Wilson's office.

“Based on what you found out, Wilson has
the most motive to want Charles and you dead.”

“I wonder if that's his truck,” Tess
said.

“Let's find out.”

They were met by Wilson's secretary. “He's
on the phone right now, but I'll let him know you're here when he gets off,”
she told them.

“Is that his black truck outside?”
Daniel asked her.

“Yeah, why?”

“Has he been out of the office today?”

“Sure. He has to visit the sites to see
how things are going.”

“What about in Bucks County? Did he
visit that site?” Daniel asked.

She frowned, “I guess so, why?”

“Do you have a way of checking?”

“What's this about?”

“Just routine questions.”

“He had an appointment with someone from
the county about the land he and Mr. Danforth were developing.”

“What time was that appointment?” Daniel
asked.

“Around lunch time. Mr. Wilson wanted to
swing by between his stops to Georgia Springs and Dillwood.”

Tess wondered if Wilson met with the
same people she'd talked to and if those people had mentioned her visit. Even
if they did, why would it lead Wilson to want her dead? Unless of course, he
killed Danforth and felt she was getting too close to figuring that out.

“Mr. Wilson can tell you more,” the
secretary said with a nod to her phone that showed Wilson's line was no longer
in use. “I'll let him know you're here.”

~~~~

“I think I told you all I know,” Wilson
said as he motioned for Tess and Daniel to sit.

“We just have a few more questions,”
Daniel said.

“Okay.”

“Do you know why construction was
stopped on the Bucks County project you had with Mr. Danforth?”

“Some sort of issue with the land.”

“As the construction specialist, isn't
that something you should know about?”

“Chuck was the leader of this project.
My job was just to send the workers when all the permits and such were ready to
go.”

“Did you ever visit the site?” Daniel
asked.

“Sure. I didn't want to invest my money
and manpower without knowing the land was good.”

“What about after you started clearing?”

“A few times until Chuck said there was
a problem and we needed to stop.”

“Because of some issue with the land?”

Wilson shifted in his seat giving Tess
the impression that he was uncomfortable with the line of questioning. “Yes.”

“And you weren't interested in knowing
what that issue was?” Daniel pressed on.

“What's all this about?” Wilson asked.

“We've discovered that Mr. Danforth
stopped the construction project for more personal reasons.”

“You're talking about the minin'?”

“Yes.”

In Tess' mind, Wilson's admission of
knowing about the mining made him look guilty unless he thought someone else
was mining the land.

“I'll admit, that was mighty underhanded
of Chuck—” he stopped. “You think I killed him over that?”

“We're just gathering information,”
Daniel said.

“Well, I'll be. You do. Or at least I'm
a suspect. Well, let me clear that right up, because I've got me an alibi.”

“You do?”

“Sure. I was fishin', remember?” He
nodded to Tess. “I told your assistant all about it.”

Tess frowned. She wasn't an assistant. “Did
anyone see you fishing?” she asked, hoping she sounded more authoritative.

“I don't know. I wasn't paying
attention. But I did stop at the Last Stand and get me some bait.”

“What time was that?” Daniel asked.

“About 6:45 or so.” The distance to the
Last Stand was about 45 minutes, Tess determined. Since Charles was killed
around noon, there was plenty of time for Wilson to fish and still get back in
time to commit murder.

 “Anyone else see you?” she asked.

“I was fishin'. It's a solitary
activity.”

“How about on your way back?” Daniel
asked.

Wilson shook his head.

“What time did you get back to Jefferson
Tavern?” Daniel asked.

“I guess about 11:00. Oh, I had the full
load breakfast at Pearl's Diner at about 10:00. I have the receipt. I kept it
because Pearl asked me about remodelin', which made that a business meetin' for
tax purposes.”

In her mind, Tess calculated the
distance from Pearl's Diner and the Danforth property and determined that the
timeline didn't completely clear him.

“Did you go down to Bucks County today?”
Daniel asked.

“Today? Why?”

“I would think that with your partner
gone, you'd want to resolve the issue in Bucks County,” Daniel said.

“I haven't been to Bucks County. No
reason to until this issue with the partnership is resolved or so says my
lawyer.”

“Your secretary says you were there
today.”

Wilson shrugged, but Tess could see the
worry in his eyes.

“Why would you hide that from us?”
Daniel asked.

“The same reason a child lies to its
mother; I don't want to get into trouble, especially for somethin' I didn't do.
I know you're thinking I killed Chuck and I know this thing about the mining
only makes it look worse for me.”

“I can't believe you weren't angry at
Danforth at what he did,” Daniel said.

“Sure I was mad, but I didn't kill him.”

“But you could have. Your time fishing
and breakfast at Pearl's Diner doesn't completely clear you.”

When Wilson didn't respond, Daniel
asked, “Is that why you tried to kill Ms. Madison today?”

“What?” Wilson looked to Daniel and then
to Tess.

“I haven't killed anybody…or tried to
kill anybody.”

“Was she getting too close?”

“No!”

“Did the county people mention that she
stopped by? Did you see her on the road and decide to make sure she couldn't
tell anyone what Danforth had done to you?”

“No. This is crazy. I never saw her…didn't
even know she was there…How would I have known her car even?”

“I was here a few days ago,” Tess
reminded him.

He gave her a look that was somewhere
between panic and disbelief.

“What you're insinuating is crazy.” He
took a long, deep breath, and appeared to gather himself. “I'm calling my
lawyer.”