Page 34 of Lost Cause
Keeping his eyes on the safe, Victor moved far enough back to allow Burke access.
He jerked the door open, then looked over his shoulder at Victor. “Empty, huh?”
“Yes, why?” Victor blinked innocently.
How could he look innocent when Burke had clearly located something inside?
Burke slipped his hand into the safe and pulled out a stack of worn leather-bound books. “What do you call these?”
Victor’s mouth fell open, his eyes fixed on Burke’s hand. “Those look like Estelle’s missing journals.” He reached out to take them.
Burke moved his hand. “Your wife’s journals were missing?”
“She wrote in one every day, but after she disappeared we couldn’t find them.” He frowned. “I never read them, ofcourse, but Detective Orman, he’s the guy who bungled the investigation, thought I destroyed them. I always assumed she took them with her.”
Burke took a half-step back, eyes fixed and unblinking. “I don’t understand how you can possibly be confused about their location. You’re the only one with the combination to the safe. Means you had put them in here.”
“But-but-but I…” Victor shook his head. “I didn’t do it. Maybe Estelle or the person who kidnapped her—if someone did—somehow figured out the combination.”
Abby wanted to believe him, give him the benefit of the doubt, but it seemed improbable that anyone else could have the combination. “How would they figure it out?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t know.” The pain in Victor’s eyes was almost tangible, calling into question his guilt of putting the journals in the safe. “He said he’d never shared the combination with anyone and implored me to keep every bit of history and secrets regarding the mansion or our family to myself. Maybe he wasn’t telling the truth.”
“So there are more secrets beyond the crown,” Abby said.
“Maybe secrets isn’t the right word. Like every family, we have stories in our history we don’t want shared in public. That’s all. No big secrets related to the crown.”
Abby didn’t like that they couldn’t rule out this elderly gentleman of his potential involvement in the theft. If it were up to her as an individual, she’d be inclined to believe him. But as a law enforcement officer, she wasn’t sure he could be trusted, and she couldn’t give him the benefit of the doubt. They would now have to keep their eyes on him for duplicitous behavior and other secrets he might be hiding.
9
Burke settled the journals in the safe for Sam to process. The only thing he could believe from Victor’s story was that the safe combination was a secret and only Victor knew it. Everything else the guy claimed—like not putting the journals in the safe—was out of the question until they had facts to prove otherwise.
He met Victor’s troubled gaze. “Head back to the dining room, and we’ll be right in to finish our questioning.”
Victor’s eyes creased into slits. “It feels like you’re looking for a way to accuse me of some crime. Maybe I shouldn’t answer your questions.”
Abby gave him a placating smile. “We’re just trying to get to the truth. Nothing more. Nothing less. If you answer truthfully and don’t withhold other secrets like the safe, you’ll be fine.”
He curled his fingers into his hair, looking like he wanted to pull it out. “I told you. I didn’t hide the safe from you. I just didn’t think of it. You both seem like reasonable people. Why can’t you give me the benefit of the doubt?”
Burke shoved his hands in his pockets. “Not something we do in an investigation. We have to go by verifiable facts.”
“I can understand that. Doesn’t mean I like it. I’ll await your further questioning in the dining room.” He stomped down the hall, moving faster than Burke had seen him go.
Trailing Victor, Abby glanced at Burke, frustration clouding her eyes. “I don’t have a clue if Estelle’s journals can help us find the crown. But if you couple it with her necklace in the greenhouse, someone trying to dig it up last night could mean the journals are related to the theft.”
“Seems possible to me,” Burke said. “But it could be as simple as Estelle knowing the safe combination and that Victor would never open it, so she stored them there for privacy.”
Abby peered over her shoulder at the end of the hallway. “Hopefully any fingerprints Sam lifts from the safe will prove that.”
Burke nodded and looked around the library. Victor had already exited, and Sam was dusting another window lock.
She looked up, brush stilled in midair. “Victor didn’t look happy when he raced through here.”
“He’s not.” Burke told her about the journals. “I left them in the safe for you to process and take into evidence. They need to be secured at all times. I don’t want Victor anywhere near them.”
With a toss of her head, Sam flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. “That could be a challenge. I don’t have a vehicle to lock them in like I usually do. Maybe Victor has a room where we can secure them.”
