Page 33 of Lost Cause
Abby appreciated the way Burke took the time to gently explain the situation and not come right out and accuse him of withholding other information.
Victor drummed his fingers on the table, then shook his head. “Nothing comes to mind.”
Burke’s eyes darkened as if he wanted to go off on Victor, but he simply stood up and put the phone in his pocket. “We just talked about the hallway, and it has a hidden wall safe.”
Victor’s fingers stilled. “Oh, right, the safe. I don’t ever use it, so I forgot about it. My father died a few years after I moved here. Shortly before then, he gave me the combination and said it was a secret. He made me swear not to give it to anyone else. It was empty, then, and I’ve never opened it. Why bother when I’m the only one with the combination, and I didn’t put anything in there?”
He sounded convincing to Abby, but there was no way to prove he was telling the truth.
Burke shifted his stance. “If it’s empty, then you won’t mind opening it for us.”
“Mind? No.” His eyes narrowed as he stood. “I wish you’d just believe it’s empty, but I’ll come with you to prove it.”
He thumped past Burke, spearing him with an indignant stare as he went.
“Guess I’ll wait here,” Gabe said. “Unless you need me at the safe.”
“We’re good,” Abby said. “Quick question before I go. When you were alone with Victor just now, did you get any sense as to his honesty or innocence in the theft?”
Gabe rubbed his chin. “He seemed to be on the up and up. He’s still broken up about his wife disappearing. Finding out what happened to her is the only thing he wants before he dies.”
“So you don’t think he had anything to do with her disappearance?”
“Nah. Like I said, he was on the level.”
“Thanks.” Abby rushed out of the room, feeling like a yo-yo going up and down the hall.
In the large foyer, she jogged past Burke to come alongside Victor, whose shoulders were thrust back and his cane pounding the floor as he limped along—an anger-filled walk if she’d ever seen one.
When she reached him, she slowed. “You seem upset with Detective Ulrich. He’s just doing his job. In our line of work, we need facts behind the information we learn, and the facts so far say you might be involved in the theft.”
He ground his teeth. “Believe me, I understand that more than most people might. When Estelle went missing, the sheriff thought I had something to do with her disappearance, and I was under far more intense scrutiny then.”
He paused and pounded his cane on the floor in a single thump, the sound reverberating up to the high plaster ceiling with thick cracks running through it. “I should be able to let this roll off my back, but when you act like you don’t believe me, I had visions of those past interrogations.”
“I can see how that could happen, and I’m sorry it did, but try to see it from our point of view. We continue to find things in your home that make us call into question your involvement, and seem even more suspicious because you didn’t tell us about them.”
His shoulders sagged. “I guess I can understand that. When you’re done with me today, I’ll take some time to think about what else might be odd around this place.”
“Thank you, Victor. We’d very much appreciate that.” She moved ahead, leading him into the library and handing him booties and gloves. “The hallway hasn’t been processed, so please don’t touch anything until we tell you to.”
Leaning heavily on his cane, he put on the booties. She and Burke both slid on a fresh pair, finishing before Victor.
When he completed the task, he hooked the cane over his arm to slip on gloves. One corner of his mouth twitched, anticipation written all over his face. “Let’s get the safe open so I can show you it’s empty.”
“Follow me.” Burke took off for the hallway and stopped just past the safe. He pointed at it. “Open it. Touch nothing else.”
Victor attempted to spin the dial to the right, but it was sluggish.
“Use more force,” Burke said.
Victor grunted and turned it to three different numbers.
“Done,” he said, and pulled the handle down but didn’t open the door.
Had he been lying to them? Did he know there was something inside? Otherwise, why not open it to prove his innocence?
“Stand back,” Burke said, sounding impatient. “I’ll do it.”
