Page 86 of Lost Cause
“Yeah, it was an unfortunate accident—drunk driver.” Hayden took a deep, shaky breath and exhaled sharply. “But moving on, both of their mortgages are paid off. Their finances might not be perfect, but neither one of them are in any serious debt. However, looks like Sylvia is living paycheck to paycheck. Her husband has cancer, and their insurance is through Victor. Could be why she hasn’t retired.”
“Makes sense, and for the first time, I’m feeling bad for Sylvia,” Abby said. “What doesn’t make sense is that she didn’t mention the cancer. Could be too tough for her to talk about too. Did you uncover anything about their daughter?”
“She’s twenty-seven and a loan officer at the local bank. She still lives at home with her parents.” Hayden looked directly in the camera. “I couldn’t find anything to suggest she did or even might do something unethical with Victor’s safety deposit box. I did, however, discover Victor gave her a reference to get the job.”
Burke was impressed with what this guy could find. “So you don’t think there’s anything there?”
Hayden shook his head. “And nothing suspicious about Vidal and Viviane either. All three grandchildren belong to Viviane. Vidal is an engineer, married to a highly successful defense lawyer. Viviane is a stay-at-home mom, her husband a highly respected financial planner. Neither family lives beyond their means, and their finances are in excellent shape.”
Since that line of questioning was a bust, he moved on. “Did you find anything about their relationship with their father?”
“I located a few internet stories connecting them together, but nothing showing if they got along with one another. Of course, with as private as Victor is and never leaving the house, it would be pretty hard for a reporter to do a story on them.”
Abby sighed. “On the surface, it doesn’t seem like either child would need to steal the crown.”
“Exactly,” Hayden said. “I do have some additional algorithms running. They might tell us more, but I don’t think there’s anything to find here. Also, I haven’t located any information on Vincent except for a few articles in French newspapers scanned from the eighties.
“Odd,” Burke said. “A guy from such a prominent family might not have an online presence in social media, but I find it hard to believe he hasn’t appeared in more current articles too, unless he’s a hermit like Victor or deceased.
“Me too,” Hayden said. “I didn’t find an obituary either.”
“So with Victor’s hatred of his brother, Vincent could be our victim,” Abby said.
Murmurs of agreement traveled around the table.
“Anything else you have for us?” Abby asked.
Burke held his breath, hoping Hayden’s extensive research would turn something up to move the investigation forward.
“I’m still working on compiling a list of potential fences in Portland. This isn’t the sort of information you find on the basic internet, so I’ve been searching the dark web. Not as easy. I’ll let you know as soon as I have anything.” Looking frustrated, he sat back. “That’s it for me, but knowing you, you have something else for me to do.”
“You know it!” Abby laughed. “Do a deep dive for two people. Juan López first. He served as Victor’s live-in gardener for many years until Victor fired him. The only thing we know about him is that he came from California forty or so years ago and was in his fifties when he worked for Victor.”
“Hmm.” Hayden frowned. “This one could be tough. His name is extremely common and without any other information, it could be a challenge to find something. I can start by searching for an obituary for him. Might narrow things down.”
“I actually hope you don’t find one,” Burke said. “If he died, we won’t be able to interview him.”
“You said he was a live-in gardener,” Jude said. “Means he might’ve used the estate’s address for his driver’s license and other mail. Could help locate him.”
“Good point.” Hayden’s eyes filled with determination, then he looked at Abby. “You mentioned a second person?”
She nodded. “Dr. Melanie Shore, a retired local botanist. She’s been friends with Victor for many years and provided him with a biological toxin for pest control. It’s possible either she or Victor used the toxin to kill someone. We discovered skeletal remains on his property today.”
“Hold up!” Nolan raised his hand. “You casually drop the news of finding a body like it’s nothing?”
“Sorry,” Abby said, and told them about the lichen and grave Kelsey discovered.
“And you have no idea who this man might be?” Reece asked.
“Maybe López, but the victim is much taller than a typical Mexican immigrant back in the day.”
Reece angled her head. “So because the doctor told Victor about this toxin it makes her a suspect too?”
“Not an official suspect,” Burke said. “But using such organic and biodegradable pesticides that are hard to detect in a body is suspicious. Plus, she admitted to being in love with Victor and he doesn’t return her feelings. Gives her a motive to do away with Estelle.”
“And you’d like Hayden to get the 411 on her.” Jude laughed.
“Yes,” Abby said. “Everything he can find, including any sign she acted on her feelings for Victor and had an affair with him. Not only is it a motive for him to kill Estelle, but if she discovered his plan to kill her or his affair with the doctor—if he was having one—are solid reasons for her to take off.”
