Page 91 of Lost Cause
“Hold off until we have the cause of death for our victim,” Burke said.
Abby looked at him. “I don’t know. This guy might not have been shot, but Estelle might have been. Or if someone took her, her abductor could’ve used a gun.”
“But until we have a weapon, I don’t think there’s really anything we can do right now.”
“True,” Abby said. “Everything is basically on hold until Victor regains consciousness.”
“I’ll be praying for him.” Sam ended the call.
Burke turned to Abby. “This probably seems insensitive to bring up, but now that Victor will be okay, have you thought any more about his cryptic statement?”
“I still think it has something to do with the value of the crown. Likely something’s more valuable than it is.”
“He could be referring to the forged crown.”
“He didn’t even know about it until we showed him the pictures. Would that really come up in his mind after having a stroke?”
“He could simply be very good at lying, and he’d known all along.”
“No.” She shook her head hard. “No. You can’t fake his shocked response. He didn’t know.”
“I suppose he could’ve discovered something on the property regarding the crown after we showed him the pictures, but he was never alone after that to go looking around.”
She sat silently, peering at him for a moment. “What if he meant something totally different than the monetary value?”
“Like what?”
“Like money isn’t what’s important in life. Maybe the stroke caused him to think of his family and living to the fullest is what matters. Maybe he has regrets about the way he lived his life, and he wanted someone to know.”
“Sounds plausible.” Burke mentally chewed on her statement. “If only he’d wake up, since the doctor cleared us to ask him about it.”
“No way I’ll let you talk to him again!” The deep male voice boomed from the doorway.
The monster of a man standing by the door had dark hair, dark eyes, and dark complexion, but resembled Victor in the shape of his jaw and his nose.
He pushed back a long, black raincoat and clamped large hands on his waist. “You’re not going to cause my father to have another stroke.”
“I assume you’re Vidal.” Abby rose to greet him, her hand outstretched. “I’m Abby Day. We spoke on the phone.”
He ignored her hand. “I figured as much, but how can you be talking about solving whatever he hired you to do when he just barely survived a stroke?”
“I’m Detective Burke Ulrich.” He extended his hand, also ignored by Vidal. “We weren’t going to talk to him until we got his doctor’s approval. We located a hidden grave on his property and were required to tell him. That’s when he had the stroke.”
“Soyoudid this?Youput him in this position?” The pitch of Vidal’s voice rose with each word.
Abby let out an almost silent breath. “A stroke isn’t something anyone can predict. So, yes, we gave him the shocking news, but we had no idea something like this would occur. And it certainly isn’t something we would want to happen.”
“I’m not taking any chances, and even if the doctor says you can talk to him, I won’t allow it.” He crossed thick arms. “I don’t care if you’re a detective.”
They could get a court order allowing Burke to talk to Victor with the doctor’s permission, but that would upset Vidal more. Burke could still show the belt buckle to the antique dealer, and he would pursue that route before speaking to Victor. And maybe Sam would discover promising information.
But if it came down to zero leads and an unidentified body, he would have to follow the necessary steps to resolve the investigation. Even if that meant taking legal action to gain access to Victor.
“Just so you know, someone has made an attempt on your father’s life.” Burke shared the boating incident. “We’ve kept him safe in protective custody. For his safety while in the hospital, I am assigning a deputy to watch his door twenty-four/seven.”
Vidal shook his head. “What’s going on here? Why were you even searching my father’s property when you discovered the grave? What’s he mixed up in?”
“He had a valuable artifact stolen from his home, and he called the authorities and me to investigate.” She told him about the LLL team. “While investigating, we discovered information leading us to believe your mother might be buried on the property. So we brought in a forensic anthropologist who located the clandestine grave.”
