Page 39 of The Husband's Secret
Brenda blinked. A moment was required to figure out what he meant. The interview of the first name on the list they’d found. Further proof that last night had been good for her. Her mind wasn’t trapped in that continuous loop replaying the nightmare her life had become.
“Yes. I’m glad you asked. I would very much appreciate your taking the lead.” After all, he was the expert. No matter that she’d conducted a few interrogations and interviews in her books, this was real life. She would prefer to leave it to the experienced expert.
He smiled in her direction. “Good. You study his reactions, and we’ll have a postmortem after.”
“That’s a great idea.” She faced forward. Maybe today they would make some real headway on solving this puzzle.
The Winthrop home was a stately one. The owner, Albert Winthrop, was the first name on the list they had found last night. Hopefully, he would have some sort of answers for them. Whoever was behind the threats against her would be growing impatient. She needed to find what they wanted. It would certainly be a lot easier if she had some idea whatitwas. The location of money…drugs…information that could be used against them?
At the front door, Ben pressed the button for the doorbell. Brenda stood slightly back. This man was older, midseventies. According to Google, he was a widower. She didn’t want him to feel intimidated by the two of them arriving unannounced.
The door opened, but it wasn’t the elderly man whose image they had found on the internet. This was a woman, perhaps a year or so older than Brenda.
“Good morning,” Ben said. “My name is Ben Clark. I’m from the Colby Agency and this is my colleague, Brenda. We’re here to speak with Mr. Winthrop.”
Brenda recognized instantly that something was very wrong. The woman’s eyes were red, and while Ben spoke they filled with tears and her lips trembled ever so slightly.
“I apologize for the intrusion,” he offered. “If this is a bad time, we can come back later.”
Brenda held her breath. They needed answers now, not later. But Ben was right to make the offer.
“My father,” the woman said, then hesitated to take a deep breath, “died last night.”
Fear poked into Brenda’s gut, but she quickly found her voice and offered, “I’m so sorry for your loss.” Disappointment sagged her shoulders because she did not want to lose this opportunity, as selfish as that sounded. But if the man was dead…what could they do?
The woman nodded. “Thank you.” Then she frowned. “Was my father expecting you? I’m not familiar with the Colby Agency.”
Brenda looked to Ben for the answer on that one.
“No,” Ben explained. “He wasn’t expecting us, but we found his name on a list related to J&D Investments, and we’re trying to narrow down—”
A sad laugh burst out of the woman. “I don’t think you would have wanted to hear what he had to say about the people who operated that firm.”
Brenda couldn’t hold back. “Scott Devers was my husband,” she explained. “I’m desperate to determine what was actuallygoing on before the explosion. If you could help I would sincerely appreciate it.”
The other woman’s face hardened, but Brenda kept going. “Scott and I had been separated for a year, which is why I have no idea about his business dealings. All I know for certain is that whatever he was doing, now my daughter and I are in danger. That’s why we wanted to talk to Mr. Winthrop. I hoped he might be able to shed some light on the situation.”
Her face softened a little. “I’m very sorry for whatever you and your daughter are going through. All I know is that my father discovered millions of dollars were missing from his accounts. He’d had hip and knee replacement surgery and then spent weeks in a rehab facility. During that time the money disappeared. Once he was home and back to monitoring his business affairs, he found the discrepancies.”
“What was the time frame that he made the discovery?” Ben asked.
“About a month ago.”
“What did he do once he realized what was happening?” Ben inquired next.
“He confronted Scott Devers. But Scott claimed it was just a mistake in the reporting system, that the money was right where it was supposed to be. Then magically within twenty-four hours the money showed up—just like he said. My father went to a friend whose accountant specializes in forensic auditing, and he took a look and said there was only one explanation for what my father described. The money was being used illegally. A day or so later, I think, the explosion happened.”
Ben said, “Did your father go to the authorities?”
“Oh yeah. A detective…” She narrowed her gaze as if concentrating on recalling the name. “Sheldon or Shelton, I think he said. Anyway, the detective took his statement, but we never heard anything else.”
Brenda felt like she needed to apologize for Scott’s actions, but then his choices had not been hers. Still, it was painful to hear the story.
“Ms. Winthrop?” Ben asked.
“Bowden,” she clarified. “Tess Bowden.”
“I realize how difficult this must be,” he said, “but would you mind sharing what happened to your father?”
