Intimate Caresses (The Love and Danger Series) (8 page)

Meredith Silverberg sighed before slumping into the chair her nanny had just vacated.  “Sure.  If it will speed this along, what do you want to know now?”

“What time did you get home from work last night?” Colt asked.  This time, Brock was watching while Colt asked the questions. 

Meredith looked up at the ceiling as if she were trying
to remember the details of that night.  “Oh, goodness.  I guess I left my office about seven o’clock.  That would have brought me home about seven thirty.”

“Was your husband home when you got here?”

“No,” she laughed.  “By then he’d already headed back to the office.”

“Why is that so funny?” he asked.

Meredith rolled her eyes and pushed a hand through her hair.  “Jared wasn’t here because he was trying to prove that his job was more important than mine.  He was always playing these stupid mind games, trying to show the world that he was the man of the house.  That he could earn more money than me.”  She laughed harshly.  “Well, I guess he proved he was the strongest now, right?  I mean, how many women have to deal with that kind of foolishness?” she scoffed.

Brock and Colt both thought it was odd that the woman’s husband had died the previous night and she seemed almost…relieved? 

“So you got home at seven-thirty.  What happened next?”

She sighed as if she were extremely put out by the interference with her day.  “Well, let me see.  The kids had eaten dinner so I went upstairs and talked to them.  I changed clothes and went to bed myself.”

Brock and Colt both made notes of that.  “When did you realize that your husband wasn’t home?” Brock asked.

“In the morning when I woke up.
  He wasn’t in bed.”  She rolled her eyes and shifted slightly in the chair as she continued, “Jared works late a lot, but he always comes home.  I’m a pretty sound sleeper so I don’t hear him when he comes in most nights.”

“And then you called the police?”

“No,” she replied, shaking her head.  “I called his office, his cell phone…I didn’t think anything was wrong.”

“How were you notified of his death?” Colt asked.

“A co-worker called me and told me she was sorry for my loss,” Meredith said and, for the first time during that conversation, she showed sadness.  But there was something behind her eyes that didn’t strike Brock as sincere. 

Brock looked over at Colt and they both nodded.  “Okay, I think that’s all for now.  Thank you for your time.”

Meredith also stood up.  “When will my husband’s body be released for burial?  I’d like to start making funeral arrangements, but I can’t do anything until…” she shrugged as if she didn’t want to finish that statement. 

“We’re working as quickly as we can to tie up the issues around the investigation,” Colt explained. 

They all moved towards the doorway when Brock stopped and looked down at the wife.  “I was just wondering, what color lipstick do you wear?”

Meredith snorted.  “I don’t have time for lipstick, Detective.  I might occasionally put it on first thing in the morning, but it’s gone by the time I finish my first cup of coffee so why bother.”

Brock nodded.  “Thank you for your time.”

They both walked out, not saying a word u
ntil they reached their car.  Brock was just about to slip into the driver’s seat when he caught Desiree waving to him from the side of the house.  Brock walked over to her, knowing that Colt was right behind him.  Both of them were wary, not sure what was going on. 

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be clandestine or anything, but when you told me to find some other place to live for the next few days, I got worried.”
  She bit her lip and glanced towards the front of the house.  “Ms. Silverberg lied to you.”

Brock and Colt knew that, but they pretended like they were in the dark. 
“About what?”

She glanced
over her shoulder once again, as if trying to make sure no one could see her.  “She came home after work just like she said.  I think she arrived about seven thirty because I’d just finished cleaning the kitchen and she came in and messed it all up again.  I was irritated because I needed to study and didn’t feel like cleaning it up after her.”  She was wringing her hands now.  “Jared and his wife hated each other,” she whispered.  “Jared was going to leave her as soon as he could.  We were madly in love.”  Tears spilled from her cheeks.  “I hadn’t thought she would kill him but after hearing her lie to you guys, I’m starting to think that maybe she could have done this.”

“Why do you say that?  And what did she lie about?”

“Ms. Silverberg left last night after coming home.  She’d been trying to call him on her cell phone ever since walking in the door but I don’t think she ever reached him.  I put the kids to bed and came downstairs about eight, I think but I can’t be sure about that.  Anyway, I was in my room which is in the basement and I heard her pacing for a while, then she left.  I don’t know where she went but I know she left by car because I heard the garage door open and close.  She’s pretty careful about that, not wanting the leaves and dirt to blow into the garage from outside.”

Brock nodded and wrote down what she was saying.  “And what time did she come back?” he asked. 

Desiree shrugged.  “I’m not really sure.  I fell asleep while studying so I didn’t hear anything after she left so it had to be after ten I’m guessing.  I can usually stay awake until ten-ish, but I can’t guarantee that.  Sometimes I fall asleep earlier than ten, depending on the day.”

“Can you think of
anything else that happened that night?” he asked.  “Anything out of the ordinary?”

Desiree shook her head.  “No.  It was a pretty normal night.  Except for…well,” and she lowered her head, wiping her tears once again.

“Thanks for your help.  It was good of you to let us know about this.”

The nanny nodded and backed up, going back around the house and disappearing into a basement doorway. 

Brock and Colt walked back to the truck, still remaining silent until they were driving away from the house.

“So?” Colt was the first to ask.

Brock turned left, forming his opinion in his mind.  “I think the wife was involved, but not sure if she did the shooting or the drugging.  Or both.”

“That’s my take as well.”   He waited a moment,
then said, “Do you think the nanny is involved?”

Brock considered that for a moment.  “I don’t think she’s involved in the murder.  But is she the sharpest knife in the drawer?  Not really.  She got involved with her employer in the house of her employer, right under the nose of the wife.  Not a smart game plan.”

Colt sighed heavily.  “She’s young.  I did a few stupid things when I was young too.”

“
Only when you were younger?” Brock laughed.

Colt waited until Brock had made the turn before punching his partner in the arm, which only caused Brock to laugh harder.

When they parked in front of the administrative assistant’s building, they looked it over carefully.  “Not the best part of town,” Colt mentioned. 

The building was a bit more run down than the others around, but it looked safe enough.  “Let’s go see what the grieving assistant is up to today.”

They walked up the stairs to the apartment door, both of them noting the broken window in the basement apartment, the burned out bulbs on the safety lights on the stairs and other maintenance issues that weren’t immediately noticeable from a distance.  Brock knocked and the door was immediately opened to a very flustered, nervous and jumpy assistant.  “Am I fired?” she whispered, looking between the two men standing in front of her. 

Brock’s eyebrow went up in reaction.  “Fired?” he asked.

Joan sighed, leaning her weight against the door.  “I know.  I don’t have a job.  But I was hoping they could move me to another vice president.  I’m good at my job,” she added defensively. 

“Can we come in and talk to you?”

She hesitated. “You haven’t heard about my status then?”

Both Brock and Colt shook their heads.  “We just want to talk to you about last night.”

She bit her lip.  “Do I need a lawyer?”

Brock’s whole demeanor changed.  When someone asked for a lawyer, they generally were hiding something.  She might not be a murderer, but whatever was
going on in her head, it was making her very nervous.  “Do you need a lawyer?” he asked. 

Joan continued to bite her lip.  “I guess I can answer your questions.”  And she opened her door, stepping back so they could come inside.

The apartment looked like a tornado had hit it.  There were clothes everywhere, some in a laundry basket, some on the sofa and others just draped across the other furniture as if someone had picked them all up and tossed them into the air.  Besides clothing, there were several empty pizza boxes, dirty dishes on the coffee table, the television was on and there were several bags of chips opened, half eaten with crumbs scattered about.  As Brock walked by, he peered into the kitchen and cringed at the mess.  There were dirty dishes and empty food boxes covering the counter.  He was actually afraid to sit down, not sure what might crunch underneath or crawl onto him.  So he stood in her family room and looked down into her nervous eyes. 

“What can you tell us about the other
night?” he asked. 

Joan fell onto the chair, completely unconcerned with the pile of clothes underneath her. 
“Jared and I were working late.  I left about ten o’clock and the next thing I know, I’m standing in a long line trying to get into work and Jared is dead.”

Brock and Colt instantly knew that she was lying.  She couldn’t even look at them and she was trembling as if she was afraid of something horrible.

“How long were you having an affair with him?” Brock asked.

Joan sprang up as if an electric bolt had just shocked her butt. 
“An affair!  How dare you ask me something like that!  I’m a professional!  I wouldn’t ever engage in a sexual relationship with my boss!”

Brock and Colt heard her indignation but there was something much more important in her words. 
She was furious, but still hadn’t answered the question straight on, a sure sign of guilt in their experience. 

Colt stepped forward, a game they both had played in the past
with suspects.  “So you didn’t have sex with him at any point between seven thirty and eight thirty?”

She hesitated, her eyes going from one man to the other, trying to determine what they knew and how much she could deny. 
“Of course not.”  But her voice wasn’t as vehement this time. 

“Did you happen to remember what time Ms. Silverberg arrive
d?”

Joan crossed her arms over her chest.  “That bitch came in like a fury
from hell, yelling at Jared and telling him what a loser husband he was, how he wouldn’t add up to anything worthwhile.”  She looked up at Brock and Colt, tears in her eyes.  “Jared is a good man.  He works hard and he’s good at making sure everyone on his projects is going in the right direction.”

Colt stepped closer.  “Do you remember what time she left?”

Joan pushed a hand through her hair, leaving it worse off than before.  “I think she stormed out of his office around ten o’clock.”

“Was it usual for Mr. Silverberg to work that late?”

She smiled slightly and shrugged one shoulder in a defensive gesture.  “Yes.  He and I got a lot done once everyone left for the day.  Sometimes we’d go out to dinner for a couple of hours, then come back and just plow through the issues that had come up throughout the day.”

“Do you know of anyone else in the office
who might be having an affair with Mr. Silverberg?”

“Anyone else?” she whispered.  “Who else was he…” and she stopped, her face turning a bit red.  Then she got angry and spun around.  “Everyone thought that stupid project manager, Nina, was getting his attention
.  But Jared wouldn’t even dare to look at her!”  She was furious now, rubbing her chin as if she could figure out a secret.  “But there was another woman down the hallway.  She might have been trying to get Jared’s attention.  I saw them in the kitchen one day and Jared seemed to be smiling a little too…” she looked at Colt and stopped.  “Well, Jared had an eye for the ladies, is all I’ll say.”  She huffed a bit more.  “But not that Nina woman!  I heard she even got her own coffee maker to put in her office.  She was too good for the regular coffee the company provides!  She walks around like she’s all something special and everyone tells Jared how much they like working for her.  Well…” And Joan made a rude sound with her mouth.  “He loved me!” she almost yelled.  “He was going to leave his cold, ruthless, heartless wife for me!” 

Joan suddenly seemed to realize that she’d gotten out of control and smoothed her wrinkled dress down over her hips, taking a deep breath in the process. 
“Anyway.  No.  Jared wasn’t even having sex with his wife.”  Her eyes narrowed and she looked up at Brock.  “Do you think that stupid Nina woman shot him?  She probably did only because Jared wouldn’t look at her.  Jared was faithful only to me!  I saw the way Jared looked at Nina.  She tried to play coy, refusing to look at him in meetings, not going into his office but standing outside in the doorway whenever she needed to brief him on something.  She was just trying to make him come to her!  She wanted Jared on her own terms!”