Dee Henderson - The Witness

He could lie to make it easier on her, but that wouldn’t do either of them any good in the long run. “I’m not sure where he is, Caroline. He was gone from his place when I went to pick him up this morning.”

“No word?”

“He called the station shortly after midnight to confirm he had the latest news, and that was the last anyone heard from him. He sat with Tracey for a while last night in the morgue, went to see Marie after that, then went home. He refused my request to stay with him.”

“He’ll be wanting a private place to say his good-byes to Tracey. The funeral isn’t going to be the place to do that, not with all the press around it. Try that place he and Tracey liked up by the lake.”

“I’ll check there, thanks.”

“He’ll be okay,” Caroline whispered. “He loved her too much to not stay and deal with finding who killed her.”

Connor tightened his hand on hers. “I’ll bring him by here later today to see you.”

“I’ll take that as a promise.”

One of Jonathan’s men stood outside the doorway to Daniel’s apartment, and Luke found it reassuring as he walked down the hall after stepping from the elevator. “Has the press been a problem so far?”

“We’re stopping most in the lobby,” the man replied.

Daniel opened the door before Luke could knock. He was dressed conservatively in a suit, but his tie was loose and there was a kitchen towel in his hands. “Thanks for responding so quickly.”

“I was on this side of town,” Luke reassured. “How’s Marie?”

“Still sleeping.” Daniel nodded toward the kitchen. “I’m fixing a late omelet; would you join me?”

“I’m okay, but I’ll take some coffee.”

“Help yourself; it’s ready.”

Luke poured himself a mug. “Thanks for this, having Marie here. It will be easier than the gallery flat, I think.”

“She can stay here indefinitely, Luke. It’s not a problem at all. I just wish it was under different circumstances.”

“Your message sounded urgent.”

Daniel picked up a file from the counter and handed it over. “Short answer-yes, there is a brother out there not recognized in the will.”

Luke felt the first breaking piece of news slide into place. He opened the folder. He hadn’t thought it could be proven. He scanned an old lab test.

“That shows father paternity to be a match,” Daniel said. “There’s no reference number on the lab work, the only identifying fact on the second party sample the notation that it was a blood sample. But the father paternity is a match to a male, the signature on the payment voucher is Henry’s, and it’s an old enough piece of paper it fits what you thought might be the case. Sam had never seen that document or heard of the lab which was used.”

“The tests were run six years ago; and there’s no clue from this how old the son was when the test was made.”

“Nothing there suggests the son’s age or name. He could have been two years old or forty. For what it’s worth, I went back to my own personal calendars for that period of time six years ago. Two days after Henry received that lab-test result, he called and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse to come in as a partner in the Benton Group. It seems clear that Henry never intended his biological son to be his heir.”

“So let’s assume it was a surprise to Henry to hear he had a son and the boy was at least in his late teens when this test was run. What would Henry have done?”

Daniel slid his omelet onto a plate. “Since Henry paid to have the claim checked out, and it confirmed he did have a son, he had to do something with that knowledge. My guess he paid either the mother or the boy off. That was his pattern.”

“Any sign of the payment?”

“I’m still looking. Now that I have an approximate date I should be able to find it.”

Luke thought it through a step further. “What if it wasn’t just one payoff, but a series of them? Only six years later Henry dies, the money stops, and there is one angry relative out there who didn’t get recognized in the will. Pay me to go away -maybe it’s more accurate a message to say continue to pay me to stay away ?”

“I’m leaning that way.” Daniel rubbed his face. “We’ll pay him, Luke. If he shows up again somewhere or makes contact. That piece of paper says he’s Henry’s child. I’m not going to weigh it further than that. You can catch the guy whenever you can for the murders, but until then we pay him. It’s necessary to try to protect Marie at this point.”

“I won’t fight you on it,” Luke replied, knowing this changed things and put a focus to some of the anger out there. “We’ll have to prove the connection from this test result to the two murders, but it does give a motive. It means the street shooting and the murders may be entirely separate threats.” He sighed, thinking about the growing complexities. Both theories were proving to be right. “To get in to see Henry just to make this claim of being his son-that couldn’t have been that easy to do. We need to find Henry’s schedule books, phone calls, anything for this time that might give a lead on someone who was persistent in trying to get a face-to-face meeting. And if Henry saw him long enough to have blood work drawn and this test run, you can be sure there was at least one more meeting shortly after the date of this test.”

“I’ve got my assistant at the house searching for anything in that time period, six months before and after that date. Maybe there is finally some luck and we get a name for this relative. I’ve just realized I’ve got a cousin who may be a murderer. You have to admit my pedigree seems to be getting significantly worse with time.”

“Have you told Marie?”

“At this point keeping secrets from her seems like a waste of time. Connor was by last night to tell her what they had been able to find out about the cabdriver, to break the news about Amy having left.”

“You’re prepared for the possibility Amy will appear here or call Marie?”

“I’m hoping she does. We’ll arrange a quiet, private place for them to meet, and I’ll call you. Marie really needs to see Amy and know for absolute certain that she’s alive and okay.”

“Is the shock passing?”

Daniel shook his head. “Marie’s too quiet and contained even under normal circumstances to get that good of a read on how she’s doing now. Connor helped, got her talking a bit more, but you can tell the sadness is beginning to really take hold. I’m hoping she stays a touch numb to it all for a few more days while this plays out. Tomorrow is going to be early enough to talk about funeral arrangements.”

“I’d like to be here for that and have at least Connor here if not Marsh. If Marsh shows up here, keep him here, would you, until Connor or I can come over?”

“He’s got you worried.”

“He lost his fiancée. He’s got cause to react however it’s going to hit him. I’d just prefer to be hanging out with him as it happens than have him out on his own.”

“I’ll call you, Luke,” Daniel reassured.

Luke set aside his coffee. “I’ll slip out before Marie wakes up, and I have to say there is no news. I’ll call later with whatever update I’ve got.”

“Okay.” Daniel walked with him to the door. “Don’t worry about the time tonight, for when you call or come by. You’ll be welcome, as will Connor and Marsh.”

“Thanks.”

Luke walked back to his car and checked with the dispatcher for messages, then stood and watched the drifting clouds in the clear, cold sky. He wasn’t cut out to carry the weight of being the police chief, not on days like these. He hadn’t tried to say a prayer in the last forty-eight hours-sometimes the words were just too shallow. He could feel himself pushing the weight on his shoulders from himself to God and wordlessly handing it on to stronger hands. Too many people grieving today. Too many people grieving.