In my purse was a millimeter-thin, manila file that still smelled box-fresh. It was filled with the information she gave me to start the case. Mostly minimal stuff: her full name, address, employer and place of employment, general family details, and I needed far more than that to catch a stalker. I wanted to interview her longer, but she told me she needed to get to another appointment. Then she said, since it was her day off, I could come by her house to talk some more. I figured talking and simultaneously checking out her home was a good idea.
Bedford Hills was a sprawling development of large, detached homes that housed Montgomery's richest homeowners. Houses didn't come up for sale often since they were the kind of places one aspired to live in, not depart from. The roads here were litter-free, the sidewalks clean, and the landscaping pristine. Some houses were hidden behind large walls and security gates with sweeping driveways, but not Juliet's. By Bedford Hills’ standards, hers would have been called a starter home. It shared the road with several similar houses: smaller single family dwellings, with gardener-maintained yards and driveways filled with minivans and smaller models of Mercedes and BMWs. I glimpsed a couple of sports cars that I figured were probably weekend toys.
Parking out front, I surveyed Juliet's house. The large, iron numbers to the side of the door made it easy to locate from the street. There wasn't much about the house that was personal, at least, from the outside. The numbers were formal, black ironwork on brick walls with a white porch in the center. The two windows flanking each side of the door had symmetrical drapes; and the flowers bordering the garden looked like they were planted by a very artistic hand. Juliet had a beautiful manicure, minus any dirt, so I suspected she probably employed a landscape gardener too.
I got out, buzzed my VW doors locked and approached the house. Juliet must have been waiting for me because the door opened before I had a chance to knock.
"Hi," I said, shaking her hand again, "is now a good time?"
"Perfect. Thanks for driving out here. I appreciate it," she replied warmly, stepping back to allow me to enter. She held her own hands, sliding her fingers in and out of each other, but dropped them when she noticed me looking. "Nervous habit."
"It's no trouble. This is a nice area. Your house is very pretty."
"Thank you."
"Have you lived here long?"
"Two years," she replied, ushering me through to the living room. Two white couches sat on either side of a fireplace and there was a wall of books with a cozy armchair. Twin, woven baskets filled with toys were stuffed in the corner. I glanced at the books, surprised to see the young James Bond books and several other children's titles. "They belong to my stepson," she explained. "He's nine and a voracious reader."
"Does he live with you?"
Juliet shook her head. "Just every other weekend and half his vacations. He's a great kid. That's Robbie. The three of us went on vacation together last year," she said, pointing to a smiling photo on the mantel of a man and her, their arms both wrapped around a young boy.
"And that's his dad, your fiancé?"
"Yes. Rob. Rob Harvey. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea?"
"No, thanks. I thought we'd go over your case in more detail. I'd like to get a better snapshot of your life."
"I'm not sure how it will help you. I'm a very private person. I don't have a lot of family, friends, or any exciting hobbies."
"It doesn't matter. Someone's messing with you, and for me to find out whom, I need to discuss your lifestyle. I might notice something that you’d consider insignificant."
"Okay." She nodded, seeming to find that acceptable as she took a seat on the couch, indicating I should sit at the opposite end. "What do you need to know?"
"Tell me first about your fiancé. How long you've known him, where you met. That kind of thing."
"Rob and I met four years ago at a work-related event. He was presenting a seminar, and really impressed me. He was just great. He's a handsome man, but it was something else... charisma, I guess. We started talking and eventually got a drink in the bar; and then he asked me to dinner the following week... and we've been ‘us’ ever since. We moved in together after eighteen months. Six months later, we bought this place."
"Where were you both living prior to moving in together?"
"I had a condo in Chilton, and he rented a place in Harbridge until he moved in with me. I inherited some money from my grandparents and that, combined with the proceeds from the sale of my condo, enabled us to buy this house with only a very small mortgage."
"That's a smart investment."
"Thank you. We liked where we lived, but this house has a yard for Robbie, as well as a larger bedroom, plus guest rooms. It just made sense."
"Do you like your stepson?" I asked, knowing what her answer would be. People smiled when they talked about people they liked; and Juliet smiled when she mentioned anything about Rob and Robbie.
"Yes," she said, "but more than that. I love him. He's the sweetest boy and we've always gotten along. I can't imagine life without him. He's going to be a great big brother."
"You're pregnant?" My eyes dropped to her belly as I realized the reason for her interest in Lily's pregnancy.
"Yes, but only two months so we haven't told anyone. Robbie guessed, but he's sworn to secrecy until we tell everyone in a couple of weeks. We're waiting for that 'safe zone' before we announce it," she said, making little air quotes with her index fingers.
"So, would you say you were happy?"
"Yes, very. That's why I can't understand why anyone would do something like this to me."
"Sometimes that is the reason. Some people cannot cope with other people's happiness. It's like a big finger in their face, forcing them to realize their own inadequacies."
"Then they must be very sad."
"Can you think of anyone who would be really upset about you being so happy?"
Juliet shook her head, and shrugged, looking puzzled as she said, "No."
"When did you and Rob get engaged?"
"He gave me the ring on the day we got the key to this house. The first thing we did after moving our furniture in was invite our friends and family for a big party, which we later told them was our engagement party. Everyone was thrilled!"
"Do you have the wedding booked?"
"Next month. We pushed it forward so I wouldn't have to show a big bump under my dress. The baby was a surprise, but a very welcome one."
"Did anyone have an adverse reaction to that?"
"I'm not sure I understand. No one knows about the baby so... the engagement? Or the wedding?"
"Both, or either."
"Then no, everyone seems really pleased for us."
"Okay, so what I see so far is you have a happy, supportive family and friends, you celebrated two big events recently, namely, getting engaged and moving here, and you have two more big life events coming up. One, your baby, which is still a secret; and the other, your wedding, which is public knowledge."
Juliet nodded. "Yes."