“Isn’t that why we hired you?” Rick said. “To find hard evidence?”
“You hired me to review the case, and that’s what I’ve done. Regina and I spoke to the police. We interviewed everyone you referred us to, as well as the folks Olivia put us in touch with. I also tracked down Trevor Vogel.”
He sat forward. “And?”
“We know he wasn’t directly involved. He insists he wasn’t involved, period.”
“You took him at his word.”
“For the most part, I did, yes. Besides the fact that he was in Nevada when Adam died, he’s barely functional. Not to mention pretty broken up about it.”
“We’re talking about a sociopath, for God’s sake. Capable of anything.”
“Be that as it may, I can’t see him planning a murder from one state over.”
“I just... I’m gobsmacked.”
“Rick,” Liz murmured.
“You had him,” Rick said, “and you let him go.”
“I can’t arrest him,” I said.
“Then call the real police and get them to do it.”
“That wasn’t the purpose of the conversation, Professor. The detectives have been very clear that they don’t consider Trevor a suspect. Had I called them, they’d have ignored me and likely never spoken to me again.”
Rick shook his head. “Unbelievable.”
“I’ll continue to keep an open mind,” I said. “I’d ask you to do the same. He’s one of several lines of inquiry.”
“What are the others?” Liz said.
“Before I answer that, I want to advise you that we’re going to venture into some sensitive territory around your son’s personal life.”
They glanced at each other.
“Meaning what?” Rick said.
“Are you aware that Adam had sexual relationships with men?”
Liz’s lips parted.
“The hell are you talking about?” Rick said. “Who told you that?”
“Multiple sources.”
“Who?”
I said, “Kirsten. Olivia and Trevor both confirmed it.”
“Olivia did?”
“What did Kirsten say?” Liz asked.
“Adam was dating a man in college,” I said. “The breakup was what led to him leaving campus and getting hospitalized.”
“Hang on a second, please, hang on,” Rick said. “Why would Olivia date him if he was gay?”
“She didn’t define him that way, and I’m not sure he saw himself that way.”
“What, then?”
“All indications are that they were committed to each other. Part of the deal was that he was allowed to meet men for occasional sex.”
“That’s absurd,” Rick said. “Why in the world would she agree to such a thing?”
“According to her it was a way of giving Adam what he needed.”
“This is...” Rick spluttered a laugh. “It’s just absurd. This is how you’ve been spending your time? Our money? Raking up muck?”
“Rick, please,” Liz said.
“Please what? Are you listening to what he’s saying?”
I said, “I realize this might be upsetting—”
He jabbed a finger at me. “Don’t you dare put words in my mouth. I said no such thing. Making me out like some kind of, of, of homophobe.”
“Professor—”
“And don’t ‘Professor’ me. This is my house, you will not come in here and piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining.”
“Richard,” Liz said. “Enough.”
Silence.
I said, “I didn’t mean that it’s upsetting because of Adam’s sexual orientation. Just that it can be hard to learn your child kept secrets from you.”
Rick stared past me, a vein ticking in his neck.
“We appreciate your thoughtfulness,” Liz said.
“If you’d rather stop, I can send you the summary to read at your convenience.”
“We’re listening,” she said. She turned to her husband. “Richard?”
He left the room.
I looked at Liz. “Should we—”
Rick yelled down the halclass="underline" “Wait, please.”
He returned with a legal pad and a pen, threw himself onto the sofa. “Proceed.”
From that point on, he didn’t interrupt. But I could tell what interested him — or infuriated him — by the intensity of his scribbling.
Liz Valois remained still, her posture like oak.
When I finished she gave a strained smile. “This is a lot to take in.”
I nodded.
“I know Adam struggled,” she said. “That much was evident when he got arrested. I thought, Well, he’s a teenage boy, they’re like that. We put him in therapy, he started medication. He seemed to be doing better.”
Rick rediscovered his voice: “He was doing better.”
“Then we got the call from the college.”
“And we went right away.”
“I went,” Liz said.
Silence.
“What did they tell you?” I asked.
“Nothing, really,” she said. “Everyone I spoke with was very guarded. The hospital, too. They all said the same thing: Adam’s an adult, it’s a privacy issue.”
“More like CYA,” Rick muttered.
“And Kirsten didn’t disclose what he’d told her,” I said.
Liz shook her head.
“If she had,” Rick said, “maybe we wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”
“I think that’s being a bit harsh on her,” I said.
“Is it? While her brother’s running around on the sly, meeting God knows who? I don’t know why he thought he had to... pretend. We don’t give a damn about who he slept with. We have all kinds of friends. My cousin’s gay.”
“It’s our fault,” Liz said.
“Don’t say that,” Rick said. “Why would you say that?”
“Because it is.”
“I don’t want to hear that kind of talk.” He grabbed her hand. “You’re a wonderful mother.”
“We allowed him to drop out and move in with us. He had to go back into therapy and restart his antidepressant, those were the conditions. But we shouldn’t have let him quit. We should have made him stay in school and grow up.”
“We were doing the best we could.”
“That’s not true, Richard, and it doesn’t help me to pretend, either.”
“I’m not pretending.”
She withdrew her hand, speaking only to me. “These last few years, I thought we’d reached a — a new phase, and everything would be fine.”
Her voice was steady, her face composed as tears trickled down her cheeks.
I went to my pocket for a tissue. All gone; I’d given the last one to Trevor Vogel.
“Now look what you’ve done,” Rick said and jumped up.
He stomped to the powder room for a Kleenex box. Liz placed it in her lap but did not use it.
He took up his pad. “I have some questions.”
“Please,” I said.
“First off, I want to know what Olivia has to say for herself. She’s claiming ignorance, well, I’m sorry, no, that’s — no. Not going to happen. How could she not know who he was with?”
“She told Regina she didn’t like to hear specifics.”
“Awfully convenient for her, don’t you think?”
“I think it’s worth looking into.”
“I’d call it a hell of a lot more than that. It’s goddamn suspicious.”
He was building up a head of steam, shifting the object of his vengeance in real time.
“She’s the last person to see him alive,” Rick said. “How do we know she didn’t do something to him?”
“As I said, we’re exploring several possibilities.”