“The only time Simon ever went to Atlanta was when he had to be fitted,” Daniel said. “He was an amputee, and his orthopedist was in Atlanta.”
“Yes,” Jen hissed. “Claire was an amputee.”
“Why didn’t you tell us that before?” Liz asked.
Daniel’s jaw tightened. “I didn’t even suspect he was even alive until an hour ago.”
“I’m sorry,” Liz murmured. “This has been a shock for you.”
Daniel’s eyes flashed again, angrily. “You think so?” he said sarcastically.
Susannah squeezed his hand. “Daniel, please. So Claire knew Simon from the orthopedist. But how would she know about my father? And these pictures?”
“Plus there is the issue of Claire’s continuing the blackmail a year after she was dead,” Vito pointed out.
Nick grimaced. “Small problem, that. Maybe Simon picked up where she left off when he killed her. Maybe he wanted the money from your folks.”
“But the guy at the mailbox store said a woman had paid the bill,” Daniel said. “And we can’t check the store’s security tapes. They only keep them for thirty days.”
“Accomplice?” Jen asked.
Thomas shook his head. “Doesn’t fit the profile. I’d be shocked if Simon would trust anyone enough to be an accomplice. A pawn, maybe. But not an accomplice.”
“So we need to find out who this other woman is,” Liz said.
A piece of the puzzle clicked in Vito’s mind. “Claire had a girlfriend. Dr. Pfeiffer and Barbara at the library said Claire was gay.”
Liz’s brows furrowed. “And of course the library ladies didn’t have a name.”
Vito felt a small surge of energy. It was second-wind time. “No, but there was a newspaper photo-Claire kissing another woman. If we could find that picture…”
“You don’t know which newspaper, do you?” Jen asked.
“No, but it was taken during a march. Claire only moved here four years ago and she’s been dead a year. How many marches could there have been in three years?”
“So Claire just happened to end up at the same orthopedist here in Philadelphia?” Susannah asked. “The chances seem possible, but remote.”
“Pfeiffer was recruiting patients for a study to upgrade the microprocessor in the artificial knee,” Vito said. “Maybe that’s what brought both of them together.”
Daniel nodded. “If Claire knew Simon from the Atlanta doctor, she’d have known he was supposed to be dead. Several of the amputee patients came to his funeral.”
“She must have blackmailed Simon, too,” Katherine said. “That’s why he killed her.”
“And the other woman took up where Claire left off.” Nick shook his head. “Cold.”
“Why now?” Thomas Scarborough asked. “Whoever this second blackmailer is, she continued for a year after Claire died. Why did your father wait a year to come here?”
“He was running for public office,” Daniel answered, in a way that made Vito believe he’d answered this question himself days before. “He hadn’t made the announcement yet. In fact, his e-mails kept putting off the man who wanted him to run. I guess he figured as soon as he threw his hat in the ring the blackmail price would go up.”
“So who was controlling your dad’s computer last Sunday?” Jen asked. “Simon or this blackmailer number two? We should look at your father’s computer to find out.”
Daniel nodded. “I’ll have it priority shipped. How else can we help you, Detective?”
Vito stepped through the events in his mind. Several things weren’t adding up. “Your father came to Philly to find the blackmailer. But why did your mother come, too?”
Katherine nodded. “Good question. Your mother was very sick. No doctor should have permitted her to travel.”
“I don’t know,” Daniel said. “I’ve wondered that myself.”
“She would have come to see Simon,” Susannah said flatly. “It was always all about Simon.” Her words were tinged with brittle cynicism. “Poor, poor Simon.”
“How did Simon lose his leg?” Katherine asked.
Daniel shook his head. “My parents liked to tell everyone it was an accident.”
“But we knew better,” Susannah said. “We lived far out, past town. There was this old man who had a small place about a mile in back of ours. He had a collection of antique traps. One day a bear trap turned up missing. Everyone knew Simon had stolen it, but he had a silver tongue and convinced everyone he had no idea who’d taken it.”
“He got trapped in it,” Vito said. “Who found him?”
Daniel looked away. “I did. He’d been missing for a day, and we’d all split up to find him. I found him, bleeding, in terrible agony. Simon had no voice left. He’d screamed for hours, but there wasn’t anyone around to hear him.”
Vito felt a chill go down his back. There was the connection.
“And he blamed me,” Daniel continued heavily. “Until the day he left, he believed I’d known where he was and left him to suffer. I didn’t. But no one could make him see the truth. Simon was mean before he lost his leg, but after…”
Susannah closed her eyes. “After, Simon became a monster. He ruled our house. My mother became devoted to him, which I’ve never fully understood. But I’m certain if she thought he was still alive, she’d beg to be taken to him, no matter how ill she was.”
“Which means your parents either knew all along Simon wasn’t really dead or they found out and then made the trip.” Vito watched the Vartanians’ faces. “But you think at least your father knew all along Simon was alive, or you wouldn’t be worried about what you’d find in the casket once we dig it up.”
“Yes,” Daniel acknowledged evenly. “Now, we’re tired. If there’s nothing else-”
“I have two questions.”
Vito leaned forward to look at Sophie at the end of the table. She’d said not a single word the entire time. “What is it, Sophie?”
“Agent Vartanian believes his father came looking for the blackmailer. Miss Vartanian believes her mother came looking for Simon.”
Daniel was watching her with deliberation. “Yes.”
Susannah had narrowed her eyes, as if she’d just realized Sophie was there. “What is your connection to this investigation, Dr. Johannsen?”
“I located your parents’ bodies, and I assisted the police in discerning their identity.”
Daniel’s jaw cocked. “All right. So what are your questions?”
“You said you found your parents registered in the hotel under your mother’s name.”
“Our parents must not have wanted anyone to know they were searching for Claire Reynolds,” Susannah said stiffly.
“I’d be inclined to agree, except for a few things. First, you said the hotel staff remembered your mother spending a lot of time alone in the hotel room.”
“She was sick,” Daniel said, exasperated. “She stayed and he searched for Claire.”
“She didn’t stay behind the time your parents visited the library where Claire once worked. And there, your father gave his real name when he asked about Claire. Except, he didn’t ask the librarian or anyone else that could have helped him. Your father chose an old man who spoke no English. My first question is why did your father choose an old Russian man to ask about Claire Reynolds and have that Russian man be the only one to whom he revealed his real name?”
Vito wanted to kiss her. Instead he calmly asked, “And your second question?”
“Why did he bring the pictures to Philadelphia? I mean, if he was being blackmailed with the pictures, then why bring them and chance being caught with them? Why not leave them at home in his safe? For that matter, why did he keep them at all?”
Dark spots of color stained Susannah Vartanian’s cheeks. “Are you suggesting that our parents killed Claire Reynolds?”
Don’t mention the game, Sophie, Vito thought. Don’t mention Clothilde.
“Not at all, Miss Vartanian. I’m suggesting your father didn’t want anyone to know he was searching for Claire, so he hid his identity. And I’m suggesting that he wanted your mother to believe he was looking openly.”