Dear Wife(48)

He watches me sink into one of the chairs across from his desk, trying to read my expression, but I don’t give anything away. Let him sweat. I toss my bag and keys on the chair next to me, settling in like I’m planning to stay awhile.

“Thanks for squeezing me in. I’m sure you must be very busy...” I take in the PDK poster on the wall, his whiteboard messy with sales numbers and scribbled reminders, the Every day I’m hustlin’ desk plaque on the edge of his desk. “What is it you do here exactly?”

“PDK Workforce Solutions provides an interactive human resources management software that helps grow your business. Recruitment, performance management, workflow, things like that. Honestly?” He lowers his voice to a stage whisper. “Don’t buy it, it’s a little buggy.”

I watch him without even a shadow of amusement.

“Do I need a lawyer?” he blurts out before he can stop himself. His nerves are making him restless and blunt.

“Do you want one?” Now I’m amused. A smile sneaks out before I can stop it.

“That depends on what you’re here to ask me.”

“You want to see my list of questions?” I point to the pad balanced on a thigh. “Not sure you can read my handwriting, though. My wife seems to be about the only one on the planet who can.” He doesn’t respond, and I drop my hand. “How about I just read ’em off to you one by one, and you tell me when I hit the magic button.”

Whatever remnants of the smile from his mocking of PDK’s buggy software disappears. “Why don’t you just tell me what I can do for you, Detective.”

I flip through the pages of my notebook. “As you know, we’ve been combing through the files on Sabine’s laptop, and we found a couple of things I’m hoping you can clear up for us. Like her bank accounts, for example.”

His shoulders drop a good inch in relief. This is a question he thinks he knows the answer to.

“I assume you’re not asking about our joint accounts.”

I dip my chin in a nod. “Correct.”

“Which one? She has three in her name only. The mortgage account, a checking and a debit Mastercard. Those last two are business accounts, by the way. I don’t really have much knowledge of them, other than to help her file her taxes.”

“I’m referring to her savings accounts, actually. The two money markets, and the investment account.”

Jeffrey goes completely still. He gave me Sabine’s computer, but not before combing through it. He would have been a fool not to. But these accounts weren’t on that Excel file she maintained. They weren’t anywhere. I only know of their existence because Ingrid told me.

“You look surprised,” I say, trying not to sound satisfied.

His answer comes through gritted teeth. “Since when?”

I consult the papers on my lap. “Well, let’s see. The money markets are from early January and end of March, 2013. The investment account is more recent, December of last year. Together the accounts add up to a grand total of $379,385.29, give or take, but you know how those investment portfolios go. The value changes faster than you can add up the numbers.”

He doesn’t respond, but I see the thoughts rolling through his mind as clearly as if they were written in the air. Sabine has almost $400K squirreled away in accounts she never told him about. In accounts she hid from him. For years.

“I can see you need a minute to process this, so let’s come back to it in a little bit. In February of last year, you transferred your share of ownership at 4538 Belmont Drive to your wife, and over the course of the next sixteen months, the monthly mortgage payment has been coming from her salary, not yours.”

He shrugs as nonchalantly as he can. “Sabine makes a lot more money than I do. If you’ve been through the accounts, you know how much more. It only seemed fair.”

“Was this her idea or yours?”

“I don’t remember who suggested it, but Sabine was picking up the slack most months anyway. I didn’t want it to become an issue between us.”

“Was it ever?”

“Was it ever, what?”

“An issue. Because my wife and I, we just throw everything into one pot. But believe me, I get how money can become an issue, because she used to draw a salary. When she stopped working, she felt guilty spending the money in our account since I was the one who put it there. It took me a while to convince her that what’s mine is hers and what’s hers is mine. She contributes in other ways, you know? But to each his own, I guess.”

This is me playing good cop. The witty and let’s-be-buddies cop. Judging from the way his eyes go dark and squinty, Jeffrey doesn’t believe it for a second.

“Sabine and I went in another direction, but believe me when I say there are no hard feelings between us. I may live in our house rent free, but I pay the utilities and buy most of the groceries, as I’m sure you’ve seen on the joint household account. That’s my contribution.”

“Sounds like a good deal.”

“Yes,” he says, nodding. “A good deal for both of us.”

I scribble some bullshit on the pad, then flip to the next page. “Since Sabine’s disappearance, you’ve discovered she was having an affair. That must have been rough.”

He barks a sarcastic laugh. “Rough is one way of putting it, I guess. Finding out about the affair was difficult, yes, it was hurtful, but was it surprising? Maybe not so much. The truth is, Sabine and I have been moving further and further apart for some time now. I’m sure her sister, Ingrid, has told you as much.”