Secrets in Death (In Death #45)(67)

Now Knight’s eyes swam. “The truth, the absolute truth? I don’t know if I killed him or if she did. I don’t know if he killed her before he bled to death from where I’d stabbed him with her knife. The media said it appeared they’d fought, both of them high on illegals, and they’d succumbed to their injuries. My mother burned the clothes I’d been wearing. She said we’d let the dead bury the dead, and there was no need to put me through what going to the police would put me through. It wouldn’t change anything. She said it wasn’t my fault. She said she loved me from the first instant, but she hadn’t been honest with me, so it was her fault.”

Her eyes, dark and wet, met Eve’s, pleaded.

“But it wasn’t her fault, and I can’t blame a scared and angry child. It was Carly’s fault. Carly Ellison, and his fault, Wayne Sarvino. We moved back home, and put it behind us. When I was sixteen, Mom married Abe Knight, and we both took his name. She told him everything, all of it. They gave me a good life, they built a good life. I have a brother and a sister. They’re good people with good families of their own. So when Larinda threatened to expose all of this, I paid. I kept it from them, as Mom had kept things from me. I was going to go home this weekend and tell them, and talk to the police in St. Louis. I was going to take that weapon out of Larinda’s hand.”

Eve said nothing, let it all play out until Knight finished. “How did she find out?”

“She never told me, wouldn’t. Just said she had lots of clever birds and they loved to chirp. My mother registered my birth—an at-home birth—with her as mother, and father unknown. But if anyone really wanted to dig down, it wouldn’t be hard to find our connection to Carly Ellison—my mom changed her last name to her mother’s maiden when she moved to St. Louis. But it wouldn’t be hard to dig down and find Carly, then how she died, where Mom and I lived.”

“All right.” Eve rose.

“Are you going to arrest me?”

“I’m going to talk to St. Louis, I’m going to review the facts, the evidence, and the investigative steps in the two deaths. I want your files, and I want a copy of your home-security feed for the night in question. If after we’ve studied and evaluated all the above and determine an arrest is in order, you’ll have your twenty-four.”

“All right.”

“Who else knows this story?”

“Nobody. Well, Bob Turnbill now, as of last night. Otherwise, my mom and dad, my grandparents.”

“Who else knew about the extortion?”

“No one. I didn’t tell my family. Only Bic, and now Bob.”

“Your PA?”

“Bill? No. He’s loyal and protective—maybe overly—and all-around terrific, but no. This is personal business.”

“Okay. We need the file and the feed.”

“They’re both at home. I have to be on set in—God, twenty minutes.”

“I’ll go. I’ll get them,” Bic told her.

“Always got my back.” She gripped his hand, pressed her lips to it.

“Always will.”

“We’ll arrange for a uniformed officer to meet you at your residence and transport. Thank you for your cooperation. Record off.”

She stood a moment, then went with her gut. “If you’ve told me the truth, if you haven’t left out salient details or slanted the angles, no one’s going to arrest or prosecute you for defending yourself against an assault, or arrest or prosecute the woman who protected her minor child from additional trauma.”

As her eyes welled, Knight got shakily to her feet, reached out a hand. “Thank you.”

“If you left anything out, now’s the time.”

“You have it all. If I’d listened to Bic—and I won’t hear the end of that anytime soon—I’d have come to you or someone like you twenty-one months ago.”

“Next time, listen to Bic,” Eve suggested.





14

Because as Peabody had said, it could be fun, Eve decided to make it so and wove back to Hyatt’s office.

He shoved up from his desk, outrage in every pore, and flicked at his ear ’link.

“I intend to file a complaint on Ms. Knight’s behalf.”

“Okay, then you can add one on your own behalf after you give me your whereabouts last evening from six to seven P.M.”

He stared down his nose in a way that made her think Summerset did it a lot better. “I’m under no obligation to tell you a thing.”

“Maybe you should get that lawyer back on the phone, see what he has to say.” Wanting to goad him, Eve took another step toward his desk.

And had the satisfaction of watching him take a step back. “I’m going to have you both escorted from the building.”

She bared her teeth. “Try it. Peabody, make a note, Mr. Hyatt is unable to verify his whereabouts during the time in question.”

“So noted.”

“You can go to hell,” he said. “I was here, here in my office until shortly after seven. If you knew how to do the job my tax dollars pay you to do, you could easily determine this by checking the log for these offices and studios. Log in and out is required, by ID swipe. Now get out.”

“Do you often stay more than an hour after your boss?”