Hugo fastened one of his shirt cuffs. “Home. I have to go home. Lydia is handling Eden’s funeral arrangements. I left her a message telling her to let me know when the service will take place. Until then, there’s not much I can do here.”
“You haven’t seen the news in the last twenty-four hours?” asked Josie.
Guiltily, Hugo glanced at the television. “I haven’t been paying much attention.”
“Your son attacked a police officer,” Noah said. “He’s on the run and he’s wanted in connection with the disappearance of your daughter, Amber.”
And her murder, Josie thought as a wave of emotion she’d been holding back for hours threatened to overtake her. No, she told herself. She wasn’t going there. She wouldn’t believe that Amber was gone until she had cold, hard proof.
“Your ex-wife is dead,” Josie added.
Hugo’s head snapped in her direction. His mouth hung open. It flapped a few times before he finally said, “What?”
“Lydia was murdered. Someone hit her over the head and then dumped her into the fish lift at Russell Haven Dam, where she drowned,” Josie explained.
Hugo said nothing. Eyes still on Josie, he tried to fasten his other shirt cuff but his fingers were trembling too badly. “I’m very sorry to hear that, to hear both of those things, but I have nothing to do with any of this. I can’t help you.”
Josie said, “That’s not true. I think you can help us. More importantly, I think you can help yourself. I would not advise going home right now, Mr. Watts.”
Noah added, “If I were you, I’d stay another night or two. The security here is very good.”
Hugo looked from Noah to Josie and back. “Security? What are you talking about?”
Josie said, “You haven’t figured it out yet? Everyone in your family except your son and Amber, whose whereabouts we don’t know, is dead. You’re probably next.”
His fingers fumbled again unsuccessfully with the shirt cuff. “Why would I be next?”
Noah folded his arms across his chest and shook his head, as if in disappointment. “Come on now, Mr. Watts. We all know you’re not that stupid. Why wouldn’t you be next?”
“W-who do you think is doing this? Is killing—”
“The members of your family?” Josie filled in. She looked at Noah. “The lieutenant here thinks it’s your son. I’m not so sure. I thought if we had a little chat, maybe you could fill in some of the pieces and convince me once and for all.”
His hands dropped to his sides. “Pieces? What pieces? I don’t understand. You think that my son killed Eden and Lydia—”
“And Aunt Nadine,” Noah put in.
“And my sister,” Hugo said. “And took Amber? Why would you think that?”
“The evidence,” Josie said. “We think that because of the evidence.”
“What evidence?” Hugo asked. “Stop being so cryptic and tell me what the hell is going on!”
Josie waited a beat, drawing the moment out until she saw a small tremor in his jaw. Then she said, “What’s going on is that we know all about the cons that you, Nadine, Lydia, and Vivian Toland were running when your kids were young.”
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Noah said, “No problem. We can refresh your memory. Your sister was a real estate agent. When she sold a property to a wealthy, childless, elderly man she would alert your ex-wife, Lydia who would, in turn, strike up a relationship with that man. Eventually she’d marry him; he’d die; she’d inherit all of his wealth; and then you would handle his estate. When everything was all finished and Lydia needed to get rid of his properties, Vivian would step in and make the sale. Lydia did this four times before she married you for the second time, giving you access to the wealth she’d accumulated.”
Hugo’s jaw was clenched so tightly, Josie could see the small muscles tremor. She said, “We’re not sure what your arrangement with Nadine was in terms of cutting her in, but that doesn’t matter. It’s beside the point. The important thing is that what you four did was morally repugnant.”
Hugo swallowed and then he spoke, his voice taut. “Maybe it was morally repugnant, but it was not illegal.”
Josie had given this a lot of thought in the last few hours. “No, it wasn’t,” she agreed. “There’s nothing illegal about marrying an older, wealthy man so long as he is of sound mind and enters into the marriage willingly. There’s nothing illegal about handling the estates of your ex-wife’s late husbands. You were just doing your job as a lawyer. There’s also nothing illegal about Vivian Toland selling Lydia’s properties as a licensed realtor in Pennsylvania.”
Noah said, “But I don’t think your son is all that concerned with the legal aspects, so much as the moral and ethical problems. He is, after all, a member of the Rectify Church now. We chatted with him yesterday, you know. He seemed to imply that all of you had a lot to atone for.”
Hugo said, “He’s crazy. I told you that. So what? He’s taken some kind of moral high ground now that he’s joined this church, and he wants all of us to pay for our supposed moral failings. That’s his issue, not mine.”
“It’s your issue if he decides to find you and make you atone for your sins,” said Josie. “Which is interesting because when we talked with him, he seemed mostly concerned with the sins of his sisters. Why do you think that is, Mr. Watts?”
“I have no idea. Like I said, he’s crazy. Fine, I’ll stay here if that’s what you want, if you think that’s safer, but I’d like you to leave now.”
Ignoring him, Josie said, “The only reason I could come up with for why Gabriel would think that your daughters had to atone for something is what they did to Dr. Jeremy Rafferty. That didn’t end so well, did it?”
At his sides, Hugo’s hands shook. He clenched his fists to try to still them. “Get. Out.”
“That wasn’t just morally repugnant, now, was it?” asked Josie. “That actually was illegal. Sending in one of your daughters to pose as a patient. Forcing them to make up lies about him. Blackmailing him. After he paid you the $50,000 you asked for, he threw himself into the river. He took his own life.”
The quivering moved up Hugo’s arms into his shoulders. “If I have to ask you again,” he said. “I will call security. Get out of my room. Now.”