She was right. Surely, if someone was going to risk getting caught stealing something from the largest museum in the country, they would select something more valuable than a simple bracelet that was indistinguishable from any trinket that could be picked up at the local shopping mall. Laurie could check Marco Nelson and the charm bracelet off her list of theories.
She passed on the waiter’s offer of more coffee and asked for a check, but Cynthia insisted that the bill was already taken care of. “After all the support Virginia gave us over the years, it’s the least I can do for someone trying to solve her murder. I had hoped that one of her children would accept the invitation to take their mother’s seat on the board, but I think Anna is too busy with the family business to take up philanthropy at the same level as her mother.”
“I noticed you only mentioned Anna,” Laurie said.
The curator’s smile grew even wider and her eyes flashed with intelligence. “Have you met the son, Carter?”
Laurie nodded. “The entire family is cooperating with our production.”
“I only met you a few minutes ago, but I suspect you’re observant enough to have picked up on the dynamics there.”
“Anna seems driven. A natural leader. And her husband, Peter, seems like a very competent partner.”
Cynthia nodded knowingly. The implication regarding Virginia’s son, Carter, was clear.
“Is Carter still single?” Cynthia asked. “Virginia was always hoping he’d meet the right woman and settle down. She wanted him to have children in time for them to grow up alongside their cousins. Her own children were never close to their cousin because of a problem between Bob and his brother.”
“Carter’s not married,” Laurie confirmed. “I didn’t realize you were close enough to Virginia to have those kinds of conversations.”
“We didn’t socialize outside of the museum, mind you, but she was a frequent visitor and took a real interest in the work, not just the parties, like some donors. Plus she loved her family and spoke of them all the time.”
“And did she speak of Ivan, too?”
“She did, and her whole face glowed with happiness. It’s hard to imagine anyone wanting to harm her, but I truly hope that it was not Ivan. I think she loved him deeply. The thought of her realizing at the last second that he was going to do that—” She placed a hand over her heart.
“We’re looking at all the options.”
“Good luck with it. And please tell the Wakelings I say hello. Penny, too, if she’s still in the picture. I was sort of hoping she might be the right woman for Carter.”
The sudden mention of Virginia’s assistant took Laurie by surprise. “What makes you say that?”
“Penny was around so often, I figured she was almost part of the family already.”
“But were she and Carter interested in each other?”
Cynthia arched her eyebrows. “I would certainly hope so, given that I saw them kissing once.”
“When was that?”
“It was—oh gee, I was already starting to feel like I was coming down with a cold, so maybe a week before the gala. Virginia was here for a special walk-through for trustees and high-level donors. Penny was with her, and her family was supposed to meet her afterward for lunch. I stepped outside to smoke a cigarette—a horrible habit, I know, plus I was sick—and there’s Penny sneaking a little kiss when Carter arrived, while Virginia was still in the powder room. Come to think of it, that was the last time I saw any of them.”
For the first time since Ryan came to her office talking about Ivan Gray, Laurie felt like she had discovered a new piece of information that might change the entire case.
She called Jerry as soon as she was outside: “Set up a production schedule. I think we’re actually ready to start cameras rolling.”
47
Laurie felt like a coach in the locker room as she stood at the whiteboard in her office, marker in hand, while Ryan, Jerry, and Grace were gathered at the conference table in front of her.
“As always, we go in with open minds, but we’ve got two leading suspects: Ivan Gray and Carter Wakeling.” She circled both names on the board. Jerry had done phenomenal work over the past five days. They had a complete production schedule already nailed down. This team meeting was to go over final details and make sure Ryan was prepared for interviews.
“The case against Ivan is essentially the same information that led police to suspect him in the first place.” Ryan’s Harvard-trained legal mind was evident as he quickly listed the details: the age difference between him and Virginia, his financial motivation to seek a relationship with her, and, most important, the absence of any corroboration that Virginia had known about the half million dollars transferred from her accounts into Ivan’s gym. But even though Ryan had clearly mastered the facts, Laurie could tell from his dismissive tone that he was not taking the evidence against his personal trainer seriously. She decided to keep her thoughts to herself for the time being.
“The new information we have relates to Carter,” she said. Grace was taking down notes furiously, like a front-row student in the classroom. “To make this theory work, we need to lock down three new points. Ivan has always said that Virginia was planning to change her will, greatly reducing her kids’ inheritance. We now have backup from Virginia’s assistant, Penny.”
“If only we had that interview on tape,” Jerry said.
“I think Penny will come around if Ryan can get Carter to admit that they were seeing each other,” Laurie said. “My guess is that’s the secret Penny is trying to keep. Once that’s out, she may want to tell her side of the story. And that brings us to the second new fact: Carter and Penny’s relationship. And the third fact comes from Gerard Bennington: Carter and his brother-in-law, Peter, were seen arguing at the gala shortly before the murder.”
As Ryan tied the three pieces of evidence together, he sounded like a prosecutor delivering a closing argument. “Virginia was going to change her will. Penny found out and told Virginia’s son, Carter, who stood to lose millions. Carter pushed Peter, who was not only his brother-in-law, but also a close legal advisor to Virginia, for details and didn’t get them. One, two, three. He was desperate to keep his mother from changing the will, even if it meant killing her.”
They were still speculating for now about what had happened during that third step. Did Peter confirm that the will was going to be changed? Did he refuse to intervene?
“What about the original will before Robert Wakeling died?” Laurie asked. “Do we have that from the probate court yet?” Even though it was a long shot, Laurie still wanted to compare Virginia’s will to the one she and her husband had written together while he was alive.
“We should have it tomorrow,” Ryan said. “I took care of it already.”
She had a feeling that Ryan had not, in fact, taken care of it, but would remember to do so now.
“And are we sure about interviewing Anna and Peter together?” she asked. It had been her decision, but she was having second thoughts.
To Laurie’s surprise, Ryan, who’d initially disagreed, backed up her first instinct. “I’ve come around on this,” he said. “I think you’re right.”