Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 108849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
“Thank you.” She slipped off her boots and removed her coat to hang over her arm before walking through the elegant living room to sit on the sofa. “I’m very sorry for your loss, Mayor Bearing,” she said, unable to think of more comforting words.
He crossed around and fell onto the matching floral chair. “It’s just too much. What with my sister-in-law Sharon dying just months ago and now Teri.” He shook his head. “This is supposed to be a safe place to live. How do we have all of these murders?”
“I don’t know.” Laurel would never forget the sight of Sharon’s frozen body at the cabin after Jason Abbott had brutally murdered her and then cut off her hands. Those hands had been found down by the lake near the cabin where Sharon had stayed. It had been owned by the mayor, actually.
The mayor scrubbed both hands down his face. “They say we have more serial killers in Washington State than anywhere else. Is that true?”
“No,” Laurel said. “I believe the last time I checked, California had more active serial killers. However, Washington State has been associated with several high-profile serial killers such as Jason Abbott, Frank Zello, Ted Bundy, Gary Ridgway, and Robert Yates.”
“So we just get more bad press?” the mayor asked.
Laurel nodded. “I suppose so.”
The kitchen door opened, and Steve Bearing walked inside. “Hey, this interview didn’t start without me, did it?”
“No,” his father said. “We were talking about serial killers in general.”
Steve took the other floral chair. His thick blond hair was swept away from his face, and his blue eyes appeared serious behind round black glasses. “I’m here in a representative capacity for my father.”
“That is so noted,” Laurel said, unsurprised that the young attorney wanted to protect his dad. “I’m very interested in finding the person who killed your mother, and I’m sorry for your loss, Mr. Bearing.”
Steve looked away and then back. “As am I. Who in the hell would do such a terrible thing?”
“I don’t know, but I will find out,” Laurel said. “I need to ask you a few questions.”
“Go ahead,” Saul said wearily.
“Why in the world did you leave town during an active murder investigation, especially considering your wife was the victim?” Her voice remained level.
Saul flushed. “I had to get out of here. My cousin owns a cabin in the Flathead Lake area, and the boys and I went to grieve. We didn’t know anything about her murder. Still don’t.” His voice cracked on the end, and his facial micro expressions showed signs of truth.
She tried to find the kindest approach with him. “Do you know at which spa your wife planned to stay during the time she disappeared?”
Saul ran a shaking hand over his eyes. “Apparently she didn’t really have a reservation anywhere. I think she was lying to me.”
Laurel sat back. “Why would you think that?”
He shook his head. “She’d been going off lately and not telling me where or why. I thought maybe she was moonlighting in Seattle, helping the homeless or something. She liked to have her secrets.”
Laurel had read once that the spouse always knew deep down when their partner became unfaithful. Just how much did Saul know? “I hate to say this, but I have to ask you a difficult question. Are you aware that Mrs. Bearing was having an affair with Pastor John Govern from Genesis Valley Community Church?”
Saul paled and pushed himself even farther back in the chair.
“What are you saying?” Steve Bearing jumped to his feet. “That’s a damn lie. You take that back right now. If you spew such slander about my mother publicly, I will destroy you.”
She calmly studied both men. Whereas Saul had turned pale, red infused Steve’s face. They appeared to be genuine reactions of shock. “As I said, I’m very sorry, but Pastor John has confirmed the fact, as have several other parishioners.”
Saul shut his eyes and leaned his head back on the chair.
Steve dropped back onto his seat. “Dad, did you know this?”
Saul’s jaw went slack. “No. I figured something was going on with her, and I did wonder if it might be an affair. She seemed happy and secretive, and she’d lost some weight.” Saul stared down at his knees. “That’s a fucking cliché, isn’t it?”
“Stop talking,” Steve said, sobering. “Right now, this interview is over.”
“No, it isn’t,” Laurel said. “I really want to find who killed your mother. Where were you last Wednesday night, Mayor?”
He looked at her as if not quite seeing her. “Last Wednesday night?” He looked away. “I don’t know. Let’s see. Oh, yeah, that was a charity bowl-a-thon for the children’s center. I was there until a little after midnight. The event was covered by the local news.”
“And then?” she asked.
He gestured around the opulent room. “I came home. I went to bed.”