“That sort of limits the suspects. They had to be extremely familiar with the play. You’ve got the cast and crew,” said Sue.
“But there could be others,” countered Ray. “Were some of Wudbine’s people around? And someone mentioned family members of the cast and crew—it’s summer, people dropping by to see Grandma. Then there are people who could have just blended in.”
“Like?”
“Custodians, tradespeople, trash collectors, and all the people who come and go in white vans and seldom register on anyone’s radar. There are the colony people, with no connection to the play, who drop by and watch the rehearsals. If someone were intent on killing Wudbine, it wouldn’t be too difficult to come up with a plan.”
“Motive? Your usual list: love, lust, lucre, and loathing.”
“All of the above.”
“The man is past seventy,” said Sue, “can’t we dismiss the first two?”
“Sonnet 15, Shakespeare.”
“What’s that suppose to mean?”
Ray looked over at her and carefully recited four lines from the sonnet.
“When I perceive that men as plants increase,
Cheered and cheque’d even by the self-same sky,
Vaunt in their youthful sap, at height decrease,
And wear their brave state out of memory.
“It’s the last line, Sue. And wear their brave state out of memory. Wudbine may have been getting a bit long at the tooth, but that doesn’t mean he’d changed much. Verity talked about him as being a womanizer. He was a man of great wealth. He probably had no difficulty attracting younger women. And there are arrays of potent pharmaceuticals to extend his manhood. So don’t be too quick to dismiss the love and lust. From what everyone has said in the interviews thus far, there was no lack of loathing for Wudbine. People tolerated him because he was the proverbial goose, and no one wanted the golden egg to go away.
“Lucre is the complicated one,” Ray continued. “Who would benefit financially from Wudbine’s death. There’s so much we don’t know.”
“Where do we go from here?”
“I would like you to be with me when I interview family members this afternoon. Are you almost done with the trash?”
“We have yet to do the recycling container. I asked Brett and Barbara Sinclair to go through it after lunch. There seems to be some chemistry between those two.”
“I thought she had a boyfriend back at college, some big football player.”
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder for someone else,” said Sue as she started to pack up remainders of the picnic. “What else needs to be done?”
“Until we come up with the weapon, I guess we’re not done. It’s just a question of how much we want to pull that place apart. We could spend a week or more just in the Assembly Hall, time we should probably use following other leads.”
21
Sue parked in the circle near the front door of Gull House. A young woman greeted them at the door.
“Sheriff Elkins, I’m Pepper Markley, a member of Wudbine staff. Ms. Wudbine will be meeting with you in the library. Please follow me.” She guided them through a long hall to the library. “Please have a seat. Jill will be with you in a few minutes,” she said before she excused herself and left the room, closing the door behind her.
“Quite the joint,” said Sue.
“The furniture is beautifully designed and crafted,” observed Ray, looking around the room. “There’s no clutter, nothing to interrupt the visual impact of each piece. The place has the feel of a sculpture gallery.”
“Didn’t she say this was the library?” observed Sue, a twinkle in her eye. She had long observed Ray’s penchant for carefully looking through the titles of books when trying to get a sense of a victim or suspect.
Ray was already out of his chair by the time she reached the end of her sentence. “Yes, not many books. I don’t think it means he wasn’t a reader, not anymore. Although most people his age still like paper and ink. I do, also.” He carefully surveyed the room, walls and ceiling.
Pepper Markley reentered the room carrying a tray with two glasses of ice tea. “Ms. Wudbine apologizes for the delay, she’s on a conference call and will be with you as soon as possible.” She set the tray on the small table.
“This room won’t do,” said Ray.
“I don’t understand. Ms. Wudbine specified this room for the interviews.”
Ray pointed to one of the small security cameras mounted on the ceiling. “We are going to be interviewing a number of people, including Ms. Wudbine. These are confidential interviews.”
“Oh,” she said looking up at the camera, “those are just part of the system. It goes on tape somewhere, it’s not like anyone is listening.”
“I’m sorry, that’s not acceptable.”
Markley looked stunned. “What are you proposing?”
“Sergeant Lawrence and I are returning to the library building at the colony. That’s where we will conduct these interviews. In her last e-mail to me late this morning, Ms. Wudbine stated that the interviews would begin at 1:30 with members of the family and staff scheduled every 30 minutes. Please let her know that we arrived at the specified time. Also, remind her that this is a murder investigation. I will wait for her at the colony library until 2:00. After that time all further interviews will be held at our office in the Cedar County Government Complex. Do you have any questions?”
“No. I will convey your message.”
“What was that all about?” asked Sue as they walked toward her Jeep.
“She established the time, then she doesn’t show up. And what member of the staff, or the family, for that matter, will be open with a camera running.”
“So what now?” asked Sue.
“We go back to the colony and give her until 2:00. If she doesn’t show, I’ll try to find some way to turn up the heat. These people are going to start slipping away in the next few days. We’ve got to get this inquiry going. So let’s really stay on Jill Wudbine and the others and see what we can squeeze out of them.”
Within minutes of their return, Jill Wudbine was standing at the screen door of the library, clearing her throat rather than knocking. Ray motioned with his hand for her to enter.
“This is not good,” she said as soon as she was through the door. “Most inconvenient to me, my family, and our staff. I can play hardball, too. None of us need to talk with you.”
“Counselor, you’ve been out of law school a long time, and you’ve forgotten much of what you might have learned in your criminal procedure course. This is a murder investigation. You’ve told me that you will be representing the family. In that position you will be held accountable for your actions. Perhaps you should brush up on the obstruction of justice statutes in this state. At this point I am merely conducting interviews. There are currently no suspects or persons of interest. We will be moving this inquiry forward as quickly as possible. You can aid us, or you can get in our way. If you impede the investigation in any manner….” Ray let his comments hang. He carefully took in Jill Wudbine. He knew she had to be near forty, but her perfect complexion showed no signs of impending middle age. She could easily pass for 30 or younger. Her black hair was cut short in a way that added to her youthful appearance.
“Look, Sheriff, I’m just as interested as you are in finding the killer. I apologize for scheduling a meeting and then not being available. As for the choice of room, I just didn’t think. The recording part of the security system is archival, no one is monitoring it, but I understand your concern. Now can we get started?”