I was certain Cooper was being tactical, using speculation, not facts, but his delivery seemed especially harsh.
Richter picked up the plastic stir stick he'd used for his coffee, not looking at either of us. Finally, he raised his head and stared at the man who now seemed like an accuser. "What are you after, Boyd?"
Cooper said, "There've been some ugly developments in this case."
How I wished Cooper had asked Kate to come with us. No sending out a distress signal now, though. "Maybe we should tell you the most dramatic development first," I said. "Unless you already know."
"Dramatic? Would you two just get to it?" Richter said.
Cooper was sitting back, arms crossed, and he glanced over at me with raised eyebrows. "Go ahead. Tell him."
"Kent Dugan was murdered yesterday," I said.
Richter's skin immediately washed out to pasty gray. "I—I didn't know."
Anyone can lie with words, but the skin never lies. He looked like he could use a bed in the cardiac-care unit about now. Why was he so upset? I had no idea.
"We don't know how he was killed yet, but they pulled his body from Brays Bayou. You know anything about that, Mr. Richter?" Cooper asked.
Oh boy. This little interview was making me so tense my nerves might poke through my skin.
"You think I had something to do with his death?" Richter shot back. "I didn't even know the man existed until a few days ago."
Wanting to calm Richter down before I had to recall the ever-changing CPR steps, I said, "But that's one of the reasons you hired me, right? To find out who tried to kill JoLynn? That person was probably Dugan." I hoped my voice conveyed the genuine care I felt for this very odd man. Maybe Cooper thought I was playing good cop to his bad, but I was being sincere.
"Dugan tried to kill her?" Richter had quickly regained his stride, not to mention his color, and his interest in this trumped his anger.
"Evidence is strong in that direction," Cooper said. "But I still need you to clear up a few things. If I start gathering phone records and talking to potential witnesses in Pineview, will I find out you knew about Kent Dugan long before JoLynn's accident?"
Richter said, "Let me jump from A to D. You believe I found out about Dugan and asked him to get rid of JoLynn because she was lying to me about who she was?"
Impressive leap, I thought. Was he smart or was this the truth?
"That's one theory, but then I have to ask, why hire Abby?" Cooper said. "Who'd want someone snooping around when they might just uncover that you conspired with Dugan to kill JoLynn. Unless hiring a PI was all for show and you figured she couldn't investigate her way out of a paper bag."
I didn't have time to be offended by the paper-bag remark because Richter quickly said, "I do my homework, Chief. I'm very aware how good Abby is at her job and that's why I asked for her help. I knew absolutely nothing about Kent Dugan until the other night and if I'd wanted to get rid of JoLynn, I would have sent her packing, not have her killed."
"But you wanted me to make sure JoLynn is who she says she is, right?" I said. "You were worried about the fake license and fraudulent inspection stickers."
"No," he said. "You don't—"
But I kept going. "If you wanted the truth about JoLynn, why didn't you hunt for that truth when she first arrived at Magnolia Ranch? Why didn't you know about Kent Dugan?"
"I just didn't." Richter's mouth tightened into a stubborn line.
Cooper said, "You want us to believe that a successful businessman, known to check facts scrupulously, didn't look into this young woman's story? Because I plan on finding out, if that is the case."
Richter studied the swizzle stick again for what seemed a long time. "You'd be wasting your time. I'm certain you won't understand—I'm not certain even I understand—but before the attempt on JoLynn's life, I didn't want to know anything about her past."
"You never suspected she was a fraud?" I said.
Despite my attempt to say this in a gentle way, he turned to me and his steely eyes bored into mine. "She is not a fraud."
Delusion alert. Oh my gosh, Kate. I need you. But I kept my tone even when I said, "Okay, here's what I've learned. She was never adopted, Mr. Richter. She was abandoned in a bus station when she was nine and aged out of foster care. Did you know any of this before I found out?"
"Abandoned?" He closed his eyes briefly, seemed to be gathering himself. "Who could be that cruel to her?"
"I don't know yet," I said, "but it's possible JoLynn— who has also used the name Elizabeth—and her boyfriend Dugan planned to set you up by playing on your weakness: Katarina."
Cooper said, "But JoLynn may have betrayed Dugan by coming to you without Dugan's knowledge and—"
Richter held up his hand like a traffic cop. "Wait. I need to clarify something. JoLynn wasn't a fraud in the way you two are thinking, no matter what her background. She asked for nothing from me. Not a red cent. I doubt she conspired with Dugan. Aside from Katarina, she is the most genuine person I've ever met."
Cooper looked surprised. "Doesn't her behavior sound less than genuine, sir?"
Richter sighed heavily. "This is very difficult for me, but let me tell you how this all came about . . . hopefully explain my behavior without sounding like a fool. Katarina's cancer? Ovarian. She fled the ranch when she found out, went away without telling me where she was going or why. She was running from me, knowing I'd be calling every doctor in the country and be breathing down her neck trying to save her. She was so young, so strong-willed, she thought she could run, not only from me, but from the cancer, too."
I closed my eyes, taking this in. "Ovarian cancer? Then when did she have a baby—wait, are you saying Katarina couldn't have children?"
"Exactly. She came home to die once she knew it would be useless for me to interfere with her decisions. She'd been through treatment on her own, treatment that didn't work. She wanted to deal with her cancer without me taking charge of her life."
"B-but why?" I asked.
"Because of who I was. We'd been at odds since she was small. I started trying to control her the minute I lost my wife and thus alienated her. I can only thank God she came back to me so I could offer her comfort in the end. Offer comfort—not impose my will." His eyes filled and he took a deep breath. "She never had a child. She couldn't."
Cooper's attitude, his tough-guy interrogator persona softened a little. "I'm sorry for your loss. Very sorry. But this still doesn't explain—at least to this dumbass— why you brought JoLynn into your home and treated her as if she was your granddaughter."
Richter looked so fatigued, as if revealing all this had left him completely empty. "You ask why I took JoLynn in? Because I could tell she'd been running. For a long time. It's in the eyes, you know. Katarina had the same look when she came home—frightened, knowing she needed someone to be there for her—even her bastard of a father. She didn't want to be alone anymore."
"Okay . . . I understand what you're saying," I said slowly. "You couldn't have cared less about JoLynn's background. You needed her as much as she needed you."
"Ah, Abby, I see you took notes when you met my family. I'll bet you found them to be a very cold bunch. Funny thing, since this attempt on JoLynn's life? I'm seeing my family in a different light. Despite their contempt for JoLynn, despite their jealousy when I invited her into my home, they've all gone 'bloody soft,' as Ian would say." Richter smiled sadly.
Cooper looked plain bewildered. This was all too touchy-feely for him. Jeff would have reacted the same way.