Wisdom sighs and breathes faint curses into the receiver. Ray doesn’t need to repeat the question.
“As long as the Feds aren’t involved there’s not usually a problem and city hasn’t suggested calling them in as yet. Nor should we or County. So far there’s absolutely no hint of a kidnapping. Damn!”
Chief Ferris manages to get all but the last few words out before a drop of yolk from his fried egg breakfast sandwich leaks onto his shirt. He looks down, wets his handkerchief with a daub from his tongue, and blots the spot as he shakes his head.
“Lucky I always keep extra shirts in the office closet, but first let’s see how it dries.”
He’s called Wisdom into his office on a cool August day to fill him in on the “Heidi case” as they called it in the office. He doesn’t often get so involved in a case, but Wisdom is happy for the input. The chief has been around and knows the score. He pulls a folder up from his clean desk and reads from the combined NYPD and town reports.
“After nearly three months of waiting, nothing’s turned up. When she disappeared, she had over thirty thousand dollars in her bank account at Chase, and more to the point there weren’t any recent major cash withdrawals. The last one was the day before she took the bus and that was only for a hundred. All of the last checks she wrote were for normal commercial expenses like rent, Con Edison, Verizon, and the Food Emporium. She has one credit card, a Chase Visa. Not much there except for some department store clothing purchases. Again nothing since she went missing. Certainly no purchase of airline or railroad tickets.
“They haven’t heard anymore from her parents in Europe, which boggles the mind, nor have they opted to call in the Feds. What they have done is follow an idea you had to check out Dr. Stern more closely. Initially they thought it was far-fetched. After all he was the one who first reported her missing. They had a strong emotional relationship and he brought in the cell phone message where she said she was in some nice house out here with a water view.”
“We know all that,” says Wisdom. “Did they find anything?”
“More than a little. First thing is that Stern can’t confirm an alibi for that day. Says he wasn’t on call on the day she disappeared. Says he rented a car and drove upstate to the area where he grew up, had a bite at some diner and came back late afternoon. Didn’t talk to anyone who would remember him, didn’t use a credit card for anything. Nada.”
“So what’s wrong with the picture?”
“The mileage to start with. Several weeks later he rented another car also from the same Avis East Side pick-up location. You’ll remember that’s when he came out here with the FOIA list and spoke to some people from the bus. The mileage on the day he came out here was almost the same as the time when he claimed he went upstate.”
“Meaning he could have been here and not upstate on the day she disappeared. Meaning he could have followed her out to East Hampton and trailed her from the bus stop. But what about the cell phone call he got from her? Wouldn’t his phone have shown that he was out here when he received the call?”
“Claims he forgot the phone that day. Says he was pissed that she didn’t want him to come along and accidentally left it back in his apartment and only got her message when he got home.”
“That sounds lame. He’s a doctor for chrissakes. He needs to be available twenty-four seven.”
“Says he did have his pager but had no messages.”
“Anything else?”
“NYPD also says they made some discreet inquiries about the relationship between the two of them. Seems they were getting it off pretty regularly, but she wasn’t doing it only with him. She was pretty accommodating to anyone on the staff who showed any interest. So much so they had some fights that weren’t so private, but they haven’t hit him yet with any of this.”
“Jesus!” Wisdom shakes his head sideways in a universal sign of disapproval. “So are we still involved at all?”
“Not directly, but there are two more things you should know about. When New York was talking to Stern, he volunteered that he had a feeling that either of two guys from the bus probably knew more than they were letting on. They’d like us to talk to them again. It’s Welbrook and Posner. Before you say anything, I know you already spoke to both of them and they were clean, but we’d be doing the city boys a favor, and I like it when they owe us. And before you see them, do some research on their backgrounds. If by any chance they’re lying to us, I want to know enough so we can catch them in it. I spoke to County and they’re with us on this.”
The report on Wisdom’s meetings with Posner and Welbrook rests in a growing folder he holds in his lap. Posner remains a very long shot possible suspect in Heidi’s disappearance based solely on the chance bus meeting, although Wisdom has no reason to put much faith in this theory. He doesn’t need to find the interview report with Welbrook to remember that particular exchange.
Benjamin Welbrook agreed to meet with Wisdom on short notice. His house is larger than Posner’s and has more panoramic ocean views, but both houses exude a level of wealth found with some prevalence throughout the area. Wisdom’s summary describes Welbrook as a very poised middle-aged individual involved in entertainment law. He dresses in simple, yet elegant clothing; white linen pants and a blue designer shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows. He uses the house in Amagansett to entertain clients and for weekend getaways with his partner whom Wisdom meets during the meeting.
Welbrook introduces his partner as Steven Hoyle. Hoyle has dark hair and wears a tee shirt and worn jeans with a large hole over one knee. He appears slightly younger than Welbrook and is an editorial associate for a major publishing firm. They offer coffee and sit on the opposite couch from Wisdom. Welbrook drapes an arm around Hoyle’s shoulder, which he periodically massages. The effect is obvious. Wisdom has no interest in the man’s sexual orientation except that it minimizes Welbrook’s possible interest in Heidi Kashani, although that doesn’t mean elimination. Welbrook still remains a minor focus, but is now in the second tier, if such a distinction is possible.
In Wisdom’s opinion Dr. Stern is still front and center the most likely to be involved. All this flashes through Wisdom’s mind in seconds, but the chief doesn’t seem to notice any delay in his answer.
“Let me think about how to approach this. Stern is a more likely suspect that these other two. Sounds like he’s just trying to throw us off. Did the city cops happen to mention whether Stern did anything to indicate that he felt he was a possible suspect?”
“Nothing they picked up on. But if I wanted to off my girlfriend, one good way to cover up might be to report her missing and then try to steer the blame to someone else. That’s if I had a girlfriend I wanted to disappear, which I don’t, and if I had one that looked like Heidi, I absolutely wouldn’t.”
Wisdom stands and sighs in one motion, almost as if his body was controlled by some outside puppeteer. He starts to walk toward the door then stops and turns sharply.
“You said there were two more things. Another go-round with these two dudes is one. What’s the other?”
Ferris smiles into his nearly empty coffee cup.
“The hospital got a call. Seems Heidi has a sister and she’ll be arriving in the city in a week and plans on visiting us the following Tuesday.”
Wisdom glances at the wall calendar, which is distributed by a local nonprofit. Smack in the middle of the last week in August, as busy a week as they’re likely to get all summer.
“The Austrian Consulate in the city has asked that she be given the full treatment. Actually the call to the hospital came from State. The sister’s a special assistant to some UN bigwig in Geneva. And if you’re at all curious why I’m so interested in this case, then you can blame the State Department. Enjoy your weekend.”