her, saying nothing, until the woman got control of herself. Finally she dropped her hands into her lap and turned her tear streaked face towards him.
“Dead, you said? How could she possibly be dead? She was here in this very room just two days ago. How did it happen? Has she had an accident? Oh, my God, Maria! You can’t be dead.”
She started to cry again but just tears now, not the huge, heart wrenching sobs like before.
Carl reached out and gently took her hand in his.
“I’m sorry to have had to break it to you like that, but you really didn’t leave me much option, did you? Yes, I’m sorry but she is dead, and no, it wasn’t an accident. We believe it to have been a homicide.”
Erica Caspar stared at him with huge, red rimmed eyes.
“Murdered, you mean? Why would anyone want to murder our Maria? When you came to the door, I thought it was because she’d gotten herself into another one of her dumb scrapes,” she mumbled. Then she sniffed a couple of times and reached for a box of tissues on the end table beside her.
“What kind of dumb scrapes? Drugs?” Carl asked.
“No, nothing like that. Nothing really bad, but she could be a little light-fingered sometimes,” Erica said, a little more clearly. “But surely no one would murder her just for something like that, would they? How was she ki...? No, don’t tell me, I don’t want to know. Not right now anyway.”
“Erica,” Carl said, more gently now. “I need for you to come back to Burlington with me to positively identify your sister.”
The poor woman looked even more shocked, if that was possible.
“ Identify her? No, no, I don’t think I could do that. Couldn’t someone else do it? How about her boyfriend? Well, her ex-boyfriend he is now, I suppose.”
Carl gave her a surprised look , thinking she was referring to Maria’s death, until she continued in a rush of words. “The two of them split up about a week or so ago, but they’d been together now for several years. He was really awfully upset about it. I’d thought they were going to get married in this coming year and…”
“Slow down, ma’am, just take it easy. Tell me about this boyfriend of Maria’s . What’s his name?” Carl said.
“His name is David Gates, nice enough guy. I don’t know why they split up. She never told me. We lived here together in this house until she moved in with David. But we really weren’t that close, you know, even as sisters. I thought David would be able to straighten her out, but it’s much too late for that now, isn’t it?” she said and started to cry again.
Carl waited patiently for her to stop again and then said, “Do you know his address, Erica? And does Maria have a photo of him in her room anywhere, that I could take with me, please?”
She got to her feet, wiped her eyes with a tissue and went out of the room. When she returned, she handed Carl a small framed photo of Maria and David Gates standing in front of a doorway somewhere. Carl took it, looked at it and thanked her. She then handed him a small red address book. “He’s in there under ‘G’. There are the names and addresses of some of her other friends in there as well. They can probably tell you more about her than I can too.”
Carl noticed the trace of bitterness in the last sentence.
“Thank you, ma’am, but I’m sorry, I’ll need to have you do the identification for two reasons. You’re her sister, a close relative, and you’re here. This David Gates isn’t. I can’t afford the time to go looking for him right now either, so I’ll have to ask you to come with me, okay, ma’am? I’m sure you understand.”
She nodded reluctantly. “Please don’t keep calli ng me ‘ma’am’. My name’s Erica and I’ll need to pack a bag. So how long do you think I’ll be away?”
“Well, it’s about sixty miles or so from here to Burlington. So less than a couple of hours each way if the weather holds up. I could have you back here later on
“Dead, you said? How could she possibly be dead? She was here in this very room just two days ago. How did it happen? Has she had an accident? Oh, my God, Maria! You can’t be dead.”
She started to cry again but just tears now, not the huge, heart wrenching sobs like before.
Carl reached out and gently took her hand in his.
“I’m sorry to have had to break it to you like that, but you really didn’t leave me much option, did you? Yes, I’m sorry but she is dead, and no, it wasn’t an accident. We believe it to have been a homicide.”
Erica Caspar stared at him with huge, red rimmed eyes.
“Murdered, you mean? Why would anyone want to murder our Maria? When you came to the door, I thought it was because she’d gotten herself into another one of her dumb scrapes,” she mumbled. Then she sniffed a couple of times and reached for a box of tissues on the end table beside her.
“What kind of dumb scrapes? Drugs?” Carl asked.
“No, nothing like that. Nothing really bad, but she could be a little light-fingered sometimes,” Erica said, a little more clearly. “But surely no one would murder her just for something like that, would they? How was she ki...? No, don’t tell me, I don’t want to know. Not right now anyway.”
“Erica,” Carl said, more gently now. “I need for you to come back to Burlington with me to positively identify your sister.”
The poor woman looked even more shocked, if that was possible.
“ Identify her? No, no, I don’t think I could do that. Couldn’t someone else do it? How about her boyfriend? Well, her ex-boyfriend he is now, I suppose.”
Carl gave her a surprised look , thinking she was referring to Maria’s death, until she continued in a rush of words. “The two of them split up about a week or so ago, but they’d been together now for several years. He was really awfully upset about it. I’d thought they were going to get married in this coming year and…”
“Slow down, ma’am, just take it easy. Tell me about this boyfriend of Maria’s . What’s his name?” Carl said.
“His name is David Gates, nice enough guy. I don’t know why they split up. She never told me. We lived here together in this house until she moved in with David. But we really weren’t that close, you know, even as sisters. I thought David would be able to straighten her out, but it’s much too late for that now, isn’t it?” she said and started to cry again.
Carl waited patiently for her to stop again and then said, “Do you know his address, Erica? And does Maria have a photo of him in her room anywhere, that I could take with me, please?”
She got to her feet, wiped her eyes with a tissue and went out of the room. When she returned, she handed Carl a small framed photo of Maria and David Gates standing in front of a doorway somewhere. Carl took it, looked at it and thanked her. She then handed him a small red address book. “He’s in there under ‘G’. There are the names and addresses of some of her other friends in there as well. They can probably tell you more about her than I can too.”
Carl noticed the trace of bitterness in the last sentence.
“Thank you, ma’am, but I’m sorry, I’ll need to have you do the identification for two reasons. You’re her sister, a close relative, and you’re here. This David Gates isn’t. I can’t afford the time to go looking for him right now either, so I’ll have to ask you to come with me, okay, ma’am? I’m sure you understand.”
She nodded reluctantly. “Please don’t keep calli ng me ‘ma’am’. My name’s Erica and I’ll need to pack a bag. So how long do you think I’ll be away?”
“Well, it’s about sixty miles or so from here to Burlington. So less than a couple of hours each way if the weather holds up. I could have you back here later on
Similar Books
