Read Online Let Me Call You Sweetheart by Mary Higgins Clark - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Mary Higgins Clark
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mostly. Although toward the end--before she was killed--the last few times I was with them, she seemed to be kind of irritated at him."
Kerry then ventured into other aspects of the case, asking him about his sworn testimony that just prior to the murder, he had noticed Suzanne wearing expensive pieces of jewelry that he had not given her.
"Ms. McGrath, I wish you'd talk to my mother. She could tell you. She has a picture of Suzanne that was run in one of the community papers, taken at a charity affair. It shows her with an old-fashioned diamond pin on the lapel of her suit. The picture was taken only a couple of weeks before she was murdered. I swear to you that that pin and a couple of other pieces of expensive jewelry, none of which I gave her, were in her jewelry box that morning. I remember it specifically because it was one of the things we argued about. Those pieces were there that morning and they weren't there the next day."
"You mean someone took them?"
Reardon seemed uncomfortable. "I don't know if someone took them or if she gave them back to someone, but I tell you there was jewelry missing the next morning. I tried to tell all this to the cops, to get them to look into it, but it was obvious from the beginning that they didn't believe me. They thought that I was trying to make it look like she had been robbed and killed by an intruder.
"Something else," he continued. "My dad was in World War II and was in Germany for two years after the war. He brought back a miniature picture frame that he gave to my mother when they became engaged. My mother gave that frame to Suzanne and me when we were married. Suzanne put my favorite picture of her in it and kept it on the night table in our room. When my mother and I sorted Suzanne's things out before I was arrested, Mom noticed it was missing. But I know it was there that last morning."
"Are you trying to say that the night Suzanne died, someone came in and stole some jewelry and a picture frame?" Kerry asked.
"I'm telling you what I know was missing. I don't know where it went, and of course I'm not sure it had anything to do with Suzanne's murder. I just know that suddenly those things weren't there and that the police wouldn't look into it."
Kerry looked up from her notes and peered directly into the eyes of the man facing her.
"Skip, what was your relationship with your wife?"
Reardon sighed. "When I met her, I fell like a ton of bricks. She was gorgeous. She was smart. She was funny. She was the kind of woman who makes a guy feel ten feet tall. After we were married..." He paused. "It was all heat and no warmth, Ms. McGrath. I was raised to think you're supposed to make a go of marriage, that divorce was a last resort. And, of course, there were some good times. But was I ever happy or content? No, I wasn't. But then I was so busy building up my company that I just spent more and more time at work and in that way was able to avoid dealing with it.
"As for Suzanne, she seemed to have everything she wanted. The money was rolling in. I built her the house she said she had dreamed of having. She was over at the club every day, playing golf or tennis. She spent two years with a decorator, furnishing the house the way she wanted it. There's a guy who lives in Alpine, Jason Arnott, who really knows antiques. He took Suzanne to auctions and told her what to buy. She developed a taste for designer clothes. She was like a kid who wanted every day to be Christmas. With the way I was working, she had plenty of free time to come and go as she pleased. She loved to be at affairs that got press coverage, so that her picture would be in the paper. For a long time I thought she was happy, but as I look back on it, I'm sure she stayed with me because she hadn't found any better setup."
"Until..." Geoff prompted.
"Until someone she met became important," Reardon continued. "That was when I noticed jewelry I hadn't seen before. Some pieces were antiques, others very modern. She claimed
Kerry then ventured into other aspects of the case, asking him about his sworn testimony that just prior to the murder, he had noticed Suzanne wearing expensive pieces of jewelry that he had not given her.
"Ms. McGrath, I wish you'd talk to my mother. She could tell you. She has a picture of Suzanne that was run in one of the community papers, taken at a charity affair. It shows her with an old-fashioned diamond pin on the lapel of her suit. The picture was taken only a couple of weeks before she was murdered. I swear to you that that pin and a couple of other pieces of expensive jewelry, none of which I gave her, were in her jewelry box that morning. I remember it specifically because it was one of the things we argued about. Those pieces were there that morning and they weren't there the next day."
"You mean someone took them?"
Reardon seemed uncomfortable. "I don't know if someone took them or if she gave them back to someone, but I tell you there was jewelry missing the next morning. I tried to tell all this to the cops, to get them to look into it, but it was obvious from the beginning that they didn't believe me. They thought that I was trying to make it look like she had been robbed and killed by an intruder.
"Something else," he continued. "My dad was in World War II and was in Germany for two years after the war. He brought back a miniature picture frame that he gave to my mother when they became engaged. My mother gave that frame to Suzanne and me when we were married. Suzanne put my favorite picture of her in it and kept it on the night table in our room. When my mother and I sorted Suzanne's things out before I was arrested, Mom noticed it was missing. But I know it was there that last morning."
"Are you trying to say that the night Suzanne died, someone came in and stole some jewelry and a picture frame?" Kerry asked.
"I'm telling you what I know was missing. I don't know where it went, and of course I'm not sure it had anything to do with Suzanne's murder. I just know that suddenly those things weren't there and that the police wouldn't look into it."
Kerry looked up from her notes and peered directly into the eyes of the man facing her.
"Skip, what was your relationship with your wife?"
Reardon sighed. "When I met her, I fell like a ton of bricks. She was gorgeous. She was smart. She was funny. She was the kind of woman who makes a guy feel ten feet tall. After we were married..." He paused. "It was all heat and no warmth, Ms. McGrath. I was raised to think you're supposed to make a go of marriage, that divorce was a last resort. And, of course, there were some good times. But was I ever happy or content? No, I wasn't. But then I was so busy building up my company that I just spent more and more time at work and in that way was able to avoid dealing with it.
"As for Suzanne, she seemed to have everything she wanted. The money was rolling in. I built her the house she said she had dreamed of having. She was over at the club every day, playing golf or tennis. She spent two years with a decorator, furnishing the house the way she wanted it. There's a guy who lives in Alpine, Jason Arnott, who really knows antiques. He took Suzanne to auctions and told her what to buy. She developed a taste for designer clothes. She was like a kid who wanted every day to be Christmas. With the way I was working, she had plenty of free time to come and go as she pleased. She loved to be at affairs that got press coverage, so that her picture would be in the paper. For a long time I thought she was happy, but as I look back on it, I'm sure she stayed with me because she hadn't found any better setup."
"Until..." Geoff prompted.
"Until someone she met became important," Reardon continued. "That was when I noticed jewelry I hadn't seen before. Some pieces were antiques, others very modern. She claimed
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