suddenly rearranged themselves into a mask of shock. “She was really startled,” he recalled. “Her face just dropped and her mouth hung open. She hadn’t expected anyone to follow up on what she told us. She figured we’d just go away and be satisfied with her version of where her husband was.”
A man in his fifties—or even sixties—might be expected to leave his wife and a comfortable home in a midlife crisis and take off with another woman. But eighty? It didn’t ring true to either Greg Doss or Ray Clever, and Ruth Neslund noticed their doubt.
Her answers became much more guarded as they questioned her about her flight to catch Rolf with her rival. She wasn’t giving nearly as many details, and her hands fluttered nervously in her lap as they continued to ask more specific questions about why Rolf had left—and when.
Doss and Clever spent about half an hour in the Neslunds’ home, with the interview growing more stilted as the minutes passed. Ruth had gradually turned toward Greg Doss, whose questions weren’t as accusing, dismissing Ray Clever. It was apparent that she didn’t care for Clever or his constant note-taking.
When they left, she was far less animated than she had been. As they drove away, Clever remarked to Doss, “I don’t know whether she killed him or not, but she did something to him, and she’s lying to us.”
They were back at the Neslund house the next day. Ray Clever read Ruth her Miranda rights again, and asked if she would be willing to continue their conversation. Ruth seemed somewhat more relaxed than she had been when they left. Again, she said, “Of course.”
The investigators proceeded, deliberately giving theimpression that they believed that Rolf Neslund might have left of his own accord, but could subsequently have had an accident or even died of a stroke or heart attack. Clever asked Ruth if she had a current photograph of her husband, and she gestured toward several color photos on an end table. They were mostly family pictures, showing Ruth and Rolf together at different stages in their marriage, or with other family members.
It looked as though Ruth might have been feeling sentimental about her marriage because there was a projector set up with a screen in the living room. Several slides of happier days lay near the projector.
She picked out two pictures of Rolf and handed them to Ray Clever. “This looks like him now,” she said.
Ruth began another long and rambling monologue on her suspicions of where he might be. It was difficult to break into her opinions, but Clever interrupted her. “Can you give me any information about your husband that would help us identify him—even if he should not be alive now?”
She stared at him, as if it had never occurred to her that Rolf might be dead. “Well, he has some tattoos—old tattoos,” she said. “On his right forearm, he has a heart with an arrow through it—and it says ‘Muriel’ above it. That was some girlfriend he had a long time ago. She’s dead now.
“And on his left forearm, he’s got something that looks like a Coast Guard insignia, or maybe it’s an American flag. And on the middle finger of his right hand, there’s an arrow tattooed around that finger.”
Ruth remembered myriad details about her missing husband. When Clever asked her if there were dental X-rays available for Rolf, she shook her head. “His teeth arefalse—both uppers and lowers. Dr. Sam Anderson made them. His office is on Northwest Eighty-fifth in Seattle. And he had prescription glasses from Dr. Heffernan at the PayLess Drugstore at Thirty-fifth and Aurora.”
According to Ruth, it was also quite possible that Rolf had once had two broken fingers. “I think Elinor broke them once in her lawyer’s office in Canada. He never got them treated, as far as I know.”
Now Ruth began to talk about Elinor again, going into detail about all the legal problems she had endured because of Elinor and her attorneys. Whether
A man in his fifties—or even sixties—might be expected to leave his wife and a comfortable home in a midlife crisis and take off with another woman. But eighty? It didn’t ring true to either Greg Doss or Ray Clever, and Ruth Neslund noticed their doubt.
Her answers became much more guarded as they questioned her about her flight to catch Rolf with her rival. She wasn’t giving nearly as many details, and her hands fluttered nervously in her lap as they continued to ask more specific questions about why Rolf had left—and when.
Doss and Clever spent about half an hour in the Neslunds’ home, with the interview growing more stilted as the minutes passed. Ruth had gradually turned toward Greg Doss, whose questions weren’t as accusing, dismissing Ray Clever. It was apparent that she didn’t care for Clever or his constant note-taking.
When they left, she was far less animated than she had been. As they drove away, Clever remarked to Doss, “I don’t know whether she killed him or not, but she did something to him, and she’s lying to us.”
They were back at the Neslund house the next day. Ray Clever read Ruth her Miranda rights again, and asked if she would be willing to continue their conversation. Ruth seemed somewhat more relaxed than she had been when they left. Again, she said, “Of course.”
The investigators proceeded, deliberately giving theimpression that they believed that Rolf Neslund might have left of his own accord, but could subsequently have had an accident or even died of a stroke or heart attack. Clever asked Ruth if she had a current photograph of her husband, and she gestured toward several color photos on an end table. They were mostly family pictures, showing Ruth and Rolf together at different stages in their marriage, or with other family members.
It looked as though Ruth might have been feeling sentimental about her marriage because there was a projector set up with a screen in the living room. Several slides of happier days lay near the projector.
She picked out two pictures of Rolf and handed them to Ray Clever. “This looks like him now,” she said.
Ruth began another long and rambling monologue on her suspicions of where he might be. It was difficult to break into her opinions, but Clever interrupted her. “Can you give me any information about your husband that would help us identify him—even if he should not be alive now?”
She stared at him, as if it had never occurred to her that Rolf might be dead. “Well, he has some tattoos—old tattoos,” she said. “On his right forearm, he has a heart with an arrow through it—and it says ‘Muriel’ above it. That was some girlfriend he had a long time ago. She’s dead now.
“And on his left forearm, he’s got something that looks like a Coast Guard insignia, or maybe it’s an American flag. And on the middle finger of his right hand, there’s an arrow tattooed around that finger.”
Ruth remembered myriad details about her missing husband. When Clever asked her if there were dental X-rays available for Rolf, she shook her head. “His teeth arefalse—both uppers and lowers. Dr. Sam Anderson made them. His office is on Northwest Eighty-fifth in Seattle. And he had prescription glasses from Dr. Heffernan at the PayLess Drugstore at Thirty-fifth and Aurora.”
According to Ruth, it was also quite possible that Rolf had once had two broken fingers. “I think Elinor broke them once in her lawyer’s office in Canada. He never got them treated, as far as I know.”
Now Ruth began to talk about Elinor again, going into detail about all the legal problems she had endured because of Elinor and her attorneys. Whether
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