He said, “Look, I’d really like for you guys to leave now. This is kind of a tough time for me, you know? You’re not making it any easier. And I’ve got rights. I’m pretty sure I don’t have to answer your questions.”
Jenn stood there looking back and forth between Duane and the closet. She felt really close to finding out whatever it was Duane didn’t want her to know.
She reached over and touched the closet doorknob, and Duane winced sharply.
Jenn saw Riley shaking her head sharply, silently warning her not to open the closet.
Of course, Jenn didn’t need a warning. She knew better than to open the closet without a warrant. Her move was only a bluff, an attempt to get more of a reaction out of the man who lived here.
And she was definitely succeeding.
Duane lifted a hand toward the closet and said in a shaky voice …
“Don’t do that. I’ve got rights.”
Jenn smiled at him, but she didn’t move away from the closet door.
She was about to ask the retrograde musician to come to the police station to answer more questions when Riley said, “Thanks for your time, Mr. Scoville. We’ll leave now.”
Jenn’s smile disappeared.
She felt dumfounded. But she saw that Riley, Bill, and the police chief were all headed for the door.
Obediently, Jenn followed them out of the room.
As they headed back down the hallway and down the stairs, Riley said to Jenn …
“What did you think you were doing back there? You can’t go poking around like that without a warrant.”
Jenn said, “I know that, Riley. I wasn’t going to open the closet.”
Riley said, “Well, I’m glad to hear that.”
“Aren’t we going to take him in for questioning?” Jenn asked.
“No,” Riley said.
“Why not?”
Riley sighed and said, “I’m hungry. Let’s go get something to eat. We can talk about it then.”
The discussion went on hold as Chief Brennan drove them to a nearby fast food place. Jenn and her colleagues ordered their generic burgers and sat down at a table together.
Then Riley said to Jenn, “Now tell me your thoughts about Duane Scoville.”
Jenn sensed that Riley was about to give her a little question-and-answer lesson in police work.
Don’t get defensive, Jenn told herself sternly. After all, she was probably going to learn something, whether she liked it or not.
She thought about Riley’s question.
What are my thoughts about Duane Scoville?
She thought back to the interview and replayed bits of it in her mind.
She remembered his sneer when he’d mentioned that the Vivaldi piece had been Robin’s favorite …
“I hope they play it at her funeral.”
Why would a rocker like him even be listening to Vivaldi, apparently the same movement over and over again?
Except maybe to gloat.
Then she remembered his look of disgust when he’d switched the music off.
Self-disgust.
Jenn could think of one good reason for him to feel that way.
“I think he’s guilty,” Jenn said.
Riley smiled a little and said, “I think so too.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Riley could see the shock in Jenn’s face at what she’d just said. The younger agent’s mouth hung open for a moment.
Jenn took a quick glance at Bill and Captain Brennan, who were listening attentively, then stared back at Riley.
Riley suppressed a smile and waited for Jenn to say something.
Finally Jenn asked, “You think he’s guilty too? Guilty of murder?”
“I didn’t say that,” Riley said.
“Then what do you mean?”
Riley saw that Bill was now grinning broadly and Brennan just looked mystified. But she didn’t want to say exactly what she meant, at least not outright. She wanted to draw her young protégé out with questions. After all, Jenn still had some things to learn about thinking like a BAU agent. And maybe Riley could coax Jenn into seeing things Riley’s way regarding Duane Scoville.
Riley asked, “What were your first impressions when you walked into the apartment?”
Jenn squinted in thought. “Well, it was weird. I mean, the music was weird enough, for a rock musician. But the way the place looked … Robin’s little house wasn’t anything like that. Everything there was so neat. And conservative.”
“Hard to believe they were ever married, huh?” Riley said.
Jenn shrugged a little and said, “Not happily, anyway.”
Riley smiled a little.
“It’s not so hard for me to believe,” Riley said. “I’ve got some idea what it’s like to get married when you’re young and stupid. It’s pretty much the story of my life. Robin and Duane were probably crazy in love and happy for a while. Their marriage might not have even lasted long enough for them to realize how little they really had in common.”
Jenn sputtered, “But—but he acted so …”
Riley said, “Guilty. Yes, I know. He had his reasons. Why do you think their marriage broke up? Aside from those differences that would probably have broken them up eventually anyhow?”
Jenn stared down at her untouched hamburger, obviously trying to think of an answer.
Riley said, “Well, it’s not too hard to figure out. What do you know about Robin’s recent past?”
Jenn said, “She was in a car accident last year, and she lost a leg and …”
Riley could see a light coming on in Jenn’s eyes.
“Oh my God,” Jenn said. “Duane couldn’t deal with it. He’d married a gorgeous young woman, married her because she was beautiful, but suddenly she was … well, mutilated. He just didn’t find her attractive anymore.”
Riley nodded. “In short, he was a shallow little prick.”
Jenn nodded slowly and said, “And he knows it, too. That he was a prick, I mean. He felt guilty about it as soon as he dumped her. But now that she’s dead …”
Jenn paused for a moment, then continued.
“He keeps thinking, if only he’d been a better husband, a better human being, Robin would still be alive today. And he might well be right. So his guilt is eating him up right now.”
Jenn shook her head and added, “Small wonder he acted the way he did. But … what about the closet? Why did he get so nervous when I acted like I was going to open it?”
Riley chuckled and said, “You’d be nervous, too, if you had two FBI agents and a police chief in your room, and you had a bong hidden in your closet.”
Jenn rolled her eyes. “Of course. I should have known.”
Riley didn’t say anything. The truth was …
We don’t really know anything.
For all Riley really knew, Duane Scoville might have killed his wife after all. Maybe killing her was a desperate attempt to put his shame at abandoning her behind him—an attempt that had failed miserably.
Riley