The Whispering Room. Amanda Stevens
can you tell us about Paul’s relationship with Sonny Betts?”
Meredith jerked up her head and she looked at Evangeline with a mixture of fear and revulsion. “They certainly weren’t friends. It was a professional relationship only. Paul believed everyone was entitled to the best defense possible. Even slime like Sonny Betts.”
“Did you ever meet Betts?”
“Once at Paul’s office.” She shuddered. “He was not someone I would ever have in my home. I can’t tell you how relieved I was when he and Paul parted ways.”
“When was this?”
“Right after the trial.”
“Did they have a falling-out?”
“All Paul ever said about it was that his services were no longer required.”
“The split was amicable, then.”
“I guess so….” She looked doubtful all of a sudden.
“What is it?”
She bit her lip as she glanced out the window, collecting her thoughts. “I don’t know if it means anything…I’d forgotten all about it until now….”
“That’s okay. The more you can tell us, the better chance we’ll have of finding who did this,” Evangeline persisted.
“It was a few days after the verdict came back.” Meredith placed the shredded tissue on her thigh and absently smoothed out the wrinkles. “Paul had scheduled some time off from work so that we could go to a friend’s place in the Bahamas. Then all of a sudden, he said he couldn’t get away. Something had come up at work, but he wanted Maisie and me to go on without him. I didn’t really want to…we hadn’t had a family vacation in ages. But he was so insistent, almost as if he were trying to get us out of town.” She paused. “Which I suppose he was and I was just too naive to see the signs.”
“So you decided to go on the trip without him?” Evangeline prompted.
“Yes, after some arguing. The night before we were to leave, I finished packing and went to bed early. I’d just dozed off when I heard voices downstairs. Loud voices. I thought Paul must have fallen asleep in front of the television, but when I came downstairs, I saw two men with him in his study. Which struck me as odd because it was after midnight. We never had visitors that late.”
“Did you recognize the men?”
“I’d never seen them before in my life.”
“You said you heard loud voices. Were these men arguing with Paul?”
“It appeared so. Paul was clearly angry. He kept telling them that he’d done what they asked, and now that the trial was over, he wanted out.”
“Did you know what he was talking about?”
“I didn’t have a clue. But the way he kept pacing back and forth…the look in his eyes…” She took another breath. “He wasn’t just angry. He looked scared. I remember he said something about a cop. ‘I don’t want to end up like that dead cop.’ Or words to that effect.”
A wave of shock rolled through Evangeline. Her face felt frozen, and for the longest moment, she didn’t trust herself to speak.
Beside her, Mitchell shifted forward on the sofa. “Do you know who he was talking about?”
“No idea.”
“Did you ask him about the conversation?”
“Of course I did. As soon as the men left. The way he was behaving…it frightened me. I don’t know why, but I had a feeling that those two men were also some kind of cops or agents, and they were trying to get Paul to do something he didn’t want to do. Something dangerous. When I confronted him, he said it was nothing to worry about. Just a misunderstanding about a case.”
“You believed him?”
She sighed. “I didn’t have any reason not to. Then.”
Evangeline hesitated for a split second to make sure nothing in her voice betrayed her agitation. “Did you ask him specifically about the dead cop?”
“Yes, but he said he was just being melodramatic. Trying to make a point. Paul could be very theatrical when he needed to be. That’s why he was such an effective trial lawyer.”
“He didn’t mention the cop’s name?”
Something in Evangeline’s voice caught Meredith’s attention. She gave her a thoughtful look. “Not that I remember.”
“What about the two men? Did he call either of them by name? Or a title? Detective So-and-So, for instance. Or maybe Agent So-and-So?”
“I don’t believe so, no. But as I said, I’d forgotten about the incident until now. Maisie and I left for the Bahamas the next day, and when we got back, Paul had already moved out. He told me the marriage hadn’t been working for him for a very long time.” She shook her head, as if she still couldn’t believe it. “Just like that, our marriage was over. And I thought everything was so good between us. We had arguments, of course, like every married couple, but for the most part…” Her voice thickened. “I guess that’s why they say the wife is always the last to know.” Her tears spilled over and Evangeline handed her another tissue. “I’m sorry. This is bringing back a lot of painful memories.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Evangeline fished a card from her purse and laid it on the coffee table. “Here’s my number if you think of anything else. My cell number is on the back. Call anytime, day or night.”
“In the meantime, we’ll need someone to come to the morgue to ID the body,” Mitchell informed her.
“But…you said identification was found on the body.”
Hope springs eternal, Evangeline thought wearily. “A positive ID is just routine procedure. If you’re not up to it, we can talk to another family member.”
Meredith winced at the suggestion. “Oh, no, please don’t call his mother. Not until I’ve had a chance to break it to her first. This is going to kill her.”
“I understand.”
“It’s just…it hasn’t even been a year since she lost her other son. Paul’s younger brother.”
“I’m so sorry,” Evangeline said.
“It was such a horrible accident and poor Leona…she’s never gotten over it. None of us have. I still have nightmares about it.”
“What kind of accident was it?” Mitchell asked.
“Paul’s family has a fishing cabin on the bayou near Houma. David took the boat out alone one day last summer and he must have hit something in the water. The boat overturned and he was…” She trailed off on a violent shudder.
“He drowned?”
She shook her head and put a hand to her throat. “It was like one of those terrible things you hear about but don’t really believe. An urban legend or something. The water where David fell in was infested with water moccasins. He was bitten over a dozen times before he could swim to the bank.”
Six
A few moments later, Mitchell put voice to his skepticism as they pulled away from the Courtland home.
“I’m telling you, Evie, this case is starting to give me the creeps.”
“No kidding.”
“What are the chances that two brothers dying of snakebites within months of each other could turn out to be just some bizarre coincidence?”
“In my professional opinion? Slim to none.”
Mitchell was driving this time and Evangeline turned to glance back at the house. She couldn’t get