Bellemont shook first her hand and then Falco’s. As soon as they lowered into their chairs, he resumed his. “How can I help you, Detectives? I presume you’re here about the tragedy in the Abbott family.”

“We are,” Kerri said. “Mr. Abbott’s father told us that you and his son were longtime friends. We hoped you might be able to help us clear up a few things.”

“Ben was a good man,” Bellemont said. “The best. You can dig all you want, Detective, and you will never find anything negative about this man. He was a model human being.”

Falco jumped in. “Can you say the same about his wife?”

“Ben and Sela met around a year and a half ago, I believe. I can’t claim to know all there is to know about her, but what I do know is good and noble. She devotes herself to helping others. No one gives as much as she does. Sela is an incredible woman.”

“I’m assuming she isn’t wealthy in her own right,” Kerri said, moving past the part they already knew.

Bellemont blinked. His gaze shifted a bit as he considered his answer. “No. She was not. Sela has taken care of her mother—God rest her soul—for many years. There’s no one else; you probably know already. And she worked a full-time job at a law firm in San Francisco, but she was far from wealthy.”

The wife had worked as a paralegal before meeting and marrying Ben Abbott. To Kerri, legal work seemed considerably different than fundraising. “What do you suppose makes her so good at fundraising when she’s had no experience in that world as far as we’ve determined?”

Then again, she amended silently, lawyers were pretty good at separating people from their money. As much as she liked her divorce attorney, he’d cost an arm and a leg.

“She has a big heart and pours all that heart into her work,” Bellemont offered. “People recognize that and are drawn to her. In hardly any time at all, she’s built a remarkable presence in Birmingham.”

Again, as he spoke, there was that subtle shift in his gaze, a stiffening of his posture. He didn’t like talking about the wife. Interesting.

“But someone didn’t like her and her husband,” Falco said. “So all aspects of their lives weren’t perfect.”

“The cash in their wallets, credit cards, jewelry—none of that was taken from the house, and there’s been no ransom demand,” Kerri said, expanding on Falco’s point. “Obviously money wasn’t the motive behind what happened, which means we have to explore other possibilities.”

Bellemont leaned forward in his chair, propped his forearms on his desk. This time he looked directly at Kerri as he spoke. “I can assure you that you will not find any skeletons hidden in Ben Abbott’s closet. This is a man above reproach.”

“I notice you didn’t include his wife and mother-in-law in that statement,” Falco said in his usual irreverent tone, digging at that same itch again.

Bellemont’s lips tightened. He wasn’t going to say more.

“What about your wife, Mr. Bellemont?” Kerri went on. “Is she friends with Sela Abbott?”

Frustration and impatience made an appearance in his expression. “We have three small children, Detective. My wife’s life is far too busy for a lot of socializing. The two know each other, of course. We’ve had many dinner parties to which they were invited and vice versa, but until recently there wasn’t a lot of commonality between the two.”

“So they weren’t close friends?” Kerri pushed. “Not like you and Ben.”

“That’s correct.”

“Really you don’t know Sela very well at all, do you?” Falco followed with a push of his own. “Maybe someone from her past—or her mother’s—wanted to settle a debt or dispute of some sort, which might explain why she isn’t dead like the others.”

Bellemont looked from Falco to Kerri and back before responding, “I can’t give you something that doesn’t exist.” He leaned back, putting a little distance between them once more. “Everyone who knows Ben and his family is devastated. He is a dear friend of mine. I simply don’t know anything negative to say. You may theorize all you wish, but you will never find what you’re looking for with the path you’re taking.”

“Was,” Kerri pointed out.

Bellemont frowned, then appeared to realize his mistake of referring to Abbott in the present tense. “I’m sorry, Detectives, but I do have other appointments. I’ve made myself available to answer your questions, and now I feel as if you should go out and do your job. You won’t find any answers of the sort you’re looking for here.”

That was certainly plain enough. Kerri stood. “I assume you’ll be available for additional questions if there are more we need to ask.”

He pushed to his feet. “Of course. No one wants Sela found and justice for Ben and Jacqueline more than me.”

When they started to go, Falco hesitated and turned back to the man. “You do realize that we’re going to figure this out? Devlin here is the best homicide detective in the department. Whatever happened, she’ll get to the bottom of it. Maybe if you helped us now, your friend’s wife might have a chance of surviving whatever has happened to her.”

“Goodbye, Detectives.”

No hesitation, no additional comment. The attorney was done.

They didn’t speak again until they had cleared the exit at the end of the hall. The door led into the narrow alleyway and locked once it closed behind them. Like other larger metropolitan areas, Birmingham alleys weren’t that attractive. They were generally filled with garbage dumpsters and unadorned side exits from businesses. Made for hasty getaways and good parking spots for delivery vehicles.

“I think I hit a nerve, Devlin.”

Kerri flashed him a deserved smile. “I think you did.” As they reached the street, she ticked off the list she had been mulling over to her partner. “Let’s nose around in the wife’s and the mother’s backgrounds a little more. See what else we can find.” So far it was a lot of nothing. “I also think we should have another go at the two closest neighbors to the Abbott property. Maybe one or the other has remembered something else.”

“We should follow up with the housekeeper who works for the lady directly across the street,” Falco said. “You know, the one who mentioned the old car parked on the street.”

“Yeah.” Kerri remembered the one.

“Her housekeeper sort of gave off a vibe like she wanted to say something but was afraid to speak up in front of her employer.”

“You didn’t mention that part before.” Kerri waited at the passenger door.

“Maybe it was nothing.” He unlocked the doors. “It’s just been nagging at me, that’s all.”

Kerri got in, fastened her seat belt. “Maybe I should talk to her this time. See if she opens up to me.”

He started the engine. “I meant what I said, you know.”

She watched as he fastened his seat belt. He always did that last. Got in, started the car, and then fastened his seat belt. As much as she would like to believe she knew what part he meant, she wasn’t about to put words in his mouth. “Which part?”

“The part about you being the best.” He checked the street and eased away from the curb.

“Flattery will get you nowhere, Falco.” She fished out her cell and checked for messages or calls. “The jury is still out on you.”

He laughed, and she did, too, because that statement wasn’t really accurate anymore.

A text popped up on her screen.

I’m thinking I should be a cop instead of a lawyer.

Amelia.

Why? You already getting your fill of how merciless lawyers can be?

Kerri thought of the attorney they’d just interviewed. The man had a good reputation, and he seemed genuinely hurt by the loss of his friend. And still, there was a deceptiveness about him. An evasiveness.

Bad day, that’s all.

Kerri smiled. Her niece had no idea, but she wasn’t about to be the one to burst her bubble.

Tomorrow will be better. Never forget that you can be the one who sets the new standard.

<3

Kerri sent a kiss in response to her heart emoji. Amelia was like that. She never met a stranger, and she would do for someone else before herself. She would make a difference.

That reminded her. She sent Amelia another text.

Your mom told me about that fundraiser you worked. Did you meet Sela Abbott?

Kerri watched the ellipsis moving as she waited for her niece’s response.

I did! A couple of times. She’s super nice! Smart too! What happened is so sad. :-(

Kerri agreed and thanked her. The whole situation was sad. Losing a child, whether an infant or an adult, was the worst kind of pain. Ben Abbott’s parents were suffering.

Maybe that was the part about Suzanne Thompson’s callous statements that truly nagged at Kerri. The woman had two kids in college, and yet she seemed to have no sympathy for the Abbotts’ loss. She’d wanted more than anything else to express her opinion about the missing wife.

Gold digger, she had stated unequivocally. Sela Abbott would do anything to get what she wanted.

Maybe Thompson was the one who didn’t stop until she got what she wanted.

14

12:45 p.m.

York, Hammond & Goldman Law Firm