As Tom said, do you know what kind of effort it’d take to spend twenty million dollars?”
“Did you receive an accounting of what it was used for?”
“Vacations, cars, clothes, jewels, college tuition for their daughter, luxury cars for the kids, an Alaskan cruise for Ginny’s parents, the list goes on and on. But it wasn’t close to the full amount.”
“Do you have any theories on who might’ve killed her?”
“Do you want the whole list or just the top five hundred most likely culprits?”
Sam appreciated sarcasm as much as the next person. “Our list of people with motive is incredibly long. We’re trying to narrow it down. If there’s anything that stands out in your mind as concerning, that would help.”
“I understand and appreciate that your job is figuring out who killed her. You’ll also understand that I don’t give a flying fuck who did it. In fact, when I find out who it is, I’d like to buy them a beer to thank them.”
“Were any other members of your family scammed by her?”
“One of Ginny’s brothers, one of my brothers and another cousin were also scammed. The four of us are filing a civil suit against her estate, which is another way we hope to recoup some of what we’ve lost. But that’s going to take years. So rather than anticipating retirement, we’re looking at many more years of work unless we get lucky with the lawsuit. That’s what she’s condemned us to. And personally, I hope she’s roasting in hell today. It’d be the least of what she deserves.”
“Do you believe Ken or her children knew anything about what she was doing?”
“I’ve gone round and round about that, asking myself how could they not know. But she was good at hiding the truth, so I honestly don’t know.”
“Can you tell me where I could find her children?”
“Her daughter, Mandi, is a senior at Catholic University, and her son. Ken Jr., works in the defense community. I’m not sure where, but Ken Sr. would know.”
“That helps. Thank you.” As always, Sam handed over her card. “If you think of anything else we should know, please give me a call.”
Alison took the card.
“Have you heard anything about funeral arrangements?” Sam asked.
She shook her head. “I’m not going, so it doesn’t matter to me.”
“Thank you for your time. We’ll see ourselves out.”
When they were outside, Sam blew out a frustrated breath. “I hate this woman, and I hate this case.”
“Right there with you. It’s really hard to be empathetic toward someone who’d rip off the people closest to her. I almost want her killer to get away with it.”
“So do I, but we can’t say that to anyone else. Ever.”
“Understood. What’s our next move?”
“After I meet Nick for the nooner, let’s find Ginny’s daughter at Catholic and find out what she knew and when she knew it. See if you can figure out where she is on campus.”
As they got into the car, he said, “I’ll do that if we can stop calling the meeting with Nick a nooner.”
“You’ll do it because I told you to, and anytime I get to see my sexy husband in the middle of the day, it’s a nooner. End of conversation.”
“It’s not the end of the conversation. I have rights in this relationship.”
“No, you don’t, and we’re not in a relationship, you freak.”
“Now you’re resorting to name-calling? I have so much dirt on you that you’d think you’d be nice to me just to keep me quiet.”
“I could cut your tongue out with my rusty steak knife. That’d keep you quiet too.”
He grunted out a laugh. “It always comes back to the steak knife with you, doesn’t it?”
“It does, and you’d be wise to remember that.”
Chapter Nine
As Sam drove to the TV station downtown, she puzzled through the McLeod case from every angle, realizing they were no closer to answers than they’d been the day before. Her phone rang, and she took the call from Captain Malone on the Bluetooth, which was a nice feature on her new phone. “Lieutenant Holland, hands-free while driving. May I help you?”
“She’s finally joined the twentieth century twenty years into the twenty-first, and she wants us to have a party,” Freddie said.
“Young Freddie is particularly mouthy this morning,” Sam said. “We may need to do something about that at some point.”
“Whatever,” Freddie said.
“If you two are finished,” Malone said, sounding amused, “what’s up with McLeod?”
“The whole world wanted her dead, and no one is sorry that someone actually killed her.