sigh. “Yes, that’s what I’m saying. Here I am, telling you I knew Vera, but it was a very, very long time ago. She was my stylist at a salon called Bliss. I’m talking twenty years ago, at least. When her daughter was small, even before that. That’s why I wanted to talk to you before you come at me with everything you’ve got. You’ll find out I knew her and think I’m hiding something.”
“Are you hiding something?” Josie asked.
Tara smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Of course not.”
“But now you’re going to ask me to keep it quiet that you knew the murdered mother of a murdered teenage girl.”
Tara rolled her eyes. “I’m not asking you to keep it quiet, I’m asking you not to broadcast it. It’s irrelevant. Vera was my hairstylist, for Pete’s sake.”
Josie narrowed her eyes. “Sara Venuto told me that many of Vera’s clients were friends with her outside of the salon. Would you count yourself among that group?”
“You’ve already been to the salon?”
Josie smiled. “Not my first time solving a murder case. Yes, I’ve been to the salon.”
Tara waved a hand in the air. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter. I was friendly with her outside of the salon on occasion. I wouldn’t call us friends but back then, I was the young wife of a surgeon with no ambition of my own, no job, and nothing to do all day. I was bored. I had money. My parents left me a trust fund. I was the one who put my husband through medical school but with him on a surgical residency, I was alone ninety percent of the time. I had Vera over a couple of times for a glass of wine and a chat. That was all.”
“How about when Vera got pregnant? Do you remember that?”
“Very vaguely, yes.”
“Sara Venuto says several of Vera’s clients threw her a baby shower. Were you in that group?”
“No, I was not. Like I said, we were friendly, not friends.”
“What do you remember about Vera?” Josie asked.
Tara placed a manicured hand on the table and leaned forward. “Nothing except what I just told you. She was my stylist. We had a glass of wine once or twice. She had a daughter named Beverly. That’s all.”
“You had Vera over to your house when you had your glasses of wine?” Josie asked.
“Yes.”
“Had you ever been to her home, either before she moved into the house on Hempstead Road or after?”
“Of course not.”
“When is the last time you were in contact with Vera?”
“Detective Quinn, it was so long ago that I couldn’t even tell you. Decades.”
“Where were you yesterday morning at seven a.m.?”
“Oh please. You can’t really think— I was in my office in City Hall, meeting with my campaign manager and some aides. At least a half dozen people can confirm that.”
Josie appraised her, wondering exactly what it was that Tara was trying to hide. There had to be something. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have come to the police station and demanded to see Josie alone. “You know I’ve got to tell my team about this, right?”
Tara sighed. “I don’t see any reason to tell anyone. I’ve just told you everything I know, and all of it is completely irrelevant to a murder case that took place in 2004.”
“What about a murder case that took place yesterday?” Josie asked.
“Still irrelevant. By the time Beverly was killed, I hadn’t spoken to Vera in nearly ten years. Really, Detective. I know we’ve had our… issues over the years, but I would appreciate your discretion in this matter.”
“My discretion?” Josie laughed. “You’re joking, right? You’ve been trying to get rid of me from day one. What is your angle here? Are you trying to protect yourself or are you trying to set me up for something?”
Tara glared at her.
Slowly, Josie picked up her coffee cup and took a long sip, never taking her eyes from Tara. She placed the cup back on the table and said, “Mayor Charleston, you know how these investigations work. You should also know me to some degree by now. Under no circumstances am I keeping secrets from my team. There is no amount of influence you can exert to make me dishonest.”
“Don’t be so dramatic, Detective Quinn. I’m not asking you to be dishonest. I’m simply saying that any investigation into me so far as it relates to Vera Urban is a dead end. I’m asking you to treat it as such.”