his needs on Saturday and Sunday.” She burst into full on sobs.
“Mr. Treyson was bisexual?” Jordan was writing furiously as he asked.
“Yes.” Ava dropped her head into her hands and sobbed before her head popped back up. “I need to be there when you tell Chloe. She’s going to be devastated. Out of all of us, she’s least capable of dealing with this.” Black trails of mascara ran in streaks down the woman's cheeks.
He raised a finger stopping her words. “Wait, you all knew about each other?”
Ava nodded her head again, sucking back heartbroken sobs, trying to speak through her weeping. “Of course, we’ve been in this relationship for almost four years. We talk to each other because there are times when we have to juggle dates because of important events we want Sam to be at, or when we go on vacation together.”
“So last night he should have been with Chloe?”
She nodded, soft sobs coming from behind her hands. He glanced at Jordan, who was still scribbling furiously in his notebook. Looked like they were tag teaming this witness.
The gray matter between his ears probably needed to reboot because, for some reason, he wasn’t grasping the totality of the situation. Was he? It would appear that probably the richest man in Hope City was in a polyamorous relationship with three people and his wife.
“He takes all of you on vacation together with his wife?” Brock reached over and snagged a sterling silver rectangle that enclosed a two-dollar box of tissue and handed it to the woman.
She gratefully grabbed several puffs of tissue from the heavy silver box and swabbed at her tears. She shook her head and blew her nose before she spoke, “No, just the three of us and Sam would go on vacation. His wife went on her own vacation with her lover. They had an open relationship, but they maintained a traditional front for the public.” She lurched upright. “Oh my God, you’re not going to let the media know about this, right? You can’t do that. It would ruin his reputation. His father would... It wouldn't be good. Not for us and not for Miriam.” She grasped at Jordan’s arm.
He made sure to clarify, "Miriam Treyson, Samuel's wife?"
"Yes. Sam's father is a real jerk. If he found out, we'd all end up dead."
"Isn't that a little dramatic?" Jordan smiled at the woman.
She stared at him. Rivers of black mascara pooled under her eyes before they streaked and smudged across her once perfect makeup. She shook her head. "Maybe. But you don't know the horror stories Sam has told us about growing up with that man. If half of what Sam relayed was true, that man would do anything to protect his reputation. Anything."
Jordan nodded and patted her hand. “I assure you everything you tell us will be kept in the strictest confidence. This is an ongoing murder investigation; we aren't very forthcoming with information.”
“Wait, what? Murder?” The woman’s shriek echoed in the vastness of the store. Her eyes could have passed for teacup saucers and she paled, losing all color from her face. She turned her head to stare at him. “Somebody murdered Sam?” She shook her head and held up a hand as if the motion would stop his partner’s words. “No, that’s impossible. Sam is the kindest, sweetest man on the face of the earth. He wouldn’t hurt a bug. I mean, seriously. He made me get the spiders out of the bathtub and set them loose outside! He wouldn’t hurt a soul. Why would anyone kill Sam? I thought you meant he died in a traffic accident or something. No. No. No, you… you must have this wrong.”
She broke down then, and the sobs were heart-wrenching. Jordan and he exchanged silent looks as they waited for her to control herself. He mouthed the word father and cocked an eyebrow.
Jordan nodded before he soothed, “Ms. Dall, we are going to need specifics. Names, addresses, telephone numbers, everything you have on Chloe and Garrett.”
“Of course. My purse is in the back. It has my phone which has their addresses and their telephone numbers. I haven’t memorized a telephone number in years.” She mopped at her face, but the tissues were proving ineffective at keeping up.
“That’s all right, ma’am. I’ll go back with you if that’s okay.” Jordan stood and offered her his arm.
Chivalrous and caring, that’s how Jordan operated. Of course, he was making sure the woman didn't run out the back door. He