I See You (Criminal Profiler #2) - Mary Burton Page 0,51

We were all supposed to fly to the Caribbean over Thanksgiving. I had just bought the tickets.”

Vaughan and Spencer exchanged glances. It was another small detail that he could easily verify. “I spoke to Roger Dawson. Did you know your wife was having an affair with him?”

Foster’s brows drew together, and his jaw tightened. “I knew. Hadley and I have both made mistakes in our marriage, but we got past that.”

“Dawson said your wife was planning to leave you.” It was a pain Vaughan was familiar with, though by the time his ex-wife had decided to leave, he had been glad to see her go.

Foster swallowed and reached for a cup of water on the bedside table beside him. He slowly sipped through a straw. “He’s lying. Hadley and I were solid.”

“Skylar’s boyfriend said you and your wife were fighting a great deal,” Spencer said.

Foster folded his arms, wincing as he shifted. “That boy does not know what’s going on in my house. What he’s heard is from Skylar, who doesn’t fully understand what she thinks she’s heard. Aren’t all teenage girls dramatic?”

“If she knew her parents’ marriage was crumbling, she had a right to be upset,” Spencer said.

“Sometimes Skylar overreacts,” Foster explained.

Foster’s repeated use of present tense could have been wishful thinking on his part, or it could have indicated he knew more than he was saying.

“From where I’m sitting,” Vaughan said, “I’m looking at a guy with injuries that aren’t that bad. His house and car are covered in blood, and his family is missing.”

“What are you saying?” Foster demanded.

“Your neighbor said she spoke to your wife recently.”

“Which neighbor?”

“Sarah Pollard. She said Hadley seemed upset about an encounter back in July. Hadley said the person she ran into reminded her of her sister’s death.”

“Sarah is the neighborhood gossip, and half her stories are wrong.” He scraped his thumbnail against the side of the plastic water cup.

“Did Hadley ever talk about her sister?” Vaughan asked.

“Sometimes she has nightmares about Marsha, and they upset her.”

“Did she talk about them?” Spencer asked.

“No. Every time I brought up her sister, Hadley would shut down. I wanted her to talk to a psychologist. She wouldn’t but finally agreed to a prescription of sleeping pills.”

“How well did you know Marsha?” Spencer asked.

“She was a nice gal. I didn’t see her often because she was away at college.”

“Did she date anyone that last summer?” Spencer asked.

“I’m sure she did. Guys liked Marsha, and Larry had a lot of men working for him who thought she was attractive,” Foster said.

“Slater said you worked part time that last summer at the Prince paving company, correct? Do you remember any of the employees’ names?”

“Larry used a lot of day laborers. How could I possibly remember them all?”

“Just thought your paths would have crossed,” Vaughan said.

“I didn’t socialize with them,” Foster said.

“Did Hadley want to return to Alexandria?” Spencer asked.

“It took some convincing to get her to return to Alexandria last year. The area holds lots of bad memories. Why are you asking me about Marsha and my job transfer? Neither has anything to do with what happened to my family today.”

Instead of answering, Spencer asked, “What might have triggered the recent dreams and her agitation?”

“I don’t know.” Foster dropped his head back against his pillow.

“Can you pinpoint the time?” Vaughan asked.

“It was around the Fourth of July weekend.” He sounded weary, almost gutted.

“That’s very specific.”

“I remember because we were going to a party, and she said our cooler looked old, and we needed a new one. I told her it was fine, but she ran out to the hardware store to pick up a new one. After she got back, she didn’t say much the entire weekend.”

Vaughan noted the date. “Maybe she was sick.”

“It’s never good when Hadley is quiet. Something must have happened.”

“Did you try to find out?” Spencer asked.

“I asked her a dozen times, but she kept saying she was fine.”

“Could she have had a stalker?” Spencer asked.

His eyes brightened as he shook his head. “She could have. Do you think a stalker attacked us today?”

“I don’t know,” Vaughan said. “What do you think?”

“All I know is that I didn’t hurt my wife and daughter, if that’s what you are getting at. I love them both and would do anything to protect them. I would die for them.”

“Even if your wife told you she was leaving?” Vaughan asked quietly. “You might not have meant to hurt her, but your temper flared. Maybe you walked out of