Page 87 of Wicked Games

No matter how many times we go over the details, there are things that don’t make sense. Why my sister was at the park. Why Theo was killed. Why Brooke was killed. If Rowan was after Brooke’s money, he could have just married her and then divorced her for a huge settlement. How he would have gotten a hold of Titus Jenkins’s gun, and how he knew Cynthia Crandall.

“The motive’s solid,” Detective LaSalle says, rubbing his face. We’ve been going over this for more than an hour, and everyone’s tired. “I’ve seen people do a lot more for a lot less. And though there are several coincidences, I can’t push aside the one where you’re attacked just a day after Vale finds out you were in Lakehaven Falls, Mrs. McKay.”

“He thought Hattie told me something,” I say, but I’m not a hundred percent sure of that anymore.

“That would be my guess, and it would have to do with Theo’s kidnapping and murder."

“Because she was there.”

“Because Mrs. Vale asked her to be,” Detective LaSalle adds.

Seth and Violet trade a look. “Why do you think that?” he asks.

The detective looks around the kitchen. “Do you have a piece of paper? Something bigger?”

I know what he’s after but I don’t specifically have what he wants. “I have some wrapping paper. That’s all.”

“Good enough if you have a marker.”

“Yeah, I’ll be right back.”

I find the roll of Christmas wrapping paper I kept because it was expensive and I didn’t want to throw it away. I slide it out of the plastic and carry it to the kitchen. We make space on the table, and he unrolls the thick black and gold paper and anchors the end with Seth’s and Bill’s cell phones. He lets the tube fall on the floor and I give him a Sharpie.

“Thank you. This is the way I see it,” he starts, writing a large T on the white side of the paper. “We have two separate things going on. One, you and your ex-wife weren’t getting along, she thought you were having an affair, and we’ve come to know, she was having one too. Then your son was kidnapped.” He writes Mrs. L=affair and T=kidnapped on the left side of the T. “She arranges Theo’s kidnapping to scare you and make you pay for sleeping with Miss Weston. She didn’t do that before because she didn’t have the resources. In Vale, she does. He’s connected.” He pauses to let us think it over.

I think I understand where he’s going and say, “That’s why Hattie was there, and why she didn’t stop it. Brooke asked her to watch and make sure Theo wasn’t hurt.”

Detective LaSalle points the marker at me. “Bingo. Until recently, I thought Theo’s death was an accident, and I’m going back to that theory now because I think Mrs. Maitland was at the exchange site as well. Mr. Kidnapper sees her when there shouldn’t have been anyone around, and he panics. He shoots Theo, takes the money, and runs.” He writes Mrs. M=exchange site.

Seth swears under his breath. “And he was able to get away because Brooke told them the GPS was in the bag.”

“Yes.” He writes Mrs. L=GPS on the paper.

“But what about Jenkins’s gun?” Bill asks.

“This is where it gets messy,” Detective LaSalle admits. He writes Misc off to the side. “Mrs. Maitland testified against Jenkins five years ago. There’s no way that’s connected to what’s going on right now. The gun we took off him is still in evidence—” He meets Seth’s eyes— “I checked. So we can just assume that has nothing to do with this.”

“Unless Rowan got the idea to use the gang when Brooke and Hattie started hanging out together,” I say.

The detective glances at me. “Even if that’s true, it doesn’t have much bearing on the matters at hand, though it’s a nice tie-in.”

“What about Vale?” Seth asks, frustrated, and from her place at the table, Violet reaches her hand out to calm him down. He tangles their fingers, trying to relax.

“Vale and Mrs. Lockwood meet, to build your new house, isn’t that right?” he asks Seth.

“Yes. It’s been a couple of years now.”

Detective LaSalle writes Vale and Mrs. L meet up on the right side of the T. “They stay in touch, but instead of falling in love like everyone thinks, he pins her as an easy lay and easy money.” He adds Mrs. L=easy $$ to the chart. “He goes along, romancing her, and convinces her to have an affair, which is simple to do because she’s angry and jealous.”

“What does the community center have to do with that?” Violet asks.

Shrugging, the detective says, “A convenient way to spend time together? Rich people don’t care about the disadvantaged. He wanted to convince her he was a good guy and that he loved her. He needed her to believe it so she’d divorce you, Mr. Lockwood, and marry him. He doted on her. I bet he was the perfect boyfriend.” He writes community center=love on the right side of the T. “And it worked. They were married a week before her death.”

If what Detective LaSalle’s saying is true, Rowan Vale should win an Oscar. Any tabloid photo I saw of them oozed love and devotion.

“So he kills her . . .” Seth fades off, letting the detective fill in the blank.

“Has her killed,” Detective LaSalle corrects. “He’d never get his hands dirty like that. But yes, he has her killed because he wanted her money, not her. Every penny you gave her belongs to him, and he doesn’t even have to put up with a wife to spend it.”