Free Dead Deceiver by Victoria Houston Page A

He hesitated then said, “I don’t know if she is hallucinating or what but late last month she accused me of stealing from her. She was convinced that I had somehow accessed one of her bank accounts. There was an error, but it was a computer glitch at the bank.” Charles paused, crossed his arms and stared down at his feet, thinking. He looked up. “To be perfectly frank, I’m not sure how much more I can take.”
    “Is she on meds of any kind?” asked Osborne.
    “Patience takes quite a selection of vitamins every day but nothing more potent than that. At least as far as I know.”
    “Do you mind if I ask how long you’ve been married?” asked Lew.
    “I don’t mind in the least,” said Charles. “We met last year and were married … it’ll be six months this next weekend,” he gave a slight smile and raised his left hand as he spoke, displaying a wide gold wedding band. “She’s been fine until all this pressure hit. It has really changed our lives. Used to be she would come home at night relaxed and happy. Now she’s so rattled, it takes a glass or two of wine to calm her down.”
    The door to office opened and Patience walked over to her chair, “Sorry about that, everyone.” She sat down saying, “You have my full attention, Chief Ferris. Charles, what did I miss?”
    “I gave them a few more details concerning your office at the college,” said Charles. “I also promised that we will keep the house secure and call 911 if we see or hear anything suspicious.”
    Osborne caught Lew’s eye. Surprising how easily the guy lied to his wife. Sure he wanted to keep the level of upset down but still …
    “Regarding your office at the college, Dr. Schumacher,” said Lew. “If you think someone is entering without permission—why not have a security camera installed? The cost will be well worth the peace of mind if you discover you have nothing to worry about.”
    Patience swung her head towards her husband as she said, “What did you say, Charles? Did you tell them this is all in my head? You did, didn’t you!” She stood, both hands covering her face and half-sobbed in a muffled voice, “I give up. No one believes me.” Her shoulders shook as she cried silent tears.
    “Of course I do, Patty,” said Charles as he got to his feet and reached to put a supportive arm around his wife. “All I said was that you are under a lot of stress at work and this isn’t helping. That’s all. Chief Ferris needs to know that.” He stroked her back as he spoke.
    Patience wavered, then reached for her purse and a Kleenex, which she used to dab at her face. She blew her nose. “You’re right, Charles, I am so sorry. You are so good to me.”
    “Chief Ferris,” said Charles, continuing to stroke his wife’s arm. “Do you need anything more from us right now?”
    “This is a start,” said Lew. “Enough for today.”
    Patience sniffled and got to her feet. “Thank you for your time,” said Charles, holding his wife’s fur for her to slip into.
    “Dr. Schumacher, Mr. Mason,” said Lew as she walked them to the door, “Here are two of my cards with my cell phone number. One for each of you. The cell phone is on 24/7. I trust you won’t use it unless you have a sighting of the person—or people—behind your concern. Call 911 first, then my cell. I would like that alert ASAP. Does that help?”
    “You think there could be more than one person behind this?” said Patience, tucking her wet Kleenex into her coat pocket.
    “I have no idea,” said Lew, “but I have learned to trust intuition. So we will work with you until we figure this out.”
    Patience was so relieved her eyes shimmered with tears. “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you.”
    “Yes,” said Charles, pausing to shake the hands of Lew, Osborne and Ray as his wife hurried on down the hall. “Thank you for listening.”
    “Mr. Mason,” said Osborne, “before you leave, may I have a look at that wedding ring of yours? I’ve