Free False Front by Diane Fanning Page A

me to get busted. She wanted to cause problems for Dad.’
    ‘Why, Mark?’
    ‘I’m not sure if she was amused by it or if she felt it gave her power over him. It was a complicated relationship.’
    ‘Speaking of complicated, did you know your dad was having an affair?’
    ‘Did my sister tell you that?’
    ‘No, your father did. He said that’s why your mother moved into the second master suite.’
    ‘She told me separate bedrooms sparked up their marriage. She said, the yin on one side, the yang on the other with a gender gap arching between the two. She thought it was poetic. She said it would revitalize their passion. This is why I do not think she was leaving my dad.’
    ‘But she was, Mark. She had written a farewell note to him.’
    ‘Really? That makes no sense – unless she thought she’d have Dad on the hook for life because of his affair.’
    ‘Actually, Mark, in her note she said that she wanted nothing from him – not his money, not his house.’
    ‘That doesn’t sound like her.’
    ‘She had a meeting scheduled that morning with a client who she believed would provide her with the financial security she needed.’
    ‘Client? My mother hadn’t worked for that PR firm for ages. She quit to work full-time for dad before I was born.’
    ‘Do you have any idea who that client might be?’
    ‘No. Not a clue. Are you sure about that?’
    ‘That’s what she told your sister.’
    Mark spit out a rueful laugh. ‘Maybe client was a code word for lover. It had to be someone with money – lots of it. Or someone she was using to provoke Dad.’
    ‘You don’t have a very high opinion of your mother, do you?’
    Mark exhaled loudly. ‘She was a great mom when I was little. Always creating little adventures. Very clever at turning little things into big learning moments. She made me feel loved and safe. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I saw the other side. I didn’t like the way she treated Dad.’
    ‘What about how your father treated your mother?’
    ‘It’s not an example I’d want to follow. He was very controlling but it seemed like he had to be. She’d run off the rails without his steady hand to keep her in place. But he didn’t kill her, Lieutenant, no matter what my sister thinks. You need to look elsewhere. You need to find who was responsible. Someone has to pay for taking my mom’s life.’
    ‘What if that someone was your father?’
    Mark hung his head and shook it from side to side. ‘I can’t go there, Lieutenant. It doesn’t fit with anything I know about my dad. It doesn’t make any sense. There’s something else going on here – please find out what it is.’
    Lucinda wrapped up their conversation and watched Mark walk down the hall. His shoulders more slumped than they were earlier; his walk closer to a shuffle than the energetic stride of his father that she supposed was his typical gait. And how will he cope if he learns that his mother died at his father’s hands? The old pain of her mother’s death formed a hard knot in her chest. She had to set that aside and be objective. She didn’t want her judgment clouded by her past and yet, her only known suspect was still Frank Eagleton.

FOURTEEN
     
    L ucinda’s cell vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and checked to see who called. It was her brother, Ricky. She listened to his message: ‘I – I – I can’t leave a message about this. Call me. Please.’
    She hit redial and didn’t hear a ring before she heard her brother’s voice. ‘Do you remember Seth O’Hara?’
    ‘Hello to you, too, Ricky,’ Lucinda said with a laugh.
    ‘Sorry, sorry, hi, Sis. But do you?’
    ‘Seth O’Hara? Your wife’s older brother?’
    ‘Yes. His middle son, Dylan committed suicide three nights ago.’
    ‘Oh, that’s horrible. How old was he?’
    ‘Sixteen – only sixteen. His birthday was last week.’
    ‘And he committed suicide? How?’ Lucinda asked as she walked down the hall and entered her