She thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Good idea. Let’s do that.”
It was a good thirty-five, almost forty minutes later, when they pulled up in front of Agnew’s townhome. Kate studied the area, shaking her head. “It’s so beautiful here. You can smell the salt water. You can hear the waves and the birds even.… The beach is literally one block from here, yet they obviously preferred the park trail,” she noted quietly.
“Given the subject matter tonight, I’ll stay here,” Simon offered, leaning against the car.
She nodded, then walked up the front steps and knocked.
The door opened almost immediately, and Agnew stepped outside, closing it behind them, glaring at her. “Detective, I thought I’d made it clear I’m shielding my children from all of the investigation. That’s why I’d asked that you call instead.”
“I’m sorry, and I understand why you feel that way,” she replied, “but, until this is settled, I may have to come back and forth a few more times.”
He groaned. “Do you have any idea how painful this is?”
“I do, and I understand your frustration, but I’m presuming that you also want us to find out who killed your wife.”
That stopped him.
She nodded. “In that case, we need you to answer some questions.”
“Isn’t there any forensic evidence you can use?” he replied fretfully. “Like something that, you—that you don’t have to involve me in?”
“No, there isn’t.”
He sighed. “So, what is it then?”
“I have what I guess is a bit of a delicate question about your wife.”
He nodded and asked, “What?”
“How was your relationship?”
“I’ve already told you that our relationship was great,” he cried out. “Why are you asking me these questions?”
She stopped, hesitated, and then asked, “Did she ever hit you?”
He stared at her, but she watched his eye dart to the left, and his jaw firmed up ever-so-slightly.
“She did, didn’t she?”
“I don’t understand why you’re asking me that,” he said, his tone turning stiff. “Why would you defile the memory of my wife by bringing up things like this?”
“I’m not defiling anything,” she corrected. “I’ll get to the truth, and right now it’s looking a little sticky.”
“Sticky?”
She didn’t clarify. “Back to the question. Your wife, did she abuse you?”
He stared at her in shock. But it was manufactured, and she could tell almost immediately from the look on his face that he was figuring out how to act and what to say.
“So, let me change the question. Are you aware that your neighbor, the other victim in this case, was abusing her husband?”
He stared at her in surprise. Surprised that Kate knew.
She nodded. “At least that’s according to him.”
Immediately Agnew’s face turned scornful. “And you believe that liar?”
“Any reason I shouldn’t?” she asked quietly. “And obviously we’re checking out his story. He said that she used to hit him on a regular basis. But she’s the one that wanted the divorce, not him.”