Page 13 of The Perfect Deception
Maplewood looked briefly surprised by the turn in questioning but answered.“Yes.I had a major meeting at my bank’s headquarters in Chicago.What does that have to do with anything?”
“Just trying to get a sense of things,” she said vaguely.“When was the last time you spoke with Olivia?”
Maplewood looked at his phone.“It was at 8:07 there, so 6:07 here.”
Jessie proceeded cautiously.“Is there any chance that she decided to go out after you talked?6 P.M.is a long ways from bedtime.Is she the type to go dancing with friends or go catch a movie at a girlfriend’s house?”
“Not the dancing.”He sounded certain.“Maybe the movie but she would have mentioned it to me.Even if it was a last-minute decision, she would have texted me while I was on my flight to fill me in.I would have gotten the message when I landed.”
As Maplewood spoke, another thought formulated in Jessie’s head.Was it possible that Olivia had invited Cassandra Dominik over here, but not to watch a movie?Maybe they were extra close, which might explain why she didn’t tell her husband about the visit.Could they have had a romantic encounter that ended badly?Rather than broach any of those questions, she tried a roundabout route.
“Was Cassandra married?”
Maplewood nodded.“Her husband’s name is Michael.I know him slightly.He’s a hotel company executive.”
“Have you tried reaching out to him?”Ryan asked.
“Why?”he seemed genuinely befuddled by the question.
Jessie didn’t say what she wanted to say, which would have been “to tell him his wife is dead.”Instead, she said, “maybe he would know why his wife was here.”
“I can call him now,” Maplewood said blankly.His eyes were focused on the middle distance.The moment was clearly taking its toll on him.
“That’s okay,” Ryan told him.“We’ll do that.Just give us his number.”
As James Maplewood scrolled through his phone for Ryan, Jessie stepped away and looked out the bedroom window.It was the middle of the night and other than the streetlights, the neighborhood was dark.She wondered if there were any lights on at the Dominik house.The thought made her wonder something else.If Michael Dominik’s wife wasn’t home at 1:30 in the morning, why hadn’t they heard from him?
She turned to Ryan.“Let’s not call Dominik just yet.”
“Why not?”
“Let’s pay a visit to his house first.I feel like we might find some answers there.
CHAPTER NINE
The Dominik home, also a mansion, was quite literally a one-minute drive from the Maplewood’s.Had Jessie they realized that, she might have suggested they just walk.
Ryan pulled up to the curb in front of the mostly darkened house.There was one light on in a room on the second floor, though with the curtains half-pulled shut it was impossible to see anything.
Ryan turned off the car and faced Jessie.“What did you think of Maplewood?Credible?”
“He seems legitimately upset, especially about his wife being gone.But I don’t know that I bought him when it came to finding Cassandra Dominik dead in his bed.”
“What do you mean?”Ryan cocked his head.
“I’m not sure,” she conceded.“It’s just—a woman turns up there and he only knows her casually?That doesn’t pass the smell test for me, even if I don’t have any reason to doubt him yet.”
“Well maybe Michael Dominik can clear some of this up for us.”Ryan nodded at the second floor room with the light.“It seems like he might be up.”
They got out and walked up the driveway to the front door.Like the Maplewood home, this place was enormous.But it was more in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, all terra-cotta, wood, and adobe, with a low-pitched first floor roof that extended out over a large front porch.
Once at the door, Ryan rang the bell, then knocked loudly.Jessie glanced up at the lighted second floor room to see if anyone would peek out from behind the curtains.No one did.Ryan waited a minute, then repeated the process with the bell and the door.
After another minute, he turned to Jessie.“How much longer do you think we should wait before moving to the next step?”
“The man’s wife is lying dead a few blocks from here.I think the time for patience has long since passed.”
Ryan apparently agreed.He pulled out his phone and made a call.It rang five times before Jessie heard someone pick up.Ryan put the call on speaker, keeping the volume low so as to not disturb the neighbors.
