Page 32 of 4th Silence
Charlie skims the report. “There’s nothing.”
“Let’s call Mallory,” I say. “She’s the only Hartman?—”
“Former Hartman,” Charlie says.
“Former Hartman willing to help us. It’s afternoon in Paris. Maybe she’ll pick up.”
Charlie grabs a legal pad and pen from the middle of the table and sets them in front of her before dialing. She taps the screen, and the room fills with the sound of a ringing line.
“Hi, Charlie,” Mallory says.
“Hey, I’m sorry to bother you.”
“It’s no bother. I’m grateful someone is trying to find my daughter’s killer. What can I do for you?”
“I have Meg and Matt, our investigator, here. We’re reviewing evidence files in the case. There’s nothing about the relationship between Phillip and Gerald. We’re hoping you can give us a sense of it. Did they get along?”
“Eh,” she says. “They didn’t not get along. It was weird.”
“Weird how?” I ask.
“Phillip would lecture Gerry about his carousing. The man was a pig. Women, drinking, drugs. It never stopped. It’s why I divorced him. He’d blow through his monthly allowance and then have to call Phillip for funds. Gerry found it demoralizing to have to ask when it was his trust, but Phillip was the custodian.”
“Did he ever deny the money?”
“Never, but he didn’t make it easy on Gerry. Mary didn’t like Gerry, and there was underlying tension between them, but Phillip did his best to get Gerry help. Not that it worked.”
Charlie jots some notes. “You mentioned Gerald found it demoralizing to ask for money. Did he ever talk to Phillip about that?”
“Not that I know of. And, I don’t think he would have. I don’t keep in touch with him, but I’ve heard he’s as wild as ever. He’s never had a job, and he needs the Hartman money, so he won’t make waves. Even when it comes to his daughter’s murder.”
I snap my gaze to Charlie. That last sentence was delivered with a sharp enough edge that my sister’s eyebrows have hiked up.
“What do you mean?” she asks.
“For years, I begged him to throw the Hartman name around to see if we could get some help on the case. They ask for political favors all the time. I didn’t think it was too much to ask for help with Tiffany. But he refused.”
My jaw drops. What an asshole.
“He claimed,” Mallory continues, “it wouldn’t be appropriate. Which translates to, he couldn’t afford to create issues in the family because he needed the money. He sacrificed his child for wealth. I finally gave up and haven’t spoken to him in nearly fifteen years. I despise that man.”
Yikes.
I think of the little girl who wanted to be a hairstylist. Her father prevented her from getting justice so he could stay wealthy.
Charlie flips a page and jots a note, holding it up to Matt and me. Any more questions?
I shake my head, and so does Matt.
“Okay. This helps. Thank you, Mallory. We’ll keep you posted.”
Charlie disconnects. “So, Gerald is a scumbag of the highest degree, but that doesn’t make him a killer of his own child.”
“Agreed,” I say.
“Yeah,” Matt adds. “I’m not seeing it.”
The sound of our front doorbell sounds. Haley hasn’t arrived yet, and we no longer keep our doors unlocked for any psycho to walk in on us.
