“You’re still in big trouble, Robbie,” said Chase.
“But we’re also happy you finally told us the truth,” said Odelia, giving her husband a look that said, ‘Lay off the kid, will you? He made a mistake but he’s not a killer.’
But Chase wasn’t convinced. “Who’s to say that you didn’t go into that flat and killed them both? You were jealous of Jeff, weren’t you? Figured he’d stolen your girlfriend—the woman you loved—still love to this day. So why not get hold of a gun and get rid of the guy? Without Jeff, maybe Steph will come back to you. Maybe you’ll finally be reunited, and this time she’ll stick around. No more Paris. No more New York. She’ll move back here and be with you, just like she should.”
“It’s what I wanted,” said Robbie. “It’s my fondest wish. But I know it’s never going to happen. She doesn’t love me. She never loved me. Not the way that I love her. I knew that when I saw the way she looked at Jeff. At their wedding. She’d never looked at me like that. And I knew that she had never loved me. Not really.” He seemed sullen, but his eyes had filled with tears, and I think we all realized he was telling the truth. “I didn’t kill Jeff. Why would I? Steph loved him so much and he loved her. And when you love a person you want what’s best for them, don’t you? Well, I knew that Jeff was the best person for Steph. He made her happy. And I wanted him to keep on making her happy. Which is why I was so upset when I saw him go into that place to be with that woman. And before you say I killed him because he cheated on Steph—no, I didn’t. I just didn’t, all right? And I know I can’t prove it, but I’m not that kind of person. I just… I just loved the wrong girl all my life. Which is stupid, I know, but there you have it.” He swiped at his eyes.
“All right, settle down,” said Chase, placing a hand on the man’s shoulder. “It’s all right, son. I’m glad you told us. But maybe you can stop following people around, all right?”
“You mean stop following Steph around.”
“Yeah, it’s not healthy. Not for you, and not for her.”
“But someone has to protect her, detective,” he said, and suddenly turned a couple of fierce eyes on Chase. “Whoever killed Jeff might come back to kill her, too. So someone should keep an eye on her.”
“I don’t think that’s for you to decide, buddy,” said Chase. “Now I can tell you’re hurting. But you’ve got to let go of this obsession with Stephanie Stewart.”
“It was better when she wasn’t here,” said Robbie, drying his eyes with the paper tissue Odelia had handed him. “When she’d moved to Paris.” He stared off into the distance. “I’ve thought about leaving, you know. But my dad needs me. And anyway, I don’t have any particular skills.I didn’t go to college. All I’ve known all my life is the winery. It’s all I know how to do. So where would I go?”
“You’ll figure it out, son,” said Chase, and I noticed how he had adopted a fatherly tone now. “You’ll figure it out.”
I saw him look up at the house, and just at that moment Steph glanced down at us, standing there chatting.“Yeah, I need to figure this out once and for all,” said Robbie. “Cause one thing’s for sure. I can’t go on like this. I just can’t.”
When we were in the car and driving back to Hampton Cove, Dooley said,“Robbie Scunner is not a happy boy, Max. Not a happy boy at all.”
“No, he certainly isn’t,” I agreed. But was he a murderer? Now that was a tough call to make, one for which we would need to gather more pertinent facts first.
Once more Kevin Stewart had eluded us. His car wasn’t in the drive, and it wasn’t in the garage either, and when Chase called the number his sister had given us, he got the man’s voicemail, pleasantly inviting him to leave a message.
Sooner or later, though, we were going to catch up with Mr. Stewart, and knowing Chase, that young man wasn’t going to enjoy the experience of being on the receiving end of the cop’s ire. Whether he did it on purpose or not, he was the only person we hadn’t spoken to. And somehow I didn’t think that was a coincidence.
CHAPTER 30
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The police had only just left when Kevin came roaring up in his Ferrari. When he walked into the house Steph put her hands on her hips and decided to have it out with her brother once and for all.“Where have you been? The police are looking for you.”
But he didn’t seem inclined to respond. Like before, his face spelled storm, and instead of replying, he simply walked right past her without uttering a word.
“I’m talking to you, Kevin!”