“Yes, honey, I remember.”
“We laughed like idiots. Everything was so funny. And later, when I called Tommy later, I cut it all so short. We were going to have massages on the terrace, where we’d gotten a little bit drunk at breakfast. So I cut it all very short. ‘I’ll talk to you later, Tommy,’ that’s what I said to him. ‘I’ll talk to you later. I want my massage.’ That’s the last thing I said to him, because there wasn’t any later.”
“Sweetheart.” Brigit brushed her fingers over Ava’s cheek. “Don’t do this.”
“I don’t know about trails going cold; I just know Tommy’s dead. I saw him myself when Ben took me to him. I saw Tommy dead.”
“Mrs. Anders.” Peabody shifted forward. “This is a terrible time for you. We’re here to help. You’ve lost your husband. Don’t you want to know why? Don’t you want to know who?”
“I don’t know.” Ava lifted her gaze, aimed those wet blue eyes at Peabody. “I should. I know I should. But he’ll still be gone.”
“He’d want you to know,” Peabody said. “He’d want us to find those answers.”
“I don’t know them. How could I?”
“You knew him best. You were his wife. There are things you know, things you may not realize are important, are relevant. That’s why we’re here. We will know.”
“Your husband’s date book,” Eve began. “Did he make the entries himself?”
“His date book? Yes.”
“And the autosystem in the bedroom, the wake-up program and so on. Would he have programmed that personally?”
“Yes.” Ava straightened in her seat. “He enjoyed that, hearing his first appointment of the day, being reminded of what he’d ordered for breakfast.”
“The two of you must have gotten up at the same time routinely.”
“Oh, if he had an early appointment, and I didn’t, I’d wear earplugs. And have Greta wake me.”
“Do you take sleep aids?”
“Oh, occasionally.” She waved a hand. “Now and then.”
“Did he?”
“Now and then. Everyone does, don’t they?”
“He had very specific routines. The bedroom door always closed, the internal security cameras shut down at night, no cameras in the sleeping area of the master bedroom.”
“Yes, he was very private.”
“Even in hotels,” Brigit put in. “We all traveled together quite a bit. Tommy always instructed housekeeping to keep the bedroom door closed, and tipped them in advance to insure they did.”
“He’d have been very careful regarding home security,” Eve commented.
“He had the system checked and evaluated every quarter.” Ava lifted her teacup, sipped. “And upgraded whenever upgrades became available. It wasn’t just security, though of course that was the priority. But Tommy liked…toys, if you know what I mean.”
“I do.”
“He just got such a kick out of all the bells and whistles. He liked to play,” she said wistfully.
And playing was the next line of questioning. “Mrs. Plowder, my partner and I need to speak with Mrs. Anders privately.”
“Oh, but can’t Brigit stay?” Ava fumbled for her friend’s hand. “I feel so much better with her here.”
“There are some sensitive questions. If, after we’ve concluded, you opt to share them with Mrs. Plowder, that’s your privilege. If you’d excuse us, Mrs. Plowder, Ms. Morelli.”
“We’ll be right upstairs.” Brigit patted Ava’s arm. “You only have to call if you want me.”