“You don’t have to understand our world, Mr. King. You just have to find out what happened to Monk Turing.”
“Make it Sean. Was Monk in your department?”
“No, Champ’s. Monk was a physicist not a mathematician. But I knew him.”
“And?”
“And I spent time with him and Viggie but I can’t say I knew him all that well. He was quiet, methodical and kept to himself. Never said much about his personal life. Now go ahead and ask me the obvious questions. Did Monk have any enemies? Was he into anything that could have led to his death, that sort of thing?”
Sean smiled. “Well, since you already asked them, I’ll just wait for your answers.”
“I don’t have any. If he was into drugs or stealing or had a dev
iant sexual side that led him to being murdered, he hid it well.”
“Did you know he was killed with his own gun and his were the only
prints on it?”
“So it was suicide then?”
“We don’t know all the facts yet. You said you didn’t know him that well, but did he ever appear depressed, suicidal?”
“No, nothing like that.”
“Was he a good father to Viggie?”
Alicia’s expression softened. “A very good father. They’d play ball in the front yard for hours. He even learned to play the guitar so he could accompany her on the piano.”
“So you spent a lot of time with them?”
“Not with Monk, but I did with Viggie. Sort of the daughter I never had.”
“And Monk was okay with that?”
“He worked long hours, not that I don’t. But our schedules were different, so it worked out that I could be with her sometimes when he couldn’t.”
“I see. And the mom?”
Alicia shook her head. “No idea. Never knew her.”
Sean suddenly thought of a question that he probably should have asked Rivest. “Did Monk take any trips recently?”
“No, not recently. You don’t get a lot of vacation time down here.” She paused. “He did go out of the country about eight or nine months ago, I think.”
Sean perked up. “Do you know where?”
She shook her head. “He never told me.”
“How do you know it was out of the country then?”
“I remember him mentioning that he had to get his passport renewed. I guess that would tell you where he went. His passport.”
Which is in the hands of the FBI. “How long was he gone?”
“About two weeks.”
“Who watched Viggie?”