Nelly looked down to hide her tears.
“I don’t blame her for wanting to put Black Oaks behind her. When Justin was killed… Well, I know how she feels, and living at Black Oaks would be a daily reminder of what she’s lost. I told her she could stay as long as she wants to.”
“She’ll appreciate that.”
Nelly forced a smile. Then she wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Did you get a chance to look at the Claire Winters file?” Nelly asked when she was back in control of her emotions.
“We did.”
“Have you decided to investigate her murder?”
“Ken’s been researching the project, and I think he wants to take a stab at it.”
“What will you need for a retainer?”
Robin told Nelly.
“I’ll send you a check, so you can get started.”
“Okay. Have the police made any progress in your dad’s and Justin’s cases?”
“If they have, they haven’t told me.”
Nelly remembered something, and she looked sad.
“Remember we talked about our old houseman, Raymond Gilbert?”
“The houseman Luther replaced?”
Nelly nodded. “The police searched the woods around Black Oaks and found him buried in a shallow grave. Sergeant Pine told me that his neck had been broken, so they think Luther was probably to blame.”
Robin sighed. “That’s another tragic addition to Black Oaks’s sad legacy.”
Nelly looked at her watch. “It’s been great seeing you again, but I’m afraid I have to go. I’m meeting a Realtor. She’s going to show me some condos and apartments.”
“So, you decided to sell Black Oaks?”
“It’s still a crime scene, but I’m going to put it on the market as soon as the sheriff says I can show it.”
“Good luck with that,” Robin said with a smile.
Nelly laughed. “I’ll need it.”
As soon as Nelly left, Robin asked Ken to come to her office.
“Nelly Melville was just here, and we’re retained to look into the murder of Claire Winters. You read the file. Do you think there’s anything there?”
“Maybe. It all depends on whether I can find Tony Clark, the stuntman, and Rose McIntire, the neighbor who says she saw Clark and Rockwell together all evening, and what they have to say.”
“What about Yousef Khan, the homeless man who was convicted of the crime?”
“That looks like a dead end. Khan was living in a tent on thebeach. Winters’s car was abandoned near the tent, and a bloody knife with Winters’s DNA was found hidden in his possessions. He was an alcoholic, and he said he passed out around the time the murder would have been committed. His lawyer was pretty good, but he didn’t have much to work with.”
“What’s your next step?”
“I’m going to find Rose McIntire. What about you?”