Judy nods. She recognizes him: he’s the oldest investigator in the room. The one who, yesterday, asked LaRochelle whether Jacob Sluiter was under consideration for Barbara’s disappearance.
“I worked that case,” the man says. Confirming what everyone assumed.
Judy makes a note to talk to him, whenever she can get him alone.
“Why on earth,” says Hayes, “would Carl Stoddard’s daughter be working for the Van Laars? That doesn’t make sense. In either direction. They wouldn’t want her here, that’s certain. And she probably wouldn’t want to be here either.”
“She uses her married name,” says Judy. “Clute. She said the Van Laars don’t know who she is. Said she took the job out of necessity, after her husband lost his. They’ve got a lot of kids. Another on the way.”
“And what did she have to say about Barbara’s disappearance?”
Judy thinks about how to phrase this. “She said Barbara’s family never treated Barbara well. Neglected her, sort of. But she didn’t have any theories about where she might have gone.”
“Anything—inappropriate? Anything beyond neglect?” asks Hayes.
“Not that she mentioned,” says Judy. “But I guess she might not have known everything. This is the first summer she’s been here.”
“And what did she have to say about her own father?”
The room feels as if it’s holding its breath.
“She said Carl Stoddard was framed,” says Judy. “Said there’s no way he did it. But he died of a heart attack before he could be exonerated, and the Van Laar family just sort of let it be assumed that he was the one responsible, based on only a few pieces of evidence.” She pauses. “I guess Captain LaRochelle agreed. And that’s the story that was presented to the public, too.”
Quiet.
Judy glances at the investigator who worked the original case.
“Goldman,” says Hayes, and the investigator turns. “What do you think?”
Goldman thinks.
He glances over his shoulder—looking for LaRochelle.
“I never liked Stoddard for it,” he says. “But don’t ask me that in front of the captain.”
“Did Mrs. Clute sign a statement?” asks Hayes, turning to Judy. “Will she go on record?”
“No,” says Judy, quickly. “She practically ran away when I asked her.”
“Still,” says Hayes, “thank you, Investigator Luptack. That’s the most interesting thing I’ve heard today. She must have trusted you to tell you that.”
He holds her gaze. Then: “Anything else? Anyone?”
The door swings open suddenly. In walks Captain LaRochelle.
Immediately, the mood in the room changes. Goldman busies himself with files. Two of the other investigators head outside. And Judy realizes that all of them have made a silent decision: they won’t say anything in front of LaRochelle again—not without telling Hayes privately first.
Captain LaRochelle doesn’t ask any questions about what’s transpired since he’s been gone.
Judyta
1950s | 1961 | Winter 1973 | June 1975 | July 1975 | August 1975: Day Two
The Adirondack Search and Rescue Team, LaRochelle announces, has found something up by the observer’s tower at the top of Hunt Mountain. Inside and outside the nearby cabin, a huge number of beer bottles have been collected. And from these, usable fingerprints have been taken. And from these, five have been matched with John Paul McLellan.
But there’s more.
Someone called an anonymous tip into the station at Ray Brook: apparently, John Paul McLellan was known to be staying in the vicinity of the Van Laar Preserve—not just for the weeklong celebration at the house—but for the whole summer. Making it probable that the boyfriend Barbara Van Laar was going to see in the observer’s cabin each night was, indeed, McLellan.
“So that’s it,” says Goldman. “Between that and the bloody uniform. McLellan’s our guy?”
There’s a hitch, says LaRochelle. Because McLellan and his lawyer father have made a separate allegation: it was Louise Donnadieu, Barbara’s counselor, who asked McLellan to dispose of the bag.
The contents of which, adds LaRochelle, are currently being analyzed for blood type by forensics.
“So we’re pointing at McLellan,” says Goldman. “And McLellan’s pointing at Donnadieu?”
“And a kid named Lee Towson,” says LaRochelle. “Kitchen worker. McLellan says he and Donnadieu were a pair.”
Around the room, a clearing of throats.
“Anyway,” says LaRochelle. “Until we get the blood analysis back, let’s just keep following the leads we have.”
• • •
Around the Command Post, investigators stand. LaRochelle leaves to return to the main house.
Slowly, the room clears. When it’s empty, Denny Hayes turns to Judy.
