“It’s probably tough if they move out of state,” said Odelia.

  “Or out of the country—or to a different continent. My sister’s kids both live in Europe, and of course, you want your kids to spread their wings and go where life takes them. But secretly, I’m happy they decided to stay close by.”

  “Okay,” said Chase, all this talk about happy families making him antsy since he had a murder to solve, “so about Robert. He never got in touch with you over the years? Friended you on Facebook? Nothing?”

  “Nothing,” Jane confirmed. “Not a phone call, not a letter, nothing. And that’s fine. I never expected him to. We were only together for a year or so before we split up. And before you ask, there was never a dramatic moment where nasty things were said and doors were slammed. Like I said, our lives took us in different directions and things simply ended.”

  “So no drama?”

  “No drama,” said Jane with a smile. “So are you any closer to figuring out who killed him?”

  “We’re following several promising lines of inquiry,” said Chase, giving her the routine answer he always gave when he had no clue what was going on.

  “I’m also following some very interesting and promising lines of inquiry,” Gran announced. “Very surprising and very interesting.”

  “Well, I hope you figure it out,” said Jane. “Even though I hadn’t seen Robert in a long time, I still held him in my heart, you know.”

  And since there didn’t seem to be anything more to add, we took our leave. Before we left the house, I studied another portrait of the Collins family, this time taken at a later date, where the girls were already a lot bigger than in the big portrait in the living room. They looked like a happy family, I thought, so it was probably a good thing that Robert Ross hadn’t been in touch after things had ended between himself and Jane. His particular lifestyle was absolutely not compatible with that of his ex-girlfriend. She may not have become a famous celebrity like himself, but her accomplishments were certainly no less impressive. Quite the contrary, in fact. Whereas Robert had indulged in his hedonistic pleasures, Jane had raised a family, which was no mean feat.

  As we stood in the hallway admiring the portrait of the Collins family, Scarlett asked about the presence of any pets in the home.

  “No pets, I’m afraid,” said Jane. “I’m allergic to both cats and dogs.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry,” said Odelia. “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have brought my cats along.”

  “It’s fine,” said Jane. “If it’s only for fifteen minutes, I’ll be all right. And besides, we have HEPA air purifiers in every room, and if I feel an attack coming on, I have antihistamines and a nasal spray I can use. My sister has cats, you see, so I’ve become accustomed to taking my precautions. When the girls were little and they used to go over to their aunt’s house to play with their cousins, I often took the brunt of it when they got back. But now it’s fine.”

  We said our goodbyes and for a moment stood on the porch to get our bearings. Unfortunately, we hadn’t learned a lot, and I could tell that Gran especially looked very disappointed, and so did Harriet. Clearly, they had harbored high hopes that Jane Collins was the mystery guest Robert Ross had rolled out the red carpet for that morning and possibly was the man’s killer.

  But from what Jane had told us, this wasn’t the case, and I was inclined to believe her. Even though it was possible that Robert had carried a torch for her all these years, or vice versa, it was also highly unlikely. As she had said, they had both gone their separate ways without a lot of drama involved.

  The question remained: why had he turned down all invitations from the Chamber of Commerce for fifteen years and suddenly decided to accept? Though there was probably a simple explanation: age. When men got older, they started thinking about their legacy. So maybe Robert had reached the age where he wondered how he would be remembered. And a nice award and some media attention from his home town would probably hit the spot.

  And we had just crawled back into Chase’s squad car when another car pulled up in front of the house and a man hurried out. I recognized him from the many family pictures in the Collins house: this was Jane’s husband, Bert.

  He glanced over, then approached us. “Detective Kingsley?” he asked. “My name is Bert Collins. Jane’s husband. Have you talked to my wife yet?”

  “We have,” Chase confirmed. “We were just leaving.”

  “I’m sorry. I was held up at work. Can I...” He seemed irresolute for a moment, then suddenly got into the car and closed the door. “Could we go for a drive? There’s something I need to tell you.”

  Chase glanced over at his wife, who shrugged, and so the cop put the car in gear, and moments later, we were cruising the neighborhood, Dooley and I in the company of Bert Collins.

  “Can you tell us what this is all about?” asked Chase, clearly not all that happy with all this cloak-and-dagger stuff.

  “It’s my wife,” said Bert finally. “I have to ask you not to contact her again.” And when only a stunned silence met these words, he added, “She’s not well.”

  CHAPTER 22

  Chase drove slow circles around the block while Bert Collins told his tale.

  “She’s been suffering from severe depression for years,” he explained. “It all began after Alice was born, our youngest, and hasn’t really improved much since. She’s been taking medication and has been seeing a shrink, and that has taken the edge off the dark moods she oftentimes falls prey to, and mostly we think we’ve got it under control now, but from time to time she will sink back down into the darkness, and it can take her days to emerge again. Right now, she’s doing pretty well, so I would very much like to keep it that way. And being exposed to all this murder business won’t do her a lot of good.”

  “We had to ask her a couple of questions,” said Odelia. “Seeing as she used to know the victim.”

  “Twenty-five years ago!” said Bert. “I really don’t see how that’s relevant. She hadn’t met the guy in years, and even when they were in school together, they were only an item for a few short months. What are a couple of months over a lifetime? Nothing. So I really don’t see why you have to confront her with all of that.”

  “We asked her all the questions we needed to ask, and your wife answered them all,” said Odelia reassuringly. “So as things now stand, we don’t have to talk to her again.”

  “Unless new information surfaces,” Chase pointed out.

  “It won’t,” Bert said emphatically. “She never had anything to do with the guy, and so I would very much like your confirmation that this is the end of it.”

  “We can’t give you that reassurance, Mr. Collins,” said Odelia. “But like I said, most likely we won’t have to talk to your wife again.”

  It seemed to be good enough for the guy, for he grunted with satisfaction. “It’s been hell on our family, as you can imagine. And with two of our daughters still living at home, it hasn’t been easy. Not for them, not for me, but most of all not for Jane.”

  “What do you think brought this all on?”

  “According to the doctors, it all started with post-partum depression, which lingered and never completely went away. She was fine with our previous girls and never suffered any post-partum depressions then. But with Alice…” He sagged a little, looking tired and wan, I now determined. “I don’t know. I’m not a mental health expert, obviously. As far as I can understand, it has something to do with a chemical imbalance in the brain, brought on by the hormonal impact of the pregnancy. But why it wouldn’t simply go away again beats me.”

  “I’m very sorry, Mr. Collins,” said Odelia, and I could tell that her concern was heartfelt and sincere. Having gone through a pregnancy herself, perhaps she had experienced some of what Mrs. Collins was feeling.

  “It’s fine,” said Bert, putting on a brave face. “We’re fine. As long as she doesn’t get bad news or something that upsets her, mostly my wife is okay. We all try to shield her from most of it. We don’t subscribe to any newspapers and don’t leave them lying around the house. We don’t watch a lot of television, for the least little thing might trigger her and cause her to fall off a cliff. Mostly we try to ensure that the atmosphere around the house is uplifting and positive.”

  “And her sewing designs must also be a great blessing for her,” said Odelia.

  Bert nodded. “She loves to do those. And the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Every time she posts a new design, it’s heart-warming to see how many people leave positive comments and absolutely adore her work.”

  “I’ll check it out myself tonight,” Odelia promised. “And if you like, I could even do an article on it for the Gazette.”

  He gave her a grateful smile. “That would be great. We don’t take the Gazette, for the same reason I already told you, but I’ll show her the article.” Then a look of concern clouded his mostly sunny demeanor. “You wouldn’t have to interview her for the article, would you?”

  “If you don’t want me to, I won’t. Though of course, it would be great if I could chat with her about it. Mostly it would be about her designs, nothing else.”

  “I guess that would be fine,” he said thoughtfully. Clearly, his life revolved around making sure that Jane was shielded as much as possible from any adverse influences that could trigger one of her depressive episodes.

  We had circled back to the house, and he now got out, thanking us for our understanding and also apologizing for any inconvenience this might have caused to our investigation. Chase assured him that he had all the information from Jane that he needed, and we watched as the man hurried up the drive and disappeared inside.

  “Must be tough to live like that,” said Chase. “Always having to walk on eggshells, worried that the least little comment or incident might trigger an episode.”

  “Must be tough on the kids as well,” said Odelia. “Kids mostly don’t have a filter and just blab about whatever comes to mind. And now they have to consider that their words might have an adverse effect on their mom.”

  “So do you think Jane was Robert’s mystery guest, Max?” asked Dooley.

  “I’m not sure,” I confessed. “Though she seemed truthful when she said she hadn’t seen her ex-boyfriend in years.”

  “I think she was telling the truth,” Odelia said, adding her two cents to the conversation. “It’s only natural that when kids leave school, these old friendships and relationships change, and they go their separate ways. What she described to us in there was a boy-girl relationship that lasted a couple of months and ended in a natural way, with no regrets on either side.”

  “So you don’t think Robert’s sudden return to Hampton Cove was motivated by his sudden wish to reunite with his old girlfriend?” asked Chase.

  “I doubt it, babe,” said Odelia. “Clearly, she hadn’t thought of the guy in many years, having built a family of her own, and I think the same thing could probably be said about Robert, who had built an impressive career and had left Hampton Cove and any attachments he may have formed in his rear-view mirror a long time ago.”

  “I wonder where Flame could be,” I now said, deciding to change the topic. “We still have to talk to her, remember?”

  “Oh, she’s with Robert’s brother,” said Odelia. “We’re going to talk to the man now, and then you and Dooley can chat with Flame. Though I think we pretty much know what was in Robert’s safe and who emptied it out.”

  “Money and drugs,” I said. “Presumably handed over to Sebastian Poe as compensation for the misery they had put the man through.”

  “Do you think Poe was the carjacker who attacked Chantal last night?” asked Dooley.

  “It wouldn’t surprise me if it was,” I said. “Clearly, the man wasn’t in a fit state, judging from what we heard from the crew members.” And since Sarah Flunk had put out an APB on Chantal’s car, hopefully we would catch up with Mr. Poe at some point in the near future and put the question to him. As things now stood, I felt that he should be our main suspect for Mr. Ross’s murder, and I had a feeling that Chase and Odelia felt the same way.

  Before long, we arrived at the Star Hotel, which is a five-star hotel in the heart of town. Mr. Ross’s brother had arrived to make the necessary funeral arrangements for Robert and also to collect his personal belongings from the Aurora and make any final payments to the crew that were necessary.

  We found him in the lobby of the hotel, where he got up the moment we walked in. He resembled his brother in the fact that he was tall and handsome with slicked-back dark hair. Only he was of a more intellectual bent, with a pair of fashionable glasses lending him a lawyerly look. If Robert was Superman, this man looked more like Clark Kent.

  “Thank you for seeing us on such short notice, Mr. Ross,” said Odelia, shaking the man’s hand. “And I’m very sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you,” said the man. “And I’m only happy to assist you in finding my brother’s murderer. Are you any closer to identifying the person responsible?”

  The humans had all taken a seat on one of the plush couches located in the lobby, while Dooley and I hovered nearby, lending a listening ear and generally hoping to glean more information that could assist us in forming a picture of the deceased. The more you know about the victim, the more likely it is that you can figure out why he was killed, and consequently by whom.

  “We’re pursuing several promising lines of inquiry,” Chase said, once again using the old standby. “So what can you tell us about your brother, Mr. Ross? Did he have any enemies that you know of, grudges people had against him? Threats that were made in the recent past?”

  “Before we begin,” said Odelia, interrupting the proceedings, “can you tell us where Flame is?”

  Mr. Ross—Eric to his friends—gave her a strange look. “She’s upstairs in my room. Why?”

  “No reason. Just wanted to make sure she was well taken care of.”

  He smiled. “I’d heard that you love animals, Mrs. Kingsley. And there’s absolutely no reason to be concerned about Flame. I’ll take very good care of my brother’s beloved Papillon. We have several dogs ourselves, Valerie and I, and I’m sure Flame will fit in well with them. Now, as to any threats being made against my brother, as you can imagine there were many over the years. But if you want details, you should probably contact his agent, who will have them all logged, just in case one of them actually materialized. But an actor of his stature always gets threatening emails, messages, and letters. It’s all part of being in the public eye to such an extent. But as far as I could tell, Robert was never too concerned about any of that. He said it was part and parcel of being a star, and he didn’t pay any notice to any of that stuff.”

  “So nothing that jumped out at him? Something that he talked to you about?” asked Chase.

  “Nothing like that,” Eric assured us. “Though like I said, most of the threats he received were blocked at the level of his team. I don’t think they even passed them on to him, effectively acting as a filter between my brother and the big bad world outside. I often told him that he lived in a bubble, and he admitted that he did. But he said it was necessary, and that most of the stars at his level lived like that, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to function.”

  “We’ll talk to his agent,” Chase said, making a note in his notebook. “Is there anything else you can think of that might be relevant? Any concerns your brother voiced recently? Things that kept him up at night? Or changes in his general behavior? Something that jumped out?”

  “Not that I can think of,” said Eric as he turned pensive for a moment. “He did seem more… reflective lately. Philosophical, even. Talked about our childhood, our mom and dad, how life was when we were boys together.”

  “Are they still with us, your mom and dad?” asked Odelia.

  “Oh, yes, although they both live in Florida now. Once Robert started making some serious money, he bought them a nice place in Palm Beach, and they’ve lived there ever since, having a ball. They retired and moved out there. They both took up golf, and they’ve been terrorizing the local community by driving everywhere in their golf carts. But they’re happy and healthy, and that’s what counts. Though Robert’s murder has come as a big shock to them, of course. They adored my brother, as did we all. To see him go from strength to strength and effectively turn into a global star was amazing to watch.”

  “Did you still see a lot of him?”

  “Oh, absolutely. We met up for the holidays, and birthdays. He was also the godfather to my girls, and he adored them. Not having any kids of his own, he doted on them and spoiled them, probably too much, I’d say. He got them ponies for their twelfth birthday, which was a gift that was much appreciated, though maybe a little too much,” he said with a grin.

  “What is it that you do, Mr. Ross?” asked Chase.

  “I’m a lawyer,” said the man. “In fact, I was part of my brother’s legal team. As you can imagine, being an actor of his stature comes with a lot of legal threats as well as the usual garbage on social media. So that kept us busy enough. And handling contracts, of course.”

  “Any legal threats that could have a bearing on our case?” asked Chase.

  The lawyer thought for a moment. “Well... there is this one actor who claims that he should have gotten the part of James Fox back in the day. He and Robert were both in the running for the role at the time, but eventually Robert won out. And now the guy claims that his audition tape mysteriously disappeared, and that Robert was instrumental in making it so. Nonsense, of course, but still something we need to deal with, as he decided to take matters to court. It’s all noise, you know, and very annoying, but it comes with the territory.”