Page 64 of The 24th Hour

“I feel lost. Do I have a job?”

“This is a big one, Arthur. See what Rae has in mind. And I suggest don’t make any sudden moves.”

He showed me that his hands were empty, prompting us to grin. We three walked together down the long carpeted hallway lined with old masters that today held no magic for me. I knew the way from the hallway to the domed glass room with its exotic plant life and wide view of the Pacific.

There were a dozen small round tables in the solarium, one of which was set for three. A dark-haired woman in black was sitting at one of them with her back to the entrance. We followed Arthur to the table. He said, “Ms. Rae, this is Sergeant Boxer and Inspector Conklin from the SFPD.”

I thanked him, and Rich and I took our seats. I heard Arthur calling Rafe on the phone, asking him to move the cars. I told Rae that we were sorry for her tragic loss, after which Arthur took our order and disappeared.

I said, “Ms. Bergen.”

“Call me Rae.”

“Rae. I’m the lead investigator on James Fricke’s murder. I know we have very little time today, so with your help, we’d like to get some basic information, and any ideas you may have on whoever killed James and Holly.”

“I want to help, Sergeant. You don’t have to persuade me.”

“Good.”

I took out my phone and showed her what I had for her address in Malibu, her phone numbers and email addresses, and she confirmed them.

“I’m going to record this interview, Rae. It will save a lot of time. You can ask me as many questions as we have time for. And we can follow up on the phone, or here, or in Malibu.”

“Fine with me. May I have your card?”

I passed a card to Rae, and Conklin asked, “I’d like to hear this from you. What was your relationship with James Fricke?”

“I loved him. He loved me. Yes, he was married to my sister, a complicated story. But my sister knew about his free-ranging social life. And that went both ways. Holly had lovers, too. She didn’t love Jamie anymore. Or even like him. Or so she told me.”

I asked, “How often did you and Jamie see each other?”

“When we could. I live some six hours away by car. I don’t like to fly. So, I only saw Jamie about once a month.”

Rae told us what she knew about Jamie’s schedule since Holly died, that his sons from his first marriage were living in Switzerland as was his first wife, Talia, and that Arthur would have the soccer schedule.

Conklin asked Rae if she knew of anyone who’d threatened Holly or Jamie, if either of them had made big changes in their lives, if Jamie had gambling debts, if Holly could have been the target of a rejected lover.

Rae answered the questions credibly and without hesitation. Four nos one after another. And when she looked at her watch, I knew that our breakfasts of tea and freshly baked rolls would go untouched. That in five minutes or less, our interview with Rae would be over, we would be inside the Frickes’ private chapel, and we might not have a chance to speak with Rae in person again.

I put my hand on her forearm and asked, “Rae. Where were you on this past Tuesday morning?”

“When Jamie was murdered? I was at home,” she said. “My ex-husband, Christophe Picard, had stayed overnight.”

I said, “I’ve read about Christophe. He has a restaurant here in Presidio Heights.”

“Yes,” Rae said. “He lives here in San Francisco. On Monday, the day before Jamie was shot, Christophe drove down to LA. We spent the day at Venice Beach with our son, Brock, and then Christophe stayed over with me, which was fine with Jamie. There were no issues there. I can introduce you to Christophe at the funeral.”

We thanked Rae for her time, and on my way out the door, I stopped to have a few words with Arthur. He liked Rae.But although he’d known her for twenty years, he didn’t know her well.

“Arthur, yes or no? Would you trust her?”

“I couldn’t say,” said Arthur.

That meant no.

CHAPTER 83

YUKI BUTTONED THE jacket on her red “closing statement” suit. The case against Tyler Cates had been going as well as Yuki had hoped; she’d been steady, believable, hadn’t dropped a single stitch—until Cates had set off an H-bomb saying that he had known Mary Elena when they’d both been patients at a mental institution called Brookside Psychiatric. That was his explanation for why she’d asked him for sex in the changing room at Xe Sogni. He said that they were old friends, both of them crazy.