LITMIR.BIZ

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November,’ said Ingrid. ‘We were kind of using it as a base for ski season. Loveland is the closest resort to Denver, Golden’s halfway between the two …’

      ‘And now it’s May,’ said Ren. ‘You decided to stay on …’

      Ingrid nodded. ‘I love it here, so does Laura … did Laura. Robert is getting busier and busier …’

      ‘Mrs Prince, was there anything unusual in Laura’s behavior recently?’ said Ren.

      Ingrid took a while to answer. ‘No … I’m trying really hard to think. No. She was a little upset about her friend’s mother …’

      ‘What friend?’

      ‘The friend she went to visit in Chicago. Nessa Lally. She was from the same town in Waterford. You might find her on Laura’s Facebook … The trip was last minute. Nessa’s mother died back in Ireland, but Nessa’s illegal, so she couldn’t risk flying back for the funeral. Laura said she was devastated. Oh God, you’re not going to report the girl to immigration or anything, are you?’

      ‘No,’ said Ren. ‘We just need to speak with her, find out some more about their trip and why Laura didn’t fly back to Denver. Were there any problems at work, Mrs Prince – anything you can think of that might have made Laura reluctant to come back?’

      ‘To us? No, not at all,’ said Ingrid, ‘like I said, we were like family. We were very close, and Robert was like a father to her.’

      ‘The trip and the shooting might not be connected,’ said Janine. ‘We just need to get a sense of Laura, what might have been going on in her life.’

      ‘So on the day before she left,’ said Ren, ‘did anything happen out of the ordinary?’

      ‘No,’ said Ingrid. ‘Not that I can think of. She was quiet, but she had just heard about Nessa’s mother that morning – Wednesday. We were just watching TV that night, hanging out … and now … now she’s gone.’

      Ren sat forward. ‘Mrs Prince, have you ever heard Laura mention a place called Evergreen Abbey?’

      ‘No,’ said Ingrid. ‘Abbey? Like, nuns?’

      ‘There used to be nuns,’ said Ren. ‘Now, it’s a community of women who do a lot of work for charity. But it’s also, effectively, a shelter for women …’

      ‘Shelter?’ said Ingrid, ‘but Laura would have no reason to go to a shelter.’ She paused. ‘We … we were her shelter … Robert and I.’

      The hurt in her voice was heart-wrenching. ‘I understand,’ said Ren. ‘Do you think Laura might have had a friend who went there? Did she mention anyone who was in trouble or worried about something or trying to get away from a bad situation? Could she have been going there to visit someone?’

      ‘Not that I know of,’ said Ingrid. ‘She talked a little about her friends, but she was quite private. I knew about the Chicago girl only recently. It was like Laura mentioned friends when it was a big event, an engagement, a wedding, a baby, a funeral. But, you know, if a friend was in trouble and was running away from something, I don’t think Laura was the type to betray a confidence. I can’t see her telling me that.’

      ‘Mrs Prince,’ said Janine, ‘it looks like Laura may have had some information on a cold case from here in Jefferson County. Bearing in mind she is from Ireland, she lives in New York, she is young, she has a small circle of friends, it is quite extraordinary that she could have information. Is this something she was interested in? Cold cases? Websleuthing?’

      ‘Not that I’m aware of,’ said Ingrid. ‘She read crime novels, but so do I. Websleuthing – she had access to our computer – I’m sure you can find that out.’

      ‘Can we take a look at the computer?’ said Ren.

      ‘Of course,’ said Ingrid. ‘You can take that away with you.’ She reached over to a side table and handed a laptop to Ren.

      ‘Did Laura ever mention a place called The Flying G Ranch?’ said Janine.

      ‘No,’ said Ingrid. ‘Where is that?’

      ‘It adjoins Evergreen Abbey,’ said Janine. ‘Although The Flying G is now The Darned Heart Ranch for troubled teens.’

      Ingrid shook her head.

      ‘Has Laura ever mentioned the name Margaret or Peggy Beck?’ said Janine.

      ‘No. Who are they?’ said Ingrid.

      ‘She’s a young girl who was murdered there in the early Sixties. Peggy was her nickname.’

      ‘What has that got to do with Laura?’ said Ingrid.

      ‘We’re just trying to connect some dots,’ said Ren.

       As opposed to showing our hand.

      ‘Well, she hasn’t mentioned either of those places to me.’

      ‘OK,’ said Ren. She stood up. ‘Well that’s all for now, Mrs Prince. We are so sorry for your loss. If there’s anything else you can think of, please call either myself or Detective Hooks.’

      They handed her their cards.

      ‘The more information we have the better, obviously,’ said Janine.

      ‘Of course,’ said Ingrid.

      ‘How can we reach your husband?’ said Ren.

      ‘I know he has meetings in New York all day today,’ said Ingrid. ‘I’m sure he’ll fly here as soon as I can get hold of him. I’ll get him to call you right away.’

      Janine’s cell phone buzzed, and the doorbell rang within seconds. ‘That’s the victim advocate,’ she said, ‘let me go get her.’

      Ingrid started weeping. ‘Victim advocate …’ she said. ‘I can’t believe I need a victim advocate …’

       10

      Janine and Ren drove toward Denver.

      ‘Thank you for ferrying me home,’ said Ren.

      ‘Pleasure.’

      ‘That woman is a wreck.’

      ‘I know,’ said Janine. ‘Poor thing. They were definitely close.’

      ‘She’s pregnant and her housekeeper’s pregnant, though …’ said Ren.

      ‘Just a little bit coincidental,’ said Janine.

      ‘Hmm,’ said Ren.

      ‘We need to meet this Robert Prince guy,’ said Janine.

      ‘See if he impregnates us … just with a stare,’ said Ren.

      ‘I’ll say one thing,’ said Janine, ‘that Flynn family …’

      ‘Just a tiiiny bit jinxed,’ said Ren.

      ‘I mean, it’s been one death after another,’ said Janine.

      ‘Maybe they’re like The Incredibles, a big spy family … that has to be taken down …’ said Ren.

      ‘You’re terrible, Muriel … Oh my God, why are we laughing?’

      ‘Because we have to,’ said Ren. ‘Because it’s what we do. Because, why oh why oh why does a pregnant lady get to die today?’

      ‘I know,’ said Janine. ‘Now, explain this to me: the Princes rent a house in November in Golden. They want to ski, I get that. But why are they still here? They’ve rented it all the way through to the end of May. Wouldn’t you cancel that if you found out you were pregnant, so you weren’t going to be skiing, plus

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