“Lay it out for me now,” Hunter said, pen poised, ready to write.
Frank let out a deep breath. “He said he’d been siphoning money out of the accounts for years. Most times we’d close the next day and replenish enough that I had no idea.”
Hunter glanced at the man’s profile, studying his expression. “Did he say what he used the money for?”
The general shook his head. “He wasn’t answering questions, either. It turned into a shouting match, I admit that much. He stormed out and I let him go. I wanted to go over the books myself and see how bad things were before dealing with him again later.”
As much as Hunter tried to remain dispassionate with all his clients, he felt for the man. The betrayal by a friend had to have hurt. “Did anyone hear you arguing?”
“Our secretary, Lydia McCarthy.”
“I’m going to need to talk to her.”
The general gave Hunter the woman’s home phone number and address from memory. “Though I hope she’s showing up and holding down the fort at the office. Or at least what’s left of it,” he said wryly. “She’s worked for us for the last seven years but she’s angry with me right now.”
Hunter raised an eyebrow. “Because…”
“She came to visit me here. Turns out she and Paul were involved,” he said, disgust evident in his voice. “She came in here and made a scene, ranting, raving, wailing about how I’d killed the only man she’d ever love. It was news to me, that much I can tell you.”
Hunter winced. “Did Sonya know her husband was cheating on her?”
“I don’t know. Damned if I was going to compound her loss by telling her after the fact.”
“Were there other women?”
Frank shrugged. “None that I know of, but that doesn’t mean squat.” The older man drew a deep breath and shuddered as he let it out.
Hunter could see how much this situation was wearing on him. He became even more determined to get the man out of here and home with his family.
“What I just told you stays between us, do you understand?” the general asked.
Tapping his foot against the dirty linoleum floor, Hunter considered his options. “The fact is, the prosecution could find out and make it public during the trial. I highly suggest you play things straight up.”
The general leaned forward, his elbows on the table. “I’ll consider it, but if anyone tells Sonya anything, it will be me.”
“Fine,” Hunter said. So the general was protective of the widow. He jotted down a note on that fact. “What happened next that night?”
“I took the books home with me to go over. We had dinner—”
“Who was home?”
“The commander and Molly. Robin was away at school.”
“Where was Jessie?” Hunter asked.
“Next door with Seth.”
He nodded. “So far all sounds normal.”
“It was normal. Except for the fact that I suddenly had no money in the business.”
“Did you tell the family about Paul’s embezzlement?”
“Hell, no. I wasn’t going to upset the women.”
“What about your secretary?”
“I’m sure she heard the fight. Whether she knew the details…I just don’t know.”
“Go on.”
“We ate. Jessie came home for dinner. Around nine, the phone rang and it was Sonya. She was hysterical and I went right over. She said she’d walked in on Paul ripping his office apart and throwing things. His temper wasn’t news but she could see something was seriously wrong. She pushed for answers and he told her everything, including the fact that he’d drained their personal accounts, as well.”
Hunter ran a hand over his eyes. He hadn’t realized the extent of what had passed between these families until now.
“She started screaming back at him, yelling that he’d ruined their lives and he’d jeopardized Seth’s future.” Frank met Hunter’s gaze, his expression bleak and thunderous.
“What happened?”
“He told her to shut the hell up and slapped her across the face,” Frank said through clenched teeth. “Then he grabbed his car keys and took off.”
Hunter let out a long whistle. “Was this the first incidence of abuse?”
“No,” Frank bit out. “And I knew it. Knew it had happened before and begged her to walk out on him then, but she wouldn’t. She stayed and told me he had stopped and as long as I didn’t see, I closed my eyes to the truth because that’s what Sonya wanted me to do.”
“And now you feel guilty.”
“Wouldn’t you?”
Knowing it was a rhetorical question, Hunter didn’t answer. “So you were with Sonya during the time Paul drove to the office,” he said more to himself than to the general. “As far as the police are concerned, you have motive. On the night of the murder, you discovered your partner and best friend had admitted to embezzling from your business and beating his wife.”
“Nobody knows about Sonya. The police know about the money and that was enough for them. Sonya and I agreed there was no need to leak the sordid details of her life to the police and ultimately to the rest of the neighborhood.”
Except for the fact that Sonya, too, had a motive for killing her husband. “Once again, I’m counseling you to tell the truth and not wait until someone else reveals it for you at a time when you’ll only appear more guilty.”
“You’re a man with strong principles.” The general inhaled deeply. “As am I. I’ll talk to Sonya about not hiding the abuse and I’ll also tell her about her husband’s affairs. When the time is right.”
Hunter inclined his head. “Fair enough. Now, where was Sonya when her husband was killed?”
“Home. Both Edna and Molly saw her car in the driveway, and Edna also saw her through the yard. She likes to sit out on the patio and look at the stars.”
“Good enough,” Hunter said. “Sonya didn’t have opportunity.”
“Damn right,” the general said.
“And you found your partner’s body the next morning when you showed up for work?” Hunter asked, recalling what the cop had told him earlier.
The other man gave him a curt nod.
“One more thing. Did you go home after you left Sonya’s house?”
Frank shook his head.
“Where did you go? Where were you at the time of the murder?” Which, Hunter thought, the police placed at between 10:30 and 11:30 p.m.