“Wait a minute—you think he might have been blackmailing them? But if so, why recommend Gamma to the judge?”
“Maybe they did that before they got blackmailed.”
Chapter 88
MAYA PERLMAN GREETED THEM AT the door. She was dressed in a light blue skirt and white blouse with sandals.
“I’m afraid my husband isn’t here right now.”
“More golf?” said Decker.
She smiled. “Something like that. He enjoys his retirement.”
They sat in the living room. She offered them coffee or tea but they declined.
“I know that Barry has been arrested. But I just can’t believe he would have done that. I knew the man well. He wasn’t the type to stab anyone, much less his wife.”
“His ex-wife. And did you know he was watching her house?” asked Decker.
Perlman looked uncomfortable with the question. “Where did you hear that?”
“From someone who would know.”
“Doris?”
“Neither confirm nor deny. But Barry also admitted it.”
“I see. But that doesn’t make him a killer.”
“You like him, I take it?” said White.
“He had his faults just like all of us. But he was always wonderful with Julia. Very kind to her, and he’s been a good father to Tyler. And we had so much fun together.”
“There was that tax issue.”
“I don’t know anything about that,” she said quickly—maybe a little too quickly, thought Decker.
“Well, you’ll be happy to know that he’s been released from custody.”
Her face brightened. “He has? That’s wonderful. What caused that?”
“Another alibi came in for him. Couldn’t be in two places at the same time.”
“I’m sure Tyler is thrilled.”
“We’ve learned some more about the man who was found dead at Cummins’s house,” said Decker.
“Oh, yes, what?”
“He had been involved in some blackmail schemes. And he had been accused of stealing jewelry from a woman he was guarding.”
“Oh my God, really?”
“Yes. Just to be clear, did you find anything missing?”
“What? No. I mean, I haven’t inventoried my jewelry lately. We keep it in a large safe. He couldn’t have gotten in there.”
“And no blackmail demands?”
She sat back, looking offended. “He would have nothing to blackmail us about, Agent Decker.”
“I’m not suggesting otherwise. But it doesn’t have to be anything illegal. Just, well, something you wouldn’t want anyone to know about. Hell, I wouldn’t want anyone to be able to see my online search history.”
She now looked uncertain. “Yes, I see what you mean. Well, we certainly didn’t get any blackmail demands from this person. If we had, we never would have recommended the firm to Julia.”
“Of course.” Decker looked over her shoulder at the wall of photos he had seen on his first visit to their home. “I take it you like to sail?”
Perlman glanced at the picture of herself and her husband on the sailboat. “We used to, quite regularly. Trevor kept a sailboat and cabin cruiser, but it got to be so much upkeep we ended up selling them. Now if want to go out we just charter something.”
“Did you keep it here?”
“No, in Key West. We used to take it over to Cuba.”
“I thought there were restrictions,” said White.
“This was when relations had thawed. It’s harder now, and you need a permit once you’re past the twelve-mile limit. It’s a beautiful country. Have you ever been?”
White shook her head.
While Perlman had been talking Decker ran his gaze over the other photos on the wall, until he came to the very end. He glanced at Perlman, who was looking at him curiously.
“We know you were a lawyer, but what did your husband do for a living?” he asked.
“He was already retired when I married him. He was a consultant. His work took him all over the world. He speaks several languages.”
“A consultant in what?”
“Raising capital for companies engaged in emerging markets. He was very successful.”
“Was he married before?”
She smiled. “No, he said he was waiting for the right woman to come along. I had already made my mistake with my first marriage. Trevor was a godsend.”
“He’s a good-looking guy,” said Decker, pointing to one of the photos on the wall. White turned to look at the image of a young Perlman in a suit and tie. Decker had actually seen it earlier, but back then it meant nothing to him. Now it meant pretty much everything.