Fatal Identity Page 23

  “Before we go any further, I need to be assured of your discretion,” Avery said. “Nothing we say here can be repeated to anyone. Do you understand?”

  She nodded. “I’m under an NDA, so I get it.”

  “We’re investigating the possibility of his son Josh’s involvement in his father’s death.”

  Danielle’s face went slack with shock at hearing that. “No.”

  “You seem certain. Did you know Josh?”

  “Not personally, but the director was such a good man. How could his own son possibly kill him?”

  “It happens all the time in families. You should know that after years of working in law enforcement.”

  Sam had so many questions, but she bit her tongue and forced herself to stay silent while hoping Avery had an actual plan here. She would’ve started by asking Danielle why she’d given her baby to the Hamiltons to raise.

  “Mrs. Hamilton told us Josh was adopted during the time her husband worked in this office. Do you recall the Hamiltons adopting him?”

  “I do. I remember that very well. Mrs. Hamilton was actually back in Virginia with her older children by the time Josh joined their family, but Troy was still here.”

  “She also told us that the baby was actually yours. Is that true?”

  Danielle’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open before snapping shut. “Mine?” she asked in a squeaky voice.

  “That’s what she said. Is that true?”

  “I... I’ve never been pregnant.” The statement led to more tears. “My husband and I, we wanted children. Very badly. But the Lord never saw fit to bless us in that way.”

  “Was there another receptionist in the office at that time?”

  “No, I was the only one.”

  Avery glanced at Sam.

  “What can you tell us about Director Hamilton’s relationship with his wife and with Deputy Director Jacoby during the time they were in Knoxville?” Sam asked.

  “Troy and Dustin were best friends. They were inseparable. Courtney and Troy had their ups and downs as people do when they’re parents of young children.”

  “What do you mean by ups and downs?” Sam asked.

  “They... For a time they were separated, but they later patched things up.”

  “Do you know why they separated?”

  “I don’t. He didn’t talk about it, and I never asked.”

  “How long were they separated?” Avery asked.

  “About six months. Courtney took the children and went home to Virginia to be with her family while Troy stayed here.”

  “Was this before or after they adopted Josh?”

  “Before.”

  “You seem fairly certain about a timeline that took place thirty years ago,” Sam said.

  “I remember it vividly. It was a difficult time for Troy, being separated from his family that way. We all thought it was somewhat cruel of Courtney to take his children away from him for so long.”

  “What role did this office play in helping to investigate the kidnapping of Taylor Rollings in Williamson County?” Avery asked.

  She seemed stunned by the question.

  “Mrs. Koch?” Avery asked. “Are you all right?”

  “What does that have to do with Troy’s murder?” she asked softly.

  “We aren’t sure. That’s why we’re asking.”

  “We supported law enforcement in Williamson County. For weeks, every agent assigned to this office worked that case, but we never found any sign of that poor baby.”

  “We’ve found him,” Avery said.

  “What? Where? Where is he?”

  “I have to say again that what I’m about to tell you is highly confidential. It’s critical that you refrain from telling anyone.”

  “I won’t say a word. I promise.”

  “The baby who was taken from the Rollings family thirty years ago was raised as Josh Hamilton.”

  She shook her head, horror stamped into her expression. “No. That’s not possible. There’s no way Troy Hamilton could’ve been involved in something like that. He was heartbroken for the Rollings family. He spent hours with them, consoling them and offering whatever comfort he could. It’s just not possible.”

  “I’m afraid the DNA has confirmed it.”

  She shook her head and blinked back tears. “I can’t believe this,” she whispered. “Why would Troy have done something like that to those poor people?”

  “That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”

  “If there’s anything you remember from the weeks before and after the kidnapping that you could share with us, no matter how small or insignificant it might seem, it could help us get to the bottom of this,” Sam said.

  The other woman seemed to think hard about that, and they gave her the time and the silence she needed.

  “There was one thing that stands out in my memory,” she said haltingly.

  It was all Sam could do not to pounce, to tell her to spit it out already, and she sensed similar tension coming from Avery.

  “Something wasn’t right between Troy and Dustin. They were arguing a lot. At the time, I assumed it was because everyone was upset about the baby being kidnapped, but now... Now I’m not so sure.”

  “Is there anyone else in the office who was here when they worked here?”

  “One other person. Dale Owens. He’s one of the agents.”

  “Is he here?” Avery asked. “Could we speak to him?”

  “Yes, let me get him.”

  “Remember,” Avery said, “not a word about Josh to anyone.”

  Nodding, she left the room.

  “What’s your take?” Sam asked.

  “I have no fucking idea what the hell is going on here. I can’t get a read on this case.”

  “Me either. It’s been a mind bender from the first second I met Josh.”

  “I feel the same way she does about the possibility of Troy having been involved in something so sinister. It flies in the face of everything I knew about him, the things he believed in as a leader and law enforcement officer. All I can think is that if he was involved, someone had something huge on him, and he had no choice but to go along with it.”

  “Could that someone have been Dustin?”

  “I can’t imagine that either.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  DANIELLE RETURNED WITH a man with white hair, blue eyes and a kind face. He wore a cheap-looking lilac dress shirt with a matching tie, the kind discount department stores sold as a set. Danielle introduced him to Sam and Avery.

  “What can I do for you?” Dale asked as he took a seat next to Danielle.

  “Everything we speak of is confidential, understood?”

  Dale nodded. “Been in this business since before you were born. I know how it works.”

  Ignoring the sarcasm, Avery said, “We’re here about Director Hamilton’s murder. We understand you worked with him and Deputy Director Jacoby while they were in this office.”

  “I did. That was a long time ago.”

  “Thirty years, to be exact.”

  “Sounds about right. We were heartbroken to hear of the director’s death and the deputy director’s disappearance. Is there any news about Dustin?”

  “Not yet.”

  “And the director’s son. Has he been found?”

  “He has.”

  “Is he a suspect in his father’s case?”

  “Everyone is a suspect,” Sam said. “It’s a very active investigation.”

  “What do you remember about Hamilton’s relationship with Jacoby or their time here in Knoxville?” Avery asked.

  Dale blew out a deep breath. “Well, like you said, that was a long time ago. I’m sure Danielle me
ntioned there were some issues in Hamilton’s marriage while he was here. The Mrs. went home to Virginia with the kids for a while there. Troy was a disaster over it.”

  “Do you remember anything specific about what he said or did in regard to his wife and the separation?”

  “He was mad as hell,” Dale said. “I remember that. We all gave him a wide berth after she left.”

  Avery took notes as Dale spoke. “How long was he wound up? Days, weeks, months?”

  “Long time.” Dale looked to Danielle for confirmation, and she nodded. “Months. Really let himself go to hell in a handbasket too. Stopped shaving, stopped sleeping, started drinking. We covered for him with D.C.—remember, Danielle?”

  “Yes, I do. We filed reports for him that he didn’t even know about. Things like that. We protected him.”

  “Where was Jacoby in all of this?” Sam asked. “Did he help to protect Hamilton too?”

  They both took a second to think about that.

  “I don’t remember him being part of us protecting Troy,” Dale said. “They’d had some sort of falling-out over something. Never did know what. Just that they weren’t close like they once were. Jacoby kept his distance from Troy, if I recall correctly.”

  “That’s what I remember too,” Danielle said. “It was very tense around here with the two of them circling each other like a couple of rabid dogs.”

  “Did you ever think there was a connection between the falling-out Hamilton had with Jacoby and the one he had with his wife?” Avery asked before Sam could.

  “Ahhh, no,” Dale said. “That never occurred to me.”

  “Me either,” Danielle said, seeming intrigued by the suggestion.

  “Can you tell us where the Hamiltons lived when they were here?”

  “Their place was over in Lake Ridge, wasn’t it, Dani?”

  She nodded in agreement. “I babysat for the older kids a couple of times. Before they had Josh.”

  “They had that barbecue for the office that one time,” Dale said. “Right before the Mrs. took off to go home.”

  “They were fighting that night,” Danielle recalled. “Everyone was uncomfortable. The party broke up early.”

  “Do you remember what the fight was about?” Avery asked.

  “I don’t, just that they were very obviously in the midst of some sort of marital meltdown, and we were there to witness it,” Dale said. “My Mrs. predicted they were going to split, and sure enough, they did a couple days later.”

  “How long were they apart?” Avery asked.

  “The last six or so months he was here,” Danielle said. “Not sure what happened when he transferred to headquarters, but they got back together at some point and then we heard they’d had Josh.”

  “So that news came after he was in D.C.?” Avery asked.

  “A short time before he left,” Danielle said. “We were all surprised because they’d been separated awhile by then. We figured Courtney must’ve been pregnant when she left here, but later we heard they’d adopted Josh.”

  “This has been very helpful,” Avery said. “Thank you both for your time.”

  “Could we get the address of where the Hamiltons lived when they were here?” Sam asked, working a hunch.

  “I’ll check the files,” Danielle said. “Give me a minute.”

  They left the office a few minutes later with the address in hand.

  “What’re you thinking?” Avery asked.

  “That it might be worth knocking on some doors to see if anyone in the old neighborhood remembers the family. And I don’t know about you, but I have more questions for Courtney Hamilton.”

  “You read my mind.”

  “I’ll call Malone, tell him what we’ve got and ask him to go back to her mother’s place. I don’t think we ought to wait on that. If she’s involved, it would be easy for her to disappear.”

  “Agreed.”

  Sam placed the call to Malone and waited for him to pick up. When he did, she first asked about Josh’s condition.

  “I don’t know yet. The paramedics were tight-lipped, and we’re waiting on the doctors.”

  “Avery and I interviewed two people who worked with Hamilton and Jacoby while they were in Knoxville.” She related what they’d learned and their concerns about Courtney Hamilton being a flight risk. “Is there any way you can track her down and maybe bring her in? You could use the pretense of precaution because people are attacking her family members. I’ve got one of my feelings about this, Cap. We need to act fast.”

  “I’m on it. Keep me posted on what else you find out.”

  “Anything back from the lab yet on the prints found on the golf club?”

  “Not yet. We’re leaning on them. And Lindsey is wrapping up the autopsy report too. Should have more on all of it soon. I’ll let you know.”

  Sam ended the call with Malone and saw that Avery was on a tense call of his own. From the sound of it, he was being grilled by someone above him in the Bureau.

  “Yes, ma’am. As soon as I have anything, you’ll be the first to know.” He rolled his eyes at Sam and made a moving-right-along gesture with his hand. “Of course. I understand. I’ll be in touch.” He jammed the phone into his pocket. “They’re melting down at headquarters. That was the acting director.”

  “Still no sign of Jacoby?”

  “Nothing. It’s like he vanished.”

  “And he’d know how to do that, wouldn’t he?”

  “Yeah, he would,” Avery said tightly. “Just like you and I would if we needed to. They’re also fuming that I called you guys in before I called them when I found Hamilton’s body, but I stick by my decision on that one.”

  “You handled it by the book, which is what you should’ve done.”

  “Try telling the acting director that. I’m sure there’ll be hell to pay for me when the dust settles.”

  The GPS took them to the subdivision the Hamiltons had called home during their time in Knoxville. Avery brought the car to a stop outside a raised ranch that had seen better days. The exterior was right out of the eighties with faux brick siding and rusting metalwork around the windows. Abandoned plastic toys littered the front yard, and a half-built hot rod sat on blocks in the driveway next to a sedan with two flat tires.

  “Nice place,” Sam said.

  “I bet it was back in the day.”

  “Let’s see if anyone remembers them.”

  After knocking on a dozen doors and nearly being attacked by a Rottweiler, they hit pay dirt six doors down from the Hamiltons’ old house. Mildred Spires, an eighty-year-old widow and mother to a friendly poodle, spoke in a lovely Southern accent and remembered the Hamilton family well.

  “Come in,” she said, after they’d shown their badges and identified themselves.

  Sam was thankful that Mrs. Spires didn’t seem to recognize her.

  They were shown into a charming home, decorated in country style. A painted heart on the wall declared Home Is Where You Hang Your Heart. She offered tea, which they declined. When they were seated in the room Mildred referred to as her parlor, she lowered herself slowly to her recliner. The dog jumped into her lap and made itself at home. “What do you want to know about the Hamiltons?” she asked. “I saw the news about Troy this morning, and my heart about stopped! He was such a nice young man, so good-looking and hardworking. I told Courtney she’d be a fool to let that one go.”

  “So you were close to them?” Avery asked.

  “Oh yes! I was like an extra grandma to Mark and Maura when they were little.”

  “How did you meet the family?”

  “I heard through the neighborhood grapevine that they were in need of a cleaning lady, so I went by to see if I could help out. I cleaned for a number of people in the neighborhood back the
n.” She held up twisted fingers. “Before my arthritis forced me into early retirement.”

  “Do you know why Courtney took the children and went home to Virginia?” Sam asked.

  “Oh, well... Marriage is such a difficult thing sometimes. Are you married?”

  “I am,” Sam said, giddy on the inside that this lovely woman had no idea who she was. Since that happened so rarely these days, she decided to enjoy the anonymity.

  “And you?” she asked Avery.

  “Engaged.”

  “Then you know. You both know that relationships have their ups and downs. Courtney and Troy hit a rough patch where they couldn’t seem to see eye to eye, so she took the children home to her mother’s for a little cooling-off period. They were back together a few months later. They had their other son, Josh, and I still get Christmas cards from them to this day.”

  “So you don’t know of any specific incident that caused them to separate?” Avery asked.

  “No, like I said, it was a buildup of things, and Courtney thought it best for the children if they spent some time apart because they were fighting so much. She was quite sad about leaving. She had a nice circle of friends here, a bridge club and a book club and the country club. She was a joiner, that one. And the kids were doing well in school. It wasn’t easy for her to decide to leave, because she loved her husband. I never doubted that.” She offered a coy smile that lit up her eyes. “He was a good-looking devil. Like you, Agent Hill.”

  “Oh, um, well, thank you, ma’am.”

  “Before she left, I told her, don’t let that man get away. You’ll regret it down the road. I’m glad she listened to me, and they patched things up. My heart has been breaking for her since I heard the news about Troy last night. I can’t imagine what she must be going through.”

  “Did you ever see the Hamiltons again after they left the area?” Sam asked.

  “Not in person, but Courtney and I kept in touch by letters and the occasional phone call. It’s dwindled to Christmas cards in recent years, but I do remember them fondly.”

  “This has been very helpful, Mrs. Spires.” Avery rose and handed her his card. “If you think of anything else from back in the day that you think might be helpful, you can call me anytime. My cell number is on there.”