Page 16 of Alibi for Murder (Colby Agency: The Next Generation #2)

“The way I feel about Thomas Madison,” Mrs. Talbert said with a sharp point to her tone, “I would love to say yes, but I believe there was some other reason. I think he was doing something to keep Jane happy and that he felt we wouldn’t understand.

I know he loved my daughter. But he eventually isolated her completely.

” She gestured to Allie. “Your mother was Jane’s best friend.

Not long after Jane shut me out completely, your parents were shut out as well.

Alice came to talk to me about how sad it made her.

She too mentioned being concerned that Thomas was…

” She pinched her lips together as if to think a moment.

“The term she used was ‘out of control.’ She promised to keep me posted about Jane, but less than a month later, she and Jerry had that horrible, horrible accident.”

The idea that Thomas Madison may have had something to do with the accident caused an uncomfortable twinge to creep up Allie’s spine.

When the silence dragged on a bit too long, Allie said, “Thank God for my grandparents. They took very good care of me.”

She wanted to ask what efforts Mrs. Talbert had made for the next twenty years to try and reach her daughter, but it felt wrong to keep picking at that painful wound.

“You never said—” Allie nodded to the photograph Luellyn still held “—if you recognized the third couple.”

“Aw, yes.” Mrs. Talbert nodded, attempted a smile, then adjusted her glasses and focused on the photo once more.

“Hmm. They do look vaguely familiar.” She cocked her head, first one way and then the other.

“Wait, I know. They were at Jane’s Christmas party the same year this photo was taken.

” She looked to Allie. “A couple of years before your parents had their accident, I believe. Before my grandson died.”

“Do you recall their names?”

Luellyn pursed her lips. “She was Lucille, and I believe her husband was Dennis.” She shook her head.

“But for the life of me I can’t recall the last name.

The only reason I remember her first name is the red hair.

I thought of Lucille Ball when she was introduced to me.

You can’t really see her eyes in this photo, but she had the same bright blue eyes too. ”

Allie had thought the same thing when she first saw the photo. She’d certainly watched plenty of old Lucy episodes with her grandmother.

“Were they close with Jane and Thomas the way Allie’s parents were?” Steve asked.

“They were new in town when I met them,” Luellyn said. “I think the husband had just been hired by Ledwell.”

“Do you recall if Lucille came to Jane’s funeral?

” Allie wasn’t sure if the question would be uncomfortable for Luellyn, but it would certainly clarify whether the mystery couple had still been around as recently as three years ago.

And it allowed her to ask if Luellyn had been at the funeral without actually asking.

Surely Thomas Madison wouldn’t have kept her from her own daughter’s funeral.

“She was not. All the friends Jane made during her marriage were noticeably absent. It was a very small gathering. Not becoming of my precious daughter, I’ll certainly say that. She would have invited everyone.”

“Thomas must have spoken to you at some point during the service.” Allie hoped this was the case. The idea of him ignoring her would only add to the horror that had been their shared history.

“He allowed me to sit in the front pew with him. He even hugged me when the service ended, but he said virtually nothing to me. He was anxious to get away, it seemed. Perhaps he had someone new already.”

Painful. It happened that way sometimes. But there was nothing in the research Allie had done to suggest he’d had someone in his life even just before his death, three years after his wife’s.

“Do you remember,” Allie ventured, “Jane mentioning anything regarding my parents and the work at Ledwell? Or maybe some other problem with them?”

“Jane adored your mother,” Luellyn said without hesitation. “The two did everything together. Tommy was just a year younger than you.”

Allie hadn’t considered that she and this Tommy were likely close in age. Maybe he was the reason she remembered the house with the pavilion and pool. Maybe they had played there together.

How sad it was that their families had been riddled with tragedy.

“I was there once when you and your mother visited. You and Tommy were going round and round outside, the sun trickling over your big smiles. It was such a nice day.”

Allie felt her chest constrict. “Did my mother seem happy?” She put her fingers to her lips.

She hadn’t meant to ask the question. What difference did it make really?

And yet, even after all these years, it was…

still important to Allie. She felt confident her grandmother would have told her if her mother hadn’t been happy, but having an objective observation would be useful.

Luellyn smiled at Allie. “How could she not be? She had a beautiful daughter. Her husband was the kindest man you would ever meet. Even Thomas often said that Jerry was far too kind for his own good. But to answer your question, yes, your mother seemed very happy. As did you. If there were any sort of problems, she gave no indication whatsoever.”

Allie was profoundly relieved. “Thank you.”

Luellyn’s face fell as if she’d just remembered something that pained her.

“I remember Thomas making some statement…later.” She shrugged.

“No wait, I’m wrong. This was perhaps a year after that day when you and Tommy were playing.

Maybe days after the accident that took your parents’ lives.

Yes, that’s right, just before what would have been Tommy’s fourth birthday. Christmas was only a few weeks away.”

“My fifth birthday was in the January after the accident,” Allie said, hoping to help prompt her memory. “I don’t even remember Thanksgiving since the accident had just happened. But I do remember that it was the worst Christmas and birthday of my life.”

“Thanksgiving.” Luellyn held up a finger as if to emphasize the point.

“Yes. Jane and I got together that last time. This was when she mentioned Thomas having a plan. She also said something like Thomas thought Jerry had grown too much of a conscience. I didn’t understand what she meant and said as much.

But she ignored the comment and moved on.

Her brain worked that way after Tommy’s death.

Skipped around and sometimes obsessed over seemingly unimportant things. ”

“Seems an odd statement to make.” Steve pointed out exactly what Allie was thinking.

“It does.” Luellyn nodded. “I have no idea what he meant, but I heard through the grapevine that Ledwell was having growing pains. Serious growing pains. With the nature of the work they did, back in those days, one can only imagine the sorts of things you had to be willing to overlook.”

She had Allie’s curiosity cued up now. “You mean like ethical challenges?”

Those appeared to be the biggest stumbling blocks today in the warp-speed research and development of AI. Many wanted to take a step back, to slow down the forward momentum until better ground rules could be established. Some wanted it stopped altogether.

“I suppose so,” Luellyn agreed. “Without a conscience for our guide, what might we humans be capable of under certain circumstances?”

A bell chimed somewhere in the apartment.

“That’s my cue,” Luellyn said. “We have a special lunch on Sundays for anyone who no longer has family to visit—or just for anyone who wishes to attend.” She stood. “I hope you’ll forgive me, but I never miss our special lunches.”

Steve and Allie stood as well. “Of course,” he said. “We appreciate the time you’ve shared with us already.”

“It was so very nice to meet the two of you.” She looked from Steve to Allie. “I hope you find the answers you seek and that you’ll share anything you find about my Jane with me.”

“You have my word, Mrs. Talbert,” Steve assured her.

Allie and Steve walked to the main restaurant with Luellyn and watched as she joined her friends. Allie admired that, despite all the sadness in her life, the woman had managed to find a way to go on.

“I sure hope I’m partying and socializing when I’m ninety-three,” Steve said.

“She certainly sets a high bar,” Allie agreed.

Allie suddenly wondered why she had allowed so much time to pass without jumpstarting her life beyond work.

Fear, she decided. Fear of the unknown. Fear of the uncertainty. Keeping her routine was far easier than putting herself out there and wondering what would work and what wouldn’t.

She furtively watched Steve as they made their way back to his SUV. Somehow this man had her thinking a whole lot more about what she should be doing for herself. Thus, the sudden interest in the future.

How ironic. After all this time of hiding and pretending not to notice the world going on without her, she unexpectedly realized she was missing so much.

Just in time to be framed for murder.

Steve braked at the end of the long drive before turning onto the highway. He shot her a sideways glance. “You worried about what Madison said about your father?”

Allie pushed the other concern away and nodded. “The timing is tough to ignore.” She bit her lip. “Do you think my father was against something Ledwell was doing? Maybe strongly enough to make himself a target? The same as the others involved with the SILO project?”

“If the crash was no accident,” Steve began as he pulled out onto the highway, “then there had to be an impetus—something that motivated the step. When you consider the work Ledwell was doing—is still doing—it makes a great deal of sense that there would be issues from time to time. Those issues couldn’t be allowed to become a real problem, if you know what I mean.

No backing down. Not when you were racing against competitors to achieve something so big—something no one else has. ”

“Like the first robot to look human,” she offered.

“To act human?” The various companies involved would insist those sorts of things were not the primary goal and had only recently become actual priorities.

But what if that was a lie? In Allie’s opinion, based on her limited knowledge, it probably was.

“Something like that, yes. At this point, I think it’s safe to assume that if your parents’ car crash was not an accident then it had something to do with the work at Ledwell—with SILO.

That can only mean the company was doing something not acceptable for the time.

Whether it was illegal or not, it may have been something your father wasn’t willing to turn a blind eye to.

And it was likely something the company wanted to keep secret. ”

“We need to find Lucille and Dennis.” Allie needed someone who could tell them what had been going on at Ledwell twenty-eight years ago and why her father had to be silenced.

Was that also what had gotten Thomas Madison murdered? Had the burden of all those secrets suddenly grown too much for his conscience after all these years?