Page 50 of Justice for Samara

“No. I had to assume he meant theLa Hermandad Viciosa.” Michael wrote that down.

“So you know them to be active in the state?”

“Yes. Very.”

With every question Michael asked, he could see Stadler relax a little more. That was his plan, to make the trooper think they were looking in a completely different direction. “So instead of you, do you know of anyone who’d have a grudge against your wife?”

That initial look of suspicion hit Stadler’s face. “My wife? Why would anyone want to hurt my wife?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I was asking. I mean, did she have words with someone, or had anyone threatened her?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“So you have no idea whose body that could’ve been in your house?”

“No.”

“Could we talk to your wife?”

“She’s on a cruise with her sister.” And that was it. Stadler had forgotten how well Michael had known Glenna, or maybe he didn’t think Michael knew her that well. Maybe he thought Michael had forgotten. Or maybe she’d downplayed their relationship.

Because Glenna didn’t have a sister.

“Could you give us her employer’s number? They might know of someone who’d been bothering her.”

“I don’t have it. I’ll have to get it.”

“You can look it up on your phone, can’t you?”

“Ah, phone’s battery ran down.”

“Oh. Well, I could look it up on mine. It would only take?”

“Look, this didn’t have anything to do with my wife. She’ll tell you that when she comes back from her cruise.”

“How much longer will that be?”

“Three weeks. It’s one of those Alaskan things where they stop at every little town along the way.”

“Oh, yeah. I’ve seen brochures for those. They look like a lot of fun. I mean, polar bears, right?”

The man slouched down in the chair and folded his arms across his chest. “I can’t imagine why anyone would go on vacation to a place that cold. Makes no sense.”

“I know, right? I’d want to go to Cancun or St.Thomas or somewhere like that.”

“Exactly.” He sat there for a few seconds, and Michael wondered what was going through his mind. “Anything else?”

“Oh, yeah. So you were fishing over the weekend?”

“Yeah. Up in Indiana.”

“With friends?”

He shifted a little in his chair. “Was supposed to be with friends, but they cancelled at the last minute. So I just fished alone.”

“Gotcha. Which lake in Indiana?”

“Not a lake. AndersonRiver.”