statement, but I want Nick to approve it before I talk to the press.”
“You can’t release information until we notify Ms. Border’s family. Do you have information on the next of kin?”
“Oh, Nick’s already taken care of that. He felt he owed it to Sylvie’s family since it happened here.”
That took me by surprise. “He’s already spoken to the family?”
“Yes, I guess he has by now. He said he was going to call them.”
“Then he’s a personal friend of her family?”
“I don’t know the answer to that question.”
“We’ll have to get their names and personal information. We’ll need to interview them.”
“I don’t have access to information about Doctor Black’s patients. You’ll need to discuss that with Doctor Black himself.”
I changed my tack. “As far as you know, Ms. Tudor, was Sylvie involved in any kind of trouble, here or elsewhere?”
“If she was, she didn’t confide anything to me. But she wouldn’t. As I said, we weren’t that close. I very much enjoyed her company, however. I suppose I was a little in awe of her. She was very big at NBC.”
“Was she dating anyone special?”
“She mentioned Gil Serna a couple of times,” Miki admitted. Reluctant. Feeling like a traitor. “She did intimate once that they hadn’t been getting along lately. But she really liked him. I could tell by the way she acted when she talked about him.”
“How do you mean?”
“He called once when I was at her bungalow. We’d just gotten back from a run. She seemed really glad to hear from him. She was smiling, you know, real happy like, genuine pleasure, at least it seemed that way to me.”
“Has he ever flown out here to see her?”
“Oh, no. And we definitely would’ve known if he had. She’s only been here for a couple of weeks this time.”
“This time?”
Miki stiffened as if she’d let a secret slip but recovered quickly. “She visits us two or three times a year, usually. She absolutely thinks the world of Nick.”
“As far as you know, Ms. Tudor, are they more than just friends?”
Miki glanced away from me. Not good. Lying? “Not that I know of, but I certainly don’t presume to keep tabs on Nick’s private life.”
“What about you?”
Miki was bewildered. “What about me?”
“Have you ever been romantically involved with Doctor Black?” Blunt inquiries sometimes shake people’s confidence.
“Absolutely not. Never.” Unequivocal. Firm. Offended. I believed her.
“That’s right,” Bud said. “You’re married, aren’t you?”
“If you must know, I’m in the middle of a divorce. But I’m not involved with Nick, and he’s not the reason for my marital problems. I work for him. I respect and admire him more than anyone I’ve ever known, but that’s as far as it goes. Ask anyone on the staff here, if you don’t believe me. They can tell you our relationship is strictly professional and always has been.”
“We have no reason to believe otherwise, Ms. Tudor. We’re just asking the questions we have to ask. We’re not trying to insult you or make you uncomfortable in any way.”
“Of course,” said Miki, her words as frosty as Christmas in Stockholm. “Now if you want to review our surveillance tapes, I can arrange that. But I’ve really spared you all the time I can.”
6
“Whaddaya know. Look who visited our lady right before she ended up in the drink.” Bud punched a button, and the sleek black Porsche froze in the act of turning into Sylvie Border’s private drive. I stood with him in front of a wall of television screens in the security office of Cedar Bend Lodge. The tape clearly revealed Nicholas Black behind the wheel of the Porsche. Bud had paused the tape at the point when Black checked out the camera. The digital timer read 9:37 P.M .
“Muggin’ for the camera. How considerate of the Doc. This places him at the scene the night of the murder,” said Bud, nodding. “Okay, he showed up there around 9:30,
“You can’t release information until we notify Ms. Border’s family. Do you have information on the next of kin?”
“Oh, Nick’s already taken care of that. He felt he owed it to Sylvie’s family since it happened here.”
That took me by surprise. “He’s already spoken to the family?”
“Yes, I guess he has by now. He said he was going to call them.”
“Then he’s a personal friend of her family?”
“I don’t know the answer to that question.”
“We’ll have to get their names and personal information. We’ll need to interview them.”
“I don’t have access to information about Doctor Black’s patients. You’ll need to discuss that with Doctor Black himself.”
I changed my tack. “As far as you know, Ms. Tudor, was Sylvie involved in any kind of trouble, here or elsewhere?”
“If she was, she didn’t confide anything to me. But she wouldn’t. As I said, we weren’t that close. I very much enjoyed her company, however. I suppose I was a little in awe of her. She was very big at NBC.”
“Was she dating anyone special?”
“She mentioned Gil Serna a couple of times,” Miki admitted. Reluctant. Feeling like a traitor. “She did intimate once that they hadn’t been getting along lately. But she really liked him. I could tell by the way she acted when she talked about him.”
“How do you mean?”
“He called once when I was at her bungalow. We’d just gotten back from a run. She seemed really glad to hear from him. She was smiling, you know, real happy like, genuine pleasure, at least it seemed that way to me.”
“Has he ever flown out here to see her?”
“Oh, no. And we definitely would’ve known if he had. She’s only been here for a couple of weeks this time.”
“This time?”
Miki stiffened as if she’d let a secret slip but recovered quickly. “She visits us two or three times a year, usually. She absolutely thinks the world of Nick.”
“As far as you know, Ms. Tudor, are they more than just friends?”
Miki glanced away from me. Not good. Lying? “Not that I know of, but I certainly don’t presume to keep tabs on Nick’s private life.”
“What about you?”
Miki was bewildered. “What about me?”
“Have you ever been romantically involved with Doctor Black?” Blunt inquiries sometimes shake people’s confidence.
“Absolutely not. Never.” Unequivocal. Firm. Offended. I believed her.
“That’s right,” Bud said. “You’re married, aren’t you?”
“If you must know, I’m in the middle of a divorce. But I’m not involved with Nick, and he’s not the reason for my marital problems. I work for him. I respect and admire him more than anyone I’ve ever known, but that’s as far as it goes. Ask anyone on the staff here, if you don’t believe me. They can tell you our relationship is strictly professional and always has been.”
“We have no reason to believe otherwise, Ms. Tudor. We’re just asking the questions we have to ask. We’re not trying to insult you or make you uncomfortable in any way.”
“Of course,” said Miki, her words as frosty as Christmas in Stockholm. “Now if you want to review our surveillance tapes, I can arrange that. But I’ve really spared you all the time I can.”
6
“Whaddaya know. Look who visited our lady right before she ended up in the drink.” Bud punched a button, and the sleek black Porsche froze in the act of turning into Sylvie Border’s private drive. I stood with him in front of a wall of television screens in the security office of Cedar Bend Lodge. The tape clearly revealed Nicholas Black behind the wheel of the Porsche. Bud had paused the tape at the point when Black checked out the camera. The digital timer read 9:37 P.M .
“Muggin’ for the camera. How considerate of the Doc. This places him at the scene the night of the murder,” said Bud, nodding. “Okay, he showed up there around 9:30,
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