Split Second

Catherine Bruno would have made an excellent first lady, was his preliminary opinion. In her mid-forties she was petite, refined, dignified, sophisticated, the very essence of blue blood and good manners. His second opinion was that she was far too full of herself. This was bolstered by the woman's habit of looking over your shoulder when she spoke to you. As though she couldn't waste her preciouseyesight on anything below aristocracy. She never even asked King why his head was bandaged.

Joan, however, made the woman focus very quickly. She'd always had that way about her, sort of like a tornado in a can. King had to suppress a smile as his partner bored in.

Joan said, "Time is not on our side, Mrs. Bruno. The police and the FBI have done all the right things, but their results have been negligible. The longer your husband remains missing, the less chance there is of getting him back alive."

The haughty eyes came back to terra firma. "Well, that's why you were hired by John's people, wasn't it? To get him back safe?"

"Precisely. I have a number of inquiries going, but I need your help."

"I've told the police all I know. Ask them."

"I'd prefer to hear it from you."

"Why?"

"Because depending on your answers, I might have follow-up questions that the police didn't think to ask."

And, King thought to himself, we want to see for ourselves if you're lying your little stuck-up ass off.

"All right, go ahead." She looked so put off by the whole process that King suddenly suspected her of having an affair, the recovery of her husband being the last thing she wanted.

"Did you support your husband's political campaign?" Joan asked.

"What kind of question is that?"

"The kind we'd like an answer to," Joan said pleasantly. "You see, what we're trying to narrow down are motives, potential suspects and promising lines of investigation."

"And what does my support of John's political career have to do with that?"

"Well, if you were supporting his political ambitions, then you might have access to names, private discussions with your husband, things that might have concerned him from that part of hislife. If, however, you weren't in the loop, we'll have to look elsewhere."

"Oh, well, I can't say I was delighted that John was pursuing a political career. I mean he had no chance; we all knew that. And my family…"

"Didn't approve?" coaxed King.

"We're not apolitical family. We have a spotless reputation. It practically gave my mother a heart attack when I married a criminal prosecutor who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and was over ten years my senior. But I love John. Still, you have to balance things and it hasn't been easy. These sorts of things aren't exactly looked upon with favor among my circle. So I can't say I was his political intimate. However, he had a sterling reputation as a lawyer. He prosecuted some of the toughest cases in Washington and later in Philadelphia, where we met. That gave him a national reputation. Being around all those politicians in D.C., I suppose he got the itch to jump into the fray, even after we moved to Philadelphia. I didn't agree with his political ambition, but I'm his wife, so I supported him publicly."

Joan and King posed the standard questions, to which Catherine Bruno gave standard and mostly unhelpful answers.

"So you can think of no one who'd wish to harm your husband?" Joan asked.

"Aside from those he prosecuted, no. He's had death threats and the like but nothing recently. After he left the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia, he spent a few years in private practice before plunging into the political arena."

Joan stopped writing notes. "What firm was he with?"

"The Philadelphia office of a Washington-based firm, Dobson, Tyler and Reed. They're in downtown Philadelphia on Market Street. A very well respected establishment."

"What sort of work did he do there?"

"John didn't talk about business with me. And I never encouraged it. It didn't interest me."

"But presumably it was trial work."

"My husband was happiest when he had a stage to perform on. So, yes, I'd say trial work."

"And he voiced no special concerns to you?"

"He thought the campaign was going reasonably well. He had no delusions of winning. He was only making a statement."

"After the election what was he going to do?"

"We never really discussed it. I always assumed he'd go back to Dobson, Tyler."

"Can you tell us anything about his relationship with Bill Martin?"

"He mentioned his name every now and then, but that was really before my time."

"And you have no idea why Bill Martin's widow would want to meet with your husband?"

"None. As I said, that relationship was really before our marriage."

"First marriages for you both?"

"His first, not mine," was all she offered.

"And you have children?"

"Three. It's been very hard on them. And me. I just want John back." She started to sniffle, as though on cue, and Joan pulled out a tissue and handed it to her.