Just Take My Heart - Mary Higgins Clark [11]
“When was the last time either one of you spoke to her?” Emily asked.
“We called her just before Easton's statement hit the papers. We didn't want her to read about it. She was really shocked. Before that, she called a few times to see if anything had developed in the investigation,” Rosen said.
“The old lady wanted someone to talk to,” Tryon interjected, his voice indifferent, “so we talked to her.”
“How nice of you,” Emily snapped. “I see in her statement that Mrs. Mills talked about Natalie's roommate, Jamie Evans, being murdered in Central Park fifteen years before Natalie died. You asked her if she thought there could be any connection to this?”
“She said that would be impossible,” Tryon replied. “She told us Natalie never met the roommate's boyfriend. She did know that he was married and supposedly getting a divorce. Natalie had urged her roommate to break it off because she knew he was conning her. Nat?alie said she did see his picture once, and when it was missing from the roommate's wallet after the murder, she thought there could be a connection, but the detectives on the case didn't buy it. There had been a series of muggings in the park about that time. Jamie Evans's wallet was on the ground with her credit cards and money gone, and her watch and earrings were missing, too. The cops believe she re?sisted the robbery and ended up dead. Anyway, they never did figure out who the boyfriend was, but the bottom line is they thought it was a robbery gone bad.”
The phone rang. Emily picked it up. “Emily, Mrs. Mills is here,” the receptionist said.
“Okay. We'll be right there.”
Rosen stood up. “Why don't I get her, Emily?”
Tryon did not move.
Emily looked at him. “We'll need another chair,” she said. “Would you mind pulling one in?”
Tryon ambled to his feet. “Do you really need both of us here for this? I'm finishing my report on the Gannon case. I don't think Momma is going to come up with any surprises.”
“Her name is Mrs. Alice Mills.” Emily made no effort to hide her irritation. “I would appreciate it if you would be a little more sensitive.”
“Lighten up, Emily. I don't need any instructions.” He looked her in the eye. “And keep in mind I was working on cases in this of?fice when you were in the third grade.”
As Tryon left, Rosen walked in with Alice Mills. In a quick moment, Emily observed the sorrow etched in the older woman's face, the slight tremor in her neck, the fact that the suit she was wearing seemed too big for her. Still standing, Emily introduced herself, ex?pressed her condolences, and invited her to sit down. When she sat back in her own chair, Emily explained to Natalie Raines's mother that she would be handling the trial and would do her best to con?vict Gregg Aldrich and obtain justice for Natalie.
“And please call me Emily,” she concluded.
“Thank you,” Alice Mills said softly. “I must tell you that the people from your office have been very kind. I only wish they could bring my daughter back.”
An image of Mark saying good-bye to her that last time flashed through Emily's mind. “I wish I could bring her back,” Emily re?plied, hoping that the catch in her throat was not apparent.
For the next hour, her voice conversational, her manner unhur?ried, Emily reviewed the statements that Mills had given two years before. To her dismay, it soon became clear that Natalie's mother still was torn about whether Gregg Aldrich could have committed the crime. “When they told me about Easton, I was stunned and devastated, but at least it was a relief to know the truth. But the more I read about this fellow Easton, the more I wonder.”
If the jury thinks like that, I'm cooked, Emily thought, and moved on to the next area she wanted to discuss. “Mrs. Mills, Natalie's roommate, Jamie Evans, was killed in Central Park many years ago. I understand that Natalie thought that the mystery guy she was see?ing might be responsible?”
“Jamie and Natalie both gone,” Alice Mills said, shaking her head as she tried to blink back tears. “And both murdered .