No Time for Goodbye - Linwood Barclay [85]
Cynthia glanced at me, then back to Wedmore.
Wedmore continued. “So, a very young man and a woman were in that car. Now the question becomes whether there’s a connection between them.”
Cynthia waited.
“The two DNA profiles suggest a close relatedness, possibly parent-child. The forensic results, coupled with the coroner’s findings, do suggest a mother-and-son relationship.”
“My mother,” Cynthia whispered. “Todd.”
“Well, here’s the thing,” Wedmore said. “While a relationship between the two deceased has been more or less determined, we don’t know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is in fact Todd Bigge and Patricia Bigge. If you still had anything of your mother’s that might provide a sample, an old hairbrush for example, with some hairs still caught in the bristles…”
“No,” said Cynthia, “I don’t have anything like that.”
“Well, we do have your DNA sample, and additional reports are pending with regard to any possible relationship you may have to the remains we took from the car. Once your sample is typed—and they’re working on that now—they’ll be able to determine the probability of maternity, regarding the female deceased, and the probability of a sibling relationship to the male deceased.”
Wedmore paused. “But based on what we know now, that these two bodies are related, that it’s a mother and son, that the car is in fact your mother’s, the working assumption is that we’ve found your mother and your brother.”
Cynthia looked dizzy.
“But not,” Wedmore pointed out, “your father. I’d like to ask you a few more questions about him, what he was like, what kind of person he was.”
“Why?” Cynthia asked. “What are you implying?”
“I think we have to consider the possibility he murdered both of them.”
29
“Hello?”
“It’s me,” he said.
“I was just thinking about you,” she said. “I haven’t heard from you for a while. I hope everything’s okay.”
“I wanted to wait to see what would happen,” he said. “How much they might find out. There’s been stuff on the news. They showed the car. On TV.”
“Oh my…”
“They had a picture of it being taken away from the quarry. And they had a story today, in the newspapers, about the DNA tests.”
“Oh, this is so exciting,” she said. “I wish I was there with you. What did it say?”
“Well, it said some stuff but not others, of course. I’ve got the paper right here. It said, ‘DNA tests indicate a genetic link between the two bodies in the car, that they are a mother and son.’”
“Interesting.”
“‘Forensic tests have yet to determine whether the bodies are genetically linked to Cynthia Archer. Police are operating on the assumption, however, that the recovered bodies are Patricia Bigge and Todd Bigge, missing for twenty-five years.’”
“So the story doesn’t actually say that’s who was in the car,” she said.
“Not quite.”
“You know what they say about ‘assume.’ It makes an ass out of you and—”
“I know, but—”
“But still, it’s amazing what they can do these days, isn’t it?” She sounded almost cheerful.
“Yeah.”
“I mean, back then, when your father and I got rid of that car, who’d even heard of DNA tests? It boggles the mind, that’s what it does. You still feeling nervous?”
“A little, maybe.” He did sound subdued to her.
“Even as a boy, you were a worrier, you know that? Me, I just take hold of a situation and deal with it.”
“Well, you’re the strong one, I guess.”
“I think you’ve done a wonderful job, lots to be proud of. Soon you’ll be home and you can take me back. I wouldn’t want to miss this for the world. When the moment comes, I can’t wait to see the expression on her face.”
30
“So how are you dealing with this?” Dr. Kinzler asked Cynthia. “The apparent discovery of your mother and your brother.”
“I’m not sure,” Cynthia said. “It’s not relief.”
“No, I can see why it wouldn’t be.”
“And the fact that my father was not there with them. This detective, Wedmore, she thinks maybe he killed them.”
“If that turns out to be true,” Dr. Kinzler said, “are you going to be able to deal with that?”
Cynthia