The President's Daughter - Mariah Stewart [112]
“Then I accept your apology.”
“Good.” Simon smiled wryly.
“Now, talk to me.” Philip gestured for Simon to get on with it.
“Let’s assume that I’m right about the motive being personal rather than political. I don’t think that anyone would have taken Hayward’s affair more personally than a member of his family. I was hoping you could help me narrow down the field to one.”
“It wouldn’t have been Gray. As I recall, he didn’t return to Washington for Christmas break until the week following Blythe’s death. I remember because he asked me on several occasions if I knew what was wrong with his father.” Philip paused, as if remembering. “Of course, I said no.”
“Then that leaves Sarah and Celeste.”
Norton stood and began to pace, his unlit pipe in his hand, his gaze far away. Simon wondered where his thoughts had taken him.
“Any insights, Philip?” Simon said, hoping to bring Philip back.
“Go ahead.” Norton nodded. “Let’s walk through it.”
“When I interviewed Celeste Hayward, I took along some of the photographs I found in a box of material that you sent to me. I slipped the picture of Blythe that I’d . . . borrowed . . . from Betsy Pierce into the stack. When Celeste saw that photo, her eyes went dark and deadly. There is no question in my mind that she knew full well that the woman in the photograph was her husband’s young and very beautiful mistress.”
“I can’t see Celeste running a woman down in the middle of the night. I have no doubt that she wished Blythe dead a thousand times, but I can’t believe for a minute that she’d have acted on it. It would have been beneath her.” Philip paused to light his pipe. “Furthermore, the stakes would have been too high if she’d been caught.”
“Could she have hired someone to do it for her?”
Norton shook his head. “Again, I think the stakes would have been too high. I doubt she’d have done something so reckless.”
“But she’d never been in a situation like that before, had she? Supposing Graham told her about Blythe, about his plans to eventually divorce her and marry his young love. Wouldn’t that have been enough to cause her to act in a manner that was uncharacteristic? Wouldn’t that have been enough to make her snap?”
“Graham had told Celeste. I’m not certain what was or wasn’t said about Dina, but certainly Celeste knew that Graham would eventually seek a divorce.”
“One thing I’ve learned about Celeste Hayward over the past few weeks is that her position meant everything to her, Philip.” Simon paused thoughtfully, then added, “Just as being the President’s daughter meant everything to Sarah.”
The two men locked eyes.
“How old was Sarah that year?” Simon asked.
“Fifteen or sixteen.”
“Old enough to drive?”
“Miles taught her.” Norton nodded slowly.
“Did she have access to a car while she was at school?”
“A classmate used to loan out her car to any one of the girls who’d put gas in it. Sarah was known to have slipped out now and then. It drove the Secret Service crazy. They complained to her father several times.”
“How could she have gotten around them?”
“She’d pin her hair up or borrow a wig. Or have someone dress in her clothes and go to the library so that the agents would follow the wrong person. Or she’d slip out a window. There were several girls in the dorm who got a kick out of helping her fool the Secret Service. It was a game to them. And thirty years ago the agents gave their charges a lot more leeway than they might these days.”
“There would have to have been some damage to that car,” Simon said thoughtfully. “And surely there would have been blood. How would she have explained that?”
“I imagine that she’d have taken the car to one of those self-wash places before returning it.”
“Tough to do at that hour of the morning.” Simon fought the urge to pace. “And surely the girl who’d loaned Sarah the car must have had to do some explaining to her parents about the damage to the car. But what are our chances of finding out who the owner was?”
“We do know who owned the car.”
“We do?”
“Carolyn Decker.”
“Julian’s sister?” Simon