She looked at both of us and I could tell Jack was just as captivated by her as I was.

“What?” I asked.

“Separation,” she said. “Leon left after breakfast every morning and didn’t come home until dinner each night. The longer we spent apart the less he got on my nerves. And believe me, when a man starts to get older they’ll get on your nerves a lot.” She looked at me as if she was telling me the world’s greatest secret.

“Joe said Leon came to the island back in 1945 and decided to stay after one look at you. He said you were married just weeks later.”

“It sounds more romantic than it was,” she said, shaking her head. “The war had just ended, and we even felt the aftermath here, secluded as we were. Then one day Leon shows up, rigid and German, and says he’s come for an extended vacation. His English wasn’t so good back then.

“To be fair, I looked older than I was back then. And I didn’t dissuade him when he started showing interest. I don’t know if Leon and I would’ve ended up together if my father hadn’t caught us in a very compromising position. I got the beating of a lifetime. My father was very religious. Staunch Catholic. So Leon and I were married within the week. And eight months later our first child was born.”

“Did you ever meet Leon’s family?”

“He said he didn’t have any living family. It was just him.”

I’d read the file Carver had sent us on Friedrich Durst over breakfast that morning, and I hadn’t been able to finish eating. Durst had had a wife and two daughters he’d left behind when he’d fled Germany. He also had the reputation of culling out the prettiest girls, usually between thirteen and sixteen, while he commanded the concentration camps. His experiments and torture of those girls would be stuck in my mind forever. And it explained why a thirty-year-old Leon found fifteen-year-old Maria so desirable.

“When did you find out Leon was Friedrich Durst?”

The question came out of the blue and it took a moment for it to process. Maria went completely still and I realized I was holding my breath. And then I realized Jack was right. Maria knew exactly who her husband was.

Chapter Ten

“Well that went well,” I said a few minutes later.

We sat in the SUV with the engine running, and I was still in a state of shock. The rain had lessened and the wind had died down some, so Jack put the car in reverse and we went back down the coastal road at a faster speed than when we’d arrived.

“How’d you know?”

“Just a gut feeling,” he said. “She was trying too hard. And her hand was shaking.”

“She’s eighty-five. Of course her hand was shaking.”

“It was the way she talked about Leon.”

“What way? She didn’t say anything bad. I thought she was just teasing about the secret to a long marriage.”

“Every time she said his name you could see the hatred in her eyes. She made it a point of saying she didn’t know if she and Leon would’ve ended up together if her father hadn’t caught them. What do you want to bet Leon raped her like he raped all those other girls? And Maria’s father was staunch enough in his beliefs to force her to marry her rapist.”

“Jesus,” I said, rubbing my hands over my eyes.

“Did you look at the side of the house?”

“No, I apparently missed every subtle clue while we were at Maria’s.”

“There was a little lean-to attached to the house. And inside were two bikes sitting side by side. What do you want to bet one of them is Leon’s?”

“You can’t possibly think Maria had the physical capability to kill her husband.”

“No, but I guarantee she knew about it ahead of time. And she knows who killed him.”

“A ten million dollar reward for a Nazi War Criminal. You think money fits the motive?” Because that’s what was stumping me. This was a simple island. And simple people. Money of that caliber wasn’t something they considered as necessary.

“I need to talk to Ben again. And then I think it’s time we had a meeting at the church.”

*     *     *

It had taken Jack a couple of tries to get hold of Carver. In Carver’s words, he still had a day job that consisted of something other than being Jack Lawson’s bitch. But once Jack got him on the phone things started falling into place.

It hadn’t been hard to get Joe to make an announcement to those who’d been at the church during Leon’s murder. Jack had asked for everyone to meet back at the church that evening before Leon’s wake. He knew how small communities worked. They’d all be too curious to find out what was going on to stay away.

The rain had been relentless all afternoon, and I was finding that I’d become tired of island life. I wouldn’t have minded packing our stuff and getting the hell out of dodge. Especially after Maria’s reaction to Jack’s question earlier in the day. And by the hostility on everyone’s faces as we gathered at the church, I was guessing Maria had complained loudly about the American couple upsetting her time of mourning.

“I’m not sure this is appropriate,” Joe said while everyone was taking their seats. Jack had run through everything with me after talking with Carver and my mind was still spinning about the killer. “Maybe it would be best to let this go. I’m sorry I interrupted your honeymoon. But I agree with Father Fernando. I think Leon’s death is the result of an assault committed by a tourist. We’ve had a lot of problems with drunks lately.”

“That’s perfectly fine,” Jack said. “I’m happy to hand the reins over to you. But I’d appreciate you giving me the floor for a few minutes. As sworn officers of the law, it’s our duty to uphold the law, no matter how much we agree or disagree with it. And the very core of our integrity would be compromised if we knew of a wrong committed and stood back and let it happen. Don’t you agree?”

Joe swallowed once and then nodded in agreement. “I didn’t know,” he said. “If I had I wouldn’t have asked her your help.”

“I came to that conclusion myself,” Jack said. And then he turned to the congregation. He stood at the front of the nave, facing the pews. I sat off to the side, wondering if we were going to have to make a quick getaway.

“I want to thank everyone for indulging me this evening. My wife and I have truly enjoyed the hospitality of your community. It’s a community that takes care of its own, works hard, and supports itself on the means it has. It’s very impressive what you’ve built and how you’ve thrived.

“You can all imagine my surprise when Joe asked my wife and I to help yesterday when one of your own was murdered.” Jack put an emphasis on the word and paused to let it soak in. “The teachings of the church are very clear about cardinal sins.”

There was some uncomfortable shifting in the pews and the tension skyrocketed.

“I did a little research into your community, and I discovered that the entire south side of the island is actually owned by Sunshine Inc., which is headquartered over on the mainland. I noticed it the other day when I was driving around that it’s the only undeveloped land on the island, and the beach is closed to tourists.

“And then I started digging a little more and discovered early last year Sunshine, Inc. decided it was time to develop that area of land and the plans were drawn for three high rise resorts right there on the beach. When the hotels were filled to capacity it would double the size of the island instantly. And all of a sudden the community you know and love is no longer yours. You’re working harder and longer hours, and the view is obstructed by ugly buildings and too many people.

“And then last summer Father Fernando went to the mainland on the community’s behalf and asked if the land could be purchased to prevent the building of the high rise. And Sunshine, being respectful of the church and Father Fernando, agreed and offered to sell the property for just over eight million dollars. The problem was no one on this island had eight million dollars. And even combining your resources you fell several million short.”