She was right. Nothing about this story made any sense so far.
I opened a new case file on my laptop and hit record. “January 5th, Runa Etterson interview. I’m going to ask you some unpleasant questions. The more honest you are, the better we can help you.”
Runa’s expression hardened. “Let’s do it.”
“Your House includes your mother, your sister, your brother, and you, correct?”
“Only me and my brother now.”
“What about your father?”
Runa gave a jerky, one-shoulder shrug. “When I was ten, my ‘dad’ gave up all pretense of being a father and a husband. He’d already had a string of affairs. Everybody knew it. I knew it. I was nine years old and I walked in on him having sex with some random woman on our dining table. For my birthday, he cleaned out our accounts and disappeared. My mother had to start from scratch. Nobody knows where he is, and nobody wants to know. He can die for all I care.”
“So, you don’t think there’s any way he could be involved?”
Runa shook her head. “No.”
“Does he have any financial claim on the estate? Life insurance, ownership of the house?”
“No. Mom removed him from everything after he left. He never paid child support and he stole from my mother. There is a police report and a paper trail, so if he showed up, he would be arrested.”
I would have Bern check on it, but we probably could scratch James Tolbert off the suspect list.
“Are you aware of any feuds or problems with other Houses?”
“No.”
“Did your mother ever tell you that she had a problem with anyone?”
Runa shook her head. “If she’d thought we were in danger, she would’ve warned me.”
“Was she seeing anyone? Did she have a significant other or others?”
“No. Her last relationship ended about a year ago and it was amicable. She wasn’t seeing anyone, because when we talked last week, she mentioned Halle pushing her to join a dating network on Herald. She said she wasn’t interested in another relationship. Men were a sore point with Mom. I don’t think she ever really trusted anyone after Dad.”
“What about Halle? Any recent problems, drugs, obsessive boyfriend or girlfriend, hanging out with the wrong crowd?”
Runa sighed. “Catalina, she was seventeen. Her life was school, volleyball, and college prep. No drugs, no weird boyfriends. She tried shrooms one time and hid in my room because she was scared the couch would eat her. She was a sheltered kid.”
“Are you now the Head of the House?” I asked.
Runa nodded. Her voice was bitter. “Yes, I’m the Head of all of me and Ragnar.” She held her arms out to her side. “The House of two.”
“Have members of any of the other Houses contacted you to make any claims or to ask you to make any financial decisions?”
“No.”
“Did your mother owe anybody money? Was the House having financial problems?”
Runa tapped her phone and showed it to me. A bank interface listing four accounts totaling $3.6 million.
I met her gaze. “This is the part where I’m ethically bound to inform you that you have other options. We’re a small firm. We don’t usually do murder investigations. The police and the Texas DPS both have more experience and greater resources. If you want a private option, there is MII. Do you understand that you have other choices available to you?”
“Yes.”
“Are you entering the contract with Baylor Investigative Agency of your own free will?”
“Yes.”
“To find your mother’s and sister’s killers, I’ll have to tear your life apart. You may learn things about your family that you won’t like. If you are hiding secrets and they have bearing on this case, they will come to light. If at any point during the investigation, I find out that you have deceived or misled me, I’ll immediately terminate our contract. You have my promise that when I deliver results to you, I’ll have proof. However, I don’t guarantee results. I swear that I’ll do everything in my power and within the law to solve this case, but not all murders are solved. Do you understand?”
Runa didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
I shut off the recording. “I have a small pile of paperwork for you. Once you’re done with it, we’ll start.”
“Where do we start?”
“At the medical examiner’s office. You said that the ME used dental records to identify your mother and sister.”
“Yes?”
“You are a House, which means your DNA profile is in some genetic database somewhere. Which genetic firm are you using?”
Runa frowned. “I don’t know. Mom handled all of that.”
I pulled up the Scroll website. Scroll was the largest DNA database in the US and the one we also used. I logged into our account, typed “House Etterson” into the search window, and the website spat the result at me.
“You are registered with Scroll. They will have all four of you in their database. We’re going to give them a call and have a representative meet us at the morgue. They should be able to confirm the identity of the bodies within twenty-four hours.”
Runa stared at me. “Why?”
I had to be really careful not to get her hopes up. “Because DNA identification is foolproof and dental records are not. Genetic testing is the established way to identify dead Primes. If it wasn’t done, I want to know why, and I want it done properly. That’s where we’re going to start.”
Chapter 3
The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences occupied a nine-story building on Old Spanish Trail. Its blocky lines, rectangular windows, and orange brick practically screamed government agency.
I maneuvered our Honda Element into the parking lot. It used to be our surveillance vehicle, because it blended with traffic, but last year Grandma Frida decided to rebuild it from wheels up. Now the Element sported a new engine, bulletproof windows, B5 armor, and run-flat tires among other fun modifications, which struck a perfect balance between protecting us and letting us get away fast. Unfortunately, even Grandma Frida had her limits, and steering was a bit sluggish. I aimed for a parking spot in the middle row.
“So, what’s with you and Alessandro Sagredo?” Runa asked.
The steering was sluggish, but the brakes worked perfectly. I jerked forward, and my seat belt slammed me back.
“Nothing.”
“Aha.” Runa pulled on her own seat belt. “That’s why we screeched to a stop halfway into the parking space?”
“My foot slipped.” I gently eased forward and brought the Element to a smooth stop.
“So you’re just going to go with ‘nothing’?” Runa asked.
“That’s right.”
“Your sister said you met during your trials.”
Sistercide was not a word, but it would be after today. Well, technically, sororicide was a word, but most people wouldn’t recognize it. When did Runa even have a chance to talk to Arabella?
“Yes,” I said.
“Yes what? Is there a story behind that?”
No. He didn’t follow me on Instagram, and he didn’t take my breath away during the trials. And he definitely didn’t show up under my window trying to convince me to go for a drive.