Darrell was still by the window, and he nodded at me to continue the interview. I pulled a chair next to the bed and sat down. “I know this is a difficult time, but you might be able to help us figure out who did this to your father.”

Jay still showed no reaction on his face, and his voice had a flat, numb quality to it. “I have no idea.”

“Well, you might have heard or seen something that was important. A lot of times, people know more than they think.” I took out a notepad from my pocket and uncapped a pen. “I’d like to go over a little background with you first. Okay?”

“Sure.”

“Your stepmother, Erica, says she was away in Minnesota for the past several days. Is that right?”

“Yep.”

“Were you and Gordon the only ones staying here while she was gone?”

“Yep. Just him and me. The associates and paralegals stay in a motel. Gordon gets the big house. That’s how it works.”

I noticed for the second time that Jay called his father “Gordon.” Looking at Darrell, I could see that he’d noticed it, too.

“Where does your mother live?” I asked.

“Milwaukee.”

“You don’t live with her?”

“Normally, I do, but Gordon decided to bring me with him while he worked on the trial. It wasn’t up for debate.” The teenager rolled his eyes. “He said the Milwaukee schools were giving me all sorts of crazy ideas.”

“Like what?”

“Like we value money over people in this country. And lawyers are some of the worst offenders.”

“When did you get here?”

“October.”

“It must have been hard going into the high school in the middle of the semester. We’re pretty cliquish around here. Outsiders have a tough time being accepted.”

“Really? I didn’t notice.”

I heard the sarcasm laid on thick.

“Let’s talk about the last few days,” I said. “When did you last see your father?”

“Sunday morning at breakfast.”

“Have you been home since then?”

“Yep.”

“But you hadn’t seen your father for two days?”

Jay shrugged. “Gordon usually had lunch in his office. I wasn’t allowed inside. Nobody was. He wasn’t in the house for dinner on Sunday or Monday, so I had leftovers from the fridge.”

“Didn’t you think it was odd that he didn’t show up for dinner?”

“No. Sometimes he’d work all night. I figured that’s what he was doing.”

“Even on Christmas Eve?”

“It’s not like we were waiting up for Santa,” Jay replied.

“Did you hear your father in the house on Sunday or Monday? Do you know if he slept in his bedroom?”

“I have no idea.”

“Did anyone come by the house in the last few days? Did you see anyone?”

“Nope.”

“Are you sure? This is very important, Jay. You didn’t see or hear anybody else around here in the last two days?”