Jessica took a deep breath. "No. Actually, I met him. I thought it was just a chance meeting. I was doing marketing work for the city, and he was there, applying for a permit or something. He started a conversation with me, and at first, it was like..." She brushed her hair away from her face. Her hands were trembling. "He was a bit of a flirt. A charmer. Honestly, he reminded me of.... Oh! Of course he did. He's his son."

The noises of the park seemed to have faded, or maybe everyone had paused to hear the rest of the story.

"I wasn't interested. He was young, and I had Hunter. My son wasn't with me that day, of course. I was working. But I probably told him about him." She blushed and looked down. "He invited me for coffee. It was flattering, really. I spend way too much time alone." Her words faded, and she looked up and started again. "He told me he wanted to get involved with kids, loved working with boys. I told him Hunter's team needed another coach. Rick used to play soccer." She stared beyond them. "Charles's son played soccer. I just never put it together." She met Marisa's eyes. "You have to understand, Richard was just a kid when Charles and I were together. Like, I don't know, sixteen or something. I'd seen photos, but he'd had long hair, and he was little and skinny and"—she waved at Nate's cell phone and the picture still displayed there—"nothing like that. It just never crossed my mind."

"Did you guys talk about Charles at all?" Nate asked.

"No. Never."

"How about money? Did he ask you about that?"

"He came to my house a couple times to pick up Hunter or just to hang out with him. I told him Hunter's father had paid for it, but maybe... I don't remember exactly how I said it, but I often sort of make a joke of it. Like, 'amazing what a few trinkets can buy, if you sell them right.' Maybe I said that. But money is still tight. Always tight, because... Obviously, it's expensive to live in White Plains. So maybe..." She looked at the photo, and her words faded out.

"Maybe," Nate said, "he assumed you didn't have the money because you weren't living as though you did."

"He asked me about my BMW once. I laughed and told him how old it was. Charles bought me that, too. Feels like decades ago."

Marisa marveled at Nate's abilities to cut right to the heart of the issue and get the truth. And do it in a way that made Jessica feel comfortable.

He looked at Marisa. "Maybe Richard assumed Jessica"—he nodded to her—"had the money, but when he saw how she was living, decided she must not."

"At which point, he moved on to Leslie," Jessica said.