Michelle said quickly, “You don’t think so?”
“She was happy. She’d accepted my proposal of marriage. Now, I don’t think I’m vain in saying that it seems pretty far-fetched that the thought of being married to me would have driven her to suicide.”
“So you’re thinking she was murdered?”
“You tell me!” he snapped. “You’re the ones running around investigating. You figure it out. That’s not my area of expertise.”
“How did Kate take the news of your upcoming nuptials?”
“All right. She loved her father. She liked me. She knew I wasn’t looking to replace him. I truly believe she wanted her mother to be happy.”
“Were you a Vietnam War protester?”
Jorst seemed to take this abrupt change in direction smoothly. “Yes, along with millions of other people.”
“In California ever?”
“Where exactly is this all going?”
King said, “What would you say if we told you a man came to visit Arnold Ramsey for the purpose of enlisting his aid in killing Clyde Ritter and that this person mentioned your name?”
Jorst looked at him coolly. “I’d say whoever told you that was seriously mistaken. But then again, if it’s true, I can’t control ot
her people using my name in conversation, can I?”
“Fair enough. Do you believe that Arnold Ramsey acted alone?”
“Until I’m presented with credible evidence to the contrary.”
“By all accounts he wasn’t a violent man, yet he performed the most violent act of all, murder.”
Jorst shrugged. “Who knows what beats deeply within the hearts of people?”
“That’s true. And Arnold Ramsey was involved in some serious protests in his youth. Perhaps one of which led to someone’s violent death.”
Jorst looked at him sharply. “What are you talking about?”
King had revealed that piece of information solely to gauge Jorst’s reaction to it. “One more thing. Did you drive separately or with Arnold Ramsey to the Fairmount Hotel on the morning he killed Ritter?”
To his credit Jorst didn’t show any reaction. His features were impassive. “You’re saying I was at the Fairmount that morning?”
King stared right at the man. “You’re saying you weren’t?”
He thought about this for a moment. “All right, I was there. With hundreds of other people. So what?”
“So what? Along with dating Regina Ramsey, that’s a pretty significant detail you forgot to mention.”
“Why should I have? I did nothing wrong. And in answer to your question, I drove separately.”
“And you must have run out of the place the very second after Ramsey fired, or else you wouldn’t have had time to pick up Regina and go and tell Kate in the middle of algebra.”
Jorst looked stonily at them; however, several beads of perspiration had appeared on his broad forehead. “There were lots of people running all over the place. I was as terrified as anyone else. I saw what happened. And I didn’t want Regina and Kate finding out on the news. So I drove as fast as I could to tell them myself. I thought I was being considerate. And I don’t appreciate how you seem to be drawing a negative conclusion from what I thought was a selfless act.”
King drew very close to the man. “Why did you go to the hotel that morning? Did you have a beef with Ritter too?”
“No, of course not.”
“So why, then?” persisted King.