Sean McGill nodded his head reassuringly. “I’m extremely sorry to have to bother you with these questions at such a terrible time, Mr. Stenke, but I’m sure you understand that it’s crucial that we get as many questions answered as soon as we can so that we may begin to unravel this tragedy.”
Greg Stenke sat on a long sofa with his hands folded. He stared blankly at McGill for a few seconds and then nodded his head slightly.
“Believe me, I’ll be as quick as I can,” McGill said. “First of all, did you expect your wife to be staying late at her office last night?”
“Yes,” Stenke answered softly. “I knew she had an appointment with the chairman of the Board of Directors—what’s his name—Carter, I think.”
“Yes, Wilfrid Carter. The appointment had apparently been made for her by the secretary, Linda Eggert.”
“She didn’t like Carter. I know she wasn’t looking forward to that meeting. I was particularly surprised that she agreed to meet with him in her old office in the orchestra’s building.”
“Did she say anything about it specifically beforehand?”
“Just in passing. But she’s mentioned him before…never in a positive way.”
“I will be talking to Carter tomorrow because he may have been the last…to see Ms. Stenke…”
Greg Stenke looked down at his hands. “Yes, I know.”
“But anything you can remember about what your wife may have said about him would be helpful.”
Stenke shrugged. “Nothing earth-shaking. She thought he was a typical rich philistine who poked his nose in places where it didn’t belong.”
“Where in particular?”
“She knew that he would pressure her to go ahead and conduct the concert…you know…the memorial concert for Maestro Hauptmann.”
“And she had no interest in doing that?”
“For Christ’s sake, Detective McGill, we just lost a child…the miscarriage upset her terribly. And physically she just wasn’t herself.”
“Yes, I’m very sorry. It must have been a great shock.”
“The doctor had warned her that some things with the pregnancy had not been completely right, but we were both optimistic. The baby was very much planned…nothing accidental about it at all. Frankly, I think she was looking for something that would change her life.”
“Her life as the conductor of the orchestra?”
“Yes. It had not turned out as she had hoped it would.”
“In what way?”
“She was unhappy. It wasn’t the music…not the actual conducting…it was everything else. All the politics.”
“Could you explain?”
“Some people—even some members of the orchestra—couldn’t get over the fact that Hauptmann had retired and Loreen had taken his place. Carter never really supported her. At least that’s how she felt. Then some of the critics started finding fault and ticket sales slumped, particularly season tickets. That really bothered the business manager, Jonathan Clemens, and Carter. They wouldn’t let her forget it.”
“I see. So do you think they blamed her for the orchestra’s financial problems?”
“She thought so, and that’s the important thing.”
“How did she get along with the former conductor, Hauptmann?”
“Fine, as far as I could tell. She never had anything negative to say about him. I know she respected him as a musician. Still, I got the impression that there were times when she could have used a little more support from him…when he could have been a little more vocal on her behalf.”
“And yet she initially agreed to conduct the memorial concert planned to honor him?”
“Oh, of course. She was horrified when he was killed…couldn’t believe it. She was eager to honor him with a memorial concert. Until we lost the baby…then she just couldn’t go through with it. She couldn’t appear in public as if nothing had happened. But Carter…he still wanted her to do it. So she knew that the meeting with him would be ugly. She was afraid of losing her temper…maybe she did. I’ll never know. It’s not possible, is it, that Carter…?”
“It seems highly unlikely, Mr. Stenke. He seems to have left the scene a few minutes before the incident took place.”
“Really? Can you be sure? Is it possible to know exactly when…?”
“Not precisely, no. The meeting was scheduled for 8:00 but it was apparently a short one. Carter made a call to his business office a little after 8:30 saying he was done for the day. Your wife’s body was discovered an hour and a half later when the watchman started his rounds and saw that the light had been left on in her office. The examiner is guessing that she died sometime after 8:30, apparently after Carter had already left. He may know more later.”
“So someone else…?”
“Apparently. But nothing has been ruled out. I can assure you that we will question Mr. Carter closely on his meeting with your wife.”
“The officer…who first informed me…said that she died from a blow to the head. Is that true?”
“Yes, sir. We believe that to be the case.”
Stenke shook his head slowly. “I can’t believe…I just can’t…”
“Of course not, Mr. Stenke, a shock like this is almost possible to absorb. I’m so sorry…”
“So you say that it’s probably not Carter?”
“It’s hard to imagine what he’d gain by such a violent act.”
“But who would gain by killing my wife? She’s never harmed a single soul in her entire life.”
“People see harm in different things, Mr. Stenke. Sometimes we harm people without being aware that we’ve done it. But those people see it as a purposeful act and sometimes hold a grudge.”
“But who?”
“I realize that you have no ideas right now about who could have done this terrible thing. And I hate to make you dwell on this tragedy, but if anything…or anyone…comes to mind in the days ahead, it’s very important that you inform me immediately.”
Greg Stenke again hung his head. “I can’t imagine. I just can’t imagine…”