Original Sin

by Tasmina Perry

  Tess nodded. That was the version of the story everyone knew.

  ‘So when was she reported missing?’

  ‘The Tuesday, almost three days later. The day after the wedding, the Sunday, Meredith’s family threw a brunch for the guests that had stayed overnight at Riverview, in the main house or in those little shotgun cottages around the grounds. Olivia didn’t arrive at the meal, but people assumed she was just sleeping off a hangover. It wasn’t until that evening that one of the maids noticed that all Olivia’s belongings were still in cottage twelve. She reported it to Meredith’s mother, who did nothing about it until the next day.’

  ‘Why not?’

  Carson shrugged.

  ‘A pretty actress doesn’t come home after a party, I guess you don’t panic immediately. You think maybe she met a guy, went back to his place. Plus, she’s from that Hollywood world, maybe a little erratic – who cares if you’ve left all your stuff at your host’s house? Actresses, models aren’t known as the most reliable people. Anyways, Meredith’s mother called Howard in Capri on the Monday and they decide to call the police if she’s not turned up the next morning.’

  ‘Which she didn’t.’

  Carson shook his head. ‘So we didn’t get to cottage twelve until eleven a.m. on Tuesday morning. Her bedside cabinet is covered with barbiturates and there’s a half–drunk bottle of vodka in the bathroom. And have you seen the proximity of the river to cottage twelve? It’s maybe a hundred yards. The Mississippi is almost a mile wide in this part of Louisiana and the currents are strong. A body has got a fifty–fifty chance of floating out into the Gulf of Mexico and never being recovered.’

  ‘So you think she fell in?’

  ‘Fell in, walked in, we’ll never know.’

  ‘Olivia’s sister didn’t think she just disappeared,’ she said repeating Alicia’s claim.

  ‘She didn’t believe Olivia had commited suicide. Family tend not to want to believe that.’

  He paused, ‘What we know is that Olivia had a history of depression. We know a television contract got cancelled shortly before she went missing. Then there’s the dolls by her bed, the liquor…..We also know there’s been no activity on her bank accounts or social security number ever since, so it’s unlikely she’s alive.’

  ‘You say fell or walked into the river. What about pushed? Or thrown in?’

  Carson’s eyes searched Tess’s. After a couple of seconds he nodded. ‘It’s possible, but there was no sign of a struggle in the cottage. No one saw or heard anything unusual and we interviewed maybe a hundred guests at the party. We even brought dogs into the grounds, but we got nothing.’

  ‘What about the rumour that Howard was having an affair with her? He was getting married, Olivia might have started being difficult … ’

  Carson smiled slightly. ‘Howard Asgill was with his wife all night. Anyway, not one person came to us to say that Howard was having an affair with Olivia. And even if he was, it doesn’t mean to say he killed her.’

  He wiped his hands on his handkerchief and Tess could tell that his patience was wearing thin.

  ‘Miss Garrett,’ he sighed, ‘it’s our job to find out the truth and to bring people to justice and I spent my whole career trying to do that. But sometimes we go looking for things and they just ain’t there.’

  Tess nodded. ‘I appreciate that, Mr Carson,’ she said, ‘but it’s also my job to find out the truth, too. I have to know. If you’ve read the papers, you’ll understand just how much is at stake.’

  Carson began to massage his neck. ‘Sure, I got that. But you gotta understand that Olivia Martin was a high–profile woman and this case was investigated properly. She wasn’t reported missing for over thirty–six hours, and missing people who aren’t found in the first forty–eight hours are very rarely found at all.’

  ‘So do you think she’s alive?’

  Carson turned up his hands. ‘Some people do manage to drop out of society, but Olivia was well known and people were looking for her; I think she would have been spotted. I do know the sister got an inquest held, and it didn’t go so far as to declare suicide. That’s pretty much impossible when there’s no body.’

  ‘Did the sister get any money?’ asked Tess.

  He shrugged. ‘A missing person can be declared dead after seven years. The sister was the only living relative so she would have got any life insurance, but she was in Sacremento the night of the wedding, if you’re wondering if she could have killed Olivia.’

  Tess could tell that she had exhausted her welcome. She could understand it: who wants to keep answering questions about something that happened forty–something years before, especially when there were no answers. Tess picked up her bag and stood up.

  ‘Thank you for your time, Mr Carson,’ she said, offering her hand. ‘Before I go, can I just ask you what you think happened? Was it suicide? Murder?’

  Carson rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ‘Ever heard of Ockham’s Razor?’

  Tess shook her head.

  ‘It’s a principle used in medicine. In layman’s terms, it kinda means that when you have different conflicting theories, the simplest explanation is most likely to be the best, or most true explanation.’

  Tess mulled it over as they walked down the steps and into the garden.

  ‘So the theory that a depressed, drugged–up Olivia Martin takes a walk by the river and then falls in is more likely than the theory that her sister killed her for insurance money or Howard Asgill killed her so she’d keep quiet about an affair?’

  Carson nodded.

  Tess paused on the sidewalk. ‘You’re certain it couldn’t have been Howard?’

  ‘Miss Garrett, I interviewed Howard Asgill myself,’ he said firmly. ‘In my professional opinion, he wasn’t involved in any way. If someone did kill Olivia Martin, it wasn’t him.’

  *

  Tess was thoughtful as she drove back to Riverview. She was honestly no wiser as to the truth of the Olivia Martin case, but she found that she was enjoying the process: asking questions, talking to people; it felt as if she was doing something constructive. If she was honest, her confrontation with Alicia Wintrop had upset her more than it should. Alicia’s accusation that working for the Asgills and effectively covering up lies and transgressions – misleading people – was somehow morally suspect had hit a nerve. It was something Tess knew to be true, but had so far managed to ignore. But now, out here, away from the glitter of Manhattan, Tess could see that the truth was actually a little more complicated. Everyone had things in their past that they would rather stayed in the past; everyone made mistakes. The question was which of them should remain buried.

  Tess felt a sense of real relief as she turned through the iron gates of Riverview. She hadn’t changed her clothes since her flight down, and was beginning to feel a bit icky. Back in her room, she showered, changed into a long cool dress and headed down to the hotel restaurant. It was busy, but Tess found a quiet table in the corner and ordered a mint julep. She had been thinking about the one she had rejected a couple of hours earlier all the way back from Vacherie.

  ‘Is everything all right, Miss Garrett?’

  She looked up to see an elegant woman of around sixty, whose dove–grey linen slacks were exactly the same colour as her hair.

  ‘Lori Adams,’ she said, extending a hand. ‘Assistant manager. I believe you’re here from the Chronicle?’

  Tess smiled politely. It was par for the course on press trips to be accosted by the management for a tour of the grounds or detailed briefing on the latest improvements to the hotel. She knew it was the trade–off for getting free accommodation, but she wished she’d called room service.

  ‘Everything’s great,’ she smiled. ‘This is a really special place.’

  ‘May I?’ asked Lori, pointing at the chair opposite Tess.

  ‘Please do.’

  Lori signalled to the waiter to bring her another mint julep. ‘Yes, it is special, isn’t it?’ she said. ‘It’s
certainly going to be hard giving it up, I can tell you.’

  ‘Giving it up?’

  ‘I retire next week,’ smiled the woman. ‘There’s a lot of memories here; Riverview has been my life. Although perhaps it’s time, things are beginning to change now we’re part of a big corporate business. It wasn’t like that when I started working here forty years ago.’

  ‘Forty years?’ said Tess, sipping her drink thoughtfully. ‘I didn’t think Riverview was a hotel back then?’

  ‘It wasn’t,’ said Lori wistfully. ‘I worked for the family who used to own the house.’

  ‘Meredith Asgill’s family, the Carters?’

  ‘You’re well informed.’

  ‘New York’s a small place,’ shrugged Tess. ‘I know Brooke Asgill quite well.’

  The older woman’s face lit up. ‘You do? Oh how wonderful. Do you know Meredith too?’

  Tess nodded. She had a hunch Lori Adams might be more help to her than Sidney, the hotel manager.

  ‘And how is Meredith?’ asked Lori as she took her cocktail from the waiter.

  ‘A little stressed. Usual mother–of–the–bride stuff.’

  Lori gave a little tinkling laugh. ‘That doesn’t surprise me. Meredith always was very particular, very exact. I remember her wedding day – everything had to be just so.’

  ‘Really?’ said Tess, trying to contain her excitement. ‘You were at the wedding?’

  ‘I was the Carter’s maid back then,’ said Lori. ‘I worked my way up through housekeeping to a management position. As I said, I’ve been at Riverview all my working life.’

  ‘So what happened at Meredith’s wedding?’

  Lori arched her brow. ‘You mean the Olivia Martin business?’

  Tess put down her drink. ‘Oh, don’t worry, this isn’t for the story. I don’t think any of our readers in England would know who Olivia Martin was. I just know that Brooke is curious; you must know there’s still some pretty nasty rumours about her father?’

  Lori nodded.

  ‘Have you been out to see cottage twelve?’ she asked, lowering her voice a little.

  Tess shook her head. ‘No, Sidney told me that there was someone in it.’

  Lori pointed to a couple holding hands at a table on the far side of the restaurant.

  ‘That’s them having dinner over there,’ she said with a wry smile. ‘We can go and have a look quickly if you’d like?’

  The grounds were quiet after the noise of the busy restaurant, the sky jet black and marbled with starlight. They skirted around the back of the house and followed the lantern–lit path, past a stone fountain and a small Japanese garden, until Tess could hear the low, rumbling sound of water.

  ‘What’s that?’ asked Tess.

  ‘The Mississippi,’ said Lori. ‘Folks are often surprised that she makes a little noise, but she’s a grand old lady.’

  Finally they saw the cottage, its windows glowing orange. It was certainly private. There were just two other cottages within view. Using her pass–key, Lori let them in. Tess felt a sudden rush of adrenaline, partly from doing something slightly underhand, but also because she felt she was getting closer to the truth. There wasn’t much to the cottage, simply a living space, a bedroom, and a bathroom.

  ‘It’s all been changed since then, of course,’ said Lori. ‘But the layout is the same.’

  Seeing the couple’s clothes and personal items everywhere, Tess began to feel a little awkward.

  ‘Shall we go back outside?’ she said. They closed the door and stood on the small veranda, leaning against the rail.

  ‘So what were you doing that night, Lori?’ asked Tess, her voice hushed.

  ‘Well, I was a drinks waitress. There were hundreds of people here, all very thirsty,’ she laughed. ‘The wedding was at four in the afternoon, then the wedding breakfast lasted until about eight p.m., and then there was dancing. There was a wonderful jazz band and at midnight an incredible fireworks display that folks said you could even see in the next county.’

  Tess tried to put herself there, tried to imagine it was 1964 and that the party was going on all around her.

  ‘Where was the firework display?’

  ‘Everyone crowded around the front of the house to watch it, right by the fountain.’

  ‘So, when the fireworks went off, this area by the cottage would have been deserted. If Olivia did take a midnight walk by the river and fell in, no one would see it or hear her scream because nobody was around.’

  Lori nodded. ‘Yes, I always thought that too. Apparently there was a poker game going on from about one a.m. to four a.m. in cottage ten just there,’ she said, pointing to the nearest neighbouring cottage to cottage twelve. ‘The guests in cottage nine and eleven were also up until three a.m. There would have been far more chance of someone seeing or hearing something then.’

  Lori caught Tess’s enquiring look and laughed. ‘You’re wondering how I remember all these details? Because no one talked about anything else for weeks afterwards, months even. It was the biggest thing to happen in these parts for years. I guess we all became little detectives, trying to work out what had happened to poor Olivia.’

  Tess felt her mobile vibrate in her pocket.

  ‘Excuse me,’ she said to Lori, and moved down the steps out of earshot.

  ‘Tess? Why haven’t you been answering your cell?’

  Tess recognized Meredith’s voice immediately. ‘I’m out of the city.’

  ‘Out of the city?’ she hissed. ‘I need to see you at once. I’ve just had Wendell Billington on the phone about this Washington Spy story. Where are you?’

  Tess hadn’t wanted to tell Meredith she had visited Riverview until she had found out more. After all, it could well have been a wild–goose chase. But there was another reason. For all she knew, Meredith could have given Howard his alibi and been covering up his involvement in Olivia’s disappearance for decades. She didn’t want to tell her employer that she was gathering evidence that might send her to jail. Still, there was no reason to pretend and, anyway, it was David who had asked her to get to the bottom of the story. If Meredith had been talking to his father, she might well find out anyway.

  ‘I’m at Riverview,’ said Tess.

  There was silence at the other end of the phone.

  ‘David asked me to come, Meredith,’ she explained. ‘We need to know what happened. It’s the only way we can kill this story.’

  When she spoke, Meredith’s voice was icy. ‘With respect, Tess,’ she said, ‘dozens of police officers couldn’t find out what happened to Olivia and I doubt you’ll have any more luck over forty years later. I would suggest your time would be better spent doing your real job, putting a more positive spin on the Washington Spy story before Wendell starts having serious conversations with David about his bride.’

  She sounded furious. Tess could imagine her pacing up and down her Upper East Side drawing room, demanding her maid bring camomile tea and bourbon to calm her.

  ‘The Billingtons are putting the thumbscrews on Ben Foley to run an apology in the next issue of the Spy. Plus I’ve set up an interview with the New York Chronicle magazine for David and Brooke to run just after the wedding. It will bring up the Olivia Martin case and say that the police have no reason to believe this was ever foul play.’

  ‘I want you back in the city, Tess.’

  ‘Just give me twenty–four hours on this,’ pleaded Tess.

  Meredith paused for a moment. ‘Very well. I’ll see you in the office on Thursday.’

  ‘Thank you, Meredith,’ said Tess, feeling a little thrill as she hung up. What was it? Fear? Excitement? And then she remembered: it was the story. It was what she had loved doing on newspapers and what she had missed working for the Asgills. The thrill of the chase. The story. The truth. Whatever that was.

  CHAPTER SIXTY

  Matt looked at Brooke incredulously. ‘You’re taking me for a night out in Brooklyn? I didn’t think you ever crossed the river, uptown
girl, or are we going to Peter Luger for steaks,’ he said name–checking Manhattan’s best steakhouse.

  Brooke giggled.

  ‘Strictly speaking, this is not a night out.’

  The taxi stopped on a quiet cobbled street in Brooklyn Heights, in front of a small red–brick building that looked as if it might once have been a stables. Brooke walked to the door and pressed a buzzer.

  ‘So where are we?’

  ‘Nicholas Diaz’s studio,’ said Brooke. ‘He is the most talented designer I’ve ever seen. He sent me a dress a few months ago and I loved it so much, I’m getting him to make me one for my rehearsal dinner.’

  The studio was a small room at the top of the building.

  ‘Brooke! Darling!’ said Nicholas, as he threw open the door and air–kissed her. He was tall and thin, with a shaved head, goatee beard, and a big smile.

  ‘Nicholas, this is my friend Matt.’

  The two men shook hands, then Nicholas took Brooke’s arm and led her into a corner.

  ‘Tell me he’s going to be at the wedding,’ he whispered, fanning his face with the back of his hand.

  ‘He’s going to be at the wedding,’ she smiled.

  ‘Tell me he’s gay,’ he grinned mischievously.

  ‘Sadly, he’s not,’ said Brooke. ‘Sorry honey.’

  Nicholas threw his hands in the air. ‘Huh!’ he said in mock disgust. ‘And here I was thinking you’d brought me a wedding present.’ He glanced over at Matt, then back at Brooke. ‘Or is he your own little gift to yourself?’