Suspicious Origin

by MacDonald, Patricia

  Lauren’s shoulders slumped, and her eyes welled up again.

  “Would you come with me, Lauren? Would you tell Chief Stern that it was all a big mistake? Say you were thinking of the wrong night. We need to get some of these lies out of the way, so that we get to the truth.”

  “I can’t believe he’s having an affair,” she wailed.

  “Come on,” said Britt. “We’ll go right now.” Before you have time to change your mind, she thought.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Alec opened the door and looked from Britt to Ray Stern in obvious surprise. “Alec,” Ray said, almost apologetically. “I know it’s late but I’m afraid I need to talk to you again.”

  The police chief’s apologetic tone made Britt want to grind her teeth but she kept silent. It’s only nine o’clock, she thought. Not late for something so important.

  “Come in,” Alec said.

  Britt entered Alec’s living room behind Chief Stern, avoiding her brother-in-law’s narrow-eyed scrutiny. She moved a box of books off the seat and sat down in a straight-back wooden chair by the door. Chief Stern sat down in a chair across from Alec, who sat on the couch.

  “Sorry about the hour, Alec,” Ray said. “But something’s just come up. Now apparently your employee, Lauren Rossi, uh, realized she’d been mistaken when she said she’d seen you at the dealership on the night of the fire. So now, I need to know if anyone else saw you there.”

  Alec rubbed his face with his large hands. Finally, he sighed. “All right. Look Ray, I don’t know whether it matters,” he said. “But I never asked her to lie for me. She did that all by herself.”

  “But you didn’t stop her,” Ray reminded him.

  “Yes,” said Alec nodding. “That’s right. But it wasn’t because…” His voice trailed off.

  From her seat just inside the doorway, Britt watched quietly.

  Ray looked at Alec, shaking his head. “Alec, I need you to level with me.”

  “Look,” said Alec wearily. “Let me tell you what really happened. I didn’t tell you before because I knew… it kind of makes me look bad.”

  “Please,” said Chief Stern. “Go ahead.”

  “That night…the night of the fire… I went home to have dinner. Zoe wasn’t home. She was at her friend Kayley’s for supper.” Alec reached into his pocket, took out a pack of cigarettes and shook one loose. He put it in his mouth.

  “So, you were at home that night…” Chief Stern said.

  Alec lit the cigarette and shook out the match. “Do I need a lawyer?” he asked, peering at the chief through a plume of smoke.

  “You’re entitled to a lawyer if you want one,” Chief Stern said.

  That figures, Britt fumed. A lawyer who will advise him not to talk.

  Alec sighed. “No. That’s all right. I’ll tell you what happened. I got there…” His eyes narrowed as he haltingly gave his account of that night, “and Greta heated me up something for dinner, and I was eating, and we were talking…and we got into a little argument.”

  Ray Stern looked smugly over his shoulder at Britt, as if to say that he knew Alec would not try to hide the truth. Britt looked away from him, disgusted.

  “We understood you were having an argument. What did you argue about?” asked Chief Stern.

  Alec clenched his jaw and stared into the distance. “Just…you know, marital stuff.”

  “What kind of marital stuff?” Ray asked.

  Alec looked over pointedly at Britt. He clenched his fist, and then covered it with his other hand, holding the burning cigarette loosely between his fingers.

  Britt readied herself for another lie.

  “My nosy sister-in-law told you that she was going through my mail and she found out that my wife hired a private investigator.”

  “Yes. And you said that she was trying to find out about the disposition of some stocks you had purchased years ago…” Ray began.

  “Well, that wasn’t true,” said Alec.

  “Surprise,” said Britt.

  “I knew what you thought. You thought I was cheating on my wife,” Alec said bitterly, looking at Britt, who avoided his gaze. “I was not having an affair. My wife did not hire those people to check up on me. I’m sure she’s told you that I was fooling around on my wife.” He looked at Ray and then turned his head and gazed at Britt. “You’d like that wouldn’t you?” he said.

  Britt refused to meet his gaze. Her heart was pounding. Liar, she thought.

  “Why did she hire them?” Ray asked.

  Alec ground out the cigarette. “It had nothing to do with me,” he said.

  Ray put his hands on his knees as if he were about to get up. “Well, perhaps before you tell us another half-truth we should track down the detective.”

  “No, I want to hear this,” said Britt. “His latest spin on the truth…He’s had plenty of time to prepare it.”

  Alec shook his head. “Sure. I’ll tell you. But you might regret it…”

  “I want to hear it,” said Britt.

  Alec ignored her and looked at Ray. Ray resumed his seat.

  Alec sighed. “My wife was depressed. I’m sure Miss Know-it-all told you that, too.”

  Ray nodded. “She mentioned it.”

  “She was very depressed because…she had been trying to find her mother.”

  Britt gasped and jumped to her feet. “No,” she cried. “Wait a minute.”

  ‘Where was her mother?” Ray asked, confused.

  “Whether you like it or not, that’s the truth,” Alec said to Britt. He turned back to Ray. “She left the family when these two were just children. The detective had tracked her down once. Then they lost her again. The detective told me himself, she didn’t want to be found. Greta was very upset about that. Very ashamed of that. She couldn’t accept it.”

  Britt was stunned. “No,” she said. “You’re lying…”

  “Fine. I’m lying. Do you want to wait until Gardner gets back to you? Because I’ve really had enough of this for one night.”

  “Alec, take it easy,” said Ray. “We’re just here to straighten out this matter. You were the one who was less than honest…”

  “Okay, okay. But look, Zoe could be home any minute and I don’t want her to know anything about this,” said Alec. “As far as she knows she doesn’t have a grandmother. Greta wanted to keep it from her until she…found her mother. We never mentioned anything about it to her. Or to anybody else.”

  “That’s convenient,” Britt muttered.

  “That’s the truth,” Alec insisted.

  “This isn’t right,” Britt cried. “He’s trying to make it seem like it’s all Greta’s fault. He’s the one…” She was incoherent. She could hear herself babbling. Anything not to have to think about her mother, the ghost who, apparently, still walked.

  “It makes sense to me,” said Ray. “And I don’t see any need for Zoe to know about it.”

  “Thanks, Ray.”

  “So, on the night of the fire…”

  “Wait a minute,” Britt demanded. “What happened the first time the detective found my mother? Where was she?”

  “You want to know? You hire the detective,” Alec snapped.

  “You bastard,” she said. “This is another lie.”

  “Miss Andersen,” Ray said sharply. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions about this, but now is not the time. I’m going to ask you to leave if you don’t…”

  “Sorry,” said Britt, sitting back down. She could feel her lip trembling and she was afraid she was going to cry.

  “Now,” said Ray calmly. “What was the argument about?”

  “This,” said Alec. “Their mother.”

  “Can you tell me about it?”

  Alec nodded. “Greta was in the dumps, as usual. I was trying to convince her to forget about it, and get on with her life. She just blew up at me. It wasn’t something she was reasonable about.”

  “So you two got into an argument and then what happened?”

>   Alec got up and walked over to the window, rubbing his palms together as he looked outside. “I know how this sounds…” he said.

  “Did you threaten her?” Chief Stern asked.

  “No,” said Alec. “But I said I was sick of it…”

  “How did the argument end?” asked the Chief.

  “I left,” said Alec.

  “And went where?”

  “Pardon me?”

  “I need you to account for your time that night, Alec. Where did you go? What did you do? Did you see anyone?”

  “All right. Well, I got into my car and I was… it was a mistake to get behind the wheel feeling the way I did. I know that now. But at the time I wasn’t thinking straight. I just… did it. I pulled out of the driveway and tore off down the street and as I rounded the next corner…There was a guy… I didn’t see him. He was halfway out in the road, hitchhiking. It all happened very fast. I didn’t see him until he was in my headlights.”

  “You hit him?” Britt cried.

  “I swerved when I saw him, but he was too close. I came around the corner too fast. So I… I clipped him. I felt the thud, and I saw him going down.”

  “God in heaven,” Britt cried.

  “Does she have to be here?” Alec demanded.

  Chief Stern ignored his question. “What time was this?”

  Alec frowned. “Eight o’clock, maybe. Eight-thirty.”

  “So, you hit this pedestrian, and then what happened?”

  “Well, I pulled over right away and I jumped out of the car and I ran back to see if he was okay. And he was land of… struggling to get up. I was so relieved to see that he was alive. I asked him if he was all right and he said that his leg hurt, but otherwise…Well, he was shaken up but basically he was all right.”

  “Did you think to call the police?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact I did. I said we should probably report it, but he said it wasn’t necessary. That he was okay and not to bother.”

  Chief Stern looked at Alec in mild disbelief. “So let me see if I understand this. You hit a pedestrian with your car…”

  “A hitchhiker,” Alec said.

  “An innocent pedestrian,” Chief Stern said, “is hit by a car, injured, but doesn’t want to report this accident or receive medical attention.”

  “I know it sounds crazy, but that’s what happened,” Alec insisted miserably. “He said he lived in Montpelier. That’s where he was trying to go. I said that the least I could do was to drive him to his destination.”

  “I see,” said Ray.

  “That’s where I was all that evening. I drove him to Montpelier and then I drove back home. It was late when I got back. I was almost home when I heard the sirens.”

  “I see. So, this fellow that you knocked down with your car. Presumably he could corroborate this story. Do we have a last name and an address for him?”

  Alec shook his head. “No. I know it sounds weird but…no. He wasn’t a very talkative guy. We didn’t talk much on the ride. He said his name was Dave. That’s all. I asked him a few things but he was keeping to himself.”

  “And the address?”

  “I dropped him off. I can tell you the corner where I dropped him. He said he wanted to buy cigarettes so I left him near a convenience store. He said he lived nearby.”

  “We have no name, no address. Just Dave.”

  “I didn’t think I’d need a name or address. I mean, why would I think of having to account for my whereabouts? There was no reason.”

  “Can you describe this fellow?”

  “He was a young guy. Maybe twenty. It’s hard to tell. He was kind of pudgy. And pale. One of those blond, scraggly beards. He was wearing an old army-green parka. It had these orange chevrons made out of reflector tape on the sleeves. I guess because he was hitchhiking.”

  “Didn’t do him much good where you were concerned,” Britt snapped.

  Ray ignored her. “What about the name of the convenience store? They often have cameras that record the comings and goings of customers. Maybe we could locate Dave that way,” said the chief helpfully.

  “That I can tell you. It was a 7-11 store. It was at the north end of town, not three blocks from the highway. You could see the highway from the parking lot,” Alec explained. “If you see him on the tape, he’s probably limping a little bit from where he took the hit. He was limping when he got out of the car.”

  “Limping. That’s a nice touch,” said Britt.

  “Although he didn’t even ask you to help him with any medical bills he might have from damage to that leg,” said Chief Stern.

  “I know how it sounds,” Alec said. “I mean at the time I thought I was lucky that he wasn’t going to sue me or something. I admit, I was thinking about my insurance premiums going up… I gave him some cash I had on me but it wasn’t all that much.”

  Chief Stern rose to his feet. “All right, then. We will pay a visit to the 7-11 and have a look at their tapes.”

  “Wait a minute,” Britt cried indignantly. “You’re buying this story?”

  “I’m going to check out Mr. Lynch’s alibi,” said Chief Stern in a noncommittal tone. “We’ll be in touch, Alec.” The chief left the room, trailed by Britt, while Alec sat in the corner of the sofa, and deliberately lit another cigarette.

  Britt intercepted the chief at the front door. “I don’t get it,” said Britt in a low voice. “He admitted he lied about where he was. He admitted that he lied about what the detective was hired for. He admitted that he was arguing with my sister. That he was furious with her. And now, this ridiculous lie…”

  “Miss Andersen,” the chief said patiently. “Britt. I realize you want action. You want an arrest. And I know you’re upset with this news about your mother. But the detective agency will confirm or deny what he’s told us. Meanwhile, we have to check out his alibi.”

  “This is not right,” Britt protested. “I feel as if I’m doing your job for you. I’ve caught him in one lie after another. Do you know about the huge insurance policy…?”

  “Yes, I do,” said the chief.

  “You really believe that was Greta’s idea?”

  “That’s what he told the agent at the time,” said Ray.

  “Well, yeah. If he was planning to kill his wife, that is what he would say. I can’t accept this laid-back attitude you’re taking. You’re not even treating him like a suspect and everything points to him.”

  “Not really,” said Chief Stern stubbornly. “The fact that his child was at home…I’m sorry. I have a lot of questions.”

  “Not that again,” said Britt. “Did you people ever- hear of sociopaths?”

  There was the sound of a car door slamming, and girlish voices bell-like in the cold, clear air outside. Then the sound of footsteps, thundering up to the front door.

  “That must be Zoe and her friend,” said Britt.

  “Don’t antagonize him, Britt,” the chief warned her. “Let us do our job. I appreciate what you did to get Miss Rossi to come forward, but now, you stay out of it.”

  The front door banged open and Zoe stood in the doorway, her cheeks pink from the cold. She was flanked by Kayley Dietz and another young girl whom Britt did not recognize. The three girls were loaded down with bags of board games and stuffed animals. Zoe’s smile faded when she saw Chief Stern.

  “Hello, girls,” the chief said kindly.

  “What’s going on?” Zoe asked.

  “Routine business,” said the chief as he passed them in the doorway. Zoe watched him go, frowning.

  “What’s all this stuff?” Britt asked.

  “Aunt Britt. This is my friend, Sara, and you know Kayley.”

  “We figured Zoe needed some games and a few animals,” said Kayley. “So we gave her some of ours.”

  “That’s nice of you.” Britt smiled at the two girls.

  A horn sounded from outside. “We have to go. We still have to drop off Sara,” said Kayley. “See you tomorrow, Zoe.”


  At that moment, Alec came out of the living room, and Zoe rushed to greet him.

  “Dad,” she cried, wrapping him in a hug. “Why was the chief here?”

  Alec kissed the top of her head. “Never mind,” he said. He looked at the bag of toys. “Is all this yours? Let me take it upstairs for you.”

  “You’re not mad about more bags?” she asked.

  Alec shook his head. “No. What’s a few more bags?”

  “You’re the best, Dad,” she cried.

  Britt clenched her fists and turned away so that Zoe could not see her face.

  Chapter Seventeen

  As Alec mounted the stairs with the bags of books and animals, Zoe followed Britt down the hall into the kitchen. “Aunt Britt, is everything all right?” Zoe asked.

  “Sure, fine,” said Britt, distracted. “I thought you were going to stay home and eat pizza tonight.”

  Zoe shrugged. “Kayley called and Dad said I could go.”

  “Did you eat at Kayley s?”

  “I didn’t like what they had for dinner,” said Zoe.

  “Zoe.” Britt gave her a warning glance.

  “It was fish sticks. Ill have a snack now, though.”

  “What do you want?” Britt asked. “I’ll get it.”

  “Peanut butter, I guess.”

  Zoe sat down at the table and watched as Britt searched the cabinet for a jar of peanut butter. Then Britt found a knife and slathered the peanut butter on some bread.

  Britt’s stomach was in knots. She set the sandwich on the table and sat down across from her niece. “What did you girls do tonight?”

  “Nothing,” said Zoe.

  “Looks like you did your nails,” Britt observed.

  Zoe blushed and then extended one hand in Britt’s direction.

  “Blue fingernails. Very groovy,” said Britt.

  “Groovy?” said Zoe, rolling her eyes.

  “And what else? Lets see,” said Britt. “Did you call boys and hang up when they answered?”

  Zoe’s eyes widened and she laughed. “How did you know that?” she asked.

  “I was a kid once,” said Britt.

  Zoe picked up the soft bread and balanced it on her fingertips as she took a bite. Then she set it back down on the plate and pushed the plate away. She folded her arms on the table and put her head down. Her shoulders shook, and Britt could hear gulping sobs.