Worse Than Being Alone

by Patricia M. Clark

  “It sure is. Too bad Paul Rizzo got suspicious. Otherwise, Thomas Sloan would probably have quite a career ahead of him. Look, he’s coming out. We’ll keep following him for a while.”

  Sloan pulled back into traffic and got back on the highway before taking a familiar exit. I was sure I knew his destination and didn’t feel the need to follow too closely. I pulled into the First Federal lot as Sloan entered the bank wearing a different hat but with the same pack on his back. Several minutes later, Sloan emerged. We followed him to his house and then ended up back at the office. I completed my computer search on Ken Nortin and called Paul Rizzo.

  “Mr. Rizzo,” I said when he answered. “This is Kitty Talty, Roni’s partner.”

  “Yes, Ms. Talty,” he said. “How’s it going?”

  “Call me Kitty,” I said. “We followed Thomas Sloan again today. We have a third alias.”

  “I will never doubt my gut feeling again,” he said. “Can you keep following him for a couple of days?”

  “Yeah, we can make that work. After that, it might become a problem. I’ll call you back every day and you can pull the plug whenever you want. I have to tell you I find this fascinating that someone so young could pull this off.”

  “He might have had a great future as a criminal,” he said as he severed the connection.

  Unsure when Roni was meeting with husband number three, I dialed her cell to give her an update. She answered on the third ring.

  “Hey, what’s up Kitty?”

  “I just got off the phone with Paul Rizzo. Sloan went to a different doc today. Cindy and I followed him. We identified a third alias. Paul wants us to follow him a couple of more days. I agreed.”

  “Sounds good,” she said. “We’ll have to come up with someone different tomorrow to help you.”

  “I think I can get Lionel tomorrow. He offered to help the other night.”

  “Hm, so is the plot thickening with Lionel?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I guess it is. We’ll talk about it when you get back. Have you talked to husband number three yet?”

  “Not yet,” Roni said. “I’m waiting for him to get out of class. He’s a professor down here SEMO.”

  “I wonder if he realizes he’s part of a real life survivor saga.”

  “Exactly,” Roni said. “Maybe this will be the first time he’ll realize just how lucky he was.”

  Chapter Forty-One

  Nestled along the banks of the Mississippi river in Southeast Missouri, Cape Girardeau was originally a French settlement. Roni was familiar with the river town because her son attended college there. She was currently sitting outside the Student Union on a glorious afternoon that felt like a preview of fall. Hundreds of stately oaks and maples surrounded her, but because it was still September, the trees hadn’t begun the process of changing color.

  Roni was having increasing difficulty remembering what it was like to be young, enjoying college and feeling so free and full of hope. It all goes by so fast, she lamented as a tall, buff young man sporting an affable smile approached. Roni suddenly wished she was 20 and this handsome man-child was actually meeting her instead of undoubtedly delivering a message.

  “Are you Roni Edelin?” he asked in a very deep voice at odds with his relative youth.

  “Yes,” she sighed as he looked at her quizzically. “Yes, that’s me.”

  “Professor Asman asked me to come and get you. His class ran late and he wants you to join him for tea in his office. It’s in the Ryan Building. I’ll walk you over there.”

  Roni tried to keep pace with the lumbering student who seemed to be in a hurry to dump her and get somewhere else. Three buildings over, he stopped and pointed at number four.

  “That’s the Ryan Building,” he said. “Dr. Asman’s office is on the fourth floor. Go right at the top of the stairs and it’s the first door on the left.”

  “Thanks for the escort,” Roni said.

  “You’re welcome,” he said as he ran off.

  Roni was a little winded by the time she reached the fourth floor landing, thinking how she’d probably be in great shape attending classes in all these buildings without elevators. She caught her breath and ended up knocking on Professor Asman’s door. The door was opened by a tall, rather thin man with gray hair and some very bushy eyebrows that definitely needed a trim.

  “You must be Roni Edelin,” he said as he stuck his hand out. “I’m Forrest Asman. It’s nice to meet you. Come on in. I thought it might be a little more private if we met up here, and besides, I really needed some tea. Let’s go back into my office.”

  Roni followed him into a huge, open room surrounded by high windows and shelves full of books. A setting fit for any professor.

  “Have a seat,” he said as he went behind the desk. “Now, how do you take your tea?”

  “A little lemon and sugar,” Roni said as she glanced at the tray and sat down.

  “Thank you for seeing me,” Roni said as Asman placed a cup of tea in front of her.

  “You said Marian just married your father,” he said.

  “Yes,” Roni said. “To be honest, Professor Asman, I’m a little worried about my father. Do you keep in touch with Marian?”

  “No, after the divorce, she moved away. I haven’t spoken her name out loud in 30 years, but I still think about her once in a while. She’s the reason I’m almost 70 and still teaching.”

  “Do I detect a little bitterness?” Roni asked. “Would you mind talking to me about your marriage to Marian? Maybe it’ll make me feel a little better about my father’s situation.”

  “Will you tell me why you’re worried? We’ll swap tall tales over tea, Roni.”

  “I’m fine with that, Professor,” Roni said.

  “Call me Forrest. Other than my second wife, I’ve never told another living soul this story. It’s too embarrassing. I grew up in Boonesville. It’s a small town about thirty miles from here. My father owned a feed store; I was an only child. I was very shy. I came up here to Cape and went to college. After, I stayed to teach. I met Marian when I was 40.”

  “What year was that, Forrest?” Roni asked.

  “That would have been 1993. Marian had been living in Cape about 10 years. At least that’s what she told me. I was never good with women; too scared and shy. She seemed like a ray of sunshine. We got married three months later. Six months after that, Marian begged me to move to California. Said that was her dream. She insisted we liquidate all my assets. I cashed out everything except for the house but only because it took a while to sell it. Then suddenly she tells me she wants a divorce.”

  “I’m guessing you were shocked,” Roni prompted when she realized he had stopped talking and was staring into space, remembering ancient pain.

  “I teach electrical engineering, Roni. I’m that really smart guy with no common sense at all. To say I didn’t see it coming would be the understatement of the century. Marian got a lawyer. Eventually, I did too, but it was too late. We asked where all the money went; Marian said she went to Vegas and lost it all. We never did figure out where she hid it. Marian packed up and moved away before the divorce was even final. She refused to talk about anything. No reason, no trying to work on anything, nothing. Her lawyer told mine if I put up a fuss, Marian was prepared to say I was verbally and physically abusive. This is a small town. I would have lost the only thing I had left-my teaching career. I signed the papers and let her go.”

  “That’s a lot to carry around for 30 years,” Roni said.

  “It certainly is, but some good came out of it eventually. My lawyer, Ruth Daniels, became a good friend. She talked to Marian a couple of times and really disliked her. She became my shoulder to cry on and as time went on, it turned into something much more. We’ve been very happily married for 25 years.”

  “Wow, that makes me feel better,” Roni said.

  “Me, too. I felt snake bit when Marian left. If it hadn’t been for Ruth, I’m convinced I would have gone back into my shell and
ended up alone. She hounded me about what Marian did and forced me to face it and talk about it.”

  “She sounds like a force to be reckoned with,” she said.

  “You have no idea. I’ve learned a lot from Ruth. She taught me what real love looks like.”

  “So, after all this time,” Roni said. “How do you feel about Marian and what she did?”

  “You know, I felt like an open wound for a long time after Marian left, but the reality is, I married Ruth and all those feelings faded away. I didn’t want to be a bitter, angry person so I let go of all of it eventually. It’s funny how things work out sometimes. Now for your predicament. Tell me what Marian has been up to, and I’ll try to help you sort it out.”

  “You were Marian’s third husband,” Roni said. “Did you realize that?”

  “Not while we were married. Marian played the role of lonely widow. I assumed she meant she had been married once. Ruth had her investigated so I did find out about husband number two. At the time, I chalked it up as just another lie. Your dad is husband number what?”

  “He’s husband number six,” Roni said. “You’re the only survivor of the other five. She played the lonely widow card with my dad, too. I don’t know if he realizes how many husbands she has had.”

  “And you’re trying to check her out because you’re worried about him?”

  “That sums it up nicely,” she said. “I said something to him early on and he was really defensive. At this point, I feel like I have to have some kind of proof before I talk to him again.”

  “I was number three. You’re telling me there are two more husbands after me who are dead?”

  “That’s right,” she said. “I still have to talk to their survivors. Marian moved to Sikeston after she left Cape.”

  “How long have Marian and your dad been married?”

  “Just a couple of months,” she said.

  “Marian changed almost immediately after the wedding. It wasn’t like we drifted apart or something like that. Initially, her goal was all about figuring out the finances. She kept saying she wanted to know all the details. You go along because after all, she is your wife. Once she figures that out, she pounces. At least that was my experience. You need to talk to your dad. Maybe since it’s been a couple of months, some of this will sound familiar to him. How did the others die?”

  “Her first husband fell down the stairs,” she said. “The second husband’s death is listed as pneumonia, but he died after a short illness according to his son. I’m not sure about the other two.”

  “Are you thinking she killed four men?”

  “I think it’s possible,” Roni said.

  “So, maybe Marian’s a Black Widow?”

  “That’s a possibility,” she said. “There’s no way to prove it. All her husbands were cremated. My dad got sick after drinking one of her concoctions. Did she ever make anything like that for you?”

  “So, Marian is still into all that herbal crap? For a while, she insisted I drink this shake she made every morning and then suddenly, she quit making it. Good Lord, do you think she poisoned all of us?”

  “I don’t know for sure,” she said. “All I can say is that’s why I started worrying in the first place.”

  “Wait till I tell Ruth. She’s going to say, ‘I told you so’. I wonder why I’m still alive? Maybe the last thing she ever said to me finally makes sense.”

  “What was that?” she asked.

  “Forrest, you really are a dear, and very special to me. I know you’re not going to ever believe me, but this could have gone a lot worse for you. In another life, we might have been very happy together.”

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Meadow was despondent when I visited her later that afternoon. The dialysis had gone well though Beverly Knull did require a blood transfusion. The next few days would be critical. If Beverly’s kidneys started functioning, her labs would start to improve and her recovery would be back on track. If not, it would be time to help Meadow and her siblings to prepare for the worst.

  Roni was sitting in a booth with two huge margaritas when I arrived at the South County Chevys. I slid into the opposite side of the booth and breathed a sigh of relief.

  “I am so ready for this margarita,” I said as I raised my glass, clinked it with hers, and sipped a huge amount of the golden liquid. Hot chips and fresh salsa had also been delivered and we dived in as we traded war stories about our day.

  “How is Beverly Knull?” Roni asked.

  “Her kidneys are failing and she had her first dialysis today. I think she probably has DIC.”

  “How is Meadow taking it?” she asked.

  “Like the trooper she is. The next couple of weeks are going to be hell for her.”

  “Then she’ll have to deal with the next phase, the grief,” Roni said.

  “And there isn’t a damn thing anybody can do about it.”

  “Our job sucks sometimes,” Roni said.

  “How was Cape? Did Professor Asman have anything interesting to say?”

  “He’s a really nice man,” she said. “I’m sure he didn’t have a clue how lucky he is until I showed up. His relationship with Marian was like a hit and run. It’s funny how life turns out sometimes. He was a really shy guy who met Marian when he was 40 and probably figured she was his only shot at getting married. Within six months, Marian convinced him to liquidate all his assets. Then she claimed she lost it all in Vegas and wanted a divorce.”

  “Ouch, that had to hurt.”

  “Yeah, he was devastated,” Roni said as the waiter arrived and took our order for fajita nachos. “Marian moved away. He got a lawyer and managed to keep his house. He’s convinced he never would have met his true love if it hadn’t been for Marian. Turns out, his true love is the lawyer he hired.”

  “That’s quite a story. If we actually assume Marian kills her husbands, why is he still alive? Does he think Marian could be a killer?”

  “He didn’t seem to think it was that big a stretch,” she said as our entrees arrived along with more chips and salsa.

  Our waiter retreated as Roni continued. “As a parting shot, Marian told him she was really fond of him and in another life, they might have been soul mates. I left my notes in the car but she also said something about ‘you don’t realize it now but this is ending well for you’ or ‘better than for most’ or something like that.”

  “Wow, you think she actually cared for him?”

  “That was my take,” Roni said. “I’ve got two more dead husbands in Sikeston to look at. Then I’m going to have to sit down with my dad and lay it all out for him.”

  “That’s about all you can do. You can’t just ignore all of this information.”

  “When I started, I really thought this would all be fairly benign,” she said. “The real problem is that there’s no silver bullet. There are no bodies to exhume. It just looks and smells bad.”

  “When are you going to Sikeston?”

  “Probably early next week,” she said. “Monday or Tuesday. Does that work?”

  “Yeah, that works. I think another day or two on Thomas Sloan is all I have in me.”

  “Pete Rizzo will have three or four false identity and comp fraud allegations,” Roni said. “That should be enough to get them to prosecute.”

  “I agree. Lionel and I will follow him tomorrow. So, I want to ask you something.”

  “Shoot,” she said as she popped another nacho.

  “What do you think of Cindy’s ability to see auras?”

  “Wow, you two really are bonding,” she said. “I’m surprised she told you about that.”

  “It was kind of by accident. She was pumping me for information, and she let it slip that my aura was off.”

  “How so?” she asked.

  “Something about how mine is usually red but this morning it was blue. She said that meant I was more at peace or not as restless as usual.”

  “Or maybe you got laid,” she said as I tried not to b
lush. “Oh, my God. You did, didn’t you? How was it? I’m so excited; I think I’m going to pee my pants. Tell me.”

  “Calm down. I’m sure your normally blue aura is red right now. I met Lionel’s twin daughters and yes, I did get laid. It was great and I’m crazy about his daughters.”

  “I feel a but coming,” she said.

  “It seems too good to be true. I did Internet dating as a lark. To convince myself I wasn’t missing anything and I was better off alone than with another loser. It was kind of safe in a way but Lionel isn’t a loser.”

  “So, now you’re scared,” she said. “Your red aura is in high gear trying to figure out 50 ways to mess it up.”

  “Something like that. Do you even believe Cindy can see auras?”

  “I’ve known Cindy since the first grade,” Roni said. “She has doors she hides her craziness behind. I’ve been the hall monitor for all of them. I’ve always been the one she tells about what’s behind the doors. I think it’s always been her way of figuring out if what she sees, or feels, or hears, is normal. She doesn’t usually talk about what isn’t normal. I’ll tell you this. Every time she’s told me she sees black in someone’s aura, they’ve gone to jail or been violent or just turned out to be mean. I believe in Cindy’s ability or intuition or whatever you want to call it.”

  “She said Lionel’s aura is blue so he’s perfect for me.”

  “Maybe she’s right, Kit,” she said. “God knows you deserve to be happy after James. Give this a real shot, OK?”

  “I will. I’ve been thinking the same thing all day.”

  “Why don’t you and Lionel bring the girls down Sunday?” she asked. “Harley and I would love to meet the girls. Harley will want to check Lionel out. He’ll want to make sure you don’t make another mistake.”

  “Did Cindy ever say anything about James’s aura?”

  “She said he had the most relentlessly red one she had ever seen,” Roni said.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Early the next morning, Lionel and I were parked down the street from Thomas Sloan’s house, sipping mocha lattes and eating breakfast sandwiches from McDonald’s. Lionel had driven his vehicle, a black Honda Pilot, just in case Thomas decided to pay attention for once. For someone so clever and cunning about his scam, his inattention to the possibility of surveillance seemed odd.