The next day he thought of how pleasant it was to be back with his mother and father, however temporarily. His mother had grayed somewhat more since he had seen her at his wedding the year before. There was no change in his father. It was also nice to forget the office for a few hours. His forgetting was so complete it was only after a nostalgic meal of kung pao chicken before Sid remembered he had promised to check in at the office. Too late to catch anyone at work, he dialed Laura on the old-fashioned rotary phone in the living room.
The conversation left him puzzled. Kay had decided to stay over on Oahu, evidently finding the interview with Ruth would have to be a two-day affair. Laura, herself, sounded discouraged, but Sid had been unable to pry the reason for her discouragement out of her. The prosecuting attorney wanted to postpone the trial–probably a good sign. No witness had as yet come forth to support any of Kens testimony placing him on the hotel lanai at the presumed time of the killing. It was definitely a bad sign. Pat Crosby had been contacted and would be getting in touch with Sid to make an appointment. A message had been left on Saul Epsteins phone. Ken was in reasonably good spirits. Laura was not.
Sid found there was still no one home at the Epsteins. He left a message anyway, on the off chance Saul or Noelle would check for calls by remote. Since Pat Crosbys number was unlisted, Qual had left word with Computech Systems for Pat to call Sid at his folks and had also left word Sid would be stopping by the office at nine the following morning.
The call from the Crosbys came in shortly after Sids attempt to reach Saul. The speaker, who identified herself as Andrea Crosby, had an agreeable, quiet voice. “Pats working late tonight. He asked me to call you. Hell be home all morning. We want to help Ken any way we can.”
“Would ten oclock be a good time for me to drop by?”
“Ten o'clock would be fine. Well both be here.”
A sudden thought struck Sid as he hung up the phone. He redialed Lauras number. “Sid, again.”
“Whats up?”
“Find out from Ken when Ruth moved to Oahu, and see what you can find out about
who helped her move. ”
“Ill do my best. Im going to have dinner with him at the Prince Kalanianaole.
Were getting into an area where he just refuses to answer questions.”
Sid shook his head at the phone. “Damn it! Keep reminding him he isnt coming up
for shoplifting. This is murderone. Hes going to have to start answering some of these
questions. Whats he going to do when Emil starts asking them?”
“I know. I know.” Lauras voice took on a grim quality. “Ive got a question of my
own hes going to have to answer tonight.”
Chapter 15
“The atmospheres changed, Laura,” Ken said, looking across the table at her. They had worked their way silently through the meal, and Laura was sitting back drinking her coffee. Ken had settled for a refill of his water glass.
“ Sid called. He wanted me to ask you some questions.”
“Youre prepared for equivocations?”
Laura nodded.
“Try me.”
“When did Ruth leave the mainland for Oahu?”
Ken looked thoughtful. “Is he trying to remember?” Laura asked herself. “Or is he
trying to think of a way of getting around the question. ”
“About three months ago. Yes, almost to the day.”
“Did you help her pack?”
Ken seemed puzzled by the question. “Why, no. I was in Washington DC at the time.
There was an important computermath conference there. Thats why I remembered the date.”
“Who did help her pack?”
“Why, Chet Mandell, I imagine. On second thought, he couldn't have been there. Hed already left for Hawaii by then. I really dont know who helped her. Maybe she just had the moving company come in. They do that, these days, you know. You just walk away from it, and they pack everything down to the eggs in the refrigerator and ship it all out. They even unpack it at the other end and set it up if you want them towhich really doesnt sound like Ruth, though. She would have wanted to pretty much do it herself.”
Laura weighed the answer. Kens eyes didnt waver from hers. What the hell, they never do, she thought, then said, “Theres something else.”
“I knew there was.”
“I compared the two tapes where you told what happened between Friday and Monday morning.”
Ken said nothing. He merely lifted his eyebrows.
“Theyre the same.”
Ken shrugged. “So?Shouldnt they be?”
“No. They shouldnt be. Thats the problem.” Her voice rose. “Ive never had a client repeat such along story letter perfect, not twice, never five times.”
Ken looked puzzled, then his face lit up and he broke into the same laugh Laura had last heard at the Lebanese Restaurant the day of his arrival. “So you think I rehearsed it. Is that it? Of course, thats it,” he added, answering his own question. “It was really dumb of me not to realize someone as sharp as you would notice the perfect repetitions and wonder about them.”
Before she could say anything, Ken started to detail the moment he had seen her from the plane. He went on to describe what she had been wearing, the coffee shop, their conversation, the trip to the law office, Leilanis reaction to him, even the exact words Leilani had spoken. He then described their meeting with Sid and Kay, the Lebanese restaurant, the food, the waitress, their conversation there, the exact amount of the bill, their discussion in the parking lot, the trip to the hotel and his last sight of her as she drove away.
Laura shook her head in bewilderment.
“Ask me to describe it all again, tomorrow,” Ken said. “Its too bad you dont have your tape recorder to check the two versions. I can guarantee theyd be the same.”
“But, how…?”
“I dont know how. I really dont have a photographic memory. Theres none of this business where you hand me a phone book, and I look at it for a minute, then repeat the whole page verbatim without looking back at it. With me, I can remember scenes and conversations almost as vividly as their actual occurrence. Ive run into only one other person who had the same capability. She was a mathematician by the way. I also heard someplace how John Barrymore had the ability too. His valet would read the script out loud to him once, and Barrymore would go through the staging just once. From then on, he had it down perfectly.” Ken added,“I dont know how he was at math. On the other hand, I know Im a lousy actor.”
Lauras eyes had grown large as the story unfolded. “Would I ever like to have you as a friendly witness!”
“Maybe you wouldnt. Which is what should have tipped me off to what was wrong tonight. A few years ago I was called in to testify at a civil suit involving a traffic accident. The lawyer, whose client I was testifying for, said I almost lost the case for him. The jury was convinced Id been paid to tell a carefully rehearsed story because I knew too much about the details of the accident. The rival attorney as much as accused me of doing that.”
Ken was pleased to see Laura visibly relaxing. Then the earlier serious expression came back.
“Theres something else now, more than ever. I hope this is also something you can talk about.”
“I hope so too.”
“Its about us. Can we talk about that.”
“I want to. I guess you know already Ive got strong feelings on the subject. I also know we shouldnt talk about it, or do anything about it, until all this is cleared up.”
Lauras serious look changed into a wistful smile. “I guess youre right, but Im sure hurting.”
Kens smile mirrored hers. “I know, because Im hurting too.”
*** Kay said nothing. She knew with the major discovery made, only minor prompting would be necessary to round out matters.
“When I first met Clayton,” Ruth said, “his second wife had just divorced him. Good advice for any woman is to keep away from any just-divorced man. The div
orce had been ego threatening, so he needed emotional support. I provided it, and my therapist has told me more than once about how I thrive on finding people to prop up. So Clayton turned out to be the first serious affair in my life. He was attentive, generous with his money, and really acted as though he wanted to show me off. His need to display me was at least part of the reason we went to the party where I first met Ken. When I look back at the year with Clayton, all I can say is I guess I was ripe for the kind of relationship he was providing.”
“What went wrong with the relationship?”
“Im not sure. My therapist and I talked about it a lot, since it was central to my problems. At the time the relationship began to unravel, I thought it was all me. Later, and after a lot of therapy, I began to see how really very little of it was me. I would probably have seen it sooner and much more clearly except for the fact I was so sexually inexperienced when I started going out with Clayton. Id had only a few unsatisfactory teenaged grapplings in the back of boys cars when I was in high school. Then I went to an exclusive womans college back on the East Coast.”
Ruth smiled and added, “There still are such places, you know. Sex was even more unsatisfactory there. I got involved with one of the women teachers and ended up thoroughly confused. So Clayton seemed like a gift from heavento begin with. Then, the first time we had intercourse, I thought Id been raped. He literally ripped the clothes off of me. I didnt know what to make of it. Thats where my own inexperience comes in. I thought he was normal and I was abnormal for not being able to respond to him.
“Actually, he didnt want me to respond. Maybe what kept the relationship going was his having a really low sex drive, something else I didnt realize until I entered therapy. The therapist explained how Clayton was virtually impotent and needed a near rape situation to arouse him enough to engage in sex, and in the meantime was probably suffering from feelings of inadequacy because of the infrequency of his arousal. What brought me into therapy was my inability to deal with this quality of his.
“On the rare occasions where I had any kind of sexual feelings, he was completely turned off. What he needed was resistance, not compliance, and certainly not desire on my part. Somewhere along the line he began to make me feel his failures were entirely my fault, and thats when I began to really fall apart. I didnt go to the therapist to find out what was wrong with Clayton. I went to her to find out what was wrong with me.”
“Did your therapist ever give a name to your problem?”
“Yes. She said it was severe depression and, along with a series of sessions, she sent me to a physician to pick up a prescription for an anti-depressant. Believe me, when I went to see her, I was at the bottom. Thats what concerned her. I was definitely suicidal. In fact, I know I would have committed suicide if I hadnt gone to her for help. The drug helped. I still use it occasionally when there are bad stretches, but Im not dependent on it. My therapists a great person. She puts a lot of emphasis on just listening and on not passing judgment, but I could see she was appalled when I began to describe my relationship with Clayton.”
“So she advised you to end the relationship?”
“Yes. I did but, unfortunately, not because I thought it was best to break it off. I did it because I was obeying an authority figure. The therapist and I talked it over, weeks afterwards, and she agreed she had pushed too hard. Something which wasnt at all like her. She told me later how her own relationship with her first husband had been somewhat similar, and shed allowed her feelings to overcome her better judgment in my case. What upset her most was my description of Claytons reaction to my announcement I was leaving.”
“You mean he became furious?”
“It was just the opposite. He was calm and matter of fact. If I hadnt been quite certain no other woman was waiting in the wings, I would have thought he was actually glad to get rid of me. At the time, my therapist said he hadnt really reconciled himself to the break and, because he was violence prone, she told me to be careful. Nothing happened for a long while. Clayton didnt even try to contact me. San Jose is a big town. You dont just accidentally run into people, except I did run into Ken.”
“How long after your break with Clayton was that?”
“It must have been five or six months. Im sure I became enamored of Ken because he was so different from Clayton.” Ruth smiled as she remembered. “Hes your typical absent-minded professor. I was actually flattered when I caught his attention. He did love me, and he still does, Im sure. About the time I met him, I got a job as an interior designer. The hours were long, and I used to be ready for bed when I got home, so I wasnt terribly affected by Kens involvement with his computer.
“During my time with Ken, sex with him was something so completely different from what Id experienced before I could hardly believe it. I had my first orgasm with him. He was what Ive since read in the sex books as being a „kind and gentle lover. He was never demanding, and he was always satisfied and satisfying. After my disastrous experience with Clayton, Ken was everything I could have asked for…almost.”
Ruth paused. Her expression became serious, then she broke into a broad smile. “I highly recommend Ken to any woman who can tolerate being third wife to two others, mathematics and programming.”
Ruth resumed her story. “After a couple of months of living together, we decided to get married, and shortly afterwards we decided to start a family. Ken had to go to Los Angeles about then. The first night he was gone, I got a phone call from Clayton.”
Kay could see tears moistening Ruths eyes. The pause stretched out. Kay could feel the tension in the air and knew it was best to say nothing.
“He wanted to see me. There was some of the old Clayton in his voice, the attentive Clayton. It was such a contrast to my poor preoccupied Ken, I foolishly agreed to let Clayton come up to the apartment, especially since he said it had something to do with an auto accident wed been in the year before. He said I had to sign off on some liability. It wasnt anything like that, of course. He did literally rape me, and enjoyed it because I resisted…violently.”
Ruths voice turned strangely flat as she continued with the story. “I tore at his face, and I can see the marks of my fingernails on it right now, as clearly as I saw them then. All he said when he was done was, „If you ever tell anyone about this, Ill kill you. He meant it. It was all he said. He just left me crying, more in rage than anything else.”
“Have you ever told Ken about this?”
Ruth shook her head emphatically. “No. I never said a word about it to Ken. I suppose I should have, but I didnt know how hed react if he found out. I did know it would have hurt him terribly, and it would have broken up the business hed put so much of his time and energy into. So I just became more and more depressed and couldnt explain to Ken what was doing it. I guess he thought it was just the pregnancy blues.
“Finally, I went back to my therapist, over Kens objections. I told her what had happened, and she helped me through what could have been a really rough stretch. There was something I didnt tell her, either. Something I didnt tell Ken. Youre the only person besides me who knows.” Ruth stopped.
Kay held her breath, but was almost certain she knew what Ruth was going to say next.
“Im not sure Sarah is Kens child. She may be Claytons.”
Chapter 16
Hank came into the cubicle serving as Corkys office and sat down in the rickety chair near the door.
“Whatre you up to?” he asked.
She looked up from the paper she was writing on. “Its my report on our latest miscellaneous public death. I think we can safely change it to a hit-and-run. It happened in front of the Mission, and the victim is definitely one of Father Duffys homeless: shabby clothes; no ID; and still nothing back from the Feds on his fingerprints.”
“Anything on the car?”
Corky shook her head. “The worst part is there probably wasnt much damage done to it. We couldnt find any broken glass. There were no paint chips, not even dirt shak
en out from under the fenders. Nothing. Hows your day going?”
“Emils antsy.”
Corky looked up. “About the Heinicke case?”
Hank nodded and tried unsuccessfully to stretch out his legs in the cramped quarters.
“Im not surprised. Do you want me to tell you, „I told you so?”
Hank glared. “If it was up to you and our spineless prosecutor, wed close down the jail. What I want you to do is to get down to the Malalani and work over anyone on the staff who was on duty in the area the night of the murder.”
“Sure thing. I can think of worse places to spend a couple of days. Should I interview Alice.”
“It is too bad those dolphins cant talk. Im sure they saw Cole drop the gun in their pool. While youre down there, talk to the waiter again, the one who served Heinicke and Cole their drinks. Find out what Cole was wearing and whether or not he had a briefcase or package with him.”
“Ah-hah. I should have thought of that. The gun!”
“Right. Pick up a complete readout of all the calls from 333 while Heinicke occupied the room. All weve got is just a record of the room service call and the one to Honolulu on Saturday night. If we get ambitious, well check out any other numbers he might have rung up.”
“How about if I check with Qual to see what theyre uncovering?”
“OK, but no trading of information until you clear with me. Understand?”
Corky gave a mock salute and said, “Yes! Sir!”
“Youve got something in mind, dont you?” Hank asked, eyeing her closely. “What are you going to go fishing for?”
“Some info Emil might like to have.”
“Out with it.”
“Evidence Cole knew Heinicke was coming to Hawaii.”
“Good point. It would sure help the prosecutions case, since he wants to be able to prove premeditation.”
“On the other hand, evidence Cole didnt know Heinicke was coming over might sink the case.”
“Why so?”
“What would be the point to his having brought his gun over, unless he knew Heinicke was going to be here?”
The Yoshinobu Mysteries: Volume 2 Page 10