by Sue Grafton
“Who cares?”
She focused on me again. She could barely stand up. “How many kids you got?”
“None.”
“That’s how many I got,” she said. She pushed the screen door open and I stepped in.
The place was essentially one long room with a stove, sink, and refrigerator lined up at the far end. Every available surface was stacked with dirty dishes. A small wooden table with two chairs divided the kitchen from the living room, one corner of which was taken up by a brass bed with the sheets half pulled off. The mattress sagged in the middle and it looked as if it would erupt in a symphony of springs if you sat on it. I caught a glimpse of bathroom through a curtained doorway to the right. On the other side of the bathroom, there was a closet, and beyond that was the back door.
I followed her to the kitchen table. She sank into one of the chairs and then got up again, frowning, and moved with great care to the bathroom where she threw up at length. I hate listening to people throw up. (This is big news, I’ll bet.) I moved over to the sink and cleared the dirty dishes out, running hot water to mask the sounds coming from the bathroom. I squirted dish-washing liquid into the tumbling water and watched with satisfaction as a cloud of bubbles began to form. I slid plates into the depths, tucking silverware around the edges.
While the dishes soaked, I emptied the garbage, which consisted almost exclusively of empty whiskey bottles and beer cans. I peered into the refrigerator. The light was out and the interior smelled like mold, the metal racks crusted with what looked like dog doo. I closed the door again, worried I was going to have to take a turn in the bathroom with her.
I tuned an ear to Shana again. I heard the toilet galumphing and, after that, the reassuring white noise of a shower being run. Being an incurable snoop at heart, I turned my attention idly to the mail stacked up on the kitchen table. Since I was being mother’s little helper, I felt almost entitled to nose around in her business. I walked my fingers through some unopened bills and junk mail. Nothing of interest on the face of it. There was only one piece of personal mail, a big square envelope postmarked Los Angeles. A greeting card? Curses. The envelope was sealed so tight I couldn’t even pick the flap loose. Nothing visible when I held it to the light. No scent. Shana’s name and address were handwritten in ink, a genderless script that told me nothing about the person who’d penned it. Reluctantly I tucked it back and returned to the sink.
By the time I had the dishes clean and piled in a perilous mound in the rack, Shana was emerging from the bathroom, her head wrapped in one towel and her body in another. Without any modesty at all, she dried herself off and got dressed. Her body was much older than her face. She sat down at the kitchen table in jeans and a T-shirt, barefoot. She looked exhausted, but her skin was scrubbed and her eyes had cleared to some extent. She lit an unfiltered Camel. This lady took smoking seriously. I didn’t think unfiltered cigarettes were available these days.
I sat down across from her. “When did you last eat?”
“I forget. I started drinking this morning when I got back. Poor Tap. I was standing right there.” She paused and her eyes filled with tears again, her nose turning pink with emotion. “I couldn’t believe what was happening. I just lost it. Couldn’t cope. I wasn’t crazy about him, but he was an okay guy. Kind of dumb. A goofball who made awful jokes. I can’t believe this is starting all over. What was he thinking about? He must have been nuts. Bailey comes back to town and look what happens. Somebody else dead. This time it’s his best friend.”
“Daisy figures somebody put Tap up to it.”
“Bailey did,” she snapped.
“Just wait,” I said. “He got a telephone call last night at Pearl’s. He talked briefly and then took off.”
She blew her nose. “Must have been after I left,” she said, unconvinced. “You want some coffee? It’s instant.”
“Sure, I’ll have some.”
She left her cigarette on the lip of the ashtray and got up. She filled a saucepan with water and stuck it on the back burner, turning on the gas. She extracted two coffee mugs from the dish rack. “Thanks for cleaning up. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Idle hands…” I said, not mentioning that I’d also managed a little of the devil’s work.
She unearthed a jar of instant coffee and a couple of spoons, which she set on the table while we waited for the water to boil. She took another drag from her cigarette and blew the smoke toward the ceiling. I could feel it settle around me like a fine veil. I was going to have to shampoo my hair again and change my clothes.
She said, “I still say Bailey killed her.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Why would anybody else?”
“Well, I don’t know, but from what I’ve heard, he was the only real friend she had.”
She shook her head. Her hair was still wet, separated into long strands that dampened the shoulders of her T-shirt. “God, I hate this. Sometimes I wonder how she would have ended up. I’ve thought about that a lot. I never was much of a mom in terms of the ordinary stuff, but that kid and I were close. More like sisters.”
“I saw some pictures of her in the yearbook. She was beautiful.”
“For all the good it did. Sometimes I think her looks were what caused all her problems.”
“Do you know who she was involved with?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t know she was pregnant until I heard about the coroner’s report. I knew she was sneakin’ out at night, but I have no idea where she went. And what was I supposed to do, nail the door shut? You can’t control a kid that age. I guess maybe I should correct myself. We’d always been close. I thought we still were. If she was in trouble, she could have come to me. I’d have done anything for her.”
“I heard she’d been trying to find out about her father.”
Shana shot me a startled look, then covered her surprise with busyness. She stubbed out her cigarette and moved over to the stove, where she picked up a pot holder and shifted the saucepan unnecessarily. “Where’d you hear that?”
“Bailey. I talked to him at the jail yesterday. You never told her who her father was?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I made a deal with him years ago and I kept my part. I might have broken down and told her, but I couldn’t see what purpose it’d serve.”
“Did she ask?”
“She might have mentioned it, but she didn’t seem all that intent on the answer and I didn’t think much of it.”
“Bailey thought she was getting a line on the guy. Was there a way she could have tracked him down?”
“Why would she do that when she had me?”
“Maybe she wanted acknowledgment, or maybe she needed help.”
“Because she was pregnant?”
“It’s possible,” I said. “As I understand it, she’d just had it confirmed, but she must have suspected if her period was late. Why else go all the way to Lompoc for a test?”
“I have no idea.”
“What if she’d found him? What would his reaction have been?”
“She didn’t find him,” she said flatly. “He’d have told me.”
“Unless he didn’t want you to know.”
“What are you getting at?”
“Somebody killed her.”
“Well, it wasn’t him.” Her voice had risen and I could see the heat in her face.
“It could have been an accident. He might have been upset or incensed.”
“She’s his daughter, for God’s sake! A seventeen-year-old girl? He’d never do such a thing. He’s a nice man. A prince.”
“Why not take responsibility if he was so nice?”
“Because he couldn’t. It wasn’t possible. Anyway, he did. He sent money. Still does. That’s all I ever asked.”
“Shana, I need to know who he is.”
“It’s none of your business. It’s nobody’s business except his and mine.”
“Why all the secrecy? Wha
t’s the big deal? So he’s married. So what?”
“I didn’t say he was married. You said that. I don’t want to discuss it. He’s got nothing to do with this, so just drop it. Ask me any more about him and I’ll throw your ass out the door.”
“What about Bailey’s money? Did she ever mention that?”
“What money?”
I watched her carefully. “Tap told me the two of them had a stash nobody knew about. They asked her to hold it till they got out of jail. That’s the last anybody heard of it.”
“I don’t know about any money.”
“What about Jean? Did she seem to spend more than she might have made at work?”
“Not that I ever saw. If she’d had some, you wouldn’t have caught her livin’ like this.”
“You were living here at the time of her death?”
“We had an apartment a couple blocks over, but it wasn’t much better.”
We talked on for a bit, but I couldn’t elicit any more information. I got back to my room at six o’clock, not much smarter than I was when I’d started out. I typed up a report, fudging the language to disguise the fact that I hadn’t gotten much.
Chapter 12
*
I ate an early dinner with the Fowlers that night. Ori’s meals had to come at fixed intervals to keep her blood sugar on track. Ann had made a beef stew, with salad and French bread, all of it yummy, I thought. Royce had problems with the meal. His illness had sapped his appetite along with his strength, and some deep-seated impatience made it hard for him to tolerate social occasions in any event. I couldn’t imagine how it must have been to grow up with a man like him. He was gruff to the point of churlishness except when Bailey’s name was mentioned, and then he shifted into a sentimentality he made no attempt to disguise. Ann didn’t show much reaction to the fact that Bailey was the preferred child, but then she’d had a lifetime to get used to it. Ori, wanting to be certain Royce’s illness didn’t outshine her own, picked at her food, not complaining about it, but sighing audibly. It was obvious she was feeling “poorly,” and Royce’s refusal to inquire about her health only caused her to double her efforts. I made myself inconspicuous, tuning out the content of their conversation so I could concentrate on the interplay between them. As a child, I didn’t experience much in the way of family and I usually find myself somewhat taken aback to see one at close range. “The Donna Reed Show” this was not. People talk about “dysfunctional” families; I’ve never seen any other kind. I turned up my interior volume control.
Ori put her fork down and pushed her plate back. “I best get things picked up. Maxine’s coming by in the morning.”
Ann took note of how much Ori’d eaten, and I could see her debating whether to speak up or not. “Did she switch days again? I thought she came on Mondays.”
“I asked her to come special. Time to spring-clean.”
“You don’t have to do that, Mother. Nobody does any spring cleaning out here.”
“Well, I know I don’t have to. What’s that got to do with it? Place is a mess. Dirt everywhere. It gets on my nerves. I may be an invalid, but I’m not infirm.”
“Nobody said you were.”
Ori plowed right on. “I still have some use, even if it’s not appreciated.”
“Of course you’re appreciated,” Ann murmured dutifully. “What time’s she coming?”
“About nine, she said. We’ll have to tear this whole place apart.”
“I’ll take care of my room,” Ann said. “Last time she was in there, I swear she went through everything I owned.”
“Well, I’m sure Maxine wouldn’t do that. Besides, I already told her to do the floors in there and take down the drapes. I can’t turn around and tell her the opposite.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll tell her myself.”
“Don’t you hurt her feelings,” Ori warned.
“All I’m going to do is tell her I’ll clean my own room.”
“What do you have against the woman? She’s always liked you.”
Royce stirred irritably. “Goddamn it, Ori. There’s such a thing as privacy. If she doesn’t want Maxine in her room, then so be it. Keep her out of my room, too, while you’re at it. I feel the same way Ann does.”
“Well, pardon me, I’m sure!” Ori snorted.
Ann seemed surprised by Royce’s support, but she didn’t dare comment. I’d seen his loyalties alter inexplicably, but there didn’t seem to be any pattern to the shift. As a result, she was often caught up short or in some way made to look foolish.
Ori was now annoyed and her face was set with stubbornness. She lapsed into silence. Ann studied her dinner plate. I was casting about desperately for a reason to excuse myself.
Royce focused on me. “Who’d you talk to today?”
I hate being quizzed at the table. It’s one of the reasons I choose to eat alone. I mentioned my conversation with Daisy and the brief interview with the dentist. I was detailing some of the background information I’d picked up on Jean when he cut me off.
“Waste of time,” he said. I paused, losing my train of thought. “That isn’t clear.”
“I’m not paying you to talk to that pansy of a dentist.”
“Then I’ll do it on my own time,” I said. “Man’s an idiot. Never had a thing to do with Jean. Wouldn’t give her the time of day. Thought he was too good. She told me that herself.” Royce coughed into his fist.
“He did date her briefly.”
Ann’s face lifted. “David Poletti did?”
“Do what I say and leave him out of this.”
“Pop, if Kinsey thinks he might provide useful information, why not let her pursue it?”
“Who’s paying the woman, you or me?” Ann retreated into silence. Ori gestured with impatience and struggled to her feet. “You have ruint this meal,” she snapped at him. “Just go on to bed if you can’t be civil to our company. Lord a day, Royce, I can’t stand no more of your crankiness.”
Now the pouting crossed the table from Ori to Royce. Ann got up and moved to the kitchen counter, probably driven by the same tension that was making my stomach hurt. My orphanhood was becoming more appealing by the minute.
Ori snatched her cane and began to hobble toward the living room.
“Sorry for the interruption. Her temper’s land of short,” he said to me.
“Is not,” she fired back over her shoulder.
Royce ignored her so he could concentrate on me. “That’s all you talked to? Daisy and that… tooth fairy?”
“I spoke to Shana Timberlake.”
“What for?”
Ori paused at the door, not wanting to miss a trick. “Maxine says she’s took up with Dwight Shales. Can you believe that?”
“Oh, Mother. Don’t be ridiculous. Dwight wouldn’t have anything to do with her.”
“It’s the truth. Maxine saw her getting out of his car over by the Shop ‘n’ Go last Saturday.”
“So what?”
“At six A.M.?” Ori said.
“Maxine doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
“She most certainly does. She was right about Sarah Brunswick and her yardman, wasn’t she?”
Royce turned around and stared at her pointedly. “Do you mind?” Ann’s face was beginning to flush darkly as the conflict between the two sparked to life again. He turned back to me. “What’s Shana Timberlake got to do with my son?”
“I’m trying to find out who fathered Jean’s baby. I gather he was married.”
“She mention any names?” Royce asked. Ann had returned with a fresh basket of bread, which she passed to him. He took a piece and passed the basket on to me. I placed it on the table, unwilling to be distracted by ritual gestures.
“She says Jean didn’t tell her, but she must suspect someone. I’ll let a little time pass and try her again. Bailey indicated Jean was trying to find out who her own father was, and that might open up some possibilities.”
Royce pinched h
is nose, sniffing, and then he waved the idea away. “Probably some trucker she took up with. Woman never was particular. Long as a fella had money in his pocket, she’d do anything he asked.” A second mild bout of coughing shook him and I had to wait till it had passed before I responded.
“If it was a trucker, why conceal his identity? It almost has to be somebody in the community, and probably somebody respectable.”
“Hogwash. Nobody respectable would be caught dead with that whore…”
“Somebody who didn’t want it known, then,” I said.
“Bullshit! I don’t believe a word of it ���”
I cut him off in a flash. “Royce, I know what I’m doing. Would you just back off and let me get on with it?”
He stared at me dangerously, his face growing dark. “What?”
“You hired me to do a job and I’m doing it. I don’t want to have to justify and defend every move.”
Royce’s temper flared like lighter fluid squirted on a fire. His hand shot out and he pointed a shaking finger in my face. “I’m not taking any sass from you, sis!”
“Great. And I won’t take any sass from you. Either I do this my way or you can find somebody else.”
Royce came halfway out of his chair, leaning on the table. “How dare you talk to me that way!” His face was flaming and his arms trembled where they bore his weight.
I sat where I was, watching him remotely through a haze of anger. I was on the verge of a comment so rude that I hesitated to voice it, when Royce started to cough. There was a pause while he tried to suppress it. He sucked in a breath. The coughing doubled. He pulled out a handkerchief and clamped it across his mouth. Ann and I both gave him our undivided attention, alerted by the fact that he couldn’t seem to get his breath. His chest heaved in a wrenching spasm that gathered momentum, flinging him about.
“Pop, are you all right?”
He shook his head, unable to speak, his tongue protruding as the coughing shook him from head to toe. He wheezed, clutching at his shirt front as if for support. Instinctively, I reached for him as he staggered backward into his chair, struggling for air. It was suffocating to watch. The coughing tore at him, bringing up blood and phlegm. Sweat broke out on his face.