by Parnell Hall
“Yeah, but things were bad before that.”
“Not this bad.”
“How bad is this bad?”
“She hadn’t thrown me out of the house.”
“She has now? She still hasn’t, or you’d be in a motel and we wouldn’t be doing all this sneaking around.”
“I suppose.”
“Men,” Cora said. “Just like with the damn baseball cards. You can’t throw anything away. You can complain all you want, but you can’t let go of your wife. You’re not getting along, life together is living hell, but you’re still not out of the house because she hasn’t thrown you out yet. I suppose you can argue you like the house. How long have you been married?”
“Twenty-three years.”
“There you go. You fool around before?”
“Of course not.”
“Did she?”
“Really!”
“See, you’re still not over her. I can always tell. Which is what’s making me stupid. The amount of mental energy I’m spending on this damn relationship.”
“You know she slapped Becky Baldwin?”
“I was there.”
“What was that like?”
“Better than if it was me.”
“She was really angry?”
“In a cold, methodical way. Kind of scary. Trust me, I’ve been there. On both sides. Thank you, Joni Mitchell.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, you’re younger than I am.” Cora sighed, shook her head. “‘Both Sides Now.’ Google the lyrics.”
They sat awhile in silence.
Barney got up from the bed.
Cora got up, too.
He took her in his arms.
“Well, I guess this is good-bye,” Barney said.
Cora smiled, patted him on the cheek. “Let’s not be hasty,” she said, unbuttoning his shirt.
Chapter
46
Cora dropped Barney off at the Country Kitchen and drove over to the Bakerhaven Gazette. Downstairs the presses were silent. Printers stood around waiting to start the job.
Cora found Aaron in his cubical working on the story.
“They’re retooling the front page,” Aaron said. “Not for me. The editor’s whipping it up from what I gave him. Which wasn’t much. I’m doing the expanded coverage on page four. Which is a rehash of the same things, since he’s just quoting me.”
“You happen to see a thin man in the crowd who looked like a walking cadaver?”
Aaron’s eyes widened. “Are you telling me…?”
“Alan Guilford’s older brother flew in from Seattle to join in the fun.”
“What’s his story?”
“He thinks her sister did it.”
“What!?”
“Or his baby brother. Not big on family, I gather. Still, his first choice is Auntie Edith.”
“Who knows about this?”
“Chief Harper, Dan Finley, and Sebastian Guilford.”
“That’s his name?”
“You got it.”
“And Rick Reed doesn’t.”
“Bingo, right on the button.”
“You telling me this off the record?”
“Did I say that? I don’t recall saying that. Must have slipped my mind.”
Aaron snatched up the phone, pressed the intercom for his editor. “Hold the front page! I’ll be right there!” He slammed down the phone, checked with Cora. “Sebastian Guilford?”
“That’s right.”
Aaron ran out the door.
Chapter
47
Chief Harper was tipped back in his chair with a cup of coffee and a California bun from Cushman’s Bake Shop. The Bakerhaven Gazette was open on his desk. The headline read: CHARLOTTE GUILFORD MURDERED. The right-hand column dealt with the facts of the murder. The sub-headline read: NEPHEW ACCUSES AUNT. The left-hand column, an exclusive by reporter Aaron Grant, dealt with Sebastian Guilford’s accusation.
“What’s up?” Cora said.
Harper took a bite of bun, washed it down with coffee. “Nothing much. Seen the morning paper?”
“I glanced at it.”
“It appears that Aaron Grant found out about Sebastian Guilford.”
“I read that,” Cora said.
“I wonder how Aaron Grant got that story.”
“Do you really?”
“No, I have a pretty good idea.”
“And yet you’re not leaping up and ripping my throat out.”
“What’s the point? I knew you were going to give him the story. You knew you were going to give him the story. The only one who didn’t know you were going to give him the story was Dan Finley, who was very careful not to give it to Rick Reed.”
“Why’d you care about that?”
“You don’t want to see Rick Reed scooped by Aaron?”
“No, but I can’t imagine you manipulating the witness just to make it happen.”
Harper smiled. “You got me. I certainly wouldn’t. On the other hand, there’s a big difference between some nut job on TV screaming about how his aunt’s a killer and reading about it in the morning paper in an article peppered with the word alleged. And it’s not just that the guy alleges that his aunt is the killer. The guy is alleged to have alleged that his aunt’s the killer. Aaron never talked to the guy himself, he only talked to you. Which buys me time before Henry Firth starts pressuring me to arrest the aunt.”
“Ratface wouldn’t do that.”
“Wanna bet? And don’t call him Ratface. There’s five bodies kicking around. The prosecutor’s so eager to charge someone, he’ll take anything he can get.”
“Can I quote you on that, Chief? The prosecutor doesn’t care who’s innocent or guilty as long as he can make a case?”
“You do and we will have trouble,” Harper said. He took a bite of his California bun, chewed it around. “You know Barney’s wife slapped Becky Baldwin?”
“I was there.”
“How was it?”
“It was beautiful. She swung from the hip, got her weight behind it. It was pretty loud. I gotta tell you, Becky was shocked.”
“How’d Becky take it?”
“Not well. She couldn’t place the woman. Asked who it was. Mrs. Cushman had to fill her in.”
“Do you buy that?”
“What? That she didn’t know who it was? Half the people in this town I know by sight but I don’t know who they are.”
“Yeah, but you’re not sleeping with their husbands.”
Cora gave him a look.
Chief Harper blushed bright red.
“You got anything on the crime,” Cora said, “or would you rather just gossip?”
“You know as much as I do.”
“I certainly hope not. I haven’t had Dan Finley making phone calls for me. What’s he found out?”
“Basically nothing.”
“You identify the lodger yet?”
“No.”
“Well, that doesn’t add up. It’s been over forty-eight hours. He should have been reported missing. Unless he’s foreign, in which case you would expect him to have a passport.”
“No one of his description has been reported missing. At least within the given time frame.”
“What about outside the given time frame?”
“Nobody’s been reported missing at all.”
“That makes no sense.”
“Tell me about it. A perfectly ordinary man killed for no apparent reason. And when you go to check him out, he’s a total mystery. A complete nobody. The man who wasn’t there.”
“A movie title. That should mean something. It’s a shame to think it doesn’t.”
“What about your movie?”
“What about it?”
“You said this crazy nephew was just like one of the people in it.”
“What about it?”
“How do you account for that?”
“I don’t account for it. Just chalk it up as another bizarre circumstance.�
��
“Yeah, but there’s been so many.”
There was a knock on the door. Alan Guilford and Becky Baldwin came in.
“I see you brought reinforcements,” Harper said.
“Arlene thought I should have a lawyer.”
Cora cocked her head. “Arlene suggested you bring Becky Baldwin?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Doesn’t quite compute.” Cora waved it away. “Never mind. What’s up?”
“What do you mean, what’s up? You asked me to come in here.”
“I asked you to come in here. I’m the chief of police. Cora only appears to be running things.”
“That’s just it,” Alan said. “You asked for me again. It’s getting to be a habit. Makes it look like I’m your chief suspect. Arlene felt I should protect myself.”
“That’s really not the case,” Harper said. “I wanted to talk to you about your brother.”
Alan rolled his eyes. “Ah, my dear, sweet brother. Just shows up and moves right in.”
“What?”
“How do you like that? Accuse your aunt of murder, and move into her house.”
“Wait a minute. Are you saying Edith invited him to stay?”
“What do you mean invited? He just moved in.”
“How can he do that?”
“Why not? He has his key.”
“Sebastian has keys to the house?” Cora said.
“Of course he does.”
“I’ll be damned.”
“Did you run into him last night?” Harper asked.
“I avoided him last night. I stayed at Arlene’s. I’ll tell you one thing, I’m not going to sleep in the same house with that man.”
“You’re afraid of him?”
“I’m worried about him, that’s for sure. You know what he used to do when he was a kid? He used to steal things, blame it on me.”
“Wait a second,” Becky said. “My client is not making any accusations against his brother. He is merely pointing out that he did not have an easy childhood, and that his brother’s sudden appearance is a totally unexpected occurrence that he is attempting to adjust to.”
Alan looked pained. “See, that’s what I don’t understand. You and Arlene both seem to feel I need to watch my tongue. I am not in any trouble and I’m not going to get in any trouble. Nothing I can say will hurt me. And I certainly trust these people not to twist my words around. May I speak plainly without fear of being quoted in some legal action taken by my brother?”
“Absolutely,” Cora said. “Anything you say may be used in evidence against you if they arrest you for murder. But in terms of a civil suit for defamation of character, our lips are sealed.”
“Is that right, Chief Harper?” Becky said.
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Stop it, Chief,” Cora said. “We’re all friends here. Even if the kid did bring a mouthpiece. Becky, I know you want to earn your money, but we got five killings to sift through. Can we kind of speed it up?”
“We can speed it up if you’re not going to treat us as adversaries. To begin with, I’d like to clear my client of this crime. Do we have a time of death yet?”
“Don’t you know?” Harper said.
Becky frowned. “How would I know that?”
“You’re confusing her with Perry Mason, Chief. She doesn’t have Paul Drake and a flock of detectives. She’s got me when she can afford to hire me, which hasn’t happened lately, and that’s about it. So go ahead and tell her. What’s the time of death?”
“It would appear she was killed yesterday afternoon somewhere around one o’clock.”
“Aw, hell,” Alan said.
“What’s the matter?” Cora said.
“I got an alibi from two o’clock on. I was with Arlene.”
“Where were you at one?”
“I went out to the mall.”
“Did you buy anything? Do you have a receipt?”
“Now here,” Becky Baldwin said, “I would like to speak to my client before he speaks to you. Not that he has anything to hide. But these are matters I have not yet discussed with him, and I’d just like to know what his answers are before he makes them.”
“That’s certainly fair,” Cora said.
Harper turned on her. “You’re deciding which of my questions the witness should answer?”
“I really don’t see what I’m a witness to,” Alan said. “I didn’t see anything. I didn’t hear anything. I wasn’t there.”
“You’re still the last person to see Charlotte alive.”
“Really? Counting Edith?”
“Edith saw her earlier. Charlotte said she was going shopping. As far as Edith knew, she went. Did you happen to see her in the mall?”
“Here again,” Becky said, “I would like to confer with my client.”
“Oh, nonsense,” Alan said. “There’s nothing to discuss. I went to the mall. I did not see Charlotte there. The last time I saw Charlotte was when I had a conversation with her earlier that morning.”
“To get back to my questions,” Harper said, “I want to know about your brother. I would like to know, without some paranoid concern that you are going to be sued for slander.”
Becky started to complain.
Cora jumped in. “I’m sure the chief means no offense. He’s just a trifle stressed by the fact the mortality rate in this town is beginning to resemble that of a PlayStation videogame.”
“Can he talk off the record?” Becky said.
“Of course he can,” Cora told her.
“Is that right?” Becky asked Chief Harper.
“With her assurance, why do you need mine? Fine. Talk off the record. Just talk.”
Alan looked to Becky, who nodded okay.
“My brother was the type of kid who pulled the wings off of flies. Cruel, mean, vindictive, sly, sneaky, cunning. He never got caught. At least, not in the beginning. A newspaper would disappear. A page of it, folded into a paper airplane, would be found in my pants drawer. Sebastian would bring me a present. I’d open it up, it would be Aunt Charlotte’s ring. I’d get caught putting it back. One time he held me down and poured pudding down my throat. Butterscotch pudding. Five or six times, I don’t know how many, until I got an incredible tummy ache. Then he went to our aunts and told them I ate all the pudding. It was hard to deny it. I was throwing up pudding in the bathroom.”
“And eventually he got caught?”
“He got more and more daring, the more he got away with. One afternoon when they were out he took the car for a joyride, smashed it into a tree. I’m sure he would have pinned that on me, too, if there’d been any way, but he got picked up on the scene. He also broke his arm. After that they took his stories with a grain of salt. When they cracked down on him, he left.”
“And his accusations against you?”
“Are lies, plain and simple.”
“What about his accusations against Edith?”
“Absolutely disgraceful and utterly absurd. Edith wouldn’t harm a fly. But if he’s really pushing it, I would start looking at him for the crime. It’s just what he always did. Do something bad and blame someone else.”
“And you didn’t see him in town before he showed up at your aunts’ last night?”
“No. It was an absolute shock.”
“You recognized him at once?”
“He hasn’t changed. Even as a kid he looked deathly ill. That’s how he’d get away with things. Look frail and helpless, poor little boy.”
“And yet he was strong enough to hold you down?” Cora said.
A flash of anger crossed Alan’s face, but was quickly suppressed. “He was older. Six years older. Made a huge difference.”
“And you hadn’t seen him from the time he left home until last night?”
“That’s right.”
“Could he have been around here for a while without you seeing him?”
Alan’s eyes narrowed. “What are you getting at? If I didn�
��t run into him, sure. If I saw him, I’d know. You don’t forget that face.”
“I really think we’re done here,” Becky said.
“One more thing,” Harper said. “The last time you saw Charlotte. Yesterday morning. You came over to shave and she asked you about breakfast. Have you given that any thought? Anything come to mind?”
Alan looked at Becky.
“That’s sort of a touchy subject,” Becky said, “what with you claiming Alan was the last one to see his aunt alive.”
“Arlene didn’t like it,” Alan explained. “She thought it was antagonistic. Like saying I had the most opportunity.”
“You’re the one who brought it up,” Cora said.
“I just want to know about the conversation. In case I could pick up a clue.”
“Afraid I can’t help you,” Alan said. “I told you everything I remember.”
“Tell us something you don’t remember,” Cora said.
Alan looked confused.
Becky rolled her eyes, put her arm around her client, and steered him out the door.
“Do you have to antagonize everybody?” Harper said.
“A lawyer and a client? Come on, Chief. They’re already hostile.”
Harper sighed. “Well, we didn’t get anything.”
“Yeah, we did. Alan Guilford doesn’t want to talk about his meeting with Charlotte.”
“That’s because he was the last person to see her alive.”
“That’s what he says. But it’s not necessarily true. He has his lawyer primed to intervene. And he trots out his girlfriend as an excuse. That’s particularly telling.”
“Why?”
“It’s an irrelevant detail. He’s explaining without being asked. It’s defensive as hell. Under normal circumstances, a guy doesn’t volunteer the fact his girlfriend doesn’t want him to do something.”
“Is that so?”
“Didn’t you ever date anyone?”
“Not in this lifetime.”
They were interrupted by loud, angry voices and a cackle of laughter.
“What the hell is that?” Cora said.
“I don’t know, but it can’t be good.”
Cora followed the chief outside where all hell had broken loose. Alan Guilford was attempting to kill his demonically grinning brother, who kept taunting him and dancing out of range. Becky Baldwin had gotten between them and was trying to restrain Alan. Rick Reed and the Channel 8 news team were filming gleefully.