by Sandra Balzo
‘Sure, when I was little. When I got older, though, he started to get creepy.’
From the service area came the sound of a piece of flatware hitting the floor, followed by a ‘Shit!’ Sarah was listening to every word.
‘Creepy how?’ I asked. ‘Did he come on to you?’
Ginny seemed horrified. ‘Ick, no. Just … he was an old guy and he’d walk around the house with his shirt off and his gut sucked in. Especially when I had girlfriends over. Like he was this Madonnis?’
‘Adonis, I think you mean.’ When I was Ginny and Eric’s age I thought my parents were old, too. Happily – or not – we all eventually get payback in the form of our very own potbellies, thinning hair and saggy skin. ‘Back to that night – how did you get into the building?’
‘I have keys.’
I blinked. ‘Why would you have keys for the dental office?’
Ginny shrugged. ‘My dad gave them to me the last time I was here.’
‘For just the dental office itself?’
‘And the front delivery entrance downstairs. Which was a good thing because the revolving one next to it wouldn’t budge.’
Ted would go ape-shit if he knew his partner had been handing out building keys.
Ginny was frowning. ‘But when I got to the tenth floor I didn’t even need the key. The office door was open.’
‘So you went right in?’
‘Uh huh. The lights weren’t on in the waiting room but the door that leads to the exam rooms was sitting open so I went back.’
‘Weren’t you kind of spooked?’ Eric asked.
‘A little. I yelled, like, “Dad? Are you here?”’
‘Any answer?’ I asked.
‘No, but I heard papers rustling.’ She seemed unsettled by the memory. ‘I thought he must be there after all.’
If Ginny could detect ‘papers rustling’ at the end of the hall William certainly should have heard her calling for him.
‘So even though you didn’t get a reply from your dad you went down the corridor to his office?’
‘Uh huh, but he wasn’t there. There were papers on the floor, blowing around. I didn’t get it at first.’
‘That the window was broken?’
‘Uh huh.’ Again, this time with her head bobbing up and down. ‘It was the outside air blowing the papers, not the AC or a fan or anything.’
I remembered the wind whistling in one door of Uncommon Grounds and out the other on Friday night. ‘What kind of papers?’
The girl shifted uncomfortably. ‘I don’t know.’
I wasn’t buying it and apparently my son already knew better. ‘You said you’d tell my mom the truth if she agreed to help us.’
‘She hasn’t “agreed to help us,”’ Ginny snapped.
‘And I won’t unless you’re honest with me.’ And maybe not then.
The girl’s shoulders slumped, reminding me of her mother.
‘I told you,’ Eric persisted, ‘you have to be upfront with her.’
She took a deep breath. ‘OK, so I picked up one of the papers.’
‘The divorce notice?’ I guessed.
I got another ‘Uh huh,’ tears pooling in her eyes. ‘And there was an envelope on the desk with a lawyer’s name on it.’
We’d circle back to that a little later. ‘Did you see anything besides the papers on the floor? Glass, maybe?’
Ginny blinked. ‘I don’t think so.’
‘That means the window was busted out, right?’ Eric asked. ‘Makes sense. I mean, what could have hit it from the outside way up there?’ His face changed. ‘Unless maybe a bullet?’
‘Nobody has said anything about a bullet or that Doctor Swope was shot.’ Certainly not Pavlik, though now I wasn’t sure he would have told me had he known. I turned back to Ginny. ‘Did you look out?’
She nodded and the motion caused the tears to overflow. The girl might have thought her stepdad ‘creepy’ but the night of his death had affected her.
‘What did you see?’
Ginny glanced at Eric before answering. ‘My dad on the ground below.’
‘So he was already dead,’ I said.
‘Obviously,’ Ginny snapped.
Eric stared her down. ‘Tell Mom the rest.’
I looked back and forth between the two young people. ‘Do you mean about Ginny taking the divorce papers?’
The girl’s mouth fell open. ‘How did you know?’
‘The process server gave them to your dad when he entered the building. The police didn’t find them so somebody had to have taken them. And, besides, Eric said you knew about the divorce even though your mom told me that you didn’t.’
‘Blabbermouth,’ Ginny muttered in the direction of my son.
‘Hey, the “blabbermouth” is the only reason I’m considering helping you,’ I reminded her.
‘OK, you’re right.’ Ginny appeared slightly chastened. ‘The divorce papers had blown onto the floor so I gathered them up and put them in the envelope from the lawyer.’
‘What did you do with it?’ I asked.
‘Hid it in my room.’
And who’d find anything in a teenager’s room? At least without a search warrant. ‘You didn’t leave them in the office because you didn’t want anybody to know your mom was divorcing your dad?’
Ginny dipped her head.
‘Were you afraid the police would believe he jumped because your mom had filed for divorce?’ I asked. ‘Or that your mom had pushed him?’
If I imagined I was going to shock the girl, I was wrong. ‘Wouldn’t you?’
Of course. But that was me. ‘Is that why you told Detective Taylor after the interview on Saturday morning that you felt responsible for your dad’s death?’
Eric’s brow furrowed. ‘You did?’
‘He was going all Doctor Phil about people blaming themselves when somebody commits suicide, remember?’ Ginny asked Eric. ‘Since they already thought Dad killed himself, I figured me getting kicked out of Quorum would give them another “precipitating event.” I mean, if his getting fired by your dad wasn’t enough for them.’
Lynne had said she wanted to prove William’s death was a homicide so Ginny wouldn’t blame herself. Ginny, on the other hand, had been steering the investigation toward suicide to protect her mother.
A cracked mother-daughter Gift of the Magi. And it wasn’t even Thanksgiving yet.
TWENTY-FOUR
‘So which was it?’ I asked.
Ginny’s jaw jutted out. ‘Whaddaya mean?’
‘You haven’t said whether you think your dad jumped or your mom killed him. Whichever it was, it caused you to steal the divorce papers and then lie to the police about being there.’
Ginny was silent.
I kept going. ‘Once your fingerprints were found and you realized your dad’s death was being investigated as a homicide, you took it a step further and let them suspect you.’
Eric’s mouth opened but I held up a hand to silence him. ‘It’s a big deal, Ginny. So, again, what were you thinking?’
‘I thought that my mom pushed him out the window,’ she burst out. ‘Is that what you want me to say?’
Honestly, yes. ‘Of course not—’
But Ginny wasn’t done. ‘And you know what? I wouldn’t have blamed her. The pervert was cheating on her.’
Hadn’t Ginny just said she’d kind of liked William? Seemed like quite a leap from there to thanks for killing the pervert, Mom. ‘So you knew about the divorce before you saw the papers that night?’
‘No, but that doesn’t mean I was clueless about the affair. I just didn’t realize Mom had gotten up the guts to divorce him.’
‘Your mom told you about Bethany?’ I was surprised. Lynne protected her daughter from the divorce but not the seamy reason for it?
‘I was home when she came to the door. She was like five years older than me, if that,’ Ginny said. ‘He might as well have been sticking it to my friends.’
There w
as a lot of anger there. ‘Did your mother ask you to keep it a secret?’
‘Of course. She was mad and hurt and … well, I was the only one she could talk to.’
I understood, unfortunately. If Eric hadn’t just left for school when Ted dropped the bomb about Rachel I might have confided in him, too, in the heat of the moment. Though the alternative – trying to keep it from him – hadn’t worked either.
‘So you think your mom confronted your dad Friday night,’ I said, ‘with the divorce papers.’
Ginny held her head very still and then nodded just once.
‘Have you told your lawyer any of this?’
‘No. I didn’t want her to think my mom did it.’
Since Kay Spinelli seemed to be representing both Lynne and Ginny, there was also a conflict of interest just waiting to happen.
A thought came – so elementary a light bulb should have gone on over my head. ‘What time did you say you stopped by the office?’
‘About quarter to ten?’
‘And after seeing him and gathering up the papers, you went home?’
‘Uh huh. Mom was on the phone with you when I got there, remember?’
‘Then you must have heard her tell me she’d gone past the building but hadn’t stopped in.’
‘Of course. I figured she was lying.’
‘Your mom said she left Uncommon Grounds around nine-fifteen?’ Eric asked.
‘Uh huh,’ Ginny confirmed. ‘She texted me right around that time saying she was leaving.’
I didn’t recall Ginny telling the detectives that last part.
‘What time exactly was the text?’ My son seemed to have taken over the interrogation.
Ginny pulled out her phone and punched up her messages. ‘Nine-sixteen.’
‘Did you reply?’ I wasn’t sure if I was the good cop or bad cop in this scenario.
‘No. My mom texts like all the time. It’s annoying.’
A reassuringly teenage thing to say. ‘Your mom sounded frantic when she called me looking for your dad. Yet you said nothing?’
Ginny’s eyes were big under her fringe of bangs. ‘What was I supposed to do? Either she already knew where he was or I’d have to admit I’d left him dead and lying in the rain.’
‘You honestly thought your mom was putting on an act?’
Ginny shrugged. ‘I was, wasn’t I?’
There was that. ‘When you picked up the divorce papers and the envelope did you open any desk drawers?’
‘It wasn’t like I was robbing the place or something.’ A defensive tone had crept in.
Why now? ‘I’m just wondering where your fingerprints might be.’
‘I’m not sure,’ Ginny said, cocking her head.
‘Because you weren’t thinking straight?’
‘I hadn’t had that much beer.’
‘I wasn’t thinking about beer.’
Ginny didn’t answer and Eric jumped back in before I could pursue it. ‘What about the elevator buttons? Did you touch those?’
‘Oh, yeah.’ She seemed grateful for the change of subject. ‘I must have.’
‘No big deal,’ Eric said. ‘If they know you were on the tenth floor they’d also know you took the elevator.’
‘True,’ Ginny said. ‘And there must be a ton of prints on those buttons.’
I decided nothing would be gained by circling back to what Ginny might – or might not – have been on that night. ‘Where did you park?’
‘On Silver Maple.’
‘And you didn’t hear or see anything?’
‘You mean like hear glass breaking or see my dad’s body falling? No. But I was on the sidewalk so I couldn’t see him behind the bushes, even if it hadn’t been dark.’
‘And when you went back down you didn’t check your dad’s body. Maybe to see if he was dead?’
‘No.’ Ginny shuddered. ‘I could tell he was dead, even from upstairs. His eyes were open and he was just, like … staring.’
That didn’t add up. ‘You couldn’t have.’
‘I did, too.’
‘What my mom means, Gin,’ Eric said, ‘is that your dad was on his stomach when we found him.’
She threw out her hands. ‘I can’t help that! You wanted me to tell the truth and I’m telling it.’
‘Good,’ I said. ‘And you’re going to have to do it again to the detectives. They’ll want to know why you didn’t say anything earlier.’ Hadn’t I just given this very speech to her mother?
‘I was protecting my mom.’ The ‘duh’ was implied. ‘And who said I’m talking to the storm troopers again?’
‘That’s why we need you, Mom,’ Eric said. ‘The sheriff will listen to you.’
‘Pavlik and I have decided we’re not seeing each other anymore. He wants me to stay out of this, so I’m not sure what I can do.’
Something passed through my son’s eyes. Concern, certainly, and maybe disappointment. ‘But I told Ginny she needs to straighten this all out. That you would help.’
‘My “helping” is what broke Pavlik and me up in the first place.’ I felt like I was the kid in the room.
And Ginny confirmed it. ‘You’re going to let some guy tell you what you can do?’
‘Yeah, Mom.’
They were ganging up on me. Taking what we’d taught them about being their own people and tossing it back at us. At me.
I took a deep breath. ‘No,’ I said. ‘I’m not.’
This time the entire rack of silverware hit the tiles.
TWENTY-FIVE
‘What’s Pavlik going to do?’ I asked Sarah as I put the silverware that she’d dropped into the dishwasher. My partner could have done it herself, of course, but she’d been too busy listening. ‘Stop dating me again?’
‘Dating,’ Sarah said, handing me a fork. ‘There should be a better word for it at your age.’
‘“My age” is younger than your age,’ I reminded her.
‘Hey, I’m not the one “dating.”’
The one relationship Sarah had been in since I’d known her had ended badly, which you might expect when you hold a gun on someone.
‘But the point is,’ my partner continued, ‘why should you get any more involved than you already have? Which is plenty.’
‘Because Eric asked me to,’ I said. ‘He feels sorry for the girl. Ginny’s stepfather is dead and she’s worried that telling what she knows is going to land her mother in jail for his murder.’
And for good reason. As far as I could see, Lynne was still a viable suspect unless she could prove she went straight home from Uncommon Grounds. The twenty-nine minutes between the 9:16 p.m. text and 9:45 p.m. when Ginny said she arrived at the dental office would have given Lynne plenty of time to drive there and push William out the window.
‘So is the kid scared,’ Sarah asked, ‘or a pathological liar? Take your pick, from what I heard.’
‘Yes, and thank you so much for eavesdropping.’ I flipped up the dishwasher door and pulled the lever to lock it.
‘You want privacy, don’t hold your conversation in my train station.’
Since it was her building, I didn’t have a rebuttal. ‘I agree with you that Ginny is hiding something.’
‘Has it occurred to you that she might be using you?’
‘You mean to influence the investigation? Of course. That’s why before I go near Pavlik with this I’m going to do some nosing around of my own.’
‘Which he’ll love.’
‘Who cares?’ I hit the start switch. ‘He and his minions already think I’m a busybody. I might as well live up to my reputation.’
‘You’re doing the time, might as well do the crime. Or continue doing the crime, huh?’
‘Exactly.’ Two years ago, I’d used my knowledge of Brookhills to help the then new county sheriff solve a murder.
Granted, I’d been suspected of that murder, but the fact remained I had helped.
And I’d done it again and again since then, most re
cently in South Florida a week ago. Faced down wild animals, heroically held the fort, took down the perp – all those sidekicky kind of things.
And now, suddenly, I was a liability? Had Green Hornet dumped Kato? Batman ditched Robin? Hans Solo gone solo?
I think not.
But if that’s what Pavlik wanted, I’d respect his decision and do my best to stay out of his way and not ask questions. You wouldn’t catch me approaching the sheriff with a timid please, sir, I want some more information?
Sarah was studying me. ‘You’re imagining old movie scenarios again, aren’t you?’
‘Of course not,’ I lied. Film classics were my comfort food and the unfortunately punctuated Oliver! was part of the rotation. ‘I’m just trying to figure out what my next step is.’
‘Other than going to Pavlik,’ Sarah said.
‘Other than going to Pavlik.’ I dumped a scoop of freshly ground beans into a paper filter. ‘First thing I need to do is confirm exactly what time Lynne left here Friday night. Who knows? She may have texted Ginny and then waited to hear back from her.’
‘That’s easy enough to find out. When Amy gets in at three ask her if she saw Lynne leave.’
‘I intend to.’ Seating the filter on top of an empty carafe, I slipped the whole thing below a brewer. ‘If Lynne was here until quarter to ten or even nine-thirty on Friday night then as far as I can see she’s in the clear.’
‘Only if you believe darling daughter about when she was there. And what’s to say that Ginny isn’t the one who killed Daddy Dearest?’
It did alliterate better than Mommy Dearest. ‘Honestly? Nothing. For all I know Ginny and her mother are both pathological liars, as you say. I’m starting to think I should pay more attention to what they’re not saying than what they are.’
‘And don’t forget you have other leads and suspects beyond Thelma and Louise.’
And I was the one with old movies on the brain?
‘The former partner, for one, and your picketer,’ Sarah continued. ‘Maybe she’s another of Swope’s conquests.’
‘You heard what Lynne said about William’s taste in women. Rita Pahlke doesn’t fit the profile.’
‘Which is young, I know.’ Sarah stopped. ‘Maybe that’s why Ginny stopped by. Maybe they were doing it Woody and Soon-Yi-style.’