The Perfect Husband

by Lisa Gardner

  “It means he has more to say. Maybe Jim Beckett was something or Jim Beckett wants something. I don’t know. But there’s a phrase in his head and he won’t stop until he’s gotten it out. He’s not done, Houlihan. He’s not done.”

  “Lieutenant,” a voice called across the room. “I have Lieutenant Berttelli from Connecticut on the phone for you.”

  Houlihan and Quincy exchanged glances. Houlihan took the call at a nearby table. It lasted just a few minutes.

  “They found Shelly Zane. You coming?”

  “Yes. What city?”

  “Avon. Avon, Connecticut.”

  Quincy added it to his column.

  IT TOOK THREE hours to drive to the cheap roadside motel outside of Avon. The crime scene photographer had just finished up, and now the Connecticut task force officers were bagging the evidence. Two officers were trying to figure out how to move the queen-size bed, which was bolted to the floor. Finally they decided severing the bolts would disturb the crime scene too much, so they instructed a rookie to crawl beneath the bed and retrieve the victim’s fingers.

  When Quincy walked in, that was the first thing he saw—some rookie’s butt sticking up from beneath the bed as he reached for Shelly Zane’s fingers. Those were the games Beckett liked to play. He liked to mutilate his victim’s hands and he liked to mess with cops. Somewhere right now Jim was probably driving down a highway and chuckling at the thought of some rookie on his hands and knees recovering bloody fingers and trying not to retch.

  Quincy walked into the bathroom, where Shelly Zane’s body lay splayed out on the cracked blue-tiled floor between the toilet and the bathtub. Her arms were over her head, her mutilated hands palm up, as if she were caught in the act of surrendering. A pair of nylons were tied so tightly around her neck, they’d almost disappeared into the flesh. Quincy had already spotted the empty package of Hanes Alive Support hose in the wastebasket. Bundy had bragged that they had superior tensile strength, making them the garrote of choice for ligature. Apparently Beckett had paid attention to that part of the Bundy interview notes.

  Postmortem lividity was most pronounced in the head, above the ligature line, and in the arms and lower legs, indicating that she’d been hanged. Around the knotted nylons, ruptured blood vessels had turned her neck black and blue. Petechial hemorrhages had darkened the whites of her eyes bloodred.

  The back of her head was thick with blood and gray matter. The walls bore the spray pattern. Beckett had strangled her to death, dropped her down, then beaten her with a blunt wooden instrument. Typical homicidal overkill.

  Thirteen victims later, Beckett’s rage was only growing worse.

  Shelly Zane’s body was already outlined with chalk, unusual for this early in the evidence-gathering process. Behind him, Lieutenant Berttelli was raking a young officer over the coals for it. Probably the officer who’d arrived on the scene first.

  “What the fuck were you thinkin’?” the lieutenant was screaming. “Didn’t they reach you to never mess with the crime scene until the photos are taken? What am I supposed to tell the DA now? I got a bunch of fucking photos of a fucking outlined corpse that no fucking judge is gonna admit as evidence.”

  “I swear, I didn’t do it—”

  “Well, it wasn’t the fucking chalk fairy.”

  “Beckett,” Quincy said calmly. Lieutenant Berttelli shut up long enough to pay attention. “Beckett knows the rules of evidence,” Quincy continued. “And he likes to mess with our minds.”

  Quincy’s gaze came to rest on the note pinned to Shelly Zane’s stomach.

  “The officers left it for you,” Lieutenant Houlihan supplied.

  The note had his name on it. It said in simple block letters: SHE WAS NO LONGER OF USE TO ME.

  Quincy rose. “He’s on the move.”

  “You think he’s going after Tess?”

  “Yes.”

  “We should call and warn her.”

  Quincy eyed him sharply. “I thought you didn’t know where she was.”

  Lieutenant Houlihan shifted. “I don’t personally know where she is, but I know who does.”

  “And you would contact this person and he would contact her?”

  “Yeah, something like that.”

  Quincy nodded. “Lieutenant Houlihan, absolutely, positively, do not do that.”

  “What?”

  He gestured at the note, and for the first time Houlihan caught the anger simmering in his eyes. “Don’t you recognize those words? Do you think it’s mere coincidence that he’s using the same phrase I used in the briefing one week ago?”

  Houlihan blanched. “Holy shit.”

  “Do you see now how much he’s toying with us? That note is a lie, Lieutenant. Because Shelly Zane is still useful to him. You react to her murder. You break the silence, you contact the person, who contacts Tess—”

  “Which is exactly what he’s waiting for us to do. He’s watching us, hiding wherever the hell he hides. The minute we break silence, he’ll have her. Holy shit.”

  Houlihan looked as if he’d gained ten years in ten seconds. Quincy figured he looked the same.

  “Tess was right to go out on her own. We are absolutely, positively, dangerous to her. Beckett’s too close for us to see, he hides in our wake. And he’s not going to stop until he finds her. He’s got his message in mind, but his ultimate target, his ultimate goal, is killing Tess.”

  Houlihan looked at the blond corpse on the bathroom floor. He stared at the note piercing her skin. “God, I hate this job.”

  “Me too, Lieutenant. Me too.”

  THE YOUNG, SOMBER-FACED man walked into task force headquarters, went straight to the officer on duty, and flashed his badge. “Detective Beaumont,” he introduced himself. “I’m from Bristol County and I have an urgent message for Lieutenant Houlihan.”

  “I’m sorry, Detective, but Lieutenant Houlihan is currently unavailable.”

  “Officer, you don’t understand. This is urgent, I mean urgent. I just drove up forty minutes from Bristol to make sure Houlihan gets the news. I need to speak with him.”

  The officer wavered. Detective Beaumont leaned forward.

  “Please. We think we may know where Jim Beckett is. I have to get word to Tess Williams or Lieutenant Difford immediately. Help me out here, Officer. Speed matters.”

  She caved in with a sigh. “See that man standing over there? That’s Sergeant Wilcox. He’s in charge of the safe house. He can probably help you.”

  “Sergeant Wilcox?”

  “Yes, that’s him.”

  “Thank you, Officer. You’ve been very helpful.”

  EDITH SMOOTHED A hand over her old blue flannel shirt and tried not to shift too much on the front porch. Last night she’d received a call from Martha, stating that she would arrive first thing this morning—the poor woman had been driving all the way up from Florida over the last few days. That was Martha for you. At sixty years of age, the woman was as proud and independent as they came. She’d moved into the neighborhood only a few years earlier, but the first evening she’d knocked on Edith’s door and offered a pint of scotch. The two women had sat on Edith’s patio, opened the fifty-year-old bottle, discovered a mutual love of cigars, and spent two hours agreeing that there hadn’t been a decent president since Eisenhower.

  Edith appreciated such relationships. She was too old for foo-fooing or fussiness. Most women her age started off talking about Jell-O salad and soon fled from the premises when Edith stared them straight in the eye and declared, “Who the hell cares about Jell-O? It’s the rapid proliferation of assault weapons that keeps me awake at night.”

  She didn’t want platitudes or shoulder-shrugging. Everyone should say what they wanted. It saved time.

  Martha spoke tersely. At times she could be imperious, but Edith figured that’s what came from living your whole life head and shoulders above the rest. Martha was tall, and that was an understatement. Of Swedish descent, she had her father’s impressive height and sh
oulders, though neither was so attractive on a woman.

  Most men were too intimidated to come anywhere near a woman of Martha’s impressive bulk, but apparently she’d met an equally impressive Swede in her youth and before he’d died, they’d had one sizable blond son. Edith had never met the son. From the few things Martha had casually mentioned, he was a salesman of some kind and moved a lot. Martha didn’t see him often and generally didn’t go on and on about him the way some mothers did.

  Edith appreciated that. Having spent all her life childless, she got impatient with endless stories about whose son was being promoted to what position and whose daughter was giving birth to how many grandchildren. Good Lord, the world was already overpopulated and overextending the earth’s resources. Didn’t people give the matter any thought?

  An old brown Cadillac turned down the street like an unwieldy boat. Martha had arrived. Minutes later Edith was pumping her neighbor’s hand vigorously.

  “Lord, Florida was good for you!” Martha’s faded blond hair had lightened to a snowy white, which looked natural with her sun-darkened skin. It had been years since they’d last seen each other, but after one glance Edith could tell that Martha was Martha. She still had the same startling blue eyes and smooth complexion; Swedes aged so nicely. Martha’s taste in clothes hadn’t changed either. Today she sported a huge pair of brown polyester pants and a man’s oversize red flannel shirt. A wide-brimmed straw hat perched precariously on her head, smashed there at the last minute.

  Martha patted her generous waistline. “The food was too good,” she drawled huskily, her voice still carrying a hint of Swedish mountains. “But the weather was too hot. I missed snow.”

  Edith shook her hand again. “It’s good to have you back,” she repeated. And it was good. She tried to pretend she didn’t see things. She tried to pretend she didn’t feel things. But the air in their community was different these days. Edith didn’t like it.

  And more and more often Edith found herself staring next door and thinking that now was not a good time to live so close to an empty home.

  “Let me help with your luggage,” Edith volunteered, already moving toward the trunk and shaking away the shivers creeping up her spine. She had no use for “feelings” or “visions.” A person couldn’t act on a feeling. “You travel light.”

  “At my age, who needs things?” Martha pulled out two suitcases. “And the house?

  “Just the same as you left it.” Edith had agreed to take care of the house when Martha had announced she was going to visit Florida for a spell and try her hand at golf. Edith had a key to the place and gave it the once-over every month. Martha called every few months to ask about the house, though generally the discussion turned quickly to politics. Martha didn’t like Clinton. Edith couldn’t stand Newt. They both enjoyed the conversations immensely.

  Edith turned to the front door, already tugging on the suitcase. But then she froze, the hair on the back of her neck prickling up.

  The girl stood in front of the door perfectly naked. This close, Edith could see the butterfly tattoo above her left breast. Nothing big or vulgar. The butterfly was small, dainty even, a light flickering of color that spoke of a lonely wish for flight. Blond hair cascaded down her shoulders, of course—all the girls were blondes.

  Edith raised her gaze even though she didn’t really want to see more. There was nothing, no message, not a plea to give her a hint. The girl just stood there, naked with blood on her face, and her eyes were faintly apologetic, as if she knew she was as unwanted dead as she had been alive.

  “Go away, child,” Edith said softly. “There’s nothing I can do for you.”

  The girl remained, stubborn. Edith squeezed her eyes shut, and when she opened them again, she’d won and the girl was gone.

  Belatedly she became aware of the quizzical look on Martha’s face. “You all right?”

  Edith didn’t answer immediately. “Did you hear that serial killer got loose?”

  “Huh?”

  “Jim Beckett, that’s his name. Killed ten women and now two prison guards. Got outta Walpole. That’s not far from here.”

  Martha didn’t say anything, but for one moment Edith saw something flash across those bright eyes. It looked like fear, bone-deep fear. The big woman composed herself quickly, squaring her broad shoulders. “This is a small community, Edith, a quiet place. Someone like him wouldn’t have any cause to come here.”

  Edith watched Martha awhile longer, but Martha’s expression was blank.

  “I’m sure you’re right,” Edith said at last.

  She didn’t believe either one of them though. And it bothered her that they’d each told their first lie over such a man as Jim Beckett. It bothered her a lot.

  SIXTEEN

  J.T. WAS ON edge. By night he paced the living room with enough energy to power a small city. Marion took one look and returned her beer to the refrigerator. She reentered the room with two glasses of water instead, handing one to her brother.

  J.T. downed it wordlessly. He wiped his mouth with the back of his arm. Then he resumed pacing.

  “Oh, for God’s sake,” Marion said at last, “you’re giving me gray hairs. Sit down.”

  He pivoted and headed the other direction. “Don’t you feel it?” he asked.

  “Feel what?”

  “Tess, go to your room.”

  “What?”

  “Lock the door. Knit a sweater.”

  “Oh, no. If there’s something going on, I want to know.”

  J.T.’s gaze locked on his sister. Marion shook her head. “I walked the grounds just half an hour ago, J.T. There’s nothing out there but your own dark mood. Stop panicking Tess.”

  “She wanted to stay.”

  “Would someone start speaking English?” Tess demanded. Her belly had knotted.

  “I don’t like it,” J.T. repeated. “Air’s different. Something. Shit, we’re outta here.”

  “What?”

  J.T. strode across the room. “You heard me. Grab your purses, girls, we’re blowing this joint.”

  “J.T., this is stupid—”

  J.T. halted. “You got friends in the Nogales Police Department, right, Marion?”

  She nodded warily.

  “Call them. Tell then we’re going out for a few hours. Tell them we’re worried about the ‘intruder’ returning. Ask them to send a patrol car to cruise around a bit, say half-hour intervals.”

  “I don’t know. . . .”

  “Marion, what can it hurt?”

  That got her. Marion placed the call while Tess found a light jacket. Tess returned to the living room quickly; she no longer felt like being alone.

  Wordlessly they piled into Marion’s car, three people staring out at a black landscape, trying to see what was out there.

  “A bar?” Tess declared twenty minutes later, staring incredulously at the neon-clad, rock’n’roll—blaring joint. “J.T., this isn’t a good idea. Why don’t we go to a movie?”

  He kept walking. “Crowds are good, Tess, and so is a place with five exits.”

  Marion and Tess exchanged dubious glances. J.T. strolled inside, obviously no stranger to the establishment.

  Located on a busy street in downtown Nogales, it advertised itself aggressively with loud music and rowdy patrons. At the moment Bruce Springsteen was blasting everyone new eardrums with the loudest rendition of “Born to Run” that Tess had ever heard. Above, a seventies disco ball swirled madly, casting a dizzying array of diamond dots onto a dance floor filled with people who truly knew how to move. The light disappeared at the corners, leaving gaping pools of blackness where she could dimly see couples in various stages of drinking and displaying public affection. Everyone looked Latino.

  J.T. cut a clean path through the madness, his gaze watchful. Tess and Marion kept close to him. J.T. raised his hand and pointed to a corner, his lips moving but his words lost in the thundering music. Tess and Marion moved quickly to follow, fading deeper into the hallwa
y, the music receding behind them. New odors assaulted their senses: beer, urine. Sex.

  Finally J.T. came to a doorway guarded by tendrils of orange and red glass beads. He held the curtain back and motioned for Marion and Tess to enter. His gaze swept the hall behind them, then he let the curtain drop.

  “A video arcade?” Marion huffed. “You brought us here for video games?”

  “They’re better than the beer, Marion. Or are G-men too tough for pinball?”

  Tess stared. They weren’t alone in the room by any means. It was filled with a huge crowd and electronic sounds. She heard a coin machine dispensing change and the glug-glug of some animated character dying. Several men looked up when they entered, appeared a little surprised, then went back to what they were doing before. There were few women in the room. One of them, scantily clad in a crimson skirt and halter top, looked like hell on wheels sitting at a car game. She’d attracted several onlookers and didn’t seem to mind.

  J.T. went straight to a row of older pinball machines and selected one. DEAD MAN WALKING, it said.

  Tess shuddered.

  “Come on, ladies. It’s hand-eye coordination.”

  “I don’t have any, thanks,” Tess volunteered.

  With another scowl and frustrated sigh Marion gave up on protesting and sized up the machine. “All right. You’re on.”

  “Two out of three?”

  “Four out of seven. You’re obviously not new here.”

  “High score is mine.”

  “Oh, really? How drunk were you at the time?”

  “Stone cold sober,” J.T. drawled. “Down here, Marion, pinball’s serious business.”

  “Yeah, well, so is cotton,” she muttered.

  “Tess,” J.T. said calmly. “Watch the doorway, will you? If anyone white walks in, let me know. I don’t think we were followed, but it’s been a bit since I played cat and mouse.”

  J.T. popped two quarters into the machine. Marion cracked her knuckles and stretched out her arms. The two of them got down to the obviously serious business of pinball, but Tess didn’t relax that easily. Her gaze kept darting back to the doorway, just in case Jim Beckett magically appeared.