He took up another sugar packet and started to twist it tight.
I thought of Joy and how easy it was to communicate with her. He would be missing out on a lot.
“Why didn’t you say you’d seen Dee only the night before when I called to tell you she was dead?”
Leo’s voice had gone ice cold. Again I intervened. “Was it the same reason as you just gave? You were afraid your mother would know?”
“Yes.” He gave a smile that was tinged with shame. “I’m totally embarrassed to admit how much of my life is governed by my fear of my mother’s reaction but I’m afraid it is.”
I liked him a lot better for the honesty but he’d gone back to staring at the clock on the wall.
“Do you want to revise your description of your day yesterday?”
He sighed and his eyes flickered over to Leo. It wasn’t only his mother he was afraid of, poor guy.
“Will my mother have to know what I say?”
“Not necessarily.”
“She’s a mite possessive of me, as I’ve said. Understandable in the circumstances. Single mother and all that.” He wasn’t so afraid he couldn’t send another dart in Leo’s direction. And I saw it landed and hurt. Sig drew in his breath, and like a diver on the edge of a very cold pool, he held his nose and jumped in. Or should I say a very hot pool?
“Because of our circumstances, my mother has tended to be overprotective and I, er, haven’t really had, shall we say, much to do with the opposite sex. The ladies,” he added for my benefit in case I was offended by the term opposite sex. “However, I am in every respect a man with, begging your pardon, Miss Morris, with normal appetites and needs…”
“For Christ’s sake, get to the point, Sigmund,” interrupted Leo.
Sig’s mouth tightened into a hurt pout. “I am getting to the point. This is the point. I do have a lady friend but mother doesn’t know about it. I was with my friend yesterday.”
“Does she have a name or do you make her wear a bag over her head?”
That was cruel and Sig flushed painfully. “Her name is Natasha.”
“Surname?”
Sig looked as if he hoped the floor would open up and swallow him. “I don’t know what it is, I’m afraid. She’s Russian and, well, her last name is difficult to pronounce.”
“How long have you known her?”
“About six months. I told mother I was taking a course at the college so I have a legitimate reason to be away one evening a week. I also visited her on Tuesday night after I let off Deidre.”
“We’ll need to speak to her,” I said. “Given the circumstances, we’ll need to verify your whereabouts.”
“Of course.”
“What is her address?”
Again Sig squirmed in a fit of embarrassment. “To tell the truth, we don’t meet at her home and I don’t know where she lives.”
Suddenly Leo slapped his hand on the table. “My god, manly needs and appetites indeed. What is she, a stripper?”
Sig nodded miserably. “She works at the Atherley Arms strip bar. I meet her there. She’s a very nice person.”
“I’m sure she is,” said Leo, conveying just the opposite. He leaned forward and glared at poor Sigmund. “Is that it then? Do we now have the whole sorry story or is there something else you haven’t yet said?”
“No, that’s it. I was with Natasha all day and went with her to the strip club in the evening. I got home about 3:00 a.m. I also went to see her on Tuesday night after I left Deidre.”
“So you didn’t tell us the truth about coming straight home? Mr. Meadows was right about the Chevy not being in the parking space.”
“Er … yes.” Suddenly he buried his head in his hands. “I’m sorry I’ve let you down, Dad. I just get so scared sometimes. What with you and Mom, I can’t do anything right…”
I felt really bad for the guy and Ray was shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Leo was transfixed and as far as I could see was completely unmoved by his son’s distress. In fact his expression was one of contempt. He stood up. I thought for a minute he was going to go over and comfort Sigmund but he didn’t. He headed straight for the door.
“I don’t think you need me anymore. I’ll be in my office.”
Sig howled in an anguish that was genuine even if it was totally self-centred. I reached over to the box of tissues in the middle of the table, pulled one out, and stuffed it into his hand.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Sigmund must have cried for half an hour non-stop. I felt as if he was crying out tears that he’d buried all of his life. He kept repeating over and over, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” He wasn’t noisy but the anguish was palpable and heart-rending. After about ten minutes of it, Ray slipped away. No sense in two of us staring at the poor guy. I just kept feeding Sig tissues. He was a wet crier and was using up a lot of them. Finally, he slowed down. He’d rubbed his eyes swollen and red and mucus was trailing down his nose to his mouth.
“He’ll never forgive me, will he?”
I knew he meant Leo of course and he was probably right.
“If only I’d driven her down to the dock and waited with her. But she didn’t seem to want me to, I swear she didn’t. It all seemed sort of hush-hush.”
I could at least reassure him on that count given what I now knew about her appointment with Zachary Taylor and the probable reason for it.
He heard me out but it didn’t really soothe him. He was hell-bent on self-flagellation and nothing would deter him.
Finally, I gripped his fist in mine hard and made him meet my eyes.
“Sigmund, one of the hardest parts of being a police officer is the ‘if only.’ ‘If only I hadn’t locked the door on her when she broke her curfew.’ ‘If only I followed my instincts and not let her go to that supposed photo shoot.’ I could fill a book with ‘if only’s’ but all it does is rub the wound raw. Parents, spouses, friends. Most people who have been touched by violent crime reproach themselves. But we’re not God. Sure sometimes people are careless, callous even, but mostly they’re not, they’re just ordinary people going about their lives. The one responsible is the one who does the killing, does the rape, or commits the assault.” I must have been speaking with some intensity because I got his attention. “Sure, if you had taken Deidre down to the pier and waited, you might have prevented a murder, but we don’t know for sure. And we will never know.”
He had an expression on his face that I’d seen on Chelsea’s when I tried to reassure her that the things in her life that were spinning out of control weren’t hers to worry about. That was for grown-ups. He managed a smile. “Thanks. You’re talking to me as if you think I’m innocent and I appreciate that. I was afraid that even my own father suspected me.”
He was correct on both counts. When the whole sorry story had come tumbling out I had believed him. Besides, his alibi was going to be very easy to check. He withdrew his hand so he could get yet another tissue and wipe his nose. I waited while he mopped up.
Not unusual in situations like this, he looked exhausted.
“Is there anybody you’d like to be with? You’ve gone through quite an ordeal. Your mother is here. She’s at your father’s condo.”
“Oh God no. I couldn’t bear to see either of them at the moment.” He glanced at me with a duck of his head. “To tell you the truth, I’d like to go and see Natasha. Oh not professionally or anything like that but she doesn’t work until evenings and she’s really good company. She’s a good person really. She’s only dancing for the money. When she’s saved enough she’s going to take a computer course. I like hanging out with her. And I think she likes me.”
Hey, a Russian exotic dancer and a bank manager, why not? Stranger combinations have succeeded before now.
He rubbed his neck and rotated his stiff shoulders. “On the other hand, I’d better not go today. Two days in a row might be a bit much. I should go and see my mother. She’ll be wondering.”
“We can have a ca
r take you there.”
He shook his head nervously. “I don’t think so. Showing up in a police car wouldn’t be cool. I’ll be all right to drive myself. Do you think Dad will tell her what I’ve been doing?
“I don’t know. It’s your business and it’s up to you how much you want to reveal.”
He stared at me, trying to assess my sincerity.
“I suppose you have a point… Do you need to talk to me again?”
“We might. For now don’t leave town, or rather don’t go anywhere without letting me know.”
“Oh, I won’t.” He started to gather the tissue balls together so he could dispose of them. “I haven’t even had time to ask when the funeral will be for Deidre. Do you know?”
“No, I don’t.”
“I think I’ll go to it. Mom will have a hissy fit but it’s the least I can do, don’t you think?”
I would have liked to have suggested he get counselling but I didn’t. I just hoped he’d find his own way there someday.
Leo had his snarling lion sign facing out but I ignored it, tapped, and went in. He was sitting in front of his computer but it didn’t take a shrink to see that what he was looking at was the story of his life and it was reading failure. He didn’t bark at me for coming in but said, “I’ve made a right cock-up of things, haven’t I, Chris?”
There wasn’t any answer to that question that would make him feel better. It was true. On the other hand we’re all only human, even psychiatrists. I tried to say as much.
“Sigmund is a grown man, Leo. He is responsible for his own life now.”
Frankly, I was fishing for something that wouldn’t exacerbate the situation. He scowled.
“Come off it, Chris. I’m in the game. You know what I’d say if you presented me with this case and I didn’t know who it was?”
“I don’t know if it’s helpful to go that route, Leo. You do know him. This isn’t a stranger.”
I might as well have saved my breath.
“I’d say, this man has a serious problem with self-image. He is insecure, passive aggressive, and sexually immature. The absence of a positive father image and an overly controlling mother has stunted his emotional growth. He is unable to maintain a normal sexual relationship and resorts to prostitutes or women on the margins of society for sexual gratification.”
“Leo…”
Nothing doing.
“At an early age, he was forced into a secret life from fear of his mother’s reactions. Typically with a man like this there is a huge amount of rage buried under the surface, directed mostly at women who substitute for the mother he hates.”
“Leo, cut it out! I don’t think Sigmund killed Deidre. Do you hear me? I don’t think it was your son.”
It was like dumping a bucket of cold water over him. He actually shuddered but at least his eyes cleared and the darkness shifted.
“You don’t? It seemed to me there was a lot of indication that he might have done just that, God forbid.”
“Let’s say I have an intuition, but more usefully, he gave us an alibi that is very easy to check.”
“The Natasha girl?”
I nodded. “I was going to pass this information on to Ed and have him talk to her right away.”
Leo looked at me, his eyes wide. “Could you go yourself? You know how these immigrants are. If she sees a police uniform, she might freeze or deny everything. You’re very easy to talk to, Chris. You’re a woman. She might open up to you. Besides, you know exactly how to describe Sigmund…” He gave a brief smile. “She might have more than one man competing for her favours. Please, Chris. For me.”
“I’m not front line anymore as you know. It’s Ed’s patch.”
“He’s not territorial like a lot of them. He’ll welcome it.”
What he was suggesting wasn’t standard procedure but it did happen sometimes and I had to agree that in this instance, it made a lot of sense. I’d have to get a detective constable to go with me and I’d liked Susan Bailey. I’d see if she was available.
“I’ll give him a call. But in the meantime, Leo, I suggest you go and talk to your son. He’s completely wasted and eating his arse with guilt, pardon the expression. You said you were a cock-up as a father. This might be the opportunity to put some of that to right.”
Yes, I know I was coming across as a bit self-righteous, but I felt that in the last couple of days, a sudden and intense bonding had taken place between me and the good doctor and I could talk to him the way I’d talk to Paula or Al for that matter. You can dish out a lot of unpalatable truths when you care about somebody. Thank God they’d both done it to me on occasion.
He winced. He was accustomed to being the one who gave out the home truths but he took it well.
“Is he still in the interview room?”
“Yes. He says he should see his mother. Maybe you could help him out. I’m not sure she’d be the best person for him at the moment… He is pretty cut up, Leo.”
For a moment, Leo looked as if he was going to change his mind, and suddenly I saw something I’d missed because he’d covered it up so well with rudeness and bad temper. The man was terrified of intimacy. No wonder he’d been an absent father and no wonder he’d gravitated to a line of work where you never had a sustained relationship with your clients. Often he never even met them.
I stood up. “I’ll get on to Ed right away.”
“Would you mind calling me later to let me know what happened?”
I nodded reassuringly. “How are you going to deal with Trudy?”
He shrugged. “I’ll think of something. All I know is I’m not going to let her within six feet of Sigmund tonight.”
“Sounds good to me.”
He came over to the door and held it open for me. As I went through, he patted me on the shoulder.
“Thanks, Chris. I do appreciate what you’ve done.”
In the hall, he went north and I went south to my own office.
The red light was flashing on my telephone. I had two messages. The first was from Barbara Cheevers.
“Miss Morris. Will you please call me at your earliest convenience? I can be reached at home. I’ve written up my own report on Sunshine Lodge. Filled in the gaps, you might say. We weren’t always able to keep a super on the premises. When people left there was sometimes a gap while we looked for somebody else. During those periods, we had to use a temp agency. They are called Reliable Cleaning Services. I thought you might like to get in touch with them.”
Way to go, Barbara. Thinking like a detective. I jotted down the number.
The second call was from Paula.
“Chris. Sorry to do this, I know you must be up to your eyebrows in work, but I need to talk to you.” I could hear her gulp hard. “I was released today. I’m feeling much better. Craig said he’d come and get me, which is why I didn’t call you until now.” Another gulp. My heart sank. I had a feeling I knew what was coming next. I was right. “He hasn’t shown up, Chris. I’m sitting in the waiting room. I tried to reach Mom but I think she’s taken Chelsea out for the afternoon. She didn’t think I was coming home today. Neither did I, but they said I was stabilized so I could be discharged if I wanted to and of course, I jumped at the chance. He should have been here an hour ago… Could you possibly come and get me? I’m supposed to have somebody with me, and frankly, I’m feeling a bit fragile. You can call my cellphone and I’ll keep checking it. Thanks, Chris.” There was another long pause with sniffy noises. Then she said so quietly I hardly heard her, “I think this is the last straw. I’m so angry with him I could knock his head off.” There was a beep warning that the message time on the tape was almost finished. “I’m going to leave him, Chris, I’ve made up my mind.”
Shit. I’d wanted her to leave the jerk for years but this was such a bad time to be making a decision like that. I checked my call display. The call had come in half an hour ago. I picked up my cell and punched in her number. She answered.
“Chris, I was
just about to call you. I’m home. I took a taxi. Nice guy. He brought me into the house, even offered to make me a cup of tea.”
“Where’s Craig?”
“Well, that’s a good question. Some of his things have gone and he, er, he left a note. Shall I read it to you?”
“Go ahead.”
“Dearest Paula. I know I am going to look like the worst coward in the world but I have to get away for a few days. You know how I am with sick women. It drives me batty. Your mother is here so I know Chelsea will be fine and you are on the mend. Probably not having me around will even help you get better faster. I’m sure your friends will agree with that. I won’t be long, I promise. Just a few days at the most and I will phone as soon as I land somewhere. Take care darling, I love you even if I have funny way of showing it.”
I exploded. “Funny way of showing it! What a prick.”
Her voice on the other end was tight. “I know I said it was the last straw and I would leave him but he’s sort of taken the wind out of my sails.”
“Good riddance, I say. Hang onto that resolve, Paula mine. You’d had it with him. Coward indeed.”
I knew I shouldn’t be going on in this way; it tended to send Paula to his defence. This was no exception.
“He did have a rotten time when his mother died.”
“Paula. A lot of people have had rotten times when they were children and they get over it. They don’t abandon their wives when they are in the middle of a crisis. For God’s sake, when are you going to face the truth about this guy? He’s a self-involved flake who doesn’t give a shit about anybody except himself!”
I was practically shouting down the phone but I heard the quiet sob at the other end and I stopped myself. “God, I’m sorry Paula. I’m sorry. The last thing you need is a diatribe from me. Look, I’ll come over as soon as I possibly can. There’s something I’ve got to do here and I’ll call you. Are you going to be all right? Shall I see if Brenda can drop in?”
The K Handshape Page 28
