“What’d you do with the body?” she asked. He was struggling with his answer.
“We washed her off in the bathroom at the facility. Or Marianne did. She didn’t want me to see Gretchen naked. I still don’t understand why she wanted her clothes off. That was the worst part for me. When you asked me Monday morning what she was wearing and I got so upset about her being naked, that was real!” Jill understood then that the parents may have hoped the naked Gretchen’s body would be more difficult to identify than the one clothed in sweatpants brought from home. They had forgotten to bring her evening gown; the lovely one Jill saw her wearing in the hallway surveillance video to the place where they would murder her. “There was a tarp in our locker and we rolled her body in it. We took her back into the city and left her where you found her. It was the most difficult thing I have ever done.” Jill found that hard to believe but didn’t respond.
“Okay, Mr. Parker, that’s enough for today. If you can think of anything else, have the guard call me.” She smiled a big fake smile, picked up the chair, and walked away from Jacob Parker. Having to relive Gretchen’s last moments spent with her disrespectful, insane mother and father made Jill sick to her stomach. A memory came to her of when she was just seven years old, having forgotten to bring clean underwear into the bathroom where she was taking a bath, and of her mother knocking on the bathroom door and reaching through with her arm to hand her daughter what she needed without invading her privacy. The idea that Gretchen submitted to Marianne’s vaginal exam, the total invasiveness of it, was shocking. Why did she? Had Jacob and Marianne cultivated every bit of self-reliance out of their daughter so that she would expose herself in such a way? Or was she used to baring it all to her parents? And why didn’t Jacob stop his wife from using the bat on his daughter, instead listening to her screams and trying to cover them up with the television? Jill found that she was more angry than sympathetic about Marianne’s suicide. She wouldn’t suffer punishment now for what she put her own flesh and blood through.
When she got back to the precinct, Albert was there waiting for her. They would talk to Mike Ahmed together one more time. He had been warned to stay in town or else. Aaron Barry ended up being a godsend; he made regular passes by Mike’s house and often followed Mike’s car when he was driving through town.
“What happened to your funeral?” Albert asked her as they got into the unmarked car; Jill was driving.
“I didn’t want to drive into Novi this afternoon when we had this last interview to do. I heard that he may be asked to testify on behalf of Jacob and I wanted to make sure that we had what we needed from him before the defense got their claws into him.” When Jill heard that it was possible that Mike would be called as a witness for the defense, it made her skin crawl. The prosecution needed every bit of evidence that was used to facilitate ending Gretchen’s life. If the defense could prove that Mike Ahmed was in any way connected to Gretchen’s murder, it would cast reasonable doubt on Jacob.
When Mike Ahmed came to the station for questioning the night before, he’d sworn that once he handed Gretchen over to Soud he had left and never saw her again. The video tapes clearly showed Mike bringing Gretchen into the Greektown hotel late Friday night but then leaving again within minutes. Jacob and Marianne said they found him at his house in east Dearborn early the next morning and that it had appeared like they woke him up. A search to find Soud was underway; she was wanted for questioning. The hotel clerk who looked the other way of the comings and goings to room three forty-six was interviewed and swore that she didn’t know Soud or that Mike Ahmed was a regular. The hotel was a dead end. Jill felt defeated. She had a horrible feeling that Jacob Parker was going to walk free. Then out of the blue, a wonderful discovery; his service pistol was found in a safe box screwed into the undercarriage of Gretchen’s bright red Malibu. It was covered with Jacob’s prints; Marianne’s were absent. The empty case was missing, but the projectile had been found buried among the boxes spattered with Gretchen’s tissue and blood. It matched the gun.
Albert said it first: “I am so fucking sick of this case. Thank God it’s over for us,” he said. He had his arm around Jill’s shoulder as they walked to the car.
“Do you want to come to my dad’s for dinner tonight? Greek food.” She promised. He nodded his head yes.
In three days they’d put together a case that would win a guilty verdict if all went according to plan. Jill could get back to her life for a while.
Chapter 33
Dana’s funeral was heartbreaking; her parents were inconsolable. They agreed with Andy that it would be too overwhelming for Dana’s boys, so the two stayed back at the grocery store with Maria. Big Andy and Anna and their son went in the same car with Gus. Jill decided she could make it after all; Dearborn and Mike Ahmed were not that far from Novi.
Dana’s family declined coming into the city for dinner. Jill was going to go by Alex’s beforehand to see the painting, her curiosity getting the best of her. As she pulled in front of his apartment, she saw him pull up behind her in her rearview mirror.
“Hey! I beat you!” she said joining him on the walkway. He kissed her, taking her hand as they walked, and when they got to his apartment could hear Fred breathing hard on the other side of the door.
“I’ll take Fred for a walk,” she said. “How was it today?”
“Three posts,” Alex said, referring to the number of autopsies they had. “One natural, one gunshot wound, one motor vehicle. I thought I might see you.”
“It must have gone to one of the other teams,” she said. “I ended up by going to Dana’s funeral.” Alex helped her put Fred’s collar and leash on. “We are invited for dinner tonight. Aunt Maria’s cooking, so you know it’s going to be over the top.”
“Okay, we’ll see. Hurry and take him before it gets dark,” Alex admonished. Jill took Fred to the driveway at the side of the house while Alex prepared the showing of his latest work and glanced out the window every minute to make sure Jill was safe. He was ready for her when she came through the door five minutes later. The easel faced the doorway so when Jill came in it would be the first thing she would see.
It took her a full thirty seconds to realize that she was looking at a portrait of her family. A recent likeness of her father stood in the back of the group, with a young Christina sitting just below him to the left. Their two adult children, Jill and Chris, sat side by side with Jill in the center. The faces were perfectly shaded, almost photo-like in their realism. Alex was in the process of finishing the bodies. Christina’s was the last he had attempted, and he wasn’t sure if he would complete her body or not so although her head and face were finished, the rest was a penciled sketch. It appeared to Jill that her mother was fading from their realm, and the effect was intense and emotional. Her hand went to her throat in surprise.
“Oh Alex, it’s just wonderful. The word trivializes what I am feeling, but there is no other.” She looked at him, her eyes bright. “That’s my family.” She went to embrace him, and no longer able to withstand the tumultuous feelings in her heart, began to cry. He was moved and pleased, although his intention hadn’t been to upset her. After having witnessed the travesty Paula had succeeded in initiating yesterday, Alex wanted to do something that would solidify in Jill’s mind that her family was still intact. It came to him as naturally as one of her psychic episodes came to her, so strong that he thought for a moment she might have been signaling him with her brain. He told her as much.
“I thought you might be trying to send me a message. The impulse to paint was so powerful last night, even the technique I would use and the way I would position the four of you came to me, not exactly in a vision, because I am afraid to use that word. It didn’t occur to me until later that what I was experiencing was sort of a divine inspiration.” He laughed. “Now that would really please my mother!” They stood together viewing the painting, and at the precise moment, they decided it was finished.
“Can we take it wit
h us to the store? I want my dad to see it, my dad and the rest of the family who suffered through that charade last night.” They were also taking Fred. Aunt Sophie wasn’t going to be thrilled. Although somewhat of a germaphobe, she loved dogs as long as they were well-behaved and didn’t get up on furniture or people. Fred was too chubby to do either. Alex nodded his head yes, somewhat embarrassed over what he was sure to be a fuss made, in addition to commentary regarding the unfinished side of the painting. Not everyone would get it like Jill did. Jill decided not to warn her dad, but to just appear with the painting and show it to the family raw and unprepared as she had. She was not expecting it, and it had taken her a few moments for the recognition to develop and when it did, the effect it had on her was overwhelming. She was hoping for the same thing for her dad.
They went in without knocking on the outside door as was the norm for Jill. She had Fred on his leash and they were allowing him to lead the way. Alex and the painting, covered in plastic and carefully held away from his body in case it was still damp enough to smear, brought up the rear. Gus heard them on the stairs and was waiting with the apartment door opened. He bent over to scratch his grand-dog behind the ears. There was the usual assembly of family at the door when a newcomer arrived. They moved back to give the couple room to get through the door, especially when Alex walked through balancing the large object carefully.
“What’s that?” Aunt Maria asked. Jill was grateful for her curiosity.
“Everyone, Alex surprised me with this today; he went home last night after midnight and made it for us. Alex?” She stood aside and gave him room to hold the painting up. She helped him peel the plastic off. The audible gasp was one of pleasure, and for several of the older people, emotion. Gus was caught off guard, like Jill was. Maria held her hands together at her chest and started to weep.
“Oh Jill, Alex, it’s so beautiful!” she said.
“Absolutely! Wow, that says it all, Alex,” Aunt Anna said, moved to tears.
“That’s my family!” Gus said proudly, repeating Jill’s pronouncement back at Alex’s apartment. “No matter what, that is my family.” He went to hug his daughter and her boyfriend as Jill led Alex to place the painting up on the fireplace mantel. The conversation about the painting continued for the rest of the evening. Everyone agreed that Paula’s negative energy probably had something to do with the vibe Alex got.
“What amazes me about it is that I am about as spiritual as a rock,” Alex said. The women in the room murmured in opposition.
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Jill told him. “You’re more in tune to me than you think. Remember last month when I said I wanted to go to Dino’s for lunch? You had already gone there and picked up exactly what I had been fantasizing about all morning.”
“I’m not sure if a craving for Coney dogs can be called spiritual,” Alex countered, but the aunts would disagree, supporting their niece.
“Jill wouldn’t be with a dud,” Aunt Maria said.
“It just occurred to me that mother is younger than I am in the picture. It is the way I remember, her too,” Jill said. Nodding heads and murmurs of appreciation followed.
Everyone started moving toward the dining room so dinner could get underway when the doorbell rang. Alex ran down the stairs and let Albert and Roger in. They joined in the chorus of accolades given to Alex and during dinner, and Roger raised a water toast, saying, “to Alex, a beautiful Polish man.” Everyone in the room laughed and said “here, here!” It would be another evening of conversation into the wee hours. Alex and Jill took Fred back to Jill’s apartment. Alex was going to spend the night because he wanted to make love to her; he felt so close to her at that moment it had to mean something special. Jill remembered her commitment the previous night that she would make sure those whom she loved would know it, and that night Alex did.
Chapter 34
When John and Liz Zannos dropped the pathetic Nick off at his home in Brighton, they could see as they came up the steep driveway Paula had done some decluttering. Fortunately, their house was on four secluded acres, so the embarrassment of having his underpants thrown onto the front lawn would be limited to Nick’s family. John saw it first.
“Oh Lord, someone’s pissed off as hell,” he said. Liz, who was semi-napping, sat up and looked and Nick leaned forward from the backseat to look out the side window.
“Fuck.” Nick said. “Do you see any of my suits?” John stopped the car. The three of them gazed over the lawn. “Don’t get out,” Nick said. “I better go up alone. Who knows what kind of mood she’s in? She could have my gun out.”
“Don’t say that. Are you sure you don’t want me to come in?” John asked. “It might defuse the situation if an outsider was around.”
“Don’t get carried away, dear,” Liz said. “Nick’s right. We should let them have some privacy.” Maybe John’s right, Liz thought. God knew the two couples had lived through more trauma together with false smiles plastered across their faces. Why should they change their modus operandi now? They saw some movement in the front door and then it opened and Paula came out. At first she seemed hesitant. She stood on the porch with her hands on her hips, glaring at the carload of people.
“She looks like a fishwife,” Nick mumbled. Liz swung her head around and gave him a dirty look.
“That’s not what we discussed earlier, is it brother-in-law? Be nice,” she admonished. Nick opened up the door to get out.
“You guys better clear out,” he warned. But then Paula started walking toward them, smiling. Liz thought, Uh oh. But it was going to be okay.
“I was hoping you would get home before it rained so you could help me clean this mess up. I went a little crazy,” she said. She looked in the car window at her husband’s family. “Do you want to come in? I fixed Lake Perch for dinner with cottage fries and coleslaw.” It was Nick’s favorite. Liz was suddenly saddened. Here, a woman’s life long companion had been discovered in infidelity, with a grown-up child, and she was the one doing the groveling. Liz inched her hand over to John’s. He looked at her and she almost imperceptibly shook her head no. She’d had enough of his family for one night.
“I think we’ve had it. We still have an hour more to drive,” John said. He very slowly started to back the car up. There was no point in beating around the bush. “Call me tomorrow, Nicky. Talk to you later Paula!” He backed up with Nick and Paula looking on as the car pulled away.
“I’m glad you didn’t want to stay,” John said. “How much are we obligated to take from those two? Jesus!” He came to the end of the driveway and pulled out, laying a little gravel dust for effect. Liz started laughing out loud.
“If I get a chance, I am going to call her on every single thing she ever said to me, comparing our marriages. I think there might be a point in which two couples become too comfortable with each other, almost like interlopers. I’m sorry I allowed it, but more sorry I believed it.” Liz looked at John intently. “I have never been unfaithful to you, John,” she said. And in return, John said, “Nor I to you. I may not have been able to show you the way you wanted, but I have always loved you.” He felt satisfied that he’d gotten his point across and she could take it or leave it.
“But we do have a few things that we need to straighten out if we are going to stay married. For one thing, I don’t like you finding me things to do every day. I don’t want to do anything, let alone something you found for me,” he told her. Liz was appalled, but held her tongue, wondering silently how was she going to sit back and allow her husband waste his life, and knowing too that it wasn’t hers to save.
~ ~ ~
Nick and Paula walked around their expansive, landscaped yard, picking up his underpants and socks, t-shirts, sweatpants and handkerchiefs from the ground. He was in a passive mood, empty headed and relaxed. There was nothing to do but clean up the mess and then face his wife. She would demand facts and he was ready to give them. He was tired of hiding his other life, the life of a father of a D
own’s Syndrome son. He wanted Chris to know, too, although the knowledge that Nick and not Gus was his father might be too difficult for him to comprehend.
When the last item of clothing was up off the grass, Paula went in with a bushel basket load and Nick followed behind her. He decided to allow Paula to start the conversation. He didn’t really have any complaints except that being married to her for all these years was boring. It was a matter of comfort and convenience. She didn’t seem to notice when he was occupied elsewhere. She was beautiful in her youth and would let him have sex whenever he wanted it. But now she’d let herself go and he didn’t want her. She entertained his friends and family, kept a nice house and was a good cook. Nick was rarely home during the week when he was working, and so it was like having a live-in caretaker. What was there not to like? For some reason, she never got pregnant. He knew it wasn’t his fault because of Chris. And then it seemed like a blessing because Liz and John, who were their constant companions, also didn’t have a child. They didn’t investigate fully, either. Nick wondered why that was. Paula never came to him and asked if they could go to a specialist together. She liked their life the way it was. When they had been married about five years and didn’t get pregnant, she asked him one day if he thought just the two of them would be enough. He’d replied with a resounding “yes!”
“We can travel, have a vacation home; there are a heck of a lot of things we can do if we don’t have kids. “ Paula listened to him and believed what he said at the time. Now she was sure he said it so he could be free to do what he wanted while she wasted time at a nursing job she wasn’t crazy about, waiting until she could retire. They’d been so selfish all along and now she was going to be punished for it.
The Greeks of Beaubien Street Page 20
