A Short Time to Die

by Susan Alice Bickford

  After breakfast, Marly walked home, puzzling over the circumstances of Rosie’s death. Had Rosie died of a heart attack, perhaps brought on by the distress over the news about Louise and Troy? Or had she been given some assistance from some combination of Betty and Diane, in consultation with Helen? Marly wasn’t certain that she wanted to know.

  She wondered what else she didn’t know about Helen. Or Betty.

  * * *

  One week later, Marly called Carl.

  “Congratulations on your new position. I’d like to settle some accounts with you,” Marly said after they’d exchanged pleasantries. “Now that Rosie’s dead, this is an option for me.”

  “I make that to be about a million dollars,” Carl said.

  “You have several choices for payment.” Marly kept her voice light. The amount Carl mentioned was extreme, but she wanted to stay focused on the bigger picture.

  Carl remained silent. She took his lack of response as an opening and continued. “You can have that, principal plus interest. No problem. After, we are done forever—with both you and Betty. Or you can choose to invest a more modest amount for shares in our latest company.”

  She let that sink in. “My startups tend to do very well.”

  “So I hear,” Carl said, breaking his silence.

  “You could end up with a lot more money. Of course there’s no guarantee. Startups aren’t for the faint of heart.”

  Carl grunted. “Don’t be a smart-ass, Marly.”

  “Keep in mind that option two does have some other advantages. Visiting privileges for Betty, for example.”

  “And me?”

  “I was under the impression you didn’t care about Johnny’s kids.”

  “You’d be smart to—” Carl cleared his throat. “You might be surprised to know that I think of Johnny’s kids as my own grandchildren.”

  “And Alison?”

  “Of course. She’s Greg’s so she’s family too.”

  “I want advance notice for visits. No surprises,” Marly said.

  “Done.”

  “Option two? Three hundred thousand?”

  “Make that five hundred and it’s a deal.”

  “I don’t suppose you’ll be coming to England this summer?” Marly slumped in her chair, weak with relief.

  “Nice try, Marly. You know I’ve got new responsibilities here. This would not be a good time to go wandering off. But I’m sure Betty would like to go.”

  Marly hung up and pondered how she could bounce money back to Carl without arousing suspicion. He had turned out to be much more ambitious than she had ever suspected. Now Carl would control the Harris clan, and he would own a portion of her company. She wondered if she had just been sucked back into Charon Springs.

  27

  Vanessa: Marly

  February 11, 2013

  Vanessa’s gasp was audible as they pulled up in front of Marly’s house.

  Jack grinned. “I thought you wanted Helen’s house. You do realize that in places like Avalon, this would not be impressive.”

  “Context is everything,” she said. “Teardowns here can cost over a million bucks. You know that.”

  Although the house lay in Old Mountain View, this section of town was mixed. Some houses had been renovated, but many had not. A number of the properties here were large compared to the typical lots nearby, and this was one of them. Vanessa estimated that this property was almost twice the average width. The original bones of the house appeared to date from 1900 to 1920—ancient by California standards.

  The house sat high off the ground and the porch was deep, complete with inviting outdoor furniture. It stretched across the front, wrapped around the side, and ended where the house jogged out along the ample driveway. She recognized the same soft yellow from Marly’s mother’s house in Charon Springs, with white trim, dark blue sashes, and dark red doors. A fence across the driveway cut off views into the backyard, hinting that the best features might lie out of sight.

  Jack looked at his watch. “Four thirty-seven. Let’s go meet Marlene Shaw.”

  The rooms at the front of the house were dark, but several seconds after Vanessa rang the doorbell, one side of the lace curtain that covered the glass of the front door moved. Vanessa recognized Alison’s heart-shaped face from the pictures she’d seen on Betty’s shelves.

  Offering what she hoped was her least threatening smile, Vanessa pulled out her badge. “Hi there. I’m Detective Alba and this is Detective Wong. We’re here to see Marlene Shaw and Charlene Harris.”

  The face disappeared. Vanessa resisted the urge to check her watch as the seconds ticked by. At last, the door opened and Vanessa recognized Mark. Betty’s pictures must have been several years old, but this was the same boy. The tall girl standing behind him had to be Pammy.

  “Hello, Mark,” Jack said. “Could we come in?”

  Mark held his ground. “Strict orders. No strangers inside when Mom or Marly aren’t here. You can sit on the porch if you like. Mom should be back from work any second. Marly and Tony went to the doctor. I’ll call them and make sure they’re headed back.”

  Vanessa took in Mark’s and Pammy’s coal black hair and violet eyes. Whatever had possessed Rosie to think these were Del’s children?

  “I don’t suppose you’d talk to us while we’re waiting, Mark?” Jack asked. “You’re over eighteen now, right?”

  Mark stepped out onto the porch. His two sisters crowded in behind him, standing in the doorway.

  Taking that as a yes, Jack lobbed a softball question. “I guess you’ve heard about Louise and Troy, right?”

  All three nodded.

  “Did you happen to see them in June, about three and a half years ago, here in California?”

  “Nope,” Mark said.

  Pammy put a protective arm around Alison.

  “But you did know them, right? You would have recognized them if they were around here in June of 2009?”

  “We knew them,” Mark said. “Not nice people.”

  “I saw Troy kill a kitten once,” Alison said. “And Louise spanked me for no reason at all.”

  “Shitheads,” Mark said. “Good riddance. Besides, I think we were away.”

  “That was right before we went to England for the summer,” Pammy said. “That’s why I remember. We came back from camping and had to get all kinds of things for the trip a week later. It was beyond hectic. We heard that Rosie had died and there was some discussion of stopping in New York for the funeral. Which we skipped.”

  Alison wrinkled her nose at Rosie’s name. Her eyes lit up, and she pushed by Vanessa and Jack and ran down the steps toward two cars that had pulled into the driveway.

  The woman driving the second car, a Subaru Outback, climbed out first. That had to be Charlene Harris—a younger image of her mother, with ash blond hair and blue eyes. A tall man with wavy brown hair, dressed in khakis and a leather jacket, got out of the passenger side of the other car, a BMW SUV, as another woman emerged from the driver’s side. Marly.

  Vanessa walked around the corner of the porch to get a better first assessment of Marly.

  She could tell right away that Marly was taller than her sister. Her coppery hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her face was fuller and softer than the pictures Vanessa had seen. She was not a classic beauty like her sister, or a cute sophisticate like Elaine, but her firm chin, full lips, and straight, no-nonsense gaze conveyed a calm and focused intelligence.

  Marly stepped around to the front of the car and Vanessa gave an involuntary start. In all their interviews, even with Denise, no one had mentioned that Marly was pregnant.

  “Ms. Shaw?” Jack asked.

  Marly’s smile was pleasant but formal. “Hello, Detectives. Please call me Marly. Sorry we’re running a bit behind. We had a visit to the baby doctor.” Turning, she called to the kids. “Okay, folks. Please come and help bring in groceries.”

  The cars were emptied as Marly escorted Jack and Vanessa past a lon
g outdoor table, through the side porch door, and into what Vanessa would now have called a mudroom, connected to the large kitchen.

  Marly waved them to a small sitting room area at the front of the house on the opposite side of the island and breakfast bar. “We’ll be just a few minutes. Let me get things organized.”

  The man in khakis introduced himself. “I’m Tony Rochford, Marly’s husband.”

  “That’s Dr. Rochford,” Alison said. “He’s a surgeon at Stanford.”

  Vanessa studied him. His accent was British. He was tall and slim with a nut-brown complexion and dark brown eyes. She put him in his mid to late thirties.

  Tony gave Marly a kiss. “Let me go get changed. After that I’ll come back to keep the wheels turning.”

  Jack and Vanessa sat and watched the family dynamics unroll.

  “Alison, what’s the homework situation?” Marly asked.

  “It’s okay.”

  “Mark, please go check on what she needs to get done. Are you going to be here for dinner?”

  Mark indicated that he would stay. He disappeared with Alison down a long hallway.

  “Pammy, how’s your homework?”

  “Almost done, just a little bit of Spanish and a short essay.”

  “Are you cooking dinner?”

  “Yup. Orange meal. Salmon steaks, butternut squash, Moroccan carrot salad, and couscous. Mango ice cream for dessert.” She turned and scampered off after the others.

  Vanessa heard Jack’s stomach growl. Like her, he seemed to appreciate the orange meal.

  Marly was no Helen Fardig, but it was clear that she ruled the roost while Tony and Charlene played the supporting roles. Mark, Pammy, and Alison knew who was boss, but nothing in their behavior indicated fear.

  Marly turned to her guests. “We’ll go to the back apartment where Tony and I stay.”

  “Interesting house,” Jack said.

  Marly acknowledged him with a slight bow. “The renovations were done before I bought it. The front here was the old part, built around 1915. That room used to be the living room, fireplace and all. Now I use it as our dining room. This room was supposed to be the new dining room, but I’ve always liked having a separate place for eating, so I made this part into a family area off the kitchen.”

  Vanessa recalled how cramped Denise had said her kitchen had been. Those were the days when Charlene and Marly crowded around a tiny table for meals, sitting knee to knee with Del Harris—thief, crime boss, pervert, murderer.

  With Charlene in tow, Marly led the detectives down the corridor past a hall bathroom and four bedrooms. Vanessa caught a glimpse of private baths through two of the open doorways. “This was the end of the original house,” Marly said.

  Past the bedrooms, the corridor ended in a large living room.

  “This new part is what sold me on the house,” Marly said, waving her hands to encompass the open beam ceiling, the big fireplace, and a loft area overlooking the main floor. “I hate living rooms that never get used. The kids have nooks and crannies where they can study and we can still be here together.”

  They passed an indented office area where Mark was helping Alison. Pammy poked her head over the edge of the loft and watched them parade by.

  “Mark’s at Berkeley now. He’s a sophomore,” Marly said, the pride rich in her voice. “He’s an excellent student. They all are.”

  They passed another hall bath and two more bedrooms, one set up as an office.

  “That’s our guest bedroom and office for now. Tony and the baby and I will move into these two rooms this summer when the baby is a little bigger and sleeping better—we hope. Meanwhile, Tony and I stay in an apartment in back of the garage.”

  They stepped out onto the back deck and Vanessa heard Jack give a low whistle. Pavers from the driveway merged with a back entertainment space and outdoor kitchen, complete with a small pool and Jacuzzi.

  Marly gestured toward the pool. “We’ll need to lock those down or just get rid of them. I’m so nervous about having an inquisitive toddler. Plus, we would have more space for a play area. After all, there’s a city pool just a few blocks away.”

  Marly led the way up onto a smaller deck and into the apartment built into the back of the two-story garage.

  The downstairs living room and small dining area sported a tiny kitchen on one side plus a lavatory under the stairs. Glancing up, Vanessa could see that a loft ran the length of the second story. Evidence of impending changes were stacked around the living area—a big box with a picture of a crib on the side sat near the kitchen, and another showing a changing table was propped against the stairs. The back wall was occupied by a chest of drawers in a similar style, and storage shelves were already stuffed with diapers, wipes, and onesies.

  Tony came down the stairs in jeans and a white button-down shirt.

  “You may stay if you want to,” Marly said.

  “I know all I need to know about your family, thank you very much, and I have nothing to contribute.” He offered an amiable nod to Vanessa and Jack and left.

  Charlene flipped the switch for the gas Franklin stove, and Marly busied herself making custom coffees and teas from the single-cup machine on the kitchen counter.

  “The main house was pretty much as you see when I bought it,” Marly said. “But this apartment was a raw space. It’s one of the few improvements I did on my own.”

  Marly served the hot drinks, and the conversation died away.

  Vanessa kicked off the interview. “Now that I’ve spent some time in Charon Springs, I’m curious. Do you think that Laurie Harris was jumped by mistake instead of you?”

  Marly raised her eyebrows, her eyes round. “That’s a new one. No, I don’t believe that. When we were little, we looked very similar, but by our senior year, we weren’t much alike. Laurie was taller and much heavier than me—like her mother. Even in the dark, anyone would have noticed the difference right away. Quite frankly, I don’t see what this has to do with Louise and Troy out here.”

  Vanessa considered Marly’s response. “I’m sure you can understand that we are interested in a pattern of clashes between you and Rosie and her crew.”

  Charlene spoke up. “I’d have to agree with Marly, Detective. It seems very unlikely to me. That being said, I don’t think I’ll have much to offer you. Of course I knew Louise and Troy, but I was still in prison that June. I didn’t get out until the end of November.”

  “That is when you moved out here, is that correct?” Jack asked.

  “Marly had a job waiting, so we were able to negotiate my move. I never would have found a job like this without her.”

  “You still work for Marly?”

  Charlene gave a genuine grin. “Yeah. Well, the same company, not directly for Marly. It’s great. I’m a senior engineer now.”

  “And you have some stock,” Marly said. The two sisters exchanged smiles.

  More Marlyfication. Still, there were limits. Charlene may have become a model citizen with a good job, but her blue eyes had a vague, placid cast, as if she were watching the meeting from a great distance.

  “You knew that Rosie held a grudge against Marly?” Vanessa asked Charlene.

  “Yes and no. Rosie had a grudge against everyone. She even hated Louise.”

  Vanessa turned back to Marly. “Rosie believed that you were the one Del and Zeke were chasing the night they died, isn’t that right?”

  “Oh please. She knew that wasn’t the case. I went to the school dance the night they disappeared and I walked home from the Rock. For all we know, they didn’t even die that night. There were plenty of nights when Del didn’t come home.”

  “Come on, Marly. Rosie sent Louise and Troy out here to take her final revenge on you for the deaths of her husband and son.”

  Marly sat very still, her arms crossed, as if Vanessa had not said anything.

  “You were here when Louise and Troy arrived, correct?” Vanessa asked, trying a new approach.

  Marly unc
rossed her arms. “Sure, I guess that’s right from what I heard about the dates. I was the only parental unit in those days. The kids would have been away most or all of that time. After they got back, we left for England.”

  “That’s where you met Tony?” Jack asked.

  “I’d met him at Cambridge when I spent my junior year there. He was this sexy guy in medical school. I was too young and unsophisticated at that point, but he waited around and it worked out.”

  “And now a baby. When are you due?” Vanessa asked.

  Marly shifted in her chair. Was her patience wearing thin or was she simply uncomfortable?

  “One more week, in theory.”

  “One more time, for the record, you didn’t see Louise or Troy during that June?” Vanessa asked.

  “Give that a rest already. Are you done?”

  Jack set his mug on the coffee table and leaned toward Marly. “Do you know how Rosie died?” he asked.

  “Sure!” Charlene said, startled. “She died of lung cancer.”

  Marly shot a glance at Charlene and turned back to Jack. “My mother told me that she’d died in her sleep. Not a bad way to go, considering. We didn’t go back for the funeral.”

  “I don’t suppose you paid her a farewell visit? Around June sixteenth of that year?”

  Marly blinked. “Excuse me? Back into the belly of the beast? No way. I haven’t been to the Springs since I went to pick up the kids and bring them here. I’m sure you can check flight records if that’s a serious question on your part.”

  Vanessa assessed Marly’s response. For the first time, Marly’s jaw had tightened and her eyes had flashed before she composed herself. Vanessa wondered what this young woman might be capable of if she needed to defend her family.

  “What is your opinion of polygraphs—lie detector tests?” Jack asked.

  “I assume that’s not merely an idle question, Detective Wong. I think they rank one step higher than drowning trials for witches. Using them exploits the underprivileged and less educated.”

  “Which you are not.”

  “Which I am not,” Marly said, her voice flat and expressionless. “Should I contact my lawyer?”