The Girl Next Door

by MacDonald, Patricia

  “You’re the doctor,” she said, and she picked up half the sandwich.

  For a few minutes they ate in silence, and Nina could feel the food actually starting to settle her stomach. Her strength seemed to return to her with each bite. Andre watched her, and when she had finished a half, he set down his own sandwich and wiped his fingers, as if to indicate that it was all right to talk again.

  Nina wiped her mouth with a napkin. “So. You said my father called you. What did he want? Did you have any inkling that he was planning …”

  Andre frowned. “To kill himself ?”

  Nina nodded.

  “No. Actually, that’s why I came to see you. When I read it in the paper I was shocked. To say the least.”

  Nina stared at him. “Everyone says I’m crazy, but I’ve had my doubts about it.”

  Andre seized on her remark. “What kinds of doubts? What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “There seem to be a lot of people in this town still hating him for what happened to my mother. Maybe somebody … hated him enough to want him dead. Or … I don’t know. He always maintained his innocence. Maybe he tried to find out something about the murder and he stirred up a hornet’s nest. It’s probably not rational but … but I’ve thought that.”

  Andre picked up a plastic-wrapped straw and tapped it on the Formica tabletop. “I have my doubts, too,” he said.

  Nina’s heart started to hammer. “Tell me why you say that.”

  “Well, I knew your dad fairly well. He used to work in the infirmary with me and we would talk. I was teaching him Spanish,” said Andre with a smile. “He was a very intelligent man. He’d become fluent, actually.”

  “Yes, he told me,” said Nina.

  “We talked about a lot of things. He talked about you a lot. He adored you …”

  Nina blushed, and part of her wanted to hear more about what her father had said about her, but she was not about to be distracted from her more urgent concern. “What makes you think he didn’t kill himself ?”

  “He was looking forward to getting out …”

  Nina interrupted him. “Chief Perry said people don’t realize how tough it’s going to be. He said it was not uncommon for ex-prisoners to become very depressed when they finally understood what their life had become.”

  “I’m sure that’s true,” said Andre.

  “My father had been a doctor. He’d once had money and prestige. Chief Perry said that would make it all the worse for him.”

  Andre frowned and tapped the straw.

  “What aren’t you saying?” She could see he was struggling with what to say next. “Do you know something about this that I don’t?” she persisted.

  Andre spoke carefully. “I think you should find out from the police if they have any evidence at all that his death was not a suicide,” said Andre. “The autopsy may reveal new information …”

  Nina cocked her head and tried to catch his eye, but he avoided her gaze. “That’s what the police chief said. But you sound as if you already know …”

  Andre was silent for a moment, frowning, as if he was struggling with a decision. Then he sighed. “Nina, your father had been suffering from clinical depression. While he was incarcerated. It was severe at times. In fact, in treating him we had him try a variety of medications.” Andre looked directly at her. “He never mentioned it to you?”

  Nina stared at him and shook her head. “No. I mean, who could blame him for being depressed. But no. He never said a word.”

  Andre frowned again. “I was hoping he might have shared this with you.”

  Nina felt disoriented by this new information. “So you’re saying … Wait a minute. You’re saying … Are you saying that he did kill himself ?”

  “No,” Andre said sharply. “Just the opposite. Your father had it under control. And after a few false starts we found a medication that really helped him. By the time he learned about his parole, he was in very good … mental health. He told me that every day, every moment was precious to him. He was absolutely determined to make the best of every moment he had left in his life.”

  Tears welled in Nina’s eyes at the thought of her father keeping his despair from her, not trusting her with it, for some reason. “Why didn’t he tell me?”

  “Don’t take it the wrong way. He probably didn’t want to worry you. You’d spent so many years being supportive of him. He didn’t want to burden you any further. There was no need. I’d arranged for him to renew his prescription with Dr. Nathanson at the clinic where he was working. He was doing fine, Nina.”

  “But maybe once he had to actually cope with his ‘so-called’ freedom, he stopped doing fine,” she said.

  “Your father was a very strong-willed person,” Andre said.

  “Or he stopped taking his medication.”

  Andre frowned. “Well, that’s a possibility, Nina. Certainly. That’s one of the reasons I came to see you. I think it would be a very good idea to find out. Once they have the autopsy results, they will have a toxicology screen, and they will know exactly what he had in his system. I think it would be a good idea for you to speak to a detective and find out what those results were.”

  “But …” Nina shook her head slowly. “But if the police find out he was … clinically depressed, they’ll be more certain than ever that he committed suicide.”

  “Let’s face it. You and I both know that the death of a convicted murderer is not very high up on the cops’ list of concerns. They may just want to close the file on him. The public, the newspapers are not going to care what happened to Duncan Avery. They’ll think your father got what was coming to him,” he said.

  Nina sighed. “You’re right about that.”

  Andre leaned forward and held her gaze with his own. “So you have to be his advocate. Here.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pad and a thin gold pen. He scribbled something on the pad. “This is the chemical name for the medication he was taking. If you have your doubts, take this to the police and ask if this chemical turned up in his system at the autopsy. If this compound was there, in his blood …”—Andre tore off the piece of paper and handed to her—“that means Duncan was still taking his medication faithfully. And if that’s the case, I’d be willing to bet anything that your father did not kill himself.”

  12

  A YOUNG uniformed officer wearing a humorless expression confiscated Nina’s bag and searched it while his more pleasant-looking colleague instructed her to pass through the metal detector arch and wait on the other side. Fortunately, she did not set off any alarms, and her bag was handed back to her with a brief order to direct her question to the sergeant on duty. Nina had not been in the police station since the days following her mother’s murder, and it was clear that in the ensuing years the town of Hoffman had spared no expense in outfitting the police department for the security demands of the new century.

  Nina approached the sergeant’s desk and waited while the sergeant spoke to someone on his headset about a prisoner transfer. As she looked around the police station, once so familiar to her, she thought about her meeting the night before with Andre Quinteros. Part of her was angry at her father for not telling her about his depression. Another part kept mulling over what Andre had said about him. That he was not suicidal. Not at all. That seemed to validate her own impressions, but still, she had been so shaken by Andre’s information that she could hardly sleep all night. She couldn’t even remember if she’d said good night to Andre when he dropped her off at her door.

  “Miss? Can I help you?”

  Nina started, and then realized that the sergeant was speaking to her. She asked him if she could speak with Chief Perry. The sergeant frowned, as if this were unlikely, but he took her name and pressed the intercom. He spoke quietly into his headset and then turned to Nina. “Go through there,” the sergeant said, pointing to a door on his left. “Down the hall, third door on the right.”

  Nina put her hand on the door
knob, waited for the buzzer, and entered the squad room. She kept her eyes lowered as she hurried toward the office to which she had been directed. She knew it was probably paranoia, but she felt as if all the officers in this station recognized her and knew about her family’s notorious history. As she approached the door to Chief Perry’s office, she saw that it was open, and that there was a trim white-haired man in casual civilian clothes leaning against the doorframe, talking to the occupant. He looked over at her as she approached, and all at once, Nina recognized his small bright eyes and lined face. It was the detective who had been the chief investigator on her mother’s case. He had always treated Nina and her brothers kindly, even though he was busily building a case against their father. “Detective Hagen?”

  The man smiled but looked puzzled. “Hello, young lady,” he said.

  She realized that he did not recognize her. The last time he’d seen her she was a teenager.

  “You don’t remember me. Nina Avery.”

  The old man’s twinkling eyes widened with surprise. “Oh my goodness, Nina,” he said. He reached for Nina’s hand and shook it. “How are you, dear?”

  “I’m fine,” she said. “And you?”

  “Aw, I’m doing okay. Just talking a little golf with the chief here. What brings you here?”

  Chief Perry joined them in the doorway. “Hello, Nina. Come on in. I’m glad you’re here. Frank, it was good to see you. Don’t you be a stranger now.”

  Nina frowned. “Don’t you … aren’t you still working here, Detective Hagen?”

  “No, I’m retired. They put me out to pasture,” Frank Hagen said, aiming for a jovial tone but unable to suppress a wistful note. “Nina, about your dad …”

  Chief Perry interrupted. “I’m just about to discuss that with Miss Avery in my office,” he said firmly. “Come in, Nina.”

  Nina entered and sat down in the chair in front of Chief Perry’s desk as he walked around it, smoothing down his tie as he sat.

  Frank Hagen hesitated, and then said, “Right. Well, you people have business, and the wife’s got storm windows on my To Do list today.”

  “Frank, can you close that door on your way out?”

  Hagen nodded and raised a hand as he reached for the doorknob. “Yessir.”

  Perry sighed as the door closed and the latch caught.

  “How long ago did Lieutenant Hagen retire?” Nina asked politely.

  Perry raised his eyebrows. “Let me see. It’s been about three years.” Chief Perry gave Nina a quick, grim glance. “I hope I can make the adjustment a little better when it’s my time to leave. He can’t quite make the break, you know? He keeps coming around and trying to interest me in golf, and it’s really not my game.”

  “I understand,” said Nina.

  “So, what can I do for you, Nina?”

  “I’m here about my father’s death,” said Nina.

  “What about it?” Perry said.

  Nina took a deep breath, and pictured Andre’s face in her mind. The certainty in his eyes. “I have been … thinking. I was not completely satisfied with the idea that my father took his own life. And then I was talking to my father’s physician and he asked me about the autopsy report.”

  Eugene Perry cleared his throat. He peered at Nina. “What about it?” he asked.

  Nina took the slip of paper that Andre had given her last night out of her pocket. “Dr…. um … Quinteros wanted me to find out if my father had been taking this medication that was prescribed for him at the time of his death. This is the chemical name for the compound he was taking.”

  “Well, why don’t we look,” said Chief Perry amiably. He took the slip of paper and put it on the desk beside him. He shuffled through the papers on his desk and pulled out a file. “What was the medication for?” asked the chief.

  Nina took a deep breath. If she told him the truth, would he just dismiss her questions out of hand? She had to risk it. “Actually, he was taking medication for depression. Dr. Quinteros said that if he hadn’t quit taking it, it would show up in his toxicology screen.”

  Chief Perry shook out the earpiece on a pair of half-glasses and put them on. He frowned, scanning the densely printed paper, and ran his index finger down a column of figures. Then, stopping his finger on the page, he glanced again at the slip of paper. “Yup,” he said. “Here it is. Your father was taking this medication.”

  Nina felt a buzzing in her veins. She leaned toward the chief. “Then I’m afraid I have to question your conclusion that my father killed himself. Dr. Quinteros will tell you. It’s highly unlikely if he was taking his medication.”

  Nina expected the chief to be resistant, to scoff at this idea, but instead he shook his head. “As a matter of fact, that’s just further confirmation of what we already know,” the chief said.

  Nina sat back, surprised. “What do you mean? What do you already know?”

  “It seems that … Look, Nina, I don’t know whether this is going to seem like good news or bad news to you.” He closed the autopsy folder and set it back down on his desk. Then he took off his glasses and fiddled with the earpiece. “The coroner’s report indicated that your father was …” He hesitated, and then spoke in a rush. “Nina, we now know that your father was not the one who fired the fatal shot. He may have been trying to disarm the killer when the shot was fired.”

  Nina was stunned. This information caught her completely off guard. “The killer?”

  Chief Perry shifted uneasily in his chair. “Yes. Someone else shot your father. He didn’t commit suicide.”

  “But I thought …” Nina was nonplussed. “Are you sure?” she said.

  Chief Perry nodded. “Yes. We know that now.”

  “He definitely did not kill himself ?”

  “No. According to the autopsy … no.”

  Nina could hardly believe that the chief was admitting this to her. “I can’t believe it.”

  The chief looked mildly surprised. “You said you had your doubts about suicide.”

  “I know. I did, but …”

  “I told you we wouldn’t know for sure until after the autopsy.”

  “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “You didn’t really give me a chance. And besides, you had a perfectly reasonable question about his tox screen and I wanted to answer it for you.”

  “When did you find out about this?” Nina said.

  The chief frowned. “I’ve known this for a couple of days. But frankly, I wanted to wait to tell you until we had some more … answers.”

  “What kinds of answers? Do you know who did it? Who killed him?” she asked.

  “Well, I can’t tell you too much, but we have a … a theory about the suspect. I’m directing the inquiries that are being made and I would prefer to keep certain things quiet right now.”

  Nina had begun to tremble, and she felt lightheaded. “What inquiries … ?” she said. “Nobody has asked me anything. Are you sure you are really investigating this? Because I would expect your men to come and question me. You have to find out who did this, Chief. Just because my father was … convicted of a crime is no reason to shortchange him … or me …”

  “Nina,” the chief said sharply. “I told you. We’re investigating.”

  Nina was brought up short by the rebuke in his tone. But she gazed at him defiantly. “Somebody has to fight for him,” she said.

  Chief Perry shook his head. “Look. I want you to know that I find your loyalty to your father very … absolutely admirable.”

  Nina stared at him, disarmed by the compassion in his voice.

  He glanced at the framed family photo on his desktop and sighed. “I’m a father myself, Nina. You make me wonder about my own children. Would they stand by me in hard times the way you stood by Duncan Avery?”

  “I just want the truth,” she said.

  “I know. And you’re right. I’ve kept certain things from you. Call me an old … fogey. I have a daughter and I was thinking about her. There a
re certain things I wouldn’t want my daughter to know about me in the same circumstances.” Perry sighed. “I used my judgment. I thought it would be better to wait until we had some facts, some … some proof, before we made you suffer through another humiliation.”

  Nina’s face flamed. “What are you talking about?”

  Chief Perry adjusted the perfectly straight knot in his tie and frowned at the ceiling before he spoke. “The spot by the river where your father was found. It’s secluded, and it’s well known for … what you might call assignations of an illegal variety.”

  “What kind of illegal activity?”

  The chief ’s freckled complexion flushed pink. “I’m talking about prostitution. Over the years we’ve had a number of arrests for prostitution in that area.”

  “Prostitution!”

  Perry nodded. “We’re proceeding on the assumption that your father may have met his death as a result of a rendezvous, shall we say, that turned ugly. It’s not uncommon for women in that profession to carry a concealed weapon.”

  “A prostitute,” Nina scoffed. “That’s absurd.”

  Chief Perry looked at her sympathetically. “I know you don’t want to think of your father that way, but he was a normal man. A man who’d been kept away from the company of women for many years …”

  “That’s disgusting,” said Nina. “You’re just determined to make it seem as if he was to blame …”

  “Nina. We got your aunt’s records from the phone company. One of the last calls your father made was to the number of a known prostitute. A hooker with a drug problem whom we’ve picked up multiple times …”

  Nina stared at him.

  “This is what I didn’t want to tell you. We’re looking into it, but …”

  “Maybe he called a wrong number. It could be anything …”

  “Well, as it happens, her number was disconnected because she hadn’t been paying her bills …”

  The disconnected number. Nina suddenly remembered the number from the Post-it note, which she had dialed when she was searching for Duncan.

  “We questioned the woman’s neighbors. Someone recognized Duncan. I guess he went there when he couldn’t get her on the phone. A neighbor saw them going off in his … your aunt’s car. We still haven’t been able to locate her. We’re working on that.”