by Gail Bowen
When I picked up my coat, I was shaking. I didn’t say goodbye.
Lena was dressed and ready to go when I got to the hospital. With her Day-Glo pink cast on one arm and Poor Pitiful Pearl in the crook of the other, she was clearly prepared to rock and roll.
“Lena’s discharge papers are signed,” Mieka said. “We have reams of information about how to care for a young grasshopper with a cast, so I guess we’re set.”
“We’re having leftover macaroni and cheese for lunch today,” I said.
Lena beamed. “My favourite – well, one of my favourites.”
“Your mum always says it’s better the second day.”
“I didn’t have it the first day, so I won’t know,” Lena said with impeccable logic.
When we got home, Zack had already set the table. At Lena’s place there was a handmade welcome-home card, a DVD of Charlotte’s Web, a bag of gummy worms, and a mug with the words SOME GIRL spelled out in spidery calligraphy.
After a round of hugs, Mieka started getting lunch on the table. When I offered to help, Mieka waved me off. “You and Zack have done enough. Just relax and get caught up on your mornings.”
So Zack and I went into the living room and sat together on the couch. “So,” I said. “How was your morning?”
He stretched lazily. “Not bad at all. James Loftus, the CEO of Blackwell, has agreed to set up a mentoring program.”
“So Mr. Loftus succumbed to your charm,” I said.
“Yeah, that, and the fact that I told him Margot was looking into pooled fund management for Peyben and she was leaning towards Blackwell.”
“Is pooled fund management a big deal?”
“Depends on your perspective. Blackwell recommends that any investor considering pooled fund management bring a minimum of $20 million to the table. Peyben will be bringing considerably more than that. Anyway, it’s a good deal for everybody. We get a stellar corporate partner and excellent fund management, and Blackwell gets a whole whack of money to invest.”
“A win–win situation,” I said.
Zack gave me a cat that swallowed the canary smirk. “Yep. So how was your morning?”
“A dead loss,” I said. “We can talk about it later. Right now, I think I could just use a strong arm around my shoulders and some comfort food.”
Lena was an enthusiastic eater. She polished off two helpings of macaroni and cheese, asked for more milk in her SOME GIRL mug, ate a handful of gummy worms, and then, saying that it was hard to sleep in the hospital because people were always waking her up, declared she was ready for a nap.
When Mieka came back from tucking in Lena, she seemed weary. “You look like you could use a nap yourself,” I said. “Why don’t you crawl in with Lena for a while?”
Mieka stretched and yawned. “That bed certainly looked tempting, but I have to get back to work. Between UpSlideDown and trying to find a manager for April’s Place, I’m going full out these days.”
“Sure you’re not overdoing it?” I said.
“I go to bed when the kids do. Except for Lena breaking her arm, all’s well.”
“Have you heard from Riel?”
“No, not since he stormed out of the hospital. He’s still among the missing. I had called him last week about putting in some shelves at April’s Place – you remember how great the ice cream stand he built for the girls was. Anyway, he seemed interested, but I haven’t heard from him this week at all.”
“Have you tried calling him?” I said.
“I left him a message this morning saying that Lena was getting out of the hospital today and coming here. Maybe he’ll have the courage to call you. But I’m not going to run after him, Mum. At the moment, I’ve got my hands full taking care of the girls, keeping my business running, and getting April’s Place off to a good start.” Mieka slipped into her coat, bent to kiss Zack, and then embraced me. “Thanks for spoiling my ladies, and for the mac and cheese,” she said. “It really is better the second day.”
After Mieka left, Zack turned to me. “Time for show and tell,” he said. “And it’s your turn. How was your meeting with Kaye?”
“Unsettling,” I said.
As I gave Zack an account of my talk with Kaye, his gaze never left my face. “So Julian is just a nice boy who made a bad life choice,” he said. “Jesus, Jo, if you knew how often I’ve heard trial lawyers, including me, use that defence, you’d know that 99 per cent of the time it’s bullshit.”
Zack’s lips curled in disgust. “I always thought Kaye was a sensible woman. What the hell’s the matter with her?”
“Guilt? I don’t know, and to be honest, right now, I don’t care. There’s more. Margot and I had a talk this morning, too. Declan told her that Julian is playing some serious mind games with Taylor. He’s trying to convince Taylor that the only way she can make art that’s as significant as Sally’s is through a relationship with him.”
“And Taylor’s buying it.”
“Declan’s afraid that she might be.”
“So where do we go from here?”
“I honestly don’t know. All I know is that our daughter is being torn apart. She loves us.”
“And Julian’s telling her that’s not enough – that all she really needs is him. God, I’d like to clean his clock.”
“I know the feeling, but any hostility on our part will just drive Taylor into Julian’s arms. For the time being, all we can do is stick close to Taylor, try to get her to open up to us, and pray that she doesn’t do something irrevocable.”
Zack was meeting Vince Treadgold at Falconer Shreve at two-thirty. He was still hoping that Vince would be in the clear about Lauren’s death, but he was hedging his bets by introducing Vince to Maisie Crawford and Chad Kichula, another associate of whom Zack thought highly.
I walked him to the door. “I’m glad you’re arranging for Vince to have backup,” I said.
“You think he’s going to need a lawyer,” Zack said.
“I don’t know. Just make sure you get Vince to tell you what Lauren meant when she said she was going to ask him to protect her the way she was protecting him.”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I saw the worry in Zack’s eyes. I put my hands on his shoulders. “Hey,” I said. “You’re the one who always says it’s better to know that not know.”
“Yeah,” Zack said. “But not knowing makes it easier to sleep nights.”
——
Lena had just awakened from her nap when the buzzer sounded from the lobby. It was Riel, and he avoided an awkward moment by letting me know that he had gotten back to Mieka and that she had okayed a visit with Lena.
I poured Lena a glass of juice. “That was Riel,” I said. “He’s on his way up. He wants to see you.”
“Will Mummy mind?”
“No, she’s the one who told him you were here. Lena, Riel loves you and Madeleine, and that love doesn’t stop just because he and your mum have problems.”
“So I can just be the way I always am with Riel?”
“Absolutely,” I said.
“Good, because I miss him. Maddy does too.”
“Be sure and let Riel know that,” I said.
Riel was looking better. The hectic glitter was gone from his eyes and his hands were steady. He was carrying a jigsaw puzzle, which he handed to Lena. “I didn’t have a chance to wrap this,” he said, “but I thought it might be something we could do together.” He checked to see my reaction.
I nodded. “Are you up for a puzzle, Lena?”
“You bet,” she said.
“Then get to it,” I said. “And I’ll start dinner.”
Lena and Riel set up their puzzle on the large round coffee table in the living room. Lena was normally a chatty child, but she and Riel worked quietly. Occasionally, they murmured something to each other or exclaimed with delight or disappointment, but they worked diligently, their heads bent to the task at hand, both with dark braids that shone under the overhead light.
“Well done,” I said. “Let’s leave it there for Maddy and Taylor and Granddad to see.”
“I’m never going to take it apart,” Lena said.
“If you never take it apart, we’ll never have the fun of putting it back together again,” Riel said.
“Good point,” I said. “Margot sent over some brownies from Evolution this morning, can I interest you two in a snack?”
“You can interest me,” Lena said.
Riel stood. “I’d better get going.”
“Thanks for the puzzle,” Lena said. “It’s really neat.”
Riel hadn’t taken off his jacket. Now he zipped it and reached over and touched Lena’s head. “It was fun spending the afternoon with you.” He turned his eyes to me. “Thanks for letting me stay.”
Lena’s voice was bright. “You can come back.”
“I’ll do my best,” he said.
I walked him to the door. “Any time you want to talk, I’m here.”
Riel’s smile was poignant. “There’s so much I need to say.” He took a step towards me. “Joanne, I’ve dug myself into a hole, and I don’t know how to climb out.”
“Could you talk to Ernest?”
“I’ve started to call Ernest almost as many times as I’ve started to call Mieka,” Riel said. “I never have the guts to get to that last digit.” He gave me a small wave. “See you around.”
Zack picked up Madeleine from school, then they swung by Luther to get Taylor. Mieka had managed to get away from work early, so they all came up in the elevator together. Lena claimed them immediately. The minute everybody had their coats off, Lena led them into the living room to admire the puzzle.
Zack, Mieka, and I were having tea and the girls were at the butcher-block table having their after-school snacks when Taylor finally came back from looking at the puzzle. She was thoughtful. “That’s a cool puzzle,” she said. “And it’s really cool that it came today.” She poured herself a glass of milk and sat down on one of the kitchen stools. “Darrell texted me this morning, and I called him when I was on my lunch break. The man who bid against Dad for Two Painters is offering me a commission. I said I’d talk to you about it.”
“What do you want to do?” I said.
“I wasn’t sure, and then I saw Lena’s puzzle, and I had an idea about something I might do with Julian.”
I wanted to take Taylor in my arms and plead with her not to involve Julian, but I forced myself to remain silent and continue chopping vegetables.
Zack made a quicker recovery. “Julian in the rain forest?” he asked.
“Julian in the rain forest surrounded by creatures that are endangered, dangerous, and beautiful,” Taylor said. “I think I could do something good.”
“So you want to accept the commission,” Zack said.
“Yes. I really do,” Taylor said, and I could feel her excitement. “Dad, would you mind talking to Darrell about the money?”
“Not at all.”
“But I’d like to be there when you talk to him. I’m going to need to learn the business side of this.” Taylor whipped out her iPhone. “I’d better text Julian and see if he’s interested. We’re having dinner together tomorrow night, so we can talk about it then.” She took a large sip of milk.
I knew Zack was no happier about this development than I was, but he didn’t miss a beat. “If you’re having dinner with Julian tomorrow night, I guess he won’t be able to go to the Pats game with me.”
Taylor did a double take, then she laughed, sputtering her milk. “As if …” she said. “Sorry, Dad, just the idea of Julian at a hockey game.”
Taylor’s iPhone beeped. She read her message. “Julian says, ‘Go for it.’ ”
“In that case, we’ll call Darrell after supper,” Zack said. “Right now, I have a suggestion. Nobody wants to wreck Lena’s puzzle. Why don’t we load up our plates, go into the living room, and watch Charlotte’s Web?”
Like all good lawyers, and actors, Zack had mastered the art of the cool vibe, but as he wheeled his chair into place I could see the tension in the set of his shoulders. It had been another tough day. I drew a chair up beside him and put my lips to his ear. “I’ll go to the Pats game with you.” He gave my hand a grateful squeeze, leaned over, and whispered, “I don’t actually have tickets,” then turned back to the opening credits.
Every adult in the room had private worries. Mieka was concerned about Riel. Zack was burdened with the knowledge that Vince’s situation was worsening, and he and I were both apprehensive about Taylor’s relationship with Julian. But the story of Wilbur and Charlotte worked its magic. When Wilbur carried home Charlotte’s magnum opus, the sac of eggs she laid at the fair before dying, we were all in tears.
CHAPTER
10
After Mieka and the girls left, Zack and Taylor called Darrell Bell. When Zack told me the size of the commission Cole Dimitroff was proposing, my jaw dropped.
“Did Taylor seem fazed by Mr. Dimitroff’s offer?”
“Not a bit,” Zack said. “All she said was that she and Julian better get started.”
I sighed. “Not exactly the news I was hoping for.”
The day demanded a massage, and as soon as I poured the oil into my hand and began kneading Zack’s neck muscles, I knew I had my work cut out for me.
“Do you want to talk about the situation with Vince?” I said.
“Might as well,” Zack said. “I took your advice and asked Vince if he understood what Lauren meant when she referred to protecting him …”
I dug my fingers in more deeply. “And …”
“And I’m glad I asked. I wouldn’t want to get blindsided by this. According to Vince, on Sunday of the Remembrance Day weekend, Lauren got a call from a man telling her that he saw her driving her Land Rover erratically the night of the auction. He said she ran a red and then hit a lamppost.”
“Hence the damage you noticed on the headlight when we picked up the car,” I said.
“Right. But the caller went on. He said a homeless guy was sleeping under the lamppost and the Land Rover ran over his leg. That the guy was okay but is going to need a lot of help …”
“So was the street person the one making the phone call?”
“No, the caller identified himself as ‘a friend of justice.’ Whoever it was muffled his voice. Lauren told Vince she couldn’t connect it with anyone she knew. The salient point is that the friend of justice asked for $20,000 to keep from going to the cops. But Vince is positive he hit a post, and that’s all. No matter how drunk he was, he couldn’t have missed running someone over.”
“How did this man know it was Lauren’s car?”
“Only one answer for that – he had to be someone who knew the Treadgolds well enough to know she usually drove the Rover.”
“Someone who knew them and was prepared to blackmail them.”
“So it would seem. Lauren agreed to pay the caller. He was going to pick up the money the next afternoon.”
“The day Lauren was murdered,” I said.
“Yes. But when Lauren and Vince had their confrontation, the friend of justice still hadn’t turned up. Lauren told Vince that if he agreed to a generous divorce settlement, she had the cash and was ready to pay the blackmailer. If Vince didn’t agree to alimony, she’d send the friend of justice to the police with the information that Vince had been driving her car – drunk – and she’d tell the cops how she got her black eye.”
“What did Vince do?�
��
“He caved,” Zack said. “He agreed to pay Lauren substantial alimony. If Lauren made good on her threat, Vince would be charged with assault and with leaving the scene of an accident. And that’s just for starters. He could lose his medical licence.”
I felt a chill. “That’s a pretty powerful motive for murder,” I said.
Zack ran his hand over his head. “Tell me something I don’t know. But it’s possible that the friend of justice killed Lauren. She could have reneged on their deal or he could have decided he wanted more money and she refused.”
“Was the cash in the house when the police arrived?”
“I don’t know. I’m going to call Debbie and see what’s shaking.”
“What about the fact that Lauren had the Land Rover repaired?”
“Not germane,” Zack said. “Vince didn’t learn about the repair until I told him about it. The only other people who know about the repair are you and me and I’m Vince’s lawyer.”
I pressed hard on the base of Zack’s spine and he groaned. “Don’t try to bully me,” I said.
“I’m not bullying you,” Zack said. “The repair really is not relevant. What matters are Vince’s actions the night of the art auction. He was drunk. He was driving recklessly. He honestly doesn’t remember hitting anything, but he knows he ran a red. Anyway, it scared him, and he parked the SUV and walked to the Senator. Somebody took the car for a joyride, and the next day Lauren picked up the car. End of story.”
I stopped massaging and sat back. “Zack, do you think Vince killed Lauren?”
“No. Debbie has the holy trinity in this one: means, motive, and opportunity, but that doesn’t make Vince guilty. I always try to put myself in the client’s place. Sometimes, I can actually feel that crazy anger clients must have felt when they crossed the line. But when I put myself in Vince’s place, I don’t feel crazy anger. I’m a successful surgeon; I’m respected in the community; I was furious when I witnessed my wife having sex with another man; but I’m not really in love with her any more and I can afford the best divorce lawyer in the country. Yes, she’s blackmailing me about something I didn’t do, but if it comes out, I’ll fight it. I feel pretty much in control.”
