Murder Ink

by Betty Hechtman

TWENTY-THREE

  When I turned the corner onto my street, I was surprised to see a cop car in front of my building. And more surprised to see Tizzy out front talking to one of the cops. She was definitely living up to her nickname. Her clothes were fluttering from the broad gestures of her hands and body as she spoke to the officer.

  I stopped next to her. ‘What’s going on?’ I asked.

  Her very straight chin-length brown hair swung wildly as she turned to me. ‘I thought the police should know about what’s going on with you.’

  ‘You called the cops,’ I squealed.

  ‘No,’ she said. ‘I saw him leaving the coffee shop on the way to his car and I stopped him.’ She turned back to the cop. ‘She’s the one I was telling you about. Her television seemed like it had been taken over by demons. The channels switched around and the volume went up and down. There’s more – she got a sweater she’s sure she never bought, and a DVD that had one thing on it at first and then something else the next day. I’m telling you someone is gaslighting her – you know, trying to make it seem like she’s losing it.’ I was stunned as Tizzy made a circular motion next to her head, the thing we used to do as kids to imply someone was nuts.

  ‘Then you witnessed all this?’ the cop asked, seeming confused.

  ‘Only the TV,’ Tizzy said, getting more worked up. ‘You should have seen it. I’m telling you it was like it was possessed.’ She glanced in my direction and then back to the cop. ‘She told me about the rest of it.’

  The cop listened with a patient expression at first, then I saw a subtle shift and he eyed her with disbelief. I couldn’t blame him. Tizzy was making it sound like we’d both lost it.

  Naturally we were attracting the attention of people passing by, but luckily no one had stopped. Then I noticed a man in my peripheral vision make a stop. I turned to get a better look and my shoulders dropped as I realized it was Ben.

  His gaze moved from Tizzy and me to the cop, taking in the situation. He gave the two of us a nod of recognition before directing his attention to the cop. He pulled out his badge and introduced himself. It had never occurred to me that he always had the badge on him and probably a gun, too. ‘I know these ladies. What’s the problem?’

  I wasn’t so sure about being referred to as a lady, but I guess it was better than calling us females. Best might have been if he’d said ‘these two people’.

  The officer looked back and forth between me and Tizzy, seeming relieved to have someone on his wavelength to talk to. He pulled Ben aside and they conversed in voices too low for us to hear.

  I couldn’t help myself from giving Tizzy a dirty look. I would have liked to have thrown in some words with it admonishing her for getting the police involved. Worse now Ben was in the middle of it.

  The conversation between Ben and his uniformed brethren came to an end. The cop gave Ben a smile and a thumbs up before going back to his car. I could hear his radio crackling, probably with a real call for his services.

  Ben rejoined us and put his hands on Tizzy’s and my back as though he was rounding up a couple of errant sheep. ‘I told Officer Smith that I’d handle this,’ he said. He was using what I assumed must be his professional voice. I wondered if there was a special class in cop school where they were taught how to speak that way. It was full of authority and empty of emotion. ‘How about we take this inside?’ And he steered us all move toward the gray stone stairs that led to the building entrance.

  He dropped his hands as soon as we started up the short stairway. I led the way up to my place and the three of us stopped once we reached my living room.

  Tizzy started before I could stop her. ‘Someone’s gaslighting Veronica. She wasn’t going to do anything about it, but I was worried for her.’ She peered at Ben. ‘You do know what gaslighting is? That other police person didn’t seem to.’ Without giving him a chance to answer, she moved on to talking about the movie.

  He put his hand up to stop her. ‘How about you tell me exactly what happened.’ By now he was looking straight at me.

  I felt highly embarrassed, both because he was my student and because it made me sound a little crazy – as if I was seeing plots where there weren’t really any. As Tizzy liked to say, we writers had active imaginations.

  He kept his gaze on me and I got the message that I couldn’t simply dismiss the whole thing. I was stuck giving him all the details.

  Tizzy abruptly looked down at her smart watch which was vibrating on her wrist. ‘Oh, it’s a text from Theo,’ she said, referring to her husband. ‘I forgot we’re having company for dinner.’ She looked between Ben and me.

  ‘It’s okay, you can go,’ I said. ‘I can take it from here.’

  Tizzy looked relieved as she rushed to the door. Just before she went out, she turned back. ‘Be sure to tell him about all three things.’

  I let out a sigh when she had gone. ‘I’m afraid Tizzy made a big deal out of what’s probably nothing.’

  ‘Why don’t you just tell me the whole story.’ Even though he was wearing jeans and a gray hoodie instead of a uniform, he was definitely in cop mode. It had been different when he helped me with Rocky. This time it felt like we were the teacher and the cop in a standoff, which sounded like a situation in a romance novel.

  I just wanted to be done with an explanation, but I also felt an obligation to be cordial and offered him a seat and some sparkling water. He hesitated and I got it – as long as he stood with no refreshments, he could hold onto his role as a cop. He seemed as if he did some inner considering and he agreed to both.

  He glanced around the seating arrangement in the living room. His gaze stopped on the two chairs with a table in between near the bay window, but he dismissed it, looking back into the alcove near the entrance hall. His eye went from the blanket made of crochet squares in different designs on the wall that had hung in my father’s office to the black leather couch below. ‘How about there?’ he said pointing and I nodded. He maneuvered around the coffee table in front of the sofa and took a seat in the middle of it.

  I brought in the drinks and prepared to go over all the three incidents quickly, since Tizzy had made sure to mention that there were three, then he could go downstairs to his sister’s.

  I excused myself and went down the long hall to the kitchen to set up the drinks. As I loaded up a tray with glasses and the bottle of berry-flavored sparkling water, I tried to collect my thoughts and figure out what to say so I wouldn’t sound crazy. This was all very awkward. As a last-minute thought, I added a bowl of ice cubes.

  He’d already set out some coasters on the coffee table by the time I returned. I stalled a little longer offering him ice, which he accepted. I poured him a glass, then poured myself a half a glass straight. I could feel his eyes on me as I did it and I felt an obligation to explain. ‘I like my drinks at room temperature,’ I said.

  ‘So you’re a vegetarian who doesn’t like cold drinks,’ he said. I took my glass and sat in an adjacent soft gray wing chair.

  ‘It sounds like you’re keeping a profile on me,’ I said. I meant it as a light comment, but he didn’t even crack a smile.

  He glanced around the living room as if he was studying it with a fresh eye and then up at the wall hanging behind him. ‘That’s very nice. It adds a lot of color to the room.’

  ‘Thank you. I made it. What I mean is I crocheted all the squares.’ Talking about crocheting was easy and I elaborated. ‘People crochet all kinds of different things, but I seem to have settled on squares.’ I pointed out all the different stitch patterns. I considered whether I should mention that most of the squares had a story connected to them. What was going on in my life when I’d made it or how I’d gotten the particular yarn. I decided it opened too big a door to my personal life and let it be. I did pull out the bag I kept in the old straw sewing box next to the couch and took the half-done purple square out of the bag to show him. ‘It’s a pretty basic pattern.’

  ‘Yarn and a cat,’ he said. ‘Tha
t’s going to be tricky.’ Rocky had just sauntered in and was considering where to go.

  ‘It turns out he’s not really interested in yarn. I think he’s mostly just happy to have a home. He seems to hide a lot. Maybe he’s worried about going back to the pet shop.’ The large black-and-white cat jumped up on the couch and settled next to Ben as if he remembered that he’d been the one to rush out and get him his cat essentials. Ben responded by giving the cat a stroke from his head to his tail.

  ‘Relax, buddy,’ he said to the cat. ‘I’m sure she’s going to let you stay.’

  I nodded in agreement still feeling keyed up. ‘I don’t want to keep you from your time with Sara and her family. I’m assuming you were on your way there for the dinner.’ Maybe the drinks and the small talk had made him forget about why he’d come, and he could leave without me having to explain anything.

  Or maybe not. My hopes dropped when he said he’d text his sister that he was at my place. When he looked up from his cell phone, he went into interrogation mode. ‘How about you tell me what Tizzy was so worried about.’

  There didn’t seem to be any other choice, so I took a breath and began. ‘As Tizzy said, there were three incidents.’ I still had the small bag with the square in progress on my lap and started working on it as I talked. It somehow made it easier. ‘I guess the best way to do it is to start with the first one. You remember you saw that padded envelope when you were helping with the cat?’ I glanced at him and he nodded. ‘There was a DVD in a box with no label. When I played it that night, it had photographs of the client I told the group about. Then the next day, Sara came upstairs and she asked me about what I was working on and I went to show her the DVD. But it had somehow changed to a bunch of cat pictures. Of course, that would be impossible. The more I thought about it the more I began to doubt myself. Did I really watch it the first time or maybe I’d dreamt it? I’ve had that client on my mind a lot and I had a bunch of pictures her family had given me. I could have somehow put it all together in my sleep.’ I’d stopped crocheting as I talked and began to move the hook through the yarn again.

  ‘And now for number two,’ I said, trying to keep a light tone. ‘The other night I was watching TV and the set started to do weird things. The channel would change to something else, and then change back. It was very quick, and I began to wonder if I’d really seen what I thought I had. It made no sense. How could the TV do that? The volume had appeared to get louder and softer, too.’ I glanced up at him to see how he was reacting to what I was saying. I expected something like what the cop out front had done. I thought Ben might be rolling his eyes or something, but he had the same expression or lack of that he always had.

  ‘And lastly, there’s number three. I received a package with a sweater I don’t remember ordering. It was paid for with my credit card, but not the one I usually use for online shopping.’ I stopped to take a breath. I’d given him the facts, now I would explain how Tizzy was involved.

  ‘I was just going to let all of it go, but Tizzy stayed after the group outing the other night.’ I glanced at him and made sure he knew what I was talking about. He muttered an apology for missing it, but said he’d had to work.

  ‘Tizzy had forgotten to record some program on PBS and was going to miss it, so we started to watch it on my TV.’ I gestured toward the dark screen across the room. ‘Once again, the channel flipped back and forth, but this time she saw it too, so there was no question that it wasn’t real. I told her about the other two incidents and she got all wound up, saying that they were the kinds of things someone would do if they wanted to gaslight you.’ I checked to see if his face showed any recognition of the term. It didn’t and I continued. ‘The term comes from an old movie. Tizzy was insistent that I should watch it and then I’d understand what she was talking about. She even set it to record in the middle of the night.’

  There was a moment of dead air as I waited for him to say something about what I’d told him. ‘So the movie explains it?’ he said, and I nodded. There was more dead air which was making me nervous, so I rushed to say something to fill it.

  ‘I probably should watch it since Tizzy was so worked up about it. I don’t suppose you’d like to see it?’ I said, hoping he’d refuse.

  ‘After what you said I’m curious. I would like to see it. Is it available now?’

  ‘Well, yes, but are you sure you want to see it now? What about your dinner downstairs?’

  He shrugged. ‘I’m sure she’d be glad to give me a raincheck.’ He was already writing a text to her as he spoke. I heard a ping as she replied, and he looked uncomfortable as he read her answer. ‘Like I thought, no problem making our dinner another night.’

  ‘OK,’ I said, wondering what I’d gotten myself into. He offered to go to the restaurant across the street and get some food to go for us. ‘You got it last time. I can make something as long as you don’t mind that there’s no meat,’ I said, ‘and it’s nothing fancy.’

  ‘I’m not fussy. I live on take-out fast food and frozen stuff. I’ll help.’ I wanted to say no, but he was on his feet before I could stop him.

  When we got in the kitchen he looked around with interest. ‘It’s a lot different than my sister’s,’ he said. ‘No offense.’

  ‘None taken,’ I said. ‘Mine is pretty close to what it was like when this building was new. We replaced the sink, but there’s no dishwasher or modern cabinets,’ I said pointing at the bare walls. He wandered into the butler’s pantry and looked up at the glass doors that covered shelves going all the way to the ceiling.

  ‘I like the old stuff,’ he said.

  I used a small table in the middle of the room for food preparation and to hold appliances. There was a small pantry that had been for food storage but I, like almost everyone in the building, had turned it into a laundry area with a small washer and dryer that hung over it. He glanced at the former maid’s room. I’d had shelves built in there and used it for storage.

  I put some tomato soup on to heat and melted some butter for the grilled cheese sandwiches. Ben took over watching them, while I made some salad of Persian cucumbers, green onions, grape tomatoes and avocado. I added some seasoning and a sprinkle of balsamic vinegar.

  I made conversation about the writing group as I poured the soup into bowls. ‘I don’t know how you manage to read Ed’s work without any reaction,’ I said.

  Ben’s face softened and he almost smiled. ‘It’s a little secret I have. I simply read the words without thinking about their meaning.’ The sandwiches were nicely browned and the cheese oozing. He took them out of the pan and put them on the plates I’d set out.

  ‘All I can say is thank heavens you’re in the group. I don’t think any of the rest of us could manage to read out loud “his throbbing tool” without embarrassed laughter.’

  ‘You deserve an award with how you handle Daryl. I can only speak for myself, but I never want to say anything to her.’ I could see his point. Daryl put us all in a difficult position. She overreacted to anything that sounded like criticism, but if everyone just nodded and said ‘good work,’ she got upset, too, saying that wasn’t helpful to her.

  ‘It’s all in how you say it,’ I said. ‘I stick to things like “don’t you think it would be better if …”’ I finished setting up the plates and put them on trays. We each grabbed one and went back to the living room. After depositing the trays on the table, we resumed our seats.

  It was the most conversation I’d ever had with Ben and while he still seemed a stiff, he had loosened a bit. ‘I’m glad to see there’s another side to you. You’ve seemed pretty uptight in the group. I understand. It’s hard to have your work read in front of a group.’ I doubted that was the only reason he spoke in the monotone and seemed so closed up, but it seemed easier to give him an excuse.

  He arranged his napkin on his lap and pulled the tray a little closer to him and I wanted to start the movie, but it seemed like he had something on his mind.

  TWENTY-FOUR


  ‘You might have noticed that my sister has been trying to push us together. Giving me the birthday present of the writing classes and then her comments in the coffee shop.’ He paused and glanced down at his phone, obviously thinking of the return text she’d just sent him. I was glad he didn’t read it to me as I was sure she’d probably said something embarrassing.

  I nodded. ‘It’s hard to miss.’

  ‘Yes, she’s not known for her subtly,’ he said. ‘I don’t want you to take it personally that I haven’t followed through.’ He stopped and seemed to measure his words. ‘I don’t know how much she told you about me. She probably told you I was divorced.’

  ‘She might have mentioned it,’ I said. If I’d been uncomfortable telling him about the changing DVD, the mystery package and the crazy TV, it was nothing compared to how I felt about this line of conversation. I had no idea where it was headed.

  ‘What did she say?’

  I felt on the spot. I didn’t want to admit that Sara had gone into a lot of detail. ‘She just said that it had been hard on you.’ This was getting uncomfortably personal. I had the TV remote in my hand and was tempted to flip on the set and just go to the movie.

  ‘I’m supposed to be able to read people as part of my job. Figure out if someone is lying or going to be violent. I didn’t have a clue that Marcy was unhappy until she left. Sara keeps pushing me to get back on the …’ He stopped himself. ‘I am not going to say “get back on the horse” even if she did. I remember what you said about clichés. Maybe “back out there” sounds better. Anyway, I’m not ready.’

  ‘I understand. I’m really in the same place myself. The “not looking for a relationship” part. I’m sure Sara mentioned I was divorced too.’

  He smiled and tilted his head in agreement. ‘She mentioned it. She thought it was something we had in common.’

  ‘It looks like what we really have in common is that neither of us wants to go forward with her suggestion,’ I said carefully.