Dena looked around in confusion. She had just passed Jennifer’s father, looking devastated, and now, here was Ron, white as paste, his clothes splotched with blood.
Five minutes ago, when she had pulled up to the house, panicked by the sight of all the police cars, Sergeant Watkins had met her at the door, saying only, ‘I wondered if you were still here.’ She tried to question him, but he had ignored her queries, indicating only that the young policeman should lead her around to the kitchen. Now her gaze fastened on the bloodstained shirt which Ron was wearing. ‘Ron? What happened? Are you hurt? Where is Jennifer?’
The police chief stared at her. ‘Were you a friend of Mrs Hubbell’s?’ he asked.
It took a moment for the question to register. ‘Were?’ she repeated faintly.
The police chief stared back at her, and then she knew. Dena felt the world falling out from under her. She grabbed the back of a painted kitchen chair and swayed slightly. With military efficiency, Tyrell pulled the chair out and pressed her down onto it before her legs gave out.
Dena’s fingers and cheeks felt numb, as if she’d been frostbitten. ‘Is Jennifer …?’
‘Yes,’ Lou said. ‘Someone … she was … murdered.’
‘It’s impossible,’ Dena said. ‘No.’
Lou Potter looked at his pad and then gazed at her angrily, as if she were somehow to blame. ‘What are you doing here, Miss Russell?’
‘I’ve been staying here. They took me in,’ Dena said faintly.
Ron seemed to come to life. ‘Her boyfriend came looking for her. He acted crazy,’ said Ron angrily. ‘That’s who I’m talking about. Brian Riley. Jennifer hated him. He was here last night and we threw him out.’
‘All right, let’s call a halt to this for the moment,’ said Lou, standing up abruptly. ‘This is not a group discussion. Miss Russell, I’ll talk to you at the station. First, I have to finish with Mr Hubbell.’
He walked out into the hallway, where Jake Smith waited anxiously ‘I think you should try to get some rest right now. I’m sure I’ll have more questions for you tomorrow. But I promise you … I promise you we will find whoever did this to Jennifer. We will find him and we will put him away forever, all right? We won’t let you down.’
‘They’re all gone,’ Jake said. The look in his eyes said that the horror was just beginning to register. ‘All my girls.’
Lou looked at the shattered man with compassion. ‘Is there someone here who can help you …?’
‘There are some friends outside,’ Tyrell said. ‘I’ll call them.’
Lou met the worried gaze of his sergeant calmly. ‘Good. See that you get him safely dispatched. I’ll talk to Miss Russell alone,’ he said. ‘After I finish with the husband.’ He inclined his head back toward the kitchen. He spoke quietly into Tyrell’s ear. ‘We need to establish the husband’s movements around the time of death. Get started questioning the neighbors. Find out if anybody saw him on the train or coming home. Also, we need to check his finances, insurance …’
Tyrell peered into the kitchen at the disconsolate man in the bloody shirt slumped over the table. ‘You think this might be an act?’
‘I don’t know anything about that,’ said Lou carefully. ‘There’s such a thing as regret or remorse. It can look a lot like grief.’
‘Looks real to me,’ said Tyrell.
‘Sergeant,’ Lou said in a warning voice.
Tyrell turned to Jake Smith and offered to escort him out to his friends who were waiting behind the police barricade. Jake acceded, in a daze. Lou went back into the kitchen and put an arm under Dena’s elbow, lifting her from the chair.
‘This can’t be happening,’ said Dena. Tears had begun to run down her face.
‘Take it easy, now, Miss Russell. Everything will be all right. You go along with Officer McCarthy. I’ll see you back at the station.’
Dena sat in a chair in the chief’s office for what seemed like an hour until he was able to sit down across from her. The interruptions had been constant – the phone, reporters, police with paperwork to show him. Dena spent the time sipping a cup of water which the dispatcher, a sympathetic woman named Peg, had brought to her, and studying the photos of the chief and his family which were clustered on the windowsill behind his desk. Every few minutes her thoughts would return to Ron, sitting in that bloody shirt at the table – all his dreams shattered. She thought about the fact that she had stopped to eat before she headed to the Hubbells’ house. She hadn’t wanted to disturb their anniversary dinner, so she had stopped at a coffee house for a sandwich, picturing Ron and Jennifer toasting their happiness by candlelight. And all the while … It was agonizing to think of it. While she ate her lonely sandwich, she had envied them.
Dena wiped the tears away again. Her face was puffy with weeping. She tried not to think about how this had happened to Jennifer. Because, when she did, her thoughts kept circling back to the same horrible possibility.
Chief Potter came into the room, and shut the door. Dena jumped at the sound. ‘Sorry to startle you,’ he said. He sat down and folded his hands on his desk.
‘Now, Miss Russell,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry to keep you waiting.’
‘That’s all right,’ Dena said automatically.
‘How long were you a guest in the Hubbells’ home?’
‘Not long,’ she said dully. ‘A couple of days.’
‘But you did have an opportunity to observe them together.’
Dena was a little surprised. She had assumed the questions would be about Brian. ‘Yes, I … I saw them, of course.’
‘I realize that you were grateful to them, for taking you in, and you were distracted by your own problems,’ he said.
‘That’s for sure,’ Dena agreed. She took another sip from her cup of water.
The chief spread his hands wide. ‘Did you notice any discord, any arguing that went on …’
‘No, none,’ said Dena. ‘They got along so well …’
‘Any exchanges between them that made you think perhaps everything wasn’t as it should be.’
Dena sat up in her chair and stared at him. ‘No. What are you implying?’
‘I’m just asking you a question,’ he said blandly.
‘They were very happy together. They had a new house and a baby on the way. They loved each other …’
‘Sometimes people only let the world see a small corner of their relationship,’ he said.
‘That’s true,’ Dena conceded. How well she knew. ‘But, if they were trying to hide something, they did a pretty good job.’
‘Did you know that Mr Hubbell was married before?’ the chief asked.
Dena nodded. ‘Jennifer mentioned it. Lots of people are married more than once.’
‘Do you know why his first marriage ended?’
Dena looked at him ruefully. ‘No. What difference does that make?’
The chief ignored her angry tone. ‘You were close friends with Mrs Hubbell?
Dena hesitated, wanting to be clear. ‘We were old friends, from high school. I hadn’t seen her in years. We met again at our Lamaze class.’
‘Oh yes. The baby,’ he said.
‘Chief Potter, I feel as if I have to say …’ She didn’t want to be the one to bring Brian’s name into this. But surely the police had to be told about the animosity between Jennifer and Brian. ‘Before her … death, Mrs … Jennifer told me some things about the man I was living with that were terribly disturbing. I don’t know if you realize that she had certain suspicions—’
The chief cut her off. ‘I’m not interested in your domestic squabbles. I think that will be all for right now, Miss Russell. I just want to make it clear that we don’t want you going anywhere for a while. I want you right here until we make an arrest in this case.’
‘But I can’t stay here,’ Dena protested. ‘I’m planning on leaving Monroe. The things Jennifer told me have made me very uncomfortable about being here any longer …’
‘Uncomfortable?’ he asked incredulously. ‘This is a homicide investigation, Miss Russell. We will have further questions for you. You are not free to go. Is that clear?’ The phone lying on his desk rang and he picked it up, gesturing toward the door.
Dismissed, Dena left the office feeling stunned and confused. She could hardly believe it. He hadn’t asked her one thing about Brian. He didn’t seem to want to hear about it. And while she didn’t want to think that maybe Brian … They couldn’t possibly think that Ron would kill Jennifer. She remembered how outraged he had been that Brian had struck her. How Ron had defended her.
‘You done with that?’ Peg the dispatcher asked, approaching her, and pointing to the cup. Dena felt as if this was a suggestion that she should be moving along. But moving along to where, she wondered. She looked at the station clock over the fire exit. She couldn’t go to the hotel – it belonged to Jennifer’s dad. For all she knew, he might blame her for what happened tonight. She put her arms around her belly, cradling the baby who waited there. Where can we rest, she thought?
‘Yes,’ she said, handing her back the cup. ‘Thank you.’ She hesitated for a moment. She hated dragging anyone else into this. But her options were limited. She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone.
Albert picked up on the first ring. ‘La Petite Auberge,’ he sang.
‘Albert, it’s Dena.’
‘Hi, sweetie. What’s all that racket?’
‘I’m at the police station.’
‘What?’ Albert cried. ‘Oh no, not again. How dare he lay a hand on you …’
‘It’s not that. I’ll tell you all about it. The thing is, I don’t have a place to stay again. Do you and Eric have room …’
‘Oh God,’ Albert cried, exasperated. ‘There isn’t a square inch of the carriage house that’s not covered with sheetrock and sanders. We’re renovating, you know. The only place that’s even habitable is our bedroom. And I don’t really see us in a ménage à trois.’
Dena managed a weak smile. ‘I understand …’
‘Wait a minute, wait a minute, don’t hang up …’ She heard Albert’s muffled voice as he spoke to someone in the background. She wanted to stop him, to say ‘never mind’, but he wasn’t listening to her. In a minute or two he was back on the line. ‘OK, it’s settled,’ he said. ‘I just spoke to Peter about the apartment above his. It’s available and he has the keys. Don’t worry about the landlord. He’s a friend of mine. That’s how I got the place for Peter. I’ll square everything with him. It’s furnished. It’ll be fine for you for the time being.’
‘No, Albert,’ she protested. Brian was sure to find out she was living in the same house as Peter. It would be asking for trouble, and she didn’t want to provoke him.
‘You’ll be in an apartment upstairs from Peter. In fact, I just told him to knock off for the night and come get you.’
‘Albert, I don’t think it’s wise. I’m afraid Brian might misinterpret—’
‘The hell with Brian. It’s his fault you’re in this predicament. If he hadn’t been such a pig you’d still be living there. Now, do as I say and I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Watch at the door. Peter will be pulling up outside any minute.’ He hung up before she could protest further.
She knew Albert was trying to help, but she couldn’t help feeling uneasy about this solution. He hadn’t seen the look in Brian’s eyes last night. Or heard about Tanya Smith. Stop it, she told herself. You’re still letting Brian run your life. She went out in the vestibule to wait. She wasn’t there a minute before the other doors opened and Tyrell Watkins came in, looking distracted and grim. Dena almost hoped he wouldn’t notice her, but of course, he did. Tyrell nodded. ‘Miss Russell. Trouble seems to follow you around,’ he said. And then, as if chastened by the sight of her pale, drawn face, he said, ‘I’m sorry about your friend.’
‘Thank you. She was a wonderful person. I hope you will find whoever did this to her. To them,’ she said deliberately.
Tyrell wasn’t about to discuss it with her. ‘We will. Excuse me, it’s late and I have a lot of work to do.’
Dena turned back to the door and stared out, her face flaming at the obvious contempt with which the sergeant regarded her. I must seem like a pathetic statistic to him – an unmarried woman, pregnant and knocked around by her boyfriend. It isn’t true, she wanted to cry out. I’m not like that. This time last year I had my life in order. Now, it seemed, she was just trying to keep her wits about her in a maelstrom.
Out of the darkness, Peter’s kindly, bearded face appeared. Dena heaved a sigh of relief at the sight of him and pushed open the door.
‘Well, hello there,’ he said. ‘I hear we’re going to be neighbors.’
Tyrell knocked on the chief’s door and heard him mutter something from inside which he took to mean ‘enter’. He pushed the door open and walked in.
Lou was talking on the phone, but he indicated a seat and Tyrell sat down. The chief finished his call and replaced his receiver. Then he folded his hands in front of him on the desk. ‘That was Van Brunt,’ he said. ‘He wanted to leave the conference and come right back.’
Tyrell nodded. He had no particular affection for the captain, Heath Van Brunt. He would be at his officious worst in a murder investigation.
‘But I figured,’ the chief went on, ‘he’s already up there in Rhode Island. I told him to see about renting a car tomorrow and checking things out in Boston. Talk to some people who knew Hubbell during his first marriage. The ex-wife.’
‘Good idea,’ said Tyrell.
‘He thought so too. He’s getting on it in the morning. Now, what have you come up with?’
Tyrell pulled his pad from his jacket pocket and consulted it. ‘I spoke to the husband’s secretary. He left for lunch at eleven o’clock and never came back. He cancelled with the client he was supposed to be meeting. We’re trying to locate somebody who saw him where he claimed to be during those hours. Or on the train, or walking home from the train. We’ve talked to all the neighbors except for one old lady, who either wasn’t home or was sleeping like the dead. The neighbors said she sometimes goes to stay with her daughter for the night. I’ll try her again tomorrow. Anyway, nobody saw anything, but then again, nobody was home. Most of the families in the neighborhood have two people working. Those houses are empty during the day.’
‘It’s that way everywhere these days,’ the chief observed. ‘Well, maybe the old lady will know something. Those old gals can be nosy.’
‘I’m waiting to hear back about the insurance coverage, and I’ll know more about their finances when the bank opens tomorrow.’
The chief nodded.
‘But I’ll tell you one interesting thing. The secretary told me that the official word came down today that they are closing the company’s Philadelphia office.’
Lou frowned. ‘He just transferred here. They just bought that house.’
Tyrell raised an eyebrow. ‘Stressful, wouldn’t you say?’
‘It bears some looking at …’ the chief agreed. He picked up a pencil and doodled on his blotter. ‘Definitely.’ Then he looked up at Tyrell. ‘That’s good work for tonight.’
‘We’ll have the test results tomorrow. Blood types, all that … As for fingerprints, the poker was clean.’
Chief Potter nodded.
‘There’s one other thing I was thinking about, though.’
‘What’s that,’ Lou asked quietly.
‘Did you ask the Russell woman about Brian Riley?’
Lou shook his head. ‘What for?’
‘Lou,’ Tyrell said. ‘It just makes me nervous. We had him here, and we just let him walk out …’
‘What’s that got to do with the price of oranges …?’
Tyrell raised an eyebrow. ‘The husband said they were at odds.’
‘Why would he kill her?’ Lou Potter cried. ‘He had no reason to kill this woman.’
‘Well, the husband indicated that she was angry at Brian Riley. Did he say why?’
‘Just taking her friend’s side in the argument, I imagine,’ said Lou. ‘Women sticking together. You know the drill.’
‘I got the feeling it was more than that,’ Tyrell persisted.
Lou sighed and hesitated. Then he spoke. ‘All right, Tyrell, you’re going to hear all this anyway, so let me just lay it out for you. Some years back, the dead woman’s younger sister was living with Brian. A real romance, as far as I know. The usual lovers’ spats, I imagine, but no real trouble. We never heard boo from her. Anyway the girl fell down in the shower and cracked her head open. A terrible accident. But, you know how it is. People have trouble accepting that accidents happen. They feel better if they can blame someone. So they blamed Brian. They tried to get us to arrest him but there was simply no evidence against him. Not a thing.’
‘I see,’ said Tyrell.
‘So, naturally, Jennifer Hubbell was eager to take in the Russell woman. Try to turn it into an international incident.’
‘Yes, but now we know that Riley is capable of violence …’
‘Violence,’ the chief scoffed. ‘Miss Russell looked fine to me when she was in here a few minutes ago. Look, every lover’s quarrel is not abuse. Every black and blue does not mean somebody was abused.’
‘Hey, I know,’ said Tyrell. ‘I’m not saying he busted her all up. But, by the same token, you know how these things go down. Maybe Jennifer told Brian his girlfriend wasn’t there and he thought she was lying to him. Maybe he got pissed off because he thought they were shielding her from him. You know – nobody comes between me and my woman.’
‘He’s not that kind of kid,’ Lou insisted. ‘That’s number one. And number two, the one he’s after … the one he’s interested in is the girlfriend …’
Tyrell shook his head. ‘They’re not going to be satisfied …’
‘Look, I’ll question him. Don’t worry,’ said Lou. ‘But it doesn’t pay to have too many theories. Even Van Brunt, when I talked to him, liked the husband. Right away. These things aren’t all that complicated. This wasn’t random. There was no break-in, no sexual assault. No weapon carried in. This was an impulse that got out of hand. An argument, perhaps, that escalated … In a case like that, it’s always the family. The husband. You know I’m right.’
‘True,’ the sergeant said doubtfully. ‘That’s usually the case.’
‘We’re just going to proceed in an orderly manner. Our first line of inquiry has got to be the husband. If we find out something else – fine. Now, it’s late. Maybe you should head home and get some sleep. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.’
Tyrell took the hint and stood up. Then he shifted his weight and looked back at his boss. ‘I just want to get whoever killed her, same as you,’ he said gently. ‘I don’t guess I’ll ever forget the sight of that poor girl.’
‘Nope,’ Lou sighed, and he squinted his eyes as if to ward off the memory. ‘I know I never will.’