Death by Hitchcock (5 page)

Chapter 13

While Bunny was in the throes of cleaning out her closets, Milo Marcus was meeting with Wallace Duncan to shoot additional footage for the documentary film. The plan was to meet on the privately
-owned estate where Lattimer’s Pond was located. Over the years, a coterie of Cushing students had designated the pond for skinny-dipping, because of its remote and wooded location at the end of a long, private road. Summer term skinny-dipping had become a Cushing tradition there, a rite of passage. The owners of the estate lived in England and were rarely in residence. Wallace took advantage of their absence and used the gorgeous estate as a location for his film.

In a sequence Wallace had shot earlier in the fall, Milo meets Louis Edwards’s wife, Hannah, and their baby for the first time. They enjoy a long, leisurely picnic lunch under the shade of a weeping willow tree (Wallace’s homage to Jean Renoir). When the camera pans back at some point for a sweeping shot, Wallace was delighted with the rustic tableau he had created. The baby falls asleep after lunch on a blanket on the grass. The willow branches sway in the breeze. The camera catches Milo staring at the sleeping infant.

Hannah: Milo, would you like to hold Elsie when she wakes up?

Louis: Yeah, Milo, you should give it a try. She won’t bite or anything
––she doesn’t have any teeth, yet––she might slobber al little, though!

Milo: Thanks all the same, but babies freak me out. I’m afraid I’d drop her or something.

Hannah: That’s okay, Milo. No worries. Maybe when she’s older.

Wallace felt satisfied with the effect of how Louis Edward’s happy family life contrasted with Milo, the outsider/misfit/loner, but the sequence still needed an ending. He wanted to underscore this theme with a shot of Milo, solitary and lonely, disappearing down a path into the woods as the day comes to a close. That’s what they’d be shooting today.

Wallace was checking the light meter when the figure of Milo appeared in the shaded landscape on the far side of the pond. Wallace had brought along fellow film student, Hugo Hitchens, to take still production photographs of Wallace at work. For the occasion
, Wallace was wearing a leather jacket and a black fedora, skinny black pants and a long scarf wrapped several times around his neck. Hugo Hitchens clicked away as Wallace set up the camera and lighting for the shot.

The near-dusky light was perfect but would not last long. Wallace was anxious to get the extra footage he needed for the scene before they lost the light. He shouted across the considerable distance of the pond and motioned for Milo to back up. 

“Gazebo!” Wallace shouted, motioning with both hands.

Milo looked around. There was an Adirondack
-style gazebo with a bent-twig railing and mossy, shingled roof in a clearing in the woods. Milo realized Wallace wanted the rustic structure in the shot, so he walked toward it until Wallace called out for him to stop. With the gazebo now in the background of the shot, Milo turned away from the camera and began to exit the scene through the woods. 

“Couple more times!” Wallace shouted across the pond, beckoning Milo back.

“Okay, got it! Thanks, Milo!” Wallace yelled, waving as Milo vanished from sight into the trees.

“Got it!” Wallace repeated triumphantly to Hugo Hitchens, pumping a fist in the air.

Chapter 14

Milo arrived at Hexley Hall auditorium for the showing of
Spellbound
in plenty of time for his usual routine. Anticipating a Mary Buttery sighting, he tucked in his shirt and tried to smooth his unruly hair down a bit, to little avail. Taking his accustomed seat near the rear, Milo settled in and read through the program. On the back of it was printed Alma Hitchcock’s recipe for vichyssoise.

When he finished looking through the program, Milo fished a jumbo box of Hot Tamales, two bags of Swedish Fish, and a tote bag from his jacket pockets, and emptied the candies from their containers into the bag. There would be no rustling noise or other annoying sounds coming from Milo during the showing of the movie. Milo was a strict adherent to the unwritten law of
“Silent Movie Snacking.” Indeed, he felt indignant when others did not abide, and he was not beyond confronting fellow moviegoers who made too much noise. For Milo, there were few transgressions more offensive than disturbing the sanctity of a movie experience with the sounds of candy rattling in boxes; cell phones going off; crumpling cellophane. If these sounds muffled so much as one syllable of dialogue, Milo righteously shamed the anonymous offender by standing up and shushing loudly. He often felt scandalized by how inconsiderate people could be.

Milo found peace in the movie auditorium. This sacred space was where Milo experienced being part of something greater than himself. Movies were his defense against life’s indignities, his refuge. He had made this happy discovery at the age of twelve, when he first saw Renoir’s
Grand Illusion
, and for ninety minutes he felt completely free of negative thoughts, and at peace with himself.

He scanned the audience for Mary Buttery, and spotted her sitting in the middle section of the auditorium between two other students, one male and one female. Milo stared at the backs of their heads, holding his breath waiting to see if Mary would engage in conversation with either one, hoping she wasn’t on a date. But Mary kept to herself, never turned her head in either direction, and Milo relished the almost certain knowledge that Mary Buttery had come to the movie alone that night.

Chapter 15

Edwina and Will walked briskly from the parking lot into Hexley Auditorium. The place was nearly full, but there were a few empty seats in the first couple of rows.

“Too close,” Edwina said.  “Let’s keep looking.” 

Will spotted two seats near the back. As they hurried along, they passed Honeysuckle Blessington, who was sitting in an aisle seat.

“Hello, Edwina,” she said.

“Oh, Honeysuckle,” Edwina said. “Hello! Sorry to rush, but my friend and I had better find seats before the movie starts. See you later!”

They secured the two empty seats. Edwina slid down and rested her knees on the back of the seat in front of her. Will turned to her.

“’Honeysuckle’?” he said.

“Great name, right?” Edwina replied. “You remember Nedda Cake
––my advisor? Honeysuckle is her niece. She moved in with Nedda last summer.”

What an agreeable young man Edwina was with,
thought Honeysuckle.
Very yummy, indeed! I must remember to ask Auntie Nedda about him.

As the lights started to dim, Edwina whispered to Will.

“Do you have a favorite Hitchcock movie?”

“Maybe
Dial M For Murder.
There’s a great detective in it. You?”

“Definitely
Rear Window
,” Edwina whispered, her eyes shining in the darkness.

“You know when Raymond Burr catches Grace Kelly signaling behind her back to James Stewart across the courtyard? I freak out at that every time!”

Sitting in front of Honeysuckle was Chaz Winner, with an empty seat next to him. Honeysuckle peered through the semi-darkness and studied the way Professor Winner’s hair curled over the collar of his leather jacket. She found it difficult paying attention to the movie, keeping a possessive eye as she was, on the empty seat to the right of Professor Winner. Honeysuckle got ready to pounce at the right moment.

When the opening notes of the musical score rained over him like fairy dust, Milo’s body tingled with pleasur
e. The gorgeous black and white compositions of each frame moved him deeply. He mouthed along with the actors as they spoke their lines of dialogue, feeding himself pieces of candy, savoring and sucking them for as long as possible. Over years of repeated viewings, Milo had developed an emotional attachment to
Spellbound
, as if it were a long lost member of the family. Ingrid Bergman played a Freudian psychoanalyst, like his own mother. But Ingrid Bergman was beautiful and warm and loving and compassionate. Like other cynics, Milo was a frustrated romantic, and he yearned for unconditional love. As he watched the film, he imagined Ingrid Bergman was his mother. Everything seemed right with the world. Tears rolled down his fat cheeks.

Ten minutes into the movie
, Honeysuckle quietly got out of her seat and slid into the empty one next to Professor Winner.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, “but I’m expecting someone
––she’s late.”

Just as Honeysuckle started to reply, a scream came from outside the auditorium. 

Will flew from his seat and burst through the double doors of the auditorium. He stood in the corridor, and looked rapidly in all directions. Another scream rang out, now distinctly a woman’s, and it came from the direction of the restrooms. Will sped down the hallway.

Just outside the door to the Ladies Room
, a petite girl whom Will took to be a student stood frozen in fear. She was pale as the moon, and shaking. The girl looked at Will in terror, and opened her mouth to let out another scream.

“I’m a police officer,” Will said calmly. “Are you all right?”

Other moviegoers burst through the doors onto the scene.

“Please wait inside the auditorium,” Will ordered, shielding the girl protectively, holding up his police badge to the gathering mob. 

The girl was unable to speak. When Edwina appeared seconds later, the girl raced into her arms.

“Professor Goodman! Oh, Professor Goodman!” the girl wailed, sobbing.

“Lucy!” Edwina cried. “Are you all right?”

The frightened and shaking girl pointed a finger in the direction of the Ladies Room door. Will spoke quietly to Edwina.

“Stay here with her, will you?”

Will entered the restroom. The door to the middle stall was partially opened, and he could see a figure inside. He approached slowly, and nudged the door open wider.

The body of a well-dressed young woman had been placed in the toilet, practically folded in half at the waist, her slender bottom shoved into the water. Will checked for a pulse, but it was obvious the girl was dead. On the walls inside the stall a message was scrawled in lipstick:
Revenge is sweet and not fattening.
 

Will called for backup.

Presently, several uniformed police officers arrived at the auditorium.

“Where’s Toby?” Will asked.

“Right behind us,” replied a female officer.

In short order the restroom and corridor areas were cordoned off. While Will supervised the crime scene with seasoned precision, moviegoers were detained in the auditorium until their contact information could be collected.   

“We’ve got a guy out here making a stink,” an officer said to Will. “Says he’s the head of the film department.  Demands to know what’s going on.”

Will entered the auditorium and was immediately confronted by a pale, well-dressed man in his forties, whose voice shook.

“I’m Chaz Winner,” the man said. “
Professor
Winner, Head of the Film Studies Department. I insist on knowing what has happened.”

Will studied the professor and quickly assembled a first impression. With his expensive clothes, stylish haircut, and youthful affect, Chaz Winner struck Will as vain and preening. The inevitable snap assessment now out of his system, Will made an effort to regard Professor Winner impartially.

“A dead body has been discovered in the ladies’ restroom, sir,” Will said. “The building will be off limits for the time being, and the film festival will have to be cancelled.”

“What?” Professor Winner gasped. “A body? Who is it?”

“Until we can contact the family, I’m not at liberty to give out any information,” Will said. “I’m sure you can understand my position.”

Chaz Winner’s face turned an even more ghostly shade of white and his eyes rolled back in his head.  Will caught him just before he hit the floor, and laid the professor down gently on the carpet. When he regained consciousness, Will and one of his officers helped
Professor Winner into a seat and handed him a cup of water.

“You fainted, sir. Just try and relax, now. Breathe,” Will said.

The professor took a few halting breaths. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, and put his face in his hands.

“You had quite a reaction,” Will said. “Why is that, sir?”

“Someone was supposed to meet me here tonight,” Professor Winner muttered into his hands. “But she didn’t show up. That’s completely unlike her, and I––I was afraid––” he trailed off, his voice cracking.

“I understand, sir.” Will said. “You imagined the victim is the person you were waiting for.”

Chaz Winner raised his head and looked at Will.

“Look,” he said in a weary voice, “this is bound to come out, so let me be the one to tell you about it.”

“What is that, sir?”

“The fact of the matter is, I am involved with one of my students. She didn’t show up this evening. I’m frankly
––terrified––it’s her.”

“
Involved,
sir?”

Chaz Winner looked at Will with pure disdain.

“Romantically. Romantically involved with one of my students,” he said with annoyance. “I fainted because she never arrived, and when you said a girl was killed, I thought––”

“I never said the victim was female,” Will said.

“What?” the professor snapped. “Of course you did!”

“What I said was that a body was found in the ladies’ room,” Will said, regarding the professor coolly.

Chaz Winner glared at Will.

“We’ll keep you apprised, sir. I’ll want to question you later. Now, if you’re feeling better, I’ll get on with my duties.”

Will once again approached the student who had discovered the body. A female police officer was attending to the girl, who was keeping herself very much attached to Edwina, and was still buried in her arms.

“This is Lucy Greer,” Edwina said quietly. “She’s a student of mine.”

Lucy peeked at Will.

“I’m sorry you were the one to make this terrible discovery,” Will said.

Lucy started to respond, but dissolved into tears before any words could come out. Will waited patiently as her wracking sobs gradually diminished into involuntary gasps, and finally into hiccups. Lucy suddenly broke away from Edwina, ran into the bathroom, and threw up in a stall. Edwina followed Lucy into the ladies’ room to comfort the girl.  Unprepared, and horrified by the gruesome, surreal scene, Edwina stopped short.

The fashionably dressed body of a young woman, bent at the waist, had been stuffed in the toilet. Her dull eyes stared straight ahead. Her legs stuck up in the air and her arms dangled at her sides like a rag doll thrown in the trash. A patent leather, designer handbag was draped diagonally across her chest. Inside
her wallet, the police had found her identification, two hundred dollars in cash, and several credit cards. Her gold necklace and bracelet had not been taken.

This was no robbery.

The body belonged to Bunny Baldwin.

When Lucy Greer had finished throwing up, Edwina gently rinsed her face with cold water, and afterward, handed Lucy a series of tissues to blow her nose, until
Lucy was ready to talk to Will. Lucy kept her eyes averted from Bunny’s body.

Will spoke to Lucy in the corridor. 

“I would like to ask you a few questions, Lucy, if that’s okay with you,” he said quietly.

Lucy nodded, her face buried once again in Edwina’s jacket. The girl’s curly red hair fell to her shoulders in soft ringlets.

“Could Dr. Goodman stay?” Lucy mumbled. “I might need to throw up again.”

“Yes, of course,” Will replied.

“I’ll stay as long as you like, Lucy,” Edwina muttered. 

“Now then, could you walk me through what happened tonight?  Just take your time,” Will said.

“Okay,” Lucy said hoarsely, taking a deep breath. 

“My roommate, Sarah, and I came to see the movie together,” she began haltingly. “We were late, and even though I had to use the bathroom, we went straight into the auditorium so we wouldn’t miss the beginning. But then I got up after about five minutes to use the bathroom.”

Lucy’s hiccups returned. Edwina retrieved a cup of water.

“When I came into the bathroom
, I went right into the first stall and, you know, peed. Then when I was standing in front of the mirror washing my hands, I noticed there was someone in the middle stall, and the door was open a little bit. I thought that seemed weird, and I thought maybe the person was sick or something, so I said, ‘Are you okay’? They didn’t answer, so I walked over and peeked in a teeny bit, just to make sure the person was okay or whatever.”

Lucy’s voice cracked.

“That’s when I saw her,” Lucy whispered, her nose running again.

Hiccup.

“Did you recognize her?” Will asked.

“No.”

“Did you see anyone else coming out of the bathroom, or in the corridor maybe?”

“No,” Lucy answered again, tears streaming from her pretty green eyes.

Will joined the medical examiner, Dr. Toby Czarlinski. There were bruises and scratches on Bunny’s neck where she had been strangled.  She wore jeans and a cashmere sweater; her clothing was undisturbed. Her leather ballet flats looked like they’d hardly been worn. Around her head a piece of celluloid film had been fashioned into a ribbon and tied into a huge bow, creating a grotesquely mocking effect. When Bunny’s lifeless body was carefully removed from the bathroom stall, a hank of hair fell from her head onto the shiny, tiled floor.