Murder at the Book Group (12 page)

“Oh, so you know about the separation.” With a wry tone, Georgia said, “She was happy enough about that.” With a start, she backpedaled. “I'm sorry, Hazel. I forgot that Evan was your ex. And you two are still friends, I know.”
Were we still friends?
That question hung in the balance. I assured Georgia that she could speak freely.

“Kat said there was a note . . . was it handwritten or typed?” When I said handwritten, Georgia said, “Well . . . anyone could write a suicide note and copy Carly's writing.” Then she looked stricken. “But that implicates . . . one of you. And I'm sure none of you would do it. It's too scary to contemplate.”

“Let me tell you about the other night.” I recounted Carlene's edginess, the ranting about the book, then the question she posed to me about making a huge mistake. I included the love-fugitive angle planned for the forthcoming book.

“And this Linda . . . did Carlene ever mention a Linda Thomas?” When Georgia looked blank, I told her what I knew about Linda, both from the signing and from the other night.

Georgia shrugged her eyebrows. “I missed all that drama at the signing. I do remember someone who looked the way you described. But—”

“That's another funny thing—sorry for interrupting. Carlene was reticent about all things L.A.-related. Why do you think that was?”

As she was already nodding, I took it that Georgia knew about the L.A. ban. “Your bringing up Los Angeles takes me back to when Carly moved back here. She was afraid of somebody, although she was never specific. She mentioned a stalker and a doomed love affair. And a fiancé. I don't know if the fiancé and the stalker were one and the same. I assumed the fiancé was the other party in the doomed love affair. But I couldn't say for sure.

“So she moved back here, I guess to flee from the stalker. She wanted to start over and be respectable and she saw disassociating herself with L.A. as a way to do that. She never even went back to visit.”

I shifted in my chair, wondering where to start in this dizzying array: fiancé, stalker, doomed love affair. “Tell me about the fiancé.”

“Beyond his being a lawyer, I never heard much about him. He didn't last long, just one of those here-today-gone-tomorrow deals.” Georgia spread her hands in a helpless gesture. “That's all I remember.”

“Okay, how about the doomed love affair that may or may not have involved the fiancé? What did she tell you about that?”

“Other than that it had occurred, not much. Funny thing, she was closemouthed about it, even when it must have been going on. What I remember is this: in 1996 Carly told me she was moving to Richmond. She didn't want to go home to her alcoholic parents, so I insisted she stay with me until she found a place. Like I said, she was unhappy and needed, as she put it, a complete overhaul. Unusual, because she didn't usually take the end of love affairs to heart. In all honesty, she was rather shallow, but that may be due to her upbringing. At any rate, something, or someone, was troubling her. But, aside from tossing about hints and innuendos, she wasn't inclined to discuss any of it.”

“So it sounds like she was a fairly open person until these events that immediately preceded her moving back here.”

“That's right. Then she became just as closed as she'd been open before.”

“What about the P.G. or P.J. that Linda brought up? Does that ring any bells?” Georgia looked down for a moment before shaking her head. I added, “It was likely someone they knew, or at least Linda knew, from L.A.” But that didn't help, as Georgia continued to move her head from side to side, reminding me that Carly didn't like to talk about L.A.

“And what about this big mistake? I tend to think it's tied in with Linda.”

“Based on what you've told me, Linda could be a pissed-off wife or girlfriend. Her showing up like that the other night makes me mighty suspicious.”

I agreed. “But I don't see how she managed to put something in the tea. And we don't know how to get in touch with her. No one has her phone number, e-mail address—nothing.”

“Maybe Creatures 'n Crooks has her information in their customer records.” I grabbed one of Georgia's Post-it notes and made a note to follow up on her suggestion. Lucy's office was near the store. They weren't likely to give out contact information, but Lucy might be able to stop in and ferret out something helpful.

“Did Carlene have any other close friends?”

“Not here. Maybe in Los Angeles, but I doubt it.”

“Did she mention anyone in particular from out there? I might know someone.”

“That's right, you lived there too.” She pressed her lips together in concentration. Slowly shaking her head, she said, “Can't think of anyone.”

“What about the stalker? Any clues about him?”

Georgia placed her hands palms up in a “beats me” gesture. “She just mentioned it in passing one time and then clammed up.” When I noted that a stalker was a funny thing to mention in passing, Georgia agreed. “But she didn't seem upset about it, just matter-of-fact. I figured he was back in L.A., so she felt safe here.”

Like a stalker couldn't find her in Richmond? In this age of technology, it would be child's play
. Aloud, I said, “I wonder if she planned to draw on her experience with this stalker for her next book.” Stalker and love fugitive struck me as being twin concepts.

When Georgia shrugged, I left the stalker topic. “So, you said she stayed with you when she moved back here . . . How did that work out?”

Georgia gave a short laugh. “Oh, it was interesting. She surprised me by wanting to go to church with me. Carly had never been religious. After my divorce a friend took me to this wonderful healing church. They provided a lot of support and activities for the kids and me. It was much more fundamentalist than I was used to, but that didn't seem to matter. They frown on sex outside of marriage. I wasn't having sex anyway so it was a nonissue.”

Georgia paused before going on. “As it turned out, Carly had attended a similar church in Los Angeles with the fiancé. She liked our church and got involved in the activities. She deemed the sex taboo a good idea and decided to be celibate until she married. I was highly skeptical, but kept my thoughts to myself. Just in case she was sincere, I didn't want to discourage her.”

We didn't speak for a moment. Georgia opened a desk drawer and took out a box of tissues, replacing the now empty one on her desk. I tried to marshal my thoughts about the “new” Carlene.

“How long did she attend the church? Or was she still attending?”

“No, she only went for a while. Her mother died from alcoholism and she found solace at church. But after she got a place in the Fan she lost interest. I think it had to do with that Randy.” From the way Georgia's face clouded, I surmised that Randy didn't top her list of favorite people.

“Randy? That's a new name . . . tell me about him.”

“I don't remember much, not even how Carly met him. From all appearances they had a stormy relationship. She complained about him being possessive and domineering, bossy.”

Hmm. Another possessive and domineering guy. Perhaps Carlene was drawn to such men. Or she brought out those qualities, I thought, steadfast in my belief that Evan did not come by such traits by nature.

“Sounds like it had to do with sex.” When Georgia looked confused, I explained, “You know, makeup sex.”

“Maybe. But she wasn't sharing details of her sex life with me anymore. Maybe she thought the church had made me judgmental. I never thought it had, but maybe she saw things differently. Like I said, our church takes a stand against sex outside of marriage. It doesn't
necessarily
follow that the members obey the rules. Still, she may have felt uncomfortable in church if she was having sex and stopped attending for that reason.”

“Did you ever meet Randy?”

“Once. For the life of me I couldn't see the attraction. Middle-aged bald guy, pug ugly. Full of himself. When Gary and I got married, Carly didn't bring Randy to the wedding. He wouldn't have mixed well with our fundamentalist group. Surprisingly, she came alone.”

“Was he married?”

“Yes, but separated. Long divorced by now. In fact, his ex-wife, Trudy, is in your book group.”

“Trudy! Trudy Zimmerman was married to this Randy character?”

Georgia nodded, looking puzzled by my reaction.

Now things were getting interesting.

LIKE MOST BOOK GROUPS,
we had a contingent that attended for a while before moving on. Some found our practice of discussing multiple books rather than a single one too radical. Scheduling conflicts provided an effective all-purpose excuse—one that may or may not be true. The truth could be that they didn't care for the people, the books, or how the group was conducted. The scheduling conflict excuse that Trudy Zimmerman cited for dropping out of the group was a case in point.

At the time, I took the excuse at face value. I had thought Trudy was content enough with the group. As expected of a librarian, she displayed an impressive interest in and knowledge of books. If we'd given prizes for the best book summaries, she'd have won hands down every time. She was less forthcoming on a personal level, revealing little beyond being divorced with no children. As Carlene was equally reserved, I didn't attribute Trudy's manner to any dissatisfaction with the group. But with Georgia's bombshell, I wondered if Trudy's defection had to do with Randy and Carlene.

“When Trudy started going to your group, Carly wasn't sure if she was Randy's ex. She never met Trudy or even saw her, but did know she was a librarian. And Trudy had a different last name from Randy. But, after all, how often do you hear the name Trudy? Especially Trudys who are librarians in the Richmond area? Naturally, Carly didn't want to ask, so she just figured it was the same Trudy.”

“And we don't know if Trudy was on to the fact that Carlene was Randy's former lover?”

“No, Carlene couldn't tell. She said Trudy was decent enough to her. Not exactly friendly, just decent.”

I mused. “I bet Trudy found out when Carlene's book was published. Carlene used the author name of Carlene Lundy Arness. So back in the Randy days she was Carlene Lundy?”

“No. Carla Gennis. When she moved here she changed from Carla Lundy to Carla Gennis. Gennis was a family name.”

“Still, Trudy could have found out—maybe Carlene or Annabel mentioned something.”

Georgia's eyes widened and she covered her mouth. “I just had a horrible thought. You don't suppose . . .” Her voice trailed off.

“. . . that Trudy did it?” I finished her sentence. “She wasn't there. Hasn't been in a while. And she's on her honeymoon and not due back for another week.”

“Really? She got married?”

“She did. On board an Aegean cruise. Kind of a whirlwind deal—according to Sarah, who sees her a lot, she met her husband about six weeks ago.”

“Well, good for her. I hope she's happier with him than she was with Randy.”

I asked, “By the way, where did Carlene work? Before she became a full-time writer?”

“Different places. She did a lot of contract work.”

“So, getting back to Carlene and Randy—how did their relationship play out?”

Georgia put her fingers on her forehead, striking a thinking pose. “I don't recall all the details. She was still seeing Randy when she met Evan. I was there when Kat, who was dating Evan at the time, introduced them.” Georgia paused and slanted a look at me. “Did you know about Evan and Kat?”

“Yes, Kat told us yesterday.” Realizing that Georgia was the perfect witness to the Carlene-Evan-Kat triangle, I asked, “How did Kat take it at the time?”

Georgia thought. “I don't remember her having a problem with it. But she pretty much has an easy-come, easy-go attitude about life in general and men in particular.”

“So you don't think she could have done it?”

“Oh, heavens, no. She showed up at Carlene and Evan's wedding with a date and seemed unperturbed. And she wasn't one to hide anything or pretend . . . If she was pissed with you, you knew it. Like anyone, she probably didn't like being dumped, especially for her stepsister. But I think she just let it roll off her back and moved on.”

With Lucy's tepid vouching for Kat and Georgia's more wholehearted endorsement I felt ready to declare Kat suspicion-free. “Well, Lucy and I don't really feel like she could have done it.” I omitted the back and forth we'd had on the matter.

Redirecting the conversation, I asked, “So what happened to Randy?”

“He got dumped. And he didn't take being dumped graciously. He caused a scene outside Carly's house in the Fan a couple of times when Evan was there. One time the police came. It was in the paper.”

We shook our heads in amazement. I felt hard-pressed to reconcile the taciturn and low-keyed Carlene with this vixen of sorts. “Do you think she was faithful to Evan before they separated? Did she mention another man?”

“No, no one. And as far as I know, she was faithful.”

When I told Georgia about the man in the car, she sighed. “Like I said, she didn't mention anyone, but anything was possible with that woman. And the backseat of a car would fit right in with her need for adventure.”

“Maybe the man in the car was the ‘big mistake!' ”

“Maybe. I just hope it wasn't Randy. He'd sure qualify as a big mistake.”

“Hmm.” I had nothing to add to Georgia's somewhat rhetorical statement, so I switched over to Evan. “Tell me about the separation. I have to say I was surprised to hear about that.”

“I wasn't.” Georgia looked grim. “Gary and I had dinner with Carly and Evan a couple of times. Are you sure it doesn't bother you if I speak frankly about Evan?” When I shook my head, she said, “I never liked him because he watched Carly like a hawk, which she didn't like either. And I think he was jealous of her book success—he wanted her all to himself, didn't even want to share her with the reading public. Gary thought that Carly came on to him, meaning Gary. I never saw any indication of that, but frankly I didn't trust her with men. She wasn't malicious, just loved men much too much. I got so I'd rather see the two of them in group situations, or Carly alone.