P is for Peril (24 page)

“Of course,” I said, stung. Having paid Richard Hevener the entire $1,500 Fiona'd given me, I no longer had the means to refund her original retainer. Deducting $50 for the time I'd spent with Trigg, I now owed her $1,075 worth of services and realized if I quit, there was no way to pay her back, short of pulling the money from my savings account.

“Please go on,” she murmured, resuming her chores.

My temper emerged hard on the heels of injury and I had to bite my tongue bloody to keep from telling her where to stick it. This resolution lasted until I opened my mouth. “You know what? Fun as this is, I'm already tired of taking crap from you. I've worked my butt off this weekend and if my methods don't suit you, I'm out of here.”

For the second time within minutes, I'd managed to surprise and amaze. She seemed genuinely flustered, backing down as fast as she could manage it. “That's not what I meant. I apologize if I offended you. That wasn't my intent.”

There's nothing more effective than an apology for knocking me off my high horse. I backed down as fast as she had and we spent the next few minutes smoothing one another's ruffled feathers before moving on.

Then Fiona asked me about the game plan. Like I had one.

“How do you intend to go about finding him?”

“Ah,” said I. “Well. I have some other people I want to talk to first and then we'll see where we stand.” In truth, I was at a loss.

Her eyes glittered briefly and I thought she might challenge me, but she seemed to think better of it.

“Couple of questions,” I said. “Someone thought Dow might have gone into an alcohol rehab facility on the two occasions when he disappeared in the past. Any chance he might have left the country instead?”

She hesitated. “What difference would that make?”

“Lonnie Kingman questioned it. He's the attorney I rent space from. He suggested Dowan might have been moving currency into foreign bank accounts in preparation for flight.”

“It never occurred to me.”

“I didn't occur to me, either, but the first time we met, you did seem to think he might be in Europe or South America.”

“Well, yes, but I can't believe he'd plan such a thing all those years in advance.”

“Did you ever look at his passport?”

“Of course not. What reason would I have?”

“Just an idea,” I said. “Maybe that's why the passport's missing— he took it so no one could go back and see where he'd been on those earlier trips.”

“You mentioned two questions.”

I waited until she made eye contact with me. “Why didn't you tell me he was on his way over here that night?”

Casually, she placed a hand against her throat. The gesture was self-protective, as though she were warding off a slash at her carotid artery. “He never arrived. I thought it was a miscommunication. I tried calling his office the next day, but he was already gone by then.”

“Why was he coming?”

“I don't see why it matters since he never showed.”

“Was anyone else in the house with you that night?” I asked.

“To support my story?”

“That'd be nice, don't you think?”

“I'm afraid I can't help. This is a small town. Tongues wag. I wouldn't even let him leave his car on the parking pad. I had him pull into the empty garage. No one knew about his visits.”

“At least no one you told.” I felt badly as soon as I said it because the look in her eyes was one of betrayal.

“He swore he wouldn't tell Crystal. He said it would only hurt her and neither of us wanted that.”

“I didn't say he told Crystal. This was someone else.”

“Trigg.”

I said, “Yes.” After all, it was her money. She was entitled to the information. My scruples, though few, are somewhat spotty as well. “What about Lloyd Muscoe? Did Dow ever talk to you about him?”

“A bit. They disliked each other and avoided contact whenever possible. At first, it was territorial—they were like rival apes—which Crystal must have enjoyed. Later, the friction between them was more about Leila's relationship with Lloyd.”

“I heard that Dow considered Lloyd a bad influence on the girl.”

“I don't really know Lloyd so I'm reluctant to discuss the subject.”

“Oh, give it a try. I'm sure you can manage something.”

“He's common, for one thing.”

“Happily, that isn't a crime in this state or I'd be under arrest myself.”

“You know perfectly well what I'm talking about. They're paying a great deal of money to send her to that private school. I don't see the point when she spends half her weekends with someone like him.”

“But Lloyd's the only father she's known. Crystal must feel it's important for Leila to maintain a relationship with him.”

“
If
that's her motive. Perhaps she prefers to have the time to herself. Leila's behavior goes way beyond the norm for her age. It's obvious the girl is seriously disturbed. I'm sure Lloyd resented Dow's interference. Instead of taking time with Blanche, you should have been talking to him.”

Trigg had told me Lloyd lived in the little studio behind the big yellow shingle house at the corner of Missile and Olivio. I parked out in front and made my way down the narrow driveway on foot. Shaggy hedges encroached on either side, forming walls of wet foliage that showered drops as I passed. There was a 1952 Chevrolet parked on the grass at the end of the drive. The occasional wet leaf was plastered to the hood, but aside from that it seemed clean and well cared for. The backyard was overgrown and the small wood-frame studio might have been a gardener's shed at one time. I went up two shallow wooden porch steps and rapped on the frame of the screen door.

No one answered my knock. I took a few minutes to circle the studio, moving from window to window, peering in at the place. I could see four small rooms—living room, kitchen, two tiny bedrooms, with a bath between—all empty. I went back to the front door and opened the screen. I tried the knob. The door swung open at my touch. I turned and stared at the main residence, but no one seemed to be staring back at me. I entered the studio, my footsteps echoing against bare plaster walls.

The rooms smelled of mildew. The floors were covered in scuffed linoleum, the pattern worn. In the first bedroom, there were coat hangers strewn about. Nothing in the closet. In the second bedroom, there was a bare twin-sized mattress on the floor, and when I opened the closet door, I spotted two bedrolls tucked out of sight to the right. The window in that bedroom had been left open a crack, a detail I hadn't noticed when I circled the place. Maybe Lloyd crept in here to sleep now and then. Anyone could ease in along the hedges to the rear of the place, gaining access to the cottage without being seen. There was nothing in the bathroom, with its claw-footed bathtub and its toilet stained with rust. In the kitchen, cabinets stood open. On the counter, I could see a take-out cup holding the dregs of some drink. Smelled like bourbon and Coke, or something equally gross. I opened all the kitchen drawers. Optimist that I am, I'm always hoping for a clue, preferably a torn scrap of paper with a forwarding address.

I did another quick tour, which turned out to be as unenlightening as the first. I pulled the door shut behind me and struck out across the yard to the wide rear porch. The backdoor was half glass and I could see an old woman in a housedress fussing with a coven of cats. There were seven by my count: two calicoes, a black, two gray tabbies, an orange tabby, and a white long-haired Persian the size of a pug. I tapped on the window. The old woman looked up, giving me a scowl to indicate she was aware of my presence.

She was tall and gaunt, her white hair arranged in thin braids wrapped around her head. She was apparently in the process of feeding her brood because they circled her attentively, rubbing against her legs, their mouths opening in cries I couldn't hear through the glass. I could see her talking back, probably some long-winded comment about how spoiled they were. She put their bowls on the floor. All of the cats set to work, seven heads bowing as though in prayer. The woman crossed to the backdoor and opened it. The odor of cat litter wafted out through the gap.

“Not for rent,” she said, loudly. “I saw you go through the place, but it's not available. Next time you might ask first before you intrude.” Her dentures were loose and she settled them in place with a kind of chewing motion between sentences.

“I'm sorry. I didn't realize anyone was here.”

“That's clear enough,” she said. “Past sixteen years I rented it out for two hundred dollars a month. Nothing but riffraff moved in. Turnover was constant and some of 'em was no better than bums. It was Paulie pointed out that's all I'd get at those prices. Now I'm asking eight fifty and the place stays empty. Big improvement.”

“I'm looking for Lloyd Muscoe. Wasn't he living out there?”

“Did at one time. Twice he was late on his rent and once he didn't pay at all, so I kicked him out.”

“Good for you.” Where had I heard the name
Paulie
before? Crystal's battle with Leila at the beach house the first time we met. “Paul's your grandson?”

“Granddaughter and the name's
Pauline.
I raised her since the day her drunken mother dropped her on my doorstep when she was six years old.”

“Isn't she a friend of Leila's?”

“Who?”

“Lloyd's daughter, Leila.”

“Not anymore. Leila's mother put a stop to it. Said Paulie was too wild. Ask me, that Lloyd's the wild one. Thought he'd get around me because I'm old and deaf, but I surprised him. Evicted him proper and had a marshall show up, make sure he went without a fuss. Fellow like that might decide to trash the place if he doesn't get his way.”

“Any idea where he went?”

“No, and I don't care. You a bill collector?”

“I'm a private detective.”

“What kind of trouble is he in?”

“None as far as I know. I need to talk to him.”

“Can't help. I think he's somewhere in town, but that's as much as I know. Can't even forward his bills, so I have to throw 'em in the trash. Nice-looking man, but shiftless as they come.”

“So I've heard. Thanks, anyway.”

“You're entirely welcome,” she said, and closed the door.

I sat in the car and considered my options. The simplest course of action would be to ask Crystal where Lloyd had gone. Since the two shared custody, I assumed she'd know. I fired up the engine and headed for Horton Ravine again.

Dr. Purcell's house was built on a lush, wooded knoll with a narrow view of the ocean if you raised up on tiptoe. The residence itself wasn't impressive, despite Fiona's boasting about her talent for design. In typical fashion, she'd piled box on box in tiers up to a flat concrete roof. A reflecting pool extended from the front, providing a mirror image of the house in case you happened to miss it the first time around. The style, though futuristic, was oddly dated, imitative of architects more talented than she. It was clearly not Crystal's taste and I could see where she'd chafe at having to live there. Given her love of the glass-and-frame Cape Cod beach house, this must have felt like a prison. The white Volvo and the Audi convertible were parked in the drive, along with a snappy little black Jaguar I hadn't seen before.

When I rang the bell, I heard nothing, but within a minute, Crystal appeared at the door. She was wearing boots, black wool slacks, and a heavy black wool sweater. Her hair was feathered away from her face, the layered blond strands carelessly disarranged. “Good. Thank God. Maybe you can help. Nica, it's Kinsey! Come on in,” she said to me, harried.

I stepped through the door. “What's going on?”

“Anica's just driven up from Fitch,” she said. “Leila left campus without permission and we're trying to track her down before she blows it. She'll be kicked out of school as soon as they realize she's gone. Don't worry about me. I'm only going out of my mind. Rand took Griff to the zoo.”

Anica appeared from the kitchen, wearing navy blue slacks and a red blazer with a gold-stitched Fitch Academy patch on the breast pocket. Her shirt was tailored, crisp white, and she wore a pair of low-heeled navy blue pumps. Her manner was straightforward, and she managed a wide smile despite Crystal's distress. “Always walking into uproar. Hello, Kinsey. Nice to see you again. How are you?” She reached forward and we shook hands.

“Fine. I'm sorry about Leila. You think she's heading this way?”

“Let's hope,” Crystal said. She passed us on her way into the kitchen, talking over her shoulder. “I'm making coffee while we try to decide what to do. She knows she's not allowed to hitchhike. I've expressly forbidden it. . . .”

“That's probably why she's done it,” Anica said.

“I'd be sick with worry if I wasn't so mad at her. How do you take yours, Kinsey?”

“Black's fine with me.”

While Anica and I followed her into the kitchen, I made a quick eyeball assessment of the living room to my right. The interior of the house was curious: stone floors, stark white walls, no window covering, all angles and cold light—clearly Fiona's imprint. Over it Crystal had asserted her own taste: assorted shabby Oriental carpets laid together like pieces of a puzzle, sagging upholstered furniture slip-covered with faded chintz. The wood tables and padded chairs were an antique white with green-and-white checkered seats. Some of the stray pieces were made of bentwood; big rounded chairs that had been woven from twigs. There was a white-painted wrought-iron daybed piled with oversized pillows in mismatched fabrics. Books were stacked on the coffee table and there were vases of flowers carelessly arranged. The effect was comfortable and slouchy, a place where kids could roam without ruining much since everything looked ruined to begin with.