Shaded Light: The Case of the Tactless Trophy Wife: A Paul Manziuk and Jacquie Ryan Mystery (The Manziuk and Ryan Mysteries Book 1) (60 page)

Manziuk stepped forward. “Mrs. Brodie. Is this your cousin?”

“Yes, this is Patricia, Lorry’s mom. She’s going to stay for a few weeks while we settle what has to be done. All the arrangements about the law firm and the lawyers and so much. I’ve never had to deal with business matters. George always treated me like I was made of china. But I guess I’ll have to do some things now.

“Glory-Ann—that’s Mrs. Winston, you know—and I will find a place in our old neighborhood. After what George did to Crystal, I have to take care of her. And we’ll be all right. It may seem a strange arrangement, but we’ve both lost someone we love through this, you see.”

“Yes.”

“I wanted you to know that I don’t hold any grudge. I know some people do. As if it were all the fault of the police. But I don’t. You were only doing your job. I’m just glad Lorry wasn’t hurt. If I’d ever thought he’d do anything like that—or those other girls—I still can’t believe what he did. It’s just—just awful. And so unlike anything he’d ever done before. He’s always talked about being so proud of his mother, but the doctors say he really hated her—that he blamed her because his father was weak. It’s so puzzling how the human mind works, isn’t it, Inspector?”

Epilogue

For now we see through a glass, darkly;

But then face to face;

Now I know in part;

But then shall I know even

as I am known.

—PAUL: 1st Letter to the Corinthians, 13:12

Got your report done?” Manziuk asked Ryan two days later.

“You must be joking. I’ll likely be at it till midnight.”

“Well, let’s hope no one decides to bump anyone off today.”

“Do you have yours done?” she asked.

“You must be joking,” he deadpanned.

A smile touching her lips, and she moved into the room. “You know, I used to be terrified of you.”

“You should be,” he said, still without expression.

She sat sideways on the corner of his desk, her eyes on him.

He winced.

She jumped off. “Sorry,” she said. “That’s a bad habit of mine.”

“I yelled at you for doing that before, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did. I’m sorry. I guess you don’t like informality.”

He shook his head. “No, it’s not that. It’s just that Woody sits—sat—there a lot.”

“Oh,” she said in a small voice. “How is Detective Sergeant Craig coming along?”

“He seems to be doing fine. Except he’ll have to take early retirement. But as soon as he’s recovered from the bypass, he should be able to go fishing and take a world cruise and do a few other things he’s talked about.”

“You’ll miss him.”

“Yes.”

Neither spoke for a moment.

“He was a good cop,” Manziuk said.

She diffidently moved some papers. A marble rolled along the desk and dropped to the floor.

She stooped to pick it up. “Did we ever find out how this got into Kendall’s car?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you? When they opened the safe in George Brodie’s office, they found three objects that made no sense. Turned out one belonged to each of the women he’d killed. He must have picked up the marble to put with his collection and somehow lost it in the car. When Forensics went over the car, they found clear evidence George had used it at some time, and the only opportunity he had was the day he picked it up from the dealer. And, of course, it was that night the Matheson girl was murdered. And George just coolly gave the car to Kendall the next day.”

“He was getting pretty sure of himself.”

“He was beginning to think he was invincible, I guess. Otherwise, he’d never have murdered Jillian the way he did. But Crystal was the real problem; he couldn’t strangle her the way he had the others because she had a knife. And really, he didn’t want to kill her. I think that made him more vulnerable. The truth is, if not for this weekend, and Nick’s habit of picking up small objects, who knows if we’d ever have caught him. Though I think we would have eventually. Murderers always get too cocky.”

Ryan thought for a moment. “In my psych class, we were told most serial killers want to be found.”

“Could be. I just wish we could find them before they start out murdering in the first place.”

“So the case should be open and shut?”

“Oh, I’m sure he’ll have a fancy lawyer who’ll find all kinds of ways to get around the evidence. But they’re doing DNA tests on the cord he used to attack Lorry Preston, which by the way was a spare computer cord he kept at the office, and they think they’ll be able to prove it was used on the other women. I think a jury will come up with the right verdict.”

“Yes, but he’s insane.”

“That’s tricky. Did he know what he was doing? Yes. He had a very sharp mind. Was he rational? No. But are murderers ever completely rational?”

“What bothers me most is the total waste. He killed women he didn’t even know, apparently because he hated his mother. Maybe if at some point he’d talked to somebody—a psychiatrist, a priest, even a friend—about his early life, they would have uncovered his irrational hatred and recognized that his mind was becoming confused, and he could have been treated.”

“But he’d have had to ask for the treatment. If he’d never broken a law, there’s no way anyone could have known he needed it.”

“You’re saying we have other people out there just like him, living more or less normal lives, but hiding all kinds of resentment and jealousy and hatred, and there’s no way we can identify them and keep them from killing one day?”

“Most people don’t go that far. But there’s no way to identify people who need help unless they ask for it or their family or friends recognize the problem and encourage them to get help.”

“Maybe people should have a yearly mental health check-up as well as a physical one.”

“But who decides what’s normal and what isn’t?” His phone rang and Manziuk answered. “Oh, that’s just great! I don’t have the report done for the last one. You know, I think I’m overdue for a few days R & R.… Yeah, well, I’m going on a cruise with Woody when the doctor says he’s fit enough to travel, and you won’t be able to call me in the middle of the ocean.… Secondary? Who’ve you got?”

Ryan took a couple of steps to where she could stare at the picture on Manziuk’s wall. She gazed intently at the tiny mouse just visible in the grass, and the eagle searching for prey. Ryan bit her bottom lip. She was barely breathing.

“Yeah, I guess.” There was a long pause. “Okay, I’ll take care of it.”

He hung up. “So, they’ve got another body.”

Ryan continued to stare at the picture as though fascinated. “Oh?” she asked, as if it were no concern of hers.

“I guess nobody bothered to tell the perp I’m tired and need a rest.”

“I guess.” She moved toward the door. “Well, good luck.”

“I’ll need a secondary.”

She stopped and turned to look at him.

“You doing anything?”

He was looking directly at her, his eyes measuring.

She put one hand on the doorknob. “You want to take along a female who can’t keep quiet?”

He shrugged. “It doesn’t get boring with you around.”

She put her free hand on her hip. “I’m not sure my blood pressure can stand working with you.”

He kept his eyes on her. “If you’d do your own job instead of trying to do mine as well, I wouldn’t have to yell at you more than once a day.”

“Thanks a lot.” She shifted her weight so it was on the balls of her feet. “You just need to pay more attention to what I say. You aren’t the only one who can think, you know.”

He stood up. “Are you planning to talk all day, or are you going to back me up here?”

Her jaw set, she faced him “Just tell me one thing. Do you want a partner or a secretary?”

“What makes you think I need a secretary?”

She released the door and took a step toward him. “You
don’t
need a secretary.”

He stepped out from behind his desk, grabbed his hat from the peg it hung on, and pushed past her to lead the way out of the office. “You a baseball fan?” he asked over his shoulder.

“No,” she answered quickly. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“A body’s been found at the stadium. In the bullpen.”

She had to run to keep up. “Murdered?”

“Looks like it.”

“How?”

“The officer who found him thinks he was clubbed to death with a baseball bat.”

As they hurried through the silent outer office, she made a quick detour to grab her purse. Lunging into the elevator as the door was closing, she asked, “Did you say they found the body in a bullpen? Why on earth would they have cattle at a baseball game?”

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Shaded Light
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Discussion Questions for
Shaded Light

1. Because you meet the individuals in
Shaded Light
prior to the murder, and then watch their reactions in the period following it and for a time after, you can see how the murder affects them and whether or not they change because of it. If someone you knew died under suspicious circumstances, how do you think you might react?

2. The first victim is not a person most of us would care for. So, in a sense, most readers heave a sigh of relief and feel almost sympathetic towards the murderer. But the second victim is another matter entirely. How did you feel when that body was discovered?

3. The saying, “You reap what you sow,” is quite common. Do you feel that’s true? Which of the characters in
Shaded Light
contributed to the negative things that happen to them and which ones are truly innocent victims?

4. Which of the characters in
Shaded Light
do you feel you have the most in common with, and why?

5. The title,
Shaded Light
, comes from the verse in 1 Corinthians that is quoted at the beginning of the epilogue: “For now we see through a glass, darkly; But then face to face; Now I know in part; But then shall I know even as I am known.” (Paul’s 1st Letter to the Corinthians, 13:12.)

Nearly all of the characters have secrets they would prefer to keep hidden. Why do you think we have so much fear of others knowing the truth about us?

6. According to
Publishers Weekly
, Paul Manziuk and Jacquie Ryan are an odd team. Do you agree or disagree? How do you see them working together in the future?

Can you think of a time when you've had to work with someone who was very different from you, where it took a lot of effort from both of you to make it work? How did it turn out?

7. One of the character says that anyone could commit murder. Do you agree? What could make you consider murder?

8. There are a number of objects, metaphors and symbols in
Shaded Light
. The references to light and dark, the deerslayer fountain, the daisy chain, Shauna’s drawings… What was one thing that caught your interest?

9. Both Manziuk and Ryan are influenced by the picture in Manziuk’s office. How did you feel the picture contributed to the book?

10. Contrast the results of Peter’s belief that this life is all you get, so you need to live it to the max, and Lorry’s belief in a God who offers something intangible.