Tippy Toe Murder (17 page)
“Next,” said the postal clerk. Lucy was
embarrassed to realize she was holding up the line and quickly stepped up to the
window.
“Lucy, this will never do.” Lucy was
standing on the scale in Doc Ryder’s examining room, and the doctor was sliding
the weights across the bar. “You’ve gained nine pounds in four weeks. That’s
more than two pounds a week. That’s double what you should gain,” he scolded,
beginning his usual harangue.
Lucy, however, didn’t hear him. Her
thoughts were miles away as she climbed onto the examining table.
North Conway, she thought to herself as the
doctor lifted her shirt and palpated her abdomen. There was a dance outlet in
North Conway; Karen had mentioned it. Maybe Caro was stocking up on leotards
and tights. It was a link of sorts, anyway.
Lucy hardly noticed when the doctor applied
the cold stethoscope to her tummy. Barney had said Caro was with a child, a
little girl. A student? A child of a student? That was more likely, thought
Lucy. But why?
Mechanically placing her feet in the
stirrups, she remembered the photographs of laughing children in Caro’s album,
and the childish map. Snake’s House. Crystal Falls. Of course, she realized,
sitting bolt upright.
“Whoa!” exclaimed a surprised Doc Ryder. “If
you wouldn’t mind lying down, I’ll be finished in a minute.”
“Sorry,” said Lucy, reclining on the table.
Crystal Falls. No wonder the photographs seemed so familiar. Wasn’t Crystal
Falls the place where they’d had the picnic last summer?
“You haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have
you?” demanded the doctor, offering his hand so she could hop off the table. “What?”
asked Lucy.
“Everything’s fine. See you in four weeks.”
“Okay.” Lucy nodded.
“Four weeks, four pounds. Got that?”
“Right. Four weeks, four pounds. See ya.”
Hurrying out of his office, Lucy glanced at
her watch. It was only ten-thirty; Sara would be at Kiddie Kollege until noon.
She had plenty of time; she’d just stop by at Sue’s house. There was something
she wanted to ask her.
Male relatives are
NOT
allowed in the dressing room.
“Lucy, what’s the matter?” exclaimed Sue,
opening the door for her. “You look upset.”
“I’m fine,” said Lucy. Passing the hall
mirror, she noticed her hair was sticking out wildly all over her head. “I’ve
been thinking,” she said, rummaging in her bag for a comb and smoothing it back
in place. “I think I know where Caro is.” “Really?” Sue’s face lit up in
excitement. “Where?”
“It’s really just a hunch.”
“Tell me all about it. I just made a lemon
pound cake. Want some?”
“Sure.” Lucy sat down at the kitchen table
and glanced around while she collected her thoughts. Sue had recently redone
the kitchen, abandoning the country look for a slicker fifties effect. Now the
floor was covered with black and white vinyl tile, and custom-made shelves
displayed her collections of cookie jars and humorous salt and pepper shakers.
Sue put the cake in the middle of the red
Formica table and poured two cups of herb tea. Lucy waited for her to sit down
and slice the cake before beginning.
“I think Caro’s at her family’s old summer
place. It’s way off the road in the woods near Bridgton, close to Crystal
Falls.” “How did you come to this conclusion?” asked Sue, taking a bite of
cake.
“Lots of little things kind of fell into
place. I had a chance to look at her family album and there were pictures of
the cabin and the falls. Barney said she was actually seen in North Conway, and
that’s not far from there. It seems right somehow.” “Who saw her?”
“A state trooper. And she had a little kid
with her.”
“It doesn’t make sense to me,” argued Sue. “Why
would she make such a secret about going to her summer place?”
“That’s what I wanted to ask you about,”
said Lucy. She took a sip of tea. “Tatiana told me one of Caro’s old students
is in jail because of a divorce. Maybe she’s refusing to give up her child and
she’s asked Caro to hide the kid. Do you know anything about that sort of
thing? Does it come up at the women’s center?”
“What’s her name?” asked Sue sharply.
“I think it’s Ludmila . . . no. Louise.”
“Louise!” exclaimed Sue. “Where have you
been, Lucy? Don’t you read the papers?”
“All I seem to read anymore is this book on
painless childbirth. I can’t seem to get through it.”
“I hate science fiction, too,” quipped Sue,
leaving the kitchen and returning with a pile of
Time
magazines. “There
was a story in here pretty recently,” she muttered, checking the tables of
contents. “Here it is. ‘Sexual Slavery in D.C.’ All about the Philip Roderick
case. It’s been in the news for weeks.”
“Philip Roderick? That’s the name of Franny’s
lawyer.” “Fred’s old college buddy is Philip Roderick?” Sue was incredulous. “If
it’s the same Philip Roderick, he’s a beast.”
“I met him,” said Lucy. “He’s charming.”
“Well, read this.” Sue shoved the magazine
across the table. “See how charming you think he is.”
Lucy helped herself to another piece of
cake and took the magazine.
“ ‘Normally unflappable residents of the
nation’s capital, jaded as they are by the antics of congressmen and senators,
reeled last week as details of a bizarre case of sexual slavery and child abuse
unfolded in probate court,’ “ read Lucy.
“ ‘Pleading for a divorce, Louise Roderick
charged that her husband, prominent lawyer Philip Roderick, had abused her and
forced her to become a sexual slave.
“ ‘ “I trained as a ballet dancer, so I was
used to discipline. I never questioned the things my husband asked me to do; I
guess I wanted to be dominated,” confessed Louise Roderick, explaining why she
went along with her husband’s demands for kinky sex, which included bondage and
whippings.
“ ‘Louise Roderick’s tolerance ended,
however, when she discovered Philip Roderick was having sex with their
daughter, Melissa, then five years old. “I found bloodstains in her underwear,
and when I questioned her she became very withdrawn. She used to have lunch
with Philip every Saturday, and afterward he’d take her to a movie. I didn’t
realize that they stopped at his office in between.”
“ ‘This realization prompted Louise
Roderick to seek counseling, and soon after she demanded a separation. Melissa,
now seven, lives with her mother, and her therapist reports she has made “great
progress toward recovery.”
“ ‘Family Court Judge Willard Hayes,
however, was not impressed with Louise Roderick’s claims and awarded custody of
the child to Philip Roderick. In his decision he cited Louise Roderick’s mental
instability, and her inability to support the child. Louise Roderick has been
collecting welfare since the separation, having refused her wealthy husband’s
offer of a generous allowance and child support.
“ ‘Welfare officials are reportedly looking
into whether Louise Roderick is legally entitled to collect payments, now that
it has been revealed that she refused support from her husband.’ “Oh, my God,”
said Lucy, slicing another piece of cake. “He had sex with a five-year-old?”
“His own child.” Sue nodded. “Is it the
same guy?”
Lucy studied the picture alongside the
article. “It’s him. But maybe he didn’t do it. The judge didn’t believe the
wife’s story.”
Sue gave a snort of disgust. “It’s classic.
They never do. They always side with the man, especially if he’s rich and
prominent.”
“So you believe the wife?”
“Lucy, imagine how much courage it took for
her to speak out. She’s gone to jail rather than let the child go with the
father. She wouldn’t do that if he were Mr. Rogers.”
“This must be the ‘other business’ Fred
said Phil had in the area,” mused Lucy. “He must suspect Caro’s hiding the
child.” “He probably does. He’s no dummy. You mustn’t breathe a word about this
cabin. Do many people know about it?”
“I don’t think so. I’ve never heard anybody
mention it. Miss Tilley didn’t say anything about it, and I think she would
have if she knew Caro was in the habit of going there. Barney didn’t say
anything, so I don’t think the police checked it. When we looked at the albums,
Tatiana didn’t recognize it or anything. It’s kind of odd when you think about
it, that she never invited anybody there.”
“I don’t know. There are times I’d like to
have a private retreat. Someplace I could go where nobody could find me.” “A
place where you could take a bath without anyone knocking on the bathroom door.”
“Or find the scissors exactly where you
left them,” said Sue, shutting a drawer. “I was going to cut that article out
for you, but I can’t find the damn scissors.”
“Never mind. I can tear it. I want to show
it to Tatiana and
Miss Tilley. Barney, too. If they know what’s
going on they’ll pipe down about looking for Caro.”
“Don’t tell Barney,” warned Sue.
“Why not?”
“Lucy! Caro’s breaking the law, and he’s a
cop. He’d have to arrest her and give the little girl to Roderick. He’s got
legal custody.”
“This stinks,” said Lucy. Until now, she’d
always believed the law was on her side.
“Yeah,” agreed Sue. “Want to split the last
piece of cake?”
This performance is
dedicated to Caroline Hutton
—
dancer,
mentor, friend.
Finding Tatiana’s studio empty, Lucy
climbed up the stairs to her apartment. The door was ajar, so she called out a
hello and went in.
Tatiana was kneeling on the floor in front
of her stereo, surrounded by a clutter of tapes and papers.
“I’m just making sure the music is perfect
for the show,” she said, looking up. “I don’t want any glitches.”
“I can’t believe it’s this Friday,” said
Lucy. “It’s pretty exciting, isn’t it?”
“Nerve-racking’s more like it. I only wish
Caro were going to see it . . . but we had to go ahead and schedule it,” said
Tatiana.
“Everything will be fine,” said Lucy. “I’ve
got something to show you. Look at this.” She retrieved the magazine page from
her bag and held it out. “Is this the Louise you told me about?” “I can’t
believe this,” said Tatiana, slowly sinking onto the sofa as she read the
article. When she finished, she looked up at Lucy. “All I can think of is how
she adored him, she couldn’t wait to get married. I remember her carrying
around
Bride’s
magazine for months. It was a gorgeous wedding. Incredible
flowers, something like six bridesmaids. I never saw her look so beautiful.
This is horrible. Poor Louise.”
She folded the paper and stroked it with
her fingers.
“I used to wonder how she did it. She’d
dance until her feet bled. She could do things I could never hope to do.
Thirty-six fouetté turns in a row; she could hold an arabesque en pointe
forever. I envied her so much. We all did.
“Then one day I found her throwing up in
the bathroom right after she ate lunch. I was concerned, and I asked her if she
was sick. She said she was fine, she just had to watch her weight. I was
disgusted. I’d never heard of such a thing.” “Were she and Caro very close?”
“Oh, yes. I used to be jealous of that,
too. Then I realized Caro knew she had problems and was trying to help her.” “You
know she’s in jail now? She wouldn’t let him have the child.”
“The child!” exclaimed Tatiana. “That’s
what this is all about. I bet she asked Caro to hide her.”
“That’s what I think, too,” said Lucy. “At
the cabin. The one on the map. Near North Conway.”
“It all fits together, doesn’t it? That’s
where Barney said she was spotted.”
“We can’t tell anybody,” cautioned Lucy. “It
has to stay a secret. Roderick’s right here in town.”
“He is?”
“He’s supposed to be defending Ben Slack
and Franny. Doing a favor for Fred.”
“Of course. They went to the same
university,” said Tatiana. “They used to come to mixers at Winchester together.”
“Don’t tell anybody about the cabin,” warned Lucy. “Roderick mustn’t find them.”
“You’re right, Lucy. I won’t say a word.”
“I’m getting kind of nervous about those
albums,” said Lucy. “I feel responsible for them. I think I’d better return
them.” “Okay,” agreed Tatiana. “I’m done with them. They’re in the bedroom.”
She went to get them, but returned
empty-handed. “It’s the oddest thing,” she said in a puzzled tone. “I know they
were on my bed. I was looking at them this morning.”
“What do you mean?”
“They’re not there. They’re gone.”
“Are you sure?” Lucy went to look for
herself. “Did you check under the bed? Maybe they fell.”
The women went through the bedroom, and the
living room, too, but they didn’t find the albums.
“They’ve been stolen,” concluded Lucy. “Is
anything else missing?”
Tatiana shook her head.
“Roderick must have slipped in while you
were teaching.” “Roderick? Here?”
“Who else?”
“I had two classes of babies this morning.
I can’t take my eyes off them for a minute. Anybody could have come in. I never
bothered to lock the door.” She shuddered. “I hate the thought of him in my
apartment, touching my things. What if I’d come upstairs?”
“It’s lucky you didn’t.” Lucy suddenly felt
sick. “Damn. He’s got the map.”
“It was just a kid’s drawing.”
“It was pretty detailed. It gave the name
of the town, and the state highway number. All he has to do is compare it to a
geological survey map. Lots of places around here sell them. To hikers.”
“We’ve got to warn Caro. Do you think she’s
got a phone?” Lucy dialed
411,
and learned there was no listing for Caroline Hutton in Bridgton.
“What about the police?”
“They’d have to give the child to Roderick.
He’s got legal custody.”
“Then we’ll have to go ourselves,” decided
Tatiana. “I’ll cancel my afternoon classes. Come on.”
Lucy hesitated.
“Well, what’s the matter?” demanded
Tatiana. “They could be in danger. We don’t have any time to waste.”
“You’re right,” agreed Lucy, surprised at
her reaction. There was a time when she would have dashed off without a
thought. Now, she found herself ticking off a checklist of responsibilities.
Bill and Toby were going to the ball game, Sue wouldn’t mind taking the girls
for the afternoon. She was free to go. Still, she felt reluctant.
It must be the baby, she decided, patting
her tummy. All those mothering hormones were making her cautious and
conservative.
“Come on, kiddo,” she said, addressing the
baby. “It’s about time you learned there’s more to life than eating and
sleeping.”
