Страница 50 из 60
Kerry sank onto the couch and kicked off her shoes. She shook her head and smiled. “No, you’re not.”
“I’ve got news for you, but you go first. Tell me about Smith.”
“I’d better tell you about Frank Green first. I told him I was leaving the office early this afternoon, and I told him why.”
“What did he say?”
“It’s what he didn’t say that hung in the air. But in fairness to him, even though I think he was choking on the words, he told me that he hoped I didn’t think he would rather see an i
“Maybe you can. How about Smith?”
“I got to him, Geoff. I know I did. The guy is cracking up. If he doesn’t start telling the truth, my next move is to get Barbara Tompkins to file a stalking complaint against him. The prospect of that shocked him right down to his toes, I could tell. But I think rather than risk having it happen, he’ll come through and we’ll get some answers.”
She stared into the fire, watching the flames lick at the artificial logs. Then she added slowly, “Geoff, I told Smith that we had two witnesses who saw his car that night. I threw at him that maybe the reason he was so anxious to see Skip convicted was because he was the one who killed Suza
She turned to him. “Think about this scenario. Suza
“This way Skip, his rival for Suza
“It makes sense,” Geoff said slowly. “But then why would Jimmy Weeks be so worried about your reopening the case?”
“I’ve thought about that too. And, in fact, you could make an equally good argument that he was involved with Suza
“You’ve done a lot of thinking today, lady,” Geoff said. “And you’ve made a damn good case for either scenario. Did you happen to listen to the news on the way home?”
“My brain needed a rest. I listened to the station with the golden oldies. Otherwise I’d have gone mad in that traffic.”
“You made a better choice. But if you had listened to a news station, you’d know that the stuff Barney Haskell was pla
Kerry curled up on the couch and sipped the sherry, but even with the fire the room felt somehow less than comfortable. A moment later she got up and walked into the kitchen. “Okay if I watch you play chef? It’s warmer in here.”
Geoff left at nine o’clock. When the door closed behind him, Robin said, “Mom, I’ve got to ask you. This guy Dad is defending? From what you tell me, Dad’s not going to win the case. Is that right?”
“Not if all the evidence we believe has been found is what it’s cracked up to be.”
“Will that be bad for him?”
“No one likes to lose a case, but no, Robin, I think the best thing that could ever happen to your father is to see Jimmy Weeks convicted.”
“You’re sure Weeks is the one who’s trying to scare me?”
“Yes, I’m about as sure as I can get. That’s why the sooner we can find out his co
“Geoff’s a defense attorney, isn’t he?”
“Yes, he is.”
“Would Geoff ever defend a guy like Jimmy Weeks?”
“No, Robin. I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t.”
“I don’t think he would either.”
At nine-thirty, Kerry remembered that she’d promised to report to Jonathan and Grace about her meeting with Dr. Smith.
“You think he may break down and admit he lied?” Jonathan asked when she reached him.
“I think so.”
Grace was on the other extension. “Let’s tell Kerry my news, Jonathan. Kerry, today I’ve either been a good detective or made an awful fool of myself.”
Kerry had not thought it important to bring up Arnott’s name on Sunday when she told Jonathan and Grace about Dr. Smith and Jimmy Weeks. When she heard what Grace had to say about him, she was glad that neither one of them could see the expression on her face.
Jason Arnott. The friend who was constantly with Suza
84
Dr. Charles Smith sat for long hours after he forced Kerry to leave. “Stalker!” “ Murderer!” “Liar!” The accusations she had thrown at him made him shudder with revulsion. It was the same revulsion he felt when he looked at a maimed or scarred or ugly face. He could feel his very being tremble with the need to change it, to redeem it, to make things right. To find for it the beauty that his skilled hands could wrest from bone and muscle and flesh.
In those instances the wrath he felt had been directed against the fire or the accident or the unfair blending of genes that had caused the aberration. Now his wrath was directed at the young woman who had sat here in judgment of him.
“Stalker!” To call him a stalker because a brief glimpse of the near perfection he had created gave him pleasure! He wished he could have looked into the future and known that this was the way Barbara Tompkins would express her thanks. He would have given her a face all right-a face with skin that collapsed into wrinkles, eyes that drooped, nostrils that flared.
Suppose McGrath took Tompkins to the police to file that complaint. She had said she would, and Smith knew she meant it.
She had called him a murderer. Murderer! Did she really think that he could have done that to Suza
And Suza
Even her body appeared awkward and unlovely, crumpled as it was, the left leg twisted under the right one, the heel of her left shoe jabbing her right calf, those fresh red roses scattered over her, a mocking tribute to death.