Страница 31 из 64
“Darling!” Erich’s tone was solicitous. He came over and took both her hands.
“Not too close,” Mark warned. “Give her air.”
Her head started to clear. Slowly she sat up, the taffeta skirt rustling as she moved. She felt Mark slip pillows behind her head and back.
“Sheriff, I can answer any questions you have. I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I’ve not felt quite well these past few days.”
His eyes seemed wider and shinier now, as though they’d locked into an intense focus on her. “Mrs. Krueger, I’ll make this brief. You did not phone your former husband on the ninth of March to request a meeting, nor did he arrive here that night?”
“That’s correct.”
“Why would he have told his colleagues that you had called him? What purpose would he have in lying?”
“The only thought I have is that sometimes Kevin used to say he was visiting me and the children when he wanted to get out of other plans. If he was in the process of dropping one girlfriend for another, he’d often use us as an excuse.”
“Then may I ask why you’re so upset at his disappearance if you think he might be off with some woman?”
Her lips were so stiff it was hard to form words. She spoke slowly, like a teacher enunciating for a first-year language class. “You must understand there is something terribly wrong. Kevin had been accepted by the Guthrie Theater for the repertory company. That is true, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.”
“You must look for him,” she said. “He would never jeopardize that opportunity. Kevin’s acting is the most important thing in his life.”
They all left a few minutes later. She insisted on walking with them to the front door. Je
“I’ll treat this as a missing person… Get out some flyers… We’ll be back to you, Mrs. Krueger.”
“Thank you, Sheriff.”
He was gone. Mark pulled on his coat. “Je
“Thanks for coming you two,” Erich said. “Sorry our evening ended so badly.” His arm was around Je
His tone was amused. Emily laughed. Mark’s face showed no emotion. When the door closed behind him, Je
Erich’s astonished voice stopped her. “Je
20
Rooney let herself in as Je
“Did I scare you?” Rooney sounded pleased. Her eyes were vague; her thin hair, scattered by the wind, blew around her birdlike face.
“Rooney, that door was locked. I thought you said you’re not supposed to have a key.”
“I must have found one.”
“Where? Mine is missing.”
“Did I find yours?”
Of course, Je
Rooney looked puzzled. “I didn’t know there was a key in your coat. We gave you back your coat.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Yes. Clyde made me. He put it back himself. I saw you wear it.”
“It’s not in the closet,” Je
Rooney pulled a heavy key ring out of her pocket. The large bunch of keys were all individually tagged: house, barn, office, grainery…
“Rooney, aren’t these Clyde’s keys?”
“I guess so.”
“You must put them back. Clyde will be angry if you take his keys.”
“He says I shouldn’t take them.”
So that was how Rooney got into the house. I’ll have to tell Clyde to hide his keys, Je
Je
“You said I could make the girls jumpers. You promised.”
“Yes, I did. Let me see.”
Hesitantly Rooney opened the brown paper and shook two violet-blue corduroy jumpers from tissue wrapping. The stitching was fine; the strawberry-shaped pockets were embroidered in red and green. Je
“Rooney, these are lovely,” she said sincerely. “You sew beautifully.”
“I’m glad you like them. I made Arden a skirt with this material and had some left over. I was going to make her a jacket too but then she ran away. Don’t you think this is a pretty shade of blue?”
“Yes, I do. It will be wonderful with their hair.”
“I wanted you to see the material before I started, but when I came that night you were on your way out and I didn’t want to interfere.”
On the way out at night? Not likely, Je
She felt so rotten. She should tell Erich she was pregnant. She should see a doctor.
But not yet. Not until something was resolved about Kevin. The news of the baby should be joyful. It shouldn’t be told in this tense, hostile atmosphere.
The night of the di
As they got into bed, he’d commented, “I must say you look pretty upset, Je
She’d tried to explain but to her own ears the justification seemed feeble and halting. Finally she’d been too tired, too upset, to discuss it any further. As she’d drifted off to sleep, he’d put his arm around her. “I’m your husband, Je
“… Like I said, I didn’t want to interfere with your visit,” Rooney was saying.
“What… Oh, I’m sorry.” Je
Rooney brightened. “Oh, I’d love that. I can teach you to sew and knit and crochet if you want.”
She left a few minutes later. “I’ll get everything together and come back tomorrow afternoon,” she promised. “It will be like old times. Caroline didn’t know how to do none of those things neither. I was the one who taught her. Maybe you can make a nice quilt before something happens to you.”
“Hal-lo, Je
Oh, God, Je