Killer's Choice

'You were trying to explain why you got divorced.'

'Oh. Yeah. Well, Monica was born. You can't have so much fun when you've got an infant on your hands. I mean, no matter how much you love the child, you're still tied down. Annie wouldn't leave her with anyone but the Bag. She wanted the Bag to come and live with us. I flatly refused. I didn't see why we couldn't get baby sitters, the way other young married people do. Annie wouldn't. She simply wouldn't. She loved that kid like… well, she loved her. But at the same time, I think she resented her. Because she tied us down, do you know? Because we couldn't go off on those long ski week-ends any more. Because we couldn't pack up and go to the beach for a week on a moment's notice.'

'What else?' Kling asked.

'Well, I hate to admit this…'

'Yes.'

'She was outgrowing me.'

'What?'

'I'm a camera. That's really all I am. Photography is my profession, and I see everything as if I'm looking through a camera. I feel things that way, Mr Kling. I'm one of those people who…who feel things. But I'm not much in the brain department, never was.'

'I see,' Kling said.

'Annie was growing. I wasn't. Cameras don't grow, Mr Kling, they only record.'

'Annie outgrew you.'

'Yes.'

'Not the other way around?'

'Oh, don't be ridiculous. God, she had a mind like a trap. Click! A hungry mind. Devoured things. Wonderful. A wonderful girl.'

'Why'd she go to work in a liquor store after she divorced you?'

'I don't know. A girl like her, I figured she'd want a challenge. Advertising, radio, television, something like that, something where she could use her mind. So first she works selling furniture, and then liquor. I didn't get it. I asked her once. When I went up to see Monica.'

'What did she say?'

'She said, "I need a rest, Ted. Everybody has to rest every now and then." Well, she got her rest.'

'I should imagine, if what you said was accurate, that she'd had enough of a rest. Being cooped up with the child, I mean.'

'Yes,' Boone said. 'That's what I would have thought.' He dropped his cigarette to the floor and stepped on it.

'Then why'd she take those jobs?'

'I don't know.'

'Did you argue much, Mr Boone? When you were married to her?'

'The usual. You know how marriage is.'

'Once a week? Twice a week?'

'Oh, I don't know. I never kept count. You know how marriage is. Two people get on each other's nerves every now and then. So an argument starts. I never kept count.'

'Would you say you were happily married?'

Boone hesitated. At last he said, 'No.'

'Why not?'

'I guess… I guess I wasn't enough for Annie.'

'Were there any other men in her life?'

'No. You don't think they'd have given her custody of the child if there were, do you?'

'And you? Another woman?'

'No. Annie was enough for me.'

'But you weren't enough for her?'

'No.'

'And yet, there were no other men?'

'No. None that I know of. Adultery was never an issue. We couldn't have got a divorce in this state if we'd wanted to.'

'Did you want custody of the child?'

'No. Not at the time of the divorce. I didn't want anything to remind me of Annie.'

'Because you loved her so much?'

'Yes. After a while, I realized I was behaving stupidly. I sought her out. Her and Monica. I went to see them. My daughter loves me, Mr Kling. I've got a good relationship with my daughter. I want her to live with me. I can give her things the Bag can never give her. The Bag's holding her illegally. The courts awarded that child to Annie, not to my mother-in-law. She's holding her illegally, and if the goddamn courts weren't so slow, I'd have Monica now.'

'You said you didn't want Monica at first, is that right?'

'Yes.'

'And you loved Annie very much?'

'Very much.'

'Tell me, Mr Boone. When you were divorced, did you ever think there was any chance of you and Annie getting together again?'

'In the beginning, I did.'

'For how long?'

'Six months or so. I kept thinking she'd call me. Especially when I found out she'd got a job selling furniture. I kept thinking she'd call me and try to patch it up. For about six months, I kept hoping that.'

'She didn't call.'

'No.'

'And during this time, you made no attempt to see either her or Monica, is that right?'

'That's right.'

'When did you see Monica again? After the divorce, I mean.'

'About six or seven months after the divorce.'

'Did you ever ask Annie for custody of the child?'

'Well… yes.'

'And?'

'She refused. She felt the child's place was with her mother.'

'I see. Did you ever try to do anything about it legally?'

'I consulted a lawyer. He said the courts had awarded the child to Annie, and that was it.'

'There was no chance, then, of your gaining legal possession of the child.'

'Well, there is now. The Bag has no claim to her. After all, she's my daughter.'

'Yes, now there's a possibility. I didn't mean that, Mr Boone. I meant, while Annie was alive.'

'Oh. No, no. While Annie was alive, I couldn't have the child. I could visit her, of course, and she could spend time with me. I had her for a month every now and then. But I couldn't have her with me all the time. No. Not while Annie was alive. Things are different now. I'll fight the Bag if it takes every cent I've got.'

Kling sighed. 'When was the last time you saw Annie, Mr Boone?'

'About three weeks ago.'

'What was the occasion?'

'I went to see Monica. Annie happened to be home. Usually, I tried to time my visits so that I wouldn't run into her.'

'Were you friendly on that occasion?'

'We were always friendly.'

'No arguments?'

'None.'

'Did custody of the child come up?'

'No. That was a closed issue as far as I was concerned. I knew I couldn't have her, and so I made the best of it. Now, things are different. The moment Annie died, I looked into it. The Bag doesn't stand a chance. That's why I've started the legal machinery going.'

'When did you start, Mr Boone?'

'When Annie died.'

'The same day?'

'The day after.'

'Do you own a gun, Mr Boone?'

'Yes.'

'What make and calibre?'

'It's an Iver Johnson. A .22.'

'Do you have a pistol permit?'

'Yes.'

'Carry or premises?'

'Premises. It's just a small gun, you know. I keep it for protection at home. I live on the South Side in Stewart City. That's an expensive part of Isola. A lot of burglaries there. I keep the gun for protection.'

'Do you have any other pistols?'

'No.'

'A .25 perhaps?'

'No.'

'Just that one gun? A .22 Iver Johnson, right?'

'Yes.'

'Did Annie have any enemies that you know of?'

'No. She was well-liked by everyone.'

'What's your lawyer's name?'

'My lawyer?'

'Yes.'

'Why do you want to know his name?'

'I'd like to talk to him.'

'About what?'

'Routine,' Kling said.

Boone studied him for a moment. 'Jefferson Dobberly,' he said at last.

'Do you know where I can reach him?'

'His offices are downtown in the Meredith Street section. 413 Margaret Place. Do you want his number?'