Evelyn lowered her gaze. Color was creeping up her neck, which I considered a thrilling sight. She said, “I don’t think you understand the relationship they had. They worshiped him. He was a hero to them. When this hideous crime came to light, they were devastated. I wanted them to realize that he wasn’t quite the innocent victim he portrayed himself.”
“You think he killed her?”
“I think he had the means, the motive, and the opportunity.”
“What are you talking about? This isn’t a television drama.”
“Karen was Ethan’s friend. She’d been to the house more than once.”
“So what?”
“I could see Terrence took a shine to her. I never had any proof, but I wasn’t at all shocked when the police came to the door and asked to speak to him. He looked terrible. His skin was gray. He was sweating and his hands shook. That’s not the demeanor of an innocent man.”
Mamie looked at her mother-in-law with disbelief. “Are you serious? He shook and turned gray anytime a drink was overdue.”
Evelyn was still focused on me. “I don’t know where in the world you got the idea I turned the children against him. I’d never do such a thing,” she said.
“I heard it from Anna. She told me last night.”
“Told you what?” Mamie asked, annoyed at being out of the loop.
“Nothing,” Evelyn said.
This was beginning to feel like politics, consisting as it did almost entirely of finger-pointing and accusations.
I turned to Mamie. “Anna told me the day her father called to say he’d been released, Evelyn confessed that she lied on the witness stand. She said he went out that night and was gone until the wee hours.”
Mamie looked at Evelyn with dismay. “You did that?”
I said, “Oh, yes, indeed. She also told the three of them not to mention it to anyone for fear she’d be charged with perjury, which is a criminal act. Ask Ethan. He’ll tell you the same thing. Ellen, too.”
Mamie was staring at her mother-in-law. “I don’t believe it. You said he was there at the house when he wasn’t?”
I wagged a finger, correcting her. “It was the other way around. She told the truth on the witness stand and lied about it later.”
“But why would she do that? She’d have to be nuts.”
Evelyn leaned toward me. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Were you there?”
“Of course I wasn’t, but I’ll tell you who was. An hour ago I talked to Lolly Brandle.”
Mamie wrinkled her nose in confusion. “Who?”
“The woman who lived next door to Evelyn and Terrence back then. She was at the Daces’ house the night Karen Coffey disappeared. She says Terrence was home the entire evening except for a brief trip to the store to pick up ice cream.”
Evelyn’s tone was prim. “You can hardly credit her account. She has dementia.”
“She may not remember what happened yesterday, but she remembers that night, right down to the flavor of the ice cream he went out to buy. Here’s a question for you, Evelyn. Who was the president of the United States at that time?”
“I have no idea. How is that relevant?”
“Because Lolly knows. I asked her the same thing and her memory is as clear as a bell. Richard Nixon.”
“I can see you’re determined to take her word over mine,” she said. “I’ve been to visit her twice. She has no idea who I am and I’ve known her twenty-five years. Besides which, how do you know she isn’t lying for reasons of her own?”
“Because the pastor of your church was also there with his wife. I’d be happy to track them down, and I’ll bet you they’ll back Lolly Brandle. Are you going to call them liars as well?”
“I did not commit a crime.”
“I know you didn’t. You told Ethan and Ellen and Anna you lied on the stand when you actually told the truth in court. Later, you insinuated that Terrence went out that night and had a hand in that girl’s death. You didn’t accuse him outright. You undercut his credibility and you did such a fine job of it that Ethan and Anna were completely alienated from their dad. And still are, for that matter.”
“Accuse me of anything you like. You have no proof and there’s nothing you can do about it even if you did.”
“You got me on that one. At least Mamie knows now and we’ll see what she does with it.”
22
The meeting faltered to a close and we parted company. Verbal clashes seldom come to a satisfying end. They peter out in weak retorts that leave you wishing you’d been as clever in the moment as you are in reviewing the conversation later. I hadn’t scored even one decisive point and none of us had altered our positions in the slightest. I was glad I’d met Evelyn because I had a better sense now of who she was and how she operated.
Poor Dace. I’d formed a ragged picture of his life, joining fragments like a reel of film spliced together with all the big scenes missing. The storyline was there but the point was lost. The meaning of life (assuming there is one . . .) is the glue we use to join events, trying to fill the cracks in hopes the whole of it will make sense. Beginning, middle, and end don’t always add up to much, and, in his case, only an odd note of melancholia remained.
I went up to my room and packed. I took the elevator down and presented myself at the front desk with my duffel in hand. I signed the credit card receipt and returned my key. It wasn’t until I was crossing the parking lot that I saw Ethan Dace appear on the far side of the Mustang. He’d parked his banged-up white Toyota in the slot to the left of mine. At first I thought he’d crouched between the two cars to keep himself out of view, but maybe he’d only bent to tie his shoelace. I was on the verge of asking how he’d figured out where I was, but we all knew by then that my Grabber Blue Mustang was better than a flashing neon sign.
Casually, he turned and opened his passenger-side door. He tossed something onto the front seat before he slammed the door again and turned to face me. He tilted his head in the direction of the hotel entrance. “What was that about?”
“What was what about?”
“I saw my wife and mom leave just now. You call a meeting?”
“That was Mamie’s idea. She had questions about the will. It was a waste of time in my opinion, but I wanted to show what a good sport I am.”
“What else did you talk about?”
“That was it,” I said. Then the light dawned. “Oh, now I’m getting it. You think I summoned Mamie and your mom so I could tattle on you.”
“Nothing to tattle. I was talking to a friend.”
“My mistake. It looked like you were flirting with that redheaded hottie. Anna’s friend, isn’t she? I didn’t catch her name.”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Fear not, good sir. My lips are sealed. Now if you’ll step away from my car door, I’d like to get in.”
For some reason, that set him off. He rose up on the balls of his feet, leaning toward me while he jabbed a finger in my face. The fact that he didn’t raise his voice made the underlying anger more sinister than the threat that followed. “You want to make trouble? I’ll make trouble for you and don’t think I won’t.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“I’ll sue. Me and my sisters will sue your ass, you get that?”
“I do. Thanks so much. Is there anything else?”
“You better lawyer up. That’s all I’m saying.”
“I have an attorney.”
“I’ll bet you do. I bet you hired one the second you found out about the money because you knew what kind of hole you’d dug for yourself. My dad was a drunk, which you seem to know all about. So maybe you talked him into cutting us off so you could step into the breach.”