Authors: Lynda La Plante
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LYNDA LA P L A IV T E 875
Lorraine stood up.
“No point? I am trying to find out if your daughter was murdered and at the same time who is responsible. She has been missing for eleven months.”
“I know thatl”
“So why say there is no point in pursuing this angle?”
“Voodoo is not an angle, Mrs. Page, it is a way of life, and you probably would not understand the complexities of it. It is taken very seriously here and is not, as you have implied, similar to the occult or black magic. It is not used for curses or evil, but the reverse, it is practiced as a safeguard against sickness and is spiritually uplifting.”
“I am trying to learn, Mrs. Caley, and if you have any information I would be grateful.”
“What do you mean, information? I don’t have any information, why do you think I hired you? And as I did hire you, Mrs. Page, I am now dismissing you. I will fully reimburse any costs you have accumulated to date, but I no longer wish you to continue this investigation.”
“I am sorry, but I can’t walk away from this.”
“Of course you can. You’re only hired, you have no personal ties to keep you.”
“I’m afraid I do. You see, my partner was murdered working on this case, so I have strong personal reasons why I would like to bring it to a conclusion.”
Elizabeth hesitated, but did not ask any further details about the murder, dismissing it.
“You seem to have forgotten what that conclusion was, Mrs. Page.”
f
“Not at all. It was to find your daughter, dmd or alive.”
“But you have not found her.”
“And my time is not up. I still have over a week to go, we have an agreement.”
“And I am paying you off, finished. Phyllis will send you a check. Now, if you will excuse me.”
“One million, Mrs. Caleyyou can pay off the final week now or whenever, but the contract still stands.”
“Don’t be silly, it was a verbal
“
“No, it wasn’t. We have it in writing, one million dollars. So even if you did pay me off, I wouldn’t leave, not until I had covered every possible avenue. I’m sorry.”
Elizabeth’s hands were clenched tightly, her face set in a hard, furious glare.
“You don’t know what you are getting into, Mrs. Page.”
“One never does on a case, Mrs. Caley. That’s what makes it so interesting, the unexpected twists and turns.” Elizabeth’s voice was hushed, threatening.
“You might just get something totally unexpected here, and believe me, you will wish to God you had walked away.”
Lorraine felt drained as Elizabeth Caley left the room, her footsteps echoing on the black-and-white checkerboard tiles of the hall as she called out,
“Missy, Mrs. Page is leaving, show her out!”
The maid appeared at the door.
“No need, Missy, I know my way out.”
Lorraine replaced her notebook in her briefcase and turned as the door slammed shut and Robert Caley stood there.
“You’ve got a fucking nerve coming to the house.”
She snapped her case closed, her legs shaking at seeing him so unexpectedly. She took hold of herself and looked up, meeting his eyes.
“I owe you an apology. I said things I shouldn’t have without verification. I am sincerely sorry.”
He stuck his hands into his trouser pockets,
“Sorry? You bad-mouth me to niy partners, you pass around scurrilous, disgusting accusations about myself and my daughter, you remove details of private papers from my desk and”
“I have said I am sorry.”
“It’s not good enough. I want a formal letter of retraction sent to Lloyd Dulay.”
She blushed and could not meet his eyes.
“But you were using Anna Louise’s trust find illegally.”
“You don’t back off an inch, do you, Mrs. Page? That million-dollar bonus must be a big incentive.”
“Maybe as big as your daughter’s trust is to you?”
“Touche!”
Lorraine picked up her briefcase.
“I am not scoring points, Robert.”
“Aren’t you?”
She sighed.
“No, I am not. I am trying to do my job, that’s all.”
He was so angry he wanted to throttle her.
“Does that include fucking someone for information the way you used to for a drink?”
She wanted to say that it had meant so much to her, she wanted to drop her briefcase and go into his arms. Instead she froze him out, her eyes without a flicker of emotion, so direct and cold it was he who broke the moment, turning away from her.
“Did you give Anna Louise toy white polar bears?”
He shook his head in disbelief.
“What?”
“She had a row of white bears on her pillowyou gave them to her?”
“Yes.”
L VIM DA LA PLAIMTE 877
“And your nickname, or pet name, was Polar?”
“Yes, yes, it was.”
“Did you also-give one of the same white bears to Tilda Brown?”
“No.”
“Do you recall how many you gave to your daughter?”
He had to sit down. She was snapping out the questions as if he were some suspect held on a rap in a police station.
“It’s important, Robert, how many?”
“Five, for her thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth birthdays. I then said there was no more room for them. They were to mark her teenage years, for her diaries.”
“Her diaries?”
He rubbed his head.
“Yes, the bears unzip, they have a sort of secret pocket where she used to keep her yearly diary.”
Lorraine could feel the buzz.
“Did the police ever see them?”
He shook his head.
“No …”
“Why not?”
“They weren’t there. Maybe she outgrew them, I don’t know.”
Lorraine’s buzz went flat fast.
“Shit! Okay, now can you try and remember if on that flight, the one on the fifteenth, Anna Louise carried or packed one of those bears?”
“I have no idea.”
“It’s very important, Robert, think.”
He shook his head, and she came closer.
“When you went into her bedroom at the hotel, did you see one of the white bears?”
He sighed, and she moved ewi closer.
“Shut your eyes and think, Robert. You said her purse was in thPsitting room and her new dress was laid out in the bedroom, so you must have looked at the bed.”
“Why? What’s so important?”
She was close enough to bend down and touch him, but she remained upright.
“When I went into Anna Louise’s bedroom in LA, I found four bears lined up on her pillows. Four, Robert, not five, four.”
He reached out, not looking at her, and stroked her calf, her leg so slim he could almost slip his hand right around it.
“No, there wasn’t one in the hotel.”
He eased her around to stand in front of him and leaned forward, his head pressed into her crotch.
“Why did you not even answer one call, Lorraine, why?”
“I wanted to, Robert, but I was too guilty. I was all out of kilter that day, tired from being with you. And I suppose when Tilda hinted about you and Anna, and Dulay told me about the trust fund, maybe I was jealous, or plain angry, but I have no excuse, I should not have said the things I said without…”
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^,i^ LUUICI reel nis breath, his lips pressing through her skirt, but a part of her mind was working by itself. She remembered Phyllis saying she packed the day they left, or was it Elizabeth?
“I have to go, Robert.”
He dropped his hands and rested back in the chair, looking up at her.
“What’s so important about the bear?”
She had picked up her briefcase and was already crossing to the door.
“Tilda Brown said Anna Louise did not see her on the fifteenth, but what if she was lying? What if the bear was a peace offering, because they’d had such an argument? It was over you, Robert, do you know that? Your daughter was jealous of the attention you gave Tilda.”
He stood up, hands wide.
“Jealous? She was jealous of little Tilda?”
“On that day, before you went to work, you passed Tilda on the tennis courts, remember? You kissed her because she was crying, and Anna Louise saw it.”
“It was harmless, I swear before God!”
“I know that, but Anna Louise didn’t, and I think it sparked off a jealous rage, which resulted in
“
“Tilda leaving …”
She nodded, then looked at the phone.
“Can I make a call?”
She didn’t wait for an answer, dialing the Caleys’ home in LA. Phyllis answered, and before she could even inquire how Lorraine was, she was asked if she recalled seeing Anna Louise packing, on the fifteenth. Phyllis fell silent.
“Phyllis, are you still there?”
“Yes, I am, I’m thinking. You see, I never did any packing or anything like that, but I remember Mrs. Caley asking if I’d check to see if Anna Louise had packed any nice dresses, as she would be invited to a lot of parties and
“
Lorraine interrupted.
“Did you see what was in her bags?”
“Well, yes, and so did Mrs. Caley, they were full of Tshirts and sneakers.”
“Anything else?”
“I don’t think so. They had a bit of a tiff about it later because Mrs. Caley told Anna to go and repack. But I never saw what was in the bag and I don’t think Mrs. Caley did. Was it something important?”
Lorraine said it wasn’t, and thanked Phyllis. As she replaced the receiver, Missy appeared at the door.
“I’ve brought all your cases down, Mr. Caley.”
Lorraine frowned. He waited until Missy had gone and then said quietly that he was moving back into the hotel.
“Can I call you?”
Lorraine went up to him and kissed him. He slipped his arms around
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^teTO^teft1ą7EŁ determined to get. She had called from the plane to ask Phyllis to get it for her. So maybe she had not repacked anything at all after her conversation with Elizabeth, but put the polar bear inside her bag. Lorraine knew she was making erratic assumptions and wild guesses, but maybe all the fuss about getting the dress sent out had a reason, because everyone had been in a good mood when they got to the hotel the night Anna Louise disappeared.
Lorraine was so intent on working everything out to a rational conclusion that she did exactly what she had agreed not to do: she forgot to call in to check with Rosie and Rooney and inform them she had left the Caleys’ and was now on her way to Tilda Brown’s home. Something else she had no intention of telling them was that she asked Frangois to stop at a liquor store, where she bought herself a six-pack of Coke and another bottle of vodka. It was all right, she told herself, nobody would know, and as long as she kept doing the top-ups in the can, no one could even suspect. It helped too, it helped a lot to forget Nick Bartello’s voice, his smile, made it all go away. Most of all, it made her feel certain she was in control.
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CHAPTER
Jť . At first Mrs. Dubois refused to let Lorraine into the house; preparations were being made for Tilda’s funeral, so it was hardly a suitable time for either of her parenljk) speak with Lorraine.
“I just need to go into Tilda’s bedroom, iftase, Mrs. Dubois, it is important, or I would not intrude at this very sad time. I think when I was last here I left my key, it may have fallen from my purse. It’ll take no more than two minutes.”
Mrs. Dubois agreed and asked the maid to show Lorraine upstairs.
The maid remained by the door as Lorraine started to search the room, itching to get to the bed and to the white polar bear, still left on Tilda’s pillow. When Mrs. Dubois called for the maid to help her with something below, leaving Lorraine alone, she picked up the bear immediately. It was too light, and she knew there was nothing inside, but she found the hidden zipper and checked just in case. She was disappointed, not even bothering to pretend she had been looking for a key when the maid returned, tapping on the open door.
“Thank you, no luck!”
she said, walking toward the hovering maid; the girl seemed nervous.
“How did you get along with Miss Tilda?”
she asked.
“Fine, ma’am, just fine, but she kept to herself. I just used to clean her room, press her clothes. She didn’t act up or nothin’, not like she used to. I been asked to show you out because Mrs. Dubois is busy.”
“How do you mean, not like she used to?”
Lorraine asked, still very casual and friendly.
“Well, the maid before me was fired, they didn’t get along, an’ I was told by Mrs. Brown that I was not to interfere with Miss Tilda’s personal things. She didn’t like me even tidying up her room, but then she was real neat and tidy.”
“When was she fired, the maid before you?”
“Oh, last year, I only worked here since then.”
Lorraine kept on smiling.
“What date would that be?”
The maid really was eager for Lorraine to leave, looking down the stairwell to the hall below.
“Well, I was interviewed mid-February, ‘cause Ruby had already left.”
“Ruby?”
Lorraine followed her down the wide staircase.
“Yes, miss, the previous maid here was a girl called Ruby Corbello. She got a job in a hair salon after she left.”
“Thank you very much.”
One minute depressed, the next Lorraine was buzzing again, and to the maid’s relief hurried out without even asking to speak to Mrs. Dubois.
T
Lorraine sat in her car thinking it was too much of a coincidence, then she sighed. Maybe it was the lead she needed. She checked her watch and told Frangois to take her back to the hotel, realizing how late it had got and remembering her own instructions that they should all keep in touch.