The Way You Look Tonight (13 page)

Adam said nothing. ‘Then she found out she was pregnant,' Pete went on tonelessly. ‘It couldn't have been my baby. We hadn't been…intimate for weeks. I was too stupid to even consider her lack of interest in…romance was because she was in love with someone else and didn't want me touching her. The problem was she didn't believe in abortion and neither did I.'

‘So you made her leave.'

‘God, no! I'm not saying I was gracious about the whole thing. I ranted, raved, pouted, generally acted like a stereotype of the wronged husband, but I couldn't throw her out, pregnant, unskilled, with a family who would never understand her predicament, to whom she would eventually have confessed the truth. Her mother would have badgered it out of her, then thrown her out. Your
very
Christian maternal grandparents aren't the most forgiving people in the world, not like my grandmother. Besides, I still loved Hope and she was your mother. You needed her. Things seemed to be going as well as could be expected for about a month, although she was unusually quiet.' Pete looked troubled. ‘Well, quiet is an understatement. She just sat and stared. I talked about getting her psychological counseling, which threw her into a tailspin. Then suddenly she left. Once again I came home from work to get a major surprise – she'd moved out.'

‘I remember that day,' Adam said softly. ‘You told me she went to see Grandma and Grandpa LeBlanc in Quebec, but I didn't believe you. I called Grandma and she didn't know what I was talking about. I'd noticed how strange everything had been for weeks – she'd even started sleeping in the guest room – and I got it into my head you'd made Mom leave. I rode all over town on my bike like a crazy person looking for her.'

Misery shone in Pete's eyes. ‘You got back here at ten that night and collapsed in the front yard, too exhausted to even cry. I had to carry you in. It took weeks for you to finally believe I hadn't driven her away. You wouldn't even look at me.'

‘I was really a jerk.'

‘You were a hurt kid who didn't know what was going on. I understood. I tried to find her for you, Adam, for both of us, but gave up after about six months. The private investigator's bills were extraordinary. Finally, about a year after she left, I got a card from her. She was in Montana. She said the baby, a girl, had been stillborn, which she guessed was God's will. That sounded so unlike her. She wasn't just a fallen-away Catholic who claimed to have doubts – she was truly an atheist. I decided she'd had some kind of breakdown. I never heard from her again.'

‘And you haven't tried to see her since then?'

‘No, Adam, I haven't. Two years ago she ran at the very thought of seeing us. If staying away from her husband and son means so much to her, I say it's best to leave her alone.' Pete drew a deep breath. ‘Listen, son, I've given up hope. I know she's no longer the woman I married. She's been gone so long, expressed so little interest in her own child that…well, I hope you understand, but I'm finally going to start seeing other women. If I can ever locate her, I'll divorce her.'

The breath went out of Adam. He stared at the wall for a moment, his face hardening into the planes of manhood. He'll never again look like a fifteen-year-old boy, Pete thought.

‘I'm glad you're going to divorce her,' Adam said at last, stonily, his voice rougher and deeper than Pete had ever heard it. Adam opened his nightstand drawer and slid the picture frame in, face down. The beautiful smile of his mother disappeared. ‘I suppose it's time we both put old memories behind us.'

Three

Barbara threw clothes into a battered suitcase while Evan sat on the bed, watching her. ‘Are you sure you want to stay with Deborah through all of this?' he asked.

Barbara looked at him in surprise. ‘Of course I do. She's my best friend. Why wouldn't I?'

‘Because it's dangerous at that house.'

‘You mean because of Lieber?'

Evan nodded, his blond hair burnished by the harsh overhead light. ‘He's gotten rid of Steve, but I don't think he'll stop there.'

Barbara dropped a white nylon half-slip into the bag. ‘Why are you so sure he'll go after Deborah and the kids?'

‘I've read his record. Before the rape of Emily Robinson his wife got a restraining order one time after he slapped her around for being late from work. Broke her nose and two fingers. He has a history of violence.'

‘That's all the more reason why Deborah and the children shouldn't be left alone.'

‘And what are you going to do if Lieber shows up? Shoot him? You've never shot a gun in your life. Beat the hell out of him, all one hundred and twelve pounds of you? Deborah needs a man there.'

‘Joe's staying.'

‘Joe!' Evan scoffed, standing up and walking to Barbara's messy dresser. He began fiddling with the ragged brown teddy bear named Boo Bear she'd been given as a child by her grandmother, the woman who had encouraged her to be whatever she wanted to be, even if it wasn't a housewife. Boo Bear always sat propped against Barbara's mirror as a reminder of the old lady who had given her so much love when her mother was always too busy or too tired. ‘I trust Joe about as much as I would Lieber,' Evan said.

Barbara glared at him. ‘My God, Evan, that's a terrible thing to say!'

‘I don't care. Do you know why he quit the Houston police department? He was sleeping with a prostitute who ended up with her throat slashed.'

‘She wasn't a prostitute, she was a call-girl.'

‘Oh, excuse me. That makes a big difference.'

‘And he wasn't just sleeping with her. He was in love with her.'

‘So he claimed. He also claimed he had nothing to do with her unfortunate and very gory murder even though she'd told people she was afraid of him.'

‘She was doing a lot of cocaine and saying all kinds of things. Besides, he had an alibi. Ever heard of one of those?'

‘It was shaky, very shaky.'

‘The Houston police department believed him.'

‘They were protecting one of their own.'

‘Oh, Evan.' Barbara walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, leaning her head against his back. ‘Evan, what are you so upset about? What do you think is going to happen? Do you think Joe's going to kill Deborah or me?'

‘I think it's possible, and I cannot for the life of me understand why the two of you would spend one night around him. God, the guy gives me the creeps.'

Barbara frowned. ‘I don't think he gives anyone else the creeps. Besides, what do you want Deborah to do?'

‘Let
me
stay, what else? Do you think Steve would want that guy sleeping in his house, sleeping near his
children
?'

‘Joe and Steve were friends. Besides, you have to work.'

‘So do you.'

‘But Joe's taken the vacation time he passed up last year. He can be there all day when we aren't.'

Evan dropped the teddy bear's ragged paw and turned to face her. ‘That's something else that bothers me. Barb, have you ever known Joe Pierce go out on a limb for anyone?'

‘What do you mean?'

‘I mean he's a loner. He doesn't get involved. Now here he is, Deborah's knight in shining armor. Why?'

Barbara lifted her shoulders. ‘
Why?
Because he likes Steve. Because he wants to protect Deborah and the children.'

‘Because he wants to protect Deborah, or because he wants to protect himself?'

Barbara's eyebrows drew together. ‘Protect himself? What do you mean?'

Evan took a deep breath. ‘Barbara, we know there's a serial killer on the loose, don't we?'

‘Yes.'

‘And we also know that killer isn't Steve.'

‘Of course it isn't. And stop talking to me like I'm twelve.'

‘However,' Evan went on, ignoring her, ‘someone has done a really good job of setting up Steve. Now, who better than someone who works with Steve, someone who knows his schedule, to set him up for these crimes?'

Barbara stared at him in disbelief. ‘You're not saying that
Joe
is this Dark Alley Strangler! That's absolutely crazy. Besides, you're Steve's friend, too. You also work at the Prosecutor's office.'

‘And I've been Steve's friend for a long time. Joe's a different story. I mean, what do we know about him except that he quit the Houston police department because of his involvement with a woman who was violently murdered, that he's worked closely with Steve since
two
months before these murders began, that he's showing a hell of a lot of uncharacteristic concern over Deborah and the children,
and
that he knows an awful lot about the Strangler?' He looked deep into her eyes, his own serious and darkened to slate-blue with concern. ‘You're a logical woman. Think about it, Barb. Think about it hard and then tell me if you think my suspicions are so crazy.'

Joe offered to help clean up after dinner, but Deborah refused. ‘I'd rather you took the kids into the living room and watched TV with them. Anything but the evening news. It's unlikely at this point, but there might be something on about Steve.'

‘They watch the news?' Joe asked incredulously.

‘They change channels constantly.'

Joe nodded. ‘Don't worry. I'll keep a firm grip on the remote control.'

Fifteen minutes later, as she was drying the last pot used to make their simple dinner, Joe appeared in the kitchen. ‘Pete Griffin and his son are in the living room.'

Deborah looked down at her baggy sweater and thought about her hair carelessly pulled behind her ears. She'd never looked as sloppy in her life as she had the last few days. Suddenly she felt as totally out of control emotionally as she was physically. ‘I'll put on a fresh pot of coffee,' she said. ‘Pete likes herbal tea and artificial sweetener. I'm out of both. And I don't have any Coke for Adam. Or is it Pepsi he likes?' She realized she was babbling and stopped abruptly, her cheeks pinkening.

Joe smiled. ‘Don't worry. The kids are showing them the train-set under the tree and I can find my way around a kitchen well enough to manage coffee and a soft drink. Go talk to your guests.'

Deborah finally emerged from the kitchen to find Kim pointing out individual ornaments to Adam and explaining solemnly, ‘This is a reindeer, and this is a church, and this is a rocking horse…'

Adam listened intently, as if he could never have figured out all of this high art on his own. Brian looked at Deborah and rolled his eyes. She smothered a grin. In some ways he seemed so much older and more sophisticated than his sister.

‘That's a really great tree,' Adam said when Kim finally ran down like a wind-up toy. ‘But I've got something to make it even better.' From his coat pocket he withdrew a beautiful blown-glass ornament with a golden-winged angel inside. ‘Oh, how pretty!' Kim gasped.

Adam hung the ornament in the center of the tree. While Kim continued her wide-eyed, delighted compliments, Deborah stared at it. She recognized it. Her gaze shot to Pete, whose eyes bore an almost hypnotic glaze as the delicate angel glowed in the tree lights. The bulb, so exquisite, so obviously expensive, had belonged to Hope Griffin. Deborah had a sense of the world whirling. Something disturbing was happening between Pete and Adam concerning Hope. Good lord, had they heard from her after all this time? Was she dead? Hope and Steve, both missing yet haunting everyone's thoughts, she mused. Why was it so easy to take people for granted when they were present, and impossible to forget them when they were gone?

Joe emerged from the kitchen, clumsily carrying her most battered serving tray on which a coffee pot, Coke can, and cups balanced with what seemed sheer force of will. Deborah rushed to him, taking the tray and quickly depositing it on the coffee table. ‘I think we're missing a few things here, but there's plenty to drink. I also have harder stuff, if anyone would care for it.'

In great seriousness, Adam announced, ‘I'll have Scotch. Make it a double. No ice.'

‘Go home and go to bed,' Pete said. ‘You're a disgrace.'

They grinned at each other and Deborah felt her stomach muscles loosening. She still didn't know why Adam had brought over Hope's most prized Christmas ornament, supposedly made in France over a hundred years ago, but apparently everything was fine between Pete and Adam.

As Deborah served coffee and tea, Barbara and Evan arrived. ‘We didn't call first because we knew there'd be a trace on the phone,' Evan said. ‘No sense throwing everyone into a tizzy for nothing.'

Barbara looked at her solemnly. ‘Have any…significant calls come in?'

She was asking if there had been calls from kidnappers or from Steve, but she was watching her words in front of Kim and Brian. Deborah shook her head. She hadn't expected either, so she wasn't disappointed. Ever since they'd located Steve's car, she'd merely waited one endless hour after another for word that his body finally had been found.

Sensing that the subject of Steve would come up again in one form or another throughout the evening, Deborah made a great show of looking at the clock. ‘Kids, why don't I set up the VCR in my bedroom and let you watch that tape of
Aladdin
Daddy bought for you? You just have time to see it before bedtime.'

‘We have to leave the comp'ny?' Kim asked.

‘Well, you can't watch it in here. You couldn't hear a thing with all of us talking.'

Brian looked torn for a moment, but Deborah knew how much he wanted to see the videotaped movie that had been a pre-Christmas gift. ‘Can we have Cokes up in your room?' he asked.

‘Hot chocolate, if you're careful not to spill it.'

The children looked at each other with that wordless, expressionless means of communication that baffled Deborah. ‘Okay,' Brian said.

‘I'll set up the VCR,' Adam said, already unplugging it from the living-room television set.

Deborah stood. ‘While you're doing that, I'll make the hot chocolate.'

Fifteen minutes later the children and Scarlett were sitting on the floor of Deborah's bedroom as the movie started. She closed the bedroom door and went downstairs. ‘Everyone is settled,' she said as all eyes fixed on her when she returned. ‘Steve had promised them we'd all watch the movie tonight.'

She heard the quiver in her voice and swallowed. Barbara looked sympathetic. The men looked uncomfortable. ‘I'm sorry,' she said. ‘I can't keep my mind off Steve.'

‘It's all right,' Pete said. ‘I don't think any of us can keep our minds off him. But I'm just as concerned about you and the children, especially after that trouble at the school today.'

Deborah looked at him quizzically. ‘How did you know about that?'

‘Have you forgotten that the great Howard Morton, Principal, lives next door to me? I got a full report, although I think it was slightly skewed. According to Morton, he saved the day.'

Deborah shook her head. ‘The children's teacher, Miss Hart, saved the day.'

‘That's what I figured. But who in the world could the man have been? Surely it wasn't Steve.'

‘Kimberly isn't certain. He had on a hood and dark glasses.'

‘Well, why on earth would Steve be trying to lure his daughter away from the playground?'

‘I can't think of any reason.'

‘Then it wasn't Steve,' Pete said briskly. ‘Steve would never do something so irrational or so frightening to a little girl.'

‘Certainly he wouldn't,' Barbara chimed in.

Deborah smiled tiredly as she sat down on the couch. ‘I can't imagine him doing such a thing, either, no matter what the circumstances. I'm just so thrown by all this FBI stuff on top of Steve's disappearance. Thank goodness the serial killer business hasn't made it to the television news.'

‘The FBI is very good at keeping things quiet,' Evan said. ‘They wouldn't let information like that out.'

‘What's this about the FBI?' Pete asked.

Deborah's eyes flashed to Evan. She'd forgotten that Pete and Adam knew nothing about the FBI's suspicion that Steve was a deranged killer colorfully known as The Dark Alley Strangler. She racked her brains for an excuse for the remark, then decided that lying to Pete was ridiculous. He was Steve's oldest friend. As succinctly and unemotionally as she could, with occasional interjections from Evan and Joe, she told Pete the story. His initial reaction was the same as hers had been – he laughed. Then, when he realized no one was exaggerating, he looked incredulous.

‘I can't believe it,' he exclaimed. ‘How could anyone think something so absurd?'

‘Steve Robinson, prosecuting attorney by day, Dark Alley Strangler by night,' Adam said.

Pete cast him a stern look. ‘Adam!'

‘He's right,' Deborah said. ‘It's crazy.'

‘Then why are they persisting in this investigation?' Pete asked.

‘There's so much evidence,' Evan put in. ‘If I didn't know Steve, I'd be convinced they were right. Look at the facts – the dates of the attacks coincide with Steve's visits to Emily, the murders were all so close to Wheeling, then there's the witness who got the color of the car and partial license plate number of the man coming out the alley after the Yates woman was attacked, which matched Steve's car. It would strain anyone's credulity to believe it was all a coincidence.'

‘Then
you
believe Steve is guilty of all this?' Pete asked.

‘No. But he's in a hell of a lot of trouble.'

‘
If
he's alive,' Deborah said. ‘I can't believe that no matter how much trouble he's in he'd voluntarily vanish like this. If nothing else, he adored the children. He wouldn't desert them.'

Adam murmured, ‘Maybe he wanted to save them from seeing their father charged with murder.'

‘Adam!' Pete snapped again.

Deborah took a deep breath. ‘He didn't say Steve
was
a murderer, only that he'd be charged with murder. And it's true. Steve
wouldn't
want that. Still, he was always so strong about facing tough situations. A lot of people in his position would have shied away from visiting Emily more than once or twice a year, if at all. Instead, he visited her every two months.'

‘How ironic that those visits are part of what caused the FBI to suspect him,' Joe said. ‘Hell, they even think he might have tried to kill Emily himself.'

‘What?' Pete gasped.

Deborah nodded. ‘I forgot to mention that earlier.'

Pete looked disturbed. ‘Well, there was talk at the time of Emily's attack, mostly because Lieber kept insisting it was Steve who'd hurt her.'

‘I didn't know that,' Deborah said, amazed.

Pete looked at her earnestly. ‘Well, good lord, Deborah, that was years ago, and no one really believed it.'

‘I don't know about that,' Evan said. ‘You see, all the recent victims were raped, strangled and beaten just like Emily. The FBI is making a connection.'

‘But unlike Emily, the Strangler's victims are all married,' Joe said.

A strange expression passed over Pete's face. His eyes dropped. ‘What is it?' Deborah asked tensely.

‘It's…well, you see, Emily
was
married.'

Shock rocketed through Deborah. ‘What?'

‘Didn't Steve ever tell you?' Deborah shook her head, unable to speak. ‘Oh, God, I certainly didn't mean to tell secrets,' Pete stammered. ‘She was only sixteen. It wasn't legal. But a ceremony had been performed. I guess she lied about her age. Apparently she planned to keep the whole thing a secret, but that weekend, the weekend of her attack, Steve overheard her giggling on the phone with the guy – her
husband
– about it.
That's
why Steve left her alone that day. He went off in a blind rage to get the man who'd
married
his little sister.'

‘I always thought it was unbelievable that the most responsible man I've ever known would just casually leave his sister when he knew she was in possible danger from someone like Lieber,' Barbara said.

Pete nodded. ‘He told me he was so horrified and so furious, he wasn't thinking clearly for a couple of hours.'

‘But he said he was at his girlfriend's,' Deborah said numbly. ‘Why didn't he tell the truth?'

‘Because the Robinsons wanted the marriage kept a secret. Aside from it being illegal and Emily being so young, the man involved was unsavory.' Catching Deborah's eyes, Pete added hastily, ‘That's one thing Steve never told me – the identity of the husband. I just know he was older than Emily.'

‘It would be a matter of public record,' Evan said.

‘
If
you knew where the ceremony took place. I never knew that, either.'

‘But didn't Steve's girlfriend corroborate his alibi? Didn't she say he was with her at the time of Emily's attack?' Barbara asked.

‘Yes, she did,' Pete said reluctantly. ‘And according to Steve, he did stop at her house to see if she knew anything about the whole marriage mess. But he didn't go directly home. He tried one more place where the husband might be. The guy wasn't there and no one saw Steve. But Lieber was screaming that it was Steve who raped and beat Emily. Steve didn't have an alibi and he was the only witness against Lieber. The tables could have been turned so easily, making him the rapist, so his girlfriend lied for him.'

‘Lied for him,' Deborah murmured. ‘Steve – my Steve – encouraged a teenaged girl to lie for him?'

‘He didn't encourage her – she just did and he let it ride. After all, Deborah, you have to remember that Steve was only an eighteen-year-old kid himself, not the man you married. He was scared
and
innocent. Besides, his parents said that if he hadn't protected his sister from physical danger, the least he could do was protect her reputation. He was laboring under so much fear and guilt, I don't think he knew
what
he was doing. Don't fault him for letting someone help him out of a terrible situation he didn't make.'

But that doesn't change the facts, Deborah thought dismally. The facts are that Steve allowed someone to lie for him. And worst of all, he truly didn't have an alibi for the time when Emily was nearly murdered.