Worse Than Being Alone (32 page)

“
Why would she lie about that?”
Dave asked.

“
I’m not sure,” Roni said. “The
only thing I can come up with is that Marian thought it would be a
kind of bonding thing. When she told me that, she wasn’t married to
Billy, so maybe she was trying get my sympathy because my mom died.
That’s the only thing I can come up with. Any other
ideas?”

“
That’s as good as anything I can
come up with,” Lionel said. “Just more proof she’s a good
liar.”

“
Marian moved to Springfield,
Missouri, that same year,” Roni said. “She married husband number
two, Dennis Barton, in 1978. He had two sons who don’t like Marian.
One of them is a lawyer and probably smarter than Marian. He
figured out a way to manipulate Marian and steal a lot of his
father’s money right out from under her and his brother. Dennis
died, and was cremated in 1980. Marian got a million-dollar life
insurance pay out, but not much else.”

“
So, if we assume Marian killed
them,” Dave said, looking around. “How did she do it?”

“
I think she poisoned them,” Roni
said. “The survivors report that both George and Dennis got sick
before they died.”

“
You said George fell down the
stairs,” I said.

“
Lucky accident?” Roni
asked.

“
Or else she got impatient,” Dave
said. “What about the others?”

“
Husband number three is Forrest
Asman,” Roni said. “Marian moved to Cape Girardeau, Missouri in
1981. She married Forrest in 1993. He’s the only survivor except
for my father, of course. He gave me a lot of insight into how
Marian operates. She swoops in on lonely men, offering lots of
attention, lots of sex, and then immediately after the marriage,
she starts going after the money.”

“
So, why didn’t she kill Forrest?”
Cindy asked.

“
I think she was actually kind of
fond of Forrest,” Roni said. “She cleaned out all his accounts and
then went to Vegas where she claimed she lost all of it. She filed
for divorce and left town in 1994. She told him ‘you’re getting out
of this better than the others’ or something like that.”

“
I guess broke but alive is
better,” I said. “What about four and five?”

“
Marian moved to Sikeston,
Missouri, in 1995,” Roni said. “She lived there a long time at
least by Marian standards. She married number four, Walter Forbes,
in 1998. He had no pesky relatives to worry about. Two years later,
he’s dead, cremated, and Marian ended up with about a million
dollars.”

“
How long did that last?” Dave
asked.

“
She got about seven or eight
years out of it,” Roni said. “She bought a big house and did a lot
of traveling but eventually that well started to dry up. Then she
latched onto husband number five in 2006. He was the son of one of
the wealthiest families in Sikeston. They own a huge car dealership
and Marian must have thought she’d won the lottery. Unfortunately,
Ben Wright was a druggie, an alcoholic, and a big liar who was a
salesman at the dealership because his family didn’t know what else
to do with him.”

“
How did that work out?” Lionel
asked.

“
Not too well,” Roni said. “They
got married and the familiar pattern ensued. Ben got sick, started
drinking more, and eventually died in a car crash he caused. Marian
wanted Ben cremated, but the coroner and his parents stepped in and
an autopsy was done. They found drugs and alcohol but didn’t look
for poison. Marian did have Ben cremated but his parents had the
ashes. Marian got sued by relatives of the couple who were killed.
She wanted the ashes but didn’t have the money to hire a lawyer to
sue Ben’s parents.”

“
Let me guess what happened next,”
I said. “That would be when Marian left town and moved to
Alton.”

“
So, what does all this mean?”
Dave asked.

“
An even bigger question looms for
us,” Lionel said, looking around the room. “Is there anything we
can do with all this information?”

Chapter Sixty-Three

The conversation ceased when
Italian subs, loaded with meats, cheeses, and plenty of hot peppers
were delivered from the deli down the street. The sound of diet
Coke can tabs popping filled the room as we grabbed paper plates
and picked out a sub. It seemed that everyone was staring at the
whiteboard and considering the information as we munched on the
sandwiches.

Dave broke the silence as he grabbed another sub.
“Wow, these are really good. So, Roni, what do you think of
Marian?”

“
I think she’s heartless bitch who
marries men for their money,” Roni said.

“
Tell us what you really think,” I
said.

“
You know, Marian could have
avoided a lot of these marriages,” Roni said. “Twice, she got a
couple of million-dollar insurance payouts. If she had lived more
frugally and invested that money, she would have been
OK.”

“
Yeah, it’s definitely part of a
pattern,” Dave said. “She gets her hands on the cash and spends
money like crazy. Then it’s on to the next victim.”

“
I did a search on life insurance
payouts,” Lionel said. “She got money from husbands number one,
two, and four. They refused to pay on number five because of the
drugs. Any idea about number three or if she asked Billy about
it?”

“
She didn’t follow through on
number three,” Roni said. “Forrest told me she did ask about it,
but then dropped it. I don’t think she had the time. He liquidated
everything, and she was gone within a couple of months. I’ll ask
Billy when we talk about all this.”

“
Do you think she’s killing them?”
Lionel asked. “I mean, this is classic Black Widow
pathology.”

“
Yes, I do,” Roni said. “But I
also realize I can’t prove it. I was able to get Ben Wright’s ashes
from his parents. Kitty and I talked to Mary Clare Flaherty about
testing the cremains. She agreed, but didn’t give us much hope she
would find anything.”

“
Who is Mary Clare Flaherty?”
Lionel asked.

“
She’s the coroner for St. Louis,
St. Charles, and Franklin County,” Cindy said.

“
We went to high school with her,”
I said.

“
I talked to her about a case a
few weeks ago,” Dave said. “Wow, has she changed. In high school,
she wore those big black glasses with the thick lenses. Never wore
make-up, no boobs to speak of.”

“
So, no interest, right Dave?” I
asked. “Nice.”

“
I’m just saying,” Dave said as he
raised his hands. “I already know I’m a pig. Listen, I think she’s
hot now. Let’s move on.”

“
I know testing cremains is
tricky,” Lionel said. “I remember that from my time at the FBI. The
process the facility uses makes a difference. Plus at this point,
they can only detect some poisons and certain heavy metals. I can
see why she wasn’t very optimistic.”

“
What about the cremains from the
other husbands?” Cindy asked.

“
You know, I didn’t ask that
specific question,” Roni said. “Good point, Cindy. I’ll call the
other relatives and find out.”

“
Is it possible Marian still has
them?” Lionel asked. “The ultimate trophies of her
kills.”

“
That’s creepy,” I said. “Do you
think Billy would know if she has them?”

“
I guess there’s only one way to
find out,” Roni said. “So, Dave, am I wrong about not having enough
to nail her?”

“
I wish I could say you did,” he
said. “I have to agree with you. You have a ton of circumstantial
evidence and a bunch of credible witnesses who don’t like Marian.
The problem is that it might be a big leap for a jury to go from
heartless bitch who steals money to a murderer. I can see
reasonable doubt all over this. It might be hard to find a
prosecutor willing to pursue this.”

“
I tend to agree,” Lionel said.
“Although, she certainly fits the classic Black Widow profile. She
finds lonely men, seduces them, and then once they’re married, she
goes after the money. Is that what’s happening to your dad,
Roni?”

“
I hate to admit, I’m not sure,”
Roni said. “I said some things before they got married, and he
basically told me to back off. He was very lonely after my mom
died, and he had spent eight years taking care of my mom after her
stroke. Marian can be very charming when she wants to be. He was
probably an easy target for someone like Marian.”

“
Again, it fits,” Lionel said.
“Does he know about all these marriages and the dead
husbands?”

“
I don’t know,” Roni admitted.
“Obviously, it’s time to lay it all out for him. There are just too
many deaths and a trail of survivors who have one thing in common.
Overwhelmingly, they all disliked this woman. The same descriptive
words over and over. Manipulative, cunning, charming when she needs
to be.”

“
If the past is any clue, Roni,” I
said, “then she’s probably already gone from charming to demanding.
I’ve known Billy a long time. He’s not stupid and he loves you more
than Marian.”

“
I just keep remembering him
telling me to back off,” Roni said.

“
That was during the charming
phase,” Lionel said.

“
He’s right, Roni,” I
said.

“
I might ruin his last chance to
be happy,” Roni said.

“
When are you planning to talk to
him?” Lionel asked.

“
We’re having lunch tomorrow,”
Roni said.

“
Look at it this way,” Dave said,
“If he knows about all the others, and she’s not bugging the crap
out of him about finances, he’ll just tell you to back off again.
On the other hand, if she hid all this and has reverted to form,
he’ll be grateful.”

“
Yeah, what’s the worst that could
happen?” I asked.

Chapter Sixty-Four

Despite her worries, Roni noticed the fall foliage
as she crossed the river into Alton. The reds and oranges had been
spectacular this year, unlike last year when the color had been
muted due to a lack of rain. Roni remembered her childhood as
images raced through her mind: stiff, cold breezes, candy apples,
carved pumpkins, and Mrs. Wilkens, the neighborhood witch, who
owned a funeral home and put a casket on her porch every
Halloween.

And each year, Billy trailed behind her while she
went out trick or treating, watching her back, despite her
protests. Roni needed to remember how good her childhood had been
so she could find a way to protect Billy. Like it or not, the baton
had been passed, the roles reversed.

Roni had secretly dreaded this moment, hoping at the
outset of her investigation, she wouldn’t find anything damaging
regarding Marian. She wanted Billy to have his last chance at
happiness, but it was impossible for her to believe Marian could
provide any real semblance of that. The facts alone were
disconcerting, but the attitudes of the survivors had caused the
most concern for Roni.

Because it was almost two, Fast Eddie’s wasn’t very
crowded. Roni didn’t see Billy’s car as she pulled into a parking
spot. She chose a table out on the back deck, far enough away from
other patrons to allow for a private conversation. She considered
her strategy, hoping to get Billy to open up about his relationship
with Marian. If she behaved true to form, Marian should be turning
the financial screws at this point. The trick would be to get Billy
to admit that, without him getting too defensive.

Billy appeared in the doorway, thanked the hostess,
and strode over to the table. Roni stood and received a bear hug
from her father. A pregnant pause ensued, which was just as well as
the waiter hurried over to take their drink orders. Roni ordered
iced tea, not willing to risk her task to alcoholic consumption
that might involve a mistake. Billy wasn’t so inclined, and ordered
a Blue Moon. After the waiter left, Billy started the
conversation.

“
It’s been awhile,” Billy
said.

“
Yes, it has,” Roni said as the
waiter arrived with drinks and menus. They studied the menus for
several minutes.

“
I always get the same thing when
I come here,” Roni said. “It’s hard to beat the cheeseburger and
fries.”

“
I agree,” Billy said as the
waiter appeared. “Two cheeseburgers and fries.”

“
I’m glad we’re getting together,”
Roni said, as the waiter took the menus and departed. “There ‘s
something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.”

“
I could tell there was something
bothering you,” Billy said.

“
It’s about Marian, Dad,” she
said.

“
Not that again, Roni,” he said as
a look of irritation appeared on his face. “I thought we had
settled that issue.”

“
I know and I’m sorry,” Roni said.
“When you got sick a couple of months ago, I decided to check
Marian out. Did you know Marian had five other
husbands?”

“
Roni, what are you doing?” he
asked as the waiter delivered their food.

“
You may not believe this, Dad,
but I’m trying to protect you.”

“
OK, Roni,” Billy said as he
picked up his cheeseburger. “I’m going to eat my burger. Tell me
the whole thing and get it out of your system. That way everything
is out in the open.”