Call Of The Witch (11 page)

“
Carlos,” I said, and all
I had to do when he looked at me was shake my head. I said to
Dmitry, “Did this man have a name?”

“
Everyone have
name.”

“
Did you catch
his?”

“
We did not introduce, but
I hear Mrs. Brewbaker call him Hector.”

“
Hector? Are you
sure?”

“
Da, sure as sure,
Detective. This I remember because she called him Hector and they
kiss on lips.” He touched his mouth with his fingertips. “Scum.
Eck!”

At the mirrored wall, six young ladies stood
patiently waiting, watching. Finished with their warm up, they had
assembled in lined formation along the ballet barre from shortest
to tallest. One of the girls, the one in pink leotards, called out,
“Mister Kovalchuk? We’re ready.”

“
Mister Kovalchuk?” said
Carlos. The inference needed no explanation.

“
We’re done here,” I said,
hoping to avoid a scene in front of the young audience.

Carlos saw the need to clarify my meaning by
adding, “For now.”

I thanked Dmitry Kovalchuk for his time and
we left it at that.

Back in the car, Carlos commented on the
connection Dmitry made between Amanda Brewbaker and the man named
Hector, whose name seemed to be coming up a lot lately in our
investigation.

“
What do you make of it?”
he asked.

“
Not sure,” I said, “but
something is beginning to stink around here. Amanda Brewbaker told
us she hadn’t seen her daughter since last weekend, when clearly
she saw her just this past Thursday night. Why would she lie to
us?”

“
Why would Lionel lie to
us? He had to know that Amanda picked Kelly up at the dance
studio.”

“
This whole thing is
beginning to stink. I feel like we’re being sent on a wild goose
chase.”

“
No, not entirely. The
goose we’ve been chasing has given us Hector’s name.”

“
Yes Hector. What’s his
part in all this? Why does his name keep coming up at every
turn?”

Carlos pulled his phone out and handed it to
me. “You want to call Dominic, have him check it out?”

“
Good idea. Listen. On the
way back to the precinct, swing by my place so I can get the
charger for my phone. I feel naked without it.”

I took Carlos’ phone and called Spinelli. I
knew he had a lot on his plate, but I asked him to see what he
could dig up on this man, Hector. I couldn’t give him a last name,
but I knew that wouldn’t hold him back. The man has a sort of sixth
sense about things.

Next, I called Detective Olson at the
Brewbaker house. I didn’t expect she’d have anything new to report,
or she would have called us first. But I wanted to get a feel for
the atmosphere there. She told me Lionel Brewbaker was beside
himself for pissing off the kidnappers. He was worried he might
have made matters worse for Kelly. In my opinion, he probably did,
but we couldn’t do anything about that. We could only hope for the
best.

When asked about Amanda Brewbaker, Olson said
she seemed remarkably placid about things; smoking cigarettes,
drinking brandy and reading the evening’s newspaper as if she
hadn’t a care in the world.

“
Where are they
now?”

“
He’s in the study,
looking over a photo album of Kelly and her riding pictures. I hear
him sobbing sometimes, but mostly he tries to hold it
in.”

“
And her?”

“
Pathetic.”

“
Come again?”

“
She’s in there with him,
like I said, reading as though she hadn’t a worry at
all.”

“
Has she used the
phone?”

“
Not the house phone, but
she has slipped out of the room a few times. She could have used
her cell without me knowing.”

“
Has either of them
mentioned the name, Hector?”

“
Hector?”

“
Yes. That name keeps
coming up.”

“
I haven’t heard it
here.”

“
All right, keep me
posted, will you?”

“
Of course.”

I hung up and told Carlos what Olson said
about Amanda. Told him she seemed unnaturally calm for a woman who
has a kidnapped daughter. He said he thought we should haul her in
for a serious ass-kicking interrogation.

“
What?” I said. “Suddenly
we’re the Gestapo?”

“
No, but she’s all
liquored up now. She’ll be easy to break.”

“
Or she might just as
easily call her lawyer and refuse all questions.”

“
I don’t know.”

“
I do. For now, I think we
should just let her stay there at the house. If she continues
drinking, she may loosen up and say something she doesn’t mean to
say.”

“
You mean like who this
Hector is.”

“
Exactly. Olson’s a good
cop. She knows what to listen for.”

“
Yes, she is. Always was.
You know I’m surprised you two never worked it out.”

“
Worked what
out?”

“
A
relationship.”

“
I know. It just wasn’t
right between us.”

“
Why not? Wasn’t she
pretty enough for you?”

“
No, it wasn’t that. She’s
obviously attractive.”

“
What was it
then?”

“
I don’t know. Back when
we dated, I certainly found her charming enough, smart and
beautiful. I just couldn’t picture us together. Crazy, huh? I mean
she’s got this air of mystery that surrounds her; a certain je ne
sais quoi that I never could quite put my finger on. I guess that
maybe she scared me. It’s something I’d never seen in a woman
before, at least not before I met Lilith. Even though they’re not
alike, the two do share more in common than any two women I’ve ever
known. How I could shy away from one and fall head-over-heels in
love with the other is a mystery to me.”

“
That’s too bad, because I
think she still likes you.”

“
That is too bad, and
completely irrelevant now because I’m married.”

“
Uh-uh, it’s not official
until you consummate.”

“
Lilith and I have
consummated plenty of times.”

“
Yes, but you
never––”

“
Drop it,
Carlos.”

“
I’m just saying. I’d date
her if I had the chance.”

“
Listen to you! You’re
already dating someone. Speaking of which, don’t you need to call
your girlfriend and tell her you’re not going to make it
tonight?”

“
What, Lauri? No, I don’t
have to call. We have a sixth sense about stuff like that. She
knows I’m not going to make it. It’s just one of the many things
that make her such a great catch.”

“
You’re a pig. You do know
that, right? You should call. It’s common courtesy. No wonder
you’re still single.”

“
Me? May I remind you that
you’re ten years my senior and you just got married three months
ago?”

“
I’m not ten years your
senior. I’m thirty years your junior.”

“
Oh sure, now, but not
then.”

“
My point is if Lauri
Shullit is such a great catch, you should show her how much you
care and call her if you’re going to cancel on her.”

“
And you should show me
how much you care and stay the hell out of my business.”

“
Okay. I will.”

“
Fine.”

“
Fine!”

The conversation all but died after that. Ten
minutes went by before Carlos tried warming things up again by
commenting on the slow pace of construction on Route 1. I agreed.
Another five minutes of silence followed. I said something about
the price of gas going up. He seemed especially annoyed over that;
blamed fat-cat oil executives for lining their pockets at the
expense of the little guy, apparently forgetting he was no longer
one of them.

“
What do you care?” I
said. “You’re worth millions now.”

“
Not the point. I still
pay for gas.”

“
But you don’t have to
worry about it.”

“
So because I don’t have
to worry about it, it means I should like it?”

“
No. It’s not that. I’m
just saying. The price of gas isn’t going to break you. You can
focus your worries on other things.”

“
Like what?”

“
I don’t know, like what
to do with all your money. Have you thought about investing
it?”

“
Sure I have. I thought
about buying a gas station so I don’t have to worry about the price
of gas. I could get it free.”

“
Are you
serious?”

He laughed. “Come on, what do you think?”

I thought he was. Another ten minutes of
silence brought us to within a stone’s throw of the house. I asked
him if he wanted to come in, thinking if Lilith was dressed for
sex, or not dressed as the case may be, that she’d let me in and
out of the house without making a scene in front of him.

“
Nah, you go on,” he said.
“You’re just grabbing your cell charger, right? I’ll wait
here.”

“
You sure? I can get you a
cold drink.”

“
Yeah?”

“
Of course. It’s no
trouble.”

“
Okay. That sounds good.
Bring one out. But I think I’ll still wait here.”

He let me out at the curb. On the walk up the
drive, I could see Lilith peeking out the window between the
blinds. Something was up. I knew it. I came through the door ready
to shut down any advances she might make toward me. I mean it. She
could lunge naked into my arms and I wouldn’t cave in to her
seductive ruse. She could shred the clothes off my back and I would
stand my ground. All I needed to do was cross the room, grab my
charger and get out.

So I thought.

“
There you are,” she said,
as I closed the door, her worried voice more practiced than
sincere. “I’ve been calling you, leaving messages.” She grabbed me
by the lapels. “I thought something happened to you. Come. Sit.”
She led me to the kitchen table and sat me in a chair. “Did you
eat? I made you dinner.”

“
Actually, Lilith, Carlos
and I stopped at––”

“
I made lasagna just the
way you like it. Cooked.” I started to get up. She palmed my
shoulders and pushed me back into my seat. “Oh, and salad and bread
sticks, too.”

“
Lilith, please. I only
came by to get my charger. That’s the reason my phone was out. I
would have––”

“
Ambiance!”

“
What?”

“
That’s what’s missing.”
She lit a pair of stubby candles on the table with just a snap of
her fingers. Then she clapped her hands twice. The house lights
went down and soft music came up on the stereo.
“Better?”

“
That’s nice,” I said,
“But if I––”

“
You just sit right
there.” She skirted behind me, laced her arms around my neck and
kissed me on the cheek. “I’ll have your dinner ready in no
time.”

I felt her hands sweep across my chest and
off my shoulders as she headed for the stove. “Lilith, I appreciate
everything, but really I just––”

“
I kept it warm for you. I
hope it didn’t burn.” She cut a square of lasagna from the
heat-n-serve tray and slid it onto a plate. “I read on the internet
it’s better to do that…than to reheat it I mean.” She crossed the
room and set the plate down in front of me. “Of course, if you
called to let me know what time you’d be coming home, I wouldn’t
have had to worry about it. Would I?”

“
Lilith.”

“
I’m just saying. A little
courtesy, that’s all.”

“
Right, see that’s the
thing. I’ve been trying to tell you. My phone died. I came home to
get the charger and then I have to––”

“
Oh, let’s not
argue.”

She retrieved a bowl of salad from the fridge
and plopped it on the table beside my plate. I could tell the Suzie
Homemaker routine was wearing thin on her already. “It’s not worth
the energy.”

She came around me again and hugged my neck.
“Besides, I think we’ll both need our energy later tonight after I
strip you naked and….” She whispered something in my ear that I’d
rather not repeat. Then she nibbled my earlobe, slid her hand down
my chest, across my stomach and below my beltline.

“
Lilith!” I pushed my
chair back and stood. She came around to face me, her hands on her
hips; her brows gathered and her lips thinned.

“
What?”

I smiled weakly. “I’m sorry. I’ll have to
take a rain check. I only came home to get the charger for my
phone. Carlos is waiting out in the car.”

“
A rain check?”

“
Yes.”

She made a smooth sweep of her hands down the
length of her body. “You think THIS comes with a rain check?”

“
Well…I
don’t––”

“
Listen, Buster. I didn’t
pop a frozen lasagna in the oven, tear open a bag of ready-mix
salad and bake fresh baked breadsticks just so you could collect a
rain check.”

“
No, of course not. I
wouldn’t.… Wait. You made fresh baked breadsticks?”