Final Act (13 page)

The woman doesn’t shout conservative,
Kate thought,
she screams its. 
Another perfect image of a w
oman fast frozen in the 50’s -
dutiful wife,
dutiful
mother,
and dutiful hostess.  Where has she seen that 50’s
look recently?
 
Then she remembered where she had seen the resemblance. 
Eleanor
, the company’s set designer, in
her navy blue and whites.

Kate accepted Nora’s offer of tea. 

“You have a beautiful home.  How long have you lived here?”

“Thank you.  I’m glad you lik
e
it. 
I enjoyed
working with Antoine;
have you seen his work on the interior of the Art Museum? 
Brilliant
.  We’ve lived here for a little over
three
years now.  Jeffrey loves, loved it
,
as well.  We
w
e
re both
sorry to have to leave it.”

“
I understand you were moving back to New York.”

“
Yes
.
Walter Thomas, you may have heard of him,
he
was behind all those
Shakespeare dramas
in the 80’s, made Jeffrey an offer her couldn’t refuse.  He
deserved the honour, he’s,
ah,
he
was, a very talented
Director
.”

“
I understand you were an actor
at one time
.”

A
hint of a smile
.
“Yes, many years ago
.
 
Once we
started our f
amily,
I retired from the theatre. I
t was no contest.  I’m a homemaker at heart.”

“
How many children do you have?”

“
T
wo
,
Edward and Sarina
.  They’re both
on their own now.
  Sarina
’s
studying art design
in Paris. 
Edward is working for an engineering firm in Minnesota. 
I’m expecting them
home
sometime
tomorrow.”

Nora
entered the library and
placed the tray
filled with
a
silver tea pot, delicate, paper thin
,
china teacups
with matching side plates
, tiny crystal milk and sugar containers and delicious looking
sandwiches
,
on
the table between the sofa and wing chairs.

Twenty
minutes
or longer, Kate guessed, had
passed as the three women busied themselves with tea, sandwiches and polite conversation
before
Nora, gathering up everything, excused herself and left them alone.

“
In what way may I assist you”, Catherine asked.

“I know this will not be easy for you”, Kate said, “
but we need to gather as much information about Jeffrey as we can and anything
you may be able to tell us about him will help.
 
C
an you think of anyone who would want to harm your husband?”

Her
hand
reached for the
non-existent
stray hair again
.
“No, I can’t.”

“He had no enemies?”

“Not what I would call enemies.  There were those of course who were jealous of
his talent
but I can’t imagine they hated him
enough to kill him.
”

“Did you have anyone specific in mind when you mentioned jealousy?”

“No, not really.  People involved in the theatre
have the reputation, totally unmerited, of being
jealous,
vindictive
,
and
bitchy
. They don’t throw tantrums and t
hey don’t murder
their Directors
.”

“
S
omeone murdered your husband.
  If you don’t think it was anyone in the cast or crew of the company, do you think he could have been the target of someone on the production team, someone looking to take over the reins?
”

Catherine began to shake
and t
ears filled the deep set eyes.
“I’m well aware of that”, she said. 
Standing, she advanced towards the fireplace, her
body swaying back and forth.
 
Kate managed to catch her before she hit the floor. 

Easing her in
to
the chair,
she grabbed Kleenex from the end table and
wiped the
beads of perspiration from Catherine’s brow.

“There’s a button on the side of the desk.  It will summon Nora”, Catherine said. 

Once Nora returned, Kate
helped her take
Catherine up to her bedroom, said her good-byes and left. 
Quite a dramatic way to end an interview, Kate thought, but effective one.  It’s over, for today.
   

When
she stepped outside, she was surprised to see the media had left and more than surprised to see Susan and Alexis approaching the house. 

Both women a
d
vanced
towards her
with outstretch
ed
arms.  Caught in a mist of honeysuckle and rose scents,
a tangle of
soft hands patting her back, head and face, she
ceased struggling and let the embraces happen. 
 

“You were the last one we were expecting to see”, Susan said.  “But given the circumstances of Jeffrey’s death, it’s no surprise.”

“So you two knew Jeffrey?”

“Yes.
Alexis met
Catherine and Jeffrey
two years ago
at
a
charity
bazaar.
 
I
’ve known them much longer.  C
atherine and I have been friends since high school days
; I went to their wedding in New York
. 
H
ow is she doing?”

“
Not too well. 
I’m afraid if you’re he
re
for a
visit
,
you’re out of luck.  She’
s had some sort of nervous collapse;
Nora’s
has settled her in bed and
called the family
doctor.
”

“She was fine a couple of hours ago when Nora invited us over.  Did she collapse before or after your interview?”

Kate laughed.  “Haven’t changed any, have you Susan.  L
isten, I have a few minutes to spare.  How about
the three of us grab some java
at Cafe Italia
?”

“Wonderful idea. 
We’ll follow you in our car.”

Fifteen minutes later, the three women, balanced on the
high, r
ed leather stools
surrounding
the scarred
, wooden circular table,
sat
sipping their Java Monsters – half the caffeine of regular coffee
with
twice the boost – in three different flavours – Big Black, Loca Mocha, and Mean Bean. 

“Well, friends, in the interest of time, let’s
forget
small talk
.  I’d rather he
ar
what you know about J
effrey and Catherine Stone?”

“I’ll start”, said Alexis.  “I’ve only known them for a very short time so I’ll be brief.  I had read about Jeffrey’s brilliant career in our local theatrical magazine
.
  I can’t say I was disappointed when I met him in person, as sometimes
can
happen
when one meets a famous person. 
My observations are
rather
superficial as
they are based on one meeting only, however,
I found him to be charming, witty and a first rate conversationalist.”

“Yes, the man had the gift of gab alright.  Strange considering his background – a muted mother and garrulous father”, Susan said. 

Alexis ignored her remark.

“I found Catherine charming as well but she possessed a more subdued personality.”

“Spot on, Alexis.”

Kate spoke before an angry Alexis could reply.

“Thanks
, Alexis.  Okay, Susan, the floor’s yours.”

“Catherine could have had a brilliant career.  She joined the theatre group in University where she first met Jeffrey and
,
believe me, she was magnetic
, dynamic, on and off the stage
.  All eyes
were drawn to
her.  After university, she and Jeffrey went to New York City.  Her star rose first.  She was in demand; the famous critic, I can’t remember his name now, hung out with the chic
crowd
.  H
e did a wonderful write up on Catherine
in New York’s leading paper
,
and
alluded to another Bernhardt
.  After
she married,
she
became more selective about her
roles and was seen less and less on stage.  When she became pregnant with her first child
she quit,
never
went on stage again.  A damn shame because she was a first class talent.
”

“Would you say they were a happy couple?”

“I don’t know.  I would be invited to dinner whenever I happened to be in New York but th
ose
were formal occasions and, of course, everything was very polite,
upbeat.  Catherine and I weren’t as close as we used to be.  I suspect Jeffrey kept her on a tight
leash
.  Her focus had certainly changed.  She was quiet, more subdued.”

“Do you have any idea why they came back to Canada?”

“
Not really.  I found it very odd they
had left
New York.
Neither of them said anything more specific
other than
getting back to their roots. 
It couldn’t have been a good thing that made them leave.
Do you think it has anything to do with why he was murdered?
”

“Hard to say.  It’s early days yet
, but every bit helps.
  So, what are you two
researching in the big city?”

“
Mary Jane Kempner,
a good friend of ours
and Director of our small playhouse,
has written a play and offered Alexis and I the two leading roles.  Rehearsals are due to start next month
.
Neither one of us have any experience so we’re meeting with Eleanor, no doubt you’ve met her, she
worked closely with Jeffrey – set and costume design – to discuss acting coaches.”

“
Not exactly research, is it?  More like prep work but I think you two
will be w
onderful on stage with all your powers of suggestion.
”  Kate looked at her watch.  “Gotta go, meeting with Roger. Thanks for the information.  Good luck.”

Kate was at the door when she heard Susan’s powerful voice.

“Give sexy Roger our best.”

Chapter 5

The relentless, loud voices
in the precinct’s cafeteria
beat steadily against Kate’s ears.
 
She took a sip of water, leaned across the cafeteria table and shouted.

“Had enough of this noise, let’s finish our conversation at
Chives
.  What do you say?”

Roger pushed the cup of thick, black coffee aside.  “Good idea.  I could use a brisk walk in the fresh air, a cold draft of beer and decent food.  Let’s go.”

Once they were settled in the back corner of the Bistro, they continued the conversation where they left off. 

“There was friction between Ward and Stone
,
I remember Withers saying something about overheard shouting matches
, but what I witnessed between Andrew and Henry when I got to the theatre was scary.”