Night Game (19 page)

Cal and Esther asked me questions all the way to Gloves’s place, but I wouldn’t tell them my theory until I had a few more answers. We waited outside the gate for Troy Barwell to arrive. I didn’t want to go in until the whole group was gathered and the police were on the scene. It would be awkward to answer questions beforehand. Besides, why spoil the drama?

“You think it’s Barwell?” Esther said. “I like him for it. But I don’t know what crying babies have to do with anything.”

“I like Bonder,” Cal said. “He was hanging around the place all weekend long. He’s got the keys. What’s to stop him from using them and making the switch?”

“Yeah, but he wouldn’t have had sex with her,” Esther said. “Come on.”

“Maybe the second guy didn’t have anything to do with it. Maybe it was the other player, what’s his name, the catcher she was after.”

The conversation stopped when the Sunland Police Department cruiser pulled up and the three of us got out of the van. Barwell had his sidekick, Sargent, with him, as I had requested.

“I’m here strictly under orders, Ms. Henry,” he said. “I don’t like civilians telling me what to do. But the chief told me to come, so I’m here. Let’s get this cockamamie thing over with so I can get back to doing my job.”

We went to the Gardiners’ door, which Karin opened. Her excitement was obvious.

“They’re here, Kate, like you asked.”

There were nine people waiting for us, all the ones I had told Gloves to invite. They were crowded into the living room, some on furniture that had been brought in from the patio. Gloves sat on the couch along the wall to my right as I came in the door. Karin and Esther went to join him there.

In the corner between the couch and the sliding glass patio doors sat Axel Bonder, looking ill at ease, wearing his coveralls. Alex Jones sat on the floor next to him, his back to the doors, looking relaxed and interested.

Stinger Swain and Tracy were side by side on a patio lounge chair, with Goober Grabowski slightly behind them on a dining-room chair. There were two more chairs free for Cal and Barwell, next to Eddie and Clarice Carter along the back wall beside the door. Sargent stood. I crossed to the kitchen entrance.

“I’m trying to refrain from saying that I’m sure you wonder why I asked you all here,” I said. Only Gloves and Cal smiled. This was a tough audience.

“Well, it’s because I think that the key to Lucy’s murder is right here in this room, and I have a few questions to ask.”

“Who do you think you are?” Stinger asked. “No one told me we had to go through this shit.”

He started to get up. Tracy put her hand on his arm and looked at him sternly. He sat back down.

“This is horseshit,” he said.

“Maybe,” I replied. “But you might find it interesting. Stick around and see.”

I looked at Bonder, miserable in his corner.

“First of all, Mr. Bonder, I want to ask you a question about something that happened last Sunday afternoon. You were seen coming out of Alex Jones’s apartment. Is that correct?”

“Yes, he saw me. Avila.”

“Can I ask what you were doing there?”

“Doing my job,” he said, slightly belligerently. “I went by and saw the door open. I seen Jones here go out half an hour before, so I checked to make sure everything was all right.”

“And was it?”

“I don’t know. I called, and there was no answer, so I just closed the door and made sure it was locked. I don’t want no trouble.”

“Then Mr. Avila came and saw you there.”

“Yeah.”

“Did he say anything?”

“Asked what I was doing there, same as you,” he said.

“And you told him what you just told me?”

“Yeah.”

“Thank you. Now, Detective Sergeant Barwell, did you come to the condo that day, Sunday, that is?”

“No, not until the next day.”

“To what purpose?”

“To search Domingo Avila’s apartment.”

“On what grounds?”

“We had information that he was in possession of a gun that could match the ballistics on the murdered girl. We also had learned he was involved with Lucy Cartwright and could have a motive for her murder.”

“Mr. Bonder, did Detective Sergeant Barwell come to you with the search warrant on Monday?”

“Yeah. I let him in.”

“Was he alone?”

“No. The other guy was with him,” he said.

“Detective Sargent?”

“I don’t know his name,” Bonder said.

“How long would you say they were there?”

“None of my business.”

“I’m not asking you to be exact,” I said. “But was it two hours? An hour? Just an estimate.”

“Not that long.”

“Half an hour? Five minutes?”

“About that,” Bonder said.

“That was quick, Barwell,” I said. “You must have known right where to look. Where did you find it, by the way?”

“In his top dresser drawer.”

“Was the ammunition there, too?”

“Yeah, there was a box with it.”

I looked at Sargent.

“Were you with him when he found the gun, detective?”

“Actually, no,” he said. “I was searching the kitchen.”

“And?”

“And he called me and showed me the gun.”

“Then you left.”

“Of course, Ms. Henry,” Barwell said. “We wanted to get it to the lab.”

“And you went directly to the ballpark, did not pass Go, and arrested Domingo Avila.”

“We’d found our guy,” he said, smugly.

“Were any fingerprints found on this gun you found so quickly?” I asked.

He shook his head.

“It had been wiped clean.”

“How convenient,” I said.

“What the hell are you getting at?”

“Take a Valium, Detective Sergeant. I’m getting there.”

I turned to Gloves and Karin.

“Let’s go back to the night of Lucy’s murder,” I said. “Gloves, could you please repeat what you told me about the scene at the party between Lucy Cartwright and Stinger Swain.”

“Well, Tracy had the baby out and there were a bunch of people around. Lucy was talking to Tracy about her, all that woman stuff, and made some comment about her birthday. The kid had just turned one.”

“I think she said that it didn’t seem like a year since she was born,” Karin interrupted.

“Yeah, that was it,” Gloves said. “Anyway, Stinger began yelling at her and telling her to keep away from his kid. I mean, he just lost it.”

“We thought he was going to hit her,” Karin said. Stinger crossed his arms and glared. Tracy sat calmly, with her hands folded in her lap, looking at Karin, her colour a bit high.

“What happened then?” I asked.

“Goober got Stinger away from there,” Karin said. “I took Lucy off to the other side of the pool. I think Tracy went back inside her apartment.”

“I put Ashley back to bed,” she said.

“And what about you, Stinger? Where did you and Goober go? Do you remember?”

“We went out to the beach,” Grabowski said. “I thought he should cool off.”

“What was the problem, Stinger?”

“That’s private,” he said. “It’s got nothing to do with anything.”

“It’s just a coincidence that you became violently enraged with a woman who was found dead a couple of hours later?” I asked.

He didn’t say anything.

“Goober, do you know how long you were on the beach?”

“I don’t like your attitude,” he said. “You’re trying to make something out of nothing. Stinger just has a short fuse. You know that. It wasn’t half an hour before he’d calmed down and was joking about it. No, more like ten minutes.”

“But you and Stinger didn’t go back to the party.”

“The party was no good. I went back to my place and got a bottle of Cutty and took it out to the beach. Stinger and I had our own party.”

“How long did the two of you stay out there drinking?”

“I don’t remember. I think I passed out. When I came to I was pretty sick, so I went back to my place. Everyone else had gone to bed.”

“What time was it?”

“I can answer that,” Karin said. “It was almost two. I got up to get a glass of ice water from the kitchen, and I heard someone being sick out by the pool. I saw him over by the garden. Then he went to his apartment. Clarice saw him, too.”

Eddie’s wife nodded in agreement.

“Mr. Bonder, did you see this, too?”

“No, I just cleaned up the mess the next day,” he said.

“Thank you. Goober, where was Stinger when you came to?”

“I don’t know.”

“Stinger?”

“Hey, he passed out on me,” Swain said. “I tried to wake him, but he was too far gone. There was no Scotch left. I came back here. There was nothing happening, so I went to bed.”

“What time?”

“I didn’t look at the clock.”

“Tracy?”

“I was asleep by midnight,” she said. “I didn’t hear him come in.”

“Of course,” I said. “But did you hear him go out?”

She sat, silently, pleading with her eyes.

“Because you did go out again, didn’t you?” I asked Stinger. “You decided to go for a swim to clear your head.”

“What if I did?”

“So you admit that you went back out?”

He shrugged, but didn’t say anything.

“What time was this?”

“What’s the big deal? So I went for a swim. It’s not against the law.”

“All right, Stinger, bear with me here,” I said. “I’m just trying to figure out who was where when Lucy got shot. That was about ten past two, I think. So you left Goober on the beach, went back to your place, changed into your bathing suit, and went out again. We know Goober was up and about by quarter to two. Clarice heard him and noticed the time. So, let’s say it was one-thirty when you went for your swim. That would fit.”

“Can I ask what the point is you’re trying to make,” Barwell said. “I’ve got better things to do with my time.”

“I think the point will become obvious. Now, Stinger, did you see anyone while you were swimming?”

“No.”

“What about on the way back, just before two?”

“No.”

“What about Lucy? That was about the time she was leaving Dommy’s place. You didn’t see her?”

“I told you I didn’t see anyone,” he said.

I looked at him. So did everybody else in the room. He glared back defiantly.

“Would you be willing to swear to that?” I asked.

Tracy put her hands to her ears. “Stop it! Shut up!”

“You bitch,” Stinger said to me. “You interfering fucking bitch.”

Sargent had crossed the room before Stinger was completely on his feet, and grabbed him by the arms before he could get to me. I backed away.

“Let’s all calm down here,” I said. “I’m not through yet.”

Karin got up and went to the kitchen and came back with water for Tracy. Everyone began to talk at once, asking questions.

“Let’s just give Tracy time to calm down,” I said. “In the meantime, Mr. Bonder, can you tell me how many keys there are to these apartments.”

“Depends on how many people are staying there.”

“Do any ever go missing?”

“Sometimes,” he said.

“And what happens then, you change the locks?”

“No. It’s too expensive. We write to the guests and ask them to return them,” he said. “If they don’t, then we might change them. Depends on who they are. Most of our guests are not dishonest.”

“What about last spring?” I asked. “Did you have to write to any of the guests?”

“One,” he said. “Mr. Swain forgot to turn his in.”

“You were alone here last year, weren’t you, Stinger?” I asked. “Tracy was home having Ashley, right? She just had her first birthday. Maybe you’d remind me, Mr. Bonder, which apartment he was living in last year.”

“Number six, the one Mr. Jones has this year.”

I looked around the room, tempted to milk the scene even more. I could see from the faces that I didn’t have to.

“Are you all right, Tracy?” I asked. “Can I go on?”

Her eyes were shut, her lips moving. She might have been praying.

“This is speculation, Detective Sergeant Barwell. I’m only an amateur. But I’m sure you can check it out.”

I looked at Stinger again.

“You met up with Lucy after she left Dommy’s, didn’t you?”

“Fuck off.”

“And you convinced her somehow to go for a walk along the beach with you. Lucy was always ready for a lark, wasn’t she? Maybe you apologized. You probably bitched about your wife a bit, how cold she had turned since she was born-again.”

I turned to talk to the others.

“He didn’t realize it, but he pressed one of Lucy’s buttons. She had no time for born-agains. She thought they were all hypocrites like her stepfather.”

I looked back at Swain.

“So you ended up down the beach behind the Gulf Vistas. And you talked her into a quickie for old times’ sake.”

Stinger looked at Tracy, and put his head in his hands.

“Don’t listen to her,” he pleaded.

“I don’t understand,” Karin said. “If she, you know did what he wanted, why did he kill her?”

“Because he knew she would talk,” Alex said. “Then he blamed it on Dommy because he hates Dominicans.”

“I’m not through,” I said. “I want to go back to the question I asked Tracy a while ago. You said you didn’t hear him come in. You were telling the truth. But you heard him go out. Or maybe you just woke up alone and were worried about him. You went to the beach to look for him.”

She was praying harder.

I walked over and put my hand on her shoulder. She tensed.

“You found him, didn’t you? You saw your husband and Lucy together.”

She put her hands over her ears again and bent over with her elbows between her knees and began to make a horrible keening sound.

“And then what happened? You ran back to the apartment and got the gun and loaded it. You heard your baby crying, probably, but you didn’t stop to comfort her. I don’t know whether you were going to kill him or her or both of them, but it was Lucy you found, still on the deck chair.”

I took her shoulder.

“Answer me, Tracy. What happened then?”

She stopped her noises and looked at me.

“She laughed at me,” Tracy said, her voice flat and expressionless. “She mocked me and my faith.”

She sat up straight and looked around the room, her beautiful face calm. She looked strangely peaceful.

“God will forgive me for what I have done. I have accepted Jesus as my saviour.”

She got up and walked to her husband.

“I killed the whore. She will never tempt you again. And now she is burning in hell. Praise the Lord.”

Stinger looked up at her. She touched his face gently, and they looked into each other’s eyes. The rest of us were like statues. Then she stepped back from him and turned towards the door.

“Stop her,” Barwell said, going for his gun. Sargent grabbed her by the arm.

“There’s no need, officer,” she said. “I’m just going to say goodbye to my children. You’ll have to take care of them by yourself now my darling.”

“I’ll go with you,” Sargent said.

Stinger stumbled to his feet and followed them.

“Oh, my God,” Karin said. “I can’t believe this.”

“What do you think?” Esther asked. “Did he know she did it?”

“Maybe. He must have suspected,” I said. “I assume he was in the water when it happened. Lucy was waiting with his towel. Either he saw it happen, or he heard the shot, or just found Lucy afterwards and guessed.”

“So he planted the gun?” Gloves asked.

“I don’t know. That’s for the police to figure out.”

I turned to Barwell again.

“If you check with the police in Georgia where he comes from, you’ll probably find that he has an ownership permit for a Police Special. And I don’t think he’ll be able to produce the gun. Captain Marshall over at the A-1 Veteran’s probably sold him the ammunition.”

“Why didn’t she just get rid of the gun?” Gloves said. “Why frame Dommy?”

“I’m not sure,” I said. “Only she knows, but I would guess that she thought if they had another suspect they wouldn’t look any further. She had the key to Dommy’s place and she had seen that his gun was just like theirs. With or without Stinger’s help, she realized that she could get rid of the gun and frame Dommy at the same time. He meant nothing to her. So she filed off the numbers and made the switch. The file might even be in their apartment, or a hardware store clerk will remember selling it.”

“Do you think it was Stinger who phoned you with that threat earlier?” Esther asked.

“It could have been. But it could have been Tracy, too. The voice was disguised.”

I went and collected my purse.

“You’ll be making the arrest tonight?”

Barwell nodded.

“Then I’m off. It’s late. I’ll come by in the morning to make a statement.”

He started to speak.

“I’ll be there first thing,” I said. “This time I promise. If you promise me something else.”

“What?”

“Just get Dommy’s ass out of jail.”

Everyone was standing. Alex came across the room to me.

“Thank you,” he said, tears in his eyes. I hugged him. And Gloves and Karin and Eddie and Clarice. I stopped when I got to Bonder, and stuck out my hand.

“Thank you for your help,” I said.

He took my hand and nodded. I went to the door.

“Cal, can you give me a ride home? I’ve got a story to write.”

We rode for a while in silence. Esther broke it.

“How did you figure it out?”

“I’d been looking at Stinger as the one,” I said. “He didn’t seem to be able to account for the relevant times. I knew he had a gun. I just couldn’t figure out how to prove it.

“Then this afternoon when Clarice told me about hearing a baby crying for quite a while, I began to wonder why.”

“What made you think it was the Swain baby?” Cal asked.

“I wasn’t sure. But it could have been. And one reason she would have kept on crying was if there was no one there to comfort her.”

“So you figured that Tracy had to be missing too.”

“Yeah. Then I began to see the picture. All I had to do was figure out how she made the switch.”

“Or how he did,” Cal said.

“Whatever.”

“Why don’t I feel better about this?” Esther asked.

“Well, when I think about Dommy, I feel pretty good,” I said. “But when I think about Tracy, or even Stinger, I feel like I’ve just destroyed their lives. And the kids, what about them? No, I don’t feel very good either.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Cal said. “I don’t think I’ll give up my day job and go in for detecting.”

When they dropped me at my hotel, we agreed to get together in a few days when we felt more like celebrating. I called the office and dictated a short story. It was on deadline, so they couldn’t take more than that. I promised more in the morning. Then I called Andy and woke him up.

“Well, I did it,” I said.

“Good for you! Who was it?”

“Stinger’s wife killed the whore. In her words.”

“You sound down.”

“I am.”

“It’s a normal reaction. Part of it is just the let-down from all that adrenalin you’ve been pumping out over the last few days. And it’s made worse because you know the people involved.”

“Yeah.”

“It happens to me all the time. We just made an arrest in the hooker case I told you about. He was seventeen, an addict, but just a kid. I don’t feel great about putting him away either.”

“I guess you can’t come down and visit again.”

“I’ve been back for, what, three and a half days?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Just get some sleep. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Okay. And, Andy?”

“What, love?”

“Remind me to stick to reporting next time?”

“Yeah, sure. And you’ll listen, right?”