OUT ON A LIMB (34 page)

“Do you remember a guy named Arnie Riggles?”

“Arnie?” I squeaked.

“Yes, Ms. Malloy. He’s passed out upstairs in one of the back bedrooms. He’s wearing”—Jorgeson’s face reddened—”a silk nightgown. There’s a pile of wet clothes on the floor, presumabl} his. What do you want me to do, Lieutenant?”

“In a very obscure way, this is my fault,” I said. “Do you want me to explain?”

“I don’t think so,” said Peter, then looked at Jorgeson. “Call for some uniforms and have them haul him to jail dressed as he is. It’s liable to be a sobering experience.”

“There’s a cab parked somewhere nearby,” I added. “It should be returned to a woman named Wanita, who can be found at the Tickled Pink Club, wherever that is. If there’s any money in Arnie’s wallet, give it to her.”

“You know a woman named Wanita?”

“Not personally. What are you going to do about Daphne?”

“Yes, Daphne,” said Peter. He opened the refrigerator and studied its contents. “Didn’t these people ever eat real food?”

“Jacque would spit in your face if you so much as uttered the word
baloney.
Have a bite of caviar or a
coeur d’artichaut.
So what about Daphne?”

“If what you’ve said is true, then all charges will be dropped and she’ll be free to go. It might not be so bad to let her stay in the psych ward for a few days, though. She became hysterical when I asked her about this baby you claim she had.”

“I delivered him, Peter.” “What?”

“Let’s go there later. I need to call Luanne.” I moved to the desk and dialed the number of the Scarpos’ condo.

“Hello?”

“Miss Parchester, this is Claire,” I said. “Has a police officer been there?”

“I was so terribly alarmed when Jillian opened the door, thinking I was to be arrested after all those days and nights in the tree. But the officer, a sympathetic woman, told Jillian about her husband and offered to drive her to the hospital. I assured Jillian that it would be easier if I stayed and looked after her baby. He’s a dear little thing, although somewhat pudgy. I shall stress the importance of monitoring his diet.”

“Is Luanne there?” I asked.

“She left quite a long while ago, or so it seems. She made me promise not to return to the platform until she returns. I am sorry to admit that my resolve has been depleted, although I shall not give up the cause.”

“Luanne didn’t say where she was going?”

“No, not so much as a hint.”

Luanne might have tried to call me while I was at the barn, I supposed, or not bothered if she had only a wild guess as to the whereabouts of Skyler, Inez, and Caron. I hoped she was right. “Miss Parchester, Jillian’s really going to need your help and support. There’s a strong possibility that her husband won’t make it. She’ll have to talk to his parents and her own, and make some decisions. She shouldn’t be alone.”

“But what about the tree?”

“Tomorrow’s Sunday, so nothing will happen. What’s more, Phase Two will be in limbo indefinitely. Did Howie come back?”

She giggled. “It seems Howie made a friend in the condo at the end of the building. A very good friend, if you know what I mean. After the rain stopped, they came out and went for a walk, holding hands so sweetly that I had to smile. He’s much older than Howie, but I’ve always felt Howie lacked a strong paternal role model in his life.”

Peter was glowering at me. I told Miss Parchester I would call later and hung up. I replenished my tea, then sat down on a stool and told him everything I knew about Skyler’s first month, including the events of the last five days.

“So you believe Luanne’s gone to find them?” he said.

“I don’t know what else to do. Will you please give me a ride home?”

He had the decency to look embarrassed. “Yes, and I’ll have an officer deliver your car to your house.”

“That would be nice.”

“I’m going to be floundering in paperwork for a few days, but after can we go out to dinner and talk?” “I have a better idea,” I said demurely.

Caron, Inez, and Luanne were in my living room when I got home. Skyler was back in his basket, snoozing peacefully. After ascertaining that all were unscathed (and giving Inez a decidedly dark look), I told them about Adrienne and Randy, as well as Daphne’s exoneration.

“There’s something wrong,” said Luanne.

“I know.”

Caron stared at me. “What? Adrienne arranged her alibi, Randy went up there and shot Anthony, and then everybody decided to blackmail everybody else.”

“Miss Parchester told me she didn’t hear Daphne go by, or Randy a few minutes later. What’s more, she didn’t hear either of them come back.”

“Then she lied.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Miss Parchester doesn’t lie. She wasn’t above misleading me, but she never told me anything that wasn’t technically true. So why didn’t she hear them?”

“She was asleep?” Inez suggested.

“Or she wasn’t there,” I said. “Daphne must have told Miss Parchester what she intended to do. Miss Parchester waited until Howie left and then went to the villa to protect Daphne. She saw the light in the office and assumed it was Daphne, searching the files. She was not expecting to find Anthony, who must have thought he could take a little old gun away from a little old lady.”

“Miss Parchester had a gun?” said Caron.

“I’m afraid some well-meaning member of the Green Party gave it to her for protection. I suspect she found Anthony studying the geographic map, or even preparing to destroy it. He probably assumed she’d come to take it from him and tried to wrestle the gun away from her. The result was unfortunate for all concerned. Aghast at what had happened, Miss Parchester snatched up the map and headed for the back door, although it’s likely she stopped in the kitchen to borrow a lemon. I know from personal experience that trying to find anything smaller than a watermelon in that refrigerator would be a challenge. When she heard a car drive up, she bolted out the back door, inadvertantly leaving it open. A few minutes later, she was able to slip around the house and return to her platform. Daphne had already driven away at that point, so Miss Parchester could not have heard her footsteps. Randy must have been telling the truth.”

Luanne cleared her throat. “Adrienne shot him, though. Surely he told her he hadn’t been the one.”

“She didn’t believe him, or perhaps he accused her of shooting Anthony. In any case, after she told him about Chantilly, they were both up to their respective necks in a conspiracy. And, well, she wasn’t thinking too clearly—or driving too well.”

“So what happened to the gun?” asked Caron. “Did Daphne keep it? I thought Miss Parchester told you this morning that Daphne did not have it in her possession.”

I considered the question. “This I can’t be sure about, but I have an idea. Let’s say that Daphne was so frightened that she’d be apprehended with the gun that she tossed it onto the platform as she ran by. Miss Parchester would have figured out what happened and kept the gun until the police stopped searching the woods with metal detectors. Then, a couple of days ago, while Howie was either indisposed or running errands for her, she climbed down and concealed it where she could later retrieve it.”

“Why not fling it off the bluff?” said Inez, blinking.‘That’s what I would have done.”

“It didn’t belong to her,” I pointed out with a faint smile. “Miss Parchester would never fail to return something that had been lent to her. It simply wouldn’t be polite. No, she probably wrapped it carefully in a waterproof bag and put it someplace not too far from the tree so she could be confident of finding it at a later time. Unfortunately, Howie found it during one of his patrols. Remember that I mentioned hearing a shot today shortly before noon? Howie must have been playing Davy Crockett. In fact, Miss Parchester told me he had a gun; she just didn’t specify where he got it.”

Caron nodded. “That kind of makes sense. What about the map?”

“She would never destroy it. It’s likely to be tucked in the bottom of the sleeping bag. I’m sure Miss Parchester intended to return it to its rightful owner after things had been sorted out. She adheres to her moral convictions, no matter how misguided they might be.”

“But she didn’t come forward—or down, anyway— when Daphne was arrested,” said Luanne. “She must have known Papa wouldn’t have approved.”

“I’m sure she intended to once the issue of the stand of trees was resolved. She could hardly think she could confess and then be allowed to stay on the platform. The court is scheduled to rule in two days.”

“Are you going to tell Peter?” asked Caron.

“I don’t see any compelling reason. Besides, this is all speculation. I will have a talk with Miss Parchester in a few days, however. She really needs to focus on her painting and stop meddling in murders.”

Luanne, Caron, and Inez looked at me.

“So, Inez, you took Skyler to the high school?” I said at last.

Inez nodded. “I couldn’t think of anyplace else. I was going to call you, but I didn’t have any change for the pay phone and the office was locked. Skyler and I were real cozy in the teachers’ lounge. I warmed his bottle on a hot plate and listened to the radio, hoping I’d hear about Daphne being taken back into custody. I couldn’t let her run away with Skyler.”

“She won’t be running away,” I said. “She stands to inherit a couple of million dollars.”

Luanne went into the kitchen and returned with two beers. She handed one to me, then said, “But what about the condition in the will about righteous moral character or whatever?”

For Caron’s sake, I tried not to sound overly cynical.

“Joey will see the story on the news, profess to be overwhelmed with remorse, and offer to marry her. Sheila will divulge that she’s been a doting grandmother all along. A competent lawyer can then convince the court that Daphne has complied with her father’s dictum.”

“And they’ll all live happily forever after?” said Caron.

“Who knows? In any case, we’ll have Skyler for a few more days, but we won’t have to keep him under cover. It will all come out once Jessica receives an anonymous tip.”

“We may have another little problem,” Inez said. “After Caron found me at the high school, we took turns pushing the stroller in the hallways, and …”

“And?” I said.

Caron attempted to appear contrite, but with marginal success. “Do you remember when Inez and I stole the frozen frogs destined for dissection? The biology teacher still keeps them in a freezer in the cafeteria. You’d think someone would have thought to put a padlock on the door by now.”

I stared at her. “Rhonda Maguire’s locker?”

“Phase Two.”