Silent Night (18 page)

The two women had met and become friends ten years ago at NYU, when Susan was a twenty-two-year-old second-year law student and Nedda was a guest lecturer. In her third year, Susan had scheduled her classes so that she could work two days a week clerking for Nedda.

All her friends, Nedda being the only exception, had been shocked when, after two years in the Westchester County District Attorney's office, Susan quit her job as assistant D.A. to go back to school and earn her doctorate in psychology. “It's something I have to do,” was her only explanation at the time.

Sensing Susan's presence in her doorway, Nedda looked up. Her smile was brief but warm. “Well, look who's here. Good weekend, Susan, or should I ask?”

Nedda knew about both Binky's party and Susan's mother's anniversary.

“It was predictable,” Susan said wryly. “Dee got to Mom's house on Saturday, and the two of them ended up sobbing their hearts out. I told Dee her depression was only making it harder for Mother to cope, and she blasted me. Said that if two years ago I had watched
my
husband swept to his death in an avalanche the way
she
had watched Jack die, I'd understand what she was going through. She also suggested that if I lent Mom a shoulder to cry on instead of always telling her to get on with her life, I'd be a
lot more help to her. When I said that my shoulder is getting arthritic from all the tears, Dee got even angrier. But at least Mom laughed.

“Then there was Dad and Binky's party,” she continued. “Incidentally, Dad now requests that I call him ‘Charles,' which says it all on
that
subject.” She sighed deeply. “And that was my weekend. Another one like that and I'll be the one who needs counseling. But then I'm too cheap to hire a therapist, so I'll just end up talking to myself.”

Nedda eyed her sympathetically. She was the only one of Susan's friends who knew the full story about Jack and Dee, and about Susan's parents and the messy divorce. “Sounds to me as though you need a survival plan,” she said.

Susan laughed. “Maybe you'll come up with one for me. Just put it on my tab, good friend, along with all I owe you already for getting me the radio job. Now I'd better get going. I've got stuff to prepare before the show. And by the way—have I said thanks recently?”

A year earlier, Marge Mackin, a popular radio host and a close friend of Nedda's, had invited Susan to sit in on her program during a highly publicized trial to comment, both as a legal expert and a psychologist. The success of that first on-air visit led to regular appearances on the program, and when Marge moved on to host a television program, Susan was invited to replace her on the daily radio talk show.

“You're being silly. You wouldn't have gotten the job unless you could handle it. You're darn good and you know it,” Nedda said briskly. “Who's your guest today?”

“This week I'll be concentrating on why women should be safety conscious in social situations. Donald Richards, a psychiatrist specializing in criminology, has written a book called
Vanishing Women
. It deals with some of the
disappearances he's been involved with. Many of the cases he solved, but a number of interesting ones are still open. I read the book and it's good. He covers the background of each woman and the circumstances under which she vanished. Then he discusses the possible reasons why such an intelligent woman might get involved with a killer, followed by the step-by-step process of attempting to find out what happened to her. So we'll talk about the book and some of the more interesting cases, and then we'll generally discuss how our listeners might avoid potentially dangerous situations.”

“Good subject.”

“I think so. I've decided to bring up the Regina Clausen disappearance. That one always intrigued me. Remember her? I used to watch her on CNBC and thought she was great. About six years ago I used my birthday check from Dad to buy a stock she recommended. It turned into a bonanza, so I guess I feel oddly like I owe her something.”

Nedda looked up, frowning. “Regina Clausen disappeared about three years ago, after disembarking from a world cruise in Hong Kong. I remember it very well. It got a lot of publicity at the time.”

“That was after I left the district attorney's office,” Susan said, “but I was visiting a friend when Regina Clausen's mother, Jane—she lived in Scarsdale at that time—came in to talk to the D.A. to see if he could help, but there was no indication that Regina had ever left Hong Kong, so of course the Westchester County District Attorney had no jurisdiction. The poor woman had pictures of Regina and kept saying how much her daughter had looked forward to that trip. Anyhow, I've never forgotten the case, so I'll talk about it on air today.”

Nedda's expression softened. “I know Jane Clausen
slightly. She and I graduated from Smith the same year. She lives on Beekman Place now. She was always very quiet, and I gather Regina was also very shy socially.”

Susan raised her eyebrows. “I wish I had realized you know Mrs. Clausen. You might have been able to arrange for me to speak with her. According to my notes, Regina's mother had no inkling that her daughter might be involved with someone, but if I could get her to talk about it, something that didn't seem important at the time might come out and provide some clues.”

Nedda frowned in concentration. “Maybe it's not too late. Doug Layton is the Clausen family lawyer. I've met him several times. I'll call him at nine and see if he'll put us in touch with her.”

*   *   *

At ten after nine, the intercom on Susan's desk buzzed. It was Janet, her secretary. “Douglas Layton, an attorney, is on line one. Brace yourself, Doctor. He doesn't sound happy.”

Every day, Susan wished that Janet, an otherwise excellent secretary, did not feel the need to do a commentary on the people who called. Although the real problem, Susan thought, is that her reaction usually was right on target.

As soon as she began to speak to the Clausen family lawyer it became very clear that he was indeed not happy. “Dr. Chandler, we absolutely resent any exploitation of Mrs. Clausen's grief,” he said brusquely. “Regina was her only child. It would be bad enough if her body had been found, but because it has not, Mrs. Clausen agonizes constantly, in a kind of limbo, wondering under what circumstances her daughter may be living, if indeed she is alive. I would
have thought a friend of Nedda Harding would be above this kind of sensationalism, exploiting grief with pop psychology.”

Susan clamped her lips together for an instant to cut off the heated response she was tempted to make. When she spoke, her tone was chilly, but calm. “Mr. Layton, you've already given the reason the case
should
be discussed. Surely it is infinitely worse for Mrs. Clausen to be wondering every day of her life whether her daughter is alive and suffering somewhere than to have definite knowledge of what really happened to her. I understand that neither the police in Hong Kong nor the private investigators Mrs. Clausen hired were able to uncover a single clue as to what Regina did or where she might have gone after she disembarked. My program is heard in five states. It's a very long shot, I know, but
maybe
someone who is listening today was on that ship, or was visiting Hong Kong at the same time, and will call in to tell us something helpful, hopefully about seeing Regina after she left the
Gabrielle
. After all, she was on CNBC regularly, and some people have an excellent memory for faces.”

Without waiting for a response, Susan hung up, leaned over and turned on the radio. She had made promos for today's program, referring to her guest author and to the Clausen case. They had run briefly last Friday, and Jed Geany, her producer, had promised that the station would air them again this morning. She uttered a fervent plea that he had not forgotten.

Twenty minutes later, as she studied the school reports of a seventeen-year-old patient, she heard the first of the promos. Now let's keep our fingers crossed that someone who knows something about the case is listening too, she thought.

It was definitely a lucky stroke that his car radio had been tuned to the talk radio station on Friday; otherwise he'd never have heard the announcement. As it was, traffic had slowed to a crawl, and he was barely listening. But at the mention of the name Regina Clausen, he had turned up the volume and concentrated intently.

Not that there was anything to worry about, of course. He reassured himself of that. After all, Regina had been the easiest, the most eager to comply and fall in with his plans, the most anxious to agree that no hint of their shipboard romance be apparent to others.

As always, he had taken every precaution. Hadn't he?

Now, hearing the promo again Monday morning, he became less sure. Next time he'd be especially careful. But then, the next one would be the last. There had been four so far. One more to go. He'd select her next week, and once she was his, his mission would be complete and he would finally be at peace.

Of course he had made no mistakes. It was his mission, and no one was going to stop him. Angrily he listened again to the promo, and to the warm, encouraging voice of Dr. Susan Chandler: “Regina Clausen was a renowed investment advisor. Beyond that, she was a daughter, a friend, and an extremely generous benefactor of numerous charities. We'll be talking about her disappearance on my show today. We'd like to solve the mystery. Maybe one of you has a piece of the puzzle. Listen in, please.”

He snapped off the radio. “Dr. Susan,” he said aloud, “get off it and fast. All this is none of your business, and I warn you, if I have to make you my business, your days are numbered.”

Dr. Donald Richards, the author of
Vanishing Women
and her guest for the day, was already in the studio when Susan arrived. He was tall and lean, with dark brown hair, and appeared to be in his late thirties. He pulled off his reading glasses as he stood up to greet her. His blue eyes were warm and his smile brief as he took the hand she extended to him. “Dr. Chandler, I warn you. This is my first book. I'm new at this publicity business and I'm nervous. If I get tongue-tied, promise you'll rescue me.”

Susan laughed. “Dr. Richards, the name is Susan, and just don't think about the microphone. Pretend we're hanging over the back fence and gossiping.”

Who's he kidding? she wondered fifteen minutes later, as Richards discussed with calm and easy authority the true-life cases in his book. She nodded in agreement as he said, “When someone vanishes—I'm talking now, of course, of an adult, not a child—the question the authorities first ask is if the disappearance was voluntary. As you know, Susan, it's surprising just how many people suddenly decide to do a U-turn on their way home and start a whole new life, take on a whole new existence. Usually it's because of marital or financial problems, and it's a pretty cowardly way out—but it
does
happen. Whatever the circumstances, however, the first step to tracing someone who has
disappeared is to see if charges start to show up on their credit cards.”

“Either charged by them or by someone who stole those cards,” Susan interjected.

“That's right,” Richards agreed. “And usually when we encounter a voluntary disappearance we find the person just couldn't face whatever it is that's troubling him or her for another day. This kind of disappearance is really a cry for help. Of course,
some
disappearances are not voluntary; some involve foul play. That, however, is not always easy to determine. It's very difficult, for example, to prove someone guilty of murder if the body is never found. The murderers who don't get convicted are often the ones who dispose of their victims so thoroughly that proof of death cannot be established. For example . . .”

They discussed several of the open cases he'd covered in his book, instances in which the victim had never been found. Then Susan said, “To remind my audience, we're talking with Dr. Donald Richards, criminologist, psychiatrist, and author of
Vanishing
Women
, a fascinating and totally accessible book of case histories of women who have disappeared, all of them in the last ten years. Now I'd like your opinion, Dr. Richards, on a case that is not covered in your book, that of Regina Clausen. Let me fill our listeners in on the circumstances of her disappearance.”

Susan did not need to consult her notes. “Regina Clausen was a highly respected investment advisor with Lang Taylor Securities. At the time of her disappearance, she was forty-three years old, and, according to those who knew her, very shy in her personal life. She lived alone and usually took vacations with her mother. Three years ago, her mother was recovering from a broken ankle, so Regina Clausen went alone on a segment of the world cruise of the luxury liner
Gabrielle
. She embarked in Perth, planning to
sail to Bali, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan, and disembark in Honolulu. However, in Hong Kong she got off the ship, saying that she was going to spend extra time there and rejoin the
Gabrielle
when it docked in Japan. That kind of alteration of itinerary is the sort of thing seasoned travelers regularly do, so her announced plan aroused no suspicions. Regina took only one suitcase and a carry-on with her when she disembarked, and she was reported to have been in good spirits, and appeared very happy. She took a cab to the Peninsula Hotel, checked in, dropped her bags in her room, and left the hotel immediately. She was never seen again.

“Dr. Richards, if you were just starting to investigate this case, what would you do?”

“I'd want to see that passenger list and find out if anyone else arranged to stay in Hong Kong,” Richards said promptly. “I'd want to know if she received phone calls or faxes on the ship. The communications office would have records. I'd want to question her fellow passengers to see if anyone noticed that she had been getting particularly friendly with someone, most likely a man, also traveling alone.”