The 56th Man (47 page)

"When I visited the gallery, there were two
men there who were very...affectionate. I overheard one of them
speak of Jerry as his 'darling'."

"A figure of speech?" Karen suggested.

"I don't think so. Look at those smudges
Jerry was always painting. I believe they represented
something."

"Well, I've seen my brothers' dirty
underpants..."

"Exactly."

"Wait, I just meant that a lot of modern art
looks like someone took a dump on canvas."

"I think those paintings symbolize the filthy
male anus."

Karen smiled, burped, sneezed. She looked
away for a moment, shaking her head and trying to fight down her
grin. Then she looked up.

"Why don't we just agree that neither of us
is an art critic and leave it at that?"

"If you wish."

Karen's grin slowly disappeared. "You're
saying Joshua and William weren't Jerry's? Then who...?"

"Tom Massington's. He knew Jerry was an
artistic hack. He also knew he was gay--the perfect match for his
daughter and mistress. Or rather, the woman he thought was his
daughter."

"Do you realize how twisted this sounds?"

"Do you think so?" Ari reached for his pack
of cigarettes, then stopped. "Mr. Massington, the Tin Man. It is
possible that Moria broke from him temporarily. She lived with
Jerry in the countryside for awhile. But thirty miles isn't all
that far. And when Tom Massington bought a house on the river and
invited them to move back to the city, Jerry leapt at it."

"I thought it was..."

"You thought it was Moria's decision to come
back. That was what she told you and Tina. But Jerry thought
Carrington was the father of Joshua and William." Ari stopped.
Karen was staring at him. "What's wrong?"

"I'm suddenly not buying into any of
this," she said, trying to meet his eyes. “This is shaping up to be
the kind of story that hides a thousand sins.
Your
sins.”

"Hear me out before you make any final
conclusions." Ari took out a cigarette and lit up. "Or you may
leave."

"I'm listening," Karen sneezed.

"Carrington was delighted with the move. He
was now closer to his beloved daughter, Iraq."

"What?"

Ari glanced up.

"You said he was now closer to his beloved
daughter, Iraq."

"I did? I mean Moria, of course." He directed
a bemused smile at himself, then continued: "By your standards,
Detective Carrington was corrupt. He had known about the drug trade
in this neighborhood, and had probably made an occasional token
arrest. But when he found out his daughter was involved, he stifled
all investigation. And the irony is that she probably became
involved because of him.

"Imagine. She was already under immense
stress because of Tom Massington and the reality of her children by
him. Her close friend Tina was a steady user, presenting a constant
temptation. And she was familiar with cocaine from her high school
days. 'Recreational use' I believe the term is, to remove the taint
of sin."

Karen was staring at her tea. Ari went
on:

"One day, Carrington brings her before a
mirror and stands next to her. 'Moria, who do you think you
resemble?' And then he tells her.

"Are you familiar with the Kayak
Express?"

Karen shook her head.

"It has been operating in this area for quite
some time. Moria probably learned about it from the Mackenzies, her
neighbors. She began buying from the kayakers. I suppose the drug
helped her deal with her troubles.

"I'm sure Carrington was unhappy when he
found out about it. He probably lectured her mercilessly, but at
the same time he took steps to protect her. And that meant
protecting the Express from police interference. The kayakers
became quite brazen, even firing off rockets in the middle of the
river to announce their arrival.

"Jerry turned a blind eye to all of this, at
first. Being the good artist that he was--or rather, being of an
artistic temperament--he no doubt participated to some degree. And
he believed they were safe under the protective mantle of his
wife's lover, which he assumed Carrington was. But as the boys grew
older he became concerned. He was actually quite a good father. One
of the boys had seen them indulging, or asked him what was in the
white packets, and Jerry realized he and his wife had crossed the
line. It was time to return to the virtuous life. But then came the
day of the comedy."

"Comedy?" Karen asked wanly.

"Of course I don't know how it happened.
Possibly Jerry thought that since the boys were Carrington's, he
would lend a hand in cleaning up Moria's life. And when he spoke
the fatal phrase, 'After all, Joshua and William are yours,' the
detective must have fallen out of his seat. 'I assumed they were
yours!' he says. He had no idea Jerry was gay, or if he suspected,
thought he swung both ways. After an eye-opening discussion,
Carrington admits that he is Moria's father. Imagine that moment:
both men staring at each other, wondering how the world could turn
so sour on them. They storm up to Moria and browbeat her into
telling them who the real father is."

"And you're saying things got a lot more
sour?"

"That was to be expected. It dawns on Jerry
how Tom Massington has used him. And poor Detective Sergeant
Carrington can only think of getting his hands around Massington's
throat. After all, the Tin Man had not only committed incest with
his half-daughter, he had done it fully in the belief that she was
entirely his. The Massington's were probably on holiday in Italy.
That's the only explanation why Carrington didn't kill Tom that day
or week. By the time they got back, both men had had time to work
out their only option: keeping Massington away from Moria, or at
least out of her bed.

"At this point, Moria had broken. I would
imagine she was saying 'to hell with men'. That included her boys,
who might inherit the tendencies of the father. When Jerry
confronted Massington, he reacted like a man insulted, cut off
Moria's allowance, and removed her from his will. Heather was
guilt-stricken, knowing as she must have what had gone on under her
roof. Jerry had no doubt also told his father-in-law that
Carrington was Moria's real father, and Massington used this as a
weapon against his wife. She refused to disown her daughter, but I
doubt there was any great affection between them.

"Emotionally, Moria felt the only thing left
to her were drugs and her old school chums. Eventually, she became
a dealer as well as a user. For awhile, Jerry went along with this.
His last conversation with Massington had taught him a lesson. Some
things were better swept under the rug. Even Carrington pulled
back, doing what he could to prevent scandal for his daughter and
nephews. After all, he was now happily married, with three children
of his own. He had to be discreet.

"Jerry performed within his own severe
limitations. His paintings were going nowhere. Almost the only
income from Moria's Notions came from laundered drug money. For a
year or so he acquiesced. But then, one evening, he saw Joshua with
one of the baggies of cocaine. He took it away from him, not
knowing there was another stashed away in the boy's bedroom.

"He knew the Kayak Express was due to make an
appearance that night, and he was determined Moria should not meet
it. He had not only found out about the gun Moria bought from the
kayakers, he discovered where--"

Ari found himself pouring a drink. He did not
remember standing or going to the counter. There were already four
ounces of whiskey in his eight-ounce glass. He felt Karen's eyes on
him, shrugged, and came back to the table with the glass.

"How am I suppose to believe anything I hear
when you've been drinking like this?" she said as Ari took a sip.
"I don't think I've ever heard of a soused Arab before."

"Assyrian. Of noble blood."

"Asshole, with rubbing alcohol in his
veins."

"Jerry took the gun from its hiding spot and
chased away the kayakers--"

"You're talking about the night of the
murders?"

"Of course."

"Then you forgot about the door."

"The door?"

"The bashed-in back door."

"Oh. They had a fight. Moria locked out Jerry
because he had taken the gun. He stole Howie Nottoway's
sledgehammer and broke back in."

"And that happened..."

"Around 5:30."

"Leaving six hours unaccounted for."

"Moria swept up the kitchen. Or perhaps Jerry
did. And while Jerry went upstairs to console the boys, who were
terrified, Moria called you."

Karen said nothing.

"A woman in that situation needs to talk to
someone reliable. The men in her life were worthless, including
Carrington, who allowed the Kayak Express to operate even while he
knew it was destroying his daughter. Tina Press was unreliable.
Heather Massington had allowed her husband to abuse her for years.
Which left you, her old cheerleader friend, now a Deputy U.S.
Marshal."

"I..."

"Of course, you offered soothing words. You
were probably even ready to come out to Beach Court. But then Moria
told you that Carrington was her father. You were...how does that
song go? 'Confused, perplexed, bewildered'? Because you were his
lover, and this news hit you like a thunderbolt."

"Now wait--"

"You have a better idea of what happened in
those six hours than I do. I could have used that information,
incidentally, but it's of no consequence now. Things seemed to calm
down. But soon after eleven that night--I believe the Express was
running early that night--they heard the rockets over the island.
Moria was supposed to tell them to go away and never come back.
Jerry did not trust her and came out with a gun to emphasize the
point. Moria packed him back to the house and told the kayakers to
come back a little later.

"Moria pretended to go to bed. Jerry, wanting
to make sure the Express was gone for good, turned the easy chair
around in the living room and watched the river.

"Moria was sitting up in bed when she heard a
sound from Joshua's bedroom. She went in and found him holding
William against his chest. They had both taken cocaine. She was
horrified by what Jerry's reaction would be. She did what she could
to slow William's heart rate, bringing in a damp cloth and her
prescription of Valium. To no avail. William died in Joshua's
arms.

"Moria slipped quietly downstairs. Perhaps
she was going to tell Jerry. Perhaps she was going to run away. She
discovered that he had dozed off. Fearful that he would shoot her
once he had found out what had happened to William, she slipped the
gun out of his hand and shot him. A case might be made for
self-defense....

"But as she reasoned over what she had done,
what had happened, what a shambles her life had become, she decided
to end everything then and there. She went upstairs, carried
William into his room, then returned and shot Joshua. A mother's
love.

"She sat on her bed, watching the river out
the window. She fully intended to kill herself. But she was
afraid.

"An anonymous call had gone into
Crimestoppers about a disturbance here. Crimestoppers notified the
police and Carrington picked up on the call."

Ari was talking fast, sensing he would soon
be unable to articulate a coherent thought, let alone a long string
of them. Which did not prevent him from pouring more whiskey.

"When he arrived, he found a slaughterhouse.
And there, upstairs, was his daughter--responsible for it all. I
believe she knew he was going to kill her. She understood he had a
family of his own. If she went to trial and details came out about
Carrington's involvement with the Express, let alone his
extramarital affair with you--Moria knew about that, didn't
she?--his life would be destroyed. And having just murdered her
son, she understood that peculiar form of paternal love. I wonder
what they said to each other? He probably told her how much he
loved her just before he took up her gun and pulled the trigger.
That was the shot the kayakers heard when they returned. They
didn't hear the second shot, when Carrington fired a round into
William's head, because they had fled." Ari thought for a moment.
"As an experienced policeman, Carrington would have known he could
not hide William's cause of death. The toxicology report would show
the drug in the boy's system. Perhaps it was an emotional reaction,
as though he was accepting part of the blame.

"He ran downstairs. He was going to throw the
gun into the river. But then he saw the lights from a patrol car in
the road. Officers Mangioni and Jackson had arrived. Desperately,
he sought out a hiding place, and chose the central air duct, where
the gun could remain hidden for years, if not forever. But the two
policeman saw him at the air vent.

"I have no idea how Carrington made them keep
their silence. They probably had connections to the Express, too,
and he threatened to take them down with him if they spoke up.

"Thus the crime was covered up. There were a
few other conspirators involved. Carrington, a very persuasive man,
managed to have the coroner's report filed away without comment.
Drug abuse and suicide within one of the city's favorite families
did not sit well with anyone, although the news people would have
relished a story like that. The only person with serious doubts was
you.

"You knew Carrington's investigation was
badly flawed. Why? You're a stickler for detail, Miss Sandra, and
Moria was your friend. But you have more faith in the truth. I
believe that's why you wanted to join the Army. Nothing is more
'true' than combat. Or so it's said. You suspected your lover was
covering up the truth out of a mistaken sense of propriety. When I
dropped into your lap, you decided to egg him on. Thus, went your
thinking, you had two investigators for the price of one. A dubious
Iraqi cop and your own beloved. You even went to the trouble to
tell him of my presence. When your LoJack alerted you that I was in
Shockhoe Bottom, you took the chance that I was going to the
Firefox Gallery to see Jerry's paintings. You called Carrington and
told him where you were going, and that there would be a certain
person of interest there. What you didn't know was that he used
that opportunity to call Howie Nottoway and have him search the
Riggins house again for the drug cache he knew was hidden there.
The 'mother' of the Kayak Express had told him about it. Moria had
taken a huge amount on credit, with the promise that she would
re-sell at a large profit. 'Mother' was eager to get that product
back, and was threatening Carrington with exposure if he didn't
find it for her. Poor Howie was terrified of the detective and did
as he was told. Carrington had given him the key to the back
door.