Chapter 20

‘Are you all right? ’ Betty asked when he entered the station the next morning.

‘Hanging in there, ’ Sam said, and yawned. He poured himself a mug of coffee. ‘Cynthia’s son cut himself, last night, and we took him over to Emergency. ’

Betty frowned. ‘I hope it wasn’t too serious. ’

‘Took a dozen stitches, ’ he said. He sipped the coffee, and sat at his desk. ‘How are you doing? ’

‘Managing, ’ she said. ‘It isn’t going to be quite the same around here without Dexter. He was …’ She pressed her lips tightly together. Her chin trembled. She reached for a tissue and covered her eyes. Sam looked down.

He took small drinks of coffee, the steam burning his raw eyes.

God what a night, he thought.

Betty blew her nose. ‘Anyway, ’ she said, ‘I heard you were out at the fire. ’

‘Yeah. ’

‘They couldn’t find the Horners. ’

‘What? ’

‘Apparently, everyone thought they were burnt. But the fire department searched through the rubble and couldn’t find their bodies. So it looks as if they weren’t home last night, after all. ’

‘Well, that’s lucky. Where were they? ’

Betty shrugged. ‘Nobody knows. They haven’t shown up. Chet’s supposed to check the bus terminal and taxis. ’

‘Berney thinks they skipped? ’

‘He does. Hank Horner is now topping his suspect list. ’

‘He thinks Horner killed Dex? ’

‘Killed him, panicked, and sneaked out of town, last night, with his family. ’

‘Why would he burn the house? ’

‘So we’ll assume he’s dead. ’

‘We’re not going to assume he’s dead if we don’t find the body. ’

‘Oh, you know people. ’ She made a weary smile. ‘Horner probably didn’t know any better. He figured, if he burnt the house down, we’d think he and his family got turned to ashes. ’

‘Not a very smart fellow. ’

‘Murderers aren’t normally famous for their brains. ’

‘Has Berney come up with a motive? ’

‘Not yet. He’s going over to Horner’s office, this morning. You’re supposed to continue with the Thelma angle. Oh, a call came in for you, a few minutes ago. ’ She glanced down at the log book. ‘A Miss Melodie Caine. ’

The name slammed into him. His heart raced and his mouth went dry.

‘You’re supposed to call her right away. ’

He swallowed. ‘Did she leave a number? ’

Betty read the number, and Sam copied it with a shaky hand.

He dialed from the phone at his desk. As he listened to the ringing, he nearly hung up; he could drive out to the motel, and get her message in person. The idea excited him, but he’d promised himself to stay away. He would hold to that promise.

I’m committed to Cynthia now, he thought.

For better or worse.

‘Sleepy Hollow Inn, ’ said the low, familiar voice.

‘Melodie, this is Sam Wyatt. ’

‘Good. I’m glad you got back to me so fast. I’ve got something for you, Sam. You know those people in room Four? Well, one of them – the man – made a telephone call after you left. He called from his room, so I had to put it through for him. Would you like to know the number? ’

‘I sure would. ’

‘Thought you might. ’

Sam copied the number as she gave it to him. ‘That’s great, Melodie. Thanks a lot. ’

‘Hey, let me know how it all turns out, okay? ’

‘I will. ’

‘Take care, Sam. ’

‘You too. ’

Her telephone clacked down. For a moment, Sam listened to the empty, desolate sound of the empty wires. Then he hung up.

‘Got something? ’ Betty asked.

‘Could be. ’ He flipped through the special directory listing its entries by telephone number.

A woman in jeans and a sweatshirt opened the door. Sam gazed at her dishwater blond hair, her haggard, familiar face. ‘Thelma? ’ he asked.

‘I’m Marjorie, ’ she said.

Sam glanced at his note pad. ‘Are you Mrs Doons? ’

‘That’s right. ’

‘You look …’

‘Thelma’s my sister. ’

‘Twins? ’

‘We’re a couple of years apart. If you’re looking for Thelma, she’s not in. ’

‘Is she staying with you? ’

The woman nodded.

‘Could I talk to you? ’

‘Come in. ’

He followed her into the living room, and took a seat. ‘I’m Sam Wyatt, ’ he said.

‘You’re here about Dexter. ’

‘Yes. ’

‘God, that was a terrible thing. ’

‘Where is Thelma? ’

‘She’s spending the day in Dendron with our mother. ’

Dendron again. As if fate were trying to drag Sam back there, back to the Sleepy Hollow Inn and Melodie. ‘Your mother lives in Dendron? Could I have her address? ’

‘There’s really no point in that. Thelma’ll be home this evening. Why don’t I have her phone you when she arrives? ’

‘I’d prefer to see her as soon as possible. ’

Marjorie sighed. ‘If you insist, then. It’s 354 Tenth Street. ’

‘Thank you, ’ he said, writing it down. ‘When did Thelma arrive in town? ’

‘Tuesday morning. ’

‘And she’s been staying here with you? ’

Marjorie nodded. ‘If you think she had anything to do with Dexter’s death, you’re wrong. It’s just an unfortunate coincidence that she happened to be in town, this week. She’s been back – oh, two or three times a year since she and Dexter split up. Nothing ever happened before. If she wanted to kill him, she had plenty of chances to do it before now. She was finished with Dexter the night she walked out on him. ’

‘Why did she come to town this week? ’

‘Tomorrow’s my birthday. ’

‘She came in from Milwaukee to celebrate your birthday? ’

‘Oh, she hasn’t lived in Milwaukee for years. She went there with Babe Rawls. They were only together for six months or so. He treated her shamefully – beat her up all the time and subjected her to … well, I needn’t dwell on all the sordid details. Suffice it to say that she had enough of it, and left him. She’s been living in Hayward for the better part of a year. ’

‘Do you know where she was Wednesday night? ’

‘She spent the night here. ’

‘Did she go out? ’

‘Why, yes. She went over to the Sunset Lounge. ’

The Sunset Lounge. Sam had been there himself that night, with Cynthia. Of course, he hadn’t been looking for Thelma then. At that point, he hadn’t even known what she looked like. She might have been sitting at the next table.

‘Did she go there alone? ’

Marjorie shook her head. ‘She went with Ticia Barnes. ’

Sam raised his eyebrows.

‘They’re old friends, ’ Marjorie explained. ‘Ticia used to live next door to us, when we lived on Seventh Street. ’

‘What time did Thelma leave for the lounge? ’

‘Oh, nine-ish. You can check with Ticia, if you wish. She picked Thelma up. ’

‘What time did Thelma get back? ’

‘I have no idea. ’

‘You said she spent the night here. ’

‘And so she did. Phillip and I hardly felt it necessary to wait up for her. We went to bed at our usual time. Maybe Phillip heard her come in, but I’m afraid I was dead to the world. I haven’t the vaguest notion what time she came in. I know she was here, though. She joined us for breakfast in the morning. ’

‘What time was that? ’

‘Seven. ’

‘And she didn’t tell you what time she got home? ’

‘Not a word. ’

‘Did she say anything about what she’d done? ’

‘Oh, just that she and Ticia had a great time. ’

‘Did she say she’d met anyone? ’

‘No. But why don’t you have a word with Ticia? I’m sure she can fill you in. ’

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