Джонатан Келлерман: Serpentine

She laughed. “Like a convent but the nuns were hot.”

I said, “Why do you think it wasn’t Dot who perished in that car?”

“Because Benni disappeared the same time she did. Not hours later, the same time.”

“They both left in the Caddy.”

“Can’t prove it but I’d bet on it. Like I said, they were a twosome. Pete and repeat. It’s not like Benni could just wrap her stuff in a sheet and walk away. And no way Benni could’ve set something up like that. She didn’t even know how to drive. Could barely read and write—really, guys, mentally challenged.”

I said, “Dot, on the other hand.”

“Cold bitch. But smart. Unfriendly to everyone except Tony. And Benni, when she needed something from her. But even then it was like she was playing at being nice. Not the sexy swagger she took with Tony—she was good looking, dynamite figure, I’ll grant her that. Really knew how to use what she had.”

“Coming across alluring even though Tony wasn’t into sex.”

“Who knows?” said Vicki Quandt. “Maybe with her he was. She did seem to be his favorite, he spent more time with her than anyone else.”

Milo said, “Did that cause jealousy?”

“Are you kidding? We were thrilled. Getting dolled up in a blond wig to go into Tony’s bedroom, mix Sazeracs, and listen to Beethoven or whatever wasn’t scary but it sure was boring. And so was the rest of the day. Sitting around doing nothing? Some of the girls complained they weren’t getting any you-know-what. That’s why in general, they didn’t stick around. I mean I was already climbing the walls and I’d only been there three weeks. You’d think you were entering the Garden of Eden, the place was gorgeous. But it ended up just what I said, a weird convent. Except with no vows and no obligations other than to be adorable.”

I said, “Tony called it the harem?”

“No, we did. Tony was a decent guy, shy, we heard he’d lost two wives, was really broken up over the second, she fell off a horse.”

“Did he talk about that?”

“Never. The extent of conversation with Tony was you’d come in, he’d be in a robe on his bed and say, ‘You look lovely, my dear. Could you please lower the volume and fashion me a Sazerac.’ Fashion. He was totally old school. Wore ascots. ”

I said, “Did Dot and Benni ever talk about a baby?”

“Whose?”

“Either of theirs.”

“There was one?” she said. “No, it was never mentioned. A baby, wow—obviously before they got there. You have no idea whose?”

Milo said, “We’re far from knowing anything. So how long had Dot and Benni been there when you arrived?”

“No idea. Probably more than just a few weeks. They did seem comfortable. Especially Dot. She could act like she owned the place. And she’d taken the Caddy before. Several times.”

“For what?”

“No idea,” she said. “It wasn’t like Tony’s prized possession. He had a slew of other vehicles—this little James Bond Aston Martin, another English sports car, a…Bristol, I think. Plus another Caddy—an Eldorado convertible. And an old Chevy that the girls used when they wanted to go into town. Bumpy ride.”

“But Dot got the Caddy.”

“Hmm,” she said. “Now that I think about, she was the only one. At least that I saw.”

“It was common for the girls to drive back and forth.”

“If they wanted to. It wasn’t prison,” said Vicki Quandt. “Till it started to feel like prison. Same old same old, you’re constantly looking at yourself in the mirror to make sure you look your cutest. Not just for Tony, for the other girls. Maybe even more for them.”

“Competitive atmosphere.”

“Not out in the open. More of…that was just the way it felt. We were thrown together, a bunch of girls who happened to look good and couldn’t figure out how they’d ended up there. You want to hear something strange? We started getting our periods at the same time.”

Menstrual synchrony was a known fact, for animals as well as humans. I said, “Wow.”

“Bizarre,” she said. “Looking back, the whole experience was bizarre. One of those things you do when you’re young then forget about and move on. I was fortunate to meet Sy a week after I left. And yes, I’ve told him everything. Because there’s nothing to hide. Would you believe that when I met him I was a virgin?”

Milo and I nodded.

“You’re bobbing like you do believe but you probably don’t. Whatever you want to think, it’s true. And that’s all I have to say and that’s the end of this, bye, guys.”

Springing up quickly, she pointed to the blanket and, when we stood, rolled it up hastily and hurried to her Bentley.

The car started up with a purr but jerked and made an unpleasant noise as she fumbled with the transmission.

Then a smooth exit as two hundred grand of steel and chrome vanished.

CHAPTER 38

We shifted to a dim spot under the branches of the largest sycamore.

Milo said, “All Des Barres wanted was a little company. You believe her?”

“You think she was sanitizing her own role.”

“Exactly, a nun, not a houri.”

I said, “Bikini nun.”

He laughed.

I said, “I do believe her. Why would she come forward in the first place? Only reason I can see is a moral compass. Benni’s disappearance has been on her mind for thirty-six years. Enough for her to periodically check out the missing persons sites. Your post solidified her suspicions and activated her. And everything she told us—Sterling Lawrence, The Azalea, her own background—matches what we already know.”

“Suspicions,” he said.

“Same as ours. Dorothy shot Benni and passed herself off as the victim. Now the motive’s solidified: just what we thought, wanting to make her escape.”

“The aspiring Queen Bee looks for a new hive.”

“Maybe because killing Arlette didn’t have the desired results. Des Barres adored Arlette and unfortunately for Dorothy, he was also a passive alcoholic unwilling to take it to the next level. So she made her plan and lifted some goodies from his safe. Vicki just told us she’d been angry at Benni for a couple of weeks and Benni never fought back. She was used to being Dorothy’s doormat since the two of them left Texas. Dorothy told her they were off on another adventure with an upgrade—the Caddy. A mile down Mulholland, middle of the night, Dorothy pulls over, shoots Benni without warning, and stages a fake accident. Clean break from Des Barres and Barker.”

He said, “And Ellie. Can’t wait to tell her about her heritage…it does firm up the picture. Unfortunately, it’s not evidence.”

“I’ve been thinking,” I said.

“That can be scary or encouraging.”

“Your plan to have the troops simulate tradespeople makes sense. But you could also try to talk to actual tradespeople: meter reader, postal carrier, maybe FedEx, UPS, any delivery service that comes by regularly. If Dorothy’s living there, someone might’ve seen her, maybe knows what name she’s using. The question is, could they be trusted to keep their mouths shut.”

“My dominant personality wouldn’t be enough to ensure that, huh?”

“Person-to-person, sure. Toss in the lure of the internet?” I shrugged.

He said, “Let me think about it,” and drove away.

A block later: “Annoying.”

“What is?”

“Why the hell didn’t I think of it myself?”

CHAPTER 39

I’d booked one of the new custody evaluations from nine a.m. to two p.m. on Monday, the second from three thirty to six thirty. In-person sessions with children and parents, phone contact with attorneys, schoolteachers, and, in one case, an ex-nanny. With appointments running flush, no time to check messages. I switched my phone off and stashed it in a desk drawer.