Ed McBain: The House That Jack Built

“Elise,” her mother said.

“Such a beautiful child we had,” Elise said. “Jonathan and I.”

“Elise, darling…”

“Such a beautiful family we could have been.”

“Darling, darling…”

“Oh, Mama,” she said, and burst into tears. “I’m so sorry, I’m so terribly sorry, please forgive me.”

“Darling golden girl…”

Matthew watched them.

Mother and daughter.

This is the house that Jack built, he thought.

This is the end of the house that Jack built.

It was three o’clock in the afternoon.

Toots and Warren were in Matthew’s office.

Toots was telling him all about how close Leona had come to shooting Dr. Wade Livingston. She was telling him there was no question but that Leona and the doctor had been intimately involved. No question, either, but that the affair was now over and done with.

“So what do we tell Frank?” Warren asked.

“I don’t know yet. I want to think about it.”

“I mean… it’s over with, Matthew.”

“I know.”

“Well… let me know what kind of report you want.”

“I will,” Matthew said. “You both did a fine job. I hope we’ll be working together again. Miss Kiley.”

“Toots,” she said.

“Toots, yes.”

“You want to go have a beer or something?” Warren asked her.

“Love to,” she said.

“Talk to you, Matthew,” Warren said, and followed Toots out.

The phone began ringing. Matthew picked up.

“An Irene McCauley on five,” Cynthia said.

He punched the button.

“Hello?”

The time was three-ten.

Irene was calling to tell him that Helen Abbott had died in the hospital last night.

“I tried to get you early this morning,” she said, “but you were already gone. The son of a bitch did a real number on her, Matthew.”

“Who?” Matthew said.

“Hurley. She named him before she died. The police are looking for him now.”

“The police already have him,” Matthew said. “I’ll call over there, get them working on the same track.”

“Matthew…”

“Yes.”

“The baby’s dead, too.”

“I’m sorry,” he said.

He was thinking that this was the true end of the house that Jack built.

At five o’clock that afternoon, he and Leona met again at Marina Lou’s.

The first thing she said was, “I told you I wasn’t having an affair, didn’t I?”

“A technicality,” Matthew said.

“No, Matthew, we’d already ended it.”

“ He’d already ended it.”

She looked at him.

“How do you know that?”

“We have tapes. The bug saved you a lot of grief, Leona. If Toots hadn’t heard that conversation…”

“I’d have shot him, yes.”

“Probably.”

“Most likely.”

She sipped at her drink.

Second martini.

“You drink too much,” he said.

“I know. Was it Frank who put the tail on me?”

“Yes.”

“Then I ought to thank him.”

“For what?”

“If Miss Kiley hadn’t placed a bug in my car, I’d have shot and perhaps killed Dr. Wade Livingston. Miss Kiley was hired by Frank, ergo…”

“By Warren Chambers, actually. Who was hired by me. At Frank’s suggestion.”

“It still all goes back to Frank.”

“Does it?”

“Well, if he’s the one who…”

“You know what I mean, Leona. Does it go back to Frank?”

“Oh.”

“What do you want me to tell him?”

Leona shrugged, lifted her glass, drained it, and signaled to the waiter for another one.

“No, Leona,” Matthew said. “No more.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m your friend.”

“I believe that, you know.”

“What do I tell Frank?”

“Let me tell him,” she said.

“All right, what will you tell him?”

“Everything.”

“And then what?”

“I don’t know. We’ll have to see, won’t we?”

“When did this thing with Livingston start?”

“Two months ago.”

“That’s not too bad.”

“No, not too bad.”

She was silent for a long time. Then she looked directly into Matthew’s eyes and said, “I still love him, Matthew.”

“Then either stop loving him or get out of the marriage,” Matthew said.

“Okay.”

Matthew sighed heavily.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“Yeah,” he said, and sighed again.

“Really.”

“Frank’s going to ask my advice, you know. After you’ve talked to him, he’s going to want my opinion. We’re partners, Leona.”

“And what will you tell him?”

“I’ll tell him he ought to do everything in his power to keep you. Short of looking the other way while you fuck a stranger. That’s what I’ll tell him, Leona.”

“Thank you,” she said.

And suddenly she was crying.

Parrish was catching a nine o’clock plane to Indianapolis. He was packed and ready to go when Matthew went to see him at the hotel early that evening. Now that all charges had been dropped, he wanted to get the hell out of Calusa as soon as possible.

He took Matthew’s hand.

“Thank you,” he said.

And then, because Matthew had saved his life, and because he still hadn’t the slightest idea what sort of man he was, he said, “If ever you’re in Indiana, stop by. I’d be mighty happy to see you.”

“I rarely get out that way,” Matthew said, and smiled.

He was thinking You do your very best, you make it work at last, you make it all come together — and then there’s nothing more to do but shake hands and say so long.

“I guess that means I won’t be seeing you ever again,” Parrish said.

“I guess that’s what it means,” Matthew said.

It sounded very much like goodbye.

This is the house that Jack built.

This is the malt that lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the rat that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the cat that killed the rat that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the dog that worried the cat that killed the rat that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the cow with the crumpled horn that tossed the dog that worried the cat that killed the rat that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the maiden all forlorn that milked the cow with the crumpled horn that tossed the dog that worried the cat that killed the rat that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the man all tattered and torn that kissed the maiden all forlorn that milked the cow with the crumpled horn that tossed the dog that worried the cat that killed the rat that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the priest all shaven and shorn that married the man all tattered and torn that kissed the maiden all forlorn that milked the cow with the crumpled horn that tossed the dog that worried the cat that killed the rat that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the cock that crowed in the morn that waked the priest all shaven and shorn that married the man all tattered and torn that kissed the maiden all forlorn that milked the cow with the crumpled horn that tossed the dog that worried the cat that killed the rat that ate the malt that lay in the house that jack built.

This is the farmer that sowed the corn that kept the cock that crowed in the morn that waked the priest all shaven and shorn that married the man all tattered and torn that kissed the maiden all forlorn that milked the cow with the crumpled horn that tossed the dog that worried the cat that killed the rat that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jack built.