Тимоти Уилльямз - Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. Vol. 126, No. 3 & 4. Whole No. 769 & 770, September/October 2005

“I can guess some of it. You and this Janice were both involved with Sam Nation, weren’t you?”

“That’s a nice way of putting it. He was the town’s bad boy. You could find him most any night at the pool hall on Upper Whistling Avenue. But I was attracted to him and I went out with him a few times. Then Janice Collins took over. I tried to warn her about what he was like — Ieven published the police reports of his arrests on minor charges in my newspaper — but she was getting divorced and looking for a fling.” She sighed. “You don’t want to hear the rest of it. I’ve talked too much already.”

“I’m a writer, Polly,” he reminded her. “Nothing you could say would shock me.”

“Everything’s grist for the mill? I don’t want to turn up in your next book.”

“I assure you that’ll never happen. But I would like to meet this Janice Collins.”

“What for?”

“It may be my imagination working overtime, but when you mentioned Janice to Sam Nation his grip on that hammer tightened, as if he was getting ready to swing it. That’s when I stepped between you two. Would he have any reason to be angry with her?”

“There was a baby,” Polly answered reluctantly. “Sam was gone by then and Janice put it up for adoption. Somehow he found out about it and threatened her over the telephone. But that was more than a year ago. I imagine he’s cooled down by now.”

“What did he want her to do? Raise it without a father?”

“It was a boy, and he demanded to know where his son was. Of course she didn’t know, and that just infuriated him more.”

“I really think I should see her. She could be in danger while the carnival’s in town.”

It was a struggle, but he finally convinced Polly that it would be best if he came with her to warn Janice Collins that she could be in danger. She called Janice on her cell phone and told her they were coming. Back at the newspaper office they took her car and headed out North Hill Drive. It was one of the town’s better areas and Polly explained that her friend had acquired the house as part of the divorce settlement. “Who was she married to?” Ellery asked.

“Wagner Collins, vice-president of the Wrightsville National Bank. You probably never knew him. They were married for six years and gave some memorable parties. Here we are now.” She swung her little red Saturn into the driveway of a modest white colonial, quite proper for a banker’s house in Wrightsville.

“Was she still married when Sam Nation came along?”

“Married but separated. Her pregnancy was the last straw for Wagner. He knew it wasn’t his.”

Janice Collins met them at the door. “It’s a pleasure, Mr. Queen. I’ve read all your books.” She was short and dark-haired, with a topknot that added a couple of inches to her height. Her pastel lounging costume was not designed for gardening or housework.

“That’s a lot of reading,” he said with a smile.

She led them into a formal living room where everything was in its place and the mantel clock told the time to the precise second. “Now what’s this about Sam Nation?” she asked her friend.

“We saw him at the carnival in Memorial Park. He’s working there all week as a roustabout.”

Janice Collins snorted. “That’s a good job for him.”

“Has he tried to contact you?” Polly asked.

“Not yet, and I doubt if he will. I have no idea where his son is. But this must be boring for you, Mr. Queen. Can I get you a drink?”

“No, thank you. We can’t stay long. I just wanted to warn you that this fellow Nation looked like a bad customer to me. I’d advise you to call the police if he comes here.”

“We’re not imagining it,” Polly told her. “Your sister saw him, too. He was carrying a hammer and looked as if he’d like to use it.”

“I won’t call the police,” she told them. “I’ll call my ex-husband. He’ll know how to deal with Sam.”

“Do you still see him?” Polly wondered.

“Occasionally. Wagner’s a good man. I just couldn’t live with him any longer.”

Ellery wanted to stress his warning, but he said no more. He barely knew these people and perhaps he was basing too much on the way Sam Nation had gripped his hammer. “Are you still going to the carnival tonight?” Polly asked.

“I’ll have to think about it,” Janice answered.

Polly drove Ellery back to the Square and left him at his hotel. “I hope you enjoy your stay in Wrightsville,” she told him. “And I still want that interview before you leave.”

After dinner at the Hollis Hotel, Ellery strolled around the Square for a bit, knowing he’d end up at the carnival. Beneath the bright lights and a clear evening sky it seemed even more crowded than that afternoon. Family groups with small children mingled with older teenagers on their own. There were girlish screams from the direction of the bumper cars and laughter from the high-school boys. A long line had formed at the Ferris wheel. Ellery took it all in and wondered how this perfect American setting could ever have been the locale for murder.

He was about to head back to the Hollis when he spotted Sam Nation talking to a man he didn’t recognize. They seemed to be arguing, and Ellery strolled closer to hear what was being said. The other man, wearing dark slacks and an open-necked white shirt, was older than Nation and not quite as tall. But he was making his point with a jabbing finger that was almost in Nation’s face. “Just stay away from her, that’s all you have to do!”

Sam Nation was not intimidated. “She had my kid. I just want to know where he is.”

“You don’t deserve to know. And Janice doesn’t know where he is anyway. He’s been adopted by a family who cares about him more than you do.”

“What business is it of yours, Collins?” Nation asked, launching a counterattack. “You’re not married to her anymore.”

“She asked me to speak to you. Just stay away and don’t make trouble for yourself.”

“I’ll bet she’s still a hot little number, isn’t she?”

Collins grabbed a fistful of his T-shirt and yanked. Ellery moved to prevent a fight for the second time that day, but suddenly Nation saw and recognized him. “See this guy? He was here with that newspaper gal this afternoon. He’s probably Janice’s latest conquest.”

Wagner Collins turned to stare at Ellery and Nation broke free of his grasp. “Who are you?” he asked.

“Just a visitor, name of Ellery Queen. I happened to be with Polly Watkins this afternoon.”

“Do you know my ex-wife?”

“Polly and I drove out for a brief visit. It’s the first time I met her.”

Sam Nation wanted no more of Janice’s former husband. He backed away from them and quickly disappeared into the crowd. Collins merely shook his head. “Sometimes I think Janice needs a keeper. I did the best I could while we were married, but she had a habit of disappearing after parties. I’d be home cleaning up and she’d walk in at four in the morning.”

“Yet you care enough about her to throw a scare into Nation.”

“That punk! Her men friends have generally been a bit classier than him!”

“If he’s looking for his son, that could make him dangerous.”

“That sort is all talk,” Collins replied and walked away, leaving Ellery standing alone.

He strolled around, keeping an eye out for Sam Nation, but saw no sign of him. He even tried his luck at a couple of the carnival games, and came away with a small stuffed bear as a prize.

Ellery had planned to spend the following morning at the library, looking through the local newspaper file for familiar names. So many of those he remembered were gone, taken by death or the lure of the big city. He looked through a few years of the Wrightsville Record and finally decided to try the newspaper office, where they might maintain a morgue with an index of stories and obits. By that time it was the lunch hour and Polly Watkins had gone off somewhere. He decided to come back later when she was in, and walked around the Square to the carnival once more. Perhaps he was hoping to spot Sam Nation, but there was no sign of the man. He settled instead for a ride on the Ferris wheel, where the line was shorter than the previous night. From the top he could see virtually all of Wrightsville, even out to the old Van Horn estate* on North Hill Drive.