Ed McBain - Three Blind Mice

Where Matthew had asked for the names and addresses of persons with information relevant to the offense, Patricia Demming was now adding Charles N. Stubbs to her former list of witnesses. She undoubtedly planned to have him testify that he had seen Leeds taking the boat out at ten-thirty on the night of the murder. Exactly what Matthew himself would have done in her position. No surprises thus far. Matthew hated surprises.

Where Matthew had asked for any written or taped verbatim witness statements made to the police, Patricia now included a written copy of Stubbs’s statement taken by one Detective Frank Bannion of the State Attorney’s office on Saturday, August 18, two days ago.

Where Matthew had asked for a list of any tangible paper or objects to be used at the hearing and trial, Patricia now listed: One billed yellow nylon mesh cap with interlocking BB monogram in red and one yellow windbreaker with nylon shell and insulated lining.

This was a surprise.

Matthew picked up the phone and asked Cynthia to get Jessica Leeds for him. She buzzed a moment later to say that Mrs. Leeds was on the line.

“Good morning,” Matthew said.

“Good morning, I was just about to call you.”

“When were they there?” Matthew asked.

“Do you mean the police?”

“Yes.”

“Late last night.”

“Did they have a search warrant?”

“Yes.”

“Who was it? Rawles and Bloom again?”

“No. A detective from the State Attorney’s office.”

“Did you get his name?”

“Frank Bannion.”

“Was he looking specifically for the jacket and hat?”

“The search warrant called them ‘evidence or fruits of the crime.’ ”

“But did it say something like ‘Affiant specifically requests warrant to search for,’ something like that?”

“Yes. The jacket and hat. The warrant described them in detail.”

“Did it also describe the farm as the location for the search?”

“Yes. The exact location of the farm.”

“Did Bannion sign as affiant?”

“I think so.”

“Who granted the warrant?”

“Someone named Amores?”

“Amor os . With an o . Manuel Amoros, he’s a Circuit Court judge.”

“Yes, that sounds right.”

“Okay, so now she’s got the jacket and hat.”

“She?”

“Patricia Demming. The Assistant S.A. who’ll be trying the case. Tell me again, Mrs. Leeds. Are you sure your husband didn’t leave the house at any time on the night of the murders?”

“I’m positive.”

“Were you at home all night long?”

“Yes. All night long.”

“You didn’t go out for a walk or anything, during which time your husband might have…”

“No, I was home. We were home together. Stephen fell asleep watching the movie, but I watched it all the way through, and then I watched television for a while before going to sleep.”

“And slept the night through. Both of you.”

“Yes.”

“Until you were awakened by the police at nine the next morning.”

“Yes.”

“Can you remember the last time you saw that jacket and hat?”

“Stephen was wearing the hat when he came in off the boat that evening. Before dinner.”

“And the jacket? Was he wearing the jacket, too?”

“No. It was a very hot day.”

“Where does he normally keep the jacket?”

“In the hall closet.”

“And the hat?”

“The same closet. On the shelf there.”

“Is that where he put the hat when he came in that evening?”

“I suppose so. I really don’t remember. He was wearing it, but I don’t remember whether he put it in the closet or not. I didn’t know the hat was going to be important. Why is it suddenly so damn important? Why did they come for it?”

“Because they claim he was wearing it when he committed the murders.”

“He didn’t commit the murders. He was here with me all night long.”

“You’re sure of that.”

“How many times do I…?”

“Are you a very deep sleeper, Mrs. Leeds?”

“Yes.”

“Did you wake up at any time that night?”

“No.”

“You slept soundly the whole night through?”

“Yes.”

“Can you say for certain that your husband didn’t get out of bed at any time that night?”

“Well, I…”

“Because that’s what the State Attorney’s going to ask you, Mrs. Leeds.”

“I can’t say that for certain, no.”

“Then he might have got out of bed…”

“I suppose that’s possible…”

“… and gone downstairs to put on that yellow jacket and hat…”

“Yes, but…”

“… and driven your Maserati…”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I didn’t hear the car starting. I would have…”

“But you were sound asleep.”

“Well… yes.”

“So you wouldn’t have heard the car starting.”

“I guess not.”

“So you really can’t say for sure that your husband was home with you all night long.”

“Whose side are you on?” Jessie snapped.

“Yours, Mrs. Leeds. Your husband’s.”

“I was beginning to wonder.”

“No, don’t ever wonder about that. I’m only asking you what the S.A.’s going to ask. You’re his only alibi. If she can cast doubt on your…”

“My husband did not kill those men!” Jessie said sharply. “I may have been asleep, yes, I may not have heard everything happening in this goddamn house, but I know he did not go out to kill those men!”

“How can you know that?” Matthew asked.

“I just know it!”

“How?”

“Because he…”

She cut herself off.

There was a silence on the line.

Matthew waited.

“Yes?” he said at last.

“He…”

And another silence.

“Yes, he what ?”

“He rejected the idea,” Jessie said.

“What idea?”

“Of having them killed.”

“What do you mean?”

“I wanted them killed.”

Oh, no, please, Matthew thought.

“I wanted to find someone who’d kill them.”

No, you didn’t, he thought. Please.

“Have you mentioned this to anyone else?” he said.

“Of course not.”

“But you did mention it to your husband?”

Say no, he thought. Tell me you didn’t suggest it to your…

“Yes. I told him I wanted to… to start asking around… discreetly. Find out if there was someone. anyone. who would kill those animals for me. Rid the earth of them. There are such people, aren’t there? Who do these things for money?”

“Yes, there are such people,” Matthew said.

“But Stephen said no. He said the men who raped me would have to live with their consciences for the rest of their lives. That was God’s punishment, he said. And God’s punishment was enough.”

Try selling that to a jury, Matthew thought.

“Mrs. Leeds,” he said, “at the trial, your husband didn’t sound quite that magnanimous. He…”

“Yes, his outburst, I know. But that was in anger, and this was much later.”

“How much later?”

“We heard the verdict on Friday. This was on Sunday.”

“The day before the murders.”

“Yes.”

“Yes,” Matthew said.

There was another silence on the line.

He was thinking, Please don’t let Demming get her hands on this.

“My husband didn’t kill those men,” Jessie said. “Believe me, I know he didn’t. He couldn’t have.”

But Matthew was thinking he could have.

The name of the place was Kickers.

Until just two months ago, it had been a seafood restaurant called The Shoreline Inn, and six months before that it had been a steak house called Jason’s Place, and three months before that it had been known as The Purple Seahorse, which served Continental food as precious as its name in an interior all done up in violet and lavender.