J. Jance - Payment in kind

Peters got off on seventeen, and I rode on up to the penthouse thinking that at last I would be able to crawl into bed and get a good night’s sleep. That was not to be.

When you’re up to your eyeballs in a case, it hardly ever is.

In the apartment, my all-too-dutiful message-counting light was blinking furiously-six in all. A full deck. I was tempted to ignore the machine and go straight off to bed, pretending I’d never seen it, but I’m a detective, and I was working a case. In the end, I caved in and listened.

As soon as I began playing back the messages, I was glad I did. They were from two very different people, neither one of whom I would have expected to call me voluntarily-Andrea Stovall and Erin Kelsey.

The first was from Andrea Stovall. It gave her name and number, and that was all. I put the message playback on pause and returned Andrea’s call before listening to any of the other messages. I tried dialing the number, only to be told that I had to dial a “one” first. That time the phone rang and was answered immediately.

“Semi-ah-moo,” a cheery voice answered. “May I help you?”

“I’m calling for Andrea Stovall,” I said.

“One moment please.”

The phone rang and was answered on the second ring. “Hello?” Andrea Stovall said uncertainly.

“Detective Beaumont, Mrs. Stovall,” I said. “You left word for me to call.”

“I hope you don’t mind me calling you at home. Doris-Doris Walker-gave me your card after the meeting. It was nice of you to leave one for me, considering the way I acted, but I was scared to death. My first thought was to run away. But now that Pete’s in jail, I’ve been trying to figure out what to do. When I made up my mind to talk to someone from the police, I called Doris at home and she gave me your number.”

“It’s fine for you to call me at home, Mrs. Stovall, and don’t worry about how you got the number,” I said, short-circuiting an explanation that threatened to go on forever. “What can I do for you?”

She took a deep breath. “First, tell me the truth. He is in custody, isn’t he? They couldn’t report it on television if it weren’t true, could they?”

“Is who in custody?” I asked, playing dumb. I knew good and well who she meant.

“Pete Kelsey. It said on the five-o’clock news that he had been picked up for questioning early in the afternoon.”

“That’s true, Mrs. Stovall. He is in custody. For the time being.”

“What does that mean-for the time being? He’s a killer, isn’t he? You’re not going to let him out again, are you?”

“Mrs. Stovall,” I said patiently. “We’re in the process of gathering information. It’s important that we be able to speak to witnesses, and when they disappear on us…”

“I didn’t mean to,” she said hastily. “Disappear, I mean. Really I didn’t. We’re having the conference here later this week, and I thought it might be wise to come up early…”

“Mrs. Stovall, let’s not pussyfoot around. You left word with Detective Kramer this morning that you were going out of town because you feared for your life, that Erin Kelsey had called you and warned you that her father was gunning for you.”

“That’s absolutely correct,” Andrea Stovall returned. “She called early this morning.”

“How early?”

“Five-thirty. Five thirty-five, actually. I looked at the clock when the phone woke me up.”

“What did she say?”

“She was terribly upset, sobbing into the phone. I wanted so badly to go over to the house and take her in my arms, but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t.”

I should imagine not, I thought. I said, “Tell me what she said.”

“That there were terrible things in the paper this morning, things about her mother and me, and that Pete was coming after me.”

“And you believed it was true?”

“Absolutely. After the other night, wouldn’t you? As soon as I got off the phone, I packed a bag and came up here. I’m not the kind of person who takes chances.”

“Aren’t you?” I said.

There was a distinct pause and a distancing in her voice. “What does that mean?”

“Evidently things had gone along smoothly for years with whatever private arrangement the three of you had made. Who made the decision to change them all of a sudden?”

“Nobody.”

“Nobody?”

“That’s what I said. Nobody. Nothing was changing. Pete didn’t care what Marcia and I did as long as nothing jeopardized the appearance of their marriage. He didn’t want anything to upset Erin or Marcia’s parents. And neither did Marcia.”

“But I thought…”

“You thought what? That Marcia was going to come out of the closet and the two of us live together openly? She made a bargain with Pete Kelsey years ago. She never would have broken her word, and I wouldn’t have asked her to.”

“But somebody wanted him to think she would.”

“What do you mean?”

“Somebody called him on the phone that night and told him she was leaving him.”

“For me?” Andrea asked. “They lied.” She added firmly.

“Were Alvin and Marcia friends?”

“No.”

“Lovers then?”

“You haven’t been paying attention.”

“Did you and Marcia have a ”usual place‘?“

I heard Andrea Stovall’s sharp intake of breath. “How did you know about that?”

“Did you?” I insisted.

“Yes. We’d meet for lunch. In the Center House or by the International Fountain.”

“Did you ever meet there on weekends?”

“No,” she said. “We never did.”

That meant that there was a chance that the note we’d found under Alvin Chambers’ shoe was a plant, a note from another time that had been placed there to make the scene appear even more incriminating.

“This must be a nightmare for the family,” Andrea Stovall said, “for George and Belle and especially Erin, and yet she was thoughtful enough to call.”

“You’re sure it was her?”

“Of course I’m sure.”

“Did she say it? This is Erin?”

“She didn’t have to. I know her voice, even when she’s crying, and besides…”

“Besides what?”

“She called me Auntie Andy. Erin’s the only one in the whole world who calls me that. The only one.”

“Did you tell her where you were going?”

“No.”

“Did she ask?”

“No. Why?”

I was thinking about the crumpled likeness of Erin Kelsey in Jason Ragsdale’s sweaty paw. “Don’t,” I cautioned. “Don’t tell anyone at all where you are, is that clear?”

“You think I’m still in danger, even though Pete’s locked up?”

“You could be, Mrs. Stovall. I don’t want to take any chances.”

“Right,” she breathed. “I understand. I’ll be very careful.”

“Is that all?” By now I had had to reset the PAUSE button a half dozen times in order to prevent my machine from continuing to play the messages.

“There is one more thing,” she answered uneasily.

“What?”

“What happens if Pete Kelsey’s crazy?”

“That’s something a court of law would have to decide. Why, do you think he is?”

“Maybe.”

“Why?”

“Because when I went looking for Marcia Sunday night, when I went into her office, he’d taken all her stuff.”

“Stuff?”

“Her pictures. Pictures of Erin when she was little. Their wedding picture. There must have been half a dozen or so. They’ve been in every office Marcia’s ever used at Seattle Public Schools. That’s the first thing I noticed that night when I went looking for her. It was almost as though someone had removed everything that had made the office hers alone. If that’s not crazy, I don’t know what is.”