Beverly Connor - Dust to Dust

“What implications does that have?” said Diane.

“I have no idea. Just throwing stuff out. Like you, something bothered me too. But I can’t put my finger on what exactly,” he said. “Maybe it’s that they seemed like the three witches from Macbeth . Okay, that was unkind, but I find them just a little spooky.”

“Do you think Marsha or her husband could have killed Stacy?” said Diane. “You see how angry both of them are at us. What emotions must Stacy have brought out in them, poking around in their daughter’s death?”

“I think it’s a possibility the police should look at, but I’m not sure they will,” he said.

He didn’t say the two of them should look into it, but she felt that was what he was thinking. Perhaps she should have asked Marsha what she was doing the day Stacy died. Maybe dug a little deeper. But Diane had wanted to get them out of her office. Marsha Carruthers wouldn’t have answered anyway.

Kingsley left and Diane looked over some budget requests before she headed for the crime lab. She thought about looking in on the meeting of museum curators, but decided she would let Andie handle it. If she were present, it would completely change the dynamics of the meeting.

Diane stopped at the information desk to speak with a docent, when someone touched her arm. She turned to greet them with a smile.

“Kathy Nicholson,” Diane said, trying not to let the smile freeze on her face. “Did you forget something… or perhaps remember something?”

Kathy Nicholson, sans Marsha and Wendy, stood beside the information desk with her purse on her shoulder. She had on a light wool jacket she hadn’t been wearing in the meeting.

“No, I didn’t forget anything,” she said. “I’d like to speak with you.” She looked around as if she were being watched, or on the lookout, lest she be seen by someone she knew.

“Let’s go to my office,” said Diane.

She told the docent she would see her the next day and led Mrs. Nicholson back to her office and closed the door. Diane didn’t sit behind her desk, but pulled up a chair and sat across from her.

“May I get you a drink?” asked Diane. “I have a refrigerator in the next room with cold sodas.”

“No, thank you, no,” she said. “I have a friend meeting me in your museum restaurant a little later. She said it’s very good.”

“It is,” Diane said.

Diane waited for Kathy Nicholson to speak. Kathy looked at her well-manicured hands a moment and back up at Diane.

“You must be wondering why I’m here,” she said.

“I am,” said Diane. “I hope you don’t intend to try to persuade me to recant, as Mrs. Carruthers put it. It’s not just my findings regarding Stacy’s death, but those of our medical examiner as well.”

“No, I haven’t come for that, but the others think I have,” she said.

“Oh?” said Diane.

“Do you really have all those jobs?” Kathy asked.

“Yes, I do. The forensic anthropology lab is part of the museum. The crime lab is housed here and I run it. I used to be a human rights investigator,” Diane said, hoping that might help Kathy to understand her qualifications.

“They-we-weren’t always like this. We were very happy people. You wouldn’t have known Marsha ten years ago. Wendy either. Ellie Rose’s death changed so much for us. But nine years is a long time, and I am so tired.”

“Of what?” said Diane, gently.

“That’s a good question. Marsha’s grief, I guess. That’s a terrible thing to say, I know. And I know you don’t ever get over something like her daughter’s tragic death. My husband died of cancer and I miss him every day. But… but I don’t”-she frowned as if searching for the right word-“I don’t cover the world with it. I don’t walk through it as if it were syrup. I don’t know.” A small sigh escaped her lips, as if she gave up looking for the right expression. “Wendy told me what you said yesterday-about Marsha losing what it felt like to love her daughter, or something like that. She has, I think. That desperate anguish she felt when they found Ellie Rose’s body is still fresh in her now, just like it was then.”

Diane wondered why she was telling her all this. But she didn’t say anything. She just listened. Her former boss at World Accord International always said the ability to listen is one of the most powerful tools one can have.

After a moment’s silence, Diane spoke. “Why do you think Marsha has not healed?”

“I don’t know. At first, Wendy and I tried to help Marsha cope. But after a while, Wendy just went along with her, and I stayed across the street with my husband more and more. We quit having the neighborhood barbecues we used to have when the children were small. I have a son, Colton. He’s in California now at Berkeley studying political science. He’s getting a master’s.”

“Do you see him much?” asked Diane.

“Not a lot. I go out there some. I’m thinking about moving,” she said.

Diane smiled.

“My son doesn’t like to come here anymore. I don’t blame him. Bad memories. Wendy’s son, Tyler, is in law school at UGA now. He doesn’t come home much either. So much has changed. I sometimes resent Marsha and her family. I think Wendy does too. I know that’s unfair and cruel.”

“But understandable,” said Diane. Kathy obviously wanted to talk. Diane wondered whether she had been frank with anyone about this.

“Colton was a year younger than Ellie Rose. He and Tyler are the same age. We were so happy then. There were lots of kids in the neighborhood. Several people moved away after Ellie Rose’s death. Even though Colton was a boy, I was afraid after El’s death. You never know why someone kills children, or if yours might be next. All of us parents were afraid. Many distanced themselves from the Carruthers. Others, like Wendy and me, tried to help. But as I said, there was no helping her. I don’t know what it would have been like if it had been my child. Wendy said your child was murdered,” she said.

“Yes,” said Diane. “I don’t talk about it much.”

Kathy nodded as if she understood. “What did you think of us?” she asked, suddenly.

“The three of you are very sad, especially Wendy and Marsha. They have turned very much inward. The whole time the three of you were here, you were the only one who seemed to be aware of your surroundings.”

“Yes, we are different,” she said. “You noticed that?”

“Yes, I noticed it. What I don’t understand is why the three of you came here today. Did Marsha actually expect to have me say that what I found really wasn’t true? Does she honestly think there is a chance Ryan Dance could get out of jail based on my findings about his sister’s death?”

“Yes. Both of them think that. Marsha got some pretty mean calls that upset her after the article came out. And her daughter Samantha moved out. She is beside herself about that. But she never paid any attention to the poor girl. What did she expect? She wanted her family nearby, but out of her way. She never used to be so self-absorbed. Honestly, that’s true. She was just the nicest person. Ellie Rose was a nice girl too. Always cheerful, always had something sweet to say. Her death tried my faith. It did. I think it tried Marsha’s and Wendy’s too.”

“Samantha moved out?” said Diane. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“She is eighteen. And, frankly, I think it’s a good thing. She was being smothered in that house. You were there. Could you live there?”

No, Diane couldn’t have, but she didn’t say it. Instead she gave Kathy a prod. “Is there something you wanted to say to me?”

“I wanted to ask you: Are you sure, are you really sure, that Stacy Dance was murdered?”