Jonathan Kellerman - The Web

"Dennis claims there are… similarities."

"Was Betty cannibalized?"

"Not…" He tapped the desk. The flutter of wings outside a window made us both start. Nightbirds or bats.

"Not yet," he said. "Nothing was missing. She was…" He shook his head. "Decapitated and eviscerated, but nothing had been taken."

"What about the long bones?"

"One leg was broken- hacked but not severed."

"What kind of knife was used?"

He didn't reply.

"Bill?"

"Knives," he said miserably. "A set of surgical tools were found there."

"Ben's?"

Headshake.

"Yours?"

"An old set I'd once owned."

"Did you give it to Ben?"

"No. It was kept here- in the lab. In a drawer of this desk."

"Where Ben had easy access."

He nodded, almost crying. "But you must believe me, Ben would never take anything without permission. Never! I know it sounds bad for him, but please believe me."

"AnneMarie had a drinking problem," I said. "You implied Betty did, too."

"Did I?"

"Back in the house you said she used to smoke and… Then you trailed off and said she'd been taking excellent care of herself during her pregnancy."

"The poor thing's dead. Why besmirch her memory?"

"Because it may be relevant. She's beyond hurt, Bill. Was she an alcoholic?"

"No, not an alcoholic. She was a… friendly girl. She smoked and drank a bit."

"What does friendly have to do with it?"

"Friendly," he said. "To the sailors."

"Like AnneMarie. One of those girls who went up to Victory Park. Was it common knowledge in the village?"

"I don't know what's common knowledge. I heard it from her mother."

"Her mother complained about Betty's promiscuity?"

"Ida brought Betty in to be treated for a venereal infection."

"Gonorrhea?"

He nodded.

"When?"

"A year ago. Before she became engaged. We kept it confidential from Mauricio- her boyfriend. Tested him, too, under a false pretense. Negative. Eventually they married."

"Maybe he found out anyway and reacted."

"This? No, not Mauricio. What was done to her was beyond… no, no, impossible. Mauricio's not a… calculating sort. He'd never have thought to incriminate Ben."

"Not smart enough?"

"He's simple. As was Betty."

I remembered Betty's open manner and easy smile. Trusting me enough after meeting me to talk about herself. No bra under the tank top…

"Simple and trusting," I said. "A drinker, overly friendly with the boys. Sounds like a perfect victim. What was Ben's relationship with her?"

"They knew each other the way everyone on the island knows each other."

"Did Ben know about her gonorrhea?"

He thought. "I didn't discuss it with him."

"But he could have found out- read it in the chart."

"Ben was busy enough without sticking his nose where it didn't belong."

"Maybe he came across it by accident. We both know you're not a compulsive filer."

No answer. He got up and paced, twisting his fingers again, bobbing his neck.

I said, "Learning that, he could have assumed she was easy."

"I didn't record the diagnosis in my notes. I made sure to protect her."

"What did you write?"

"Just that she had an infection that required penicillin."

"Someone with Ben's medical sophistication could have figured it out, Bill. And what about the lab tests? Did you destroy the results?"

"I- don't believe so… but still it's not possible. Not Ben. Why are you thinking in these terms?"

"Because I have an open mind. If that upsets you, we can end the discussion."

He gritted his teeth. "This isn't the last time I'll be hearing these kinds of speculations. I might as well get used to it. Let's assume- for the sake of argument- that Ben did know she'd been infected. Why in the world would he murder her?"

"As I said, it could have led him to believe she was easy. One scenario is that they'd had a relationship for a while, or even that last night was a one-night stand. In either case, they went up to the park, got drunk, and things got out of hand."

"That's ridiculous! You saw him with Claire tonight. He loves her, they've got so much going- the children."

"Lots of psychopaths lead double lives."

"No! Not Ben! And he's not a psychopath. He didn't kill AnneMarie and he didn't kill Betty!"

"Does he have an alibi for AnneMarie's murder?"

"He was never asked to present one. But I remember the way he reacted to the murder. Utterly revolted !"

"Did you tell him AnneMarie had been cannibalized?"

"No! Only Dennis and I knew. And now you."

"But once again, Ben had access to the information. And Dennis knows AnneMarie's murder file is here. So even if Ben does develop an alibi for the first murder, Dennis may suspect he read up on the case and pulled a copycat. To disguise murdering Betty."

"He's not a premeditated killer! This whole line of reasoning is spurious!"

"No one else knew about AnneMarie's wounds."

"The killer knew- a killer who isn't Ben."

"What about the fishermen who found AnneMarie's body?"

"Alonzo Rubino and Saul Saentz," he said. "They're even older than I. Saul's downright frail. And they didn't know the details."

"Leaving only Ben, who might have."

"You were at dinner tonight, son. Was that the demeanor of a cannibal butcher? Do you mean to tell me he drove Claire home, tucked her in bed, and left to commit murder?"

"He was in the park. What's his explanation for that?"

"Dennis hasn't interrogated him. Refuses to until there's an attorney present."

"Ben's still free to offer an explanation. Has he?"

He paused. "After Dennis and I had words, he was less than forthcoming."

"When will Ben have an attorney?"

"Dennis has wired to Saipan for a court-appointed lawyer."

"There are no lawyers on the island?"

"No. Until now that's been a plus."

"How long will it take for the appointee to get over?"

"The next boat's due in five days. If the base allows a plane to land, it could be sooner."

"Why would the base cooperate all of a sudden?"

"Because this is just what they want. Another nail in Aruk's coffin." He made a fist and regarded it as if it belonged on someone else's arm. The fingers opened slowly. The bandage on his hand was soiled.

"Why is the Navy waging war on the island, Bill?"

"The Navy's a branch of the government, and the government wants to rid itself of responsibility. Ben's arrest is yet another reason to abandon ship: murderous savages. Cannibals, no less. And if the fiend who murdered AnneMarie was a Navy man, he's now off the hook, so Ewing's got a vested interest in having Ben prosecuted."

"I thought you believed the killer had moved on."

"Perhaps he left and returned. Corpsmen fly in and out all the time. A look at Navy flight records would be instructive, but try obtaining them. There's more than one kind of barricade, Alex."

"You said Dennis never discovered any similar murders during the interim."

"That's true. As far as it goes. But some of the places in the region- I've heard there's a restaurant in Bangkok that serves human flesh. Perhaps apocryphal, perhaps not. But there's no doubt things go on we never hear about."

He rubbed his head. "Aruk has been abandoned, but I won't abandon Ben."

"Does Senator Hoffman also have a vested interest in Aruk's decline?" I said.

"Most probably, strip away the veneer of political correctness and you've got a strip-mall builder."

"In cahoots with someone like Creedman's employer- Stasher-Layman?"

"The thought has occurred to me."

"Creedman's an advance man?"

"I've thought about that, too."

"At dinner, Creedman and Hoffman acted as if they didn't know each other. But during the discussion of colonialism, Creedman rushed to defend Hoffman's point of view."