Faye Kellerman - The Burnt House

“Belize took an instant liking to me. Believe it or not, I was cute when I was young. I wish I had had warts on my nose. It would have saved me a lifetime of misery.”

Yet she had stuck it out with the guy. Decker said, “He made a play for you?”

“Yes.”

“And it flattered you.”

“You have to understand, I was always second fiddle…more like third fiddle. First in the alpha female position was Beth, then Alyssa, then me, and then some of the others. All of a sudden this exotic, mysterious guy was coming on to me. Instantly, I gained a new stature.”

“What happened to Christian as your boyfriend?”

“That broke up a long time ago. He was part of the group, but we were no longer an item. It was a free-for-all.” She paused. “Do you know what happened to Christian?”

“He’s a headmaster of a very exclusive private school back east.”

She rolled her eyes. “Talk about a sellout.”

“Maybe he felt he could serve best by educating young minds,” Decker said.

“Maybe he fell into the job because that’s what his father did. Christian used to deride his dad because he received all these expensive birthday and holiday gifts. Now he’s doing the same thing. I use the word ‘hypocrite’, but look at me. Soccer mom complete with the brownies and the SUV.”

“You’re raising your children in a wholesome environment. What’s wrong with that?”

She gave him a tearful smile. “Thanks.”

Decker said, “When you say that it was a free-for-all, I assume you mean all the partying?”

“Of course.”

“What about Beth and Manny. Did they get into the partying?”

Her eyes looked past the physical walls that she gazed upon. “For some reason, I remember the two of them as being kind of spiritual. I know they smoked a lot of weed, that I can remember really well. But I don’t recall them fucking around a lot. Beth and Manny took their roles as leaders pretty seriously. I remember Manny being more into drugs and food than sex.”

Consistent with what Alyssa Bright Mapplethorpe had told Marge. “How long was Belize with the church before things went wrong?”

“He was never really with the church, which is amazing.” She blew out air. “In roughly two weeks’ time, Belize managed to ruin all of our careful planning and hard work.”

“What happened?”

“The man was a goat…insatiable…some things never change.” She blotted tears. “I guess I didn’t satisfy him. Or maybe I just wasn’t around. He was living with Beth and Manny and Manny wasn’t always around. Beth was a beautiful girl.”

Decker thought a moment. “He made a pass at Beth?”

“Truly incredible, huh? Why I didn’t leave him years ago…I’m such an idiot!”

“People get caught in situations,” Decker said.

Lindie let out a small laugh. “You do a great job at playing ‘good cop.’ If I weren’t so distraught, I’d probably fall for you.”

Decker smiled. “I take it Beth told Manny about Belize’s pass?”

“She did. Manny was forgiving of his brother’s roving eye, but Beth wasn’t. She insisted that Belize move out and get his own place. Belize didn’t want to move out. He didn’t want to have to pay rent, he wasn’t paying for food, mostly he was lazy. And he really resented Beth telling him what to do. The two of them began to argue constantly. Manny tried to keep peace but it was useless. It was inevitable that things would come to a head.”

Decker nodded. “Tell me about it. I need to hear your side of the story.”

Her eyes moistened. “I don’t know what happened because I wasn’t there.”

“So tell me what you do know.”

Her tears had returned. “Something went awry…horribly out of control. Belize told me that he…he and Beth were arguing…” She started to pant. “That the argument got very heated…that Beth wouldn’t quit…that things escalated. They got physical. There was pushing and shoving and the next thing he knew…”

She took in a quick breath and forced it out.

“He told me that Beth had hit her head on the wall. He told me that I needed to come over and help him clean up the mess.”

“Mess?”

“That’s what I asked him. What mess?” She blinked repeatedly to rid her eyes of all the tears-like bailing out a sinking ship. Her voice was barely audible. “He begged me to come over. I never heard such desperation. Of course how well did I know him? Something like three weeks?”

“Did you go over to the apartment?”

She nodded slowly. “It was horrible…horrific. I didn’t know people had that much blood inside of them.”

“Describe the scene to me.”

“Blood was…everywhere. On the walls, on the floor, on the ceiling.” She regarded Decker with a trembling lip. “I think I threw up. It was sickening. It was the most…I had nightmares for years. I still have them. That’s why I remember everything so clearly.”

“Poor you,” Decker said, and meant it.

She started sobbing. “Thank you for saying that.”

Decker let her weep openly until her breathing had slowed to an acceptable rate. Then he said, “The scene wasn’t what you expected.”

“I don’t know what I expected. All I knew is that something horrible had happened. What I should have done was run like hell, drive back to my parents’ house, and call the police. Instead, I…” Her voice trailed off.

Decker said, “Who was at the apartment when you got there?”

“By the time I arrived, Manny and Beth were gone. Belize was making some pathetic attempt to scrub down the walls.”

“Did you ask him what happened?”

“No…not at that time. I couldn’t speak. I was in a state of shock and Belize was shaken to the core. He pleaded with me to help him clean up the mess. I took a rag and started wiping the blood from the walls. It was nauseating. The smell of fresh blood and knowing that something real bad happened. My punishment for all the hell I put my parents through.”

“You can’t blame yourself for someone else’s crime, Lindie.”

Again, she started crying. “I should have seen it coming! I should have left. I should have insisted that Belize leave! I should have, I should have, I should have.”

Decker had no words of solace. He waited a few moments then continued. “Did Manny return to the apartment?”

A long, suffering sigh. “He came back about four hours later. By then, Belize and I managed to clean most of it up…but it still reeked.”

She swallowed hard.

“Manny told us the apartment wasn’t clean enough. He said it needed to be spotless before we left. He also said that he needed to pack up his belongings and Beth’s as well. His plan was to wait until morning and make it look like he and Beth disappeared with the church funds. He said that he’d take out the money first thing in the morning and then we’d all take off together.”

“And what did Belize say to that?”

“Belize did whatever Manny told him to do.”

“I thought it was Manny who adored Belize.”

“Suddenly the roles reversed and Manny was telling us what to do. He was the only one who was thinking that night…preternaturally calm, actually. Maybe it was nerves. Mostly, I remember that he was very pissed at Belize. Unforgivingly so.”

“How could you tell?”

“Belize was constantly trying to talk to him and Manny didn’t answer. Finally Manny told Belize to shut the fuck up. Manny was always kind of a nice guy…seeing him like that, I was terrified. I don’t know who killed Beth; either one could have done it. Of course, I was way too petrified to ask.”

Decker was battling off a terrible hand cramp. “Tell me what happened next.”

Lindie kept shaking her head, trying to rid herself of the dreadful images. “We spent the entire night cleaning the place up. By morning, you could have eaten off the floor, it was that clean. As soon as the bank opened, Manny took out his own money that he had saved with Beth plus the church’s savings. We piled into Manny’s truck and headed for Vegas. We drove the entire six hours in total silence.”