P is for Peril (18 page)

The drawl again. “Hey, it's me. My brother still there?”

“He just left.”

“I thought maybe the two of us might go out for a drink.” His voice on the phone was low and flirtatious. I could tell he was smiling, holding the handset close to his lips.

“Why?”

“Why?” His laugh bubbled up. “Why do you think?”

“Is there a problem between you and Richard?”

“Such as what?”

“I don't know. I got the feeling he didn't like the fact that you were talking to me. So, you know, you ask me out for a drink and I'm not sure it's wise.”

“You're a tenant. He's strict. That still doesn't make it any of his damn business.”

“I don't want to get you in trouble.”

He laughed. “Don't worry about it. I can take care of myself.”

“I didn't mean it that way. I don't want to cause problems.”

“I told you. It's not a problem. Quit trying to duck the question and let me buy you a glass of wine.”

“It's only four o'clock.”

“So?”

“I have work to do yet.”

“When will you finish?”

“Probably closer to six.”

“Good. We'll make it dinner instead.”

“Not dinner. A drink. And only one,” I said.

“You're callin' the shots. Name the place and I'll be there.”

I thought for a moment, tempted by the idea of Rosie's, which was off the beaten path. This all felt faintly sneaky, like it wouldn't be good for Richard to see us together. Still, I couldn't see the harm in having one drink. “There's a place near the beach,” I said, and gave him Rosie's address. “You know where that is?”

“I'll find it.”

“I may be late.”

“I'll wait.”

After I hung up, I wondered if I'd made a mistake. It's not a smart move to mix the professional with the personal. He was my landlord now and if anything went wrong, I'd be looking for new digs. On the other hand, I was friendly with Lonnie Kingman and that hadn't presented any problems. It did cheer me up, the notion of seeing him again. With luck, he'd turn out to be a jerk and I'd politely decline any further contact.

In the meantime, I knew I had to get down to the business of Dow Purcell. I'd go back to square one, starting at Pacific Meadows and the night he vanished from the face of the earth.

This time the parking lot at Pacific Meadows was full. I tucked my VW in the very last slot on the left, squeezing up against the hedge. I locked my car and slopped through shallow puddles to the front door. The wind was blowing at my back and my leather boots were water-stained by the time I reached shelter. I leaned my umbrella against the wall and hung my slicker on a peg. Today the air smelled of tomato sauce, carnations, damp wool socks, potting soil, baby powder.I checked the dinner menu posted on the wall near the double dining room doors. Barbecued riblet, baked beans, broccoli-and-cauliflower medley (now there was a winner), and for dessert, gelatin with fruit cocktail. I hoped it was cherry, clearly the superior flavor for any age group. As this was a weekday, there seemed to be more residents moving about in the hall.

The dayroom was nearly full. The drapes had been closed and the room felt cozier. One group watched a television news show, while another group watched a black-and-white movie with Ida Lupino and George Raft. In the far corner, a middle-aged woman was leading six elderly female residents in an exercise program, which consisted of lifting their arms and marching their feet while they remained seated in folding chairs. The human body was meant for motion, and this small group of women was still doing what they could to keep fit. Hooray for them.

I nodded at the woman at the front desk, behaving as though I were an old hand at this. Unchallenged, I proceeded to Administration, where I found Merry laying out a hand of solitaire. She looked up with guilt, pulled the cards together, and quickly slid them into her pencil drawer. She said, “Hi. How are you?” I could tell she'd recognized my face but was drawing a blank on the name.

“Kinsey Millhone,” I said. “I thought I'd stop by and see if Mrs. Stegler was here. I hope she hasn't left for the day.”

Merry pointed to her right just as a woman emerged from the inner office with a pair of gardening clippers and a cluster of bald and brownish ivy vines. She was saying, “That looks much better. Dr. P. would never allow me to tend to his plants when he was here.” She was slightly disconcerted to see me, but she continued on to the wastebasket, where she deposited her prunings.

Her hair was bushy on top and cut quite short around the ears. She wore an oversized brown blazer, a shirt, a tie, and a pair of mannish pants. She had a gold silk cravat bunched in the breast pocket of her jacket. The toes of her brown oxfords peered from beneath her shapelesstrouser legs. She could have used another two inches in the length.

“Mrs. Stegler? My name's Kinsey Millhone. I'm hoping you can give me some information about Dr. Purcell.”

She plucked a tissue from the box on Merry's desk and wiped her hands carefully before she finally offered to shake hands. “Merry said you stopped by on Saturday. I'm not certain I can be of help. I make it a policy not to discuss my employer without his express permission.”

“I understand that,” I said. “I'm not asking you to violate a confidence. You know Fiona Purcell?”

“Of course. Dr. Purcell's first wife.”

“She hired me in hopes I could get a line on him. I'm actually here at her suggestion. She felt a conversation with you was the logical place to begin.”

Mrs. Stegler shook her head. “I'm sorry, but I was gone by the time the doctor left the building that night,” she said, almost stubbornly. I could tell she was happy she had nothing to contribute on the subject.

“Did you talk to him that day?”

Mrs. Stegler gave me a significant look and signaled with her eyes that Merry was listening to every word we said. “Perhaps you'd like to step into his office. We can talk in there.”

She held open the hinged section of the counter and I passed inside. Her eyes were as small and as round as a parakeet's, a pale watery blue with a ring of black around the iris. As we entered the inner office, she turned to Merry. “Please see that we're not disturbed.”

Merry said, “Yes ma'am,” rolling her eyes at no one in particular. For my part, I was intrigued by the opportunity to see Dr. Purcell's office, which was small and neat. Desk, swivel chair, two upholstered guest chairs, and a bookcase filled with medical textbooks and assorted health care manuals. On the edge of his desk sat the newly shorn ivy, looking like a cocker spaniel with a summer clip. I'd have given a lot for the chance to go through his desk drawers, but the chances of that looked dim.

It was clear Mrs. Stegler thought it inappropriate to sit at his desk. She perched on one of his guest chairs and I took the other, which put us nearly knee to knee. She scooted her chair back and crossed her legs, exposing a band of narrow, white hairless shin above the rim of her wool sock.

I said, “I hope this doesn't seem out of line, but I have to tell you I can't stand gossip. Even in my line of work, I never encourage anyone to talk out of turn or breach a trust, especially in a matter like this.”

She looked at me with a hint of suspicion, perhaps sensing the bullshit, perhaps not. “We're in accord on that.”

“I'd appreciate your telling me about his last day at work.”

“I explained all that to the police. More than once, I might add.”

“I'm hoping you'll explain it again to me. Detective Odessa told me you were very helpful.”

She peered uneasily at my shoulder bag resting on the floor by my chair. “You're not recording this.”

I leaned over, grabbed the bag, and held it open so she could inspect the contents. The only thing that looked even vaguely like a recorder was my government-issue, secret, plastic tampon container with its high-powered directional mike.

“And you won't quote me out of context?”

“I won't quote you at all.”

She was silent, staring down at her lap. Finally, she said, “I've been divorced for years.”

She was silent again and I allowed the subject to sit there between us without comment on my part or elucidation on hers. I could see that she was struggling to speak. Her face twisted suddenly, her lips pulling together as though controlled by invisible strings. She spoke, but her voice was so tight and so raspy I could hardly understand what she said. “Dr. Purcell . . . was the closest . . . thing to a . . . friend I had. I can't believe he's gone. I came into work the following Monday morning and by then everyone was whispering that he was . . . missing. I was shocked. He was . . . such a sweet man . . . I so adored him. . . . If I'd known that was the last time I was going to see him, I would have expressed . . . my heartfelt thanks . . . for all his many, many . . . kindnesses to me.” She took another deep breath, humming with the kind of sorrow that didn't lend itself to words. After half a minute, she seemed to regain her composure, though her grip was clearly fragile. She removed the cravat from her breast pocket and blew her nose noisily. The silk didn't seem absorbent. She folded her hands together in her lap, the wadded cloth between her fingers where she twisted it. I could see a tear plop into her lap and then a second, like a slow drip from a shower handle that hasn't been properly turned off.

I realized she was the first person, aside from Blanche, who'd shown any real emotional reaction to his vanishing. I leaned forward and clutched her cold hands. “I know this is hard. Take your time.”

She took a deep breath. “Forgive me. I'm sorry. I shouldn't burden you this way. I just hope he's safe. I don't care what he's done.” She paused, pressing the cravat against her lips. She took another deep breath. “I'm fine now. I'm fine. I don't know what came over me. My apologies.”

“I understand. From everything I've heard, he was a wonderful man. My only purpose here is to help. You have to trust me on that. I'm not here to make trouble.”

“What do you want?”

“Just tell me what you know.”

She hesitated, her no-gossip policy too deeply ingrained to give up all at once. She must have decided to trust me because she took a deep breath and opened up. “That last day, he seemed preoccupied. I think he was worried . . . I mean, why wouldn't he be? Mrs. Purcell . . . excuse me, the first one, Fiona . . . stopped by to see him, but he'd gone out to lunch. She waited for a while, thinking he might return, and then she left him a note. When he came back, he worked in his office for the rest of the day. I remember he had a glass of whiskey sitting at his desk. This was late in the day.”

“Did he go out for dinner?”

“I don't believe so. He usually ate quite late or skipped supper altogether. Many evenings, he had a little something at his desk . . . crackers or fruit . . . this was if his wife was going out and wouldn't be cooking. When I tapped on his door to say good-night, he was just sitting there.”

“Did he have papers in front of him? Files or charts?”

“He must have. I didn't pay attention. It wasn't in his nature to be idle. I do know that.”

“You had a conversation?”

“The usual pleasantries. Nothing significant.”

“Any phone calls or visitors that you know of?”

She shook her head. “Not that I remember. When I came in the following Monday, his office was empty, highly unusual for him. He was always here at seven o'clock, before anyone else. By then, the rumors were beginning to circulate. Someone . . . I forget who . . . said he'd never gone home at all on Friday night. At first we didn't attach much to it. Then, people got worried he'd been in an accident or taken ill. When the police came, we were frightened, but we still expected him to be found within a day or two. I've thought and thought about this, but there's absolutely nothing else.”

“Didn't I read in the paper he had a brief chat that night with an elderly woman sitting in the lobby?”

“That would be Mrs. Curtsinger. Ruby. She's been a resident here since 1975. I'll have Merry take you over to her room. I don't want you upsetting her.”

“I promise I won't.”

Merry walked me down the hall. I could see the meal carts being rolled out, the vertical shelves stacked with dinner trays for those who preferred eating in their rooms. It was not even five o'clock and I suspected the early supper hour was designed to condense all three of the day's meals to one long shift.

Merry was saying, “'Member the nurse who was standing there when you left on Saturday? Her name's Pepper Gray. Anyway, she started asking all these questions about you. I never let on a thing, just said you'd be back to talk to Mrs. S. today. She read me out good, saying I shouldn't be talking to anyone about the clinic. I was so P.O. 'd. She doesn't have any right to talk to me that way. She doesn't even work in my department.”

“What do you think she heard?”

“Doesn't matter. It's none of her business. I just thought you should be aware of it in case we run into her.”

We took a left, passing the staff lounge, central supply, and then a series of residential rooms. Many doors were closed, the exteriors decorated with greeting cards or wreaths of dried flowers. Sometimes the names of the occupants were spelled out in foil letters hanging jauntily from a miniclothesline of ribbon or string. Through the doors that remained open, I caught glimpses of twin-sized beds with floral spreads, photographs of family members lined up on the chests of drawers. Each room had a different color scheme and each looked out onto a narrow garden where flowering shrubs trembled with the first drops of a pattering rain. We passed an old woman, stumping down the hall with her walker. Her pace was rapid and when she reached the corner, she turned with such vigor she threatened to topple sideways. Merry reached out a hand and steadied her. The woman banked, swerving wide, and then tottered on.