For Every Evil (30 page)

“But you don’t know who it was.”

“It was too dark.”

“What did you do then?”

“I stood there several seconds longer trying to figure out what my next move should be. Then, I came to find you. If I caught my jacket on something, I never noticed it.”

“Why didn’t you tell the police the truth about running down the back steps.”

He shook his head. “All I could think about that night was protecting John. How could I tell them what I really feared? I wasn’t thinking clearly. After I was on record and they knew I wasn’t telling die truth, I didn’t know how to get out of it.”

Sophie was beginning to understand. “Why did you take those pictures of Ezmer Hawks’s drawings?”

He shrugged. “I liked them. I didn’t have any particular reason. I just thought they were cool. And I wanted to try out my camera. That’s all.”

She believed him. “Did you ever find out where John was at the party that night?”

“He said he’d gone upstairs. He wanted to see how rich folks lived. He found a library of art books.”

“Did anyone see him upstairs?”

“What are you implying?” He sat up very straight “He didn’t kill Hale, Mom. He’s no more guilty than I am!”

She decided it was best to back off the subject of John Jacobi. At least for now.

“Come to think of it,” said Rudy, his voice growing excited, “John discovered something really interesting. When I was having dinner with him tonight he mentioned that he’d driven up to Bright Water this afternoon. He found a clipping in Kate’s desk drawer at the gallery — something about the disappearance of a boy from an arts camp up near there. Hale was a counselor the year it happened.”

“You said he found it in
Kate’s
drawer?”

Rudy nodded. “And look at this.” He withdrew the Xeroxed copy of the camp photograph John had given him and handed it to her. “It’s a picture of the kids at the camp. John’s pretty sure the girl, third from the end in the front row, is Kate Chappeldine. Apparently, she was there that summer, too.”

Even in the semidarkness, Sophie couldn’t miss the likeness. “I though Kate grew up in New York.”

“Maybe not”

An idea began forming in her mind. “Did I hear you say you had a key to the gallery?”

“Yup. Why?”

“I want to go over there and take a look at her office.”

“You mean now?”

“You’ve got other plans?” She stood. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with her all day. If we could just talk, I’m sure she could clear everything up. But since she refuses to come out of hiding, maybe I can at least get a look at her office. Who knows what I might find!”

“That’s breaking and entering, Mom.”

“Not if you have a key.”

“Well, just entering then.”

“Not if you spend a few minutes framing. Then it’s just a … motherly visit.”

He grinned. “All right. You’re on.”

“Good!”

“You think she had something to do with Hale’s murder?”

Sophie shook her head. “My gut tells me no. But I can’t conclude anything final until we talk.”

He nodded. “My mother, the sleuth.”

“Among other things.”

“I’m glad you’re on my side.”

“Don’t ever doubt it,” she said, giving him a hug and holding him tight. “One other thing,” she whispered.

“What?”

“Finish your milk.”

Rudy peeked inside the back door of the gallery and listened. After a moment, he whispered, “I don’t hear anything, but there’s a light on in the storage room.”

“So?” said Sophie. She stood directly behind him, looking both ways down the deserted alley. The last thing she wanted was to run into a police car. “Is that a problem?”

“Usually Kate turns all the lights off back here before she leaves. But she wasn’t in today.”

“Well, then consider this a mission to help her save a few bucks on her electric bill.”

Rudy seemed uneasy. “I don’t know.”

“Come on. Let’s get this over with.” She nudged him with both hands.

Taking one last look around, he held the door open while she entered. The hallway was dark, except for a high window that allowed the streetlight to stream in from outside. Sophie could see into Kate’s tiny office. It was empty.

“Wait,” he whispered, grabbing her arm as soon as the door closed behind them. “I think I heard something.”

“What?”

“I don’t know. Just listen.”

They both stood very still. From across the hall came the unmistakable sound of footsteps.

“I was right,” whispered Rudy. “Someone’s here! Let’s get out while we still can.”

“Wait a minute,” she whispered, moving a few feet closer to the storage room door.

“No, Mom! Leave it, okay? I’m already in enough trouble.”

“I want to see who’s here. If it’s Kate, this may be my only chance to talk to her.”

Rudy rubbed his palms anxiously against the sides of his jeans. “You’re making me a nervous wreck!”

“Just stay put. I’ll be right back.” She stepped cautiously to the edge of the door and peeked inside.

There, in the rear of the room, almost hidden by a large canvas propped against a table, stood Kate. She had her back to Sophie, hands on her hips. A single light burned, casting deep shadows against the bare concrete walls. In front of her on the easel was one of the pastels. Even at this distance, Sophie easily recognized the sphinx with fire between its paws. Suddenly Kate grabbed the picture and began to shred it, angrily crushing the pieces against her chest. As they fell to the floor, she muttered, “Damn you! Damn you! I hope you burn in hell!”

Sophie was stunned.

Without warning, Kate whirled around. She started for the door — but stopped abruptly as her gaze locked on Sophie. “How did you get in here?”

Sophie stood very still. “Why didn’t you return my phone calls?”

“I … wasn’t feeling well.” The room was suffused with a suspicious silence. “Who let you in?”

Sophie walked a few paces closer. “After what John dumped on you last night, I don’t doubt you weren’t feeling well.”

“What do you mean?” Her eyes grew large.

“I know about the bogus Soldiers Grove postmark. I also know you were at Camp Bright Water the same summer Eric Hauley disappeared. What’s going on, Kate? What are you a part of?”

Kate’s face underwent a distinct change as she drew inward. Her body grew very still.

“I’m not leaving until you tell me the truth. You aren’t leaving, either.” Sophie let the threat hang in the air.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Cut the crap! This concerns my son! If you know something about Hale’s death, I want to hear it!”

“But you don’t understand.”

“No, I don’t.” Her eyes narrowed in disgust. Even now, Kate wasn’t going to come clean. Sophie could feel her resistance.

“I don’t know
anything
about his death!”

“Then prove it! Talk to me. I’m not your enemy, Kate. A few days ago I would have said I was one of your best friends.”

“You
are
my friend! I just can’t… I mean …” Her body seemed to deflate as she crumpled onto a stool.

Sophie crossed to the back of the room and leaned against the worktable. She knew she was blocking Kate’s exit, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t sure what to expect anymore. Kate looked terrible, as if she hadn’t slept in days. Under other circumstances, Sophie might have felt sorry for her. Tonight, she just wanted answers.

“What do you want to know?” asked Kate warily, working to control her face.

“Why don’t you start at the beginning?”

She bit her lower Up. Slowly, as if her entire body hurt, she leaned into the light, meeting Sophie’s eyes. “Can’t you just leave me alone?”

Sophie could see she’d been crying. For some reason, it surprised her. “No, Kate. I can’t. What really happened at that arts camp?”

Wrapping her arms around her stomach, Kate glanced again at the mangled drawing. Finally, in a low, flat voice, she said, “You aren’t going to let this drop, are you?” It was more a statement than a question.

Sophie shook her head.

“Well, then, I suppose I’ll have to trust you.”

“Is that so terrible?”

She looked away. Squaring her jaw, she said, “All right, the beginning. I was ten the summer my nightmare started. My name was Katie Nelson, then. My mother divorced my father shortly after I returned from Bright Water that year and we moved to New York. That’s why Hale never put it together. He never suspected little Katie Nelson had become Kate Chappeldine. There was a boy at camp. His name was Eric. We were pretty good friends, though he was kind of a loner. For some reason, Hale seemed to have it in for him. At the time, I didn’t recognize the verbal abuse as part of Hale’s incessant need to denigrate other people’s talent, but I’ve seen it many times since — especially when the talent in question is unusually strong, like Eric’s. To tell the truth, I’ve never understood it. Perhaps Hale was jealous. Or maybe he was thwarted artistically. Whatever the case, I don’t care. All I know is, he was a spoiler. Eric couldn’t do anything right. A couple of times I heard the other counselors talking about it, but nothing changed.

“On the east side of the camp was a steep cliff overlooking a river. It was off-limits, though I knew Eric went there all the time. At the edge of that cliff was the shell of a house. It had burned down many years before, but part of the structure was still standing. The front wall was intact. And a door — just the frame — overlooked the river. I imagine once it must have led to steps that took you down to a dock. That summer, it was merely an open hole that dropped about two hundred yards to the water.

“One afternoon, I was wandering in the woods. Everyone else was down at the beach for swimming practice, but since I’d cut my big toe on a piece of glass the day before, I was told to keep my foot dry for a few days. I knew I wasn’t supposed to go near the river, but I was bored. I also think I may have been a little lost. Anyway, as I got near the burned house, I heard shouting. I walked a bit farther until I could see Hale and Eric inside the structure. Without thinking, I hid behind a tree and watched.

“Hale was yelling that Eric had no business being this far away from camp. Eric responded by saying he was sick of all the rules. After all, this was a summer
arts
program, not a prison. Hale countered by insisting he was a troublemaker. If he couldn’t follow simple rules how was he ever going to make it in life? Eric took a swing at him, and in return, Hale shoved him to the ground. After that, the verbal abuse got worse. Hale roared that any pretensions Eric harbored about becoming a dancer were just daydreams. He was pathetic. Graceless. And furthermore, Hale declared that he would see to it Eric was punished severely for breaking camp rules. Dance class would be off-limits for the rest of his stay. Well, by this time, Eric had scrambled to his feet. He took a flying leap at Hale’s legs and slammed him to the ground. God, I’d never seen a grownup so furious. Eric was big for his age, but he was no match for a twenty-five-year-old man. Hale picked him up by the scruff of his neck and slapped him hard across the face. Trying to get away, Eric stumbled on a tree root, and fell face first through the open hole.”

Sophie’s mouth dropped open.

“I just stood there. I couldn’t even speak. Hale moved to the edge of the cliff and looked down. He screamed Eric’s name over and over, but got no response. When he finally turned around, I could see how scared he was. That’s when he spotted me. ‘How long have you been standing there?’ he yelled. When I said nothing, he rushed over and grabbed me by the shoulders. ‘What did you see?’ He shook me so hard I thought my head would snap off. All I could get out was that I wanted to know what happened to Eric. ‘You didn’t see
anything
?’ he insisted. He said it over and over. He made me repeat the words after him. ‘If you tell anyone about this, the same thing will happen to you!’ He brought his face very close to mine and asked if I understood. I nodded. With every fiber of my being, I believed what he said. ‘Now, get out of here,’ he yelled, shoving me away.

“I ran as fast as I could. Later that same day, at dinner, I could see him watching me. When the police arrived the next morning, I said nothing. When the counselors talked to us about Eric’s disappearance, he made sure I was in his group. Two days later I was back home. To my knowledge, the body was never found, or if it was, it was never linked to Eric. Once, before we left the city that fall, I saw Hale standing outside my school yard. He was watching me. I couldn’t wait to leave Minneapolis. I never even considered telling my mother. After we got to New York, I tried to forget, but the nightmares wouldn’t go away. I saw Eric’s face in my dreams for years. I think, when I was still pretty small, I somehow had myself convinced that Eric’s death was my fault. As I got older, I realized what Hale had done — not only to Eric, but to me. That’s why I came back to Minneapolis two years ago. I knew Hale had made quite a name for himself here. And I’d been part owner of a gallery in New York City and wanted to try my hand elsewhere. But most of all, I wanted to make Hale pay. I wanted revenge.” She paused and looked hard at Sophie. “Are you sure you want to hear the rest of this?”