Meadowlark (19 page)

Angie scowled at him. Del blinked.

Lisa Colman was shaking hands with Bianca. When she saw
Jay, the detective gave him a wave, a mere flip of the hand. Jay
nodded, and Keith and Bianca escorted Colman out.

We stood in the middle of the empty room in a silent clump,
waiting. I could hear Carol's voice in the dining room and the flat
burr of Adam Carlsen's. Marianne came out, looking tired but not
displeased, like a woman who has done her duty.

Angie said, "Any coffee left?"

Marianne nodded.

Bianca and Keith returned. Bianca said, "I'm glad you're all
still here. I want to talk to you. You, too, Angie."

Angie had taken a step in the direction of the dining room.
She shrugged and came back.

Bianca glanced around. "Let's shove the easy chairs back
near the fireplace."

The men leapt to comply. When they had re-created a
conversation area, Bianca sank onto her favorite hassock. I sat in the
chair beside it, Keith took up his station on the hearth, and Jay
remained standing.

Del wandered to the drinks cabinet and poured himself a
neat whiskey. Nobody followed suit.

Bianca said, "Keith and I talked with Lt. Colman."

Angie shifted in her chair. "We saw that."

"Why the hell didn't you say you had an alibi? Why did you
lie?"

Angie said sullenly, "I didn't lie. I just didn't mention that I
was with Carol."

"Carol!" Del exploded, his drink slopping. "Carol
Bascombe?"

Keith smirked. "Miss Congeniality."

Del shook his head like a bull shaking off a fly. "Not Carol.
She's can't be--"

"She's not," Angie snapped. "Carol and I were looking at
nurseries. It was strictly business."

"Business?" Del seemed to be suffering from echolalia. He
wiped whiskey off his hand with his handkerchief. "Funny business,
you mean, you two-faced bitch. By God, kick a man in the balls for a
little plain language, and then go off and...and corrupt that innocent
kid." Del's historical sequence was muddled. "You ought to be
shot."

Angie rolled her eyes.

"What price sexual harassment?" Keith said to the ambient
air.

"Yeah." Del leaned forward, hands clenched on his knees.
The drink wobbled on the arm of his chair. "Yeah, bitch."

Bianca's intense eyes flickered from one face to
another.

Jay said, "You're overlooking something, Wallace."

Del gaped.

"Whatever Ms. Martini and Carol were doing together that
Sunday afternoon--and Carol is well over the age of consent--we
know they weren't killing Hugo Groth."

"Look, fella, whose side are you on?"

"The students'," Jay said crisply. "If Carol has a complaint, I'll
listen to it."

"What complaint?"

Our heads swiveled.

Carol, hands on her hips, stood in the archway. She wore a
dead-black wool dress that ended halfway up her perfect waxed
thighs, and her hair had been teased to the status of Importance. She
wore three gold chains.

Bianca said, "How long have you been listening, Carol?"

Carol ignored her, eyes on Del. "I know what you're saying,
Mr. Wallace, and you're full of shit." She stepped down into the room
and took two long strides toward us. "Excuse me, but you're really
pissing me off. Angie showed me this cool place in Raymond, and we
talked to the lady that her and her husband own it. She says I can
come back whenever I like."

Del snorted.

"Unlike some I could name," Carol went on, "she didn't make
me feel stupid every time I asked a question. She was a real nice lady.
Angie and me looked at two other nurseries and then I went home.
That's what happened."

Del said, "D'you expect us to believe--"

"I don't give a shit what you believe." Carol's chains swung
as she turned to Jay. "Angie never came on to me, and she never
came on to Mary or Letha either, but I know who did."

Angie said, "Don't overdo it, Carol."

Carol ignored her, too. "Letha and me know how to deal
with old guys, so it wasn't a problem for us, or not much. But Mary's
a real baby. She doesn't know diddly about men. She used to cry and
ask us what she was doing wrong. It helped some when Mr. Groth
talked to her--"

"When?" Jay cleared his throat. "Excuse me for interrupting
you, Carol. When did Groth have this talk with Mary?"

She shrugged. "A couple of times. Once in the fall and once in
February during the lambing."

Jay said, "I see. Go on."

Del was spluttering.

Carol turned back to him. "Me and the Carlsens have been
talking, Mr. Wallace. There's two things bothering us. Where's Jason
and Bill? They said they'd be here tonight, and they weren't. And
where's Mary?"

"How the hell would I know?" Del roared.

"I don't know." Carol tossed her important locks. "I'm
asking."

"We're all very distressed about Mary, and I'm sure the
police are doing their best to find her." Bianca's voice was a smooth
as silk.

Keith said, "Did somebody call Jason?"

Carol nodded. "Adam's in there now, trying again. I called
and got Jason's answering machine. I recorded his message, you
know? On the tape? So it was, like, creepy to call up and get my own
voice. Bill's Mom said he was out with Jason."

Jay headed for the hall. "I'm going to phone Dale Nelson, if
Adam doesn't get through."

Bianca got up from the hassock. "Thank you for sharing your
thoughts with us, Carol."

Carol twisted a strand of hair. "That's okay, Mrs. McDonald,
but there's one other thing."

Bianca closed her eyes briefly and opened them. "What is
it?"

"I spoke my mind. I don't want Mr. Wallace evaluating
me."

Bianca said, "We'll arrange something, Carol. Don't
worry."

Carol expelled a breath that fluffed the strand of hair over
her left eyebrow. "Okay. That's all, I guess."

Angie said, "Thanks, Carol."

Carol blushed. "It's all right. Bye." She turned and went back
toward the dining room.

We stared at each other. Del got up and left the room. He
didn't say anything. He just picked up his drink and walked out.
Marianne watched him go, her face impassive.

When Jay came back a few minutes later he looked worried.
"I got through to Dale and told him to check out the usual student
haunts. I called the Johnsons. The boys took Jason's pickup, as usual.
They were planning to attend the memorial service."

Bianca rubbed her arms as if she were cold. "God, I hope
nothing's happened."

"The kid drives like a maniac," Keith said.

Jay nodded. "He's had two DWIs, big fine the last time. They
should lift his license."

There was a commotion in the hallway. Mike came in,
dripping. "Hey, where's Dad? There's a TV crew down at the gate."
He took off his glasses and wiped them on his shirt front. "Channel
Five!"

Keith and Bianca exchanged glances. Keith said, "I'll go get
rid of them."

"Don't say anything." Anxiety sharpened Bianca's voice.

He nodded. "I know better."

Jay ruffled his moustache with one finger. "Lark and I ought
to leave, Bianca. Dale will phone you when he finds Jason."

"Okay." Her mouth quivered. "Lark..."

"I know." I was resigned. "You'll need me tomorrow. Call me
in the morning."

She gave me a tremulous smile. "Thanks. And thanks for
coming."

"It was a good memorial service," I said by way of
consolation.

Once he threaded his way past the TV lights, Jay drove home
like a bat out of hell, and he didn't turn the windshield wipers off
even once. He didn't say much, either.

As we slowed for the Shoalwater turnoff, he muttered, "You
saw Carol this afternoon, so I suppose she didn't surprise you."

The wipers whirred. "What she had to say didn't surprise
me, but, yes, Carol surprised me."

He grunted.

He was halfway into the house by the time I had
disentangled myself from the seatbelt.

It was only nine. Bonnie's lights shone across the street--she
and Tom laying plans, no doubt. I thought about running across to
tell her the latest then thought again. Bonnie could wait.

Jay was on the phone when I came into the kitchen area, so I
went upstairs and changed into sweats. I stood a while looking out
across our little balcony at the ocean. It was dark, but I could make
out the white crests of combers rolling in. A light rain spattered the
windows. Bonnie's lights flicked off.

Down in the kitchen, Jay was still on the phone. I made
myself coffee and put the kettle on for tea. Since his side of the
conversation consisted of unintelligible noises of encouragement, I
couldn't make out the subject. Jason and Bill was not a bad guess,
however.

The kettle shrieked, and I poured hot water over a teabag.
Jay could have drunk decaffeinated coffee, but he said it tasted like
warm spit. I thought the herb gunk he favored tasted like stewed
hay.

He finally hung up.

I brought him his tea. "Heavy conversation?"

"Thanks. I wanted to find out whether Bill and Jason had
classes this afternoon. I had to roust somebody to access the
registration files. They had a biology lab from two to five."

"On a Friday?"

"We're hurting for lab space. There are labs on Saturday
morning, too."

"Ugh."

"Lots of absentees. I called the lab tech. He said Bill and
Jason were there, horsing around in his words. They left at four
thirty." He toyed with the cup.

I had poured myself a mug of coffee. I sat beside him and
sipped. Too hot. "Is the lab important? The memorial service wasn't
until seven."

"Bill lives in Shoalwater."

"And Jason rents an apartment near the college?"

"Right. Bill's parents said he hadn't been home, so the two of
them probably went to Jason's place and had something to eat. To
drink, too, if I understand Jason."

The college lies on the east side of Shoalwater Bay. As the
crow flies, the distance between our house--just outside
Shoalwater--and the campus isn't far, but the bay is large. The drive around the
south end takes Jay forty minutes on a good day. It was still raining
out, and it had rained hard earlier.

I sipped my cooling coffee. "How long does it take to drive to
the farm from Jason's apartment?"

"Almost an hour on the highway."

"There's another way?"

Jay rubbed the back of his neck. "I think so. Something
McDonald said once about a short-cut. If there is one, and if those
guys went on horsing around, there's a good chance Jason used the
shorter route. Do we have a county map handy? There's one in my
car."

"Drink your tea."

He ruffled his moustache. "I hope I'm wrong, but I'm feeling
a lot of urgency about this. I took it for granted Bill and Jason had just
skipped out on the service, but Carol expected them to show up. If I
find out they drove over to Raymond and spent the evening boozing
and playing video games, I'll skin them alive."

"Drink your tea," I repeated. "I'll find the map."

Easier said than done. We had lived in the house for a year,
but, what with assorted renovation projects, our belongings were
not well-organized. The map finally surfaced in a drawer in the hall
closet where we dumped car junk.

Jay got out his reading glasses and stuck his nose into the
east county. "Jeez, I don't know. Looks like a logging road." He picked
up the phone again. This time he called Dale. Without result.

"You could call Carol."

He stared at me then gave a sharp nod. "I'm a dolt. She lives
in the same apartment complex."

I found the number for him, and he dialed. Carol must have
picked the phone up on the second ring.

"This is Jay Dodge, Carol. I have a couple of questions for
you. Yeah, okay." He covered the mouthpiece. "Turning the stereo
down."

When Carol came back on the line, he said, "Have you
checked to see if Jason and Bill are at Jason's apartment? They're not.
Okay. Listen, Keith McDonald said something once about a shortcut
from campus to the farm. Do you know about it?"

Carol spoke at length. Finally, Jay thanked her and hung up.
He looked worried.

"There's another road?"

"Yes. She says it's pretty primitive. There used to be a
fishing resort up there--steelhead--before the clear-cut. The road
was paved, and the county patches it, but it's in poor shape--unlit
and winding. It's icy in winter and the drop-offs are steep. Carol
doesn't use it, but the others do when they're late for a work
session."

"That doesn't sound good."

"It sure doesn't. Damn." He picked the phone up again and
dialed Dale's number. It took conversations with three dispatchers,
but Jay got through at last. He explained about the short cut, listened
to Dale beef, and hung up.

"Well?"

"They can't search it tonight. Two injury wrecks outside
Kayport. First thing tomorrow." He got up and took his cup to the
sink. "I hate waiting."

It may be possible to collaborate on nightmares. Jay and I
spent the night tossing and turning, more or less in unison. I gave up
at six and went for a run, though it was still semi-dark. When I got
back, Jay was in the shower. He had made coffee for me, so I drank
some and mixed muffins before running up for my own shower.

I came back down in jeans and a sweatshirt. "I suppose
you're going to drive to that awful road and take a look."

He blinked at me over his tea mug. "How do you figure
that?"

"I know the way you think." I popped the muffins in the
oven.

"It'll be a couple of hours before Dale sends a crew out
there--"

"And every second counts."

He sighed. "That's right."

"I'm coming."

"I thought you had to go out to the farm."

"I hate it when men whine."

He grinned. "Okay. I know I'm out-flanked."