Murder by Proxy (19 page)

“So you see, Dear, why Ernie and I are so worried,” she finally concluded. “There's no evidence or indication that anything drastic has happened to Anita, but nobody has actually seen or heard from her for several weeks. It would be a shame for her to lose her inheritance, but I'm no longer concerned as much about that as I am about just finding her, knowing she's alive and well. I'm very worried, and even though Grant won't admit it, I think he's troubled, too.”

Karissa had been quiet throughout Edna's narrative, nodding once or twice, but saying nothing until Edna had finished. Now she said, “I knew Anita was having some sort of problem, but neither she nor Grant would tell me about it. I thought it might have to do with her marriage, but it might also have to do with her job or the company.” She lowered her head, as if embarrassed. “I guess I really wanted to know if there was something going on between her and Grant. I finally got up enough nerve to ask Lia what she knew about it.”

At the mention of the young woman whose funeral had been only a few days ago, Karissa's voice broke. She fumbled in the pocket of her robe and brought out a tissue. Shaking her head, she apologized to Edna between sobs. “I just can't believe she's gone.”

Edna, startled at this new revelation that Karissa suspected Grant and Anita of having an affair, patted Karissa's knee but didn't know what to say. She also had not realized that the dead woman and Karissa had been such good friends. She waited and allowed Karissa to gain her composure before asking, “What made you think there was something going on between Grant and Anita?”

Karissa gulped down another sob. Looking sheepish, she said, “It was probably my overwrought imagination, brought on by my condition.” She looked down at her swollen belly. “I realized how foolish I was being after I heard Lia's explanation.” Karissa wiped her eyes and blew her nose into the tissue.

“Which was?” Edna prompted her daughter-in-law.

“Lia was probably closer to Anita than anyone after Michele died. She told me that she had also noticed Anita's strange moodiness. It was when Lia and Anita drove up to Eldorado Springs to go rock climbing. That was on a Saturday, the day Lia met a new guy. I guess that happened about a week before I got up the courage to talk with her.”

Wanting to verify what she already suspected, Edna said, “Was this new guy she met named Yonny Pride?”

Karissa gave a small laugh. “Yes, that was his name. She thought he was really hot.”

Edna chuckled. “I expect he turns a head or two.” Then, soberly, she led Karissa back to the subject. “Besides meeting Mister Wonderful, what else did Lia have to say?”

Karissa looked out the French doors at the back yard, seeming to be deep in thought. After nearly a minute, she began to tell Lia's story. “The three of them ended up climbing together most of that day, and then they all went to have a drink someplace. Yonny told them he had just arrived in town from New York and was taking care of a friend's house, another climber who has gone on an extended climbing trip to the Himalayas. Lia was pretty taken with Yonny right off, so she talked Anita into going back the next day to climb some more, hoping to run into him again. On the drive up that morning, she decided to find out what was bothering Anita, so she prodded until Anita finally confessed that she had asked Rice for a divorce.”

Karissa turned to look at Edna with a small frown. “This is where it gets kind of weird.” She paused before going on, as if to figure out how to tell the story. “Yonny wasn't around when they reached the climb site, so Lia and Anita started up the rock face. They hadn't gotten far when Anita's rope broke. She fell about twenty feet and was just lying there. As it turned out, she only had the wind knocked out of her and wasn't hurt badly, but Lia didn't know that at the time. Almost immediately, Yonny showed up. Lia didn't know where he'd come from. She thought maybe he'd heard her scream, but however it happened, suddenly there he was. He picked Anita up and drove them to the emergency room in his friend's Bronco.”

Edna thought about how unwise it had been to move Anita, but that thought was pushed from her mind by another.
An SUV
. He wasn't driving an SUV Wednesday at the funeral, she remembered. He'd had to fold his tall frame into a compact car. Thoughts swirled in her mind, but she didn't want to interrupt Karissa's story.

“Anita was examined and had a few scratches patched up, but they were able to take her home that day. At the hospital, while they were waiting for her to be released, Yonny and Lia took a look at Anita's rope and discovered it had been cut. The end was only partially frayed at the break and it was pretty obvious that the other strands had been cleanly sliced.”

Edna gasped. “Are they certain the rope belonged to Anita? Could she have borrowed it or picked up someone else's rope by mistake?” Edna herself wanted to make certain of what she'd just learned.

Karissa nodded. “Oh, yes. She bought her own rope when she started taking climbing lessons, just like Lia had. Climbers always take their ropes home and go over them carefully after each climb. They need to make sure the ropes haven't begun to wear or weaken in any way.” She shuddered. “Their lives depend on those ropes.”

Edna frowned. “So she would have checked her equipment after Saturday's climb?”

Karissa shrugged. “I guess nobody knows for sure, but she certainly should have. There's the chance she got distracted. Maybe she and Rice were arguing, and she didn't go over her rope, or at least not as carefully as she should have.”

Edna got the impression by Karissa's tone that she didn't think it likely Anita would be so careless. Edna tended to agree as she urged Karissa back to the story. “Did they go to the police?”

Karissa shook her head. “No. Lia said Anita insisted they take her back to her house. Anita thought it was possible, even probable, that Rice cut her rope. She said he was angry and hurt when she told him she wanted a divorce. Lia and Yonny told Anita she was being stupid, that Rice could have caused her serious injury, but Anita insisted it would only make things worse for her if they brought the police in on it. Anita said she would handle it and refused to talk about it any more.”

Karissa shifted on the couch, trying for a more comfortable position. Edna stood and helped rearrange the pillows before going to get her daughter-in-law a glass of water. When she returned, she noticed a faint trace of moisture on Karissa's upper lip.

“Do you want me to help you to bed?”

Karissa shook her head and sipped the water. “No, thanks. I'm fine. Just a little twinge.” She smiled up at Edna, handing her the glass. “It's no easier lying in bed than out here.”

Edna set the tumbler on the coffee table and went back to her end of the sofa, rubbing Karissa's feet after settling into the corner. She wanted to hear more about what happened the day of Anita's climbing incident. “Do you know if she ever confronted Rice about cutting the rope?”

“According to Lia, she didn't. By the time they dropped Anita at home, Rice wasn't there and didn't return for several days. We figured he may have been really angry or maybe scared, but also he might just have been away on business. Everything was so confusing about that time. Grant and Lia and I helped Anita move into a condo in Lia's complex a couple of days later, during the time Rice was away. I don't know if she ever mentioned it to Grant, but at that time I didn't know anything about Anita's fall. It was almost a week later before I finally got up the nerve to ask Lia if she thought Grant and Anita were having an affair.”

“I don't think you have anything to worry about, my dear. I can tell that Grant loves you very much.”

Karissa showed a weak smile and nodded. “I know. I'm ashamed of my suspicions now.”

Quiet for a moment, Edna continued to stroke Karissa's feet through the knitted blanket, knowing how good it felt when she had been pregnant and Albert had massaged her own feet. She thought about the story Karissa had just told her and tried to fit it into what she already knew about the people involved. She still had too many questions and not enough answers. “Did Rice know Anita was moving out? Could that be why he stayed away those few days?”

Karissa shook her head. “I don't know. I don't even know exactly how long he was gone or if he went to stay with friends or if he left town on business. I heard from Lia that a couple of days after we'd settled Anita into her new place, she told Lia she felt like someone was watching her. She said it wasn't anything she could put her finger on, just a vague feeling that was making her jittery. She was also getting calls after work and during the night on both her cell and home phones. There was no pattern to the times the calls would come or anything. The phone would ring, and when she picked it up, no one would be on the line. Anita had caller ID and apparently had also tried getting the calling number by dialing star-six-nine. The only thing that showed on the caller ID box was „out of area,' and when she tried the six-nine bit, she got a recording that said the number couldn't be reached.”

“It sounds like the caller had some sort of block on his line or was calling from a cell phone with a long distance number,” Edna observed. “Did Anita ever report any of this to the phone company?”

Again, Karissa shook her head. “According to Lia, Anita said she wanted to see what she could find out for herself. Lia thought Anita was still covering for Rice. If it was Anita's husband who was harassing her, she didn't want to make matters worse by bringing any sort of official charges against him.”

Edna wondered if it could have been someone other than Rice who was bothering Anita. “Did she mention her concerns to anyone besides Lia, do you know?”

Karissa frowned and shook her head. “No, I don't know, but Lia said the day after Anita told her about the phone calls was when her parents were in that accident. I talked to Lia the day after the Colliers' funeral and she hadn't seen or spoken to Anita since the service.”

Edna thought about Lia's own funeral, which led her to think about Yonny. She then remembered Wayne Freedman's comment that Yonny had picked up the phone when Wayne had tried to call Anita. “Did Lia tell you any more about Yonny? Were they seeing each other pretty regularly?”

“They might have been,” Karissa said, her brow creasing as she thought back. “We didn't talk much about her, only about Anita. She must have said something about him, though, because I remember Lia mentioned Yonny worked at a shelter for homeless animals. It's where he got his dog.” She shrugged. “Sorry, but that's about all I know.”

Edna thought of Yonny's comment about visiting the veterinary school in Fort Collins, when Karissa shifted nervously, drawing Edna's attention.

“I think there might be something else we need to discuss,” she said, her cheeks darkening in a blush.

“Oh?” Edna inclined her head and raised her eyebrows. Her mind full of thoughts of Anita, she wondered what else Karissa would be so nervous about.

“I want you to know that I didn't steal Grant away from Michele.”

Edna felt her eyes widen in surprise, and Karissa immediately lowered her own gaze. Her face was very red as she stammered, “I know you wouldn't ask about Grant and me, but I don't want you thinking I'm some sort of home wrecker. If you have questions, or if there's anything I can tell you … ” Her voice trailed off as she stared at her hands and picked at the polish on her fingernails.

Edna was quiet for a long moment, her mind whirling. There were so many things she wanted to know about her son's second marriage, but she never dreamed Karissa would open that particular door. The long silence must have disconcerted Karissa who raised her eyes slowly to meet Edna's, her cheeks still glowing.

“Well,” Edna hesitated for a few heartbeats. “Since you brought it up, I had wondered why you married so soon after Michele's accident.” Edna softened her voice, hoping Karissa wouldn't think her too accusatory.

“That was Grant's idea. Since we were planning to marry anyway, he said he saw no reason to wait. He said Jillian needed a mother.”

That certainly sounds like Grant, Edna thought. He had never had the patience to wait for something, once he made up his mind to it. As she thought of his wish to provide a mother for Jillian, she thought back to when he had been young and she'd had to go to the hospital for an extended stay. Had he been affected by her absence? Were those past memories the reason he had rushed into this marriage?

As if reading her mind, Karissa said, “We'd been in love long before Michele's accident.” Hurrying to explain, she added, “We used to eat lunch in the cafeteria around the same time. I ate lunch late because I used to fill in at the reception desk between noon and one o'clock. Grant preferred to eat lunch when the room was empty and quiet. Often, we were the only ones in the lunchroom. I liked him right off, but I knew he was married. We talked about a lot of different things and got to know each other pretty well.”

“Did he talk about problems between Michele and him?” Edna hoped Grant hadn't been disloyal to his wife.

Karissa's eyes widened. “Oh, no. He never said a word about his marriage. It was just something I felt. Maybe it was something I wanted to feel, but I had a strong suspicion that he wasn't happy at home. He's such a wonderful man. I never thought he would feel the same about me as I do about him.”

At that moment, Edna thought Karissa looked particularly beautiful. She understood how her son could have fallen in love with this woman. Mentally shaking herself out of Karissa's unwitting spell, Edna said, “When did you first talk about your attraction for each other?”

“It was at the company's New Year's Eve party last year. I only went because I got roped into working on the party committee. I don't really like big parties, and I didn't have anyone to go with. I didn't expect to see Grant there, but he told me later that Anita insisted he attend. She said the people in his department were getting awards, and he had to be there. She sympathized that Michele had been buried only three weeks before but said he need only stay until after the ceremonies. He ended up staying quite a bit longer than that.” Karissa's self-conscious giggle ended with a sharp intake of breath, as she bent forward, clutching her bulging belly.