“Oh, just the usual stuff,” Dave said. “The medical examiner took away the body. From what I hear, the housekeeper was standing there holding the pillow over the face of the mother of one of the graduates. Her name is Muriel Craig. She’s an actress.”
Bruno knew he had to respond. “Oh, I’ve heard of her.” They haven’t searched the pool house, he thought. They wouldn’t have any reason to start searching now. I’m going to see it through.
Usually Dave dropped him off in the driveway. “I don’t know if they’ll let you in, but we can try. Then you can tell us everything that’s going on now.”
The car was stopped by a policeman. “I’ll have to check inside,” he said. He phoned and received the answer.
“Mr. Powell says to let him in. He can start working on the putting green that’s outside the area the police have roped off.”
Trying to look casual, Bruno got out of the car and walked slowly to the pool house. He passed the pool. The body was gone. He went in, closed the door, and rushed to the utility room. Timmy was awake. He was squirming on the mound of blankets. Tears were running down his cheeks. Bruno knelt beside him. “Don’t cry, Timmy,” he said. “Mommy’s coming soon. I’m going to give you some cereal and let you go to the bathroom. Then Mommy will take you to see Grandpa. Is that okay?”
Timmy nodded.
“Now you have to promise me that you won’t try to call out when I let you eat. Is that a promise?”
Timmy nodded his head again.
There was a small bathroom off the utility room for the use of any of the grounds help. Bruno carried Timmy into it and stood with him over the toilet. “Let it go,” he said. It’ll be your last time, he thought.
He placed Timmy back on the blankets, went into the kitchen, and brought out Cheerios, milk, and orange juice.
“I’m going to pull down the gag,” he said. “I’ll let you eat, but make it fast.”
His eyes terrified, Timmy obeyed.
When he was finished, Bruno retied the gag, again being sure that it was not too tight. He pushed Timmy down on the blankets. “If you try to make any noise, no one will hear you,” he warned. “If you’re very, very quiet, I promise Mommy will come to pick you up.”
Bruno reached for a rake, carried it out of the utility room, closed the door, and locked it.
He went outside and began to poke at the grass around the putting green with the rake.
Before the police responded to the 911 call, Josh had rushed to Jane’s apartment, where he searched for and found the hidden jewelry George Curtis had given Betsy. Now it was securely in his pockets with no one the wiser. He had been surprised that Jane was the one who had killed Betsy, even though he had always suspected she was crazy about Mr. Rob.
At nine o’clock everyone who had stayed overnight came down for breakfast. They barely spoke to each other. The realization that they were now free of any suspicion that one of them had taken Betsy’s life was just beginning to sink in.
Muriel had refused to go to the hospital and stayed in bed until the medical examiner had left with Jane’s body. Her throat swollen, her voice husky, she had already begun to realize that now Robert was really alone, and he would know that she had lied to him about Nina’s confession. But on the other hand, she thought, maybe he will understand that I lied because I love him so much. To that end, she finally got up, showered, carefully made up her face, and brushed her hair. When she was finished, she dressed in a light sweater, slacks, and sandals. She hoped the rapidly spreading bruises on her throat would show Rob how much she had endured for him.
Chief Ed Penn and other detectives had spent the hours after the incident individually questioning everyone in the house. All of their accounts were consistent. From all initial appearances, Jane had acted alone in trying to kill Muriel. From all initial appearances, Jane had accidentally fallen into the pool as she fled from the house.
Under these circumstances, he reluctantly agreed to the fervent request by Laurie and Alex to allow them to finish the program. “The investigation is not over,” he told them firmly. “Everyone will have to come in to give formal statements. But as long as no one tries to go into the roped-off areas, I’ll let you continue.”
In the den, Laurie and Alex were waiting to hold the final interview with Robert Powell.
The others had been invited in to watch. By then they were all packed and dressed, desperate to be away. Still hardly able to believe that the nightmare was over, they filed into the den and sat behind the cameras, waiting for Robert Powell.
95
Mark Garret, the camp director at Mountainside, stared incredulously at Toby Barber. “You mean you let Timmy Moran leave with a stranger last night?” he asked.
“His grandfather is dying. A policeman came for him,” Toby said defensively.
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“I did, sir. You didn’t answer your phone.”
With a sinking heart, Garret realized that Toby was right. He had taken off his jacket, and in the noise of the party could not have heard his cell phone ring.
I spoke to Leo Farley yesterday, he tried to reassure himself. He told me he was in the hospital.
But he also warned me that the person who killed Timmy’s father had threatened him and his mother. Suppose he was the one who picked up Timmy?
Desperately afraid, Garret picked up his phone. Leo Farley’s number was on his desk, ready to reach at any time in case a threat to Timmy materialized. He could only hope and pray that Leo Farley had indeed been in an emergency situation.
Farley answered on the first ring.
“Hello there, Mark,” he said. “How are you doing?”
Garret hesitated, then asked, “How are you feeling, Commissioner?”
“Oh, I’m okay now. In fact, I’m getting discharged this morning. I spoke to Timmy last night. He’s having a great time with you at the camp.”
There was nothing Mark Garret could do except blurt out, “Then you didn’t send a cop for him last night?”
It took seconds before Leo could absorb what he was hearing. His nightmare was happening. It could only be Blue Eyes who had taken Timmy.
“You mean despite all my warnings you let my grandson go away with a stranger? What did he look like?”
Garret asked Toby to describe the policeman.
In despair, Leo heard a description matching the one that elderly Margy Bless had given to the police five years ago of Greg’s murderer: below average height, kind of bulky-looking…
Leo asked, “Did he have blue eyes?”
“I asked Toby. He didn’t notice. He was very tired.”
“You fool!” he shouted as he broke the connection.
He ripped off the wires that were monitoring his heart. In his mind he could hear the words Blue Eyes had shouted to Timmy: “Tell your mother that she’s next. Then it’s your turn.”
Frantically he dialed Ed Penn’s phone. If he kept to his threat, Blue Eyes would kill Laurie first. He had to be heading for her now-and pray God, with Timmy still alive!
Robert Powell, haggard and worn but impeccably dressed in a shirt and tie and summer-weight jacket, quietly listened to the greeting from Alex. The graduates were stationed behind him.
“Mr. Powell, this is hardly the way I expected this program to end. Did you ever know or suspect that Jane Novak had murdered your wife?”
“Absolutely not,” Robert Powell said wearily. “I have always suspected that it was one of the graduates. I was not sure which one, and I wanted the answer. I wanted closure. I needed closure. I am not a well man; my days are numbered. I have just learned that in addition to my other medical problems, I have a fast-moving form of pancreatic cancer. Before too long, I will be joining my beloved Betsy in heaven or in hell.”