“It was a mess, a horrible mess, no matter what we did,” Cass said.
“So you pled?”
“So I pled.”
Tim stared straight at Cass. “And Lidia Gianis let her son give up the prime of his life, while she walked away?”
“That’s what happened.”
“No, it’s not,” said Tim. He reached down again to play with the dog. She was still young enough to nip at his fingers and hold on. “I been following you more than a week now, Cass, watching you stick on a phony nose every morning and go to work and play your brother. And what finally hit me today is that this costume party didn’t just start. You couldn’t pretend to be Paul-practice law, be the state senator-unless you’d been doing that for years now. I think the two of you traded off the time inside. That’s why you made such a big deal about minimum security. Because there’s not one of those facilities you can’t just walk away from, especially if your brother’s waiting nearby to take your place. All you had to do was go for a walk in the woods and swap out your jumpsuit with him. So you were each Paul sometimes, and sometimes Cass.”
“That’s quite a theory.”
“The prints for the man who entered as a prisoner at Hillcrest-they don’t match the prints of the man who was in Dita’s room. They’re Paul’s. I say he went into the joint first, just in case this whole charade didn’t work. Can’t keep the wrong guy in prison, can you?
“And the beauty of it, of course,” Tim said, “is that you could talk your mom into doing this. You and Paul would each be out, at least at times. You’d both have a life, even if it was one you’d be sharing.” Tim glanced at Sofia. She wasn’t ever playing in the World Series of Poker. From the look of pure terror that had enlarged her eyes and stretched across her face, Tim could tell he’d gotten this right. “Must have been a little complicated at home, when Cass was sleeping in his brother’s bed,” he said. “I suspect that’s how you all ended up in your current predicament.”
Sofia looked away quickly and announced she was going to walk the dog.
“That’s quite a theory,” Cass said again.
“I’m pretty sure it’s what happened. Only part I’m wondering about is what you said I’d wonder about-how Dita is dead when you get there. Truth is, though, your mom’s version makes some sense to me. It took a pretty strong person to overpower Dita that way. That’s one more reason we were sure it was a man. Hard to believe a woman of your mom’s age could wham Dita around like that.”
“As I said,” Cass answered.
“Which means you may have killed Dita, after all.”
Cass smiled slyly. “See? Five minutes ago you were telling me I was innocent. But I end up guilty when you weigh everything.”
Tim leaned over confidentially, with a quick look askance at Sofia, who was clapping at the dog fifty yards off.
“It’s just us,” he said quietly. “Did you?”
“It would be really easy for me to say it, wouldn’t it? I’ve already done the time.”
He was right about that. On the other hand, there were some guys that could just never get the words out of their mouths. But overall, Cass had every reason to own the crime.
“Think I believe you,” Tim said.
“Thanks.” He didn’t mean it. “But just so you know. That stuff about phony noses and switching in and out of prison-that’s crap. I did the time because I was going to do it anyway, and this way we kept my mom out, and alive.”
“Well, saying yes to what I just outlined, that would mean admitting to several felonies, for both you and your brother.”
“It’s BS.”
“Whatever. Like I said. I just want to know who killed Dita.”
“And I said I’d tell you what I knew.”
Tim nodded ponderously. Cass seemed to have been good to that deal.
“Only one more thing bothers me just yet,” said Tim. “I can’t figure out what’s become of your brother.”
“He’s fine.”
“Is he? Then why are you running around pretending to be both of you for weeks now?”
Cass looked down at the table.
“Because you scared the crap out of Beata, and they needed some time together. She’s pregnant, to tell you the truth. At forty-five, she won’t get a lot more chances. So it seemed like a good idea for them just to get away from the freak show.”
“And you agreed to cover for him everywhere?”
Cass smiled tightly. “I owe him a favor or two at the moment.”
Tim couldn’t suppress a bit of a smile himself.
“Have to say, your personal lives, that’s none of my business, but I’d be happy to listen if you ever want to tell that story.”
Cass was done smiling. He told Tim he had it right to start. That part was none of his business.
“How about we all just visit Paul?” said Tim. “He’s alive and well, you know that’s the end of it for me. But you can’t expect an old homicide dick to walk away from any chance of a murder. Like I told you to start, I need to be sure about that.”
Sofia and the dog were back.
“Tim wants to see Paul,” Cass said. “He thinks I killed him.”
Sofia stilled for a second, and then the air of gravity fled her entirely and she laughed out loud.
Cass stood up. “Just follow us.”
“No, I think I’ve chased you around enough for this lifetime. How about we all get in my car and we go say hello to Paul? Once I see him, I’ll give you your key and you guys can get on with whatever make-believe you’re carrying out.”
“And waste another hour driving back here?” Tim actually found Cass’s response heartening, since it took for granted that Paul was alive and not all that far away.
“Cass, just get it done with,” said Sofia.
32
Tim agreed to let Cass drive his rental car, the new Chevy that had the lingering acrid odor of somebody who’d broken the rules by smoking in it. Sofia and the dog were in the rear seat.
“I need to call to let Paul know we’re coming,” Cass said.
“So he has time to put on his phony nose?”
“He doesn’t have a phony nose. You’ll see for yourself. It was convenient during the campaign for me to go out and be Paul. I admit that.”
“Nope, how I’ve got this figured, whoever was being Paul was wearing that prosthetic. If Paul’s nose really was broken like that, he could never have gotten away with being Cass at Hillcrest.”
“Which is why that’s all jive.” Cass took out his cell. “I can’t just show up there. There might be a scene. We’re barely speaking as it is. I told you. Beata’s up here to avoid stress.”
“I think you were headed for Paul all along to talk over how to handle the fact that I was on to the disguise.”
Cass rolled his eyes, and claimed that Sofia and he had just leased a cottage for the summer ten miles farther on. He dialed his phone without waiting for Tim to say yes. On the call with his brother, Cass’s tone was no better than businesslike, but he’d explained to start that Sofia and he were in the car with Tim. Once Cass finished, Tim phoned Evon, who’d left several messages. He said he’d see her at the bridge in roughly an hour.
“That’s all you can say right now?” she asked.
“That’s all.”
“You’re OK?”
“Never better.”
Cass and Sofia and he spent the rest of the drive talking about Sofia’s sons. Michael and Steve were relieved the campaign was over, and especially that Hal’s crazy ads were no longer on TV. Michael, the older boy, would graduate next month. He was headed for Teach for America, with law school likely after that. Steve was at the end of his sophomore year and talking about medical school. Tim wondered what it must have been like for those boys, with their uncle turning up periodically and their father disappearing. It was a burden on children to keep a secret like that, but they frequently handled it better than adults. Tim had seen a couple of instances of that with families living on the lam.
As Tim had expected, they headed over the Indian Falls Bridge. He saw Evon’s car in a wayside there, but decided not to push his luck by asking if she could join them.