A bruised quiet had descended upon Aaron. He seemed humbled by the deaths of his mother and grandmother. When Des knocked on his door she’d found him at the desk tapping away at a battery-powered laptop, so lost in thought that he’d scarcely heard her. When she told him she needed to take his statement, his response wasn’t the least bit arrogant or petulant.
“Whatever you wish,” he sighed defeatedly. “I want to do what I can to help.”
Which intrigued Des. Why was Aaron suddenly acting so unlike himself? Was this simply his honest human grief showing itself, or was it something else? Something like, say, guilt? Because Des had by no means forgotten who stood to gain the most from Norma’s death. It was this man who sat facing her now.
“I have to ask you some questions that may seem insensitive at a time like this,” she began. “Believe me, I’m not trying to cause you any extra pain. But it’s important that we go over this while it’s still fresh in your memory.”
“I understand,” Aaron said. “You may begin.”
“For starters, let’s run through where you were when Ada was attacked. Jory had just come into the taproom to say breakfast was ready. As I recall, Carly took off upstairs, and you went up after her. Is that about right?”
“It is,” he said. “She was rather steamed, apparently. I was trying to calm her down.”
“And how did that work out for you?”
Aaron fell silent for a moment. “I’ve been going about things the wrong way,” he said, gazing not so much at Des as through her. Briefly, she felt as if she weren’t even there. “I should be trying to follow Grandmother’s example, I now realize. What I mean to say is, her death has shone a light on my true mission in life.”
“Which mission is that, Aaron?”
“Grandmother was going to leave all of her money to the ACLU. Mind you, I happen to think that’s akin to pissing down one’s own leg. But the pure concept itself, the idea of using one’s money for the common good, that is just so noble. I should be doing that, too. And I want to try.”
“How would you go about doing it?”
“By selling Astrid’s Castle,” he replied, nodding his large head up and down. “And using the proceeds to fund a new think tank devoted to political and social reform. Possibly a weekly journal as well. I was just jotting down a few thoughts on the subject. I am talking about minting an entirely new movement to bridge the widening gap between left and right in this nation. There are just so many issues now, whether it be abortion or gun control, the environment, affirmative action… we don’t debate them intelligently anymore. Simply talk past one another, and then call each other ‘idiotic’ or ‘un-American’ or just plain ‘evil.’ It’s as if our lives have turned into one never-ending installment of Hardball. For which, I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve been rewarded most handsomely,” he allowed, tugging uncomfortably at his bow tie. “But a heavy price has been paid. We can no longer find any common ground. That’s what I’d like to call it-Common Ground.” Aaron gazed at her beseechingly, hungry for her approval. “What do you think, Des?”
Des studied the man. He seemed genuinely worked up about this. Also terribly needy for approval. Mitch had been right about him, not that she’d ever doubted it. “What I think,” she replied, “is that I wouldn’t expect you to be very interested in this.”
“Oh, I absolutely am,” he assured her. “Just look at what’s happened here. Look what happens when people don’t talk to each other.”
“What did happen here, Aaron?”
“A wake-up call, that’s what-for me.”
Not only needy but so self-centered that from where he sat, these two murders were not about his mother and grandmother, they were about him. “And how does Carly fit into your new plans?”
“She’s a bright and gifted scholar. I hope she’ll contribute.”
“And your marriage?”
Aaron drew back a bit. “I don’t know what you mean by that.”
“Yes, you do. You know perfectly well.”
“Hannah shot her mouth off, didn’t she?” he said, casting a guilty look down the hallway.
“Hannah didn’t have to shoot off anything. You’re plenty obvious all by yourself,” Des shoved her glasses up her nose and said, “Tell me, were you aware of your mother’s heart problems?”
“I knew she was fat,” Aaron answered bluntly. “I knew she needed surgery and wouldn’t have it.”
“Did you know she took heart medication?”
“I assumed she did.”
“Any idea what she was taking?”
“I have no idea at all.”
“Aaron, did you get up at all last night? Possibly go downstairs?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Just answer the question, please.”
“I slept very soundly last night. I’d consumed a couple of snifters of single malt before dinner, and a good deal of wine. Carly and I read in bed for a while. We extinguished our lanterns at approximately eleven, then went to sleep.”
“Stayed put in your own bed all night, did you?”
“Just exactly what kind of man do you think I am?” Aaron demanded, arching an eyebrow at her.
“A man who cheats on his wife.”
“You know what I think?” he shot back defensively. “I think you’re predisposed to dislike me. You’re blatantly prejudiced against me, in point of fact, because I happen to espouse traditional conservative values. You know nothing about my marriage or my… situation.”
“So fill me in.”
“For starters, I was not waiting for Carly to fall asleep so I could tiptoe across the hall and slip into the sack with Hannah. That would be unforgivably cruel, not to mention stupid. Carly happens to be a pathologically light sleeper. If I so much as twitch a finger in the night, she wakes right up to ask me what’s wrong. There is no way I could go to Hannah without Carly knowing. I made it abundantly clear to Hannah that nothing could happen between us while we were up here, which Hannah was fine with. And I…” Aaron hesitated, his nose beginning to twitch. “I do plan to come clean about this. I decided it just now in my room. I’m going to tell Carly all about Hannah.”
“You’re a day late and a dollar short, Aaron. Carly already knows.”
Aaron’s eyes widened at her. “She does?”
“She’s known about you and Hannah for weeks.”
“So that’s it,” he said, thumbing his white chin stubble thoughtfully. “I had a feeling that something was… as I told you last evening, she’s been acting rather strange of late.”
“I wouldn’t call it strange it all. You’ve brought your mistress to your mother’s house for a major family event. How do you think that makes Carly feel? If my man did that to me, I’d be acting a whole lot more than strange.”
Aaron grimaced. “I guess I have that coming. I won’t try to excuse my behavior.”
“Good, because you can’t.”
“But I would like to explain myself to you, if you don’t mind. Because you have no idea what it was like to be me-a chess-club fatty who every boy always picked on and no girl ever wanted. How could someone like you possibly understand what that’s like? Just look at you. You’re built like a swimsuit model, you’re gorgeous, you’re-”
“Are you hitting on me now?”
“No! I’m simply pointing out that you’ve doubtless been fighting off guys since you were twelve years old. What you need to realize is that no one ever wanted me. Not ever. And now, because I happen to be a television celebrity, women actually do want me. Beautiful women. And, yes, I’ve succumbed to temptation. How could I not? It would be unnatural to deny myself after so many years of pain and suffering. Surely you can understand that much.”
“I absolutely can, Aaron. But I also understand that you took an oath when you got married, and you’ve violated it. So kindly spare me the boo-hoo, okay? Because I was married to a player myself once, and I’ve heard all of the excuses, and they all add up to one great big pile of lame.”