The three women, Carly, Hannah and Jory, all looked up at Des apprehensively as she and Spence came in the door. Des felt as if she’d just barged into a hospital waiting room with word of whether the patient’s cancer had spread or not.
“Jory, I’m going to need to ask you a few more questions,” she said, flashing her a reassuring smile. “I have to clarify some things.”
“Anything I can do to help, Des.” Jory glanced uncertainly over at Spence, whose own eyes were glued to the carpet. “When would you like to do it?”
“Right now, if you don’t mind.”
“Sure thing.” Jory collected the empty sandwich platter and started for the door with it. “Are you hungry, Spence?”
“I sure am,” he replied, moving over toward the bar.
“I can make some more sandwiches, if you’d like.” Jory’s eyes lingered on him.
“That would be great,” he said, stubbornly refusing to look at her.
Jory stuck out her bulldog chin and headed for the kitchen. Des followed her, noticing that Jory was one of those women who had two walks-wiggly for when a man was walking behind her, plain vanilla for when a woman was.
There was a loaf of sliced whole wheat bread on the kitchen table, which was crowded with sandwich fixings-a big hunk of baked ham, a wedge of Swiss cheese, sliced radishes, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, jars of mayonnaise and mustard. Jory went right to work on the ham with a carving knife, shaving off thin slice after thin slice, her movements practiced and skilled.
“It’s funny, I was so afraid to open the refrigerator this morning,” she chattered at Des as she worked. “I didn’t want all of the food in there to spoil. But it finally dawned on me that it’s the same temperature out here as it is in there-so what’s the difference, right?”
The girl was definitely running at the mouth, Des observed, taking a seat at the table. Major ill at ease.
“So how can I help you, Des?” she rattled on, slathering four slices of bread with mayo and mustard. “What else can I tell you?”
“Why you lied to me,” Des replied quietly.
“When did I do that?”
“You told me you never left your cottage last night. We both know that’s not true. You were in Spence’s room.”
Jory blushed, her round cheeks mottling. “I suppose he bragged to you all about his great big conquest.”
“Actually, he was very reluctant to give it up. I had to squeeze it out of him.”
“How did you manage that?”
“By threatening to take him in for questioning.”
“That would do it, all right.” Jory finished making two ham and cheese sandwiches, passed one over to Des and immediately started building two more. She offered her nothing in the way of information. Not a word.
“Jory, I’ve got three deaths to account for,” Des said, attacking her sandwich. She’d eaten nothing all day, and was famished. “I could care less about you and Spence keeping each other warm in his room last night. But I need the real deal from you. Why you lied to me. What else you didn’t tell me. And I need it right now.”
“Okay, sure. Whatever.” Jory flopped down in the chair directly across from Des, swiping at a strand of hair that had come loose from her topknot. “I was afraid you’d tell Les. That’s why I was a bit less than straight with you about it before. If Les had found out I was in Spence’s room last night, he would have fired me instantly. Me and Jase both.”
“Because of Norma’s zero-tolerance rule?”
Jory shook her head. “No.”
“Well, then why?”
“Because the old creep was hot for me, that’s why,” Jory replied wearily. “You should have seen the way that man would stare at me-day after day, night after night. He’d just keep staring at my assorted body parts with those filthy eyes of his. He made me feel crawly all over. Because I’d never go with someone that old, for God’s sake. Especially him. He was just such a lech. I’ll bet he told you what a good husband he was. How much he loved Norma. Well, he wasn’t and he didn’t. He was obsessed with me from the moment he moved in here. He’d get insanely jealous if I showed even the slightest interest in a man-our produce supplier, the Fed Ex guy, anyone. Just last month he fired Franz, one of our chefs, because we went to a movie together on my night off. One lousy movie, Des.”
“Why didn’t you quit?”
“And go where? This is the only job I’ve ever held.”
“They do have such a thing as sexual harassment laws.”
“My word against his,” Jory said dismissively. “Who do you think they’re going to believe, the president of the Chamber of Commerce or the pair of tits who mops the floors?”
“Did Norma know about this?”
“Of course she did. He was so obvious it was painful. She also knew that I did everything I could to discourage him.”
“Did she ever confront him about it?”
“She promised me she’d talk to him, but she never did. She was too afraid of antagonizing him. Norma had a lot of insecurities, you see. To do with her weight and all. She couldn’t help me, wouldn’t help me. So I put up with it. I could deal. I’ve had horny guests hitting on me ever since I grew breasts. It’s an occupational hazard if you’re in the hospitality business. I just had to avoid being caught alone in a room with him.”
“When the power went out last night, you were alone in the cellar with him.”
“I know.” Jory’s plump lower lip began to quiver. She bit down hard on it.
“Jory, did something happen down there?”
“Not physically, no. He just… he told me I was in his dreams every night. And he got kind of specific about those dreams. I’d really rather not go into the details, if you don’t mind. Every time I start to think about them I feel like throwing up.”
“Mitch told me that Jase seemed worried when he found out Les was down in the cellar with you.”
“He knew how Les felt about me,” Jory said, nodding. “But I always told him it was okay, I could take care of myself. The old creep was basically harmless.”
“Firing a chef for taking you to the movies is not what I’d call harmless,” Des said as she devoured her sandwich, which was delicious.
“I’m with you there, Des. All I meant was that he’d never actually try to rape me or whatever. He just wanted to imagine things about me and then… say them out loud to me. That’s how he got off.”
“Did you know that Les was seeing another woman?”
“Martha Burgess, sure. He told me all about her.”
“What did he say?”
“That the affair was all my fault. That the only reason he was having sex with Martha was because he was so aroused by me.”
“Last night you told Spence that you’re involved with someone yourself.”
Jory lowered her eyes, gazing down at the sandwiches she’d just made. “I did, that’s true.”
“May I ask who he is?”
“There’s no one,” she replied faintly. “I’m not actually seeing anyone.”
“You lied to Spence?”
“I did,” she admitted.
“Why would you do that?”
Jory shot a glance at the dining room doorway, then leaned across the table toward her. “Des, could we keep this between us?”
“If I can, I will.”
“I didn’t want to scare him off, okay?”
“Not okay. I’m still not following you.”
“God, this is so embarrassing to say out loud,” Jory confessed, clearing her throat. “The awful truth is that I’ve been hopelessly in love with Spence Sibley ever since high school. He was my very first, Des. When it happened, I led him to believe I was a woman of vast experience when it came to sex. I wasn’t. I’ve always tried to be the woman he wants me to be. No clinging, no promises. Nothing but good, frisky fun. For years I’ve been telling Spence that I’m not looking for anything serious, when the truth is that all I think about day and night is marrying him and having his babies. For me, there’s never been anybody but Spence. Someday, he’ll realize he feels the same way about me. I believe that in my bones. But I also believe that if I pursue him too hard, I’ll scare him off. So I’ve been careful to hide my true feelings. And patient. I’ve been so patient.”