“That’s exactly what I want Ernie to do,” Linda Kimball declared. “I want him to get to the bottom of it and find out what really happened, because if he doesn’t…”
Sobbing, she broke off. Unable to continue, she went searching in her purse for that same thin packet of tissues, just as she had done earlier that same afternoon.
“Linda,” Joanna said kindly. “I don’t under stand. What’s wrong?”
Linda shook her head. “I’ve been married to Burton Kimball for a long time. I know him almost as well as I know myself, but I’ve never seen him the way he was tonight. I can’t stand seeing him like that.”
“Like what?”
“Afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
“Of himself,” Linda answered. “He’s afraid he did it.”
“Did what?”
“He thinks he murdered Uncle Harold and that he doesn’t remember it because he was drunk. Of course, that’s just ridiculous. Burton would never do such a thing. He’s the kindest man in the world. I can’t stand seeing him so upset.”
“Upset about his father? Upset about being a possible suspect in a homicide investigation?”
“Both, I’m sure,” Linda assented. “Finding out about his father has been a terrible shock, but I don’t think that’s the real problem.”
“What is?”
Linda Kimball’s double chins trembled dangerously. “I’m afraid he’s making this whole thing up, building a case and blaming himself in order to save Ivy.”
“How and why would he do that?” Joanna asked.
The other woman stared vacantly off into space for several long seconds. “We met while Burt was in law school, and I was still an undergraduate. Burt refused to get married until after he was out of law school and on his way to having a practice. We’ve had a very good marriage, but I’ve always known about the competition.”
“Competition?” Joanna frowned, offended by the idea that someone as seemingly upstanding as Burton Kimball might be two-timing his wife.
“Ivy,” Linda Kimball answered simply. “He’s always worried about her more than anyone else in the whole world. He’s always tried to take care of her, to protect her.”
“You don’t mean…?”
“Oh, no,” Linda answered quickly. “Nothing nasty or improper-nothing like that. If he hadn’t cared about her so much, I’m sure he wouldn’t have blabbed to her about Harold wanting to make a settlement. And then, abracadabra, before Harold can make good on what he said, before he can change any of his other arrangements, Harold Patterson is murdered. And who benefits from those changes not being made? Ivy, that’s who! No one but Ivy.”
“You think your husband is lying about what happened? You think he’s deliberately shifting blame to himself in order to protect her?”
“No,” Linda Kimball returned somberly. “I think he really believes he did it. He was drunk and doesn’t remember, so now he thinks he was functioning in a blackout. No, he’s absolutely convinced of his own guilt. If I’d been smarter, I would have seen it coming a long time ago.”
“Seen what coming?” Joanna asked, still in the dark.
“Don’t you understand?” Linda Kimball pleaded, her voice cracking with suppressed tension. “I’m afraid. Scared to death. And I don’t know what to do.”
“Please, Linda,” Joanna said, shaking her head. “You must be leaving something out. I don’t understand what you’re talking about, what you’re afraid of.”
“That if it comes to a choice between Ivy and me, he’ll choose her.”
“Come on, be serious. That’s ridiculous. You’re married to the man, for God’s sake. You’re the mother of his children. Ivy is just Burt’s cousin. How could he possibly choose her over you?”
“If Ernie arrests him, if Burt… How is it they say that on TV? Fall? Rap? That’s it, the rap. If Burt takes the rap, Ivy is home free. And if it came to that, I don’t think Burt would lift a finger to help himself. He as good as told me so tonight in his office. And what happens then? Whoever really murdered Harold Patterson gets away with it, and all because Burton is looking out for his precious Ivy!”
“Linda,” Joanna began, “believe me, that’s not going to happen.”
“Oh, yeah? I can even tell you how. Burton says that since he was blind drunk at the time it happened, the worst any judge in the state would give him is probably second degree. He’s sure he’ll be able to plea-bargain that down to simple manslaughter.”
“You’re serious about this, then, aren’t you?” Joanna said, with sudden understanding.
Linda nodded. “I’m serious all right, and so is Burt. He loves the kids and me, I’m sure of it. Being abandoned when he was a baby. Feeling like, except for Ivy Patterson, he was all alone in the world. Those things that happened to him when he was a child still have a powerful hold on him. I’m afraid he’d sacrifice Chris and Kim and me in a minute to save her. We wouldn’t starve, I suppose. I could always go back to teaching school, and the church would help us. But still…”
They sat quietly for a few moments while the draining dishwasher whirred noisily in the kitchen. Jennifer had long since loaded the dishes and disappeared into her own room.
“Why did you come to me with this?” Joanna asked finally. “Ernie Carpenter is the detective on the case. Why didn’t you go straight to him?”
Linda shrugged. “I don’t know. I already talked to you about it this afternoon. It just seemed easier. I thought maybe another woman would understand better. A man might jump to the wrong conclusion. He might think something awful was going on between Ivy and Burton. It’s just not like that. My husband is a very honorable man. After what’s…”
Linda glanced at her watch, then hurriedly rose to her feet. “I’d better get going,” she said. “Those meetings hardly ever last much over an hour. I don’t want him being suspicious.”
“You still haven’t said what you expect me to do.”
“I thought if I could get you to see through to what’s really going on, then maybe you could help keep Ernie on track. I wonder if maybe that boy friend of Ivy’s has anything to do with it. Maybe they’re getting married in such a hurry so they can’t be forced to testify against one another.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Joanna said.
“Well, I did,” Linda Kimball returned grimly “And I’ll be damned if I’m going to stand still and let them get away with it.”
“Ernie Carpenter’s a pro,” Joanna said reassuringly. “A real pro. If anyone can find out what really happened, Ernie can do it.”
Linda Kimball straightened her shoulders.
“Good,” she said, sounding somewhat heartened. “I’d better be going then.”
After Linda left, Joanna forgot her intention to clean the refrigerator. Instead, she returned to the living room, where she sat alone for some time, wondering about the complicated relationship between Burton Kimball and his cousin Ivy. What was the tie between them that would make Linda afraid her husband would sacrifice his whole life, his career and his family-to protect Ivy Patterson? Was it nothing more than an innocent brotherly-type love, or was it something much more malignant?
Around nine Jenny slipped out of her room and sat down on the couch next to her mother. The child was wearing her flannel nightgown, one Grandma Brady had made for her at Christmas the previous year. At the time the gown was new, it had been so long that the hem had skimmed the floor with every step. Now it barely covered the child’s bony ankles. It was a shock for Joanna to realize how much her daughter had grown in such a short time.