"Yes.”
"Which meant I was there from nine to five, so my first appointment was at five-thirty, do you see it " here?" she said, "with Ellie, here's her name, turning the book so Hawes could see it. "That's my agent, Ellie Weinberger Associates, I met her at The Red Balloon at five-thirty.”
"Okay," Hawes said. He was already reading ahead in the calendar space for Thursday, the twenty-fourth of May. On that day, Krissie's appointment was... "At eight o'clock, I met this man for was putting together an off-Broadway famous vaudeville skits, and he wanted to talk about directing one of them. I've never before, this would have been a wondel opportunity for me. His name is Harry met him at a restaurant called.., do you see it Eight P.M., Harry Grundle, Turner's? That's was.”
"What time did you leave your agent?”
"Around six-thirty.”
"Where's The Red Balloon?”
"On the Circle.”
"Where'd you go when you left her?”
"Home to bathe and change for my dinner "And where's Turner's?”
"In the Quarter. Near my apartment, actually.”
"Do you drive a car?”
"No.”
"How'd you get from one place to the other?”
"By subway from the church to The Red I took a taxi home, and walked from my Turner's.”
"Do you remember what you were wearing?”
"I wore a cotton dress to work and to meet Then I changed into something dressier.”
"Like what?”
"A blue suit, I think. Also cotton. It was a very hot day.”
"What color was the dress you wore to work?”
"Blue.”
"Both blue, is that it?”
"It's my favorite color," she said, and closed the book.
He was thinking that it would not have taken more than twenty minutes by subway from the church to Grover Park Circle. If she'd left her agent at six-thirty, as she said she had, she could have been back uptown again by ten minutes to seven. The priest was killed sometime after seven. And she'd still have had time to taxi downtown to meet Grundle.
He was also thinking that he would have to check with Mrs. Hennessy to get a description of the dress Krissie had been wearing to work that day, and he would have to look up Harry Grundle to ask him what she'd been wearing that night. Because if she hadn''t gone home to bathe and change her clothes... "How about Easter Sunday?" he said. "Does your calendar have anything for Easter Sunday?”
"I don't like you when you're this way," she said.
"What way?”
"Like every shitty cop I've ever met in my life.”
“Sorry," he said, "but I am a cop.”
"You don't have to be a shitty one.”
"Where were you on Easter Sunday between two-thirty and three P.M?”
"You know, it occurs to me that maybe I ou have a lawyer here.”
"Shall I read you your rights?" he asked, and a smile. But there was something that truly him here. Not that she had no real alibi for the and a half between six-thirty and eight on twenty-fourth of May, but because her attitude become so very defensive the moment he be asking questions. Maybe his technique was rol maybe that was it. Or maybe ...
"I really don't think you need a lawyer," he "Do you know where you were on Easter "Yes, of course I know where I was," she and flipped the book open again, and said, the hell was Easter Sunday?”
"The fifteenth, I think. Of April.”
"I'm pretty sure I was in the country. My have a house in the country, I'm pretty sure I s Easter with them." She kept flipping pages until came to April.
"The fifteenth," she said, almost to herself.
"Yes," he said.
"I have nothing for that day," she said, and up. "That's odd. Because I could swear I went to country. I can't imagine being alone on Sunday.
Unless I was in rehearsal for something. which case..." She looked at the book agai0. sure, here it is. I did a showcase on the a Saturday night. I was probably learning lines Sunday before because here, do you see it?
rehearsals began the next day, Monday the sixteenth, “
here.
She was tapping the calendar box with her forefinger.
Rehearsal, the entry read.
YMCA. 7:00 P.M. "Was anyone with you?" he asked.
"Oh, yes. We were rehearsing a scene from a new play, there were at least...”
"On Easter. While you were learning your lines.”
"I believe I was alone.”
"No one to cue you?”
"No, I believe I was alone.”
"You didn't go up to St. Catherine's that day, did you?”
"Why would I do that?”
"I have no idea. Did you?”
"No.”
"What was your relationship with Father Michael?”
"I wasn't having an affair with him, if we're back to that.”
"Was there ever anything between you that went beyond a strictly business relationship?”
“Yes," she said, surprising him.
"In what way?" he asked.
"I found him extremely attractive. And I suppose.., if I'm to be perfectly honest with myself... I suppose I flirted with him on occasion.”
"Flirted how?”
"Well, the walk.., you know.”
"What walk?”
"Well, you know how women walk when want to attract attention.”
"Uh-huh.”
"And eye contact, I guess. And an oc show of leg, like that. Well, you know how flirt.”
“Are you Catholic?" he asked.
"No.”
"So you found it perfectly okay, I guess, to with a priest.”
“You sound angry," she said, and smiled at "No, I'm not angry, I'm simply trying to...”
"But you sound angry.”
"It was okay to flirt with a priest, is that right? walk, the eye contact, the occasional show of isn't that what you called it, all that?
That was perfectly okay.”
"Oh, come on, we've all had that fantasy, we? Nuns? Priests? What do you think The Birds was all about, if not wanting to go to bed a priest?
Didn't you read The Thorn Birds?”
“No," he said.
"Or see the miniseries?”
"No." .
"Only everybody in the entire worm saw miniseries.”
"But not me. Was that your fantasy? Wanting to go to bed with Father Michael?”
"I thought about it, yes.”
"And apparently acted on it.”
"Acting's a pretty good word for it, actually.
Because in many ways it was almost like playing Meggie in The Thorn Birds. Or Sadie Thompson in Rain, do you know Rain? I did it in class last year.
You have to try all sorts of parts, you know, if you want to stretch your natural talent. These women involved with priests are very interesting. Or the Bette Davis character in Of Human Bondage, do you know that one? He's not a priest, of course, he's a cripple, but that's sort of the same thing, isn't it? Not that I'm suggesting a priest is a cripple, but only that he's a person handicapped by his vows, who can't give vent to his natural instincts or desires, his urges really, because he's bound by these vows he's made, he's handicapped in that way.., well, he is sort of crippled, actually. So it was.., well, very interesting.
To be playing this sort of part, and to... well... observe his reactions. It made the job more interesting. I mean, the job was very boring, you know. This made it interesting.”
“Sure," Hawes said.
Actresses, he thought.
"But it never went beyond that," he said.
"Never.”
"You never...”
“Well," she said, and hesitated.
He waited.
"I could see he was interested, you know.”
"Uh-huh.”
"I mean.., he was aware of me, let's put it way.”
"Uh-huh.”
"Watching me, you know.”
"Uh-huh.”
"Aware of me.”
She sipped at her drink, and then loo] thoughtfully into her glass, as if searching for under the lime and the ice cubes.
"I have to admit," she said, and again "If he'd made the slightest move.., if he'd that single step beyond.., you know.., looking. might have gone all the way. Because, I'll tell the truth, I'm being perfectly honest with you, scared to death of sex these days. Because of I haven't been to bed with anyone in the past I'm telling you the absolute truth.