„He told us we were worse than penniless,“ said Cleo. „He said this house would have to be rented out to pay down the family debts.“
„One day, your mother and I came back from school, and the nurse told us our litde sister had been taken to the hospital. We never saw Sally again.“
„She was here all that time.“ Cleo glared at her ex-husband.
If the ax were in her mother’s hand -
„I’d like to know,“ said Lionel, „was Sally dying or dead when the nurse called your father out to the summer house to collect her?“
„No, Sheldon,“ said Cleo, „don’t shake your head – don’t pretend that you don’t know all the details. I know your father would’ve warned you about a little body walled up in this house.“
„The Smyths are long-term planners,“ said Lionel.
Cleo looked down at her daughter, another Smyth. „Didn’t you ever wonder why your father never wanted custody of you? The Smyths plan ahead for generations.“
Bitty turned to her father, but he was looking elsewhere. All her life she had been told of a custody battle that had never taken place. And all this time, she had been her father’s tie to the Winter family fortune, a tie that could not be undone until a day when all the money would flow back again the other way – generational planning.
The lawyer in Sheldon Smyth was smiling at his ex-wife. „If this is made public, Cleo, you and your brother lose everything back to the trust fund. When Nedda dies, it all goes to the Historical Society. You’ll be dead broke, the both of you, and lucky if you don’t wind up in jail.“
„But we didn’t do anything wrong,“ said Cleo. „We were the victims.“
„I don’t think the district attorney will see it that way,“ said Sheldon. „It all depends on what sort of a deal I make for myself – if it comes to that – if you push me to it. You two became co-conspirators when you had the trust fund money repaid to your personal accounts. You were originally intended to have a lifetime draw, but you wanted all the money. Those were your terms.“
„That was so long ago,“ said Lionel. „Surely the statute of limitations – “
„It doesn’t apply here. Ask my daughter. She’s a lawyer. The yearly reparations installments – oh, let’s call it extortion – that makes it an ongoing crime.“
Lionel and Cleo turned to Bitty, silently asking if this was true. It was an interesting moment for a legal consultation. Bitty loosened her grip on the ax, then idly shifted it from hand to hand, giving this problem actual consideration. „Did either of you sign anything to get those yearly payments?“
„Damn right, they did,“ said Sheldon. „That money is trust fund restitution. It can’t be disguised as any other form of compensation. If the firm goes down, so do they.“
„Sorry.“ Bitty shrugged. „That’s how Daddy’s firm ensured your silence. They made you part of the crime.“ She looked down at the tiny skeleton at her feet. „Two crimes.“
„And no statute of limitations,“ said Sheldon, who was enjoying this just too much. „You see, the trust was never entirely drained. The theft of the restitution money is a crime in progress – conspiracy grand theft.“ He nudged Sally Winter’s trunk with the toe of his shoe. „And, may I point out, that you’re the ones in possession of a dead child. The fact that the body was hidden – well, that guarantees a homicide investigation. Reporters camped out on the doorstep, television people and their cameras following you everywhere you go. You find that appealing?“
No, they did not. Cleo was holding on to Lionel’s arm for support.
„So,“ said Sheldon, „it appears that we have a lot to talk about. And then we have to put Sally back in the wall.“ He turned to his daughter. „Bitty, my love, you’re also a part of this now.“ He gave her his most radiant smile, then turned back to his ex-wife. „Cleo, suppose you put on a pot of coffee. We’ll all sit down together and – “
„Bitty,“ said Cleo, „go up to your room. I’ll call you down when we’ve agreed on something.“ She reached out and plucked the ax from her daughter’s hand as if this deadly weapon were no more than a disallowed sweet that might ruin Bitty’s dinner. „Go on now.“
Defenseless, Bitty climbed the stairs. When she turned back, she saw her uncle picking up the bones of his little sister and gendy, reverendy placing them in the trunk.
Nedda was drinking Courvoisier in Charles’s front room when she began to beep. She pulled the pager from her pocket. „Bitty made me take this when we were at the hospital.“
„Horrible invention,“ said Charles. „I’d never own one. Pagers and cell phones. Those gadgets don’t make life easier for people. They simply make escape impossible.“
She looked at the glowing display of digits on the face of the pager. „And, of course, this number is Bitty’s cell phone.“
„Then I’ll give you some privacy,“ said Charles. „I have some work to do in my office across the hall. I might be awhile, so don’t wait up. Sleep well. See you in the morning.“
Nedda waited until he was gone, then rang Bitty’s number, charmed by the old-fashioned rotary dial on the antique telephone. She held the receiver to her ear and only counted one ring, before she heard Bitty’s voice. „Hello, dear. How are you feeling____________________What?… Calm down--Yes, dear, but why did you leave the hospital?… Why would they… Don’t upset yourself… No, of course I don’t mind--We’ll sort this out when I get there.“
Nedda found paper and a fountain pen in the drawer of a small writing desk. She left a note for Charles, explaining that Bitty needed her and that she might be gone for a few hours. Her next call was to the car service.
An unmarked police car stopped beside a recendy vacated stretch of curb outside of Charles Buder’s apartment building. The watchers were changing shifts, and all the attention of the man behind the wheel was devoted to the task of parallel parking. His partner stood on the sidewalk, directing the stop and starts of squeezing the car into a tight parking space. That done – a perfect job – they settled in for the last tour of duty on this plainclothes detail. When the custody order arrived, the old woman would be taken away by police from another division. It was going to be an early night, and they were both thinking ahead to cold beers and hot slices from Ray’s Pizza as the taillights of Nedda Winter’s limousine disappeared around the corner.
Harry Bell, the desk sergeant in the SoHo station house, looked up to see a rookie standing before him, though he should not have seen the youngster’s face for another five hours. The cop was supposed to be sitting in a chair outside of Bitty Smyth’s hospital room, an unauthorized posting that had drained the bank of favors owed to Detective Mallory.
„Peterson,“ said the sergeant, „you should be uptown. Guard duty at the hospital? Is it all coming back to you now?“
„I was relieved of duty,“ said Peterson, tacking on a belated „sir.“
„Now that’s funny, kid, ‘cause I don’t remember calling you back here. So whose idea was – “
„It was the family. They relieved me.“
„The Mafia? That family? Was gunplay involved?“
„No, sir.“ The boy made the mistake of smiling at his sergeant’s little joke instead of running for his life. „It was Sheldon Smyth. He’s the lady’s father – and he’s a lawyer.“
„Oh, well, that makes it okay.“ Sergeant Bell knew he could shoot this boy right now for just cause and get away with it. „I guess they changed the line of command. Now it’s lawyers giving orders to the uniforms – instead of their sergeants. Well, somebody should’ve told me.“
Harry Bell’s smile grew wide and wicked as the young cop’s face quickly reddened. The torture of raw recruits passed for sport on a slow night. That was what rookies were for. That was why God had made so many of them. „Tell you what, kid, why don’t you go upstairs and explain all of this to Detective Mallory? No, go ahead. She’ll understand. Ever met her?“