Part 33 (1/2)

Phil Stratton snorted in disgust and replaced a stack of photos of Mark Weaver in the drawer of the bedside table. The more they unearthed in this little house, the clearer it became that Maureen had been consumed by her memories of Mark Weaver. The house was a shrine to his memory. And now, in some sort of desperate, bizarre proof of her love, Maureen had crossed the bar, perhaps in hopes of finding him again. Phil sighed, thinking of how hopeful he had been before their dinner date the other night. He'd indulged in fantasies of him and Maureen as a couple, imagined what a good team they would make. Well, at least he'd realized before he slept with her that he would only be a stand-in for Mark Weaver. Even so, he hadn't realized the extent of it.

Phil walked out of Maureen's bedroom into the living room, where Keely was seated, on the edge of a pink-and-green chintz sofa, drinking from a Styrofoam cup of tea that a young policewoman had gone out to get for her. The cup shook in her hands. Keely looked up at him.

”Feeling any better?” Phil asked.

Keely shrugged. ”A little, I guess.”

”Mrs. Weaver, you want to tell me why you came over here tonight?”

Keely heaved a sigh. ”I found out . . . I just found out tonight that Ms. Chase had been calling my husband frequently before he died-including on the night he died . . .”

Phil waited for her to continue. She thought about mentioning her suspicions of an affair but thought better of it. ”I guess I just wanted to know why,” she said, sticking her chin up defiantly.

Phil shook his head. ”Well, it's pretty clear why. She was obsessed with him,” he said. ”The bedroom's full of pictures of him. Her closet-she's still got s.h.i.+rts with his monogram that haven't been washed in . . . quite a while. Tapes. Files with every sc.r.a.p of his handwriting she was able to collect. She's got receipts from his gas station credit card, for crying out loud. She was completely fixated on your husband. Did he ever mention to you that she kept calling him?”

Keely shook her head slightly.

Phil scratched his smoothly shaven jaw. ”Maybe he didn't want to worry you. It might have freaked you out to know she was stalking him.”

Stalking him. A wave of relief engulfed Keely as the term registered.Stalking.Keely thought about the phone calls. They were mostly from Maureen when she thought about it. She tried to recall what Betsy had said. Naturally, if Maureen had been calling Mark at work ten times a day, it would give rise to rumors. Maybe Mark had felt responsible for Maureen's obsession, guilty over leaving her for Keely. Maybe he hadn't wanted to expose her behavior and embarra.s.s her. Keely nodded and looked around the room. Everything was neatly in its place, the ruffled chintzes, flowered rugs, and dried flowers indicating a woman's orderly domestic life. There was no outward sign of Maureen's secret mania, but there was plenty of evidence tucked away. Maybe Detective Stratton was right. Maureen had been stalking Mark. Keely would never be able to banish from her memory the grotesque image of Maureen in that wedding dress, listening to those revolting tapes as she took her last suicidal breath. Stalking. It made sense. Of course.

Keely shuddered, remembering that first glimpse of Maureen in the car, the limp, twisted body, the terrible sensation of touching those cold lips. ”I tried to save her,” Keely said in a small voice.

”I know you did. The EMT told me about your call.” He sighed again. ”It's pathetic, really. She was completely stuck in the past. She couldn't get Mark back, and she couldn't get on with her life without him. I think she had a . . . morbid fixation on your husband, and it finally just drove her around the twist.”

Keely stared at the tea bag floating in her cup and thought about Maureen, still being so desperately in love with Mark. All those phonecalls. It would be flattering to a man-terribly flattering-to a have a woman like Maureen Chase, a cool, in-control sort of woman, who couldn't get over you. She kept thinking of Betsy's words-We didn't know anything for sure . . . We didn't have any real evidence.

No,she thought adamantly.No.Since reading Richard's note, she had been plagued with doubts about why Mark had sought her out in the first place, even why he began to court her. But they were married and had a child together. After all that, there couldn't be any doubt of his devotion to her-or of his love for Abby. Mark, the man who had wooed her so ardently and insisted he couldn't live without her, would not have resumed an affair with his old lover. No, Mark wouldn't have done that. It had to be stalking. There was no other explanation.

”I have to say, Mrs. Weaver . . .” Phil said, interrupting her thoughts,”I think maybe I owe you . . . and your family . . . well . . .”

Keely gazed at him curiously.

Phil took a deep breath. ”I began to think this the other night when I had dinner with . . . the D.A. I began to think that perhaps her desire to blame your husband's death on Dylan might be motivated by . . . her unresolved feelings. I started to wonder if maybe I was partic.i.p.ating in a . . . personal . . . a grudge situation,” he said.

”Are you trying to apologize, Detective?” Keely asked.

”I didn't say that,” he insisted.

Keely smiled thinly. ”I'm not going to sue your office, if that's what you're worried about. I understand that she was pressuring you.”

”There was a certain amount of . . . urgency to her . . . investigation,” he admitted carefully.

”Still, it would do my son's heart good if you were to explain this to him,” she suggested. ”He has suffered quite a bit.”

”Keely!”

Keely looked up and saw Lucas, leaning on his walking stick, in the doorway of Maureen's cottage. ”Thank G.o.d you're here,” she said. She rose shakily to her feet and went to Lucas, who drew her close, putting his arm around her.

”Are you all right?” he asked. ”What happened?”

Lucas's worried gaze searched her face. Keely felt herself breakingdown under the warmth of his concern. ”I came to talk to her,” she said.”I found her . . .” Her voice cracked.

Lucas murmured soothingly to her. ”It's all right,” he said. ”I'll take you home. Phil, is it okay for me to take Mrs. Weaver back home? Are you through with her?”

Phil nodded. ”Yeah. Go on. We're still checking out her story, but it's a formality. This looks pretty open and shut. Anyway, I know where to find her if I need her.”

Lucas shook his head. ”I still can't believe it,” he said. ”Maureen Chase.”

”There was a lot we didn't know about Maureen. She had a dark side,” said Phil.

Lucas sighed. ”Apparently. Come on, dear,” he said to Keely. ”Let me get you home.” He turned to Phil. ”Can you have somebody bring her vehicle back?”

”Sure,” said Phil. ”I'll get a couple of my men to bring it around tonight,” he said.

Keely handed him the keys.

Phil nodded. ”I'll be in touch, Mrs. Weaver.”

Keely let Lucas lead her out to his Lincoln. He opened the door, and Keely obediently settled herself in the front seat. Then Lucas went around to the driver's side and got in.

”Put your seat belt on,” he said sternly.

Keely nodded and did as she was told.

”That must have been a terrible shock for you,” said Lucas, ”finding her like that.”

”It was horrible. You can't imagine. I tried to save her,” said Keely.

”I know,” said Lucas absently. ”One of the cops outside told me. You did all anyone could.” He hesitated a minute and then he asked, ”Why did you go over there in the first place?”

Keely shook her head, as if trying to clear the image of Maureen out of her mind. Then she looked over at Lucas's handsome profile, ravaged by age. ”I found out she was calling Mark all the time.”

”Well, they still had business together,” Lucas said.

”This wasn't business,” said Keely.

Lucas raised his eyebrows and stared out over the steering wheel.”I'm sure I don't know what they talked about.”

”It's all right, Lucas. I talked to Betsy. She told me what you two were thinking.”

Lucas was silent for a moment. ”What did Betsy tell you?”

”She told me what you suspected. But it wasn't that,” said Keely.”Detective Stratton told me that Maureen was stalking Mark.”

Lucas remained silent.