Part 12 (2/2)
”I guess she doesn't need a chaperone,” he said to Bailey. ”That might even get a mite embarra.s.sing.” Then to Barbara he added, ”You and Will are welcome to share dinner.”
Yesterday Herbert had boned a duck, stuffed it with fruit and nuts, braised it in wine, then crisped it in a very hot oven. It had been heavenly. Today Frank would try to top it.
”You're going to kill each other with food,” Barbara said. ”Thanks, but I'm ready for a quick hamburger, a few fries.”
”Herbert's working out okay?” Bailey asked.
”He's fine,” Frank said. ”Nothing wrong with Herbert once you get to know him.”
In the car with Will driving, Barbara said, ”At least he didn't tell you to have me home by ten.”
”I think his tongue may be in shreds, though,” Will said. ”It must be twenty years since I've had a father look me over like that.”
”A father can't be too careful,” she said. ”What's up?”
”I don't know. Graham called and said he has to see us. Alex's parents were on the phone with him, apparently, demanding to know what Alex has done. He was quoting Alex's mother.”
”Oh boy,” she said gloomily. ”Sh.e.l.ley's getting dinner stuff; let's just go straight out to the house.”
After several minutes of silence, she said, ”Will, you know Alex. Does he still have violent episodes?”
”I think he swatted a fly a couple of years ago,” he said.
”More. If they arrest him, can he keep his cool?”
”I don't know,” he said after a moment. ”I just don't know. He's terrified of going to prison, or even jail. You realize that one good hit in the head could be fatal for him? Or, worse as far as he's concerned, could cause a debilitating stroke. And he invites. .h.i.tting in the head; just the way he looks is an invitation.”
Dr. Minick met them at the door; he looked worried and older than Barbara remembered.
”What happened?” she asked.
”Sh.e.l.ley is in the kitchen with Alex making lasagna. Before we join them, I want to tell you his mother is an idiot. She told the police officer that they wanted to put Alex in an inst.i.tution years ago but I talked them out of it. She's ready to a.s.sume the worst. And the detective went to the hospital with a subpoena for Alex's medical records. They didn't bother with me, but went straight to the source. The local police sent a detective all the way to New York. They're serious about nailing him for the murder, aren't they?”
Barbara shrugged. ”They don't have anyone else convenient. How's Alex taking it?”
”We haven't had a chance to talk much. He was gone when the calls came, and by the time I got here, he was already planning what to do in his chat room. Now he's in the kitchen helping Sh.e.l.ley. I don't know what he's thinking.”
They started to walk through the bright hallway toward the kitchen when Barbara came to a stop, realizing what he had said. Will had come to a stop at her side. ”Can you make lasagna?” she asked him.
”Are you kidding? No way, no how.”
”Thank G.o.d.”
They went to the kitchen, where Alex and Sh.e.l.ley were at a counter. ”She said to get everything ready and then just layer it all in,” Sh.e.l.ley was saying.
”Hi, Alex,” Barbara said. ”Can we talk a few minutes?”
”After Sh.e.l.ley teaches me how to make lasagna,” he said, without turning to look at her.
Will poured wine and put a gla.s.s in Barbara's hand. ”Terrace,” he said. ”Cool shade, nice wine.”
So Sh.e.l.ley hung out in the kitchen watching the cook in her parents' house, and after a time she just began cooking, Barbara thought, scowling. She followed Will and Dr. Minick to the terrace.
When they were seated, she asked Dr. Minick what she had asked Will in the car. Could Alex keep cool if they came to arrest him?
He regarded her for several moments. ”He's a very complex young man,” he said. ”Can he remain cool and calm is one question, which I can answer without hesitation. Yes. He has remarkable self-control, and has needed it. Would he remain cool? That's much harder. He appears to be hermitlike, but he has more awareness of what's happening in the world than most. He reads many newspapers, magazines, books, surfs the Internet, lurks in chat rooms, watches political debates. He's aware. For years one of his recurring targets for cartoons has been the penal system, the corruption in many police departments, wrongful arrests, wrongful death sentences, faked evidence, police brutality. He knows what's going on and he targets it again and again. He has enormous contempt for the system, I'm afraid. At the same time, he is equally aware of his own physical vulnerability and the need to be discreet.
”In the past,” he said, ”he lost control when he was overwhelmed by events he could not handle. Fear and frustration drove him. That's no longer true, but if events become overwhelming again, how he will react is a difficult question.” He spread his hands. ”Impress upon him the need to be cooperative, not confrontational.”
”And pray,” she said softly when he stopped without answering her question.
He nodded. ”And pray.”
In the silence that followed, they could hear Sh.e.l.ley laughing.
Sh.e.l.ley blushed when they praised her lasagna. ”I didn't really cook anything,” she said. ”It was already cooked. I just put it together, and Alex made the sauce. That's the only tricky part, the sauce.”
Her vegetable layer was spinach, artichoke hearts thinly sliced, scallions, and chopped snow peas. And the seafood was lobster, crab, and shrimp. She had bought fresh pasta. Barbara decided she had to start hating Sh.e.l.ley.
To her surprise, Alex joined them on the terrace for dinner. Everyone was careful not to watch him eat. Then, as Dr. Minick and Will talked about global warming or something, her mind wandered, considering how people saw one another. First impressions, lasting impressions sometimes. Sh.e.l.ley was more often than not regarded as a cuddly doll, to be cherished and protected, and never taken seriously. And Alex. People saw a monster.
Essence and existence, she thought. Alex saw his mother as a vain, one-dimensional figure. And did he really see Sh.e.l.ley as the princess on the gla.s.s mountain? Earlier, listening to their laughter coming from the kitchen, and now watching them, how Sh.e.l.ley darted glances his way and blushed, and how he had positioned himself so that even partly turned away, he could see her, Barbara was very much afraid he was fastening spikes for his shoes in order to climb the gla.s.s mountain.
Then, with the table cleared and coffee poured, she said, ”Now can we talk?”
”Now,” Alex said.
”Okay. Since the police sent a detective to New York, we know they're getting serious. They simply don't have anything else, and any case they're building has to be strictly circ.u.mstantial. Have you ever been inside the Marchand house? Or on the porch?”
”Never.”
”So they don't have fingerprints. No witnesses, nothing. What they will try to prove is a motive, and I can shoot that down. But the problem is that even with a flimsy circ.u.mstantial case, they can still arrest you and try you. And until they arrest you, my hands are tied. I don't know what they're basing anything on. I don't have access to any statements that others have made. With discovery I can find out, but not until then.” She paused, then said, ”Do you understand what I'm getting at?”
He nodded. ”We can't duck until they swing.”
”Exactly,” she said. ”By now they know your parents are affluent, people with resources, and that you can afford legal counsel, so I don't think they'll send in a SWAT team to arrest you. First, they'll want a formal statement. Then we'll d.i.c.ker about how to surrender you. And the question is, Alex, will you stay calm and collected regardless of what they say?”
”A calm monster? Isn't that a contradiction in terms?”
”A more highly evolved monster than the ones who will collar you,” she said. ”That's what I'm asking for. They will try to make you out to be a monster; I want you to demonstrate that you're a reasonable human being.”
”I'll be good,” he said.
”Okay. Next order of business. Bail. If they agree to bail, it will be high, a million dollars probably. Can you raise ten percent of that much?”
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