Part 16 (1/2)

”Klein's a great lawyer, but I don't know if he can keep me out of jail.” He paused. ”Or get me my job back at St. Thomas when I'm exonerated.”

”What have they got on you, Ray?”

”My fingerprints were all over your car, for one.”

”Of course they were. You used to drive it all the time.”

”And Kathy's fingerprints were all over my car.” He looked down at the table when he said this.

That was a discomforting thought but one that made sense. When he looked up again, I studied his face, but if there was one thing I knew about Ray, it was that he was the best liar in the world as well as the worst husband. I didn't know if that combination equaled his being a murderer, though.

”And there are a bunch of e-mails between me and Kathy.” He paused. ”In one of them, I said I would kill her if she told her parents about us.”

I sighed. ”That was bright.”

”But I meant it in a funny way, like I'll kill you,” he said, shaking his fist. ”Too bad that didn't translate in the e-mail.”

What an idiot. ”You should have taken my cla.s.s on 'Tone.'” I picked up my fork and started pus.h.i.+ng pasta around on the plate. ”Did you kill her, Ray?” I asked quietly.

”No,” he said emphatically. He stood up. ”Anyway, thank you for helping me out. I'm sorry I called you the other day and yelled at you about not getting in touch. That was immature.”

The counseling must have had some effect on him.

He pointed to the door again. ”Is something going on there?”

I a.s.sumed he meant to ask if Crawford and I were involved, but he couldn't bring himself to say the words. ”We're friends, Ray.”

”Is he nice to you?” Implicit in that was ”nicer than I was to you?”

I nodded. ”He's very nice to me.” I knocked my knuckles against the wooden table. ”So far.” I don't know why I said it, but just being in Ray's duplicitous presence cast a cloud of doubt over everyone.

He looked a little forlorn. ”That's good.” He started for the door. ”I can't say that he and I are on great terms, but that doesn't really matter, does it?” he asked, and laughed.

I walked him to the door.

”I'm sorry, Al. About everything,” he said, putting his hand on the k.n.o.b. ”I really am.” I used to cry when he said things like that, but this time I just stood there. I had become impervious to his penitence.

He stood there a few more minutes, looking as if he wanted to say something else. Finally, he spoke. ”I'm thinking about leaving St. Thomas next semester. Regardless of what happens.” He let out a rueful laugh. ”Well, I guess that's obvious. If I go to jail, I'll really have to leave. But if I get out of this, I'm think I'm going to go out West for the fall semester. I need to think. Then I'll decide whether or not to come back.”

I couldn't disagree with that. It was on the tip of my tongue to say, ”If you need anything, just call,” but I didn't. I didn't want him calling. Or asking for anything.

Ray hooked a finger toward the door, motioning to Crawford. ”Your friend there is a bit intimidating in the interrogation room.”

”So I've heard.”

Crawford was sitting on the front steps and stood up when the door opened. He put his hand out. ”Dr. Stark.”

They shook, and Ray went down the sidewalk to his car. We stood on the stoop and watched him as he drove away.

Crawford came back inside and went into the kitchen. ”I'm not going to ask you what you talked about.”

”Good. Because all he wanted to do was apologize.”

He looked at me, eyebrows raised.

”For calling and yelling at me the other day. At the beach.”

”Oh.”

”He also wanted to know about us. If you're nice to me.”

He continued looking at me. ”And what did you say?”

”I said that despite your erectile dysfunction, we were trying to make it work.”

He blanched, and his mouth hung open. When he figured out that I was kidding, he chuckled slightly. ”What did you really say?”

”I said that you were nice to me.” I left out the ”so far” part; I didn't want to seem insecure and paranoid. Even though I was.

He looked at his watch. ”I'll help you clean all of this up and then I have to go. I'm taking my girls to dinner tonight.”

I picked up a couple of dishes. ”I'll take care of it.” I walked over to the sink and put the dishes in, running water over them. I handed him his wallet, keys, badge, phone, and beeper. He had a lot of equipment. ”Is that it? You didn't forget anything?”

He looked around. ”That's it.” He put his hand to his head. ”Wait. There is one thing. When I see you tomorrow, I'm going to bag all of the papers in your office. It's been bugging me since last night that Vince was asking for 'the papers.' Have you ever had him in cla.s.s?”

I shook my head. ”I only knew him from around campus, but I never had him in cla.s.s.”

Crawford thought for another minute. ”Where are those papers you were supposed to correct last night?”

I continued was.h.i.+ng the dishes. ”What are you thinking?”

He chewed on the inside of his mouth, lost in thought. ”The only thing I can come up with has to do with Ecstasy. Ecstasy is huge with Vince's demographic and at Joliet, in particular. He was a smalltime dealer, but Narcotics had been watching him for months.” He explained to me how Ecstasy could be printed on a special paper that someone like me couldn't recognize, but that someone who was acquainted with drugs could. ”It's possible that one of the papers that you have was printed on Ecstasy paper, meaning that Vince was out thousands of dollars and maybe, in deep with the dealer above him. That would be one explanation as to why Vince-if he was the break in-left an 'X' here and in your office.” He looked at me, and I stared back at blankly; he had lost me at ”Ecstasy papers.”

”I know. It's crazy. But it's all I've got. I think I should take the papers and have them tested.”

My briefcase was still inside the front door, so I dried my hands and went down the hall to get it. I pulled out the Shakespeare papers and brought them back into the kitchen. I handed them to him. ”Do me a favor, though.”

He took them and riffled through them. ”What?”

”Test these first. These are the only ones that need to be corrected and handed back.”

He nodded. ”OK. I'll get them back to you as soon as I can.”

I looked up at him and paused for a minute. ”Are we OK?”

He sighed. ”Yes.” He put his arms around me. ”Just don't pull a stunt like that ever again. I'll have to take you to the precinct in the cruiser.” His voice was serious, but his eyes twinkled.