Birthdays of a Princess (22 page)

Gracie? Ah yes, he means her staging me for the rape. I nod. I have
hated Gracie for so long without knowing why, I’m more than ready to do so with
a stamp of approval. From Stanley. From the police. Even from Mom.

Chapter
48

Macintosh and Harding watched Louise for a while through the two-way
mirror. Sitting in a nearly empty room with nothing to do unsettled most
people. Not Louise—she had brought a book. They went into the interrogation
room.

She looked up and smiled.

“Good morning, detectives.”

Macintosh pulled up a chair.

“How often have you met with Tiara, since she was back in Canada?”

“Quite often,” Louise said.

“So you know her well?”

“Actually, I don’t. The girl was growing up and had her own mind.”

They bombarded her with one question after another, giving her no
time to think, but she held her ground. No, she didn’t meet any of her friends.
No, she didn’t know their names, hadn’t she explained that before? No, she had
no idea why Melissa had wanted to come back. Yes, she had driven down to Texas
to pick up her daughter and grandchild, again, a fact known to them.

“When you were in Texas, did you meet Tony Alvares?” Macintosh asked.

Louise’s head jerked up. “Uhm … no, no I didn’t.”

“But you know of him?”

“No … uhm … well, yes, I’ve heard his name mentioned.”

“By whom?”

“By Melissa, I guess. Let me think, well…yes, wasn’t he the dance
instructor who taught Tiara for a while? Long before I took them back home. So
I didn’t meet him, no, never.”

“Apparently, he didn’t only give dance lessons.”

Louise stared at him. “From what I know from Melissa, there was
nothing else.”

Macintosh stared straight back. “What did Melissa tell you?”

“Well … uhm … she only said, he must have gotten ideas, but she
wasn’t interested. She never got over Mike, she didn’t want another guy. Tony
didn’t take no for an answer, he made some advances, that’s why she fired him.
That’s all.”

Harding spoke: “What advances? Are you saying, he was after
Melissa?”

“She wasn’t in such bad shape in those days. She was still
attractive then.”

Macintosh had never taken his eyes off Louise. “Are you sure those
advances were directed toward Melissa, and not toward Tiara?”

“What nonsense is that? Of course he was after Melissa.”

“Let me show you something.” Macintosh opened his laptop and
continued to speak while he set up the video clip. “I should like you to watch
this and then tell me everything you know about Tony, about his involvement
with your daughter and granddaughter, and anything else, like the connection they
had with Graciella Rodriguez.”

Now Louise’s face twitched.

So she knew about Graciella but had so far neglected to mention the
existence of Tiara’s aunt. What else did Louise keep secret, and why? Macintosh
made a mental note to question her about this later on, turned the laptop
around to Louise and hit the start button. He didn’t need to see the clip
again, all he wanted was to watch Louise’s reaction.

When she recognized Tiara, she froze, but it took at least a minute
of her watching the handler undressing her granddaughter before she processed
what was happening. Then she broke down. She started to cry and covered her
face, refusing to view the images on the screen. Macintosh turned it off,
closed the laptop and hit the lid with his bare hand.

Louise winced at the loud bang.

“We have reason to believe that the person clad in purple is Antonio
Alvares.”

Louise slowly lowered her hands. “He … Tony did that to her?”

“We also have reason to believe that Tiara’s aunt Graciella
Rodriguez was involved in the sexual exploitation of your granddaughter.”
Macintosh leaned forward a bit and softened his voice. “I’m sure you had
nothing to do with it, and I’m sorry you had to find out this way, but if you
know anything, anything at all, now is the time to tell us.”

“I … I … oh my God, I don’t know. This is too dreadful. I really
can’t say—”

 “Let’s be clear on this, Louise, this case started out as a
potential homicide investigation. What we’ve discovered since, what happened to
Tiara, surely had an impact on her development and will be taken into account
by a judge, but it has also altered our investigation. Our counterparts in
Texas, who work very closely with us, are now investigating this case. The clip
you’ve just seen has been sold via an internet pedophile ring and trust me, any
connection to such a criminal organization will be treated very seriously here
in Canada as well. If you knowingly withhold any information relevant to this
investigation, we’ll go after you with all the might of our judicial system.
Mark my words, I’ll personally make sure you land in the slammer!”

Macintosh watched Louise’s head turn red, if from shame or
indignation, he couldn’t tell. She fought hard to hold it together. Her hands
were prayer-knotted so tight, her knuckles turned white.

“When Melissa called me three years ago, I immediately understood
that it was a desperate cry for help. She said Tiara was in trouble with some
people doing drugs. That happens with young ones all over the world, it’s
nothing unusual. And when I got there, it certainly looked that way. Melissa
met me up at the NASA Center, the Space Institute, you know, where they keep
all the rockets from the scrapped programs, and we drove straight to her home.
Melissa was in quite a state, and that’s understandable too, considering that
her daughter was doing drugs and all. That’s the impression I got anyway. And
on the way there she told me that she had given Tiara something to make her
sleepy, something Gracie always had in the house, so I naturally assumed Gracie,
that’s Graciella Rodriguez—”

Macintosh nodded. She was picking up speed, feeling more confident
now.

“I asked Melissa if Gracie was involved in some drug deals, and she
told me Gracie had always supplemented their income with peddling drugs. That’s
why she had to get Tiara out of the house in such a hurry. Gracie was away for
a few days, which presented the perfect opportunity. Melissa acted really
scared, and I said, calm down, even if she comes back, we pack your stuff and
leave, Gracie can’t stop us.”

“Why was Melissa so scared?”

“She told me, Gracie would kill us all if she caught us leaving, and
I said, no way, I don’t believe that. I really didn’t, I mean, honestly, I
didn’t know this woman, but how could she, she was a relative, right?”

Louise fell quiet, trying to figure out what to tell him. “Melissa told
me Gracie always keeps some money hidden in her room, money from her deals, and
that she’d taken some of it once, quite a large amount, and that she suspected
Gracie had found out and was really mad about that. Let’s hurry, she said—and
we did. In case you’re wondering what that has got to do with Tony, I’m coming
to that.”

Macintosh gave her an encouraging smile. “Tell us everything you
remember. No matter if you think it’s relevant or not.”

Louise stopped twisting her hands and let them finally rest in her
lap.

“When we arrived at the house, first thing Melissa carried Tiara to
the car and laid her on the backseat. Tiara was so out of it, she hardly
noticed I was there, in fact, I don’t think she noticed it at all.”

“Tiara had no idea that you were taking her back to Canada?”

“No, it was all very hectic and secretive. Nothing had been
prepared. When Melissa came back in, I helped pack her things. She hadn’t dared
before, just in case Gracie would come back while she was out picking me up and
then her whole plan would blow. We were in the middle of stuffing clothes into
large plastic garbage bags when the doorbell rang. Jesus, Melissa jumped like
she was hit by an electric current, it made me freak out as well. But I took
control of myself quickly and said, stay, I’ll open the door and if it’s Gracie
I’ll give her a piece of my mind. I felt I owed her that, after all, she’s my
daughter.”

“So Gracie came back?”

“It wasn’t Gracie, it was Tony who asked to speak to Melissa. For a
moment, I didn’t know what to do, then Melissa pushed me aside. She was as
white as a sheet and he didn’t look much better. I thought then already there
was something going on between them and later on Melissa admitted … I mean, I
asked Melissa about it … and, as I told you before, Melissa said he had made
unwelcome advances toward her. Anyway, those two, white as ghosts, glared at
each other. Melissa was dragging the last bags with her and told me to get the
rest from the house while she deals with him. That’s more or less all there was
to it. I didn’t tell you I met this guy because it was so brief I had
practically forgotten. Now I understand why Melissa needed to get Tiara away, I
bet she suspected something. It wasn’t about drugs at all. All those years I
had thought she had been involved in some shit, pardon my language, some
illegal stuff Gracie had gotten her into, when in fact it was … you know … those
things going on.” Louise started to cry.

 “You said Melissa told you that there was something going on
between Tony and her.”

Louise looked up sharply. “I did not.”

Harding checked his notes. “Yes, you said you thought there was
something going on between them and Melissa admitted it. You stopped yourself,
but that’s what you wanted to say.”

She hesitated. “So what if she did?”

“If she had a fling with Tony, she must have been involved in or at
least known about the exploitation of your granddaughter.”

Macintosh’s expression wavered between disgust and sadness.

“Your granddaughter was molested by a guy who walked in and out of
Melissa’s house and probably carried on an affair with her to disguise his true
inclinations. She must have known about it or closed her eyes to protect him.
At least until something he did upset her enough to jolt her into action. Maybe
he dumped her.”

“I don’t know about that.” Louise frowned, then indicated with a
flick of her chin to the laptop. “But I don’t believe for a minute she had
known about
that
.”

“Let’s find out,” Macintosh said, all nice again. “Do you have a
mobile with you, Louise?”

She frowned. “Yes. Why?”

“Can I see?”

She handed it to him.

“Thank you. We’ll be back shortly.”

The detectives left the room. With no phone in the interview room Louise
couldn’t contact her daughter, and Macintosh doubted she knew they weren’t
legally entitled to hold her. It seemed important to keep her in the building
until they spoke to Melissa.

As soon as they were back at their desks an urgent call from Dr.
Eaton came in. Macintosh picked it up, listened, said 'sure thing, right away’,
hung up and turned to Harding.

“Tiara had had a breakthrough of sorts and is willing to talk to me.
Gotta rush.”

Chapter
49

We sit at the round table in the Center’s meeting room, with the
inevitable plate of cookies placed in the middle. I take an Oreo and bite off a
chunk. The black crumbs sprinkle on the table top. Unsure if I should wipe them
away with my sleeve, I gather them with my left hand and swipe them into my
right. Then I’m unsure where to put them. Stanley hands me a tissue and points
to the basket behind me. I take it with a big smile.
All is well, my friends,
I’ve found my inner balance again. I can handle this.

“Thank you for seeing me again,” Macintosh says. “I really
appreciate it. Dr. Eaton said you have some information that might help us
piece things together.”

Although he acts more formal in Stanley’s presence, today his face
looks kinder than on his last visits. The kindness still fights with his usual
expression of bitterness and disillusionment, but it’s there all the same.
People tend to forget that their thoughts and actions engrave themselves into
their features until they mirror their character. Deep down and unbeknownst to
him, Macintosh is kind, I decide. He smiles with his eyes, not with his mouth.
The lines on his forehead come from thinking, not from worrying, and his energy
radiates warmth, not aggression. He is the second man in my life I like. That
makes me giggle.

He cocks his head, sets to ask a question, and halts again.

I decide to put him at ease. “So far, there were only three men in
my life who mattered. Tony, Dr. Eaton, and now you. That just made me think of
the song ‘Two out of three ain’t bad.’ To set the record straight, I didn’t
like Tony.”

He chuckles as soon as he gets it. Then he asks what I remember.

I tell him about the photo sessions and about the time Gracie took
me to the motel room when I was ten and about the rape two years later. I tell
him the truth, but not the whole truth. Even with Macintosh doing his utmost to
look empathetic—or because of it—it’s difficult to put this oh-so-close-to-the truth
into words. Stanley is assisting me whenever I begin to flounder, until we
finally reach the unknown person who has controlled so many of the photo and filming
sessions.

Just like Stanley, Macintosh asks me if there is anything, anything
at all, I remember about the Purple Shadow.

“I’m sorry.” I decide to carefully navigate through the rapids. No
matter what they ask me, I will not lie to those two. But nobody can blame me
for avoiding the obvious hazards. “She’s always been covered with a purple coat
and I’ve never seen her face at any of the sessions.”

“Her?”

Stanley interrupts and explains to the detective that I think of the
Purple Shadow as female, but that this may not necessarily be a fact. My mind
may have played tricks with me.

Macintosh squirms in his chair. Then he comes out with a strange
question. “Could she have worn a mask?”

“A mask?”

“To hide her face?”

“Now that you mention it, there’s been a black hole where her face
should be. Like there is no face at all.”

Macintosh seems pleased with this answer, but before I can figure
out why, he presses on. “Your aunt Gracie, what was her role in those shoots?”

“She brought me there, checked that everything was set up correctly and
left. After the session was over, she came back and took me back home.”

“But she knew what kind of pictures and movies were taken.”

“I guess so. We never talked about it.”

“Why not?”

“It wasn’t something I could discuss.” I’m getting irritated. “I
wasn’t old enough to argue with grown-ups, was I?”

He backs off right away. “Has your dance instructor Tony ever been
present at those sessions?”

The truth. The truth. Stick as close to the truth as you can. “No,
of course not. He was my dance teacher for as long as I was doing pageants.
After that he dropped by the house a few times, visiting Mom, trying to get his
job back, but Gracie never took him on again.”

Macintosh seems puzzled. He scratches his prickly chin.

“Did you know that he was the owner of the studio where the photo
sessions happened?”

Now I’m baffled. The implications don’t hit me right away.

“Tony? The Stick? Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

Now it sinks in.

“But if he was, he would have known, wouldn’t he?”

“I’m afraid so. Him, and your aunt Graciella, and maybe even your—”

I don’t want to hear the end of this sentence.

“Well, you better ask Gracie then.”

Stanley and Macintosh lock glances, exchanging a silent consultation
that finishes with Stanley giving the detective, with a minute nod, permission
to proceed.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible. Your aunt is dead.”

Hell, that’s a bombshell! Positively flooring. Gracie dead? I think
my mouth has dropped down to my chest, I must look like an idiot.

Macintosh tells me that she was the victim of a house fire—and enlightens
me at the same time that my previous home in Texas has burnt to the ground. The
second mind-blowing news of the day. The thought of Gracie charred beyond
recognition is a joke of course. I know that this woman can’t be destroyed. But
to know that the house is gone is uplifting. It sets something free inside me.

“Pity the studio didn’t burn to the ground too.”

This brings Macintosh back to its owner.

“Could it have been Tony hiding under the purple cloak? Behind the
mask?”

Could it?

“No, I don’t think so. Unless he stuffed his stomach with a huge
cushion.” The idea seems ludicrous.

Stanley and Macintosh relax a bit when they hear me giggle. They’ve
been so tense, my two men, the young one who is an old friend and the old one
who is a new one. They get ready to leave.

“Unfortunately, your aunt, being deceased, won’t be able to help us
identify the Purple Shadow,” Macintosh says, already standing, “but we’ll
figure it out eventually.”

“I’m sure you will; you’re not just a pretty face.”

That’s the truth too. His smile brightens and mellows his serious
features, making him less of an old grump.

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” he says. “I do what I can. Don’t
want to wait forever to go hunting.”

Stanley looks a bit puzzled but we both ignore him.

I promise Macintosh I’ll contact him in case something relevant
comes back to me. I know already that the core of my secret will eventually be
revealed—hopefully not for a long time to come. All I need now is a little more
time—long enough to get through the trial. After that, who knows what will
happen. They might never figure it out. Let’s face it, Macintosh didn’t ask the
one crucial question. He never asked me if I now remember whom I tried to
murder.