Classic Revenge (4 page)

"That won't be a problem. As soon as I get home, I'll
talk to Joe. He'll know who to call," Edna piped in.

"Yes, that's good," Millie said. "If Sam happens to
call you, Claire, tell him we're working on busting him
out of there. You tell him we are firmly behind him."

"Do you have any idea why the police would think
Sam was involved in Susan's death?" Trish hated to ask
the question but there was no point avoiding it.

"I have none whatsoever," Claire said vehemently,
her earlier despair temporarily forgotten as she quickly
defended the man who was her friend and employer.
"This is absolutely ridiculous! The poor man is grieving for his wife, but then he's accused of her murder!
You want my opinion? I think the police are bored with
so little crime in our community that they're just looking for something to do"

"Oh, Claire, surely you don't believe that?" Edna said,
clearly shocked at Claire's remarks. Trish wasn't about
to criticize Claire. She had her own problems with the local police department.

"Why not? When I got home that day and found Susan, I immediately called nine-one-one, and then I had
Sam paged at the golf course. The police got here first,
and then the ambulance. They told me to stay downstairs
while they went up to check on things. They wouldn't
even let Sam go upstairs when he got home. Even after
the ambulance carried Susan away, the police were still
upstairs. They finally came down and asked both Sam
and me where we were when the accident happened.
They were so nice that I just figured it was part of the
normal procedure, but now I wonder if they planted
something to make Sam look guilty!"

Whoa! Trish might believe the Grand River Police
Department was apathetic on domestic issues, but never
would she think they were dishonest. Claire was obviously distraught, her reasoning powers off-kilter. They
had better make sure that remarks questioning the police's integrity never left this kitchen.

Trish glanced at Millie, who was biting her lower lip,
and at Edna, who appeared astounded at Claire's outburst. Good-she wasn't the only one who felt Claire was out of line. "Look, Claire," she said softly, "you
need some rest. This has been a horrible, stressful situation all the way around. You're not going to do anybody any good if you fall apart"

"Look at it this way," Millie said. "If they don't really
have anything on Sam, the charges will be dropped
pronto-quicko." Millie had a habit of using quirky terms,
but pronto-quicko ?

"But the damage will be done. This isn't something
Sam will be able to forget-arrested for his wife's murder, and only a week after her funeral! I feel so guilty."

"You? Why in the world would you feel guilty?" Trish
asked.

"I wasn't here when Susan died." Claire's voice broke.
"Oh, I know I couldn't have prevented what happened,
but I hate the idea of her being here alone. I should
have been here"

"Claire," Trish said, leaning over to squeeze her arm,
you couldn't have known while you were grocery
shopping that something like this would happen. Goodness, look at how many times you've done the same exact thing. You've never had any reason to believe that
Susan shouldn't be left alone, have you?"

"Of course not. It's just that if I didn't have that stupid car trouble, at least I would have been here when it
happened. She wouldn't have died here alone in this
house"

"I hadn't heard about the car trouble," Millie said,
"but I can surely sympathize. There's something wrong
with my brake system. It never happens at a good time.
You can't blame yourself for that" Edna and Trish exchanged an amazed glance. For Millie, car trouble meant
replacing brake pads, which she had to do much more frequently than most people, probably due to the fact
that she waited until the last minute to apply the brakes,
slamming her foot down hard on the brake pedal. She
must have missed the class that taught a driver how to
start slowing down before it was necessary to stop.

"If it had been the brakes, I could have made it home.
Some kind of wire came off. The engine wouldn't even
turn over."

"How did you get home?" Edna asked.

"This nice man was coming out of the grocery store,
and he saw that I was having trouble. When he looked
under the hood, he knew immediately what was wrong,
but he said he couldn't understand how the coil wire
had come off and simply disappeared. Anyway, he went
over to that auto-parts place in the strip center across
the street and got another one. I paid him for it, of
course. He put it on, and the car ran perfect. If I hadn't
have been delayed, I believe I would have been here
when the accident happened" The tears Claire had
been trying so hard to rein in slipped slowly down her
face again.

Edna got up to wrap her arms around her. "It's okay,
Claire. Everything is going to be just fine."

Trish wished she could be as certain. Not that she believed for one minute that Sam was guilty, but the cops
had to have something to have arrested him. She wondered what it could be.

It was decided that Claire would go home with Millie
that evening and spend the night. Even though Millie
extended her previous invitation to Trish concerning
dinner and a movie, Trish declined. She was exhausted
from all the different emotions that had wreaked havoc
on her system today. An evening alone sounded like heaven. All they could do now was wait until Sam came
home to see how they could help him. This ordeal
would probably warrant more than a few cooked meals.

Later that afternoon, Trish sat at her kitchen table
waiting for Edna. The poor woman had sounded so tired
when she'd called to say she was coming over. Trish
made iced tea and set out a plate of chocolate chip cookies, the ones she had set aside for a special occasion. She
could start her diet tomorrow.

Nervously, she strummed her fingers on the table and
wondered if Edna had found out anything. She still
couldn't comprehend the whole thing. Sam had been arrested for murder? The very idea was so preposterous it
would almost be funny, except for the fact that Sam had
been carried away in a patrol car. That was not a laughing matter.

Trish heard the front door open. "It's me," Edna called
out. Nobody locked their doors until they went to bed at
night in this neighborhood. Trish couldn't help wondering if that would change now that a "murder" had occurred.

"Well, Sam might get out late this evening or early
tomorrow morning," Edna said, pouring herself a glass
of tea before she flopped down at the table.

"That's great news ! What happened?"

"Joe didn't know a criminal attorney, but he called our
attorney and got a recommendation-George Mueller.
He's supposed to be one of the best" Edna took a long
drink and sat back in her chair. For the first time Trish
could ever remember, Edna's perfectly groomed appearance was slightly askew. A lock of silver hair fell
over her forehead and her sweatshirt was wrinkled and
slightly smudged.

"Edna, you're a wonderful friend. I'm sure Sam appreciates all you and Joe are doing. If I'm ever in trouble, it will be good to know you're on my side."

Edna blushed and waved her hand. "Don't be silly. I
haven't done anything more than anybody else. And you
know I will always stand beside you" Edna then grinned
impishly. "However, I'm hoping your trouble-making
days are over"

Trish raised her eyebrows. "After all these years,
you're not saying that you think I was to blame for that
episode with my ex, are you?"

"Certainly not! Any man who sleeps with another
woman in his wife's bed should have to hang. I must
say, though, that you were a little ... aggressive in how
you reacted. That's why the police got involved."

"I disagree. Aggressive would have been to shoot Ed
in the kneecap"

"Thank God you didn't have a gun!" Edna chuckled.

"You can say that again." Actually, the unfortunate
incident Edna referred to was what had cemented her
friendship with Edna and Millie. Trish and her husband,
Edward Frisk, had lived in the neighborhood only a few
months when Trish had come home from work early
and found Ed dancing horizontally with his secretary in
their own bedroom.

Looking back, Trish had to admit there had been signs
of Ed's infidelity, but she had either been too afraid of
leaving him, or her self-confidence had been so low that
she never confronted the problem. Naively, she had
hoped that the thrill of their new house would bring them
closer together again. Ed had definitely grown closer,
just not with her. Somehow, having Ed's unfaithfulness
thrown in her face sparked the stubborn, independent streak she had grown up with but lost somewhere along
the way. However, enough was enough. She deserved
better than Ed Frisk.

Ed hadn't heard Trish enter the house that day, and
only by a supreme effort of will had she been able to
hold back the scream of outrage she'd felt upon witnessing Ed's betrayal. Very calmly, almost trance-like,
Trish had walked back into the kitchen. She'd gotten
two gallons of bottled water-Ed insisted it was much
better, health-wise, than tap water-and a packet of
matches. She'd set the water by the bedroom door. Then,
in no hurry, she'd walked in and set the end of the bedspread on fire. With quiet dignity, shoulders thrown back,
she'd walked out of her house, gotten back in her car,
and driven down the street where she could still see what
was going on.

She hadn't had long to wait. Soon Ed and his girlfriend had come running out of the house, smoke billowing after them. Ed had only his slacks on and the
woman was wrapped in one of Trish's robes. Trish had
heard the fire truck at the same time as most of the neighbors did. While they were spilling out of their homes,
Trish had smiled grimly and cruised back up the
street, noticing with satisfaction that the police were arriving also. The whole scene would have been perfect if
there had been a television camera there. She'd parked
in front of Millie's house and watched as the firemen
began unwinding their hoses while Ed was yelling
something about the fire being out, that everything was
under control.

Well, there was one thing Ed had been right about:
Bottled water was better for your health.

"I still can't believe you just walked up to the police and calmly told them you had lit the fire" Even though
Edna and Millie hadn't known Trish that well at the
time, they had both stood right beside her when she'd
confronted the police, and later, her husband. Their unquestioning support had given her the courage to do
what she knew in her heart she had to do: Get rid of her
lazy leech of a husband and get on with her life.

"Do you remember the look on Chief Espinoza's
face? He didn't quite know what to do. Of course, I
fudged the truth a little bit. I admitted walking in on my
husband and his girlfriend and said that I was so upset
I'd dropped my cigarette." Even after all this time, Trish
still couldn't prevent laughing when she thought about
that day. Her actions had been so out of character, but
she knew that was the day she'd started getting herself
back. And to this day she didn't regret any part of it.
She called it "the day of liberation." No way was she
ever again going to let a man control her the way she
had allowed her ex-husband to do.

"What still amazes me is that Ed didn't speak up and
tell him you weren't a smoker."

"I think Ed was in shock. Also, he knew if news
about this got out he would probably be disinherited.
His parents were strict moralists. Adultery was unforgivable. That was the only way I got to keep the house.
I threatened to ruin his reputation."

"I still think if the chief had started investigating,
you would have ended up in jail."

"Oh, he wanted to," Trish said wryly. "But I think he
was slightly embarrassed about the whole thing. But I
could tell he was itching to throw his weight around.
Nothing really exciting ever happens in our neck of the
woods, and he thought he was going to finally get to do some real police work instead of processing speeding
tickets."

Edna's grin faded. Their reminiscing had been fun,
but it had also brought them back to the current problem. "Do you realize that your remark very closely
mimics Claire's?"

Trish winced. "Oh, wow, you're right. I was exaggerating, though. I'm just frustrated that the police let Ed
come back to the house and take some things out when
I wasn't home, even though I had warned them that we
were getting a divorce and he no longer lived there. But
to intentionally set someone up? No, that's ridiculous.
We have to face the fact that they know something, or
think they do"

Edna yawned. "Well, I guess we'll find out soon
enough. I'm going to go get some sleep, and I suggest
you do the same. Joe is over at the jail waiting for Sam's
bond to post so he can bring him home. I'll call you
when I hear something."

Trish rose to walk Edna to the door. "I hope you realize what a wonderful husband you have"

Edna smiled, a sweet, lovely smile. "Oh, I do," she
said softly and then waved good-bye.