Cold Blood (10 page)

I went into the bathroom and the sitting room and saw her purse, or at least the one she had been carrying on the flight, so I simply thought she had gone out to visit someone and had been delayed. I returned to the dining room.”

“But you had asked her to join you for dinner. Did she usually disobey?”

“Well, sometimes she would say she would do something, but like any teenager she could not always be relied on.”

“But your wife had specifically asked her to join you both on this particular evening.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Did she seem to not want to? You said your wife reprimanded her for mimicking some of the people who had invited you for cocktails later in the evening, correct?”

He sighed, irritated.

“I wouldn’t call it reprimandingI said she was ticked off, but it was not a very serious exchange.”

“At any other time when you were in New Orleans had Anna Louise . agreed to dine with you and not turned up?”

“I suppose so, but I can’t recall any single time it was of importance. She knew the city and was very aware of the obvious dangers of being out alone in certain neighborhoods. We had both been very firm about her not wandering out alone at night. And she never did, or not to my knowledge.”

“She knows the city well, knows the old French Quarter?”

“Yes, of course. Elizabeth is from New Orleans, so Anna Louise had been there off and on since she was a child. She even made her debut at one of the Carnival balls.”

“So Anna Louise also has many friends there?”

“Yeswell, not that many because she was educated here, but one, Tilda Brown, is a close, if not her closest friend. She was also studying at UCLA but came from New Orleans, so they have much in common.”

“So you assumed that she might have gone to see Tilda?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Did Mrs. Caley also think she had gone to see Tilda Brown? But I believe Tilda had been staying here in LA with you shortly before you left.”

He nodded, then shrugged.

“They’d had some tiff and Tilda left the day before we did. Stupid, really, because we were going to give her a ride with us, but”

“Did you know what the girls argued about?”

“No, I did not.”

He seemed irritated, his foot tapping. These were obviously questions he had been asked before. “According to previous statements you did not call Miss Brown’s home until very much later that evening.”

“Yes, that i&ttonect”

“Why did you not call Tilda Brown immediately?”

“Because we finished dinner and, as I said, we had engagements commitments, if you like.”

“So even though you saw your daughter’s purse left in her room”

Caley turned to face Lorraine.

“I did not call Miss Brown’s family or anyone else because I did not think anything untoward had happened and neither did my wife.”

“How did your wife react to your daughter not coming down to join you for dinner?”

He sighed.

“Elizabeth is a little more volatile than myself. She was very angry with Anna. We left the hotel at about ten to go to our first engagement. When we returned to the hotel at about fifteen minutes after midnight, we became concerned. We called Miss Brown’s family. Tilda was in bed, so we spoke to her parents and they told us that Anna had not been by or phoned. They had not seen her.”

“May I ask if you are wearing prescription lenses?”

“What?”

Lorraine stared at him and he slowly removed his sunglasses.

“Thank you.”

He moved closer so she could see his eyes. He leaned on the table.

“You think I’m hiding something?”

“No, but I like to see-“

f-

“What, the whites of my eyes? Or do you wnd your type get a kick out of the pain? Because, Mrs. Page, every time I have gone through this, every statement I give, you don’t think I feel somehow to blame? That if I had acted faster my daughter might have been traced? Well, I do blame myself, every minute of every day. My daughter has been missing for eleven months, Mrs. Page, and every phone call, every letter is a hope, and every hope makes my heart thud in my chest. What did you expect from me, tears?”

“I’m sorry, but I have to ask.”

“You ask whatever you want and I will try to answer, just as I have with every single agency we have hired. I know the police here have given up, but I also know the case is still open in New Orleans. How do you expect me to behave? I want my daughter back, I pray she is alive. Whether she has run off with some unsavory character or whatever she has done, I will forgive her because this is hell. All I want is to see her again. I love her, I was proud of her, and I miss her.” He was bitterly angry and yet his eyes brimmed with tears. It was unexpected and it threw Lorraine. His open emotion and obvious declaration of love for his daughter were distressing. This sophisticated, handsome man was suddenly more vulnerable than any man she had ever met because he was unable to control himself. Half turning from her, he started to cry, awful low sobs.

“I miss my lovely daughter, Mrs. Page. If I pass the tennis courts I hear her laughing, shouting out to me. Just sitting here in this stupid fucking gazebo hurts because I hear her laughing about it, sending it up, like the ridiculous Japanese garden we both hated. And then I have to listen to my wife crying every night, watch her face when the telephone rings. This house is dead without our little girl.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“I don’t need your sympathy, Mrs. Page, I need my daughter found. Or worse, I need to know she is never coming home, then I can get on with my life.”

The tears spilled down his face and he wiped them away with the back of his hand before replacing his glasses.

“Excuse me, if you need to ask any more questions go ahead.”

Lorraine closed her notebook. Everything he had told her was on record, he had given no further insight into what had actually happened to Anna Louise. She picked up her purse and replaced her notebook, then hesitated.

“There is just one more thing, Mr. Caley. You said you made calls from the hotel, to business associates, I presume, and I have no record of who you actually called.”

“You’ll have a list delivered by morning.”

“Your business is real estate. Could I ask you to give me a more precise account of your business transactions in New Orleans and here in Los Angeles?”

He turned away.

“What in God’s name has my business got to do with my daughter’s disappearance?”

“Maybe nothing, but then again it might, so I really would like to have as much background on you

“

“You’ll have it. Now if you would excuse me.”

“Yes, of course. Er, just one more thing, I know your wife is indisposed, but would I be able to speak for a moment with Phyllis?”

He nodded and walked to an intercom phone she had not noticed at the side of the gazebo. He picked it up.

“Phyllis, would you come into the yard, please? Mrs. Page would like to speak to you.”

Robert Caley collected the open bottle of wine and walked out toward the tennis courts as Lorraine remained seated, looking after him.

LYNDA LA PLANTS

Rosie was tryrfff to decipher Bill Rooney’s appalling handwritten scrawl.

“I can’t make this out, what is this?”

she asked.

Rooney yawned.

“The psychic the Caleys used. She wasn’t at home and I been back twice. I left two messages.”

“Juda?”

Rosie enquired.

‘Yeah, that’s her name. I reckon she’s a waste of time, all flakes if you ask me. I’m gonna go for a few more drinks with Nick Bartello, he’s on to something, so if her ladyship calls in, tell her she can catch me at home later. A lot later, if I know Nick.”

Rosie nodded and jotted down Juda’s name, phone number and address.

“I gotta go to a meeting tonight but I’ll leave a message for her here and at home.”

“Good, you do that. See ya!”

Rooney thudded out as the phone began to ring.

“Mr. Rooney there?”

said a thick, drawling voice with a real downhome Louisiana accent.

“No, I am so sorry, he’s not available. Who’s calling? Can I take a message?”

“I’m just returnin’ the man’s calls. It’s Juda Salina. You know what it’s about?”

Rosie perked up, becoming the partner in the investigation agency.

“Yes, we are investigating the case of Anna Louise Caley and

“

The phone went dead. Rosie looked at thWeceiver, wondering if it was something she had done at her end. She wrote a memo for Rooney and Lorraine, saying the psychic had made contact. Rosie also noted the time and date the call had come in. She was being very professional.

Phyllis toyed with her glass of mineral water.

“She needs pills to make her sleep and sometimes she can’t get up. Today is one of them. We had the doctor come but he prescribed a different sedative. It’s all very sad, poor woman, but I’ll make sure she can see you tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

Lorraine sipped the melting ice, the deftly placed slice of lemon now floating on top of the residue of tepid water.

“So you didn’t see or hear anything untoward the day the family departed for New Orleans?”

“No, I did not.”

“And Anna Louise was happy and carefree, excited by the forthcoming trip?” “Yes, they were often more like friends than mother and daughter. I mean, they had the odd little argument, only naturalshe was quite willful but she never sulked.”

“The day they left, February fifteenth, you received a call from the Caleys’ private jet?”

“Yes, I did. Anna Louise had seen something in Vogue she wanted me to purchase for her.”

,

“Did you?”

tt\7 ?)

Yes.

“Did she often just call you to get what she wanted? According to the files a thirty-five-hundred-dollar black chiffon Valentino dress. I would say that stinks of a spoiled kid.”

Phyllis pursed her lips.

“The Caleys happen to be extremely wealthy, Mrs. Page, and I assure you that was not unusual. You may say she was spoiled, but at the same time she was also one of the sweetest, most natural young girls I’ve ever known.”

“But she was spoiled.”

“No more than any other child of rich parents.”

Lorraine hesitated, and then said quietly,

“Or parent…”

“I’m sorry, I don’t quite follow?”

“Yes, you do. Surely it is obvious that the main money in the Caley family is Elizabeth Caley’s.”

Phyllis pursed her lips.

“Mr. Caley is also a very successful businessman.”

“But he was not that successful when they first married. An old press cutting hinted that he was not a wealthy man and they met when he was showing Mrs. Caley a property.”

Phyllis froze.

“I am afraid this is not something I can answer. I have worked for the Caleys for only ten years, so I have no knowledge of whatever happened previously. All I do know is Mr. Caley works exceptionally hard.”

“What work is he involved in specifically in New Orleans?”

“Mrs. Page, I am not privy to Mr. Caley’s business. I am Elizabeth Caley’s companion and secretary.”

“But you settle the bills. You did, I believe, pay my fees and will continue to pay them, is that correct?”

“Yes, Mrs. Caley instructed me to pay your retainer.”

“You didn’t discuss it with Mr. Caley?”

“I made a note for him to be aware of exactly what I had done, as I always do.”

Lorraine made no mention of the million-dollar bonus Mrs. Caley

I

had promised to pay. She was beginning to feel tired; it had been a long day and she had to drive back to Pasadena.

“Thank ycflf. Oh, just one more thingTilda Brown, Anna Louise’s girlfriend, was staying here and she was supposed to return to New Orleans with the Caleys but instead left the day before. Do you know why?”

Phyllis rose to her feet.

“No, but probably over a tennis matchthey were always playing tennis. I think Tilda used to make up her own rules and it infuriated Anna Louise.”

“Did you hear them arguing at all?”

“No. Tilda just asked me to arrange a ticket for her, and she was driven to the airport by Mario.”

“Thank you, Miss Collins. I’ll walk out via the gardens.”

Phyllis nodded and said she would tell the security guard to open the gate.

“Is there a full-time guard on duty?”

“Yes, since Anna Louise’s disappearance we’ve had a lot of press hanging around outside, and Mr. Caley didn’t want his wife disturbed, so we now have full-time security guards patrolling the estate. To begin with, it was feared that perhaps Anna Louise had been kidnapped, so the guards were employed for everyone’s peace of mind.”

Lorraine prepared to leave. Just as she was walking away from Phyllis she stopped.

“Is this house Mrs. Caley’s?”

ť

“Yes, I believe so.”

“And the property in New Orleans?”

“Yes, I think a lot of it belonged to her fAily.”

Lorraine hesitated, wondering whether cr not she should ask Phyllis the next question, or leave it until she spoke to Elizabeth Caley personally.

“Was there something else?”

“Er, yes, it may be nothing, but who is the main beneficiary of Elizabeth Caley’s will?”

Phyllis glared, and Lorraine knew she had made a mistake.

“It’s probably irrelevant to the investigation but at the same time you must understand that I

“

“I really can’t help you, I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay. What time shall I call in the morning?”

“About eleven.”

“Thank you, I’ll see you tomorrow, no doubt.”

“Yes, you will.”

Her sharp features were even more pinched as she stared at Lorraine.

“You certainly do a lot of research.”

She did not say it as a compliment, but Lorraine smiled as if it had been one.

“I believe that is the point, is it not? And you must understand, PhyllisI hope I can call you Phyllisthat everything you say to me is in total confidence. If there is anything that you feel would help my investigation, anything at all, I hope you will feel free to call me at any time.”

She caught it, just a flicker of hesitancy, but then Phyllis covered with a tight, brittle smile.