Hide and Seek (27 page)
“That’s a very good place to begin—
at the end
.”
“I saw Will up in your room. What was he doing there, Jennie?”
“He came to say good night.”
There was an innocence in Jennie’s words that made me stare. “That’s all? Jennie, you can’t lie, either to protect Will, or even my feelings. Are we agreed about that?”
“Sure. Those are the game rules. We’re agreed. Now, let’s play.”
“You tell me the truth, and I’ll do the same. Anything you want to know. About Will’s death.”
Jennie’s eyes stayed on mine. “I do have questions.”
“First me, then you, okay?”
She nodded. “Yep. That’s fine with me.”
I didn’t know exactly where to go next with my questions. I picked an obvious place.
“Did Will come to your room to say good night often?”
“He did sometimes. He’d bring me warm milk. He said that his aunt used to bring him tea, when he was a boy in England.”
The mention of Will’s aunt startled me, though Jennie couldn’t have known why. I took a deep breath. I didn’t know if I could go on with this. Prison wasn’t the place I wanted to have this kind of talk with Jennie.
She reached for my hand. “Can I try to make this easier … for both of us?”
“If you think you can,” I whispered. I didn’t have much of a voice left. I felt hollowed out, empty. Out of it. Unreal.
“Will was very complicated. You already know that. I think he, I think part of him, actually wanted to be a good father. He would come up to my room and talk sometimes, just talk. I think he wanted to prove he could be there
and just talk
. He told me a lot about when he was growing up. He was a good listener. Sometimes.”
“Yes, he could be,” I remembered.
“I had a wicked crush on him, Mom. I thought he was so beautiful, like a god, like Ralph Fiennes or Mel Gibson on steroids. I used to think about him
all the time
.”
“But nothing ever happened?”
“I know he told you that he did,
that we did
—I was there, I heard it—but nothing ever happened, Mom. You don’t have to protect me. Please believe me,
nothing happened
.”
I put both my hands up to Jennie’s face. I wanted to be even closer, but that was the best we could do in this horrifying place.
“Let me be your witness, Mom. Please, please, let me do that for you? I
need
to help you, just this once. I think I can. Nothing happened between Will and me. You don’t have to protect me.”
N
ORMA BREEN WAS in one of her usual bitching, grousing moods when she arrived at the Lake Club.
The missing goddamn pieces to the puzzle! They’re around here somewhere
, she kept telling herself, hoping that it might come true if she said it enough.
She had come to the club, specifically, to see J. C. Frazier. J.C. was in his late forties, his face weathered by the outdoors, his body trim and well muscled.
Well, he’s a looker
, Norma Breen thought as she sat with him on the porch of the main building at the Lake Club.
Now, let’s hope he’s a goddamn talker
.
Norma eased into things, convincing J.C. to verify what she already knew: that there were late-night “parties” at the club; and that Will Shepherd had been an invited guest on several occasions.
“Would there be a list of names anywhere?” she asked. “Of the party boys?”
The groundskeeper shrugged his broad shoulders. “If there is, I’ve never seen one. I sure doubt it.”
“Then tell me some of the names. People you’ve seen here after hours. C’mon, J.C.”
J.C. shook his head. “Couldn’t do that. If anyone found out I had told, I’d lose my job. I’m not even supposed to
know
about it.”
“But you told me about Mr. Shepherd.”
“I’m trying to help you. I just can’t help as much as you might like.”
“Dammit, this is a
murder
investigation. What you know might save Mrs. Bradford’s life!”
J.C. shifted uneasily in his chair. “I realize that. That’s why I’m talking to you. Only don’t make me tell you the names. That, I can’t do.”
Norma glared at him. It didn’t seem to make any difference though. “Then at least show me where. Let me take a peek for myself.”
“Oh, Ms. Breen, if I did that—”
“If you don’t I’ll have you subpoenaed and you can testify about it in open court.”
Grrrr, take that!
He winced. “The entrance, then. Only if anybody asks me, I’ll say you found it yourself.”
“It’s a deal.” Norma smiled. “Now show me.”
T
HE TWO OF them followed a winding path all the way around to the far side of the clubhouse. There was a heavy wooden door there that looked like it would only be used by the maintenance staff. J.C. Frazier had a key.
“This is it, huh?” Norma asked. It was cold and dark on that side of the building.
Like the black hearts of the lousy bastards who come here to get their kicks
.
Inside, Norma found it was comparable to the rest of the exclusive club. She and J.C. walked back through a deserted billiard room. There seemed to be a gauzy haze hanging in the air.
They entered a surprisingly elegant barroom with mahoghany paneling everywhere. Norma knew that this was the place. The club within a club.
The rich boy’s playroom
.
“This is where they met, right? It’s where they had their sex parties?”
“Yes ma’am,” J.C. muttered. He seemed serious and withdrawn.
Norma could almost picture “the boys club.” Their expensive clothes, the best whiskeys, their high-and-mighty demeanor, their prostitutes. She wasn’t sure about it, but she sensed that
this room
might be central to Maggie’s defense. She believed there was even the possibility that one of the club members had killed Will Shepherd.
Had Will finally fucked the wrong wife? Or screwed one of these powerful men in a business deal? Done something else to get himself murdered? Norma thought it was very possible that he had.
“Pour yourself a drink, J.C.,” she said to the grounds-keeper of the Lake Club, “then plop your butt down. We have to talk. We’re
going
to talk.”
He shook his head. “I can’t do that.”
Norma pointed her hand at the much taller and larger man. “Listen, you, and listen good. Maggie Bradford might yet be convicted of murder, but not because you held the truth back. You talk to me, now, or you’ll lose your job for sure, and you’ll lose a whole lot more than that. That’s a promise I’ll keep.”
J. C. Frazier walked to the bar and he poured himself a shot of Maker’s Mark.
“Good choice,” Norma said. “Make that
two
shots, one for me. Then you can tell me exactly who was part of this club within a club. I want
the names
. I want every name that you know.”
J. C. Frazier poured Norma Breen a drink, then they both sat at the wood-paneled bar. Finally, J.C. began to talk. He even cried.
When he was through, Norma couldn’t believe what she had heard.
She could not believe it. Jesus, capital H, Christmas!
Everything just changed
, Norma thought.
My God, the whole world just moved. The enemy blinked. Gotcha, you lousy bastards. Gotcha.
H
OW GROWN UP she is, how composed, and close to being a woman,
I thought as Jennie walked to the stand to begin her testimony in court. Her face seemed to glow; her long blond hair was shining. Jennie looked so confident and serene. I wished I could say the same for myself.
Nathan led her through her story with extreme care. How Will came to see her on that fatal night. How he was standing at the foot of the bed, “leering” at her, when I came in.
“ ‘Jennie and I were just about to have some fun. Care to join us in bed? Ménage à trois!’ That’s what he told my mother. I don’t know why he said it,
but he did
,” she told the jury. There was no way they couldn’t believe her.
And as Jennie repeated Will’s words, I felt the same paralyzing rage that had overcome me then.
I’m glad he’s dead
, I thought.
It’s horrifying, but I am glad
.
Nathan took less than forty minutes with her. That was our agreement, and he had practically signed it in blood. He finished, and then he sat down next to me. He took my hand and I squeezed his. “Thank you, Nathan,” I whispered to him, “for being so patient with me.”
“Thank you for trusting me,” Nathan whispered back.
The jury’s faces remained impassive, but I could see that the women at least were touched by Jennie.
I had not killed in self-defense, I had killed defending my daughter
. Now they knew. Jennie had done what she’d meant to do.
Unfortunately, now came the bad part. Dan Nizhinski slowly approached the witness stand.
A killer whale
, I thought,
about to eat a minnow. He’s doing this to get famous. That’s all this is to him: instant fame and celebrity status
.
“Miss Bradford—Jennie,” he began softly, almost apologetically.
“Please don’t call me by my first name.” Jennie met his stare and did not waver. “You don’t know me, Mr. Nizhinski.”
The prosecutor sighed. Score one for Jennie.
“You have a good friend by the name of Millie Steele?” he asked after the briefest pause. It was hard to knock Nizhinski off his game.
Jennie seemed surprised by the question. “Yes, I do,” she said.
“She’s your
best
friend, isn’t she?” the prosecutor continued. He was being unusually nice.
Jennie hesitated, then she finally nodded. I could see her mind working, trying to figure out where he was heading with the questions.
“You’ll have to answer the question verbally, Miss Bradford,” Judge Sussman spoke from the bench. “Is Millie Steele your best friend?”
Nathan Bailford slowly rose from the defense table. “Objection, Your Honor. I don’t see what Miss Bradford’s relationship to Miss Steele has to do with this case. Need I remind everyone, Miss Bradford is only fifteen years old. This trial, especially this testimony, is an unbelievably painful experience for her, and it should be kept as brief as possible.”
“Your Honor,” Nizhinski responded, “the jury will soon see exactly where this line of questioning is leading. It’s an important point, I promise you.”
“Proceed,” Sussman said. “I’ll hold you to your promise though. Tread very lightly.”
Nizhinski moved closer to Jennie, and I flinched. I didn’t like that one bit. I could tell Jennie didn’t either.
“You talk to Millie Steele a lot? At school? Sometimes after school?”
“Yes, sir.
Before
school too,” Jennie said and she smiled. So did everyone on the jury.
I could see she was still puzzled though.
Where was he leading her? Watch out!
I wanted to call to her.
“Would you ever lie to your friend?
Have
you ever lied to her, that you can remember?”
“No. Millie and I don’t lie to each other.”
“Then listen to this, Jennie. On the thirteenth of October, your best friend Millie Steele made the following statement at the Bedford Hills police station—” He paused, and opened the thick binder he had carried with him to the witness stand. The binder was intimidating in itself, thick, with a black leather cover.
“ ‘Jennie was in love with her stepfather. She told me time and time again she wanted—she wanted—well, she wanted to go to bed with him, and would try anything to seduce him.’“
Nizhinski closed the folder gently. “Did you tell Millie Steele that you were in love with Will Shepherd?”
What’s he doing to her?
I thought as my stomach clenched.
Yes, she had a crush on Will
.
“Yes, but—” Jennie tried to answer the question he’d asked.
“Just answer yes or no, please.
Were
you in love with your stepfather?”
He’s torturing her! He should be stopped right now
. “Nathan?” I whispered.
“Wait, Maggie. Listen.”
“I had a crush on Will. Yes, sir.”
“Did you ever try to seduce him?”
“Not really.”
“That’s not answering my question, Miss Bradford. Yes or no: Did you try to seduce him?”
“Yes. In a way I guess.”
“Did you go to bed with him?”
“No! You’re such
a bad person!
No!” Jennie told the prosecutor. “No!”
No! Thank God! Now let her go
.
“Then
where
did you make love with him? Millie Steele says that you did!”
“We never made love!”
“Forgive me, but that’s difficult to believe. You’re an attractive young woman, Jennie. Will Shepherd was susceptible to attractive young women. We’ve heard that again and again in this courtroom. Are you telling me that even though you threw yourself at him, he refused? His reputation says otherwise!”
Jennie finally began to cry. Her sobs were the only sounds in the courtroom. She was a young girl again.
“Nathan, please,” I whispered again.
Nizhinski, relentless, moved even closer to Jennie.
“In fact, isn’t it true that you and he had been lovers for months? That the defense contention your mother killed him to protect you is therefore nonsense. That your mother killed him for
revenge?
”
“I
didn’t
throw myself at him! He
never
touched me! He never did anything
indecent
, like you’re doing now.”
Nizhinski took a step back and stared at her. “Do you know what perjury is?”
She nodded.
“Answer yes or no, please. The court stenographer can’t record a nod.”
“Yes.” Her voice was faint.
“Do you know what the penalty is for perjury?”
“Not exactly. Will you unjustly put me in prison—like you did to my mother?”
“The penalty for perjury
can
mean jail, but there’s no injustice here, Miss Bradford. Your mother killed Will Shepherd because she
thought
the two of you were having an affair.”
Nathan was on his feet beside me. “Objection!
Objection!
”