To the Grave (28 page)

“Came to cheer me up, did you? You could have at least brought flowers with all your concern.”

“You'll be getting a huge bouquet of long-stemmed roses from me this afternoon. Red roses—red means love.”

“Thanks. I didn't know you cared so much.”

Eric laughed mildly and then let his face return to its usual serious lines. “You were damned lucky last night, James. You have no idea who might have done this?”

“I would have told you if I did.”

Eric nodded. “Maybe this will help. After you were shot, we found three strands of Mardi Gras beads under the edge of your car.”

“Mardi Gras beads?”

“Yes. Cheap metal Mardi Gras beads.” Eric hesitated. “I don't like giving out information about an ongoing investigation, but I think you should know we found the same on the body of Nicolai Arcos. Three strands of beads. The ones on him and the ones under your car were purple. I know the Mardi Gras colors are green, gold, and purple and purple symbolizes justice. I'm not certain if whoever placed the beads knew what purple means.”

“In other words, if leaving beads symbolizing
justice
has significance or if whoever killed Arcos and shot me just happened to have purple beads lying around.” Eric nodded. “Purple
Mardi Gras
beads.” The color had slowly faded from James's face. “Purple for
justice.
Someone seems to be sending the message that justice is being served.”

“I agree,” Eric said softly, not wanting to break the mood. James still had the speculative expression that could be important.

“But why did someone kill Arcos and try to kill me?”

“Because Renée abandoned both of you and the killer thinks you murdered her out of revenge?”

“Revenge?” James gave him a serious look. “Eric, I've never even spoken to Arcos. I have no idea if he felt vengeful because Renée left him. For all I know, he broke off the affair with her. But I can tell you for certain that
I
didn't feel vengeful because she left me.”

“You didn't? Not even a little?”

“No, I didn't.” James looked reflective. “I was embarrassed, especially when the police thought I killed her and put me through that investigation. But even then, my primary feeling was … well, relief.”

“Relief?”

“Relief that she was gone. We had some terrible fights, but I certainly didn't kill her. I didn't think anyone else had, either. I
never
believed she'd come to harm. I thought maybe she'd pushed things too far with someone and became afraid of them—that's why she left so fast without a clue as to where she was going. She was also drinking more than usual at that time—not enough to be a danger to herself or someone else, but more than usual. Drinking was sometimes a sign of nervousness with her, but it was also a sign of boredom.

“I thought this time she was just bored,” James went on. “Causing scandals in this ‘nothing little town,' as she called Aurora Falls, had lost its fun for her, and she'd decided to have some fun by doing something dramatic—she set the scene for causing trouble, this time creating trouble for me by vanishing the day after we'd had a near-violent public argument at a party.

“I was certain that's what she'd done, Eric. I was furious with her, but I was also a little worried in spite of myself. I knew she wasn't stable, and as much as I wanted to be free of her, I didn't want anything bad to happen to her. I knew the police would be suspicious of me when she just disappeared, but I thought considering Renée's character and her past outrageous behavior, they wouldn't consider me a suspect in her possible
murder.
” He smiled bitterly. “When the police investigation seemed to be getting a little too serious, I stopped worrying about Renée and started worrying about myself. I got scared, Eric. Really scared, even though I hadn't done a thing to Renée. I'd never even slapped her, no matter what she did.”

“Mitch Farrell was still sheriff then, James, and he was getting a lot of pressure to not let things appear to be sliding because you're an Eastman.”

“I know. Still, I'm sure you can understand how I felt.”

“Of course I can. Frankly, I would have been scared, too.” Eric, a naturally restless man who never held still for long, got up from the chair and began pacing the small room. “So you felt
relieved
that Renée had left you.”

“Yes.”

“Happy or just sort of released?”

“At first, released, like I'd gotten rid of an unbearable weight.”

“But you did bear it, James,” Eric said sharply. “You bore the weight of your wife's public humiliation of you for over two years. I've always wondered why. What hold did she have on you? Love?”

“Love? No, definitely not. And she didn't have a hold on me the way I think you mean. She didn't know something damaging she'd tell if I sued her for divorce.”

“Then what the hell was it? Why did you put up with her for so long? Why did you wait until she left you and then feel
relieved
? Why didn't you divorce her? That's what a real man would have done.”

Anger flashed in James's eyes. “Oh, you're an expert on how a real man acts, Eric? You're daring to tell me what a
real
man should have done?”

“I'm telling you what a man who isn't timid or browbeaten or a … a milquetoast would have done.”

James glared at him for a moment. Then he started laughing. “A
milquetoast
? I haven't heard that word since my grandmother used to say it.”

“Well, mine did, too.” Eric drew a deep breath. He didn't know why the old-fashioned word had popped out of his mouth, but at least it had lessened the tension in the room. “Look, I'm not trying to make you mad or upset you. I just don't understand you, James. The way you handled, or didn't handle, the situation with Renée frustrates me. Hell, it enrages me because it led up to all of this mess.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes. Aren't you?”

James looked at him steadily. “I believe Renée's return to Aurora Falls led up to all of
this mess,
as you put it.”

“Why did she come back?”

“I feel like I've answered that question fifty times. I … don't … know!”

“Could it have had something to do with your divorce being finalized?”

“You're asking if she came here to stop it?” James snorted. “Give me a break, Eric. Do you honestly think she wanted to stay married to me?”

“Well … I don't mean to be insulting, but no. I'm fairly certain she didn't want to stay married to you.”

“No insult taken. I think she hated me by the time she left.” He paused and after a moment spoke thoughtfully. “The last time I talked to her mother, though, she said she thought Renée was getting desperate for money. Renée had even gone home. Audrey said she'd turned her away, which I believe, but considering how Renée felt about her mother, she
must
have been desperate if she went back to the family home. If she was that broke, she
might
have come back to me as a last resort.” James's forehead puckered again, and eventually he shook his head. “No. Renée wasn't stupid. She would have known I wouldn't take her back.”

“Are you sure you wouldn't have? The way you just accepted her behavior while you were married to her wouldn't lead me to believe she didn't have a chance with you.”

Eric had been trying to get a rise from James, hoping he might say more about the strange marriage, but all he got was a hard stare. James took two deep breaths and Eric could almost feel the man composing himself. Eric wasn't surprised. He knew James Eastman was extremely bright and savvy. He wouldn't easily fall into a verbal trap.

“The only reason I can think of that Renée might have come back was because she heard about the success of the Arcos exhibit.”

“You think she loved him enough to want to see it?”

“Love him? Eric, she didn't love him. She didn't love anyone—I don't think she was capable of it. But that exhibit features
Mardi Gras Lady.
In fact, it's the painting getting all the attention. Still…”

“Still?”

“Still, news of a successful art exhibit in Aurora Falls has hardly made the papers or been splashed all over the Internet. Either she was close by and heard about it or she has a connection here in town who told her.”

“I was told she was spotted at the gallery looking at her portrait. If the person was correct that Renée visited the gallery, I'm not surprised.”

“Of course not. She couldn't bear
not
seeing a painting of herself in an art gallery. You know she was crazy about art.”

“No, I didn't know.”

“Well, she was. She met Arcos when she took one of his classes. She began talking about him immediately and incessantly. Less than a month later, she never mentioned him. That's when I knew something was going on between them.”

“Do you think Arcos killed her for leaving him?”

“I don't think he would have if he was in his right mind, but from everything I've heard about him, he did a lot of drugs. But that doesn't explain why Arcos was murdered.”

“Revenge? Someone thought Arcos killed Renée, so he had to die, too.”

“And what about me? Did the shooter also think I killed Renée?”

“Maybe Arcos and you were just possibilities.”

“Have you forgotten I was at a conference in Pittsburgh at the time someone murdered Renée?”

“James, Pittsburgh is less than three hundred miles from here. You could have driven to Aurora Falls, killed Renée, and been back in Pittsburgh in nine hours. If you'd taken a plane to Pittsburgh and rented a car there, the odometer on the car could have helped clear you. It would have shown how little you used the car. But you drove your own car to Pittsburgh. We have no idea how much mileage you had on it when you left for the conference. Of course, even if we did know how many miles you had on
your
car when you left here, you could have rented one in Pittsburgh, but so far, we haven't found any car-rental agencies there with a record of you renting a car. Unless you used fake identification—”

“Stop!” James nearly shouted, holding up his hand. “God, this is driving me crazy. I was
sick
in Pittsburgh. I didn't go anywhere!”

“So you've said.” They glowered at each other, and then Eric said evenly, “Come on, James. Don't act like you know nothing about how criminal investigations are conducted.”

A male nurse opened the door and glanced in the room. As they both looked at James, Eric noticed his paleness and the lines that had deepened around his eyes.

“I know it's still visiting hours,” the nurse said to Eric, “but Mr. Eastman needs to rest. I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid I have to ask you to leave now.”

“Okay,” Eric said quietly, knowing he'd pushed James almost as far as he could. “May I stay long enough to ask Mr. Eastman two more questions, though?”

The nurse looked doubtful, but James said, “Yes. I'm not dying. I can certainly answer a couple of questions.” As soon as the nurse backed out and closed the door, James asked, “So what do you want to know?”

“First, have you gotten a chance to tell Renée's parents that she's dead?”

“I talked to Audrey, Renée's mother, on Monday and told her Renée had been murdered. She claimed not to believe me. “Finally, I demanded to talk to Gaston, Renée's father. Audrey said he was in Europe and she wouldn't let me disturb him,” James continued. “I didn't believe her. I don't think Gaston was in Europe then or now. Still, I haven't heard a word from him and I would have expected
something
from him. Maybe he doesn't know Renée is dead. All I know for certain is that he must be found and told that his only child has been murdered. Considering my condition, I'll leave finding him to you, whether he really is in Europe or if he's in the United States. I am not Renée's husband anymore. I'm not going to act like I am by tracking down her father. That's your department.” He waited an instant. “Second question?”

Eric paused for a moment, wondering if he should just let things go for now. But he couldn't. In a soft, emotionless voice, he asked, “Why didn't you divorce Renée when she was still in Aurora Falls?”

James lowered his gaze. “Mostly arrogance, Eric. When I married her, I was young and full of myself. I thought I was damned great, to put it bluntly. I wouldn't listen to anybody because I thought I knew more than anybody.” He laughed ruefully. “God, was I wrong. I knew it less than a year after our marriage. Sooner. Still, I just couldn't admit it.”

“Finally, I started acting with some guts, like I should have from the beginning, and told her I'd charge her with adultery. And I had proof—not a lot, because Renée could be covert when she wanted—but I had enough proof to win a divorce.”

“And that's when she left?”

“No. She thought I wouldn't do it—the humiliation factor again. She said she'd fight me, start rumors about my family, claim I'd physically and emotionally abused her—” James sighed. “I probably wouldn't have gone through with it, even though my parents had told me they didn't care about a little embarrassment. After all, both their families had lived and been respected in Aurora Falls for over a hundred years, while Renée was … well, hardly admired.”

“That's putting it lightly.”

“Still, I procrastinated. I told myself I just couldn't bear to put my family through such mortification, but looking back, I realize that was only partly true. I couldn't bear to put
myself
through such mortification.” James looked at Eric, shame in his eyes. “That's the truth, hard as it is to admit.”