Jason. He had his bland shrink face on. April had her cop face on. The actress had her . . . actress face on. April wondered if she'd be able to get past it.
'Let's start with your relationship with the—uh, with Mrs. Liberty,' April suggested.
'I've known Merrill for—a long time. We went to acting classes together more than ten years ago. That's how we met. We both wanted to be actors. Merrill made it first. She got a part in a soap. I did voice-overs for a long time. We were very close, even after she married Rick.'
'Rick?'
'That's what Liberty's friends call him.'
'So the three of you go way back.'
Emma took a bite out of an unpolished thumbnail and spoke impatiently. 'We all go way back. Rick and Tor were friends the way Merrill and I were friends. This is a devastating thing. Just horrible.' She glanced at Jason, sitting silently beside her, then reached for his hand. 'For Rick especially. I can't imagine losing both my husband and my best friend at the same time.'
April felt a twinge of jealousy at the way Jason was looking at his wife. It triggered a thought, then she lost it. 'Did Merrill and Petersen have any enemies?'
Emma chewed on her nail. 'Well, of course. I'm - sure they did. Successful people always have enemies.'
'Can you think of anybody in particular who might want to kil them?'
'Tor just fired twenty percent of the people in his company last week. A lot of people were mad at him. He was a charming man, but he could be ruthless, you know.'
April wasn't acquainted with people like Petersen, so she didn't know. She waited for Emma to go on.
'Maybe the killer was someone he'd fired. Sergeant, do you think Tor was the target? Or both of them?' Emma frowned.
'Please call me April. Why do you ask?'
Emma shook her head. 'It doesn't make sense.'
'What doesn't?'
'It was an accident that they were together last night. Merrill and Rick were supposed to come to see me in my new play. I didn't know Rick wasn't coming until after the show when Merril showed up in my dressing room with Tor. I have to admit I was surprised.'
'Why?'
Emma smiled weakly. 'Rick is a fan.'
'Is Tor a fan?'
'Oh, I don't know. I hardly knew him. I don't think he even knew who I was before last night.'
'You're too modest. So what changed the plans?' 'Rick had to go to Chicago on business. Tor took his ticket. For him it was a last-minute thing. Nobody even knew he was going to be there.'
That triggered another question. April made a note.-'What about his wife?'
'Tor's wife? I've never met her. The gossip was they were breaking up.'
'Maybe she knew where they were going.'
'That's—horrible. How would she even pull it off?' Emma shuddered.
'Maybe she had help,' April said softly. 'And Liberty knew where they were. Either could have—'
'No!' Emma said explosively. 'I know Rick couldn't hurt anybody.'
'What kind of marriage did Liberty and his wife have?'
'Devoted,' Emma said firmly.
'There must have been stresses.'
'Every marriage has stresses,' Emma said vaguely.
'Merrill was a beautiful woman. She must have had admirers. Was her husband jealous?'
'Rick?' Emma took another bite of nail, ripped it, and winced. A spot of blood appeared at the quick. She dabbed the blood on her handkerchief, staining it. 'I don't think so.'
April glanced at Jason. His mask was still on. He wasn't saying. 'Are you thinking about it?' she asked Emma.
'Yes! I'm thinking about it. I just don't think he's the jealous type,' Emma said firmly.
'Not an Othello,' April murmured.
'You've read Shakespeare?' Emma seemed surprised.
'I saw the movie. How did he seem that night?'
'Tor?'
'No, Liberty.'
Emma looked confused. 'I didn't see Rick that night. He was in Chicago.'
'What about the phone call?'
'What phone call?' 'He called the restaurant. What was Petersen like?'
Emma started on the other thumb. 'We were drinking a bit. Tor was excited—' She stopped short.
April guessed the man had come on to Emma that night, not to his date, Merrill, and that might have been the real reason Emma had left the restaurant before dinner was over and missed hearing the phone call. Maybe she kept looking at Jason now because she didn't want him to know something. April wondered what it was.
'Were Tor and Merrill involved romantically?'
Emma sighed. 'Jason asked me that. I—really don't know. I guess they'd spent more time together recently. I know Merrill held his hand whenever he had marital problems.' Emma shook her head.
And maybe Liberty was tired of the hand-holding. April changed the subject again. 'What time did you leave the restaurant?'
'I don't know. Maybe around midnight. Maybe before.' Another check with the watchdog husband.
Jason shook his head. Al those clocks everywhere, and he didn't know either.
'Why didn't Petersen send you home in his car?'
'I don't know. The car wasn't there. I think he sent the driver on some other errand.'
'An errand? What kind of errand?'
'I don't know. I just know the car wasn't there. Tor mentioned something, but I forgot.'
'How did you get home?'
'I took a cab. A woman was getting out a few doors down, so I got lucky, I took her cab.'
A surge of dizziness swept over April. 'Could I have a glass of water?' she asked faintly.
Jason got to his feet. 'When did you eat last?' he asked.
'I'm fine,' she said. 'I just need a little water.'
'I'll get you some juice.' He left the room.
'It's nice to have a doctor around,' April murmured. Then she put down her notebook and asked Emma what she really wanted to know.
11
Mel Auschauer glanced at the figure retreating through the kitchen door of Liberty's apartment, then attempted to lean forward in a conspiratorial manner. His anxious eyes darted around the room as if to make sure no one was listening who shouldn't be listening. Then he tried again to sit up and bend in closer to his host. Mel's midlife belly, fed for many years with the very best of Manhattan restaurant offerings both at business lunches and social dinners, had a different plan. It listed to the left, pinning his bulk to the soft down cushions and giving him the distinct appearance of a beached whale. Still, his message was chilling.
'Rick, have you thought about getting a lawyer?' Mel said softly, darting more glances at each of his other partners.
Mel and Daniel Rothhaus, the two men with most authority at James Dixon, the brokerage house, sat on the section of white sofa in front of the windows overlooking the Park. Rick Liberty and a third partner, Christopher Richardson, sat on the section that curved into the room. Beside them was a huge Dogon mask with a raffia skirt.
'A lawyer?' Rick was taken aback.
Rick had been watching Mel's eyes follow Patrice as he went into the kitchen for more desserts and coffee
