Guilt

to change it? Because someone’s paying him to be a dad? He tried to force the issue, I stood my ground. It got ugly, I told the kids to wait in the limo. By the time I got back to the lobby, he was gone. He drove straight back to Teterboro, chartered a plane to Vegas, stayed there for weeks, doing his Vegas thing. The tribe and I tried to make the best of it. I’d rented a big quiet apartment on Sutton Place, doorman, security, off the beaten path. I managed to take them a few places without attracting attention. They wanted to know where he’d gone. I said he wasn’t feeling well but they knew I was lying. I tried to reach out to him, maybe we could talk, work something out. He wouldn’t take my calls. Then he texted me a picture of himself and some … girls. Let me know quite graphically that he didn’t miss me.”

Her face tightened. “After that, we moved even further apart.”

“Lovable dad,” I said. “Don’t recall that film.”

“Never got made.”

“How come?”

“Maybe someone realized how bad he sucks as an actor?” Shrug. “That’s the way the business works, mostly it’s air sandwiches.” Her toe nudged the rock rim.

Time for me to nudge her. “Have you told the kids about Adriana’s death?”

“Of course not!”

“How did you explain her absence?”

“I said she went away on vacation. It would only matter to Boo, Adriana was Boo’s person, the others don’t need anything like that.”

“A nanny.”

“Not even a nanny, just someone to watch Boo when I’m tied up.”

“Four kids,” I said. “Sometimes you can get spread pretty thin.”

“I manage.” She sniffed. “There’s nothing else I’d rather be doing.”

Out of my pant pocket came a piece of paper. I unfolded, pretended to read.

She pretended to ignore me. But it had been a long time since she’d performed and she struggled with her curiosity. “What is that?”

I handed it over. Fumbling in her bag, she produced her glasses. Scanned the receipt from JayMar Laboratory. The copy I’d kept for myself. “Beetles? Scalpels? What is this?”

“Check the name of the recipient, Prema.”

“Who’s that?”

“Someone who buys stuff for you through Apex Management. For you only.”

Her mouth dropped. “What? That’s ridiculous. I’ve never heard of this place! Beetles? Scalpels-a bone saw? What the hell’s going on?”

She tried to return the receipt. I kept my hands in my lap. “Kevin Dubinsky ordered all that stuff for you.”

“Mel handles my purchases.”

“You wanted something, you’d tell Mel, he’d pass it along to Kevin?”

“Who’s Kevin? I don’t know any Kevin. Everything’s done by email, anyway.”

“You’d email Mel and he’d pass it along to-”

“This is crazy.” She re-read. “Der-mestid-sounds gross. Why would I want bugs in my house? We pay a pest service to get rid of bugs, last year it took two days to clear a wasp nest. Kyle-Jacques is allergic to bees and wasps.”

“Dermestid beetles aren’t household pests, they’re specialists, Prema.”

“At what?”

“They consume flesh. Quickly and cleanly. Scientists use them to clean bones.”

“That’s disgusting! Why would I want something like that?”

Her hands shook. The paper rattled.

I’d given her the perfect opening but she’d made no attempt to weasel out by offering a plausible explanation.

Oh, those beetles. I forgot, they were part of the kids’ science project. I’m big on teaching them science, you saw that yesterday.

She said, “Beetles? Scalpels?” She turned white. “You’re saying someone cleaned Mel’s bones? Or Adriana’s-omigod-”

“Mel was shot and left intact. Same for Adriana. Is anyone else authorized to contact Kevin Dubinsky on your behalf?”

“I keep telling you, I don’t know any Kevin Dubinsky. My life-you delegate, things get … away from you.”

“Who has access to your email account?”

“No one has access to my personal account. I don’t use it much, anyway, try to stay off the computer because the Internet’s nothing but mental pollution. I’m into reading. Books. Never had much school, I need to catch up. So I can be smart for the tribe, already they know stuff I don’t. Especially K.J., he knows so much math.”

“Are there other email accounts at your home?”

“Of course, for the household,” she said. “I can’t tell you how many or who uses them-I sure don’t. We have a computer company, they set it up. For day-to-day things.”

“Would those household accounts be used for shopping?”

“For food, toilet paper. Not bugs!”

“Who’s on your staff?”

“Total? If you mean people coming in and out, like gardeners, pool service-those pest-control people-I couldn’t even tell you, there’s always someone around fixing something.”

“Who lives on the premises, like Mel?”

“It used to be crazy, we used to have an army,” she said. “After I stopped working I began to pare down. Mel is-was the overall manager. I used to have a personal assistant but I let her go a few years back, the only reason most people have P.A.s is they’re afraid of being alone. I relish being alone.”

“Does Donny have an assistant?”

“Always,” she said. “They come and go. Girls, always girls. The latest one I couldn’t even tell you her name, we live … Other than that there’s just the housekeepers. Imelda, Lupe, Maria, I need three to keep the place clean, it’s a big undertaking, they’re lovely. Religious ladies, cousins. That’s it. Oh, yeah, a cook. For healthy food.”

“Plus Adriana.”

Tears filled her eyes. “Plus her. She was also religious. I could tell because she kept a Bible by her bed and sometimes I’d see her praying. Personally, I’m not into that but I respect it. Are you saying the same person who killed her killed Mel?”

“Too early to tell,” I said. “Have you moved to replace Adriana?”

“I’m not sure I need to, Boo’s growing more independent. More interactive, hanging out with the tribe more.”

“Do you have chauffeurs?”

“We used to have two, one for him, one for the rest of us, but that was a waste, we don’t go out much, I switched to a car service.”

“Did Donny keep his driver?”

“No … I don’t think so.”

“You don’t know?”

She exhaled. “We don’t exactly live together.”

“Where does he live?”

“Next door. The adjoining property. I mean it’s one property, I bought it years ago, but it’s three separate parcels. I was going to develop it as one big estate but then … things changed. The tribe and I use the big lot. Seven acres, a main house, some outbuildings, tennis court, pool, stuff.”

“And Donny?”

“He took the middle one, around three acres. The smallest one is a little less than an acre. No buildings on it, no one goes there.”

She thrust the JayMar form at me. “Take this back, it’s freaking me out.”