Betsy hesitated, then said, 'No.'
'And you haven't asked him to confirm your guess, have you?'
Betsy shook her head.
'Why?'
'Do you remember the conflicting emotions you felt when Lake asked you to pardon him? Imagine how I feel, Senator. I'm a very good attorney. I have the skills to free my client. He maintains his innocence, but my investigation turned up evidence that made me question his word.
Until today, I didn't know for certain if Martin was lying.
I didn't want to confront him until I knew the truth.'
'Now that you know, what will you do?'
'I haven't worked that out yet. If it was any other case, I wouldn't care. I'd do my job and defend my client.
But this isn't any case. This is Betsy paused. What could she say that everyone in the room did not know firsthand.
'I don't envy you, Mrs. Tannenbaum,' the senator said. 'I really believe I had no choice. That is the only reason I've been able to live with what I did, even though I regret what I did every time I think of the pardon. You can walk away from Lake.'
'Then I'd be walking away from my responsibilities, wouldn't I?'
'Responsibilities,' Colby repeated. 'Why do we take them on? Why do we burden ourselves with problems that tear us apart? Whenever I think of Lake I wish I hadn't gone into public life. Then I think of some of the good I've been able to do.'
The senator paused. After a moment he stood up and held out his hand.
'It's been a pleasure meeting you, Mrs. Tannenbaum. I mean that.'
'Thank you for your candor, Senator.
'Wayne can drive you back to your hotel.'
Wayne Turner followed Betsy out of the room. Colby sank back down into the armchair. He felt old and used up. He wanted to stay in front of the fire forever and forget the responsibilities which he had just spoken.
He thought about Betsy Tannenbaum's responsibility to her client and her responsibilities as a member of the human race. How would she live with herself if Lake was acquitted? He would haunt her for the rest of her life, the way Lake haunted him.
Colby wondered if the pardon would become public. if it did, he would be finished in public life. The President would withdraw his nomination and he would never be reelected. Strangely, he was not concerned. He had no control over Betsy Tannenbaum. His fate rested with the decisions she made. chapter Twenty.
'Dr. Simon Reardon?'
'Yes.'
'My name is Reginald Stewart. I'm a private investigator. I work for Betsy Tannenbaum, an attorney in Portland, Oregon.'
'I don't know anyone in Portland.'
Dr. Reardon sounded annoyed. Stewart thought he detected a slight British accent.
'This is about Hunter's Point and your ex-wife, Dr. Reardon. That's where I'm calling from. I hope you'll give me a few minutes to explain.'
'I have no interest in discussing Samantha.'
'Please hear me out. Do you remember Peter Lake?'
'Mr. Stewart, there is nothing about those days I can ever forget.'
'Three women were kidnapped in Portland recently.
A black rose and a note that said 'Gone, But Not Forgotten' were left at each scene. The women's bodies were dug up recently on property belonging to Peter Lake.
He's been charged with the homicides.'
'I thought the Hunter's Point police caught the murderer. Wasn't he some retarded deliveryman? A sex offender?'
'The Multnomah County d.a. thinks the Hunter's Point police made a mistake. I'm trying to find the Hunter's Point survivors. Ann Hazelton is dead. Gloria Escalante won't talk to me. Mrs. Reardon is my last hope.
'It's not Mrs. Reardon and hasn't been for some time,' the doctor said with distaste, 'and I have no idea how you can find Samantha. I moved to Minneapolis to get away from her. We haven't spoken in years. The last I heard, she was still living in Hunter's Point.'
'You're divorced?'
Reardon laughed harshly. 'Mr. Stewart, this was more than a simple divorce. Samantha tried to kill me.'
'What?'
'She's a sick woman. I wouldn't waste my time on her. You can't trust anything she says.'
'Was this entirely a result of the kidnapping?' Undoubtedly her torture and captivity exacerbated the condition, but my wife was always unbalanced. Unfortunately I was too much in love with her to notice until we were married. I kept rationalizing and excusing…' Reardon took a deep breath. 'I'm sorry. She does that to me. Even after all these years.'
'Dr. Reardon, I don't want to make you uncomfortable, but Mr. Lake is facing a death sentence and I need to know as much about Hunter's Point as I can.'
'Can't the police tell you what you want to know?'
'No, sir. The files are missing.'
'That's strange.'
'Yes, it is. Believe me, if I had those files I wouldn't be bothering you. I'm sure it's painful having me dig up this period in your life, but this is literally a matter of life and death. Our d.a. has a bee in his bonnet about Mr. Lake. Peter was a victim, just like you, and he needs your help.'
Reardon sighed. 'Go — ahead. Ask your questions.'
'Thank you, sir. Can you tell me about Mrs. Reardon, or whatever she calls herself now?'
'I have no idea what her name is. She still called herself Reardon when I left Hunter's Point.'
'When was that?'
About eight years ago. As soon as the divorce was final.'
'What happened between you and your wife?'
'She was a surgical nurse at University Hospital.
Very beautiful, very wanton. Sex was what she was best at,' Reardon said bitterly. 'I was so caught up in her body that I was oblivious to what was going on around me. The most obvious problem was the stealing. She was arrested for shoplifting twice. Our lawyer kept the cases out of court and I paid off the stores. She was totally without remorse.
Treated the incidents like jokes, once she was in the clear.
'Then there was the spending. I was making good money, but we were in debt up to our ears. She drained my savings accounts, charged our credit cards to the limit. It took me four years after the divorce to get back on my feet. And you couldn't reason with her. I showed her the bills and drew up a budget. She'd get me in bed and I'd forget what I'd told her, or she'd throw a tantrum or lock me out of the bedroom. It was the worst three years of my life.
'Then she was kidnapped and tortured and she got worse. Whatever slender string kept her tethered to reality snapped during the time she was a prisoner. I can't even describe what she was like — after that. They kept her hospitalized for almost a year. She rarely spoke. She wouldn't let men near her.
'I should have known better, but I took her home after she was released.
I felt guilty because of what had happened. I know I couldn't have protected her-I was at the hospital when she was kidnapped-but, still, That's very common, that feeling.'
'Oh, I know. But knowing something intellectually and dealing with it emotionally are two different things. I wish I had been wiser.'
What happened — after she came home?'
'She wouldn't share a bedroom with me. When I was home, she would stay in her room. I have no idea what she did when I was at work. When she did speak, she was clearly irrational. She insisted that the man who
