The Murder Book

'What were you going to say about him?'

'That he wasn't very bright.'

'When, after graduation, did you see him?'

'Look,' said Hansen. 'You need to understand the context. He- Luke- was no genius. Honestly, he was dull. Despite that, I'd always thought of him as the best of them. That's why- does this have to do with Luke's drowning?'

'When did you see Chapman?'

'Just once,' said Hansen.

'When?'

'My first year in grad school.'

'What month?'

'Winter break. December.'

'So just weeks before Chapman drowned.'

Hansen blanched and brought his eyes back to the carved beams. He sank in his chair and looked small. Incompetent liar. Painting had been a better choice than the corporate thing. Milo slapped his pad shut, shot to his feet, strode to Hansen and placed his hand on the back of Hansen's chair. Hansen looked ready to faint.

'Tell us about it,' said Milo.

'You're saying Luke was murdered? All those years ago… who do you suspect?'

'Tell us about the meeting with Chapman.'

'I- this is-' Hansen shook his head. 'I could use a drink- may I get you something, as well?'

'No, but feel free to fortify yourself.'

Hansen braced himself on the arms of his chair and rose. Milo followed him across the tiled entry, across an adjoining dining room and through double doors. When the two of them returned, Hansen had both his hands wrapped around a squat, cut-crystal tumbler half-filled with whiskey. When he sat down, Milo resumed his stance behind the chair. Hansen twisted and looked up at him, drained most of the whiskey, rubbed the corners of his eyes.

'Start with where.'

'Right here- in the house.' Hansen emptied the glass. 'Luke and I hadn't been in contact. High school was long out of my consciousness. They were stupid kids. Stupid rich kids, and the thought that I'd found them cool was laughable. I was an East Coast nerd scared witless about making yet another lifestyle switch, thrown into a whole new world. Tanned bodies, loud smiles, social castes… it was a sudden overdose of California. Luke and I had World History together. He was flunking- he was this big blond lunk who could barely read or spell. I felt sorry for him so I helped him- gave him free tutoring. He was dull, but not a bad kid. Built like a fridge, but he never went out for sports because he preferred drinking and smoking dope. That was the essence of the Kingers. They made a big point of not engaging in anything but partying and at that specific time in my life that kind of abandon seemed attractive. So when Luke invited me to join the group, I jumped at it. It was somewhere to belong. I had nothing else.'

'Were you welcomed by the others?'

'Not with open arms, but they weren't bad,' said Hansen. 'Tested me out. I had to prove myself by drinking them under the table. That I could do, but I never really felt comfortable with them and maybe they sensed it because, toward the end, they got… distant. Also, there was the economic thing. They'd figured I was rich- there'd been a rumor circulating that Father owned an oil company. When I told them the truth, they were clearly disappointed.'

Hansen passed the tumbler from hand to hand, stared at his knees. 'Listen to me, going on about myself.' He took a deep breath. 'That's the sum total: I hung out with them for the second half of my junior year and a bit into my senior year, then it tapered off. When I got into Columbia, that put them off. They were all planning to live off their parents' money in L.A. and keep partying.'

Milo said, 'So you were home on break and Luke Chapman just dropped in.'

'Yes, it was out of the blue,' said Hansen. 'I was spending my time holed up in my room drawing. Luke showed up unannounced, and Mother let him in.'

Hansen hefted the empty tumbler.

'What did he want?' said Milo.

Hansen stared at him.

'What was the topic, Nicholas?'

'He looked terrible,' said Hansen. 'Disheveled, unwashed- smelled like a barn. I didn't know what to make of it. Then he said, 'Nick, man, you were the only one who ever helped me, and I need you to help me now.' My first thought was he'd gotten some girl pregnant, needed guidance about where to get an abortion, something like that. I said, 'What can I do for you.' And that's when he broke down- just fell apart. Rocking and moaning and saying everything was fucked up.'

He held up the tumbler. 'I could use a refill?'

Milo turned to me. 'The bottle's on the counter. Nicholas and I will wait here.'

I entered the kitchen and poured two fingers from the bottle of Dalwhinnie single-malt on the counter. Taking in details as I made my way back: yellow walls, old white appliances, bare stainless-steel counters, empty dish drainers. I opened the refrigerator. Carton of milk, package of sweating bacon, something in a bowl that looked like calcified gruel. No food aromas, just that same mothball stink. The whiskey bottle had been three-quarters empty. Nicholas Hansen cared little for nutrition, was a solitary drinker.

Back in the living room, Milo was ignoring Hansen and flipping the pages of his notepad. Hansen sat paralytically still. I handed him the drink and he took it with both hands and gulped.

Milo said, 'Luke fell apart.'

'I asked him what was wrong but instead of telling me he pulled out a joint and started to light up. I grabbed it out of his hand, and said, 'What do you think you're doing?' I guess I sounded irritated because he shrank back and said, 'Oh, Nick, we really fucked up.' And that's when he let it all out.'

Hansen finished the second Scotch.

Milo said, 'Go on.'

Hansen regarded the empty glass, seemed to be considering another shot, but placed the tumbler on a side table. 'He told me there'd been a party- a big one, some place in Bel Air, an empty house-'

'Whose house?'

'He didn't say and I didn't ask,' said Hansen. 'I didn't want to know.'

'Why not?' said Milo.

'Because I'd moved on, they were long gone from my consciousne-'

'What did Chapman tell you about the party?' said Milo.

Hansen was silent. Looked anywhere but at us.

We waited him out.

He said, 'Oh my.'

'Oh my, indeed,' said Milo.

Hansen snatched up the tumbler. 'I could use a-'

Milo said, 'No.'

'A girl got killed at the party. I really need another drink.'

'What was the girl's name?'

'I don't know!' Hansen's irises were wet- boggy mud.

'You don't know,' said Milo.

'All Luke said was there'd been a party and things had gotten wild and they'd been fooling around with a girl and things got even wilder and all of a sudden she was dead.'

'Fooling around.'

No answer.

'All of a sudden,' said Milo.

'That's how he put it,' said Hansen.

Milo chuckled. Hansen recoiled, nearly dropped the tumbler.

'How was this sudden death brought about, Nick?'