Eric’s face grew even whiter than before. “Me? Why was she taping me?”
Rosemary paused the disk and looked from Lillian to Eric. “Okay. What is going on?”
Lillian sat like stone on her stool, looking at the wall, somewhere past the television console. Eric shook his head repeatedly, in short bursts, as if rejecting the image on the screen.
Casey placed a hand over her mouth and closed her eyes. Had she been completely wrong about this whole thing? Was Eric somehow involved in putting the townspeople out of work? Or in killing Ellen?
No. She couldn’t be wrong.
But then, Death was awfully anxious for her to befriend him.
“Eric,” she said, “you’ve got to think back. What happened that day? What were you doing there? Why were you talking to Karl?”
He ran his fingers through his hair roughly, pulling it into peaks, as he had done in his office. “I don’t know. When was it?”
They looked at the date on the screen, jittering slightly on the frozen image.
“Two weeks ago this past Tuesday,” Rosemary said. “Ten-forty-three AM.”
Eric’s hands remained on his head as he thought. “I don’t know. I don’t remember.”
“Think.” Casey wanted to shake him.
He sighed loudly. “There was a day I went to talk with Karl about COBRA. You know, the insurance for the workers once they’re laid off. And severance packages.” He thought some more. “I went once to ask why I hadn’t been copied on some memos. I had to find out from people at dinner—Home Sweet Home—that the move to Mexico had been pushed back two weeks.” He looked up at Casey. “But I don’t know which day that would’ve been. Maybe if I went home and looked at my calendar…”
Casey sat back on her heels and looked up at Rosemary. Rosemary’s hair, usually so cheerful and bright, looked out-of-place now over her lined and pale face. Lillian, still seated on the ottoman, kneaded her hands on her lap, chewing her lip.
Casey stood. “Let’s watch the rest of the footage.”
Lillian turned so quickly she almost lost her balance. “So we can see more of that? Accusations against Eric?”
Casey waved a hand at the television. “There was no accusation. Just a film of him coming out of Karl’s office. If we keep watching, maybe we’ll see something that would make more sense.”
They all looked at Eric. He took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring. “Yes. Okay. I know there was no reason for her to be filming me. I want to know what else there is.”
Casey nodded, and waited for Rosemary to press Play on the remote. When she didn’t, Casey stepped forward, pushing the button on the machine.
The footage went back into motion, with Yvonne watching as Eric and Karl left the picture. Her face was expressionless, her smile disappearing the instant Eric was gone. She grabbed a notebook and pen and stood. Karl Willems swept by the table and she followed, disappearing into his office.
Casey looked sideways at Eric as he watched, wondering what he was feeling. Sorrow? Surprise? Perhaps even guilt? She didn’t like to consider that.
A few minutes of footage passed with only the office sounds, the image framing Yvonne’s desk and Karl’s door. Soon the door opened and Yvonne came out, her face stony, her posture stiff. “I’m going out for a minute,” she said.
Kathy said that was fine.
Yvonne dug in her purse, pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a cell phone, and left. The image held on the empty desk. Rosemary, focused again on the task, fast-forwarded until Yvonne was back in her seat. There were several more minutes of keyboarding, which Rosemary fast-forwarded, until Yvonne reached for her phone. Rosemary rewound to just before the movement.
A beep sounded over the speaker, and Yvonne leaned over to grab her handset. She glanced up, toward the front of the office. “Of course. Thank you.” She replaced the phone and stood, waiting for someone. They could see by her face when the person appeared, for it became slightly more animated, although still professional. “Good morning, Mr. Nolan.”
Eric glanced over at Casey. Todd?
It was Todd, and he didn’t wait for Yvonne to lead him to the door, surging past with an energy Casey hadn’t yet seen in him.
Yvonne was able to sneak past him at the last moment in order to open the door, but Todd pushed directly by her and into the room. Yvonne stood there for a few seconds before stepping back and shutting the door. She looked over at Kathy with an expression of surprise, and sat back at her desk.
Ten minutes later—fast-forwarded by Rosemary—Todd came out of the office, banging the door open against the wall, startling Yvonne. She jumped up from her chair, hands out in front, as if to defend herself. Todd stormed past, his face mottled with rage. He brushed so near to Yvonne’s desk that papers fluttered, and she reached out to hold them down. As soon as Todd was gone she hustled to Karl’s office, where she spent only a few seconds inside before coming back out and shutting the door behind her, leaning against it, her eyes closed.
After almost half a minute Yvonne walked back to her desk, where she sat and placed her hands on the desktop, hesitating there for several beats until pulling her chair back up to her desk.
“Is there more?” Lillian’s voice was small, and quiet.
Rosemary pushed the fast-forward button, but all they saw was Yvonne at her desk, everyone leaving for lunch, and the same routine in the afternoon. No more visitors. Eventually everyone was gone, and the camera stopped filming.
“Well,” Eric said. “At least taping Todd makes more sense than taping me.”
Casey sat on the love seat. “Ellen must’ve known he was coming by at some point, but didn’t know when. I still don’t get it. Sure, we saw he was angry, but how does that help us?”
Eric dropped into a chair. “It shows that Todd and Karl had a fight.”
“Yes, but…” Casey looked at Rosemary, and then Lillian. “Karl’s not the one who died. If he had been, then perhaps Todd would be a suspect, based on this. But Karl’s alive and kicking.”
“Unfortunately,” Rosemary muttered.
“It’s got to have something to do with the lay-offs.” Eric laid his head back on his chair. “Why didn’t Ellen just tell me? Instead of…” He jutted his chin toward the TV. “Of that.”
Casey considered his words. “Maybe she was still gathering evidence. She didn’t want to say anything until she had it all pieced together. If we think of this video in that way, it makes more sense. It’s not everything she knew, but just a part that would make sense with other information.”
“So where’s the other information?” Eric banged his hands on the arms of his chair. “This doesn’t look like anything that should’ve gotten her killed.”
Lillian gasped, and Rosemary strode quickly to her side. “What is it?”
Lillian’s mouth opened, then shut, and she stood up, almost knocking Rosemary aside. “I think…” She rushed from the room.
“Lillian?” Rosemary bustled after her.
Eric rolled his head so he was looking at Casey. “This makes me feel like puking, too.”
“Oh, me, too.”
Casey blinked, and somehow refrained from exhaling with disgust at the sight of Death, one hip perched on the back of Eric’s chair, eating a chicken leg.
“It gives me motion sickness, you know,” Death said, waving the drumstick. “Watching TV. I really can’t take it.”
Casey closed her eyes.
Eric leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “I wish I knew what she was trying to tell me…”
Casey wanted to go comfort him, but couldn’t make herself move closer with Death looking over his shoulder. Besides, if what Lonnie said about Eric’s feelings was true she really needed to—
“So what now?” Death took a bite of chicken, using a sleeve to wipe barbecue sauce from where it had dripped onto the chair.
Casey could feel her stomach turning.
“Eric.”
