The Burying Place

Chapter Three

Stride found Denise Sheridan alone by the shore of Pokegama Lake on the southern edge of the Glenn property. The white two-story estate shone brightly on the slope behind them, thanks to the lights that glowed in every room of the house. The vast backyard was scattered with birch trees and a deep layer of dead leaves.

Denise smoked a cigarette. When she saw Stride approaching her down the hill, she took a last drag and flicked it into the water.

'Sorry,' she said. 'I don't need a lecture right now, OK? About crime scenes or death sticks.'

Stride wanted a cigarette himself, but he didn't say so. He stood silently next to Denise with his hands in his pockets. Out on the lake, he saw the shore of a small island lined with cedars. The water was choppy and white- capped, agitated by the cold breeze. He noted that the dock for the Glenn boats had already been pulled from the water for the season. Any intruder who approached the house from the lake would have found it difficult to land in the shallows.

'So how are you, Denise?' Stride asked.

She shrugged. 'Me? Life goes on.'

'I meant to send you a card last year when you had the baby. That makes four, doesn’t it?'

'Yeah, I pop them out like a big furry rabbit,' Denise cracked.

'How old are they?' Stride asked.

'Ten, seven, five, and eighteen months. I thought I was done after number three, but Tom had other ideas. It's not like we ever have sex anymore, but he managed to hit the bullseye the one time I got drunk.'

She extracted the cigarette pack from her shirt pocket and lit another. Tilting her head up, she blew smoke into the air. 'Not that I want to send any of them back. Although, God, there are days.'

'Managing two jobs and four kids?' Stride told her. 'I'm not sure how the two of you do it.'

'Neither am I.' Denise glanced behind her at the spread of the Glenn home. 'Sometimes it pisses me off. I go fishing on Pokeg, and I see all these fucking mansions on the shore. Lawyers, doctors, CEOs, rich wives who winter in Scottsdale. And I'm sitting there worried about the gas mileage on my truck.'

'Sorry,' Stride said.

'Yeah, look at me, the green-eyed monster.' Denise threw away her second cigarette rather than smoking it. 'I suppose this is the wrong time to say so, but you look like shit, Stride.'

'Thanks.'

'It's none of my business, except I just handed you a big case. Was I wrong to get you involved?'

'I'm fine,' he said. It was the same lie he'd told to Serena.

'Did you have an audience with King Marcus?' Denise asked. 'I'll bet he wouldn't shake hands with you.'

'You're right. What's that about?'

'It's a surgeon thing. He doesn’t want to risk injuring his hands. I think he's germophobic, too.'

'Tell me what you know about him,' Stride said.

'Marcus? There are guys who are studs in high school, quarterback of the football team, and then twenty years later they're fat slobs working in a gas station. Well, Marcus is still the stud.'

'Have you known him a long time?'

'Sure, he grew up in this area. He was a couple years behind me and Tom in school. He's rich now, but he didn't come from money. His parents owned a farm near Sago. I knew his dad. He was a son of a bitch; nothing Marcus did was ever good enough. Pretty ironic. Marcus was this tall, athletic kid, took the Grand Rapids hockey team to the state championship twice. I mean, you do that around here, and you are a star. But not at home.'

'I'm surprised he stayed around the area,' Stride said.

'Yeah, well, Marcus is a Minnesota boy. Went to the U of M and did several years at Mayo before coming home. I think he likes being the big fish in a small pond up here. Being this hotshot surgeon. All the girls coming after him.'

Stride wondered how much Denise's opinion had to do with Marcus and how much it had to do with her sister, marrying him and living in their estate on the lake. 'Valerie's stunning,' he said. 'I saw a photograph.'

Denise kicked at the dirt. 'Oh, yeah. Valerie got the good genes.'

'That's not what I meant.'

'It doesn’t matter. You're not telling me anything I haven't dealt with my whole life. I won't say it doesn’t get old hearing how gorgeous my baby sister is all the time. And yes, you don't have to say it, I'm envious. Who wouldn't be?'

'How did she hook up with Marcus Glenn?'

Denise laughed sourly. 'Valerie never wanted anything but Marcus Glenn. She had a crush on him back when she was ten years old and he was a teenager on the hockey team. She had guys drooling after her throughout high school and college, but she'd made up her mind that Marcus was the only one she wanted. When he came back to Grand Rapids, she was the hostess at the country club, and that's when he noticed her. It took her another couple years to land him, but my sister is nothing if not determined.'

'You make it sound mercenary.'

'Hey, if you're beautiful, money is your birthright. That's life. I don't think Valerie went after Marcus because he had money. That was just an expectation. She was always going to have the lakeside mansion. Me, I've got the shack by the river, the mortgage, all the crap called real life.'

Stride let the silence stretch out between them. Then he said softly, 'Denise, her child is missing. Maybe you should cut her some slack.'

'I know. You're right. Look, I try not to let it eat me up, but some-limes it does, OK? You wanted the whole truth. I'd like to tell you I'm a bigger person, but Valerie's always been the golden child, and I've been jealous of her my whole life. Hell, I'm sitting at home with four kids, and now all I'm going to hear is, poor Valerie. Does that make me petty? OK, I'm petty.'

'What's this really about, Denise?' Stride asked. 'I don't think it's lust sibling rivalry.'

'I'm sorry,' she said, wiping her eyes. 'I'm scared for Callie. And yeah, I'm angry, too. I warned Valerie that something like this might happen, and she didn't listen to me.'

'Something like what?' he asked.

'I told her not to leave Callie alone with Marcus,' Denise said. 'Ah.'

Stride wasn't surprised. Denise's body language had been eloquent since she showed up at the cabin. He had simply been waiting for her to say it out loud: this wasn't a kidnapping.

'I can't prove it,' she went on. 'I know that instincts are crap compared to evidence, but this is what my gut tells me.'

'Instincts count for a lot with me,' Stride said. 'Fill me in.'

Denise crouched down and dipped her hand in the lake and rubbed her wet fingers together. She got up and wiped her hand on her sleeve. 'He's arrogant, and I know being arrogant isn't a crime. But it's not just that.'

'Then what?'

'I know him,' Denise said. 'Valerie and Marcus have been married for eight years. She figured out pretty quickly that winning the prize isn't as exciting as going after it.'

'Meaning what?'

'Meaning Marcus is exactly what you see. A cold prick. He doesn’t love anything or anyone except himself.'

'He's a bad husband,' Stride said. 'That's still not a crime.'

'Maybe so, but Marcus never wanted kids. He was clear about that with Valerie before they got married. No kids. He wanted money, work, travel, all the perks, and nothing to tie him down.'

'Why did Valerie agree to marry him if that's not what she wanted?'

'Oh, please. Valerie wanted Marcus Glenn, and that's all she was thinking about. She convinced herself she didn't want kids. She figured having Marcus was enough. She sobered up real fast about that.'

'So what changed?'

Denise's face darkened. 'About five years ago, Valerie swallowed down half a bottle of aspirin. It was a close