Relaxing again, she said, “Aw, boy, that hurts.”
“Now the other side,” said Jessica.
“Aw, geeze,” said Tatiana, but with complete good nature. You could tell she would do almost anything to excel, and to please Jessica. “You know that isn't my best side.”
As Jessica clapped, Tatiana reversed, and did it going the other way. Perfectly, as far as I could tell.
“Ow,” said Tatiana.
Once more, and then both of them walked over to us.
I was thinking lunch. Like, in food. Instead, Jessica motioned us through the divider, and to the three chairs. As we three cops sat, she and Tatiana just sort of flowed into a sitting position on the floor, near a black gym bag. Jessica opened a door under the counter, and removed two bottles of water, some crackers, a small brick of white cheese, and some grapes.
“Would you care for some?”
“No, thanks,” said Hester. “We just had brunch.”
“Oh?” asked Jessica, handing Tatiana a water bottle. “Where?”
“The Geneva Inn,” said Hester.
“Oh, very nice,” said Jessica. “That's where you're staying?”
“I am,” said Hester sweetly. She gave them the name of our motel. “Do you know the place? These two are staying there.”
“Wow,” said Tatiana. “Who'd you piss off?”
“It's a long story,” I said. “But it's worth it, just being here. I don't think I've heard Jamal playing 'Poinciana' in fifteen years.”
“I'm impressed,” said Jessica, in a warm tone. “So, what can we do for you?”
“Well,” said Hester, “we have a few questions. Some things have come to light, and we need to see what you can tell us about them. Clarification, really.”
“Do I need my attorney?” asked Jessica.
“You're not a suspect,” I said.
“Why don't you just tell me what you want to know, and I'll decide whether or not I need an attorney with me,” said Jessica.
Reasonable. Not quite the way I'd hoped, but it was a good chance to get her mind moving in a direction we wanted.
“Fair,” I said. “And Tatiana? What about you?”
I really think she was both surprised and flattered that I'd asked.
“I'll just listen, if this is for both of us.”
“Good,” said Hester. “I think it might be.”
Jessica reached into the gym bag and pulled out a Swiss Army knife, which she opened and used to slice the cheese for both of them. “Go ahead,” she said.
I leaned back in my chair, and pushed my legs out in front of me, trying to look relaxed. I pulled a little notepad from my pocket. They're really handy. You can pretend to be writing, to buy yourself some time. I also put on my reading glasses. They're handy tools, since they can emphasize questions, when you look over the top of the frames at your witness. “Well, to begin with, we know that it was Dan Peale upstairs, who ran on us.”
“Ah.” That was all Jessica said.
“And, we know he killed Edie.”
“For certain?” asked Jessica. Very calm.
“It looks like it. The evidence is compelling.” I wanted to draw her out on that point.
“Mind if I ask what kind of evidence?”
“Nope. Mostly testimonial, supported by some physical evidence, and some observations.”
“Really? Whose?”
“Whose observations?” I love a good game.
“No. Testimony, if I can ask.”
“Toby's.”
First point to me, as her eyes widened. “Really? Where would he hear that?”
“He didn't,” I said. “He was there when Dan killed her.”
Tatiana reacted that time, while Jessica just stared at me.
I shrugged. “I was surprised, too, to tell the truth.”
“When did he tell you that?”
“When we arrested him,” I said.
It got pretty quiet for a few seconds.
“I'm just not sure what to tell you at this point,” I said. “Let me explain the sequence of events, here.”
I started off with the pursuit of Peale the night Borman was attacked, and while Jessica and company were still at the Mansion. As I talked, she interrupted once, to tell me that their muscles would be getting stiff, and did I mind if they sort of stretched them while I talked. No, as a matter of fact, I didn't. I think that was a mistake, though.
When I interview somebody, I watch for cues they send my way, to tell if they're being truthful, or are becoming nervous, or seem to be inventing things. Gamblers call them “tells,” and that's a fine term for it. I listen to their voice. I watch their eyes. And I check the body language. If I'm really attentive, I can tell a lot about an answer regardless of the verbal content. But when Jessica, and then Tatiana a few minutes later, started to stretch and contort, the normal tells were taken right out of the picture. When they'd hold an awkward position, for instance, they would send spurious signals. Sometimes, when they'd answer, I couldn't see their eyes. Their exertions would strain and contort their voices, just a little, and made it very hard to judge expression. I was stuck with relying solely on content.
When I got to the part where Toby had stuck a stake in Edie's chest, though, both dancers seemed shaken.
“That's horrible,” said Jessica.
“It's sick,” said Tatiana, “is what it is.”
I continued, and when I got to the part about Toby telling us about his holding Edie, despite knowing Dan was killing her, Tatiana stopped her stretching, and just stared at us with a horrified expression.
“But, it was likely that it was an accident, wasn't it?” asked Jessica.
“No. Not at all.” I leafed through my notepad, pretending to search for what I was about to say. I was not going to give them Huck's name under any circumstance. “Dan Peale wanted to experience death,” I said, and then tried to make it appear as if I was reading from my notes, “ah, here we go, 'secondhand.' ” I looked back at Jessica. “To do that, it looks like he not only had to bleed Edie to death, he had to make her fully aware she was going to die.”
“Oh,” said Jessica, “No. I simply don't believe that. Not for a minute.”
I did note that Tatiana was silent.
Hester came in from her position of observer for the first time. “All the physical evidence, and all the testimonial evidence, are in complete agreement with that fact,” she said. “Trust me.”
“I believe you think you're right,” said Jessica. “I know you're being honest with me. But if you're relying on the testimony of that Toby, after he mutilated Edie's body… ”
“Oh, no. No, we're not,” I said.
“What?”
“Hell, Toby didn't decide to go after the body with a stake,” I said. I had her.
“But you just told us… ”
I was paying special attention to Tatiana, who was absolutely hanging on our every word. I spoke slowly, for best effect. “Dan told Toby to do it.”
“Impossible!” Jessica was quite convincing at that point. It was the strongest vibe I got from her during the interview.
“Not in the age of cell phones,” said Hester, with a smile.
We let that sink in for a minute.
“Can I have a turn?” asked Harry.
