“Oh, simple. In the play, Mr Punch stretches his neck.”
May had been listening. “There’s that song by Queen,” he said. “You know, Scaramouche and something about fandangos?”
“That’s right,” said Bryant. “Traditionally, the hanged man dances a jig as he dies. But now you’re telling me it was the producer. Pity there isn’t one in the Punch story.”
“He’s more of an accountant,” Longbright pointed out.
“Well, there is one of those,” said Bryant. “You realize we gave PCU cards to everyone who was interviewed after the Kramers’ party? That’s why it was attached to the Hangman puppet. The killer wants us to know he’s part of the group.”
“But that makes no sense at all. Why?”
“Because if we’re unable to make a prosecution even with the help we’ve been given, Punch will have proved his point. We’ll be back soon. Get the kettle on. It’s going to be another long night.”
? The Memory of Blood ?
25
Girltalk
Judith Kramer sat at her dressing table patting powder beneath her dark eyes. Dressed in a loose-fitting black V-neck sweater and jeans, she looked thinner and older than she had at the party. She had tied her hair back and donned plain silver earrings. The effect was severe and unflattering, like that of a New York hostess attending a charity function for want of something more useful to do.
“I’m expected to be presentable,” she explained, noting Longbright’s watchful gaze. “Robert likes his surfaces nice and smooth. He’s very conscious of his image.”
“You don’t approve?” Longbright asked, seating herself beside her.
“I support him.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
“That’s what I’m here for, isn’t it? To make him look good?”
“Mrs Kramer, I don’t know you and I can’t judge.”
“Oh, but everybody else does. They see the younger second wife come in and watch her struggle to be part of the actors’ conversations. They’re a likeable crowd, you know, but insular. If you didn’t see Helen Mirren in
She sat straight and studied her skin in the mirror, as if suddenly realizing who she was. “It seems odd not having to check on Noah every few minutes. Since last July he’s occupied nearly every moment of my day, and now – emptiness. It’s suddenly so quiet. I wasn’t much of a mother. Didn’t have the temperament for it.”
“Not everyone does. It’s no sin.”
“I’m keeping Gloria on for a while, even though there’s nothing for her to do. Robert blames her for taking the night off. And me, for letting the baby alarm turn itself off in my pocket. He has a long list of people and things he wants to blame, but Gloria and I are right at the top. He can’t bring himself to look me in the face. It will always be like this from now on, and I suppose it will break us up. The guilt, the recriminations. I see Noah’s face when I close my eyes, but it’s already changing. Just a crying baby’s face, you see, no real features. Like the horrible little wooden puppet of Punch’s Baby. I never wanted them in the nursery, but they were put there because the room was lockable. Insurance. It’s always about money with Robert.”
“If you’d prefer, I can come back another day. I realize this is a terrible time for you – ”
“Frankly, I’m grateful anybody talks to me at all. Everyone around here is carefully avoiding the subject of the baby, as if I’ll start screaming if they mention his name. I’m sorry – this really isn’t like me. I feel outside of myself somehow. I guess that’s the Valium I’ve been taking. What do you need from me?”
“I thought we’d get to know each other a little. Girl talk.”
“We’re neither of us girls. Besides, I don’t think it’s very advisable. My husband wouldn’t like it.”
“If you prefer, I can just listen. Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?”
“I’m not used to talking about myself. I’m better at listening, too. God knows I get enough practice in this house.”
“Try it, just this once,” said Longbright. “I think you need a lighter lipstick. Here, use this.” She handed Judith a gold tube of Jungle Amazon Coral Dew that had been discontinued in 1970.
“All right.” Judith pursed her lips, applied the still-fresh lipstick and turned to face the detective sergeant. “I come from a nice Hampshire family. If you don’t like horses or yachting, we feed you then politely wait for you to leave the county. That’s what I did. I came to London with a degree in media studies, which is the equivalent of a proficiency badge in knitting, and ended up taking a job in a telecommunications company, working for one of the directors who played golf with Robert. Robert was still getting over Stella, his first wife. She hadn’t been dead for very long – ”
“How did she die?”
“Pills and booze, nothing very original. She’d always been highly strung, had two modes of operation by all accounts, hysterical laughter and sobbing – very high maintenance. I think Robert disappointed her as well. Everyone said he was very cut up about her death, although I never saw much evidence of that. They lived in this palatial house in Smith Square. Robert had made his fortune in property and I hear she was a bit of a gold digger. Anyway, it was all about keeping up appearances, and they had a very grand lifestyle, but Stella couldn’t handle it. After she died, Robert removed every trace of her from his life. He took down the photographs and burned them, threw away her letters, wiped the slate clean. That’s how he copes. He can’t be seen to lose at anything.”
“How did you meet? Just at work?”
“No. It was Boat Race Day and we were at a very grand party in Henley-upon-Thames, and we kept bumping into each other after that. We always seemed to be surrounded by crowds of people, and I thought,
“It sounds like you’re being rather hard on yourself.”
“Am I? I honestly don’t know what I brought to the party. He certainly didn’t need me. All my friends thought he was a good catch. I have no idea what he saw in me then, and I still don’t. Which is what makes it all so much worse.”
“What do you mean?”
“Please dignify me with a little intelligence. I’m not stupid, I’m just not very interested in the theatre. I know that you know. I’ve seen who you’ve been talking to. It was me who continued the affair, not Marcus. I needed someone to talk to, and it was obvious Robert would never be my friend. But by then the wedding preparations were already under way and I couldn’t back out. I suppose it suited my purposes, but if a woman says that, everyone thinks she’s a bitch. Strange how it’s fine for a wealthy man to keep a mistress.”
“You think your husband has a mistress?”
“Of course he has. Why else would he slip off after the theatre shuts and come home at four in the morning? He doesn’t even bother to wash the perfume off. I suppose it’s the lack of effort he puts into deceiving me that makes it so galling.”
“Do you think he’s in love?”
“I very much doubt it, if his track record is anything to go by. He’s spending more nights with this one than anyone else he’s seen, but I think that’s simply because he doesn’t want to come home to a wife and a crying baby. Well, he won’t have to worry about that now. The affair will come to an end eventually, he’ll be in a bad mood for a few weeks and then he’ll come creeping back to me with a new pair of diamond earrings, something obvious like that, and I’ll still have Marcus. I’m sure you know all this anyway. Actors are such gossips, and you did take statements from them.”
“We heard plenty of unsubstantiated rumours.”
