“I’m so sorry…” Liddy was amazed to findherself forgetting herself, coming out of herself and liking this woman - a lot.“God, what you went through, so awful…”
“No one escapes,” Kerri said gravely. “I’veseen every kind of person in places high and low, and I’ve come to thatconclusion. Everyone at some time goes through some long nightmare. Parentsbroken-hearted over their kids, best friends turning out to be not friends atall, wives discovering their husbands aren’t who they thought they were – or theother way around. You just have to hang on, let the scars form.”
Liddy was nodding, slowly, and Kerri added:“Those nightmares I had? They were really vivid, seemed totally real andin the first minutes of waking up I’d still be shaking, convinced they werereal. Does it help to know that?”
Liddy met her eyes; inhaled hugely and smiled.“Oh yes. If someone like you can go through something like that and come out inone piece…”
“I did.” Kerri gave a little laugh. “I’m assane as anyone now, which may not be saying a whole lot.” She got to her feet,brushed invisible lint off her black pants, then looked back at the painting.
Her mouth opened. “Is it my imagination orhas her weeping face gotten bigger?”
Liddy rose too. “Gotten bigger. Drooping longer‘cause the paint’s still wet.”
Kerri noted the sane, quiet interpretation,but for a little comic relief faked a scared look. “Are hallucinations catching?”
“Yeah, that must be it.”
42
They went to thekitchen, where the sharp-eyed detective moved around, looking here, there, stoppingbefore a venerable old photo of a sailboat: into a tarnished plaque screwedinto the old frame was the name Seafarer. “That your boat?” she asked.
“Was. It looks like Carl Finn and anotherfriend are going to buy it.”
“Oh?”
Kerri’s raised eyebrows prodded. Liddypointed to a different photo: Paul, Carl and Ben Allen before the docked boat,with Finn planted boisterously in front of other two, hamming it up andhoisting beer cases. “Carl and this other guy,” she said, naming Allen.
The same photo Kerri took in Ben Allen’soffice, and had in her phone. She nodded to him. “Is he a friend too?”
“Of mine? Hardly. Actually, not really somuch of Paul’s either, as far as I can see. Ben and Carl have been pals sincemed school. ‘Partners in crime,’ Ben likes to say, and keeps saying, thinksthat’s uproarious. He met Paul through Carl three years ago. They all lovesailing, that’s their glue.”
Liddy frowned suddenly. Stared harder atthe photo, specifically at Ben Allen. “My head’s still whirling from thepainting but…wasn’t Ben questioned months ago when Sasha was arrested for…” Shestopped; looked confused.
“Forging his narcotics prescription,” Kerrisupplied. “Ben Allen insisted he knew nothing of what she did. It seems to haveended there.” But not really, Kerri thought, her mind as always pursuinga line leading from Allen to Carl Finn. She wanted to know more about Finn.
Liddy still stared at Allen, looking almostpathetic with her head tilted as if trying to remember more. “I read about thatrecently, when the news started talking about the case again,” she saidfoggily. “Remembered the other night, now…can’t.”
Kerri diverted her, moving around to otherframed photos: the same three men with the sun on their faces trimming the jib,tacking and coming about, laughing it up in the stern waving their beer bottles.Lots of photos with Paul and the guys. Over the counter there was a singlephoto: Paul and Liddy embracing, hanging on to rigging.
Kerri stepped closer, studying the picture.“Just one of you and Paul?” she asked.
Liddy gave a shrug. “I have others, justhaven’t hung them yet.”
Which meant she didn’t like them.
Kerri pointed back to the photo whose copy wasin her cell phone.
“Did you take that one?”
“Yes, but I didn’t go out with them.” Liddyturned away, got busy with the pepper shaker Beth had fiddled with. Kerri saidnothing, so Liddy told the pepper shaker, “I’d been arguing with Paul. We’dplanned to go out alone, a romantic day, and then the Boys Club called andinvited themselves and Paul said Sure! Just like that. Like he hadn’t promised.”
Kerri frowned to herself. Was this thefirst glimpse of…something new? “Boy, I’d be jealous,” she said. “Or feelunderstandably hurt.”
Liddy shook her head, turned back to thephoto with a troubled look. “Not that,” she said. “Paul knew I didn’t actuallylike the boat, not when he went out in all weather and thought freezing was macho.The problem is Carl…I just hate how he uses Paul, takes advantage. He’d gottento where he borrowed the boat a lot, then Ben started doing it too, takinghis cue from Carl. They’d go out together or alone - just call and say, ‘heyPaul, okay if I take the boat this weekend?’ And he’d say fine, he had work tocatch up on. He’s always had work to catch up on, especially in the past yearsince he’s more of a plodder than Carl, and hated having the boat just sittingthere.”
Liddy stopped as something seemed to occurto her. “Maybe, on some level, he saw one or both of them being prospectivebuyers some day. We were strapped for cash, the boat was a ridiculous expense.”
“Still, chutzpah isn’t even the word,”Kerri said…and thought: So Finn borrowed the boat a lot. Allen too. Which ofthem could have been out on it that May day with a needy, trusting, maybe bynow demanding young coed who had started to take pictures; was maybethreatening to go public? Allen’s marriage was unraveling; Sasha would make adivorce messier, more expensive. And Carl Finn was dating that hotshot, highearning lawyer…
“Their relationship’s more complicated,”Liddy was trying to explain. “Paul’s also repaying Carl favors from twentyyears ago.”
Kerri had her notebook back out; scribbledas Liddy told the quick version of their past: Carl the rich kid and Paul hisboat boy, desperate for money, thrilled to do every damned chore, help bartend Carl’sparties, clean his messes, drive his drunk girlfriends home. Through familypull Carl helped Paul get a full scholarship. “To this day he feels…gratitudeisn’t
