“No, she never did. She gradually lostinterest in him, and later she confessed to me that he reallywasn’t such a nice guy after all. Insensitive to the animals heused in his acts, Adele said. She thought he also abused the birdsand rabbits he worked with. Then her cat disappeared, and Adelethought Gerard had either let it out one freezing cold night ordeliberately killed it.”
Parton took another deep breath. “Suddenly Istopped hearing from her. I couldn’t reach her by phone or e-mail.I asked for an emergency leave so I could try to find her, but myC.O. reminded me I’d be out in three more months so I should justbe patient.” His last words were almost incoherent. “I never sawher again.”
Tessa broke the silence in the room by cryinginto a soggy handkerchief, and I had to blow my nose. Parton restedhis head on his arms, which he braced on his knees, and Watson wentover to the table and poured a glass of water for himself.
Holmes, on the other hand, seemed unaffected.“Ask him about the picture.”
I assumed he meant the newspaper clippingabout the woman in the well, so I waited only a little longerbefore I broached the subject. “When I looked in your backpack, Isaw the newspaper clipping you saved. How did you know the woman inthe abandoned well was your sister?”
“The police told me Adele and Andrews weremarried,” he mumbled, not looking up. “They were separated at thetime and the police thought someone else strangled her and thendumped her in the well.”
“Yet you thought Andrews did it?”
“The police had no proof he did. He didn’teven get arrested. I can’t talk about that...it hurts toomuch.”
Watson returned to his seat. “Okay then. Tellus how you and Andrews ended up in a vacant flat in SanFrancisco.”
“Because of the flyer for the magician’sseminar that I saw in your backpack?” I asked.
Parton looked up, took a handkerchief fromhis pocket and wiped his face. “I found out where Andrews lived andwent there, but he’d moved out just the day before, told thelandlord he was leaving town.”
“What did you do next?”
“I looked up magician’s stuff on theInternet, found out about the seminar here. I didn’t know for surehe’d go to it, but it was a chance I had to take.”
I persisted. “So he did go there. Did herecognize you? Did he know who you were?”
“Adele had never shown him a picture of me.Anyway, if she had, it would have been in my uniform and I look alot different in civvies.”
“So you went to the seminar...” Holmesprompted, and I repeated that to Parton.
“Yes, I found him. I introduced myself to himwith a fake name, told him I wanted to be magician too, acted likeI needed his help.”
Watson spoke next. “And he fell forthat?”
“Yeah, especially after I took him to a barfor drinks. We were real buddy-buddy by the time I drove him to theapartment.”
“How did you know it would be vacant?” Tessaasked.
“I’d done my homework beforehand. I scopedout the place, pretending I wanted to rent it, and managed to makea duplicate key.”
Tessa’s voice rose. “You know how to dothat?”
“It’s easy.” He paused. “The hard part wasgetting up the nerve to kill him when we got inside. I had to tellhim then who I was and why he had to die. He didn’t admit hestrangled her. He only said they’d had a terrible quarrel, but Icould tell he lied.” His voice rose. “Why throw her body in a wellif he didn’t kill her?”
After a long pause, he went on. “I knew Ishould do it right away, but when I didn’t, he saw my hesitationand took advantage of it. He grabbed for the gun and we struggleduntil I shoved him backward and the gun accidentally went off. Hefell on top of that marble fender in front of the fireplace andthen dropped onto the floor.”
Parton had risen and held his arms in frontof him, as if reenacting the fight scene. Suddenly his handsdropped and he collapsed back in the chair again. His shouldersslumped and tears rolled down his face. He looked as if he werereliving a moment in the past. His words came out forced andscratchy.
“I killed a man. He stood in the doorway ofhis hut and his wife came running toward me, screaming. I didn’tknow Arabic. I didn’t understand her words. The soldier behind meshot her.”
I stared at Parton in shock. Could he bereliving an experience that took place in Iraq?
“I can still hear that woman’s screams in myhead almost every night.”
The room erupted into motion. Watson, Tessa,even Holmes, rose to their feet and came toward the table. Watson,Tessa and I took glasses and drank some water, as if we had neverbeen so thirsty before. My throat seemed parched, and my tonguestuck to the roof of my mouth.
Holmes filled the silence. “Is that all?”
After I swallowed some water, I repeated thequestion to Parton.
“You know the rest. The tenants on the floorabove apparently heard the gunshot and called the police as well asthe landlord. He came running up from his flat on the ground floorjust as the upstairs folks came down. Then I heard sirens andpolice cars. I got out as fast as I could.”
Tessa asked, “What will you do now?”
“I have to go to Seattle for thirty days’debriefing and then I‘ll be discharged. I know now that war ishell. My four years are up, and I’m not reenlisting.” He paused.“Maybe I’ll stay in Seattle. I don’t like Chicago, and SanFrancisco might be too hot for me. In case the police find me likeyou did.”
Watson came close and shook Parton’s hand. “Iwish we had Adele’s necklace to give to you, but we don’t.”
He shrugged. “It’s okay. I didn’t reallybelieve you had it. My aunt had Adele buried before I could comehome, so maybe she knows where it is. I hope my sister is buriedwith it.”
He wiped his face with the back of his hand,took a last glance around the room and then went out the door.
* * *
After Parton left, I made a pot of coffee andbrought out the chocolate-covered custard eclairs
