mother.'
'Grandmother?' Natalie was shocked. 'You've never said that before.'
'I'm enigmatic. Never say everything I think. It's part of my charm.' He winked at her. 'Get Blaine 's leash, my stubborn one, and we'll be off.'
The evidence technicians were arriving as they left. Andrew gave them Viveca's number and told them to lock up when they left. 'And you will be sure to lock up, won't you?' he asked.
One of the men looked at him stonily. 'We're the police, sir. Of course we'll lock up.'
'Locking up hardly matters, Dad,' Natalie said in the car. 'After all, whoever came in did it with a key.'
'A key we'll have to locate,' Andrew answered.
As Natalie expected, Viveca had worked herself to near distraction. 'Where can she be?' she kept demanding of Natalie and Andrew. 'Where can my baby have gone?'
'You would have a better idea of that than we would,' Andrew said gently. 'Just calm down and think.'
'I can't think with that dog looking at me!'
'That's absurd,' Natalie retorted. ' Blaine isn't bothering you.'
'Andrew?' Plaintively. 'Does the dog have to be here?'
'Forget the dog, Viveca,' Andrew said gently. 'Think about where Alison might have gone. Does she have any favorite spots?'
Viveca sat down on the piano bench, rubbing at tiny vertical lines between her brows. 'She likes a few shops. That nice little bookstore called The Alcove. Lawson's Music. Curious Things.'
'Those places are closed at this hour,' Natalie said. 'Besides, I don't think she ran off to a store.'
Viveca's eyes blazed. 'Don't be sarcastic!'
'I didn't mean to be sarcastic. What other places does she like?'
'Not many. There's a little restaurant by the lake. Her father took her there the day he…' Her eyes filled with tears. 'I can't remember the name. It's rather tacky-'
'The Lantern,' Andrew supplied. 'It closed last summer.'
'Oh. I don't know of anywhere else.' She looked around helplessly.
'How about the library?' Natalie suggested. 'I think it's still open. Did she ever go there?'
'No. She said it was cold and unfriendly.'
'Did she have any friends?' Andrew asked.
'No. Only Eugene. She got sick after he killed himself.'
In that same gentle tone, Andrew said, 'Viveca, she was sick long before Eugene Farley died-'
'Don't you think I know that! She's been sick for nearly twenty years! Her father died in front of her and I wasn't here! I wasn't here!' Oh, God!'
While Viveca poured forth a torrent of misery and guilt, burying her golden head against Andrew's chest, Natalie crept up the stairs with Blaine. They walked slowly, down the hall until they came to what Natalie knew must be Alison's room. Inside, the dog walked around slowly, sniffing the ruffled bedspread, the collection of stuffed animals, a delicate crocheted sweater tossed over a chintz-covered chair. She reacted with nothing except casual interest.
After a few minutes, Natalie knew absolutely that Alison Cosgrove had not invaded the St. John house and terrified this dog just a few hours ago.
16
'Haven't seen him since yesterday afternoon,' said the teenage desk clerk of the Lakeview Motel.
'What time?' Nick asked.
'I don't know. Maybe one.' The boy scrunched his acne spotted face in thought. 'Yeah, around one 'cause the mailman was here. Lindstrom came in to tell me the ice machine wasn't working. Piece of crap only works half the time. Anyway, he had on a suit. I said, 'Hey, you goin' to a funeral?' He said, 'Matter of fact, I am.' '
Jeff Lindstrom had been headed for Tamara's funeral, Nick thought. 'And you didn't see him come back?'
'No. I already told you.'
'How late do you work?'
'Midnight.' He threw Nick a long-suffering look. 'My old man died two years ago. Place ain't doin' too great, so in the summers my mom has me doing slave labor. Didn't you come here looking for him before?'
'Yes, but he wasn't around. Did you talk to him much?'
'Sort of. Mostly he asked questions.' He laughed. 'Like you.'
'Asked questions about what?'
'The murders. Only exciting thing that's happened around here for years. And he asked about a few other people I didn't really know.'
'What people?'
'The Hunt woman's sister. The one that has a store downtown. Don't know her. That doctor's daughter- somebody St. John.'
'Natalie.'
'Yeah. Don't know her, either, but I kind of met her old man. He took out my spleen after the car wreck I was in that killed my dad. He was driving,' the boy added quickly. 'And Alison somebody and that Farley guy that killed himself. Now that was something fairly exciting around here. Probably the last thing till these murders. Anyway, that kind of stuff. Once in a while he'd ask something about me, but he was only being polite. Thought I couldn't see through him.'
'You didn't like him?'
'Smiled too much. Mom thought he was charming.' He rolled his eyes again. 'He was the kind of guy that, you know, women think are charming.' Apparently to this kid charming was an epithet.
'Could Lindstrom have come back without you seeing him?'
'Hey, this ain't the Hyatt. Just a little strip motel. I can see every car from this office. Never saw his. Never saw him. The room was dark all evening, too.'
'Sounds like you keep a close eye on the guests.'
'Not much on TV last night. 'Course, all I got in here is this crummy little thirteen-inch set. Can't wait to get one of those high definition jobs. Gonna get one with a big screen- maybe forty-six inches. And a really dynamite surround sound system.'
'Pay must be pretty good here.'
The clerk scoffed. 'Yeah, in my dreams. No, I'm not spendin' my life in this dump. I'm gonna get one of those high-payin' computer jobs.'
'Know a lot about computers, do you?'
'I'm hell on those games, and I surf the Net all the time.'
A regular computer prodigy, Nick thought in amusement. He'd better not count on getting that expensive television anytime soon. 'How long has Lindstrom taken the room for?'
'He was paid up till noon today.'
'Today!' Nick repeated. 'Noon? It's eleven forty-five.'
'Yeah.' The clerk looked at him closely, obviously noting Nick's agitation. 'What's the deal?'
'The deal is that if he hasn't paid for the room, I don't need a warrant to search it.'
'That so? Cool! I'll get the key.'
'Not yet. I'm waiting until noon. If I find anything incriminating, I don't want it thrown out of court because I searched the room fifteen minutes too soon.'
'Incriminating evidence?' the clerk asked excitedly. 'Hey, what's this guy done?'
'Maybe nothing. I can't discuss it.' The clerk turned sullen until Nick said, 'But if this does ever come to court, I might need you to testify that I didn't enter the room until after noon. You're my witness.'
'Me, a witness? Cool!'
