Brennan. Merwin feared she would insist that Leandra resign as head of the Residents' Council, and Leandra loves being in charge. He also thought thepapers might pick it up and make sport with it—'Brahmin Deb Turns to Pilfering in Old Age'—that sort of thing. Ellery advised him not to pay, but he did. He said it wasn't much money.'
“And the others?'
“One of the others got out of it by dying. It was a man named Jim Keiller, a Scot, and very keen on golf. He and Eddie played together often and became friends. Eddie introduced him to a very nice, sympathetic young lady and then revealed she was a prostitute. Eddie had some naughty pictures and threatened to hang them on the bulletin board by the mailboxes downstairs.'
“How did you find out about it?'
“After Jim died, a man who was here for only a short period of time told me.'
“Not Howard Perkins!' Faith gasped.
“Why, yes, did you know him?' Julia was clearly puzzled.
“That's how all this started. He was a friend of my aunt's and wrote to her just before he died that he was uneasy about something that was going on here. She got in touch with me.'
“And you turned up in the kitchen.'
“Exactly.'
“I knew Howard years ago when I was first practicing law in New York. The ad agency he worked for was one of our clients. We were very surprised to find each other here. He was a dear man.'
“Yes,' agreed Faith, 'and a smart one. After Jim Keiller told him what Eddie was doing to him, he may have found out about some others.'
“That's possible, yes.'
“And who's the third?' Faith had a feeling she knew.
“Me. Or I should say Ellery.”
Faith had been prepared for what Julia was going to say. The whole conversation had had confessional undertones. Now she waited to hear what Eddie could possibly have unearthed about this nice couple.
“Eddie had a kind of sixth sense for certain kinds of behavior. Perhaps because he was so weak himself, he knew how to ferret out others' weaknesses. It was as if he was tuned in to some sort of special world cable channel broadcasting signals that indicated who would want to have an affair, who wanted to use a particular drug, or who wanted to look at smut. Because he was scum, he only saw the same.”
This was interesting and morally uplifting, Faith thought, but it wasn't telling.
“Ellery has always had a bad back. Disc trouble, and when the pain is too excruciating, he takes codeine. A year ago he developed a mild addiction to it, and I made the mistake of getting some from Eddie. I knew Dr. Hubbard was monitoring Ellery's drug intake carefully, and I couldn't get an increase from him. Ellery was begging me for more of the drug. It was incredibly stupid, but I was tired and strung out myself from taking care of Ellery. After it was all over, Eddie demanded payment. I had a choice.' Julia's lip curled. 'I could pay in cash or in kind. I suppose at my age he meant me to be flattered.'
“What a creep!' The last vestiges of any sympathy she had entertained for Eddie slipped silently away.
“I didn't agree, though. Frankly, I told him to go fuck himself, because it was the only sex he was going to get—with me anyway. But I couldn't tell Roland without revealing Ellery's problem, and that was not my story to tell. He would not have been able to stay here if he'd thought Roland, who has been his close friend all these years, knew. He is very ashamed. Of course Eddie couldn't tell Roland either without revealing how he knew. If he told anyone else, I planned to deny the whole thing. I started watching him very carefully and told him if he didn't stop his activities, I'd go to Dr. Hubbard. This was last month.'
“I don't see why the police have to know about Ellery, since he couldn't have killed Eddie. I would like to tell them the rest, though.'
“Fine, if you think it will help. Anything to get this settled.'
“And what about Leandra? Do you think it was an accident?'
“No. I wish I could. But I also can't think of any reason why someone would want to kill her or how it connects to Eddie's death.'
“And how about the attack on Charmaine?' Dunne had told Faith to go along with Charmaine's version of the event, despite his own skepticism. They might get more information that way.
“It's very puzzling. Possibly someone Eddie was blackmailing. Wanted to scare her, so she wouldn't keep the business going.”
Faith looked slightly confused, and Julia said,
“Oh yes, I'm fairly certain that Charmaine and Eddie were partners in many ways. She's not as silly as she looks. But I don't think she'd commit murder. Too worried about her position, or hoped-for position, in society.”
Ellery walked into the room with a stack of letters.
“I hope what you're waiting for is here, my dear.'
“Thank you, I think I have already found part of what I've been waiting for.' She looked at Faith gratefully. 'Do you know I'm suddenly very hungry. Are you sure you won't change your mind and join us for lunch, or haven't you developed a taste for New England boiled dinner yet?”
Faith did not know how to answer. What leaped to mind was scarcely polite—something like 'only when old shoe leather and boiled dishcloths are not available.' She rose and thanked them instead, then quickly went down the hall around the rear to the elevator. There was no way she was taking the stairs.
She picked Ben up at school and settled him at the table with a dish of applesauce while she made sandwiches for their lunch. Ben liked food to appear immediately. He wasn't much for deferred gratification at this stage. She was having some trouble with it herself. She wanted to call James' number, but she'd have to wait. The demands of a two-and-a-half-year-old boy were too unpredictable, and the last thing she wanted was to be interrupted in the middle of the conversation by Ben's newest activity—a manic imitation of a character he'd invented called 'Super Dog.' Super Dog could fly, leap tall doghouses at a single bound, and crush any number of dog bones in one bare paw. The furniture was taking quite a beating, and Faith was trying to restrict Super Dog to the yard, but it didn't always work.
By two o'clock, Ben was asleep surrounded by the several dozen stuffed animals he insisted on keeping in his bed. Faith hoped someone would simply give him some Gund stock for Christmas rather than another bear, irresistible as they might be.
She went downstairs and got the number from her purse. There wasn't any area code, which meant Muriel knew it or it was nearby. She dialed and it started ringing. Her lucky day.
A man answered. 'Winthrop Chambers.”
“May I speak to James Hubbard, please?”
“Jimmy? He's not here right now.'
“Do you know when I might be able to reach him?'
“It's kind of hard to say. He's usually here in the morning. Who should I tell him called?'
“That's all right. I'll call him back. Thank you.”
Faith hung up quickly. She went to get the Boston phone book from the closet. The Winthrop Chambers was on Beacon Hill—the wrong side, away from the common. It was probably a rooming house or some sort of resident hotel. She'd find out in the morning when she went there. Now that she knew where he was, it would be better to go in person. A phone is too easy to hang up.
She hoped John Dunne would come before Ben woke up, but time passed and he still hadn't arrived. It was after three and a shrill cry, 'Mommee! Mommee!' meant Ben was awake and ready for more action.
She had no sooner set Ben up with gold twine and the box of wooden spools he had painted to make necklaces for Christmas presents when the phone rang. It was Detective Dunne.
“I'm up to my ears here, Faith, and I won't be able to get over today. Maybe tomorrow. Find out anything?”
Faith gave him a quick report on her conversation with Julia.
“The guy was a real operator,' Dunne commented. 'I'm not surprised he got iced. Now I've got to go. By the way, I don't think there's any point in your going back there.'
“I thought I'd go to the Christmas Party on Friday night. Maybe someone will drink too much eggnog, break
