anonymous call? That’s great.’
‘The time he gave was 3:42. Larry told the inspectors you found the body at 3:45.’
‘I can walk a long way in four minutes, Inspector, and watches didn’t always match. I’m sure you remember that. Nothing like the precious cell phones we have now that let us all keep exactly the same time together. Are you going to ask if he was dead when we got there?’
‘I know he was dead, but I’m still wondering about his body position.’
‘You’re back to that.’
‘I haven’t left it.’
‘I’ve tried to block all of it out. It was a horrible thing to see.’
‘I’m sure it was.’
‘His brains . . .’
Raveneau nodded and she looked down at the floor. She moved her right hand over on top of her left.
‘He was lying on his back with his legs apart.’
‘When you found him?’
Her voice rose slightly. ‘You have photos. I don’t know what you call them, crime scene photos. We saw the photos taken. Look in your files. Haven’t you seen them?’
‘Let’s watch the video.’
She pushed it in and the monitor lit up.
ELEVEN
A fter the homicide inspector left, Barbara Haney felt light-headed and anxious. She picked up the cordless phone in the kitchen and called her house manager from the den, pulse pounding, fingers drumming as she waited for the house manager to answer. The house manager, a thirty-two year old lawyer named Gail Hawkins, ran the house here and the one in Vail, as well as their New York apartment and the island property. She was well-educated, skilled, and discreet. She worked for them with the rationalization the salary of one hundred eighty thousand dollars a year was about the same as she would earn as a lawyer right now. It was also more than they needed to pay, but Barbara’s husband, Doug, was generous that way. He had a hard start at a career himself.
Gail worked for them but it was understood that the house managing was temporary and even though she might never practice law again, she wasn’t anybody’s servant. She certainly wasn’t. She was much more than an employee. She was her husband’s lover, something she had yet to confront Doug with but was never far from her thoughts and a big contributor to the depression her daughter insisted needed pharmaceuticals. Of course, Cheryl didn’t know anything about the affair.
Barbara called Gail rather than Doug because one side effect of the guilt from the affair was Gail always took her calls and was extremely solicitous and attentive. Ironically, that over-the-top caring courteousness is what made her suspicious in the first place.
‘Gail, I haven’t spoken with Doug yet today and I thought I would check with you first. How’s he feeling?’
‘He’s better. He’s much better. I saw him this morning. He said the fever broke in the night. He wants to go ahead with the dinner. I was just working with the cook. Are you going to be here?’
‘No, things have changed; it doesn’t look like I will be.’
Yesterday Doug had a fever or said he did. It was impossible to tell any more, though he did sound sick.
‘Was he coughing this morning?’
‘Bit of hacking.’
‘Did he take anything for it?’
‘No, you know him.’
Maybe she did once, but not any more. Barbara was quiet and then said, ‘I’ll let you get back to the menu.’
‘No hurry, I’m fine.’
New York investment banker types liked to ski in January, so this is when Doug usually entertained the ones he needed. No doubt the two bankers coming to dinner tonight were both wealthy and incredibly boring. No doubt they would talk their cars and their houses. That they even got called bankers was a joke to Barbara. They were more like hustlers in expensive clothes. They worked where the money was. That was their whole secret. All their smug certainty came from that and trained as she was in finance she had learned that few of them really understood numbers.
Barbara had paused too long and Gail was a little curt
‘The time he gave was 3:42. Larry told the inspectors you found the body at 3:45.’
‘I can walk a long way in four minutes, Inspector, and watches didn’t always match. I’m sure you remember that. Nothing like the precious cell phones we have now that let us all keep exactly the same time together. Are you going to ask if he was dead when we got there?’
‘I know he was dead, but I’m still wondering about his body position.’
‘You’re back to that.’
‘I haven’t left it.’
‘I’ve tried to block all of it out. It was a horrible thing to see.’
‘I’m sure it was.’
‘His brains . . .’
Raveneau nodded and she looked down at the floor. She moved her right hand over on top of her left.
‘He was lying on his back with his legs apart.’
‘When you found him?’
Her voice rose slightly. ‘You have photos. I don’t know what you call them, crime scene photos. We saw the photos taken. Look in your files. Haven’t you seen them?’
‘Let’s watch the video.’
She pushed it in and the monitor lit up.
ELEVEN
A fter the homicide inspector left, Barbara Haney felt light-headed and anxious. She picked up the cordless phone in the kitchen and called her house manager from the den, pulse pounding, fingers drumming as she waited for the house manager to answer. The house manager, a thirty-two year old lawyer named Gail Hawkins, ran the house here and the one in Vail, as well as their New York apartment and the island property. She was well-educated, skilled, and discreet. She worked for them with the rationalization the salary of one hundred eighty thousand dollars a year was about the same as she would earn as a lawyer right now. It was also more than they needed to pay, but Barbara’s husband, Doug, was generous that way. He had a hard start at a career himself.
Gail worked for them but it was understood that the house managing was temporary and even though she might never practice law again, she wasn’t anybody’s servant. She certainly wasn’t. She was much more than an employee. She was her husband’s lover, something she had yet to confront Doug with but was never far from her thoughts and a big contributor to the depression her daughter insisted needed pharmaceuticals. Of course, Cheryl didn’t know anything about the affair.
Barbara called Gail rather than Doug because one side effect of the guilt from the affair was Gail always took her calls and was extremely solicitous and attentive. Ironically, that over-the-top caring courteousness is what made her suspicious in the first place.
‘Gail, I haven’t spoken with Doug yet today and I thought I would check with you first. How’s he feeling?’
‘He’s better. He’s much better. I saw him this morning. He said the fever broke in the night. He wants to go ahead with the dinner. I was just working with the cook. Are you going to be here?’
‘No, things have changed; it doesn’t look like I will be.’
Yesterday Doug had a fever or said he did. It was impossible to tell any more, though he did sound sick.
‘Was he coughing this morning?’
‘Bit of hacking.’
‘Did he take anything for it?’
‘No, you know him.’
Maybe she did once, but not any more. Barbara was quiet and then said, ‘I’ll let you get back to the menu.’
‘No hurry, I’m fine.’
New York investment banker types liked to ski in January, so this is when Doug usually entertained the ones he needed. No doubt the two bankers coming to dinner tonight were both wealthy and incredibly boring. No doubt they would talk their cars and their houses. That they even got called bankers was a joke to Barbara. They were more like hustlers in expensive clothes. They worked where the money was. That was their whole secret. All their smug certainty came from that and trained as she was in finance she had learned that few of them really understood numbers.
Barbara had paused too long and Gail was a little curt
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