Who Killed Mr. Garland's Mistress? by Richard; Forrest Page A

Tavie, I didn’t mean to compare.”
    Tavie knew how often she’d called him at work, or awakened him early in the morning to perform some household task. These small intrusions were her unconscious way of asking for affirmation. The method perpetuated itself over the years until her helplessness became a thread in the fabric of their whole relationship.
    â€œRob, I’ll give you my word, I’ll read scads of books on auto mechanics, after we go to the police.”
    â€œThe police? Why?”
    â€œShe’s trying to kill me. And she doesn’t seem to care if she kills the children with me. It’s all there, Rob. It couldn’t be any clearer.”
    â€œWait a cotton-pickin’ minute. People in Hartford, Connecticut, don’t go around killing whole families.”
    â€œYou can’t see.”
    â€œLook at it, you don’t have anything. To begin with, it’s true a boat ran you down. Perhaps, and it’s only a perhaps, because you’re certainly not a qualified expert on nautical matters, perhaps a similar craft was rented to a woman. The name was different and the description is vague. According to the August records of Connecticut Casualty Company, that day Helen was in New York City delivering copy. The copy was delivered, and the agency people positively identify Helen. What do you have left? The possibility that if she ran like hell, she could have gone to New York by plane, delivered the copy, caught a plane to Portland in time to rent a boat, and run you down. Next, our house did burn down. The fire marshall thinks it’s defective wiring, but in your wild imagination it’s set by some dark stranger that you chase through the night. God God, Tavie, you’ve never chased a stray cat.”
    â€œYou had an affair with her.”
    â€œAnd if I don’t admit to that?”
    â€œIt’s on the tape.”
    â€œThe tape is burned.”
    â€œThen you wouldn’t admit to it?”
    â€œI would, Tavie. I would broadcast it to the world, it’s not something that I’m proud of, but I would if it would help. But don’t you see? You don’t have anything to give to the police.”
    â€œI’m as positive of this as anything in my life.”
    â€œIf you hadn’t heard the tale end of that tape before the boating accident, would you have thought anything?”
    â€œNo. I would have agreed that it was some nut.”
    â€œAnd you wouldn’t have chased your unknown apparition after the fire.”
    â€œPerhaps not. I also might have been dead that night if I hadn’t been having nightmares. Rob, we’ve got to go to the police.”
    â€œThey’ll think we’re nuts. And you know Helen won’t admit to anything. Assume for the sake of argument that the police take the charge seriously enough to investigate. Helen proves she was in New York that day, and her name isn’t on any flight manifest to Portland, Maine.”
    â€œAnyone can give a false name to an airline.”
    â€œThat’s negative, Tav. Evidence is hard fact. Now, go along with my thinking a moment. Helen denies everything. She’d have to admit to seeing me, to my doing the book on her experience—and that’s it. The cops chalk the whole thing up to a jealous wife.”
    â€œThere’s the boat and fire incident.”
    â€œNo one saw what happened in the middle of the bay. You could have capsized the boat yourself.”
    â€œRob, good God!”
    â€œI’m not saying you did, Tavie. But it could have happened that way. And as for the fire, you know the results of the fire marshall’s study. No one else on the island saw the person you’ claim to have chased. Mrs. Gorley says that you were gone for a few minutes and were extremely upset when you returned. Everyone chalks that up to anyone’s normal reaction to the fire.”
    â€œPlease, Rob …”
    â€œI can’t,