“How is Violet?” my father asked.
“What?”
“Your neighbour, Violet.”
“Oh. You mean Mrs. Parnell, Daddy. She's fine, I guess.”
“Remarkable person, Violet. Lovely. We should see more of her.”
“Oh, dear, maybe Camilla's right,” said Alexa. “Killing him in such a gruesome way, I'm sure that's not.…”
“Legal? Moral? Ethical?” I said. “And speaking of legal, I would like to make the point that Elaine is innocent until proven guilty in this country and even in this house.”
“But, Camilla,” Donalda said, “she admitted she killed him. We saw it on the news. You stood next to her with your mouth hanging open like a guppy. She told the reporters she did it, that must mean something.”
“It means it's goddam lucky we don't have capital punishment.”
“Camilla.” This time my father paid attention.
“And I'll tell you something else,” I ignored him for the first time in thirty-three years. “I don't know who killed Ralph Benning. And I don't know why. But someone will get away with murder while Elaine goes up the river.”
“River? What river?” Donalda's husband Joe opened his eyes, hoping for a fishing story, I guess.
“I think she's sort of a heroine,” Edwina said. “Maybe we should get out and help her. Raise some money for her.”
Disappointed, Joe closed his eyes again.
“Well, whether she did it or not, there's not much we can do for her until after the wedding,” Alexa said.
* * *
After dinner, I managed a quick word with McCracken while Stan warmed up the Buick.
“See? I'm being nice to my sister.”
“You call that nice?”
“I'm a MacPhee. It's as nice as we get.”
“Christ.”
“So, any word on the results of the blood tests?”
“What blood tests?”
Some people shouldn't try to lie. But I would have thought after a career in the police force, McCracken could handle a fib. Of course, dinner with my family can leave the most capable person vulnerable.
“I assume the surveillance officers must have conked out. I'm sure you would have checked that.”
“I can't talk about it. That case is under internal review.”
“Three officers snoring like hibernating bears when there's a crazed killer on the loose? I should damn well hope it's under review. High time, too. Let's hope they find the internal connection to Benning while they're investigating.”
Sometimes you have to touch a nerve.
“You're too much. You know that, Camilla?”
Sure I knew it.
Thirteen
I lay on my comforter, feeling the results of too much pork tenderloin and too many fresh rolls. Not to mention too much chocolate raspberry mousse. It was well past midnight, and it would take more than sheep to get me to sleep.
This wedding was making my sisters crazy if they gave it a higher priority than Elaine's incarceration. Their reaction to Benning's demise might be understandable, but I couldn't think of a single judge who would let sentiment justify such a nasty bit of vigilante justice.
Of course, Elaine's situation took the heat off Lindsay, which was one thing to feel better about. Not that my feelings had anything to do with anything. I snapped upright in bed. Mrs. Parnell's little calico cat went flying. That's what was wrong. I was letting the way I felt about Elaine cloud my judgement. It wouldn't be the first time I'd been betrayed by feelings. But in my line of work, justice must be the guiding principle, no matter what the outcome.
Time to get my priorities straight and to use a little logic. Logic told me Elaine could have killed Benning, but she wouldn't sneak around in the middle of the night to do it. For my own peace of mind, I needed to eliminate Lindsay as a suspect. I needed to squish any sympathy. To save Elaine, I needed to identify the real killer.
I think best on paper. I headed for my desk and fished out a notepad and pen, just as the doorbell rang. Mrs. Parnell stood, leaning on her walker and wrapped in a cloud of smoke. “Good evening, Ms. MacPhee. I thought you might want some company.”
“Its the middle of the night, Mrs. P. Why would I want company?”
“I could not help but notice the light on in your apartment.”
“With all due respect, we are on the sixteenth floor and you live on the opposite side of the building. You can't see my lights. And anyway, it's time you stopped lurking in the corridor half the night. It's unsettling for the neighbours, especially me.”
“Step with me into the hallway and close the door, and you will clearly observe light through the frame.”
Stepping into the hallway in my chenille robe in the wee small hours was not the smartest thing I'd ever done. The new pneumatic door swung shut behind me and the automatic double lock clicked firmly.
“Consider this. Since you're locked out. Let us pop over and have a quick nightcap.”
“I believe you have a key.”
“Ah, yes. Where did I put it? Let us put our heads together and think where I might have put it for safekeeping.”
I followed her back to 1608 and accepted a small glass of Harvey's Bristol Cream. “But you'd better find the key soon, Mrs. P.”
“Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. But first, I must conclude you are troubled, or else you would have been sleeping. Why not use this time to discuss the situation?”
Why not indeed? Mrs. Parnell was smarter than anyone else I knew and far less likely to let foolish feelings overwhelm her common sense.
“Perhaps you could use a bit of help from an old soldier?”
“I don't need help, Mrs. P., Elaine does.”
“Ms. Ekstein is not a woman I've ever cared for greatly.”
“Lots of people feel that way. But all the same, she never could have murdered anyone, even Benning.”
“Tell me, Ms. MacPhee, can you be certain?”
“I am absolutely convinced.”
“Be that as it may, it's not as though she didn't bring all this trouble on herself.”
I couldn't agree, at least not out loud. “Neither here nor there. Anyway, someone's definitely trying to frame her. The information hasn't been released to the media yet, but the police have a videotape of an unidentified person wearing Elaine's fake leopard coat and hat depositing the body in the Crystal Garden.”
“Ah ha! Videotaped proof. And she says she did it. No wonder you are convinced of her innocence, Ms. MacPhee.”
“No need to be sarcastic. The person in Elaine's hat and coat kept his or her face turned away. And if it had been Elaine, she'd have stopped to thumb her nose at the camera.”
Mrs. Parnell sipped her sherry. When she came up for air she said, “Perhaps she didn't see the camera.”
“No. She's been involved in so many women's committees on safety and security, she'd know where there were cameras, security guards, emergency phones in a downtown area in the night. Plus I am sure you realize,