A Cry In The Night

19

In spite of everything, planning the dinner party was a pleasant diversion. She wanted to shop herself but would not make driving the car an issue. Instead she compiled a long list for Elsa. “Coquilles St. Jacques,” she told Erich when he came to the house on Friday morning. “Mine is really good. And you say Mark likes a rib roast?” She chatted on, determined to bridge the perceptible estrangement. He’ll get over it, she thought, especially when he knows about the baby.

Kevin had not called again. Maybe he had met a girl in the cast and had become involved. If so, they wouldn’t hear from him for a while. If necessary, as soon as the adoption became final they could take legal steps to make him stay away. Or if he did try to block the adoption, Erich might as a last resort buy him off. Silently, she prayed: Please let the children have a home, a real family. Let it be good again between Erich and me.

The night of the dinner she set out the Limoges china, delicately beautiful with its gold-and-blue border. Mark and Emily were due at eight. Jenny found herself eagerly looking forward to meeting Emily. All her life she’d had girlfriends. She’d lost touch with most of them because of lack of time to keep up contacts after Beth and Tina came along. Maybe Emily and she would hit it off.

She said as much to Erich. “I doubt it,” he told her. “There was a time when the Hanovers looked very fondly at the prospect of having me as a son-in-law. Roger Hanover is the president of the bank in Granite Place and has a good idea of my net worth.”

“Did you ever go out with Emily?”

“A little. But I wasn’t interested and didn’t want to get into a situation that would prove uncomfortable. I was waiting for the perfect woman, you see.”

She tried to make her voice teasing. “Well, you found her, dear.”

He kissed her. “I certainly hope so.”

She flinched. He’s joking, she told herself fiercely.

After she got Beth and Tina into bed, Jenny changed into a white silk blouse with lace cuffs and a multicolored, ankle-length skirt. She studied her reflection in the mirror and realized she was deathly pale. Adding a touch of rouge helped.

Erich had set up the tea table in the parlor as a bar. When she came into the room he studied her carefully. “I like that costume, Jen.”

“That’s good,” she smiled. “You certainly paid enough for it.”

“I thought you didn’t like it. You’ve never worn it before.”

“It seemed kind of dressed up for just sitting around.”

He came over to her. “Is that a spot on your sleeve?”

“That? Oh, it’s just a speck of dust. It must have happened in the store.”

“Then you haven’t worn this outfit before?”

Why did he ask that? Was he simply too sensitive not to know she was hiding something from him?

“First time, girl scout’s honor.”

The door chimes were a welcome interruption. Her mouth had begun to go dry. It’s getting so that no matter what Erich says, I’m afraid of giving myself away, she thought.

Mark was wearing a pepper-and-salt jacket that suited him well. It brought out the gray in his hair, accentuated his broad shoulders, the lean strength of his tall frame. The woman with him was about thirty, small-boned, with wide inquisitive eyes and dark blond hair that skimmed the collar of her well-cut brown velvet suit. Jenny decided that Emily had the air of someone who never had experienced an instant of self-doubt. She made no secret of looking Jenny over from head to toe. “You do realize I have to report to everyone in town what you’re like; the curiosity is overwhelming. My mother gave me a list of twenty questions I’m to discreetly toss in. You haven’t exactly made yourself available to the community.”

Before Jenny could answer, she felt Erich’s arm slip around her waist. “If we’d taken a two-month honeymoon cruise nobody would have thought a thing of it. But as Jenny says, because we chose to honeymoon in our own home, Granite Place is outraged not to be camped in our living room.”

I never said that! Jenny thought helplessly as she watched Emily’s eyes narrow.

Over cocktails, Mark waited until Erich and Emily were deep in conversation before he commented, “You look pale, Jenny. Are you all right?”

“Fine!” She tried to sound as though she meant it.

“Joe told me about his dog. I understand you were pretty upset.”

“I guess I have to learn to understand that things are different here. In New York we cliff dwellers weep collectively over the picture of a stray about to be destroyed. Then somebody shows up to adopt him and we all cheer.”

Emily was looking around the room. “You haven’t changed anything, have you?” she asked. “I don’t know whether Erich has mentioned it but I am an interior designer and if I were you, I’d get rid of those curtains. Sure they’re beautiful but the windows are so overdressed and you lose that glorious view.”

Jenny waited for Erich to defend her. “Apparently, Jen doesn’t agree with you,” he said smoothly. His tone and smile were indulgent.

Erich, that’s unfair, Jenny thought furiously. Should she contradict him? The first Krueger woman in four generations to create a scene in front of a hired hand. How about a scene in front of friends? What was Emily saying?

“… and I happen to be never at peace if I’m not switching things around but maybe that isn’t your interest. I understand you’re an artist too.”

The moment had passed. It was too late to correct the impression Erich had left. “I’m not an artist,” Jenny said. “My degree is in fine arts. I worked in a gallery in New York. That’s where I met Erich.”

“So I’ve heard. Your whirlwind romance has created quite a stir in these parts. How does our rustic life compare with the Big Apple?”

Jenny chose her words carefully. She had to undo the impression that she felt Erich had given that she was scornful of the local people. “I miss my friends, of course. I miss bumping into people who know me and comment on how big the children are getting. I like people and I make friends easily. But once,” she glanced at Erich, “once our honeymoon is officially over, I hope to be active in the community.”

“Report that to your mother, Emily,” Mark suggested.

Jenny thought, Bless you for underscoring. Mark knew what she was trying to do.

Emily laughed, a brittle, mirthless sound. “From what I hear you’ve got at least one friend to keep you amused.”

She had to be referring to the meeting with Kevin. The woman from church had been gossiping. She felt Erich’s questioning look and did not meet his eyes.

Jenny murmured something about seeing to the dinner and went into the kitchen. Her hands were shaking so she could hardly lift the roasting pan from the oven. Suppose Emily followed through on her insinuations? Emily believed she was a widow; now her telling the truth would in effect be branding Erich as a liar. What about Mark? The question had not come up but undoubtedly he too thought she had been a widow.

Somehow she managed to get the food onto serving dishes, to light the candles and call them to the table. At least I’m a good cook, she reflected. Emily can tell her mother that.

Erich carved and served the rib roast. “One of our own steers,” he said proudly. “Are you sure that doesn’t repel you, Jenny?”

He was teasing her. She mustn’t overreact. The others didn’t seem to notice. “Think, Jenny,” he continued in the same bantering tone, “the yearling you pointed out to me in the field last month, the one you said looked so wistful. You’re eating him now.”

Her throat closed. She was afraid she would gag. Please, God, please don’t let me get sick.

Emily laughed. “Erich, you are so mean. Remember you used to bait Arden like that and have her in tears?”

“Arden?” Jenny asked. She reached for her water glass. The knot in her throat started to dissolve.

“Yes. What a nice kid she was. Talk about the all-American girl. Crazy about animals. At sixteen she wouldn’t touch meat or poultry. Said it was barbaric and that she was going to be a vet when she grew up. But I guess she changed her mind. I was in college when she ran away.”

“Rooney’s never given up hope that she’ll come back,” Mark commented. “It’s incredible, the mother instinct. You see it from the first moment of birth. The dumbest animal knows its own calf and will protect it to the death.”

“You’re not eating your meat, darling,” Erich commented.

A flash of anger made it possible for her to square her shoulders and look across the table directly into his eyes. “And you’re not eating your vegetables, darling,” she told him.

He winked at her. He was just teasing. “Touché,” he smiled.

The peal of the door chimes startled all of them. Erich frowned. “Now, who could that…” His voice trailed off as he stared at Jenny. She knew what he was thinking. Don’t let it be Kevin, she prayed, and realized as she pushed back her chair that all evening she’d been sending frantic prayers for divine intervention.

A heavily built man of about sixty, with massive shoulders, a bulging leather jacket and narrow, heavy-lidded eyes, was there. His car was parked directly in front of the house, an official car with a red dome top.

“Mrs. Krueger?”

“Yes.” Relief made her weak. No matter what this man wanted, at least Kevin hadn’t come.

“I’m Wendell Gunderson, sheriff of Granite County. May I come in?”

“Of course. I’ll get my husband.”

Erich was hurrying down the hall, into the foyer. Jenny noticed the instant respect that came into the sheriff’s face. “Sorry to bother you, Erich. Just have to ask your wife a few questions.”

“Ask me a few questions?” But even as she spoke, Jenny knew that this visit had to do with Kevin.

“Yes, ma’am.” From the dining room they could hear the sound of Mark’s voice. “Could we speak quietly for a few minutes?”

“Why don’t you come and join us for coffee?” Erich suggested.

“Perhaps your wife would rather answer my questions privately, Erich.”

Jenny felt clammy perspiration on her forehead. She realized her palms were damp. The queasiness was so strong, she had to clamp her lips together. “There’s certainly no reason we can’t talk at the table,” she murmured helplessly.

She led the way into the dining room, listened as Emily greeted the sheriff with quickly concealed surprise, watched as Mark leaned back in his chair, an attitude she had begun to realize meant he was diagnosing a situation. As Erich offered the sheriff a drink which was refused “because of being on official business,” she set out the coffee cups.

“Mrs. Krueger, do you know a Kevin MacPartland?”

“Yes.” She knew her voice was trembling. “Has Kevin been in an accident?”

“When and where did you last see him?”

She put her hands in her pockets, clenched them into fists. Of course it had had to come out. But why this way? Oh, Erich, I’m so sorry, she thought. She could not look at Erich. “On February twenty-fourth at the shopping center in Raleigh.”

“Kevin MacPartland is the father of your children?”

“He is my former husband and the father of my children.” She heard Emily gasp.

“When did you last speak with him?”

“He phoned on the evening of March seventh about nine o’clock. Please tell me. Has anything happened to him?”

The sheriff’s eyes narrowed into slits. “On Monday afternoon, March ninth, Kevin MacPartland received a telephone call during a rehearsal at the Guthrie Theater. He said his former wife had to see him about the children. He borrowed a car from one of the other actors and left half an hour later, about four-thirty P.M., promising to return in the morning. That was four days ago and he hasn’t been heard from since. The car he borrowed was only six weeks old and the actor who lent it had just met MacPartland so you can understand that he’s pretty concerned. Are you saying that you did not ask him to meet you?”

“No, I did not.”

“May I ask why you’ve been in touch with your former husband? We understood around here that you were a widow.”

“Kevin wanted to see the girls,” Jenny said. “He was talking about stopping the adoption.” It surprised her how lifeless her voice sounded. She could see Kevin as though he were in the room: the expensive ski sweater, the long scarf draped over his left shoulder, the dark red hair so carefully barbered, the poses and posturing. Had he deliberately staged a disappearance to embarrass her? She had warned him that Erich was upset. Did Kevin hope to destroy their marriage before it had a chance?

“And what did you tell him?”

“When I saw him, and when he called, I told him to leave us alone.” Her voice was getting higher.

“Erich, were you aware of this meeting, of the phone call on March seventh?”

“I was aware of the phone call on March seventh. I was here when it came. I was not aware of the meeting. But I can understand it. Jenny knew my feelings about Kevin MacPartland.”

“You were home with your wife on the evening of March ninth?”

“No, as a matter of fact, I stayed in the cabin that night. I was just completing a new canvas.”

“Did your wife know you were planning to be away?”

There was a long silence. Jenny broke it. “Of course I knew.”

“What did you do that evening, Mrs. Krueger?”

“I was very tired and went to bed shortly after I had settled my little girls in their room.”

“Did you speak to anyone on the phone?”

“No one. I went to sleep almost immediately.”

“I see. And you are very sure you did not invite your former husband to visit you during Erich’s absence?”

“No, I did not… I would never ask him to come here.” It was as though she could read their minds. Of course they didn’t believe her.

Her untouched plate was on the serving buffet. Congealed fat was forming a narrow rim around the beef. The beef had a crimson center. She thought of Randy’s body turning crimson with blood as he collapsed among the roses; she thought of Kevin’s dark red hair.

Now the plate was going around and around. She had to get fresh air. She was spinning too. Pushing back her chair, she tried to struggle to her feet. Her last conscious recollection was Erich’s expression- was it concern or annoyance?-as her chair slammed against the buffet behind her.

When she woke up she was lying on the couch in the parlor. Someone was holding a cold cloth on her head. It felt so good. Her head hurt so much. There was something she didn’t want to think about.

Kevin.

She opened her eyes. “I’m all right. I’m so sorry.”

Mark was bending over her. There was so much concern in his face. It was oddly comforting. “Take it easy,” he said.

“Can I get something for you, Jenny?” There was an undercurrent of excitement in Emily’s voice. She’s enjoying this, Jenny thought. She’s the kind of person who wants to be in on everything.

“Darling!” Erich’s tone was solicitous. He came over and took both her hands.

“Not too close,” Mark warned. “Give her air.”

Her head started to clear. Slowly she sat up, the taffeta skirt rustling as she moved. She felt Mark slip pillows behind her head and back.

“Sheriff, I can answer any questions you have. I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I’ve not felt quite well these past few days.”

His eyes seemed wider and shinier now, as though they’d locked into an intense focus on her. “Mrs. Krueger, I’ll make this brief. You did not phone your former husband on the ninth of March to request a meeting, nor did he arrive here that night?”

“That’s correct.”

“Why would he have told his colleagues that you had called him? What purpose would he have in lying?”

“The only thought I have is that sometimes Kevin used to say he was visiting me and the children when he wanted to get out of other plans. If he was in the process of dropping one girlfriend for another, he’d often use us as an excuse.”

“Then may I ask why you’re so upset at his disappearance if you think he might be off with some woman?”

Her lips were so stiff it was hard to form words. She spoke slowly, like a teacher enunciating for a first-year language class. “You must understand there is something terribly wrong. Kevin had been accepted by the Guthrie Theater for the repertory company. That is true, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is.”

“You must look for him,” she said. “He would never jeopardize that opportunity. Kevin’s acting is the most important thing in his life.”

They all left a few minutes later. She insisted on walking with them to the front door. Jenny could imagine the conversation that would take place when Emily reported back to her mother: “She’s not a widow… that was her ex-husband she was kissing in the restaurant… and now he’s missing… the sheriff obviously thinks she’s lying… poor Erich…”

“I’ll treat this as a missing person… Get out some flyers… We’ll be back to you, Mrs. Krueger.”

“Thank you, Sheriff.”

He was gone. Mark pulled on his coat. “Jenny, you ought to go right to bed. You still look mighty rocky.”

“Thanks for coming you two,” Erich said. “Sorry our evening ended so badly.” His arm was around Jenny. He kissed her cheek. “Shows what happens when you marry a woman with a past, doesn’t it?”

His tone was amused. Emily laughed. Mark’s face showed no emotion. When the door closed behind him, Jenny wordlessly started up the staircase. All she wanted to do was to go to bed.

Erich’s astonished voice stopped her. “Jenny, surely you’re not planning to leave the house in this condition overnight?”