Secret Prey

TWENTY-NINE

AUDREY MCDONALD WAS PACKING WILSONS SUITS into cardboard boxes, after carefully noting labels, estimated costwhich shed have to confirm with the tailor and condition, all toward a tax deduction. The accountant had recommended a donation to Goodwill.

She didnt like the idea of Goodwill, but she did like the idea of the tax deduction. Still, she was muttering to herself as she did it. Shaking her head. Wilson had spent a fortune on clothing, and now shed get only a fraction of it back. Nothing for the underwear. Perfectly good boxer shorts, and some bum was going to get them.

So reckless, she muttered. Just didnt care. Just didnt care what you spent on this. Look at this. Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen pairs of undershorts. Why would you need all those undershorts? You could have gotten by with three pairs, or five pairs. Sixteen pairs of undershorts. Look at this. This is silk. Silk undershorts?

She was counting them again when the headlights swung into the driveway, glowing through the bedroom drapes. Helen? She hadnt called. She always called before she came. But who else? She went to the window and looked down.

LUCAS AND SHERRILL WAITED AS SLOAN PULLED INTO the driveway with Del in the passenger seat; a squad car followed a few seconds behind Sloan, with two uniformed cops. Lights shone from several windows in the house, both upstairs and down, and Lucas handed the warrant papers to one of the uniformed cops, who walked up the stoop, rang the doorbell, and knocked.

All glass cutters, all packages of tape, all one-gallon glass jugs, all guns, cartridges and/or cartridge parts, to include gunpowder, primers, brass, and bullets, all credit card records or billing statements involving gasoline purchases, he read, in the light coming through the window in the door. There was no answer, so he rang again, then opened the storm door and pounded. Still no answer.

What do you want to do? he asked.

Were going in, Lucas said. Lets not break anything yet. Lets check the garage doors.

The front door rattled and the cop at the door stepped back. A moment later, Audrey McDonald stuck her head out. What? she croaked. She looked worse than shed looked in court: the bruises on her face were a sickly bluish yellow, with small reddish splotches. She still wore the bandages on her head, and her visible hair looked like broom straw.

Im sorry, maam, the cop said. We have a search warrant for your house, for certain items.

He handed her the papers, and she took them, peered at them querulously. A search warrant? Can you wait until I call my lawyer?

No maam. Youre welcome to call your attorney, of course, but the warrant is served and well have to come in.

Her eyes drifted past the cop to Lucas, whod begun to feel sorry for the woman: but when her eyes landed on him, they hardened into small black diamonds, like a cobras, and he leaned back, though he was ten feet from her. Okay, she muttered, breaking her eyes away. But do I have to do anything? I feel awfully bad.

You just go sit down, and well do all of it, the cop said.

She disappeared inside and the cop looked over his shoulder at Lucas. Lucas said quietly, Keep an eye on her. Shes not what she looks like.

THE MCDONALDS HAD A SMALL CLUTTERED WORKSHOP area in one corner of the basement, nothing more than an old chest of drawers with two two-by-eight-foot sheets of three-quarter-inch plywood screwed together to make the top of a small workbench, and a couple of steel shelving units with plastic boxes for storage.

Lucas had seen the workshop the first time in the house, after Wilson McDonald was shot. He went straight to it, checked all the tools. No glass cutter. He found a roll of black plastic electricians tape, which he bagged, but that seemed unlikely to be the tape they wanted. He walked once around the basement, looking behind the water heater, the furnace, through racks of paint cans and a pile of hoses and miscellaneous gardening equipment: no gallon glass jugs.

Del was working the kitchen. When Lucas came back up the stairs, he said, Got lots of tape. Duct, plastic mending, bunch of it.

Good. Bag it up, Lucas said. Check the wastebaskets and her car, see if you come across any small balls of tape that might be the right length. Two would be good. He went on through the living room, found that the carpet had been removed. Wilson McDonalds blood hadnt seeped through to the wooden floor, which looked freshly waxed.

Sloan had run quickly through the bedroom, not expecting to find much, and had moved on to a large, first-floor guest room which had a walk-in closet the McDonalds used for general storage. This was where Audrey McDonald had gotten the shotgun with which shed killed her husband. The closet was jammed with motoring, golf, and boating equipment, all of it apparently belonging to Wilson McDonald. The homicide cops investigating the shooting of Wilson McDonald had taken the gun and shells, but hadnt dug into the back of the closet. Sloan hauled everything out, found nothing of special interest, and then, as an afterthought, was patting down the weather gear, life jackets, golf and hunting jackets.

Just as Lucas walked in, he felt a heavy lump in the pocket of a golf jacket, and manipulated it out through the layers of cloth. Box of cartridges.

Gimme a bag, he said to Lucas.

What is it?

Boo-lets, he said.

Lucas held the transparent plastic bag and Sloan manipulated the box into it. Lucas turned the box on its side and read:. 38 Remington. Excellent.

Sloan stood up and said, Itd be nice if her prints were on the box.

Yeah, but Im not holding my breath.

One of the uniformed cops stuck his head in the door: Del says no glass cutter in the kitchen. No gallon jugs either.

Okay… check the garage.

At the end of an hour, they still had no glass cutter or gallon jugs, but did have nine rolls of tape and the box of cartridges. Sherrill had been going through the house files again, and had pulled out a stack of Amoco credit card receipts; the McDonalds shared a single account, but the cards had separate numbers. If they go back far enough, look for credit card charges in the Duluth area in the days before Ingall disappeared, Lucas said. We found an Amex charge in Chicago, the day before, for Wilson…

They go back that far… She started flipping through them.

A little more than an hour after the search started, McDonalds attorney showed up. Whats going on?

Lucas said, Search warrant. Mrs. McDonald has a copy. Shes in the TV room. He pointed him through to the TVroom, and Glass asked, You really think theres something going on here?

I aint doing it for the exercise, Lucas said. Youve got a problem, I think.

Glass wandered off to find McDonald, and the uniformed cop came back from the garage: No jugs, no glass cutter.

Gonna have to give up on the jugs, Lucas said. The glass cutter could be anywhere, if she didnt throw it away. Anybody look in the silverware drawer?

Del looked at the cop, and they both shook their heads.

Watch this, Lucas said. He pulled open drawers nears the sink, until he found the silverware drawer, then pulled that out all the way and stirred through the contents.

Nothing. Same with the cooking utensils drawer. Nothing.

Fuck it, he said, pushing the drawers shut.

The guy is a genius, the uniformed cop said to Del, who nodded.

Sherrill came out of the back, carrying an Amoco billing statement. Got something, she said.

Duluth? Lucas asked hopefully.

No. But Audrey filled up on successive mornings, the day before Ingall disappeared, and the day he disappeared. So sometime in that twenty-four hours, she drove off a tank of gas.

Huh, Lucas said. She couldve been filling somebody elses car, or Wilsons car.

Wilson filled up that night.

Lucas nodded: All right. Thats something. Thats a straw, and we need straws.

And thats about all we got, Del said. Id bet you anything that door in ODells apartment was taped with duct tape, and we found duct tape, but I bet theres a roll of duct tape in every goddamn house in the city. A jurys gonna blow that off.

GLASS HAD BEEN WALKING BACK THROUGH THE house, Audrey McDonald limping along a step behind him, and he heard Dels last comment: Jurys gonna blow off what? he asked.

Just… nothing, Del muttered.

Mrs. McDonald says she thinks you, specifically, Chief Davenport, have targeted her for a personal attack. Wed hate to think that was true.

You know thats bullshit, Lucas said to Glassand then his eyes skipped beyond Glass to Audrey McDonald, who was peering at him with her snakes eye.

Itistrue, and I know why, she said. Because if you can pin something on me, then Wilsons father will inherit, and his father and his fathers friends run everything down there at City Hall.

Lucas was shaking his head: I dont even know Wilsons father.

Oh, bullshit, she snapped, picking up Lucass word. But she looked so gray, so old-lady-like, that hearing the vulgarity tripping so easily from her tongue was almost shocking. Theres no way that hes going to let McDonald money get out of that goddamned family.

Mrs. McDonald… Glass cautioned, but Lucas was becoming interested. Audrey McDonald was not quite visibly shaking, but he could sense it in her: she was very close to the boil. But he didnt know what would happen if she did tip over the edge. So he pushed a little.

Mrs. McDonaldcan I call you Audrey?

No, you may not.

Audrey, we know you killed your father, and we know why. We even know why you killed your mother, Im sorry to say. For the money. Its not so clear that you killed all the others, but we think weve got a pretty good list, and stuff is beginning to turn up. He picked up a bag on the kitchen counter, with a roll of duct tape sealed inside. You didnt use this duct tape on Susan ODells doors, did you? Because if you did, our lab will be able to tell…

Lucas, Lucas… Glass was sputtering, but Lucas wasnt looking at him. He was watching Audrey, the grayfaced, self-effacing little brown beetle, who was shufflingup to her attorneys elbow, then past him, and she said, My parents, my parents…

… and we know you went to Duluth the day before Andy Ingall disappeared, and that you fired that Contender pistol of Kresges, the one that killed him, and

And Audrey launched herself at him, so quickly that Lucas was surprised, unable to quite fend her off without hurting her. Her right hand, hard and bony as a crows foot, caught the skin at the side of his throat and when he wrenched away he felt her fingernails slicing through the skin; then Sherrill had Audrey around the waist and heaved her back, and Glass wrapped her up. You fucking… Audrey growled, still struggling to get at him, her black eyes fixed on Lucas. You fucking… You talk to that fucking sister of mine…

Jesus, Lucas, youre bleeding, Sherrill said.

Get me some toilet paper or something, Lucas said, watching Audrey McDonald as her struggles subsided.

Gonna ruin your shirt, Sherrill said, coming back with a box of tissues. She pulled out a wad and pressed it against his neck.

Worth it, he said, watching Glass wrestle Audrey McDonald back toward the TV room. He looked around. Are we about done here?

Another hour, if we really think that glass cutter is here somewhere, Del said.

Keep looking, Lucas said. Im gonna take off.

I better come along, Sherrill said. Youre pretty cut up.

All right, Lucas said. To Dell, You and Sloan figure it out from here.

You going home? Del asked.

Lucas could feel the blood seeping through the tissue. No. Im gonna go talk to that fucking sister of hers.

HELEN AND CONNIE BELL WERE WATCHING TELEVISION when Lucas and Sherrill arrived. Helen opened the door, smiled at Lucas, nodded at Sherrill, then frowned andsaid, Good God, what happened to you? Are you hurt?

Um… your sister scratched me. Sort of blew up.

Why? Well… come in. Why were you talking to Audrey?

Connie Bell turned backward on an easy chair to listen to the conversation: Lucas, Sherrill, and Helen were standing in the entryway, and Lucas said, Ive got some fairly bad news, I think. Uh, maybe youd rather get it in a more formal way…

No-no-no, tell me.

Lucas nodded. We think its possible that, uh, your sister may have committed some of the murders you listed in your letter to me.

Helen took a step back, one hand going to her throat. Audrey? Oh, no.

Could we, uh, could we sit down, I just have a couple of things, Lucas said.

The couch.

They stepped into the front room, and Lucas and Sherrill sat on the couch while Helen leaned against the chair where Connie was sitting. Lucas said, If you want Connie to go do homework or something

…

No way, Connie said. To her mother: Im old enough to stay.

Her mother looked at her for a moment, then nodded. You can stay.

Lucas looked at Sherrill, and then asked, When you were younger, was there ever anything… Did you think anything was odd about the way your father died? Or your mother?

Helen looked at them in stunned silence, then said, My father was an evil man. We dont talk about him.

We know about, uh… we know about Audrey, Lucas said.

What about Audrey? Connie asked.

Lucas looked at Helen, who blinked rapidly, shook her head, then turned to Connie and said, My father molested us when we were children. Audrey mostly, but I got someof it too. He never made me do anything with him, like he did with Audrey, but it was coming. Hed.. . handle me. But Audrey was four years older and that protected me.

Jeez, Connie said.

Do you remember the night your father died? Lucas asked.

Again, Helen seemed stunned. Then she nodded, slowly. I didnt know what was going on until the sheriff came Mom wouldnt let me get out of bed. But I knew my father was sick, thats what they said up the stairs to me, Mom and Audrey.

Was he sick for a while, or was it a sudden attack? Lucas asked.

He was sick for a long time, I think, more than a week… I dont know, exactly, I was only ten… but for a long time. Then the night that he died… God, it was cold, it was already snowing up there, thats one thing I remember about it. The wind used to whistle through that old farmhouse. It was a bad place. And I heard him having a terrible argument with Audrey, before I went to bed. We slept in the same bedroom, Audrey and I… Then, I dont think anybody went to bed. I heard him groaning, and in the bathroom, thats the last thing I remember about him being in the bathroom. Then he was quiet, and then I think I went to sleep, and the next thing I knew, people were banging around and cars were coming, and he was dead.

Had Audrey ever come up to bed?

Helen looked down at her daughter, then at Lucas. I dont think so. I dont think she ever came upstairs that night. She was downstairs, I think, taking care of him…

Huh. Okay. What about your mother?

Mother was… ruined… by my father. It was like there was no person left. I used to think, this is what a slave would be like, after they beat all the resistance out of him. Do this, Yes, master, Do that, Yes, master. She was like a rag.

And she died… Was Audrey there when she died?

Yes. We both were. I think she had the flu, she wassick to her stomach, and sometimes shed start vomiting, and Audrey would keep her in bed and spoon-feed her. And then one night she passed out, and Audrey called the hospital. She died on the way.

Your mother and father were both cremated, Lucas said. Was that Audreys idea?

Yes.

You didnt keep the ashes, by any chance.

No… Mom used to walk over to a park that was a mile or so from our house, down here in Lakeville, and we didnt know any cemeteries, so Audrey just said it would be nice to sprinkle her around the trees in the park, shed be there forever as part of the trees.

After a moment of silence, she said, You think she killed them? Poisoned them, or something?

Lucas nodded. I think its very possible. The insurance payments. ..

Helen shook her head: There wasnt any insurance, as far as I know.

Lucas said, Huh. Then, What happened after your mother died?

Well, we couldnt stay together. Audrey was barely eighteen, and so I went off to my aunts home until I was of age. She got a scholarship and went to college. I worked my way through a tech school, a business course… and then she married Wilson and everything.

Lucas said, I know this probably comes as a shock. But, if it would be possible… and I honest to God think you should do this. .. if I come over with a stenographer and an assistant county attorney, could we sit here some night this week and go over the whole thing? Your whole history? In a really detailed way.

Helen said, I cant believe that Audrey…

Yes, you can, said Connie. I told you, shes a mean old witch under all of that pretend stuff.

Connie… Her mother looked a warning at her.

But Connie said to Lucas, Whyd you want to know about Grandmas ashes?

Well, just a thing, Lucas said.

What thing? Connie persisted.

If your grandmother was poisoned, a lab analysis of ashes might turn something up.

Connie looked up at her mother, and Helen frowned at her and said, What?

How about that lock of hair on her picture? You said you cut it off the day she died.

Helen put her fingertips to her mouth. Oh, thats right. Id forgotten; completely. To Lucas: Would a lock of hair help?

Lucas shrugged. I dont know.

Sherrill, whod been sitting quietly, finally chipped in. The doc up in Oxford thought George Lamb was killed with arsenic. If Amelia was killed the same way, and it sounds pretty similar, then it would show up in hair. They all looked at her, and she said, I read about it.

Lucas turned back to Helen.

Could we have the hair?