“In other words,” Sara said, “you don’t know—”
Kate put her hand on her aunt’s forearm. “We’d like to hear anything you can tell us. Mind if I pour some sodas? And what’s in the box? Cookies?”
“Yes. Help yourself.” He smiled sweetly at her, then looked at Sara. “She’s as well mannered as Randal, isn’t she?”
Sara glared at him.
Arthur looked at Kate. “You need to find out who Cheryl’s father was. You find him and you’ll find the murderer. Verna came back to Lachlan because of her love for him and she stayed here because of her hatred of him.”
Arthur leaned back in his chair, smugly smiling at their rapt attention. “I think the murders happened because young Cheryl was pregnant with somebody’s baby.” He was pleased at the shock on their faces.
He turned away to look out the window. “Those women had too many secrets. Verna with the love/hate relationship that ruled her life, and that beautiful girl who wanted to be somebody she wasn’t. When the secrets were revealed, it’s no wonder somebody exploded.”
When he looked back at them, his eyes seemed to have aged. “Back then I was full of self-pity for what had happened to me. Little did I know how good I had it. I was getting around on two canes, and I had a specially designed car that I could drive. I was quite mobile. But I wasn’t an example of virility like young Jack here, so I wallowed in my misery.”
He looked at Sara. “I’m telling you this to explain why I didn’t ask questions. I didn’t believe that other people had problems because I was so involved in my own. When I heard about one, I turned away. I didn’t listen. I...” He let out a breath. “When I saw that poor girl throwing up, all I wanted was to get away from her. I realized that she was pregnant and she hadn’t even turned sixteen. But I wasn’t concerned about who and why. I never even thought of actually helping.”
For a moment he looked at his hands. “I guess you want to hear about that day when I found out.”
“Yes,” Kate said. “We would like for you to tell us everything.”
Arthur nodded. “All right. It was near the end of the summer and that day I had an appointment to spend a couple of hours with Verna. She...” Arthur smiled. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather keep the physical part of Verna and me private.”
“Of course,” Kate said. “Just tell us about Cheryl’s father.”
“And who knocked her up.” There was anger in Jack’s voice.
Arthur smiled. “I saw you there that day. You looked like a lovesick calf. Big eyes staring at pretty little Cheryl.”
“I never saw you.”
“That’s because I made myself invisible. And besides, a herd of rhino could have tramped through the house and you wouldn’t have looked at anybody but Cheryl.” Arthur lost his smile. “I can’t imagine how bad you must have felt when she just up and disappeared. I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” Jack said.
“So anyway, it was about a week before the girl’s birthday. I knew because Verna was trying to get me to buy Cheryl a car. Verna saw no reason why I shouldn’t spend some of my settlement on a nice secondhand Chevy for her daughter. Anything for Cheryl was her mother’s motto. The love of her life.”
“But that love wasn’t stronger than her hate,” Sara said.
“I think they were all one. Sometimes I saw it as a giant ball that was on fire inside her. Once that fire burned itself to the surface, it was all going to explode.” He looked at Sara. “I used that in my book, so don’t try to borrow it.”
“I will do my best to restrain myself.”
“Still spicy, isn’t she?” he said to Jack.
“Would you tell us?” Kate asked, her voice soft. “From the beginning? Please?”
But before Arthur could start, Sara spoke up, her voice quiet. “I’ve written many novels, all of which required a great deal of research. In order to write about subjects like PTSD, I’ve read a lot of books about it.” Pausing, she pointedly looked at his thin legs. “What we want to hear is thetruth.” She looked back up at his face. “It’s time to tell it all.”
Kate and Jack were looking at her curiously, having no idea what she meant, but the redness of Arthur’s face seemed to show that he understood.
“Yes,” he said. “It’s time to tell the truth. Not what I wish were true and what the town believed, but what actually was...”
Lachlan, Florida
1997
Arthur Niederman did his usual trick of slipping around the side of Verna’s house, making sure no one saw him. Since he needed two canes to walk and his balance was bad, it wasn’t easy.Damn the landlord and his laziness!he thought yet again, working his way across the littered yard.
