In the morning I was confused. Confused and disturbed. But Dorita was there. So I couldn’t call Sheila.
I had to get out of the house. I had to get Dorita out of the house. Before Kelly came back. Before my head exploded.
Time for a change of scenery, I said.
We went to Starbucks.
Okay, Dorita said once we’d settled down with our coffee. Enough with the sentiment. It’s time to get to business.
Damn, I said. You always want to ruin my fun.
It’s my job.
You and the rest of humanity.
Heaven doesn’t exist in a vacuum.
True. You need a little hell. To spice it up.
So, back to business. Question one: Do we believe him?
I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it. I’ve been trying not to think about it.
That’s not the answer. Think.
I thought.
If he’s lying, he’s a damn good liar.
Oscar material.
Which belies his lack of success in the field.
True. Very true.
Let’s proceed on the assumption that he’s legit.
We can do that. We can also check it.
You want to go to Podunk?
Not today. I just meant we can always do that if we have to.
Sure. We can do that.
Okay. So, let’s assume he’s foursquare.
Let’s.
And the physical evidence bears him out.
At least it’s not inconsistent.
Correct. He was in the house. Behind your back, he hugs her. They’re overwhelmed to see each other. He leaves a hair behind. Follicle attached.
Sure. He was next to her on the couch when I came back from the kitchen.
Another detail you left out.
I did?
You did.
Sorry. Anyway, it fits.
We need to look at other suspects then.
I’m not sure that ‘suspects’ is the right word. But the…
Semen. You can say it.
I don’t want to say it. But I guess you can.
We thought for a while.
It has to match somebody, I said.
Who?
That’s the million-dollar question.
Sixty-four thousand, I think it was.
Let’s not quibble. Who’s next on the list? The twins?
That’s the other case, darling.
Right. Just testing.
The AA guys.
A possibility.
But messy.
A smorgasbord of suspects.
And they all seemed so sincere, you said.
Not in any way conclusive.
Of course not.
Let’s remember Occam’s razor.
The simplest explanation is usually the best.
Not quite.
Right. The simplest explanation that explains all the facts is the best.
Dorita looked steadily into my eyes. She didn’t say a thing.
It was a challenge.
I thought. I pondered. In my head I shuffled the index cards.
One popped out.
Jesus, I said. You’re right.
He was the last man she was seen with.
Other than me.
You’ve been cleared.
He’s weird.
So you’ve said.
She was in his thrall.
It appears.
The last time Kelly and I picked her up from the hospital, two or three months ago?
You never told me about that.
When we were leaving?
Yes?
He hugged her.
Well, that’s not necessarily unusual.
Maybe not. But I remember thinking there was something strange about it.
Yes?
I don’t know. I couldn’t put my finger on it. It made me uncomfortable.
We sat in thought.
And then there was the day I came home, I said. Her last relapse. And he was on the couch with her. Holding her hand.
That couch seems to get a lot of action.
She lived on it. He told me he needed time with her alone.
Jesus H. Christ.
That was my reaction, at first. But then, I figured it was just a therapeutic thing. That my reaction was just paranoid. Insecurity. That he was helping her. And I could never help her.
Damn your neuroses, Ricky.
And then, when I came back into the living room, he couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
Hmm. You’d think he’d want to talk to you and Kelly for a while, no?
Sure. Explain the situation. Reassure the family. Though he never was that kind of guy, I have to say. With him it all seemed to be about power.
Dorita gave me the under-the-eyebrows look.
Yes, I said. Yes. Damn. It fits.
It does appear to.
Jesus, I just remembered something else, too. That night, when he was at my house? When I went up to Kelly in the dining room? One of the first things she said was that Melissa had been asking for him.
Asking for Steiglitz?
Steiglitz. Everything fits. Goddamn everything.
It does appear to.
Let’s check him out. I’ll do it. Damn. I don’t even have to. I know it was him.
Whoa, said Dorita. Slow down. Let’s make a plan.
I don’t need a plan, I said. I know what to do.
She raised her eyebrows.
Trust me on this one, I said. Did I single-handedly win the Case of the Red Car Door?
You did. I have to admit it.
So trust me.