of her head and a rolling of her eyes. âDow and I met in Vegas at the home of mutual friends. The first time I saw him, I knew Iâd marry him one day.â
âWasnât he married?â
âWell, yes. I mean, technically speaking, but not happily, â she said, as though Dowâs marital angst justified her poaching on Fionaâs turf. âYouâve met Fiona. Sheâs only six months younger than him, but she looks like sheâs a hundred. She drinks. She smokes two packs a day. Sheâs also hooked on Valium, which I doubt she mentioned when she was hiring you. Dow was sixty-nine last spring, but youâd never guess by looking. Have you seen a picture of him?â
âThere was one in the paper.â
âOh, that was terrible. I have a better one. Hang on.â
She left the deck and moved into the great room, returning moments later with a framed color photo. She sat down on her chair again and passed the photograph to me. I studied Dow Purcellâs face. The picture, taken on the golf course, had been cropped so that the others in his foursome were scarcely visible. His hair was white, trimmed close, and his face was lean. He looked tanned and fit, wearing a white golf shirt, pale chinos, and a leather golf glove on his right hand. I couldnât see the head of the club he was holding upright in front of him. âWhere was this taken?â
âLas Vegas. The same trip. That was in the fall of 1982. We were married a year later when his final divorce papers came through.â
I handed the photo back. âDoes he gamble?â
She held the framed photograph and studied it herself. âNot him. He was speaking at a symposium on geriatric medicine. He loved Vegas for the golf, which he played all year long. He was a five handicap, really very good.â
I wondered at the sudden use of the past tense but decided not to call attention to the shift. âDo you play?â
âSome, but Iâm terrible. I play to keep him company when heâs got no one else. Itâs nice when we travel because it gives us something to do.â She leaned forward and set the picture on the table, studying it briefly before she turned back to me. âWhat happens now?â
âIâll talk to anyone who seems relevant and try to figure out whatâs going on.â
âThereâs your mommy,â a man said. He stood just inside the door, holding Griffith, who was dressed for bed in flannel jammies with enclosed rubber-soled feet and a diaper tailgate in back. His face was a perfect oval, his cheeks fat, his mouth a small pink bud. His fair hair was still damp, sharply parted on one side and combed away from his face. Blond curls were already forming where a few strands had dried. Mutely, he held his arms out and Crystal reached for him. She fit him along her hip, looking at him closely while she spoke in a high-pitched voice, âGriffie, this is Kinsey. Can you say âHiâ?â
This elicited no response from the child.
She took one of his hands and waved it in my direction, saying, âHewwoh. I weady to doh feepy. I dotta doh beddy-bye now. Nightie-night.â
âNight-night, Griffith,â I said, voice high, trying to get into the spirit of the thing. This was worse than talking to a dog because at least there you really didnât anticipate a high-pitched voice in response. I wondered if we were going to conduct the rest of the conversation talking like Elmer Fudd.
I glanced at Rand. âHi. Youâre Rand? Kinsey Millhone.â
âOh, Iâm sorry. I should have introduced you.â
Rand said, âNice to meet you.â He appeared to be in his early forties, dark-haired, very thin, jeans, white T-shirt. I could still see damp splotches on his front from the toddlerâs bath. Like Crystal, he was barefoot, apparently impervious to cold.
I said, âI better go and let you get the little one to