Rough Weather Part 6

"Probably not a people person," I said.

There was another security guy dead behind the chapel. Same bullet hole in his forehead. The chapel itself was empty except for the two bodies near the altar rail. The doors were standing open, the candlesticks tipped over, the flowers scattered, the gauze draping tangled and wet.

We moved on into the main house. The sun was up by now, but even so I could see that lights were on in the house. And I could hear the sound of the generator. Probably one of those that kicked in automatically when the power went out. The front door was locked, like that would have slowed Rugar down had he wanted to come in. I walked along the front of the house and looked in the floor-to-ceiling windows at the living room. The wedding guests were there, some asleep on the furniture, some asleep on the floor, some staring apprehensively out the window at me. Most of them looked as if they'd spent a lot of time outside in the weather. Sitting quietly in a big wing chair by the fireplace, Heidi saw me and stood. I pointed to the front door, and she nodded and walked toward it and let me in.

"Oh my G.o.d," she said. "I thought you were dead. Do you know where Adelaide is?"

"Helicopter took off," I said. "I a.s.sume she was aboard."

"Oh, Jesus," Heidi said.

"They took her for a reason," I said. "If they wanted to kill her, they could have done it here."

She nodded.

"Did you have any chance to save her?" she said.

"No," I said.

"I'm sure you did your best," she said.

I nodded.

"Anyone call the cops?" I said.

"Yes. Several people had cell phones. As soon as the candles blew out in the chapel, we all ran out and hid everyplace. The people with cell phones called nine-one-one. But of course the police had no way to get here."

"They'll be along," I said.

"Have the criminals all gone?" Heidi said.

"I just scoped the island," I said, "and found n.o.body."

"Thank G.o.d for small favors," she said.

"Or big ones," I said.

"Are you all right, Dr. Silverman," Heidi said.

"Yes," Susan said.

Heidi studied us for a moment. Her face was pinched, and she looked pallid. But she was not giving in to whatever she felt.

"There's hot water," Heidi said. "I'm going to the kitchen now to see if we can get some sort of breakfast together. See if I can find any of the staff."

Susan and I went to our room, and I got the first sight of myself in the mirror. I looked like I was in blackface . . . full body.

Susan and I went to the kitchenette, where the floor was made of stone, and took off all our clothes.

"We going to salvage any of your stuff?" I said.

"No," Susan said.

She found a big green plastic bag in the broom closet, and we bundled the clothes up and put them in the bag. I saved my gun and a jackknife that I took from my pants pocket. Susan saved nothing.

There were two bathrooms, at least, in our suite. We each went to one of them and undertook a cleanup. It took me about half an hour. It took Susan much longer.

13.

We were clean and sprightly. We had drunk coffee and eaten sandwiches in the living room, and now we were talking to the cops. The state guys had the duty on the south-coast islands, and there were a lot of them. The first arrivals were a SWAT team in full battle dress who came in by helicopter, much as their opposites had. They went about securing the island. A second chopper brought some EMTs, who tended to people who thought they needed tending to. Later, by boat, almost sedately, came the detectives, led by the state homicide commander, Captain Healy. We had drunk coffee and eaten sandwiches in the living room, and now we were talking to the cops. The state guys had the duty on the south-coast islands, and there were a lot of them. The first arrivals were a SWAT team in full battle dress who came in by helicopter, much as their opposites had. They went about securing the island. A second chopper brought some EMTs, who tended to people who thought they needed tending to. Later, by boat, almost sedately, came the detectives, led by the state homicide commander, Captain Healy.

When Healy came into the living room and spotted Susan and me, he gestured for us to follow him and we went down the hall to another room, which somebody called the parlor. In my youth the parlor and the living room were one and the same, but my youth was not spent on Tashtego Island.

"Susan," Healy said when we were alone. "If I looked like you, I wouldn't waste my time on the likes of him."

"There are things you don't know," Susan said.

"Or want to," Healy said. Then he turned to me and said, "Okay, tell me what you know."

I told him. He looked at Susan.

"Anything to add?" he said.

She shook her head. He looked back at me.

"Just to be sure I understand," Healy said, "Heidi Bradshaw hired you to be some sort of subst.i.tute husband for the wedding."

"What she told me," I said.

"You believe her?"

"No."

Healy looked at Susan.

"You believe her," he said.

"No."

"Either of you have an idea of what she might really have wanted?"

Susan said, "No."

I said, "No idea."

Healy nodded.

"You have had some dealings with the Gray Man before," he said to me.

"Yes."

"Do you think it's a big coincidence that you and he show up on an island off the south coast of Ma.s.sachusetts?"

"No," I said.

"What do you think it is?" Healy said.

"No idea."

Healy nodded again. He looked at Susan and smiled.

"There you have the essence of my professional life," he said.

"Oddly enough," Susan said, "mine, too."

"You know if Rugar was invited?" Healy said to me.

"I don't know," I said.

"Anything else either of you want to tell me?" Healy said. "Observation? Theory? Anything?"

I shook my head. I could see Susan thinking about it. So could Healy.

"What?" he said to her.

"Just . . . not even an observation . . . an impression, maybe," Susan said.

"Yeah?" Healy said.

"I've seen a lot of traumatized people in my practice," Susan said. "Heidi Bradshaw seems to be holding up awfully well in the face of a horrendous experience culminating in the murder of her son-in-law and the kidnapping of her daughter."

"You think she's somehow involved?" Healy said.

"Perhaps she's simply numb with shock," Susan said. "Perhaps she's Mother Courage. I only can say that her behavior is not consistent with other behavior I've seen in other traumatic circ.u.mstances. And I've never seen circ.u.mstances as flamboyantly traumatic as these."

Healy looked at me. I shrugged.

"We all know it's hard to a.s.sess the performance of people under stress," I said.

Healy was silent. He walked to one of the tall windows and looked out at the storm-littered lawn.

"Well," he said, "we'll see."

He turned back to us from the window.

"You want to go home?" he said.

"Yes," Susan said.

"I'll tell my people at the dock to let you go," Healy said.

Susan said, "Thank you."

Healy looked at me and said, "You going to stay in this?"

"I think I will," I said.

"Thought you might," Healy said. "Just don't muddy the waters."

I grinned at him.

"Can't promise," I said.

"Didn't think you could," Healy said.

14.

What with packing and waiting for a boat and such, we got to Susan's house in the late afternoon. Hawk was there with Pearl. We went in, kissed Pearl, thanked Hawk, fed Pearl, went to bed, and slept for fourteen hours. for a boat and such, we got to Susan's house in the late afternoon. Hawk was there with Pearl. We went in, kissed Pearl, thanked Hawk, fed Pearl, went to bed, and slept for fourteen hours.

In the morning I fed Pearl again and made coffee while Susan prepared a face to meet the patients she would see today. Susan pulled together for work was rather different from the Susan whom I often took to dinner. Work was dark tailored suits, quiet makeup, little jewelry. Dinner was much more glamorous.

And after dinner was sometimes exotic.

At eight-thirty Susan went downstairs for her first patient. Pearl and I went out and ran along the river. We were back to Susan's by nine-thirty. We were in my office checking the mail by ten. Actually, I was checking the mail. Pearl was on her couch against the far wall, resting her eyes.

The mail was unenlightening, though a couple of clients paid their bills, which was pleasing. There were no phone messages, no e-mail except spam. I wondered if anyone ever bought anything as a result of being spammed. I hoped not.

I got out a lined yellow pad and a Bic pen and sat, and looked out the window at the place where Berkeley Street crosses Boylston. Or does Boylston cross Berkeley? Either way, the storm that had hit Tashtego full-on had then followed the coast-line out along the cape and on out to sea. Boston had gotten only rain. The rain had been heavy and had washed everything so that the old redbrick city seemed to glow in the Indian-summer sunshine.

I wrote Heidi Bradshaw Heidi Bradshaw on my pad. on my pad.

Then I sat some more and looked out the window.

Then I wrote Peter Van Meer Peter Van Meer on my pad. And in a creative frenzy wrote down on my pad. And in a creative frenzy wrote down Maurice Lessard Maurice Lessard and and Adelaide Van Meer Lessard Adelaide Van Meer Lessard . Then I looked out the window some more. . Then I looked out the window some more.

It was odd for the Gray Man to be involved in a simple kidnapping for ransom, even one as ornate as this one. And if he was going to kidnap her, why would he not wait until she was on her way home from Wal-Mart, or Tiffany, or wherever Adelaide shopped, and grab her. Why a kidnapping that required a squad of submachine gunners and a helicopter, in front of a host of celebrated people, on an island that had limited exit choices?