Last to Know: A Novel(30)

“And you’re sure it was Wally Osborne?”

“Yes, sir, I’m sure.”

“Did you see him get to the jetty, get out of the boat, tie it up? Did you see Wally Osborne walk up to the house?”

Divon shook his head. “No, sir. I was outta there like I said. And then I wasn’t only halfway down the road round the lake, when it all exploded and like I just kept on movin’ because I thought they’ll pin this on me sure as hell and now it’s all happening and I’m tellin’ you, Detective, it was not me … I don’t kill women…”

Somehow, Harry didn’t think he did. But what about Wally Osborne?

“But I did see the son at the house earlier,” Divon added, as an afterthought. “The older, good-lookin’ one. Roman, I think she called him. I know he and Bea knew each other. That’s for sure.”

“How did they ‘know’ each other?”

“Well, like I said, I seen ’em together. Sometimes. Walking by the lake.”

Harry fixed his eyes on Divon’s; could he be lying? Seeking to lay the blame elsewhere. But why Roman Osborne?

“When did you see Roman with Bea?” he asked.

But Divon shrugged. “Could be I was mistaken,” was all Harry could get out of him.





21


It was late and Diz was on his branch, listening to his mom and dad talking. Rose and Wally were on the terrace looking out at the lake. Tiny white lights marked the perimeter and the lake shimmered like black ink. Wally’s face was angry as he said, “You will cancel the arrangement, tell the cops to get somebody else, we want nothing to do with those people.”

Diz didn’t really want to hear this, he hated that his parents were fighting, and especially over the skinny blonde who he didn’t want here anyway. As if his vote counted. But his mom was determined to do good and his father was determined she should not.

“I’ve given my word,” Rose said. “Come on, Wally, she’s having a hard time, losing her mother and her home, she has no one else, poor child…”

“She is not a poor child. She and her mother were involved in drugs. Why do you think that house exploded, anyway?”

“Wally! How do you know this?” Rose pulled her hand-knit cardigan closer.

“I heard it around town,” Wally muttered. “You know I always keep an ear tuned for that sort of thing, for my books.”

“So what you know about Mrs. Havnel was purely research?”

Rose’s voice was colder than Diz had ever heard it. He did not like what was going on. He did not like that his dad was lying to his mother. He didn’t know for sure why he was lying, only that he was, and that he could say nothing. He could never tell his mom.

Wally had stepped away from Rose. He seemed to be holding himself in tight check when he turned to look at her. “Rose, I didn’t know that woman. I just knew about her. Okay?”

Rose was silent, looking at him. Diz was silent, also looking at him. Had they both got it wrong? Could Wally be telling the truth?

“Look, okay, I give in.” Wally took a step back toward Rose. He ran a hand through his already rumpled blond hair, gave her a sort of half smile. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I got a bit carried away. Our life here is so peaceful, nothing like this has ever touched us in all the years we’ve been coming to Evening Lake.”

“Nothing’s different, Wally,” Rose said quietly. “Only you.”

In the silence that fell between them, Diz could hear his dad breathing heavily, as though he was holding back from saying something more. The lake rippled under the freshening night breeze. A bulb went out with a tiny hiss on the string of lights slung around the terrace rail.

“Okay, I’m sorry,” Wally said bitterly. “I’m wrong, and you are who you are, the person you are, the loving caregiver. How could I expect you to turn down a young woman in need, when I know if it were your own daughter you would expect someone to help her. I’ll just get out of your way early tomorrow, go fishing, let you get her organized. Okay? And I promise I’ll back you up. Okay?” he asked again. Diz heard his mother’s answering sigh.

“Oh, Wally, I know we’re doing the right thing,” she said so softly Diz almost could not hear. “Trust me, she’ll be fine.”

Diz wondered why his mother thought that and his father obviously did not. He thought about his father rowing back from that house right before the explosion. Of course he could be mistaken, Wally might simply have gone for a row around the lake, working off steam; he did that sometimes when he got uptight when he was writing. Diz hoped so anyway. And he hoped the skinny snake wasn’t gonna wreck their family.

*

Wally had already departed when Bea Havnel arrived the following morning. Rose was surprised to see her alone; she’d expected Harry Jordan to be with her. She was also astonished to find her prediction come true when a long black limo crunched up the driveway. The driver opened the door and Bea stepped out clutching a bunch of plastic Target bags. Her hair was pulled back into a braid held by an elastic and her smooth face was un-madeup. She was long-legged in tight washed-out jeans and skinny, as Diz had earlier observed, as a snake. She stood uncertainly as though wondering if she’d got the right place. Rose noticed that her new T-shirt still had a size sticker on the shoulder. S for small. She looked so pathetic Rose’s heart went out to her. She knew she was doing the right thing.