“Good for you,” I said.
“Not really, but Pete thought I was doing great.”
“And Ned didn’t catch on?”
“It didn’t seem to occur to him. It was the first time I realized he wasn’t all-seeing and all-powerful. Next chance I had, I went into the darkroom. That was disappointing. Most of what he has in there is standard photographic supplies: cameras, film, chemicals, developing tanks. Things like that. File after file of photographs, proof sheets, negatives. One file cabinet he kept locked, but by then I understood how his mind worked. He’d hidden that key and a smaller one in a film canister on the shelf above the sink in there. In the bottom drawer, there was a locked metal box that the smaller key fit. Inside, there were receipts and some other stuff.”
“Receipts for what?”
“Motels, restaurants, gasoline.”
“You think he decided to play by the rules?”
“Maybe he’s beginning to think of photography as a real business instead of something he does on the side. He says he may be making a big change.”
“What do you think that means?”
“I don’t know and I wouldn’t ask.”
“What else was in the box? You mentioned other stuff.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know; ticket stubs, a couple of parking passes for the wilderness areas he visits. He likes camping in the back country, which is where he does some of his photo shoots.”
“What did you do with the box?”
“I took everything out and put it in an envelope for Pete and then locked the box in the drawer. Pete said he’d do an inventory so we’d know what we had. What happened, though, was someone offered him a job that he felt he had to take. He hadn’t worked in months because of the research he was doing on Ned.”
“Does Ned know what happened to the stuff in the box?”
“He does now. I told him I gave it to a friend of mine for safekeeping and if anything happens to me, it’ll all be turned over to the police. That really made him crazy. At first, he thought I was lying, that maybe I’d hidden it here, so he tore the house apart. I don’t know what he’s doing now. I know he hasn’t given up. He wants that envelope.”
“Is he aware Pete was helping you?”
“Probably. He heard Pete was asking questions about him up in Burning Oaks. You can imagine how popular that notion was. Once Pete got killed, it was like Ned went underground. I think he was trying to figure out if his precious stuff was still out there somewhere. In the meantime, I can’t say he’s nice to me, but at least he doesn’t threaten me so much.”
I stared at her. “Do you know how crazy you sound?”
“I was crazy all the years I put up with his abuse. Now I’ve got him right there.” The gesture she made would have been appropriate for pinching a bug between her thumb and index finger.
“What happens if he realizes you’re as clueless as he is?”
“I hope to be gone by then. If not, I’ll shoot him with the same gun he used to kill his dog and plead temporary insanity. Given what he’s told everyone about my mental state, who could believe otherwise?”
“I don’t understand what you’re waiting for. Why not get in the car and go while you can?”
She shook her head. “For the moment, he’s convinced everything’s fine, which means he’ll go away as planned. If he suspects anything’s amiss, he’ll cancel his trip. If I can just get him out of here, I’ll have a three-day head start.”
I was shaking my head in despair, but I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t see an alternative. She knew him better than I did. I wanted to put her in the car and hightail it out of there, but I couldn’t talk her into it. “I guess you know what you’re doing,” I said.
“Oh, right. Something I forgot about. Along with the ticket stubs and stuff like that, he had this junky bunch of costume jewelry; mostly earrings. They were in with the rest of his souvenirs.”
I felt my heart catch. “Souvenirs?”
“Well, not souvenirs exactly, but mementos; reminders of where he’s been.”
I pressed a business card into her hand. “I want you to call me as soon as you’re somewhere safe. I mean this. If you need me to drive down and pick you up, just say the word.”
“I will.”
“Do you swear?”
She raised her right hand and I took that as an oath.
36
When I got home, I shuffled through my index cards until I’d found Christian Satterfield’s home phone number. The last time I’d called, Pauline had made short work of me. I was still operating on the assumption she was Christian’s grandmother. This time when I dialed, I had a better handle on the situation.