"Yes. Not all of him has disappeared that"s the whole problem."
"What do you mean?" This is sounding really crazy. "Sophie told me that he had gone to Rio - that he"d been spotted there."
"That"s what she still believes. I told her that a friend of mine had seen him there. This friend doesn"t exist, of course. My father"s dead, Pearl."
"Did you kill him?"
He says nothing for a beat and then answers in a cold voice. "No. My mother did. No, let me be completely honest here. She didn"t just kill him, she murdered him."
I try to sound unemotional. I don"t want to spook him away. "Was Laura witness to the murder, then?"
"No. It happened when I was only nine."
"Well what does Laura have to do with it? Even if you told her, she has no proof!"
"Oh, but she does. She"s got proof that he"s dead. And he has never been declared dead. No death certificate, nothing. Officially, he"s still alive. And there are some people still wondering where he is. His brother, my uncle, for one."
"I don"t understand how does Laura know he"s dead?"
"He was lying peacefully in his bath. Ironic that. Some of the only times when he was being truly peaceful was when he was wallowing about in warm water. My mother had bought him his favorite Scotch. She was plying him with it so he was completely relaxed. She"d had enough, and knew that the only way to be free of him, once and for all, was to kill him. He"d threatened her that if she ever left him he"d hunt her down and kill her then search for us, too." He looks at me and hesitates.
I absorb all that Alexandre has said. It sounds crazy but you read about these people and see them on the news often...the nutters that shoot their families down, killing each and every member, or ma.s.sacring them in a stabbing frenzy before doing themselves in, too. I squeeze Alexandre"s hand. "I empathize, Alexandre. I really do. Please go on."
He stares into s.p.a.ce as he reels off the story in a monotone, hardly stopping for breath. "She had the electric heater plugged into the wall with the extension cord. She"d planned everything. When he was lying back with his eyes closed she came into the bathroom with the pretense to top up his drink and threw the heater into the water to electrocute him. She was even wearing rubber shoes and gloves just to take extra precaution."
I gasp. What a scene that must have been. "Did he die instantly?"
"I don"t know. My mother had a.s.sumed she could pretend it was an accident but there were huge burn welts where the water level was. It was obvious it was cold-blooded murder. She had to think on her feet. Had to get rid of the evidence there was no way she could pa.s.s it off as an accident."
"So then what happened?"
"Luckily, she had some French doors in her apartment that led onto a balcony. She unplugged the electricity, drained the bath, hauled him out, little by little, and rolled him into bed sheets, wrapping him like a mummy. Then she pushed him off the balcony in the dead of night. Once she was sure n.o.body had woken from the thud of the body landing on the ground she was two flights up she dragged him to the car. Amazingly, n.o.body saw her, or if they did, they never said a word. The neighbors hated him anyway even if they"d seen something they would have probably been relieved. She managed to haul him into the trunk of her car."
"That must have been hard. Was he tall and strong like you?"
"No, my height comes from my mother"s side of the family. But still, it was no mean feat. She drove to the countryside. When she found an isolated place, miles from anywhere, she made a bonfire and set him alight."
"Oh my G.o.d. n.o.body saw? No farmer or anyone?"
"She doused him with gasoline he went up fast."
"I still don"t understand what Laura has to do with all this."
"Not everything burns, does it?"
"There were remnants?"
"My mother waited for the fire to burn all the way down but there were two things left over his teeth and bits of his hip replacement, both identifiable through medical records. There was the t.i.tanium part of the fake hip and a ceramic ball bit that didn"t burn either. They have identification numbers, not on the parts themselves, but from the factory where they make the prosthesis. These are kept by the hospital on a register with the name of the patient and the date of operation, in case of problems like breaking or premature loosening. They can be traced back to their source. It"s the same with teeth and dentist"s records - a common way of identifying corpses."
"How the h.e.l.l did Laura get her hands on those?"
"Years ago, I found them in my mother"s house in a drawer when I was looking for something I put two and two together; that"s how I knew he was dead. I"d always suspected, anyway, because I knew if he"d been alive he would have hunted her down. Anyway, I had a long talk with my mom and she told me the whole story. I"ve kept it a secret all these years; I never even told Sophie."
My nose is p.r.i.c.kling with tears as Alexandre"s voice sounds as if it"s about to break at any moment.
"But what on earth was your mother doing with all that evidence? Why didn"t she chuck it all in a river or take it out to sea?"
"That"s the multi-million dollar question, but she had a reason, crazy as it was. Having the remnants, she said, reminded her that he was truly dead that he could never harm her again.
Anyway, I took away the bits of evidence and took them to Provence with me I didn"t want my mother having them in her house, in case her husband found them. But at the same time, I didn"t throw them away because I didn"t feel it was my right to if they were so important to her. I was an idiot. A fool. I should have taken it into my own hands. Instead, I hid the teeth in a multi-volume Encyclopedia. Call me a heathen but I"d cut out the centre of one of them and placed the evidence inside. n.o.body looks at Encyclopedias anymore with the internet and Wikipedia I thought they"d be safe there. And the t.i.tanium bit of hip was wedged behind the book. Laura knew exactly what it was because she, too, had a hip replacement a couple of years after her accident. And I"d mentioned to her once, years ago, about my father having had one tried to a.s.sure her that they worked."
"She discovered them?"
Alexandre looks down at the floor ashamedly.
"But even if I found that stuff, I wouldn"t know that they were body parts of a dead man. How did she know?"
"When I started dating you, Laura became obsessed. I didn"t realize this, of course, until just a few weeks ago. I thought we were friends, I had no clue that she wanted me back, that she was still in love with me. Although, when love" is that warped it"s hardly a word I"d use to describe her feelings for me. Basically, she became obsessed, possessed - and will stop at nothing to get me back."
"I still don"t understand. How did she know for sure that those things were parts of your father?"
"You"ve been her victim, as I have. She had my cell phone hacked, too. Really dumb of me to not have caught onto that, especially in my line of business. A joke, really. I think she must have been in on a text message or conversation or even an email to my mother we"ve never mentioned the murder in a call or message but Laura"s not dumb. Who knows? She"s a smart woman she put two and two together. I"ve never admitted a thing but she has all the evidence in her possession. With forensic labs the way they are these days medical records; all it takes is one call from her."
"When did she get her hands on all this?"
"When she and James were there last summer."
"You didn"t notice it missing?"
"No. I wouldn"t have thought to look. I"d pretty much forgotten all about it, actually."
"If she"s had everything since the summer why has she waited until now to tell you?"
"Good question. She must have thought things with you and me would die down - fizzle out. It didn"t, she tried that stunt pretending Sophie was responsible for her accident, which nearly did the trick to split us up, but when she saw that you and I were back together, she pulled out all the stops."
"What does she want, exactly?"
"She wants you out of the picture and for me to marry her."
"But that"s insane, especially as you don"t even love her."
Alexandre closes his lids as if locked into a deep thought and continues in a grave tone, "The truth is, after her fall she was never the same person. I did understand why, though, at the time. s.h.i.t, your whole life changes after an accident like that. They said her head wasn"t damaged in the fall, but when I think of it now, I think they were wrong. I"m convinced something changed in her brain. She was so sweet before, so loving and fun. After the accident...well, I didn"t spend much time with her afterwards, we didn"t see each other for a couple of years, anyway, so it was hard to gauge-"
"But I thought you two were bosom buddies."
"She left me immediately for James. Said I couldn"t look after her properly, that I was too young and she needed stability. What she really wanted - even I wasn"t stupid was someone who was rich enough to take care of her. That"s why I worked my a.s.s off determined that HookedUp would be a financial success. I became driven with the idea of proving that I, too, could look after her, could be wealthy enough to take care of her. Not just her but any future relationship any future girlfriend or wife. I felt very proud I still do. I"m old-fashioned in that respect. I"m the type of man who wants to be able to support my partner financially."
"Well, why didn"t you both get back together as soon as you"d made all that money?"
"By that time, I"d become good friends with James and I just wasn"t in love with Laura anymore. They came to stay in Provence and stuff. I genuinely had no idea she was still into me, until recently. I think the second you came along she became compet.i.tive and wanted me back. At first, she was convinced you and I would split up, but the moment she heard about our marriage she went wild with jealousy."
"What about James? How does he feel?"
"He still hasn"t returned my calls. He got busted for dodgy tax dealings and is in financial straits. That made Laura nervous. I don"t think she loves me at all, really, I think she loves my bank balance. Plus..." he hesitates.
"What?"
"James can"t have children and she"s fixated on the idea of getting pregnant. She wants me to father her child."
A stab of fury seizes my heart making it skip a beat. "Jesus. Why can"t she pick on a single man? Why you?"
"I know."
"So she"s blackmailing you, then?"
"Exactly. But in her warped brain she believes it"s for my own good and we"ll live happily ever after."
"Where has she got the evidence hidden?"
"She says it"s in a safety deposit box and if anything happens to her, any accident or mishap, she has instructed her lawyer to open the box and its contents with a note revealing everything."
"What a monster!"
"Tell me about it."
"But that"s insane! If you don"t love her, how could she have a happy life, even if she did get you back?"
"As I said, I think some chip in her brain went doolally when she had that fall. The girl I dated would never have done this. Her behavior is totally irrational. I just didn"t see it before because James was always about. He"s a good guy. We"ve done some Aston Martin and Austin Healy rallies together, he"s a nice man. It"s crazy what she"s playing at." Alexandre buries his head in his hands and lets out an exasperated sigh.
"So her idea is to have the evidence sitting in that safe deposit box forever, blackmail you throughout your marriage" so you"ll never leave her or else your mother goes to jail?"
"Yeah, that"s more or less the plan she"s got up her dirty little sleeve, although she"s not coming out and saying it directly. She pretends it"s for my own good, just in case the evidence got into the wrong hands", she says."
"That"s terrifying. I mean, if she were to get run over by a bus tomorrow, out comes that G.o.dd.a.m.n safe deposit box."
"Exactly."
"What are we going to do?"
Alexandre smiles at me. "Thank you, cherie, for using the word we" - although that"s why I"ve been so secretive - I didn"t want to get you involved in this mess."
"Till death do us part. For better or for worse. We may not have said our vows yet, Alexandre, but I"m with you one hundred percent, whatever your decision."
He puts his arms about me and holds me close to his chest. I feel his slow, strong heartbeat. His voice is low and quiet when he tells me, "I love you, Pearl."
I breathe him in. "I was so scared you wanted her back, that you were still in love with her all those parting, goodbye" gifts you gave me; the Porsche, the Mercedes, the apartments-"
"It was never goodbye, baby, not for a second. You needed some s.p.a.ce to sort out your head. We needed to be apart for a little, but goodbye? Never." He smiles and I notice the roguish dimple on his cheek makes its signature mark. "I knew I"d see my pretty Porsche again and that we"d be vacationing in that apartment in Cap d"Antibes. You and I are forever, Pearl."
I bite my lip just thinking about how it could have been. The agony I would have suffered. "I was scared that everything we had was a fantasy, a figment of my imagination."
He kisses my temple. "I"m sorry I"ve put you through all this. I kept thinking I could reason with Laura, make her see sense that"s why I saw her face to face, but she"s being impossible. Inflexible. I just don"t know what to do."
"What does your mother say?"
"She wants to have it out with Laura she"s furious."
"So your mom"s husband has no idea about any of this?"
"No. Not a clue. He"s a very straightforward guy."
"But if he loves her why would he care what she"d done? It was self-defense."
"That"s you, Pearl. You think that way. But other people are more wedded to the law. A lot of men don"t get it. They don"t understand what it"s like to be bullied, day in day out, to be humiliated, threatened and abused. My step-father"s a great guy but he just wouldn"t understand. Besides, it"s one of those things she should have come clean with straight away when they first met maybe he would have forgiven her, but she didn"t dare test him. And if she let him know now what she did it would look as if their entire marriage had been a lie all these years."
"Do you believe Laura when she says she has it all in a safe deposit box? Maybe she"s lying."
"Maybe she is, but I"m not in a position to risk it, to call her bluff. My mother"s life is on the line, or at least, life imprisonment which would amount to the same thing for her."
"I thought France was lenient with crimes of pa.s.sion."
"I"d rather my mother didn"t even spend one minute in a jail. So many years of her life were h.e.l.l and finally she"s found happiness. Plus, this is all my fault. If I"d just b.l.o.o.d.y well left the evidence with her and hadn"t meddled with it all, we wouldn"t be in this mess."
I look at my watch and then stretch my arms in the air. "We should go to bed. It"s three a.m. Let"s see if either of us comes up with a brain-wave in our dreams to sort out this fiasco."
"You dream a lot, don"t you?"
"You have no idea."
"What have you dreamt about me?"
"There was one dream in particular that had me squirming with pleasure," I tease, remembering the Johnny Cakes March with the s.e.xy spanking session.
His eyes light up. "Oh, yeah, what was that?"
"It"s my secret."
He gives my wrist a small squeeze. "Come on, tell me."
"No, but I will tell you another secret, if you like."
"I"m listening."
"I"m pregnant you and I are going to have a baby."
He kneels before me and gathers my hands in his, softly kissing each finger. His eyes are br.i.m.m.i.n.g with emotion. "You"ve made me the happiest man alive, Pearl. If I could jump over the moon, I would. And as far as secrets go? That"s the best d.a.m.n secret I"ve ever heard in my entire life."