“You know,” Tracy said. “We’ve been talking all this time and haven’t mentioned my ex-husband, the man who’s responsible for your being here.”
Marsha nodded.
“Life is full of surprises,” Tracy said with a sigh. “Here I lose my beloved daughter who was the center of my life, and I surprise myself by worrying about him. I just hope Becky’s passing doesn’t drive him over the edge.”
“What do you mean?” Marsha asked.
“I’m not sure,” Tracy admitted. “I guess I’m terrified at what he might do. He’s already been arrested for assaulting the manager at the restaurant where he suspects Becky got sick. I just hope he doesn’t do something really crazy and end up hurting someone or himself.”
“He does seem angry,” Marsha said.
“That’s putting it mildly,” Tracy said. “He was always such a perfectionist. It used to be his anger was directed mostly toward himself. It served as a stimulus for achievement, but that’s been changing over the last few years. It’s a big reason why we ended up divorcing.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Marsha said.
“He is basically a good man,” Tracy said. “Egotistical and self-centered, but still a very good doctor. Certainly one of the best surgeons in his field.”
“I’m not surprised,” Marsha said. “One of the things that impressed me about him was that in the middle of all this he was still thinking about other children.”
“How do you feel about helping him after what you’ve seen here this afternoon?” Tracy asked. “It would be wonderful if he could channel his anger about Becky in some positive direction.”
“I’d like to help very much,” Marsha said. “But I guess he scared me. I don’t know him the way you do, it’s hard to put his actions in any perspective.”
“I understand.” Tracy said. “But I hope you’ll consider it. I’ll give you his address. Knowing him as well as I do, I’m sure he’ll hole up there until his anger and sense of injustice drive him out to do something. All I can hope is that with your help his energies can be channeled into action that will make a difference.”
Marsha climbed into her car. She didn’t start it immediately but mulled over the events of this strange day. It had all started when she’d impulsively decided to put in a few hours of overtime at Mercer Meats.
Marsha wondered how to go about getting the information that Kim wanted. The source of meat for the various lots was recorded in the patty-room logs, but reading specific entries was not within her usual province. Her job was just to confirm that the log was being kept. Knowing that someone was always looking over her shoulder, she wondered how she could do it without raising suspicion. The problem was she didn’t want her own boss to know what she was up to, and that would be tricky since Mercer Meats was in close contact with her superiors concerning everything she did.
The answer was obvious. She’d go after hours when only the cleaning crew was there. In fact, Saturday was an ideal day for her to try; it would be quieter than usual.
Marsha got out the address Tracy had given her and consulted the city map she had in the car. Kim’s house was relatively close; she decided to pay him a visit to see if he was still interested in her help.
It didn’t take long for Marsha to find the property, but when she arrived, she was dismayed there wasn’t a single light to counteract the gathering gloom. The house was a huge black hulk silhouetted in its dense surround of trees.
Marsha was about to leave, when she caught sight of Kim’s car parked in the dark shadows in front of the garage. She decided to get out of her car and go to the front door on the off chance he was there.
Marsha rang the bell. She was surprised at the loudness and clarity of the chimes until she noticed that the front door was not fully closed. When Kim didn’t respond to the bell, she rang it again. Again there was no response..
Mystified and concerned by the door being ajar in the middle of the winter, Marsha took a chance and pushed it open farther. She leaned into the front hall and called out Kim’s name. There was no answer.