Waiting and Watching (25 page)

“Well,” Sylvia said. "I purposely didn't take any pain medication because I want to try this famous eggnog of Earl's you've all been touting.”

“Coming right up, Madame.” Lily laughed.

“Where's my canine hero?” Sylvia was definitely taking advantage of the situation.

“Coming right up, your majesty.” Earl brought Sniff out of his bedroom with his Santa Claus suit on and hoisted him onto the couch next to Sylvia. She gushed over the pooch, who knew he wasn't supposed to be on the couch. He looked confused as to why his master had put him there, but he quickly forgot all about that when Sylvia began to rub noses with him and hugged him to her. Sniff happily rested his chin on Sylvia's hip, sighed deeply, and settled in for the duration.

Then Sylvia asked Julio for a back massage, and winked at Connie.

“Where's your off switch, Sylvia?” he asked, lifting her blanket to look under it. “I swear I saw it right here the last time I looked.”

“All right, all right!” She howled as he began tickling her ribs. Laughing, she quickly cried, “Uncle!” and shoved his hands away, to readjust her blanket. “I was just trying to see how much I could get away with. Seriously, I can't thank you all enough. Before we all get bombed on this delicious eggnog, I'd like to give a toast to the newlyweds, and to new friends who seem more like family. And another round for everyone!”

Over her second cup of eggnog, Sylvia filled everyone in on what and how it all happened. Earl suggested the car could be Martin with a rental and phoned the Tilden Park police to let them know his suspicions.

Sgt. Reynolds knocked on Earl's front door about twenty minutes later, just as they were ready to sit down for dinner. He told the group, “Both the Perkins and Harriman houses are under surveillance and have been ever since the attack on Connie. No signs of Martin have been reported. However, someone else evidently saw Mrs. Sands in trouble because about a minute after you called for an ambulance, the station received a second phone call regarding a woman injured on the sidewalk, across the street from Nola Perkins' house. It was a man's voice. When the dispatcher asked for the caller's name, he hung up. The phone company is working on locating where the call was made from, but I think they'll probably discover it came from the public phone booth two blocks from here.”

“On the matter of the Harriman murders, some interesting evidence came to light late this afternoon. In the evidence box there is a copy of Martin Perkins' high school attendance records. It shows he was absent from school the day of the murders. There is also a copy of the police interview with his mother, stating Martin had been sick the day of the murders and spent the day at home. Nola said Sue Lookey could corroborate Martin's illness. There is no record anyone contacted Mrs. Lookey to verify the alibi, but even more important—and we have Earl and Lily to thank for this—we may have found a pillow the shooter used to muffle the final shot to Dr. Harriman's heart.

“Forensics found the pillow when going through the garbage bags Nola put out for trash pick-up a few days before Christmas. Earl and Lily confiscated this trash from Nola's front yard. Everything was sent to the Hamilton County Crime Lab and they're attempting to determine if the blood belonged to Dr. Harriman. I'm on my way over to the Perkins house right now, and if Martin's there, I'll take him in for questioning. Depending on his answers, we may arrest him on suspicion of your parents' murders,” he told Connie and Julio.

Earl and Lily exchanged looks. Earl excused himself from the dinner table, put on his coat and went out to the porch to check his listening devices He came back into the living room and said “Sgt., you should double check the Harriman house. My anonymous sources tell me there's movement inside the house.”

“I'll check the house right now and we'll talk about your anonymous sources later, Earl.”

“Yes, sir.” He looked sufficiently smug.

Sgt. Reynolds rang Nola's doorbell. “Mrs. Perkins. I'm here to talk to your son. We believe he is hiding out in your home or next door in the Harriman house.”

Nola flung her front door wide open. “Are you kidding me? You're searching for my son during the holiday? Don't you people have anything better to do? I told you I would notify you if I saw him. This is ridiculous. There were no charges pressed against my son. I'm calling your chief. What is your badge number?”

Reynolds looked past Nola to the dining room and the two place settings on the table. “Who else is in the house right now?” Sgt. Reynolds asked.

“No one,” Nola said.

“Then who are you having dinner with? It looks like you're expecting someone.”

“There is no one else here and no one else is coming,” Nola said. “I'm not letting you in and that's final.”

“Look, we can do this the easy way, or I can make it ugly for your son. I know he's next door and that you own the house. Why don't we both go over there and you convince him to come peacefully. We just want to question him about the Harriman murders. He's a fortunate man Connie Harriman isn't pressing charges. In my opinion, she should. Your son is dangerous. He's mentally ill, Mrs. Perkins. If you don't help me, and he hurts someone else, I'll arrest you for complicity. As it is, if you don't turn him over for questioning, I'll call in for backup. They'll come in with sirens blaring, alerting the entire neighborhood. Your neighbors will see your son being brought out in handcuffs. Is that what you want for him?”

“No,” Nola said slowly. “I will agree to help you bring Martin out of the house, but I want our attorney present when you question him. Agreed?”

“Agreed. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to come in while you get your coat and call your attorney. I'll use your phone to call the station and alert them that Martin is coming in of his own free will.”

“Thank you for that.” Nola opened the screen door and ushered Sgt. Reynolds inside. She directed him to the study where she called her attorney and then left to get her coat and purse. While making his phone call, Reynolds noticed a large group of pictures on bookshelves behind a roll top desk. His curiosity got the best of him and he moved closer to look at them. A chill ran down his spine when he realized that the man in every picture was Dr. John Harriman.

Sgt. Reynolds had spent dozens of hours going through all the Harriman murder information in the station's evidence box and reviewing all the newspaper articles from the Tilden Park paper and the Cincinnati Enquirer. He could visualize both Dr. and Mrs. Harriman in his sleep. There was no question in his mind that it was John Harriman. There was his senior class picture from his exclusive boy's school, pictures of Harriman and a young Nola Perkins. There were other pictures of Harriman with a boy. Sgt. Reynolds assumed it was Martin, as it definitely wasn't Julio. There were no pictures of Mrs. Harriman, a girl or a Hispanic boy. It was like they didn't exist and the family unit was Nola, Harriman and Martin.

Very strange, Sgt. Reynolds thought.

Nola, Martin, their lawyer, Sgt. Reynolds and Chief Walker sat around a large table in the Tilden Park Police Station. Chief Walker explained they were only questioning Martin; he was not under arrest. They would ask him nothing about his attack on Connie Harriman Leader. She was adamant she was not pressing charges, as long as Martin was off drugs, stayed on his legal meds, and was under the care of a psychiatrist. Martin's lawyer nodded his approval and agreement.

“I'm off all drugs and I have an appointment with Dr. Woods, who has agreed to see me twice a week. I don't want to hurt anyone, especially Connie,” Martin said, as he started to cry. “I'm so sorry about….” Martin didn't get to finish his sentence. He was interrupted by his lawyer who advised him not to say anything about his alleged attack on Connie and only to answer questions regarding the murder of Dr. and Mrs. Harriman. Martin indicated to his lawyer that he understood.

Chief Walker asked Martin to tell them everything he could remember about the morning of the murder. Martin nodded yes and began his story.

“I was getting dressed for school that morning and I heard three loud pops. They seemed to come from the Harriman house. Two of my corner bedroom windows overlooked their house and I liked to sleep with my windows cracked open. I needed a feeling of space and enjoyed the rush of cold air, so I could often hear what was going on in their house.

“I finished getting dressed and walked over to their back door, which is how I always entered their home. I spent a lot of time there and Mrs. Harriman always greeted me with a big smile. No one seemed to mind that I went in and out as I pleased. I was just curious as to what the noise was all about. Nobody was ever killed in Tilden Park, so I wasn't worried, just inquisitive. I expected to find the family standing around some kind of electrical mishap, like the fuse box blowing. I don't know, I was just a kid, and murder never entered my head. I walked over as usual and went in the backdoor. There was no one in the kitchen so I just walked through the hallway to the study. I swear I heard someone upstairs. I didn't think anything of it at the time, because I didn't know what had happened. Usually I'd hear Mrs. Harriman doing whatever she did but that morning…nothing.”

“Weren't you surprised not to find Connie or Julio in the house?” Sgt. Reynolds asked.

“No. I knew they were already at school. I had study hall first period and often got to school late,” Martin said. “No one seemed to be home so I just walked around the house and when I entered the study, I found Dr. and Mrs. Harriman both dead on the floor. I was barely sixteen at the time and in shock. There was blood all over both of them and it was so frightening. I really don't remember much after that, except for one odd thing.”

“And what was that?” Sgt. Reynolds asked.

“There was a pillow, a small yellow pillow sitting on Dr. Harriman's chest. It looked so strange just resting there.”

“Did you pick up the pillow?” Sgt. Reynolds asked.

“Yes. I picked it up to see if there was a bullet in Dr. Harriman. I don't know why I took the pillow. I just did.”

“And what did you hear to make you think someone was upstairs?” the Sergeant, asked.

“I think I heard walking around upstairs in Connie's room,” Martin said.

“What did you do with the pillow?” asked the Sergeant.

“I hid it in my room, and then later put it in a memento box in Connie's bedroom closet.”

“Oh, thank God,” said Nola. “When I saw the bloody pillow in Connie's bedroom closet, I had doubts about my own son. I'm so sorry, Martin.”

“That's okay, Mama. You were only trying to protect me.”

Sgt. Reynolds asked Martin if he remembered anything else from that morning.

“I only remember being frightened by what I had seen and so sad for the family. The Harrimans were good to my mother and me. I would never have hurt them.”

Sgt. Reynolds and Chief Walker looked at each other. This was the man who'd physically attacked the Harriman's daughter. In spite of his explanation about the pillow, the police still had their doubts he was telling the truth about the Harriman double murders, but they didn't have enough evidence to arrest him, yet. They questioned him a bit longer and then released him.

The dinner party at Earl's home was winding down when the doorbell rang. Everyone assumed it was Joe Reynolds reporting on the capture of Martin Perkins. Earl opened the door yelling, “Congratulations, you got the bastard!”

He was shocked to see it was Nola Perkins and it was apparent she had been drinking. Earl could smell the liquor on her breath. Her words were loud and slurred as she boldly walked into the house and surveyed the group sitting around the dining room table. “Well, well, if this isn't the little murder mystery club. I'll bet you think you're all so smart and you've got everything figured out. Well, think again, you idiots.”

Everyone stared at Nola but no one said a word.

“I don't know what you've all been up to, but my son did not kill your parents,” Nola screamed as she glared at Julio. “I'm sorry about what Martin did to you, Constance, but you're not hurt, so leave my son and me alone,” she ranted. “Your parents are gone and nothing can bring them back. You're stirring up things you may not want to know.”

Connie stood up, clearly angered. “Nola, I never pressed charges against Martin. But my parents' brutal and senseless murders need to be avenged and the police want information from him.”

“Oh, if it's information you want. I've got plenty of that.” Nola's lips curled up in a disparaging smile. “Your mother was a classless imbecile. She thought she could marry into a rich society family and be accepted. Why your father fell for her, I will never figure out. I loved him and forgave him because in his heart he knew he had made a mistake. He should have married me.” She began to sob sloppily. “I could tell how he looked at me and how he looked at her. I hoped he would come to his senses, but his mistake just turned him to other bad women. He had one disastrous affair after another, starting with that Vreeland woman. Your father thought he was so careful, but you can't hide infidelity long in a small town like Tilden Park. There were always rumors floating around about his affairs. I never told your mother, but she heard them from others. You could see the sadness in her face. But she deserved it.”

Connie cringed and Julio rushed over to put his arms around her.

“John treated my Martin like the son he didn't have until your bleeding heart of a mother insisted on adopting a Cuban baby. My Martin was pushed aside for a dark-skinned refugee. Your mother encouraged you to date a Negro and even entertained his parents in their home. Disgusting! Your father didn't grow up like that. He grew up in society as I did. We went to expensive schools and belonged to private clubs where we didn't let the likes of any of you here tonight even come through the front door. People of our class didn't behave the way he and your mother were acting. I blame it all on your mother. She was a terrible influence and pushed him into the arms of women like that Vreeland bitch.”