A Groom wirh a View

could she have put it?“ Shelley asked.
    “Maybe the thumpy thing was a makeup mirror and she took it up to Mrs. Crossthwait’s room, or Livvy’s.“
    “Let’s take a look,“ Jane said.
    “What do you think is in it that makes it so important?“ Shelley asked.
    “I don’t know. It’s just the fact that it’s missing that makes me wonder.”
    They left the room and as they went down the hall toward the main room, they passed Kitty. She tried to make a grab at Jane’s sleeve, but Jane managed to dodge her grasp with a fair degree of tact. “Jane, you’ve got to tell them,“ Kitty said. “They think I killed him. I would never have done that. I’m sure it was Livvy. You have to tell them Livvy tried to get out of the marriage at the last minute.“
    “I have told them, Kitty. And I’ll tell them again, if you want. Now, you should really go rest. It’s been a horrible day for everyone.“
    “They’re questioning Livvy now. She’ll probably confess,“ Kitty said. “And this nightmare will be over for some people. Like you. But not for me. Never for me.”
    She turned and slouched toward her room, crying again. The seat of her skirt was butt-sprung, her once-crisp suit jacket was wrinkled and lumpy. The heel of one shoe looked crooked, as if it were about to come apart. She was a mess.
    Shelley and Jane went to the main room where Eden and Layla had gotten another puzzle out and were silently, doggedly working on it as if solving what the picture was might resolve the whole mess. They weren’t speaking. Each had a plate of leftovers and a glass of wine at the side of the table. The cat, who had befriended Jane earlier, was sitting on the third chair, with only his head showing. Any moment now, he’d be tasting one of their dinners.
    “We should get some scraps while there are some left,“ Jane said. “But I want to look for that suitcase first.”
    Errol and Marguerite were now occupying the sofa Livvy had been sitting on earlier.
    “Livvy’s being questioned,“ Marguerite said. “They let her father be with her, but not me. That’s wrong. Jack’s such an ass. He’ll huff and puff and make everything even worse. Have you two heard this absurd story that terrible Kitty person is telling?”
    Jane and Shelley nodded, but said nothing.
    “It’s so stupid! Nobody could have believed it. Dwayne? In love with that box of rocks? Errol, you know that’s not true, don’t you?”
    Errol shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve never understood Dwayne. I don’t know what made him tick.“
    “You didn’t get along with your brother?“ Jane asked softly.
    “It wasn’t a matter of getting along so much,“ Errol said. “I just always felt he was thinking circles around me. He always had schemes and plans and secret stuff going on. Sometimes he’d tell me about them when we were younger and he’d be so proud of how clever he was. But I never even got what he was talking about. It was like, I dunno, circles inside circles stuff. Real complicated. Trying to second-guess everybody.“
    “Are you saying this bizarre story Kitty is telling is true?“ Marguerite said. “And that Livvy was even remotely inclined to kill someone?”
    Errol blushed furiously. “No, no! Not at all. I’m just saying it’s possible Dwayne was plotting something weird. He usually was. That doesn’t make Livvy guilty of anything. She’s more like me, I think. She just wants to get along in life, do her job, be happy, and not get into fights with anyone.“
    “What did Livvy say about Kitty’s version of what happened?“
    “That Dwayne didn’t even remember who Kitty was when Livvy mentioned her as a bridesmaid.“
    “Do you think that’s true?“ Shelley asked. “I mean, that Dwayne didn’t remember her? Kitty told us that she’d had a date with Dwayne and introduced him to Livvy”
    Errol shrugged. “I dunno. Dwayne probably had one date with dozens of women he forgot by the next day. Right now you could tell me Dwayne said he was a secret agent and I wouldn’t know whether it was true or not.“ He turned to Marguerite. “You must think I’m an awful person, not knowing anything about my brother. You and your sister are so close.”
    Jane interrupted whatever answer Marguerite might have given. “Errol, I have a sister who is just as much of a mystery to me. I’ve never been able to get the hang of why she does the things she does. Sometimes it’s just that way. It’s no reflection on