Blowout

toss out—‘the public’s right to know.’ It’s only an excuse, of course.”
    Since he agreed with that assessment wholeheartedly, he nodded. “Let me ask you this, Mrs. Califano. Sumner Wallace is not only of an age when he should be settled, he’s a Justice of the Supreme Court. This reputation you’re attributing to him, it seems so unexpected and surprising, so very incompatible with what he’s supposed to be—a reasoned brilliant legal mind, deciding huge issues for our country.”
    “Yes, I suppose it would come as an unpleasant surprise, but the fact remains he’s still a man, a man who’s carried on a number of affairs all his adult life. In my experience, particularly in politics, it’s not at all uncommon for men who hold a great deal of power to exploit the women who are drawn to it.”
    Ben couldn’t disagree with that, too much evidence to the contrary. He wanted to point out that Justice Wallace also had six grandchildren, but he kept his mouth shut.
    “You had no hint that your husband might confront him on Friday, Mrs. Califano?”
    “No, no hint at all, like I’ve already told you, Detective. No, wait a moment. Now that I think about it, I did hear Stewart on the phone—not on Friday, but last Wednesday, I think. He wasn’t happy. On the other hand, he wasn’t screaming either. Whether or not he was speaking to Sumner, I can’t say.”
    “What did you hear your husband say?”
    She was quiet a moment, hands clenching and unclenching in her lap.
    “Something about ‘You will stop this immediately, do you hear me?’—along those lines. That’s all I really remember, Detective. His voice, as I said, wasn’t particularly angry.”
    “Did he pause then? For the other person to answer him?”
    “Yes, I believe he did. Then he sort of nodded into the phone, didn’t say anything more, and hung up. When he turned to see me standing there, he shrugged. ‘Nothing to worry about. It’s done,’ that’s what he said. I suppose he wanted to cut off any questions from me, and it did. In many ways, Stewart was a very private man. His first wife had died some years ago, you knew that, and in the intervening years before we met and eventually married, he became used to being alone, to keeping his own counsel. That isn’t a good thing, Detective. People shouldn’t be alone.
    “Get married, Detective. It’s healthy to have another person in your life, someone so close they can feel what you’re thinking.” And she burst into tears.
    Ben didn’t know what to do.

CHAPTER
12
    C LOSE TO a minute later, Ben still didn’t know what to do. He said finally, “I’m going to catch the monster who killed him, ma’am. I promise you that. Thank you for speaking to me. You remembered more, as I’d hoped you would. And thank you for telling me about Justice Wallace.”
    She wiped her eyes, tried a smile. “It can have no possible relevance to any of this, but you appear to want to know about all the skeletons in the closet.”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    When he came out into the entry hall a few minutes later, he nodded to the four women as they went back into the living room to rejoin Margaret Califano. Callie was standing in the hall, looking ready to leap at his throat. He splayed his fingers in front of him. “You ready?”
    She waved toward the living room. “What, you’re not going to arrest any of those five killers?”
    “Not your mom. We’ll see about the other four ladies. Hey, that was pretty funny, Callie.”
    Federal Marshal Dennis Morgan caught a laugh, turning it quickly into a cough behind his hand.
    “Yeah, right. You ready?” She was nearly dancing from foot to foot, wanting so badly to leave. He nodded toward the living room. “I’ll tell you, Callie, all of them look suspicious to me, look like they’re hiding something. Do you think I should go back in there and grill each one of them in turn, privately?”
    “Har har,” Callie said. “Let’s go.”
    He nodded to the federal marshals and ushered her outside. He said, “Isn’t it amazing what money can do? My mom is about their age, but believe me, she looks like she lives on a different planet. She’s cushy, her hair is always frazzled, and she has the biggest smile east of the Mississippi.”
    She punched him in the arm. “You snob. Their smiles are as big as your mom’s. I’ve known them all my life. So they’re not cushy. That just means that they take care of themselves. They work out. Money