The Merchant of Menace

weird.“
    “And I thought it was my charm,“ Jane said.
    “Has Sam admitted to the murder?“ Julie asked. Jane nodded. “He went to pieces, Mel told me. Said he’d dreaded losing Pet all these years. He was obsessed with it. He feared everybody who asked him about himself was a private detective. And when he heard Lance King was coming to the neighborhood, he was worried. Then Lance did that piece on the news about the ‘dirty underbelly of life in the suburbs’ or whatever it was, and he was horrified that Lance knew about Pet. It was sheer panic, I imagine, that made him come up here and watch to see if Lance left the house between broadcasts. And, unfortunately for both of them, that’s just what Lance did.“
    “Did Lance know about Sam and Pet?“ Shelley asked.
    “I don’t imagine we’ll ever know,“ Jane said. “But my guess is that he did. Mel says there’s a perfect view of the Dwyer house from the Johnsons’ roof. No trees or fences in the way. And it had to be someone on the opposite side of the street he was watching.“
    “And what about that reporter?“ Julie asked. “Apparently he just stumbled onto her by accident. He had no idea she was there, and nearly ran into her. Then he really panicked and ran home.“
    “So he didn’t have the egg cartons on his feet to keep him from being identified as the person who hit her?“
    “I don’t think so. I think he was just afraid the police might come back and see strange footprints and ask him what he’d been looking for,“ Jane said.
    “I know what he did was awful,“ Julie said, tapping her fingertips on the table. “But it was only because he loved his daughter so much that he did those awful things.”
    Shelley said, “But he didn’t do it for Pet, really. He did it for himself. To keep her to himself and away from her mother. I suppose he thought that was in Pet’s best interests, but still, it wasn’t right to steal the child and then kill someone to keep from being discovered.”
    Jane poured them all some coffee and sat down where she could see out the front window. “Pet is twelve years old. Almost thirteen. Sam told Mel that if she’d been sixteen, he wouldn’t have done anything. He thought the ‘window’ for losing her ended then because even if he were found out, she’d have the legal choice of deciding which parent to stay with.“
    “And he didn’t doubt she’d choose him?“ Julie asked.
    “How could he doubt it?“ Shelley said. “Sam was the only parent she knew or remembered.“
    “I’m not so sure,“ Jane said. “She remembers her mother vividly, or thinks she does.”
    Jane caught a flash of light outside and looked out the window. A police car had pulled into the driveway. Jane motioned to Shelley and Julie to stay put. Then she went to the front door, opened it, and waited.
    The woman who came to the door looked much like she had in the photograph album. Older, of course. And a bit thinner. Less flamboyant. And very, very nervous.
    “I’m Patty Sue Dwyer,“ she said.
    “I know you are,“ Jane said with a smile. “I’ve never been happier to meet anyone. I thought youmight want to meet with Pet privately. Come up to my bedroom and I’ll send her to you.”
    “What if she hates me?“ Patty Sue blurted out. She was very pale in spite of a good Florida tan. “She won’t,“ Jane assured her.
    Jane got Patty Sue settled in her bedroom and closed the door, then went to Todd’s room. He was still fiddling with the hamster gadget. Pet was sitting on the edge of the bed. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap, and her gaze was fixed blankly on the opposite wall.
    “Pet?“ Jane said.
    Pet turned to her slowly, her eyes behind her goggly glasses bleak.
    “I have something for you. Come to my room with me.”
    Pet followed obediently. Jane opened the door and Pet stepped in. Patty Sue stood perfectly still and said, “Oh, Pet. My darling Pet.”
    Pet was frozen in place. She stared and blinked owlishly. Then she whispered, “Mommy!“ and ran to fling herself into her mother’s waiting arms.
    Christmas morning dawned bright and clear, the sun sparkling on what remained of the snow. It was the one day of the year that the kids wanted to get up early. There had always been a rule, however, that they couldn’t come downstairs until nine o’clock. They were lined up like racehorses at the starting post at one minute before. Jane and the kids went through the comfortable, comforting