Read Online Kissing the Beehive by Jonathan Carroll - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jonathan Carroll
Ads: Link
Dad?"
"Because I haven't been back since you were born."
"But you're always telling me stories about Crane's View!"
I was about to answer when Frannie climbed up on the porch and went to the front door. "You want to look inside?" He held up a bunch of keys and jigged them to show he could get in.
"You have a key?"
"To my own house? Sure! Are you nuts?" Without waiting for our reactions, he opened the door and walked in. I caught up as he was walking into the living room. I wanted to ask a dozen questions, but also wanted simply to stand there and remember.
"You _live_ here? You bought my house?"
"Yeah! I've had it seven years."
"What'd you pay for it?"
He looked to see if Cass was near. "None of your fuckin' business.
Bought it when I was married. My wife was an executive producer at NBC so we had a lot of money then. When we split up, she gave me the house."
"Congratulations! Every time 7 got divorced, I had to check to see if I still had all my body parts after the settlement. Can we look around?"
"Sure. You want something to drink? Cassandra, you want anything?"
"Could I have a beer?"
"Sam?"
"Nothing. I'm in too much shock. Frannie McCabe owns my house. You bought it from, who, the Van Gelders?"
"Their son. They moved to Florida and gave it to him." He started for the kitchen. "You wanna look around, go ahead. Go upstairs if you want."
"Dad?" Cass looked at me expectantly.
"You go. I'm going to sit down here a little while."
Frannie was back in a few minutes with a glass of beer in one hand, a glass of milk in the other.
"Milk? _You_?"
"It's good stuff. Now what's with the Pauline thing? How come you want to write about her?"
"Because it's too interesting to pass up. I've been thinking about it awhile now. Why don't you think her boyfriend did it? You've got to tell me everything because I don't know a thing."
He sat down across from me and cradled his glass in both hands. "I'll show you the files. She and this Edward Durant went out the night it happened.
He'd come down for the weekend to be with her. His story is, they went to the river to drink and make out. What he remembered was they drank too much and got into a bad fight. Really bad.
They were hitting each other. Then they stopped and drank some more."
"Why were they fighting?"
Page 29
"Because she wanted to break up. Said she didn't respect him and wanted out. Now, the last thing he remembered was her getting out of the car and him following. She went over to the water and he was right behind her. She said get away. He hit her. Slapped her across the face. She fell down and started screaming. Said all kinds of nasty things and kinda went nuts. Way over the top, even for crazy Pauline. That spooked him, so he went back to the car, hoping she'd cool off. While he was waiting, he kept drinking till he passed out.
"When he came to, it was an hour later. Eleven-thirty, because he looked at his watch. She wasn't back. He got out again and looked all around, but she was gone. He thought she'd walked home.
He was so angry at what had happened that he just drove right back to his house in Bedford."
"But you said he confessed when they caught him."
"He confessed to being there alone with her, to fighting, to hitting her, to passing out. They had a lot of proof from his past that whenever he drank he got violent. They put two and two together. And that, my friend, is usually enough to convince a jury."
"But why would he admit to all those things if he _did_ kill her? That they fought and he hit her?
It makes no sense. He never actually admitted to killing her?"
"No."
"And you don't think he did it?"
"Nope." He drank the glass of milk in one slug.
"Who did?"
"We're talking off the record here?"
I held up both hands. "I'm not taking notes and I ain't wired."
"Take it easy, Sam. What do you think this is, _NYPD Blue_? Do you remember David Cadmus?"
Cass came back into the room. Frannie stood up and handed her the beer.
"Sure you
"Because I haven't been back since you were born."
"But you're always telling me stories about Crane's View!"
I was about to answer when Frannie climbed up on the porch and went to the front door. "You want to look inside?" He held up a bunch of keys and jigged them to show he could get in.
"You have a key?"
"To my own house? Sure! Are you nuts?" Without waiting for our reactions, he opened the door and walked in. I caught up as he was walking into the living room. I wanted to ask a dozen questions, but also wanted simply to stand there and remember.
"You _live_ here? You bought my house?"
"Yeah! I've had it seven years."
"What'd you pay for it?"
He looked to see if Cass was near. "None of your fuckin' business.
Bought it when I was married. My wife was an executive producer at NBC so we had a lot of money then. When we split up, she gave me the house."
"Congratulations! Every time 7 got divorced, I had to check to see if I still had all my body parts after the settlement. Can we look around?"
"Sure. You want something to drink? Cassandra, you want anything?"
"Could I have a beer?"
"Sam?"
"Nothing. I'm in too much shock. Frannie McCabe owns my house. You bought it from, who, the Van Gelders?"
"Their son. They moved to Florida and gave it to him." He started for the kitchen. "You wanna look around, go ahead. Go upstairs if you want."
"Dad?" Cass looked at me expectantly.
"You go. I'm going to sit down here a little while."
Frannie was back in a few minutes with a glass of beer in one hand, a glass of milk in the other.
"Milk? _You_?"
"It's good stuff. Now what's with the Pauline thing? How come you want to write about her?"
"Because it's too interesting to pass up. I've been thinking about it awhile now. Why don't you think her boyfriend did it? You've got to tell me everything because I don't know a thing."
He sat down across from me and cradled his glass in both hands. "I'll show you the files. She and this Edward Durant went out the night it happened.
He'd come down for the weekend to be with her. His story is, they went to the river to drink and make out. What he remembered was they drank too much and got into a bad fight. Really bad.
They were hitting each other. Then they stopped and drank some more."
"Why were they fighting?"
Page 29
"Because she wanted to break up. Said she didn't respect him and wanted out. Now, the last thing he remembered was her getting out of the car and him following. She went over to the water and he was right behind her. She said get away. He hit her. Slapped her across the face. She fell down and started screaming. Said all kinds of nasty things and kinda went nuts. Way over the top, even for crazy Pauline. That spooked him, so he went back to the car, hoping she'd cool off. While he was waiting, he kept drinking till he passed out.
"When he came to, it was an hour later. Eleven-thirty, because he looked at his watch. She wasn't back. He got out again and looked all around, but she was gone. He thought she'd walked home.
He was so angry at what had happened that he just drove right back to his house in Bedford."
"But you said he confessed when they caught him."
"He confessed to being there alone with her, to fighting, to hitting her, to passing out. They had a lot of proof from his past that whenever he drank he got violent. They put two and two together. And that, my friend, is usually enough to convince a jury."
"But why would he admit to all those things if he _did_ kill her? That they fought and he hit her?
It makes no sense. He never actually admitted to killing her?"
"No."
"And you don't think he did it?"
"Nope." He drank the glass of milk in one slug.
"Who did?"
"We're talking off the record here?"
I held up both hands. "I'm not taking notes and I ain't wired."
"Take it easy, Sam. What do you think this is, _NYPD Blue_? Do you remember David Cadmus?"
Cass came back into the room. Frannie stood up and handed her the beer.
"Sure you
Similar Books
