‘It’s a difficult question?’ Spencer repeated incredulously.
‘Jim, let me tell you something. That is not a difficult question.’
‘Forget it, you don’t understand,’ Jim said, shaking his head.
‘Explain it to me.’
‘Listen, I don’t know what this has to do with anything.’
Spencer turned and stared at Will, who said to Jim, ‘You’re upsetting my partner here, Jim. It’s not up to you to decide what has to do with what. You’re not forthcoming, and we’re getting worried that perhaps you have something to hide.’
‘I’ve got nothing to hide, I just –’ He broke off. ‘Look, I haven’t been able to figure it out, okay?’ he said. ‘I had thought that I met Conni and Kristina and introduced them to Albert
‘But…’
‘But nothing. Freshman Thanksgiving, I saw Conni and Kristina coming out of the Alumni Gym. To be perfectly honest,’ Jim said, clearing his throat, ‘I liked Conni at first. She was smaller, more, you know, inviting. Kristina – I thought she was out of my league, truthfully. She came outside in the bitter cold in biker pants and a spandex tank top.’
‘You thought she was out of your league because she came outside in sports gear?’ said Spencer.
‘No, no,’ Jim said quickly. ‘Look, I liked her and everything. We started chatting walking back to Mass Row, where we all lived. I said I had a roommate, they giggled.’
‘So, Jim, you seem to have a very good idea of how you all met, wouldn’t you say?’
‘You don’t understand,’ Jim said.
‘Were you and Albert good friends?’
‘Very good friends. We hit it off right away. We were great roommates.’ His face was unable to hide the tension. He was biting his lower lip. ‘Conni was very friendly. Kristina was funny, but not very friendly, you know?’
Spencer understood: Kristina had been too beautiful to be friendly to strangers.
Except for him. She had been friendly to Spencer. He felt himself biting his own lower lip.
Spencer knew that soon he would have to stop this line of questioning and go on to more grave matters, but for a few more minutes he wanted to imagine Kristina, wearing spandex shorts, giggling, alive.
‘I was hoping to run into them again, and it wasn’t long before Albert and I spotted them one morning at Thayer. They walked by with their trays. But this is the thing. Before I had a chance to wave to them, Albert did. They came over and sat at our table. Albert said, “Kristina, Conni, this is my roommate, Jim."’
‘That was strange to you?’
‘Well, he wouldn’t be introducing them unless he had met them already.’
‘It is a small campus.’
‘Yes, I know. But he never told me how he’d met them. It was never very clear. Anyway. Albert and I became friendly with them, and soon –’ Jim stumbled and stopped talking.
‘And soon?’ Spencer said.
Jim poured himself another glass of water, downing it before he continued. ‘Conni and I kind of started going together.’
‘Conni and you?’
‘Yes.’
‘And Albert and Kristina?’
‘That’s what I had thought. Wouldn’t it be perfect if we could pair off like that.’
‘But…’
‘But… Albert and Kristina didn’t hit it off.’
‘Oh.’
‘Yeah. I asked Albert about it one night, and he wasn’t enthusiastic. “No chemistry” was what Albert said to me.’
Spencer could see every word was a struggle for Jim. ‘So how did you end up with Kristina?’
‘Things with Conni just weren’t going as well as I thought.’ Jim gulped and said, ‘I saw that she was kind of smitten with Albert.’
Spencer nodded. ‘I see. And he with her?’
‘I didn’t notice that. I saw them coming out of Baker together, going into Lou’s together, talking, you know. She said they were just friends, but I could see she liked him.’
Spencer shook his head in disbelief. Kristina Kim was Jim Shaw’s consolation prize. It was almost laughable.
‘I thought Conni wasn’t Albert’s type, but what did I know?’ said Jim. ‘They’ve been together since then, and I think they got engaged or something during Thanksgiving. So you see, I didn’t read the situation right.’
‘No, no,’ said Spencer. ‘What did you and Albert do?’
‘Nothing for a while. Continued as we were.’
‘Must have been tough,’ said Will sympathetically.
Jim nodded. ‘Albert ended up moving out mid spring semester and rooming with Frankie.’
‘And you started going with Kristina.’
‘Yes,’ Jim said in a tired voice.
‘How’s your present relationship with Conni?’
‘Fine. We’re friends.’
‘What about Albert?’
‘Fine, too,’ Jim said quickly.
‘So you’re friendly.’
Jim paused. ‘Less friendly,’ he said and went no further.
‘You had said Kristina wasn’t your girlfriend. When did you break up?’
‘Monday.’
‘Monday before Thanksgiving?’
‘Yes.’
‘Monday, the day before she died?’
‘It was actually Tuesday morning.’
‘Tuesday morning?’
‘I mean, like, early in the morning on Tuesday. She came to my room at dawn or something.’
Spencer relaxed slightly. He had had a brief vision of Kristina dying minutes after she had broken up with her boyfriend of three years. It did not look good for Jim.
‘She break up with you?’
Jim shrugged and nodded, reaching for the glass. ‘Things weren’t working.’
Spencer wondered if one of Kristina’s reasons, the tiniest, could have been Spencer himself. He’d never know now.
Will nudged Spencer under the table. ‘May I?’ he mouthed.
‘Go ahead,’ replied Spencer.
‘Jim,’ began Will, ‘I spoke to a few people in Hinman Hall to find out about Kristina’s whereabouts the night we think she died – Tuesday – and a couple of people told me you guys had a big fight in the lounge that night and you stormed out.’
‘Oh, that!’ Jim waved his hands dismissively, but Spencer noticed the hands were shaking. ‘Yeah, we just said a few words. It was nothing, really.’
‘Oh? The guy I spoke to said you were pretty mad.’
‘Nah, I wasn’t mad.’ But Jim didn’t offer more details. Spencer and Will exchanged glances.
‘Jim,’ said Spencer, ‘maybe I haven’t made myself clear earlier.’
‘It was nothing, I tell you,’ Jim exclaimed in an exasperated voice.
‘Who are you trying to protect?’
‘What? Nobody!’
‘Are you trying to protect yourself?’
‘I’m trying to protect nobody.’ Jim’s voice was loud, and he looked hot and uncomfortable.
‘Jim, did you kill Kristina Kim?’
‘No!’ Jim exclaimed in a high-pitched voice.
‘Do you know who did?’
‘No!’ he exclaimed again, his face sweating.
Nodding, Spencer went on, ‘You said you played cards last Tuesday. When you stormed out, what time was that?’
‘Probably around eleven.’
Spencer looked at Jim’s wrists. ‘Wearing a watch, Jim?’
Pulling up his sleeves, Jim showed Spencer he wasn’t.
‘There wasn’t a clock in the Hinman lounge?’
‘No, it got busted months ago. I asked Frankie for the time.’
‘After you left the lounge, where did you go?’
‘Back to my room.’ Jim swallowed very hard.
‘Did you pack? Did you study? Did you call Kristina on the phone?’
‘No, I… studied a little. I was tired. I don’t remember. I think I went to bed.’
‘And you never left your room at all for
the rest of the night?’
Jim was silent for a very long time. ‘No,’ he said. ‘I never left my room.’
Spencer stood up. ‘Should I read you your rights and arrest you for killing Kristina Kim?’
‘No, no!’ Jim exclaimed. ‘I didn’t kill her. I’m telling you I didn’t kill her.’
‘So why do you need a lawyer, Jim?’
Jim again was at a loss for words. Spencer’s impatience and suspicion were reaching critical mass. ‘Jim!’ Spencer exclaimed. ‘What do you want to do, spend two nights in jail? We can keep you here for forty-eight hours while we’re investigating her death. Is that what you want? Are you going to be a lawyer? A politician? The future president? Future presidents don’t go to jail, Jim!’
Spencer finally sat down. Jim was upset and couldn’t continue.
‘Tell us,’ Spencer said, with beseeching intensity. ‘Get yourself together. What are you afraid of if you didn’t kill her? Tell us what you did that Tuesday night.’
‘Tuesday? God, nothing. I told you. I never left my room,’ Jim said quickly.
‘Can you prove that?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean, can you prove you never left your room?’
Jim said, his hands shaking, ‘No. I mean – how could I prove something like that? I was in my room till the next morning. No one was with me.’
‘Did you talk to anybody?’
‘In person?’
‘In person, on the phone, anything.’
‘No. I was awake for a while. I started to pack and then went to sleep. I didn’t see or hear anything.’
‘See or hear anything like what?’ Spencer said suspiciously.
‘I don’t – like anything. I don’t know.’
‘You’re saying after eleven at night when you stormed out of the lounge, no one can vouch for your whereabouts?’
‘I was asleep, for God’s sake! Who can possibly vouch for that except for me?’
Will said gently, ‘So what you’re saying is you have no alibi.’
Jim looked so distressed that Spencer took pity on him. ‘Okay, okay. What about the next morning? What did you do?’
‘The next morning, the snowstorm ended, so I packed the rest of my stuff and went home.’
‘What time did you leave?’ Spencer asked.
‘I’m not sure.’
‘Must be hard for you to make your classes, never knowing what time it is,’ said Spencer.
‘I have a watch, I just don’t like wearing it. Don’t wear any kind of jewelry,’ Jim added.
‘Did you see Kristina Wednesday morning?’ Spencer was certain Jim hadn’t.
Jim shook his head.
‘Did you see the dog?’
‘Yes, the dog was in her room. He wasn’t happy to see me. Didn’t even get up from her bed.’
‘How did the room look?’
‘You know –’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Messy.’
‘What did you do with the dog?’
‘Nothing. I petted him and left.’
‘Was it unusual for Kristina not to be in her room?’
Jim shook his head. ‘Not unusual at all.’
‘Did you knock on Albert’s door?’
‘What for?’ said Jim, a little rudely.
Spencer studied Jim levelly, with an unhurried, cold gaze. ‘I don’t know. To say good-bye to your friend? To ask if he’d seen Kristina?’
‘No, I didn’t do that.’
‘Didn’t, or wouldn’t?’
There was a pause. ‘Didn’t.’
‘So you left.’
‘That’s right.’
‘You were gone for how long?’
‘Until Sunday night.’
‘I trust you had a good Thanksgiving,’ said Spencer acidly.
‘It was okay,’ said Jim.
‘When you came back, what did you do?’
‘What do you mean? Like, did I unpack?’
‘Like anything. I don’t care much if you unpacked. I care more if you went to see Kristina.’
‘I did, yes.’
‘And?’
‘And what? She wasn’t there.’
‘No, of course not,’ said Spencer. ‘The snow had already fallen.’
Jim stared at Spencer quizzically.
Spencer wanted to reach across the table and grab Jim by the shirt collar and shake him. Thank God Will was there, because Spencer’s Irish temper would have gotten the better of him. That’s why he needed Will, whose steady hand on Spencer’s back was like counting to ten and breathing deeply.
Getting Jim to talk was difficult, but more important, Spencer felt Jim was hiding something. There was something Jim Shaw was not telling Spencer, and the anger swarmed inside Spencer’s chest. Spencer wanted to warn Jim that things could get real bad for the smart-aleck guy who thought he was being clever, real clever, by keeping information on a dead girl away from Spencer O’Malley.
‘Jim, tell me, so you came to see her, and she wasn’t in. How did the room look to you?’
‘I don’t remember. Probably the same as before.’
‘Yes, probably,’ said Spencer sarcastically, and Will touched him on the arm lightly – to calm him? support him? ease him? Spencer needed to be eased.
‘Was the dog there?’
‘No, the dog wasn’t there.’
‘Okay, so the dog was there on Tuesday night, but wasn’t there on Sunday. What did you make of that?’
‘I thought someone might be walking him.’
‘Someone like … Kristina?’
‘Maybe. More likely Albert.’
‘You all take turns walking the dog?’
‘Yeah, something like that.’
Spencer stared at Jim for the longest time. He really wished the self-righteous bastard would realize that any minute he was going to be caught. Couldn’t he at the very least give Spencer some respect, considering the imminent outcome of the questioning?
Spencer was waiting for Jim to continue, but Jim had obviously answered the question and wasn’t about to open his mouth until he was asked another.
‘Jim, did you go see if Albert had the dog?’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because if Albert was walking the dog, obviously he wouldn’t be in his room.’
‘I see. So what did you do?’
‘Nothing. I went downstairs to my room.’
‘Did you wonder who the dog had stayed with for four days?’
‘Of course not. I thought he’d stayed with Kristina.’
‘But you just said her room looked exactly the same as when you saw it Wednesday morning.’
‘Look, I didn’t pay careful attention. What do I know? It was messy both times. I didn’t really study the room, you know.’
Spencer went on, ‘Then what did you do?’
‘Went back to my room. Called Kristina’s room right before I turned the lights off.’
‘And?’
‘And? She wasn’t there.’
‘Okay,’ Spencer drew out, scratching the underside of the table with his fingers, while Will took copious notes. Spencer had stopped taking notes because he was too busy watching Jim. ‘That brings us to Monday.’
‘Monday,’ Jim repeated. ‘I don’t remember Monday very well.’
‘Tuesday?’
‘No,’ Jim said weakly. ‘Not Tuesday either.’
‘Wednesday. That was just yesterday. Do you remember that?’
‘Not well,’ said Jim.
Spencer noticed that Jim would not look up from his hands, which lay flat on the table.
‘Okay, let’s go through this step by step. Literally. Okay?’
‘Sure,’ said Jim.
Spencer pressed on. ‘Did you see Kristina on Monday?’
‘No.’
‘Did you know Monday she was already dead?’
‘No, of course not!’
‘Tell me – do you know h
ow she died?’
Jim was looking at his hands again, placed flat on the table. ‘No,’ he said. ‘I don’t know how she died.’
‘You don’t know how she died?’
‘No, I told you.’
‘Yes, yes. Well, you know, something makes me curious. If you don’t know how she died – you say you don’t, and I have to believe you – I’m confused about something. Why don’t you want to know how she died?’
Jim looked away from Spencer.
‘Jim, I really need your attention on this one. Please look at me when I speak to you. It makes me very uncomfortable when you can’t look me in the eye.’ It made Spencer more than uncomfortable. It made him suspicious and furious.
Jim cast another furtive glance at the detective, but was not able to meet Spencer’s stare for long.
‘I’m going to ask you another question. When I came to your door and informed you that your girlfriend of three years was found dead, was that the first you heard of it?’
Jim opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. ‘Yes,’ he said after a minute. ‘It was the first I heard of it.’
‘Are you playing games with me?’
‘No!’
‘Why didn’t you ask me how she died, then?’
‘Because I thought I knew.’
‘Why would you think that?’
‘I thought she fell off that damn bridge.’
‘Why would you think that?’
‘Because I’ve been half expecting her to fall for three years.’
‘You have?’
‘Yes.’
‘You mean, you thought it was only a matter of time before she died, and so you weren’t that surprised?’
‘Maybe,’ Jim said quietly.
‘Do you think she was walking that bridge to die?’
‘Something like that,’ Jim said, even quieter.
‘Do you think she wanted to die?’
He shook his head violently. ‘Not when she wasn’t drinking. Even then … she loved life.’
‘But not when she drank.’
‘No, not as much then.’
‘So if she was so full of life, why would she put her life in danger by walking a stone ledge seventy-five feet above a concrete road?’
‘I don’t know. She gave me some reasons. None of them made any sense.’
‘I’ll bet they didn’t,’ said Spencer, and felt a little better about this kid sitting in front of him. This kid that must have felt terrible things underneath that snake skin.
‘Well, Jim, Kristina didn’t die falling off that bridge.’