Chapter Ten - Jamie

"Wake up, Lilly."

Lilly yawned, groaned, and finally managed to open one eye. Chris was standing beside the couch, waving a bag of fresh rolls. Now Lilly also noticed the smell of coffee. She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Care for breakfast?" Chris did not wait for an answer. He put the bag on Stillman's desk, left the office and returned with a pot of coffee. Before Lilly had even put her shoes on, Chris had completely prepared the breakfast table.

"That's service," Lilly remarked with a smile.

"You'd better hurry. We should get finished before Vera turns up," Chris warned.

Lilly laughed, but she admitted that Chris was right.

Nick and Will entered the office when Lilly and Chris had just finished their second cup of coffee. The rolls were gone, and Chris had gotten rid of the evidence – crumbs, spilled honey and the bag.

"Slept well?" Nick asked as soon as he opened the door.

"Like a baby," Chris replied. "And you, Lilly?"

"Me, too." Lilly took a sip from her coffee to hide her grin.

"When is Jamie due to arrive?" Nick asked Chris.

"Nine thirty," Chris replied. "I suppose you don't wanna miss his story?"

"Not for anything in the world," Nick enthused.

"I'll call Dorian," said Lilly. "I suppose he wants to be there as well."

"Very well," said Nick and looked longingly at the coffee pot. "You two don't happen to have a cup of coffee to spare for two hard-working colleagues, do you?"

"Let's see what we can do."

XXX

"Your full name is James Alexander Jarvis?"

"Yes."

"You are here to deliver an official statement. Please note that this conversation is going to be taped."

"I do not object."

"Okay, then let's begin." Lilly sat down and changed her tone of voice from very official to official. "You know that a skeleton was found in the area where your family is still living. Our investigation has shown that the body is that of a young woman called Natalya Atrochenko, who used to work as a housemaid for your parents. She disappeared in 1967 and was believed to have stolen your car and some money. But in fact, she was murdered and buried.

"Furthermore, we have learned that your brother, Gabriel Jarvis, had an affair with the victim. She got pregnant, and your brother, who had never planned this, tried to find a solution.

"We believe that the solution he found was murder. You were his confidant. We would like you to tell us everything you know about these past events in your own words."

"Yes, Detective." Jamie cleared his throat. "I was twenty-four when it happened," he began. "I was the oldest of us, and so everyone asked me when they had a problem. I guess I was their big brother." He smiled. "I guess they thought I knew a solution for anything, just because I was already grown up. Gabe and Dylan were no longer children, either, but somehow I was their guru.

"Gabriel was always my little brother. He'd ask me first when he had a question. It's always been that way, and when we got older, the principle remained. Only the questions changed." Jamie smiled. "He'd ask me all sorts of things about women and love and sex and whatever fifteen-year-olds want to know. But Gabe realized pretty fast that Jordan Donahue, who lived next door, had a huge crush on him, and the more he looked, the more he liked her, too. They got together when Gabe was fifteen, I think, and for some years they were the perfect couple. They were really happy together."

"Until Natalya turned up," Lilly remarked.

Jamie nodded. "Yes, until Natalya turned up," he repeated. "At first, I didn't notice anything. Of course I saw how Gabe and Dylan looked at her, but that was only natural. She was a pretty girl, and we were really a small community. Of course everyone was interested in her. I used to be, too," he added with a smile. "But unfortunately she didn't want me. She was always very nice to me, but I felt that her interests lay with someone else. I didn't know it was Gabe until Gabe came one night into my room and told me that there had been something going on between him and Natalya. We talked about it for a while, and then I asked him what Gabe intended to do about Jordan. After all, Jordan was his girlfriend, and had been for seven years. Gabe didn't know what to do. He said he loved Jordan, but he needed a change." Jamie smirked. "Of course I said I could understand him. I was a young man, and so was Gabe, but we were both grown up and could do what we wanted. I felt a little sorry for Jordan, because I knew that Gabe was her everything, but Gabe assured me that he wouldn't leave her. So I figured he might just as well make a few experiences. I decided to stay out of the whole story.

"But that didn't work. The others noticed of course that Natalya had a thing going with one of us, and Gabriel got scared. Don't forget that these were the sixties, Detectives. We were out in the middle of nowhere, untouched by the hippies and the message of free love. Our parents were still rather old-fashioned in their points of view. And Gabriel had always been the quiet one of us both. Gabriel was now fearing that our parents would flip out if they learned that he, of all things, was having an affair with the housemaid rather than staying with his long-term girlfriend whom everyone thought he would marry one day. So he asked me for advice, and the only thing I could think of was to pretend that it was me, not Gabe, who had this affair. I was known as the wild son, anyway; no one would be surprised to hear that. It was of course unfair for Natalya, but Gabe and I explained the situation to her. I guess she knew from the start that the thing with Gabe wouldn't last. And after all, it was not that she loved him deeply. Natalya was a strange person, you know. She seemed to be so shy, but in fact she was a straightforward person. She knew exactly what she and Gabe did, she knew about Jordan, and she knew that, if forced, Gabe would always choose Jordan. But she was looking for a little fun, too.

"Anyway, we talked to Natalya, and she agreed to deny any connection to Gabriel but support rumors about her and me. It was very amusing, actually. She and I'd pretend to whisper conspiratorially, we'd set dates, and she'd watch me when I was passing by – in a way everyone would notice, of course. And all the time it was actually her and Gabe. She came to think of me as a sort of accomplice, I think. We almost became friends.

"That worked for a little while. The rumors spread, and Natalya and I did our parts not to let them cease. Everyone believed the stories.

"But after a while, Gabe was getting tired of Natalya. He'd had enough fun, he figured, and it was time for him to return to Jordan. He tried to tell Natalya, but somehow he never managed. If only he had! I don't think Natalya would've made any problems. She didn't love Gabriel. But she didn't know about his feeling, so of course the thing went on and on. And then one night, Gabe came again to my room. He was devastated. Natalya had just told him that she was pregnant. Gabe was terrified, of course. They hadn't planned that. It was too late for an abortion – they couldn't have paid it, anyway -, and not before long, the others would notice as well. And although I did a lot for my little brother, this was going to far. I'd never have married her just because my brother had been careless. Gabe implored me to find a solution. He didn't want to continue the affair, anyway; he was planning to return to Jordan, and now he found himself in a serious conflict. I was his last hope. He knew I always found a solution for any kind of problem, so he figured I'd find one for this problem, too. And I started wondering. I racked my brains for a suitable solution that didn't hurt anyone. It was Natalya herself who finally gave me the idea. She mentioned that she might have a better chance in the city, where there were houses for single mothers and several institutions she could ask for help. Gabe, Natalya and I decided that I would take her away one night. We planned to make it look as if she and I had had a fight, and that she ran off. She promised to write a note to my parents, thanking them for their support, and that she had personal reasons to leave. She had a little money that she had saved, so that she would find a place to stay in Philly.

"When we had set the date, Natalya and I agreed to meet one mile down the road. I went out with Dylan that afternoon. When we returned, I pretended to have forgotten my wallet at the place where were had been, so I asked Dylan to let me borrow the car and go back once more. Dylan didn't suspect anything, of course. He gave me the keys and said goodnight, and I turned around and drove away."

"Do you remember the time?" Chris asked.

Jamie shrugged. "It must have been between ten and ten thirty when we returned. Natalya and I had planned to meet at eleven. Dylan and I returned, and I left about ten minutes later. Why is that so important?"

"Just asking," said Chris. "Your mother heard you leave. But she was already half asleep, and when she heard the next morning that Natalya had disappeared, she thought of course that it had been her."

"No, that must have been me," said Jamie. "I had no idea that she heard me.

"Well, I drove to the spot where we wanted to meet. And then I waited and waited. But Natalya never showed up. I waited until midnight, and then I gave up. I thought that maybe she had fallen asleep, or that something had prevented her from leaving the house, or that Gabe had changed his mind… I turned and went back home."

"Did you meet anyone?"

Jamie hesitated before he said, "No."

Lilly fixed her eyes on him "Really?" She had noticed his hesitation.

"I didn't meet anyone," Jamie repeated. "It's just… I thought I saw someone go towards the forest. I called, but there was no reaction, and I figured it may just have been a shadow of a tree. And besides, I was tired. I went into the house and straight into bed. I didn't even knock on Natalya's door. I just went into bed and slept until noon. And then I learned that Natalya had disappeared."

"What was the first thing you thought about that?" Lilly asked.

Jamie hesitated again. "The car was missing, and the money," he said. "Everyone thought Natalya had just run off – which was what we had planned."

Lilly watched him closely. "But you didn't share this point of view," she stated. It was not a question.

"No," Jamie admitted. "I suspected some foul play. Natalya wouldn't have changed the plan without telling me. Why would she, anyway? Everything was ready. It made no sense that she suddenly decided to keep me out of this. And there was another thing – Natalya couldn't drive a car. And I think I was the only one who knew this – Gabriel wasn't always there when we made our plans. I remember that I asked her one day why she didn't drive herself, and she said she couldn't drive."

Lilly and Chris exchanged a glance. "She had no driver's license?" Chris repeated. "But why didn't you tell the police back then?"

Jamie remained silent, and Lilly answered instead. "You thought that Gabriel had lost his nerve and done something stupid," she said silently.

Jamie did not reply, but that was not necessary.

"You thought that Gabriel had started to doubt whether your plan was really good," Lilly continued. "So he had done something he thought was more secure than simply take Natalya away. He killed her and made it look as if she'd stolen the car."

Jamie nodded faintly.

"And you were the only one who knew that Natalya couldn't have taken the car," Chris continued. "But you didn't tell the police. You obstructed the administration of justice, Mr. Jarvis."

"I know," said Jamie. He raised his eyes and looked at the detectives. "But how could I give the police a hint? How could I let Gabriel down? He was my little brother, you know," he added silently. "I was used to protecting him. I've always protected him."

"And so you remained silent." Lilly nodded. "But you couldn't stand to see him every day, could you? You tried to go on as before, but every time you saw Gabriel you remembered what he had done. You could no longer trust him…"

"Gabe didn't seem changed at all," Jamie said. "Gabe even had the nerve to ask me whether everything had worked, although he knew very well that I had waited in vain for her."

"What happened then?"

"I withdrew from the others," said Jamie. "I know it was a little unfair – I mean, Dylan, Graham and Sunny hadn't done anything, but they were always around where Gabe and Jordan were. Sunny was the only one who sometimes came over to me without the others. But she was still a child, so I didn't tell her anything."

"And then one day you left Deansville."

Jamie nodded. "I packed my belongings, said goodbye, and then I left. I didn't look back, not once. I didn't leave an address, and I never wrote. I just wanted to forget and begin a new life."

"Which was what you did," said Chris, looking at the printouts he'd made. "You moved all across the Northern part of the US. You got married, got divorced. Twice."

"I guess I couldn't find my peace," said Jamie. "But the older I got, the more I thought of my family. I started to feel the urge to go back, but I suppressed it. Still I was curious."

"And so you contacted your nephew, Alex."

Jamie smiled. "I had done some research and found out that Gabe and Jordan had gotten married one year after Natalya's disappearance, and that they had a son called Alexander. That touched me. You know, my middle name is Alexander, too."

"Your family never forgot you, either," said Lilly quietly.

Jamie nodded. "Do you have any more questions?" he asked.

Lilly shook her head. "Do you have any?" she countered.

"Actually I have a request," Jamie said, pushing back his chair. "I'd like to see my brother."

XXX

Lilly and Chris kept in the background while Jamie was talking to Gabriel. It was a matter of tactfulness. But even over this distance could they see that Gabriel could hardly control his emotions.

While Gabriel and Jamie were talking, Stillman came over to Lilly and Chris. "Gabriel Jarvis still claims he's innocent," he said. "We have no evidence, no confession, nada. We've got to let him go."

Chris groaned, but Lilly only narrowed her eyes and nodded. Chris and Stillman looked at her.

"No, Lilly," said Chris, who knew her better. "Don't say it. I'm warning you"

"I've got to say it, Chris." Lilly turned to Stillman. "Boss, I think he might tell the truth."

"How come?" Stillman asked.

"Maybe we were proceeding too fast," said Lilly. "The facts allow another conclusion."

"Do they?" said Chris and Stillman in unison.

"Oh yes." Lilly nodded. "Moreover, I don't think that Gabriel would lie to Jamie now. If he doesn't confess to his brother in this very moment, then he didn't do it."

"That's a hypothesis," Chris contradicted.

"That's psychology," Lilly retorted. "Gabriel hasn't seen his brother for thirty-six years. He now sees him again, that's a very emotional moment. Jamie probably tells him that he suspected Gabriel and left therefore. If Gabriel is our man, then he will tell Jamie the truth."

"You've got a point there."

They fell silent an looked again over to the two brothers.

Jamie insisted that he stay with Gabriel until his brother was released, and since they had to release him from custody, anyway, Stillman agreed. He prepared the necessary documents, and an hour later, Gabriel Jarvis was a free man again.

"We're taking you to Deansville," said Lilly, who was waiting for Gabriel and Jamie at the exit door. She looked at Jamie. "What about you, Mr. Jarvis?" she asked. "Do you dare?"

Jamie's eyes sparkled. He had put one arm around his little brother and did not leave his side. "I know now that Gabriel is innocent, Detective," he said. "I'm completely convinced of that. So I don't see a reason why I should stay away from the community any longer."

"Then feel free to join us." Chris opened the door and headed for the detectives' car.

The closer they came to Deansville, the more nervous was Jamie. "What will they say?" he asked for the umpteenth time. "Do you really think they'll receive me with open arms and forget everything else? I didn't even attend my own father's funeral…"

"Don't worry," said Gabriel. "Everything will be alright. I promise you."

Jamie smiled. "We've switched our roles, I reckon," he said. "I used to be the one to calm you down."

"Even little brothers grow up," Gabriel remarked.

Lilly and Chris just smiled at each other and did not say anything.

They arrived in the community, and Chris parked the car. No one was in the street, and Gabriel and Jamie exchanged a glance. "Where are they all?" Jamie asked. His voice trembled.

Gabriel shrugged. "Maybe they're over at our place," he said. "Our living room is in the back of the house; sometimes we don't hear the cars arrive."

Jamie got out of the car, slowly. He rested one arm on the roof of the car and looked around. His voice sounded hoarse as he spoke. "It still looks exactly the same."

"Even Homer is still there." Gabriel pointed at the old, ragged scarecrow on the field adjacent to the Webster house.

The door of the Jarvis house opened at this moment, and Alex Jarvis emerged. He closed the door and came walking down the street. When he saw Gabriel and Jamie, his steps slowed down until he stopped.

"Dad?"

"Hi, Alex." Gabriel hugged his son. "I'm back."

"I see." Alex glanced at Lilly and Chris, then his gaze wandered to Jamie. He was startled. Slowly, he looked from Jamie to Gabriel and back. The similarities were obvious, and Alex was a quick thinker.

"You must be my uncle Jamie," he said calmly. Nothing in his voice suggested that he and Jamie already knew each other. "It's time you came back. My dad talked a lot about you."

"I have a nephew," said Jamie. He had more trouble controlling his voice than Alex. "Your name is Alex, I have learned."

"It's nice seeing you, Uncle Jamie," said Alex with a wide grin.

"It's nice to see you," Jamie replied. He took a step towards his nephew. "You're the perfect mixture of your parents, you know. Lucky you! The girls must be mad about you."

"Some are, some are not," said Alex vaguely.

Jamie grinned. "We'll get along very well, sonny," he said and swept the startled boy into a bear hug. Gabriel smiled.

"Alex?" Jordan's voice sounded from the house. "Are you out there?"

"Yeah, Mom!" Alex yelled back. "And you should come outside for a moment. You'll be surprised!"

"Will I?"

"Betcha!"

Jordan apparently suspected something, for she came out of the house instantly, looking around her. She spotted Gabriel and uttered a sound somewhere between a shriek and a sob.

"Gabe!" She ran towards her husband and right into his open arms. "You're back!"

She was so distracted that Jamie had to clear his throat a few times until she noticed him. For a moment, she stood frozen to the ground, staring in disbelief between her husband and her brother-in-law.

"Jamie?"

Jamie nodded, and Jordan stared at him a moment longer.

"This is too much for her," Alex remarked wryly.

"Watch your tongue, sonny!" But Jordan laughed. She finally let got of Gabriel and hugged Jamie instead.

Lilly and Chris exchanged a glance. The felt they were in the wrong place. This family reunion was none of their business. They could return later. Lilly started to retreat, and Chris followed her.

Alex noticed them and cast them a questioning glance.

"We'll come back later," Chris mouthed, and Alex nodded.

The others had apparently started to wonder where Jordan was, for Sunday, Dylan and Graham appeared now in the doorway.

Chris got in the car and started the engine. Lilly sat down beside him and watched the others through the windshield. The last thing she saw before Chris turned around was that Jamie had started to cry.

XXX

"It's been more than three hours," said Chris. "I think we can go back now."

The two detectives had gone to Deansville and had spent all the time in a restaurant, where they had had lunch and coffee. They had discussed the case, but Lilly had refused to tell Chris her idea. She had only repeated that they had to get back to the community one last time. And this was where they were now headed.

They parked the car and went to the Jarvis house. The door stood wide open, so they went in. They were met by a babble of voices coming out of the kitchen.

Sunday McLaren was the first to spot them. "Detectives!" she called.

Before they could say Jack Robinson, Lilly and Chris had to shake everyone's hands and answer a zillion questions. Everyone was so overjoyed over the return of the lost son that no one thought of the murder case that was still unsolved.

Lilly decided to let the others come back to the topic. It would not take long, she reckoned. After all, the murder case had been the reason why Jamie – and Gabriel – had returned.

"Let's get into the crowd," Chris whispered to her. Lilly grinned, and Chris waved and was gone.

Lilly went over to Jordan. Jordan was still smiling. When she noticed Lilly, she beamed at her.

"They still can't believe that Jamie is back," she said. "It's a miracle. And then there's Gabe! I knew you wouldn't be able to charge him with anything. Gabriel didn't kill her. I'm sure he didn't."

"You know, Jordan," said Lilly, "I'm getting more and more inclined to share your point of view."

"Are you?" Jordan looked at Lilly. "So who do you think did it?"

"I've got my own theory," said Lilly. "But I need to ask a few more questions before I can confirm it."

"What kind of questions?"

"All sorts of questions."

"Well, then why don't you start asking them right away? I want this thing to be over."

Lilly nodded. "Why not," she said. "Let's go into the living room."

Jordan led the way and Lilly followed. They sat down on the couch, and Jordan looked expectantly at Lilly. "Fire away, Detective."

Lilly watched the other woman closely as she asked the one question she wanted to ask: "Tell me, Jordan, did you know about Gabriel's affair with Natalya?"

A visible shudder went through Jordan's body, and her eyes narrowed. "Does that play any role?" she asked.

"I'm just curious." Lilly got up went to the pictures on the wall. "You see, I was wondering why you changed the order of your initials in the second picture. In the first one, your initials come first. In the second one, Gabriel's do. So I was wondering…" She trailed off and looked at Jordan.

Jordan met her glance and smiled. "Go ahead," she said. "I'd like to hear your interpretation. It's rare that someone thinks so much about my art."

"Alright," said Lilly and smiled as well. "I was wondering that maybe the order J – D – G – J stands for your feelings for Gabriel, and the order G – J – J – D means that these feelings are finally reciprocated. Completely, I mean. And if you knew about Gabriel's affair, you could be sure to be loved in return only after Natalya had disappeared."

"Go ahead," said Jordan. Her face was strangely motionless.

"Strange, isn't it, how much a picture can tell about what was going on inside the artist," Lilly said musingly. "Take this one, The Tempest-Tossed. It is very clear to me that you were angry and maybe even desperate when you painted this. The storm, the waves, the clouds… and this person there, all alone, undecided… You must have been in a difficult situation. A conflict. And then the other one: It seems so quiet and peaceful, as if you'd gotten rid of a big problem. That broom there is exactly at the spot where the person stood. That leads me to the conclusion that this person is the solved problem itself." Lilly did not look at Jordan as she added casually, "I suppose you painted the first one before, and the second one after you killed Natalya Atrochenko."