The Replacement Child - By Christine Barber Page 0,98

just like to talk to you.” He added with a whisper and a smile, “But we’re really just using that as an excuse to get out of the cold.” Still she hesitated, then she nodded and the three went inside.

They sat at the kitchen table, and Pollack, all smiles, offered to make coffee.

“So, how long have you and your husband been married?” Gil asked.

Mrs. Strunk seemed to examine the question for tricks before she answered. “Four years.”

Gil could almost hear Pollack smiling behind him. That might be good news. If it had been twenty years, she might have been in too much denial to help them. If it had been only one, she might still be too infatuated with her new husband to betray him. But four was perfect. After four years, the shiny-new marriage would have given way to the everyday marriage. And everyday marriages are prone to cracks and leakage. Mrs. Stunk might have noticed the cracks but ignored them for the sake of the marriage. It was their job to shine a bright light on those cracks.

“If you’ll pardon me for asking,” Pollack said, with the same false decorum, “but were you ever married before?”

Mrs. Strunk answered more quickly this time. “Yes. For ten years. I have a son who goes to UCLA.” Pollack made noises like he was impressed.

“And Mr. Strunk—does he have children?” Gil asked.

“He was married to this awful woman for thirteen years, but they never had children.”

“How’d you and Ken meet?” Pollack asked.

“We were at this gallery opening on Canyon Road, the Hewitt Gallery.” Pollack nodded like he knew it, but Gil was sure he didn’t. “The hostess introduced us.”

“How long was it before you two got married?” Pollack asked.

“We both decided that since we were older, a long courtship wasn’t necessary, so it was just a matter of months. Why waste time? We weren’t children.” She was starting to warm up to the conversation, not checking her words for flaws before she spoke.

“Did you meet his family before the wedding? Go on long vacations together to get to know each other?” Pollack asked, sounding casual.

She faltered. “No, not really. I just …” She stopped, then started. “I thought there’d be time for that after the wedding.”

Pollack said, “I can understand that. Of course.” He put the filter into the coffeemaker before saying, “You know, when you’re married kinda quick like that, there are bound to be some surprises.”

“Well, the normal things. Adjusting to home life together, trying to get our schedules to mesh.”

“This whole business must come as a shock,” Pollack said slowly.

“Yes,” she said quietly. “I’m not sure what to make of it.”

“Did you have any idea that this was all going on?” Pollack asked.

“I’m not really sure what this is,” she said with some heat. “What can you tell me?”

“Well,” Pollack said, “we think it’s possible Mr. Strunk was seeing one of his students.”

Mrs. Strunk said with resignation, “I wondered if it was something like that.”

“What made you think so?” Gil asked.

“Oh, little things. He’s been acting strange for a month. He was secretive yet had a new kind of energy. He spent more time out of the house and seemed anxious that I get increasingly involved in my work. I’m on several committees for nonprofit groups.” She sighed. “It seemed he wanted me gone all the time.” She didn’t seem too distraught, only disappointed. Maybe a little relieved to have an answer to her husband’s behavior.

“How have things been this week?” Gil asked.

“More of the same. He got an odd phone call on Monday that he took in his study. He never takes calls in his study, even work calls. He purposely lets me overhear those. He said he wanted me to know what was going on with his work, that it would keep us close.”

“What did you think the call was about?”

“I don’t know. I answered the phone. It was an Hispanic man.” She quickly looked at Gil as if she had offended him. “I mean, he sounded like he had a local accent, a typical Northern New Mexico accent.” She stopped, embarrassed. Gil wasn’t. It was a fair description.

“What time was this call?” Pollack asked.

“Just after eight thirty P.M..”

“And did your husband do anything after he got the call?” Pollack asked.

“He went out.”

“Do you know where he went?” Gil asked. She shook her head. “How long was he gone?”

“Until after midnight. And he wouldn’t come to bed. He just sat up the rest of the night. That’s