Brad hadn’t seen Carolina Bloom since their high school graduation. One day, as he was walking to the local delicatessen, he heard his name being called. Brad turned and saw the smiling face of Carolina Bloom.
“Carolina, is that you? I’d know that sexy face anywhere,” he said glancing at her chest.
“My face is up here,” Carolina said pointing up, “Brad Pickett, you haven’t changed a bit, you’re still the same degenerate you were back in high school.”
They continued seeing each other when Carolina came to New York or Brad found an excuse to visit California. It wasn’t a serious relationship, they both enjoyed the time they spent together but never talked about the future.
Brad’s mistake came one day over a year ago. He’d felt particularly proud of an insider trading deal he’d made that morning. He and Carolina celebrated with a bottle of expensive scotch. Carolina was never much of a drinker but coaxed Brad to have another and another. She knew he was holding back some important information and was determined to urge him to spill the beans.
Brad complied, he bragged about how he’d overheard a private conversation and acted upon it. He would stand to make a lot of money. What he didn’t know was that Carolina had recorded his every word.
The next morning Brad awoke with the worst hangover he’d ever remembered. Carolina was asleep with a smile on her face.
I don’t remember, but I must have been really good last night.
Brad’s inflated ego had no idea Carolina was smiling because of the many ways she was planning to blackmail him with his own words.
Carolina had no intention of profiting monetarily from her newfound knowledge. No, she had other plans for him. It was always good publicity when a movie star had a handsome escort by her side. She knew the time would come when her looks began to fade. It wasn’t fair that men looked better with age whereas women tended to simply look old. Brad might not be willing to continue their liaisons unless he had an incentive. Staying out of prison was a good one.
The day after Carolina returned to California, she called Brad.
“Hi, beautiful, did you forget something when you left my apartment.”
“No, Brad, I took something with me, something very entertaining.” She told him to listen while she played his words back to him confessing his insider trading.
Brad seethed with anger. She’d tricked him, plied him with scotch and coerced him into a confession.
No, it wasn’t a confession, I was bragging about my brilliant move.
“Carolina, if you were here, I’d wring your scrawny neck.”
“That’s why I returned to California before sharing the tape with you. Don’t think about getting rid of me, Brad. I made a copy of the tape and it’s in my lawyer’s office. I’ve instructed him to play the tape if something suspicious happens to me.”
“How much do you want, Carolina?”
“I’m not after your money, Brad, at least, not yet. I’m only asking that I have your attention when I need it. You’re a handsome man, Brad, you will make a perfect escort for me.”
Brad slammed the phone down. He vowed never to allow a drop of scotch to cross his lips in the future. He would do as Carolina asked but he would resent every minute of it.
***
Months passed before Brad heard from Carolina.
“Brad, it’s time to pay up. It seems dear old Milton’s money has all but dried up.” She didn’t add that she was the one who spent Milton’s fortune.
“Now, you want my money. How much to keep that scheming mouth shut?”
“Keep that in mind, Brad. For now, I want you to meet me in Oakwood Park. If I’m forced to return to that wretched town, I want to go back victorious. Tongues will wag when I show up with Rebecca Wilson’s favorite lover on my arm.”
“Rebecca and I were never lovers, Carolina, don’t you remember that’s why I hooked up with you?”
“I don’t remember hearing you complain at the time. You know I’m much more of a woman than Rebecca ever was.”
Brad ignored her words, he didn’t want to talk about Rebecca with Carolina. His pulse raced thinking about the girl he’d betrayed.
What a fool I was, Rebecca Wilson was the best thing that ever happened to me and I blew it. All those years ago, my mother couldn’t wait to tell me Rebecca was getting married to a wonderful young man.
Elsie Pickett realized she and Herman were responsible for Bradley’s behavior. The Picketts had given up hope of having a child of their own when Elsie began feeling queasy every morning. Thinking she had a stomach virus, she visited her doctor after two weeks passed and she wasn’t feeling better.
“Elsie, you have been feeling sick, not because of an illness,” Dr. Wolfe exclaimed, “you and Herman are about to become parents.”
Elsie burst into tears.
“Marie,” Dr. Wolfe called to his nurse, “have Mr. Pickett come in, please.”
Elsie cried uncontrollably, Dr. Wolfe had seen a variety of reactions when he informed his patients of their pregSandy, but never anything like this.
“Elsie, please calm down, I thought you would be pleased with the news.”
A worried Herman was alarmed when he walked through the exam room door to find Elsie dissolved in tears.
“What’s wrong with her, Dr. Wolfe, is her condition serious?”
“Would you like to tell Herman the news, Elsie or should I tell him?”
“You tell,” she managed to say.
“Herman, I can assure you Elsie is perfectly healthy, her condition is normal for a woman who is expecting a baby.”
Herman’s mouth flew open and when he was able to speak, he said, “It can’t be! Elsie, did you hear what the doctor said? You’re going to have a baby.” He wrapped his arms around his wife and they both sobbed.
Dr. Wolfe left the room, giving the couple some time to absorb the shock of being parents after all these years.
Throughout the next seven months, Elsie did everything the doctor told her to do to make sure their baby would be born healthy. Herman hired a nurse for Elsie while he was at work. Elsie supervised while Herman painted and wallpapered the bedroom they would use as a nursery. The day the baby furniture was delivered, Elsie went into labor.
Bradley Albert Pickett was born three weeks early. He was small but had a healthy set of lungs. Elsie held her son in her arms and whispered, “You will never want for a thing, my precious child.”
Elsie kept that vow. Through the years, the Picketts never refused their son anything. They didn’t use the word ‘no’ and gave in to his every want.
When Bradley was two-years-old, he grabbed another child’s toy. The boy tried to retrieve his truck and Bradley hit him on the head with it causing a gaping wound that required stitches.
After other similar instances, the other mothers in the neighborhood wouldn’t allow their children to play with Bradley fearing the injury his outburst could cause.
“Those women are jealous because Bradley is much cuter than their children,” Elsie would say to Herman not realizing her toddler son was a bully.
The years passed by quickly. During Brad’s early teen years, he spent hours in the principal’s office for offenses ranging from cheating on a history test to causing a freshman girl to fall down a flight of stairs breaking her arm. Elsie and Herman were called to the school several times that year. Elsie complained that the principal unfairly picked on Bradley. “The other children are jealous of our son,” she would say to Herman.
Brad’s behavior improved in his junior year when he noticed his old classmate, Rebecca Wilson, had turned into a beauty.
Rebecca fought her attraction to the handsome, but conceited, Brad Pickett. He won her over and they became inseparable for the next two years.
Elsie noticed a change in Bradley. He seemed happier since Rebecca came into his life. She secretly hoped the two would marry someday and present Herman and her with a slew of beautiful grandchildren.
Her dre
ams were shattered when Bradley humiliated Rebecca at the dance. After hearing what happened that night, Elsie blamed her son for wrongdoing for the first time in his life.
“Son, I’m ashamed of you.” Elsie’s harsh words stunned Brad and he vowed to leave Oakwood Park as soon as he graduated and never to return to the crummy town again.
Chapter Six
Rebecca Snow arrived at the Oakwood Park Regional airport. She didn’t understand why Carolina insisted she pick her up. It would be easy for her to rent a car at the airport. Rebecca didn’t know why she was suddenly Carolina Bloom’s best friend. They had never been particularly close in high school. Carolina tended to shy away from the girls and spend her time in the company of the popular boys.
***
That stupid bitch, thought Brad Pickett, she expects me to be at her mercy. I should just come clean about my part in the insider trading scam. Sure, I’d be fired and would never work in finance again. I’d probably be fined and could be sentenced to prison. What is worse, being broke, jobless, and behind bars or putting up with Carolina Bloom’s orders? I don’t have a choice but I’ll get that woman out of my life if it’s the last thing I do.
Brad waited for Carolina to arrive. She’d told him to meet her at the airport and go along with her act. “Just keep your mouth shut and look at me like I’m the only woman in the world.”
There were several people waiting for loved ones and business associates. Rebecca didn’t notice the dark-haired man standing to the left of the crowd.
The reason he was here began to make sense to Brad. Carolina wanted Rebecca to see them together. Little did she know that Rebecca wouldn’t give Brad the time of day. Her husband interrupted what should have been a happy reunion with the love of his life. He didn’t know why he was hiding from Rebecca, maybe he was hoping Carolina would forget she ordered him to meet her at the airport.
The plane emptied out with the passengers greeting those who met them. Everyone was gone except Rebecca and the person standing behind her. Rebecca checked her phone to see if she had a message from Carolina saying she’d missed her plane or was detained in California for some reason.
She looked up and saw Carolina sauntering toward her with an exaggerated smile on her face. She batted her eyelashes and looked from Carolina to the man standing behind her.
“Bradley, darling, you came to meet me, what a delightful surprise. Rebecca, I won’t need a ride from you after all.”
Rebecca turned around and was surprised to see Brad standing there.
“Rebecca, dear, you remember Bradley Pickett from high school,” Carolina said while throwing her arms around Brad’s neck and kissing him.
Rebecca noticed the pained look on Brad’s face. What is Carolina trying to prove? Does she think I care if she and Brad have something going on?
“As long as you have a ride to your hotel, I’ll be on my way. It’s good to see you again, Carolina,” Rebecca said with more enthusiasm than she felt.
“Don’t go, Rebecca,” Brad said, “Let’s all have a drink at the bar over there. We can talk about old times.”
Carolina, still with her arm around Brad’s shoulder gave him a pinch as a warning not to ad lib this meeting.
“I’m sorry, I don’t have time today, I have an appointment I really must keep,” Rebecca said turning to leave the terminal.
***
“I told you to keep your mouth shut. You will have to learn to follow orders, Bradley or face prison time. Don’t test me again, understood?”
“Yes, boss, I understand,” Brad replied in a tone that sent a chill through Carolina’s body.
***
Rebecca pulled her car into the garage. Andy greeted her at the door with a kiss.
“I didn’t expect you so soon, darlin’, did your friend miss her flight?”
“No, she was there and so was Brad Pickett. I get the feeling I was set up but I don’t know why. Carolina flew into Brad’s reluctant arms. Something is going on with those two and I’m not sure what it is nor do I care. Brad suggested we have a drink in the airport bar and talk about old times. Carolina showed her displeasure by pinching him on the neck. I thought I imagined it until Brad winced in pain.”
“Brad wants to get your attention. I don’t blame him, you’re quite the catch,” Andy said while nuzzling his wife’s neck.
Rebecca laughed, “speaking of catching, the club has their fish fry tonight, doesn’t that sound better than leftover meatloaf?”
“I like your meatloaf, but let’s go out. It’s been a busy week, it will be nice to be waited on.”
***
The Oakwood Park Country Club was famous in town for their Friday night fish fry. Rebecca and Andy were seated at a table for two by the window but not before stopping at other tables to greet their friends. The restaurant was busier than usual even for a Friday night.
“I don’t want to be anti-social but I’d rather sit quietly with you tonight, Andy.”
“I feel the same way. I don’t want to spend the evening listening to Cleve Jackson rehash his golf game, or Rob Gentry boasting about his latest romantic conquest.”
“I can tell by the look on Mavis Jackson’s face that Cleve is doing just that. I do feel sorry for Rob, he thinks he has something to prove because Charlotte left him for a younger man. His conquests are more wishful thinking than reality.”
The couple sipped their extra dry martinis when Rebecca heard a commotion at the maître d’ stand.
“Look, mister, I’m Carolina Bloom, I’m a famous movie star. I’ve been in better places than this and are always seated without a stupid membership card.
“Oh, there’s my dear friend, Rebecca Snow, she knows me, let her know I’m here you imbecile.”
“I wish I’d stayed home and heated up the meatloaf,” said Rebecca, “this evening is not going the way I’d planned.”
“George, it’s okay, you can let Carolyn and her escort through. She’s not a friend, dear or otherwise, but I do know her.”
“I know who she is, Mrs. Snow, but I have orders to only allow members and guests to be seated.”
“Put them on my tab, George. They will be our guests for tonight.”
“Thank you, Mr. Snow, people like you make my job so much easier,” replied George.
***
“Can you believe the nerve of that man, not letting me in? Hello, it’s Andy, isn’t it? Meet Bradley Pickett.”
“Mr. Pickett and I have met; hello Brad.”
“I’m sorry for barging in on you, I told Carolina this is a member only club, but she thinks because she is from Hollywood, she doesn’t have to follow the rules.”
“Oh, Brad, stop teasing me. Isn’t he a treasure, Rebecca?”
Rebecca didn’t answer the question and Brad looked extremely uncomfortable.
“Why are you two sitting at this tiny table? Let’s have that stuck-up maître d’ move us, so we can all sit together, wouldn’t that be fun?” Carolina said in a louder than necessary voice.
“We were about to order dinner,” said Andy while signaling for the waitress.
“Yes, said Rebecca, I’m afraid we have to eat and run. Our favorite television program is on tonight, we don’t want to miss it.”
“Television program? Rebecca, how do you bear living such a mundane life. I can’t remember the last time I watched a television show.”
“What do you mean, Carolina, the first thing you did when you checked into your hotel room was to turn on the television, I think you were watching some daytime soap opera. What was the name of that program? General Hospital? The way you were yelling at the characters, I thought you knew them.”
“I turned it on to make certain it was working. These small towns try to get away with cheating their customers. The hotel promised television and I wanted to make certain they fulfilled their promise.” Carolina scowled at Brad as he tried to hide a smirk.
After Andy ordered the fish fry for Rebecca and him, Carolina’s mout
h flew open.
“Rebecca, how do you expect to recapture your figure eating that horrible fried food. I’d be glad to share my diet secrets with you.”
“Rebecca looks just fine to me,” Brad said with a twinkle in his eye causing another scowl from Carolina.
It was unlike Rebecca to be vindictive but Carolina was getting on her nerves, and she couldn’t hold back. “Carolina, I’m one of the lucky ones, my metabolism is such that I have never had to resort to dieting.”
Although Andy didn’t appreciate Brad gawking at his wife, he had to snicker when Brad said, “I’d say Rebecca’s figure hasn’t changed since high school and look at her face, there isn’t a wrinkle in sight.”
Murder In Oakwood Park Page 3
