Behind The Gates (A Maggie McFarlin Mystery Book 1)

by Charisse Peeler

  “I’m not interested in talking to you right now,” Angie said. “You’re drunk.”

  “I think you really do want to talk,” Preston insisted. He looked at the group gathered at the table. “Or I could just talk here in front of your friends.”

  “Jesus, Preston,” Angie said, standing. “If I talk with you, will you leave me the hell alone?”

  “Jesus has nothing to do with this but I absolutely will leave you alone.”

  “Be right back,” Angie said, grabbing her purse and pulling the strap over her shoulder.

  “What an asshole,” Britney said after Angie had left.

  Alex motioned her head to the spot near the door where the two of them were standing. “She’s giving him money.”

  “Whatever she gave him must have been enough,” Maggie noted. “Because there he goes.”

  Angie came back and sat back down.

  “You okay?” Britney asked.

  “Yeah,” Angie said. “I can’t wait to get rid of that asshole.”

  “Why don’t you move?” Alex suggested.

  “Well, I haven’t told you the best part of my meeting with the detective.”

  “Uh oh,” Maggie said.

  Angie nodded. “Yeah, well it seems like there is some evidence that might point to me as a suspect.”

  “What?” the three ladies said in unison.

  “I have to get a lawyer, but I have no idea how I’m going to pay for one…”

  “I thought you were at work?” Maggie asked.

  “I have a feeling Detective Marker believes I’m the mastermind somehow—and I have an accomplice, maybe Preston or his friend Dale,” Angie said.

  “I’ll get you a lawyer,” Alex assured her. “I know just the right guy, Landyn Friedman, he was the top of his class at Yale.”

  “He doesn’t live at the club, does he?” Angie asked.

  “No, but his grandfather does,” Alex said, smiling.

  “Of course he does,” Angie replied. “But I have no way of paying for a lawyer, especially a good lawyer.”

  “Don’t worry about that, I’ll take care of it. And someday, when you can, you pay me back.”

  “Alex, I am so grateful.” Tears had started to form in the corners of Angie’s eyes. “I promise…I will pay you back.”

  “Okay, time for another drink.”

  Britney signaled Billy by raising her hand and circling her finger in the air. The manager immediately understood. He headed to the bar to pour another round.

  “I wonder if he can help me get a divorce too?” Angie asked.

  “You can ask,” Alex said. “If not, we can work on that too.”

  “Thank you,” Angie said. “You ladies are amazing.”

  Alex smiled confidently. “Just let us know what’s going on so we can help.”

  Maggie couldn’t imagine why Alex was so eager to help Angie, though she did have a huge heart under her tough exterior.

  “By the way, Angie,” Alex said, “I’m hosting a dinner party Friday night and we’d love for you to attend.”

  Angie hesitated. “I don’t know,” she said. “I hate to intrude.”

  “Wendy is coming. You two can ride together,” Maggie encouraged.

  Britney smiled warmly. “Come on, Angie, help me bring the average age down.” She turned to Alex and Britney. “No offense, ladies.”

  “None taken,” Alex said.

  “I guess I can get someone to take my shift at the casino,” Angie replied.

  “Perfect, it’s settled,” Alex said. “See you Friday night.”

  Chapter 10

  Vodka Cranberry

  The club had twelve board members, each serving two-year terms. Half were replaced each year to ensure some continuity, but a disagreement between the current president and the treasurer had caused the need for a midyear election. One rumor floating around the club speculated that the rift was caused by a disagreement over the dress code in the bar. Another rumor postulated that money had been spent to refurbish the men’s locker room without a board vote. Whatever the cause, six out of the twelve board members abandoned their post. Thus the midyear election had become necessary to replace those six members.

  Maggie and Alex volunteered to count the ballots. They had counted ballots in previous elections and found it entertaining. For the most part, Maggie tried to stay out of club politics, but often the issues were debated at the bar. Usually the debates included a lot of false information and exaggerations in order to generate outrage. Whenever the discussions grew too hot, Alex de-escalated by simply walking over to the general manager’s office and dragging him to the bar so he could provide an informal briefing of reality.

  Britney was sitting in the bar next to her favorite candidate, Brock Adams. She had decided to campaign for Brock exclusively because he was not the typical club member. He had been a professional football player for the Miami Dolphins; now he played golf every day and was a definite contender for this year’s club champion.

  Fonzie handed Maggie and Alexandra vodka cranberries in “to go” cups before the two ladies made their way to the men’s card room, which had been set up as the official counting venue. Britney had no interest in counting, noting it would be a conflict because since she was Brock’s campaign manager…even though there was no such thing as a campaign manager.

  “You girls make a couple extra marks for my guy,” she said as Maggie and Alex walked by.

  Maggie smiled to her. “Even if we wanted to, there’s really no way to cheat.”

  When Maggie and Alex walked in to the men’s card room they immediately saw it had been transformed into an official office space. The controller sat behind a laptop at a long table at the front of the room. A large lockbox, which had been sitting in front of the reception area for the last two weeks, was now open and empty, its contents spread neatly across six card tables. The piles of pink envelopes sat in the center of the table with only three chairs. Nameplates dictated where each person would sit. Maggie and Alexandra had to switch one person’s designated seat so they could sit next to each other. Soon the other volunteers started filing in. It took a while to get everyone in their assigned seats before Jerry, the chair of the election committee, gave the instructions.

  “First of all, thank you for helping out tonight,” Jerry said. “In front of you is a stack of the unopened ballots. The first thing we need to do is verify each enveloped is signed on the back. If it is not, please raise your hand and I will take custody of that ballot. The next step is to open the pink envelopes and pull out the blue envelopes. Make two piles. We will collect the external envelopes that contain the members signature. When they all are separated, you can open the blue envelopes and pull out the ballots, unfold them, and make another stack. You may then discard the blue envelopes. The person with the number ‘one’ on his or her nametag will call out the names and the other two volunteers at the table will record the vote. When everyone is done, we are going to switch tables and recount. When your table has finished recording all the ballots, raise your hand and we will come take the tally sheets.”

  Maggie leant over to Alex and said softly: “I feel like I’m in grade school and we’re about to take a standardized test.”

  “I might need another drink,” Alexandra said. She shook the ice cubes in her now empty to go cup.

  After the first round of counting, Maggie and Alex turned in their sheets and headed to the ladies’ room. The noise from the bar spilled out into the foyer. When they finished up in the ladies’ room, they snuck back to the bar, which was now standing room only. The candidates, their friends and families, and other interested members had crowded the room.

  Maggie motioned to Fonzie, but he was already putting the lids on the Styrofoam cups. He passed the drinks to the two girls. “How’s it going in there?”

  “Slow as molasses,” Alex said.

  The two ladies turned back to the men’s card room, prepared for round two. But before they got out the
door, Doc stood in front of them.

  “How am I looking?” he said.

  For some reason, Doc was one of the people who had decided to run for the board. He was totally serious about the whole thing.

  “There really isn’t a way for us to tell. There are six tables counting…we still have round two to go,” Maggie said.

  Doc’s demeanor suddenly faltered. “Seriously?” he said.

  “Well, if our table is an indication, you could be in the top three—but don’t say anything. “Just go have another drink,” Alex said.

  “Or two,” Maggie interjected.

  Alex added: “We should be done soon.”

  The girls’ inside information had perked up Doc’s spirits again. “Okay girls,” he told them, “get in there and count. Use your toes if you have to.”

  “He’s a funny one,” Alex said as she and Maggie headed to the card room. “At least he thinks so.”

  “Why would anyone want to be on the board?” Maggie asked.

  “I guess they must be bored.” Alex winked at Maggie.

  “Doc is still working…he’s going to lose any free time he has.”

  Alex considered. “I don’t think Doc works that hard. But I hope he does win, we need some young blood on the board.” She nodded to Maggie. “You should run next year.”

  “I’m retired for a reason,” Maggie said. “Britney would be awesome on the board.”

  “She would rather support the right candidate than run herself,” Alex said.

  “But she would be great.”

  Alex nodded. “I agree.”

  Finally, the counting was complete, and Jerry announced that the winners had been verified. Maggie and Alex returned to the bar, along with all of the other volunteers. Then Alan, the current president of the board, was led into the counting room. He met with Jerry briefly; then they came out together and stood on a small stage that had been constructed for the event. Alan struggled with the microphone until finally he gave up and yelled into the room: “May I have your attention?” He held a spreadsheet in his hand.

  The grumbling of the crowd was still too loud. Finally a member who almost nobody seemed to know managed to get the microphone working and handed it back to Alan.

  As the names were read, the section of the bar where that candidate and their entourage stood in a tight group would erupt in a small celebration, until they were shushed by Alan. “People,” Alan said into the microphone, “let me get through the winners….”

  His words had no effect. Maggie did not know the first three winners, but Britney’s guy Brock was number four. Britney was the loudest whoop whoop! in the room.

  “The fifth new member of the board is Mary Saint James,” Alan announced. “And our final new board member is Dr. Frances Cohen.”

  Doc made a big cheer, as if he was at a football game, pumping a fist in the air.

  “Congratulations to all the new board members,” Alan said into the microphone. The entire room burst into cheers, some tables a little less enthusiastically, as their names had not been announced.

  “Hey, Doc,” Maggie called out. Half a dozen heads turned. Calling out Is there a doctor in the house? or Do you know a good lawyer? in a country club will pretty much get the attention of seventy-five percent of the room. The CPAs, financial advisors, and real estate guys make up another twenty percent of club members. It’s the five percent oddballs who are the interesting ones.

  As Doc made his way through the crowd, he received slaps on the back and man hugs until he finally reached Maggie and Alex.

  “Ladies,” he said with a wide grin, “thanks for all the help.”

  “We didn’t cheat for you, if that’s what you mean?” Maggie said.

  “There is no way to cheat, Doc,” Alex said. “You did this on your own. You should be proud.”

  Doc nodded then pulled his phone from his pocket. “I need to call my mom.”

  “Wait.” Alex placed her hand on his arm, stopping him from leaving. “I’m having a dinner party at my house on Friday, we’d like you to come.”

  “Sure, sounds great,” Doc said, nodding. “Will Britney be there?”

  Maggie rolled her eyes.

  “Of course Britney will be there,” Alex assured him.

  “What can I bring?” he asked.

  “Yourself.”

  “How about dessert?”

  “It’s taken care of,” Alex said, releasing his arm. “Go call your mother.”

  “I can’t believe he’s so excited,” Maggie said after Doc had stepped away. “Seems like a lot of frustration for no pay.”

  “You couldn’t get me involved in that mess,” Alex said.

  “Maybe when you retire?”

  “I’m never going to retire. Work less maybe,” Alex allowed, “but absolutely not retiring.”

  “How does your son feel about that? Isn’t he eager to take over someday?”

  “I think he’d like to, but my company relies on a lot of government contracts, and a woman-owned company carries significant weight when those contracts are awarded. Unfortunately for my son, when I finally retire, he’ll be working for his daughter.”

  Both women laughed.

  “When are you going back?” Maggie asked.

  “I thought I told you and Britney, the company is closed down for two weeks while we do all the maintenance and calibrations of the equipment and the building. I still have one more week here. Then I won’t be back until after Christmas.”

  Maggie frowned. “We really need to solve this mystery before you go back.”

  “We—” Alex said, “—will sure try.”

  Britney made her way over to her two friends.

  “We did it!” she said, smiling wide.

  “You did,” Alex said. “I’m proud of you.”

  “Thanks,” Britney said then turned to Maggie. “Your boyfriend was at the club talking to Fonzie earlier today.”

  Maggie looked confused. “My boyfriend?”

  “The detective,” she said, taking a sip of her drink.

  “He was talking to Fonzie?” Alex asked. “Could you hear anything?”

  “No, they were sitting at a table in the back. That new manager who wears bow ties was serving drinks.”

  “I like that guy,” Maggie said.

  “He’s married,” Britney cautioned.

  “I didn’t say I liked him like that,” Maggie replied.

  Alex asked Britney, “How long did he talk to Fonzie?”

  “I don’t know.” Britney shrugged. “They were already talking when I got there. Then he left after about a half hour or so.”

  Maggie turned to Alex. “Are you surprised he talked to Fonzie?”

  “No, I guess not,” Alex said. But she was obviously a little distracted.

  “Let’s go back to the club when it’s calmed down and ask Fonzie what they talked about,” Maggie suggested.

  “No way,” the other two said.

  “I’m feeling lucky,” Britney said. “As a matter of fact, I’ll be right back—save my seat.”

  Alex and Maggie watched Britney act as if she were going to the restroom but bump deliberately into a young man. She laughed loudly enough that they could hear her. Soon she came back.

  “What do you think of the puppy?” she asked.

  Alex raised an eyebrow. “The puppy?” she said.

  “He’s a firefighter. Just finished having dinner with his parents for his birthday. The girl standing next to him is his sister. He just turned thirty,” she said meaningfully.

  “Age appropriate,” Maggie noted, nodding her head in approval.

  “About fifteen years too young…but look at that body. If I ever want to have babies, it’s with that guy.”

  “Do you want babies?” Alex asked.

  “Definitely, someday,” Britney said. “Does that surprise you?”

  “A little,” Alex admitted.

  “Did you get his number?” Maggie asked.

  “No,
I’m going to meet him at Capital Grill.”

  Britney held a fist out toward Maggie. Maggie held her fist out too then bumped it firmly against Britney’s. “You go, girl.”

  “Have fun,” Alex said.

  Britney grabbed her purse and disappeared.

  “I love that girl,” Maggie said.

  “She’s got everything going for her, doesn’t she?”

  They talked for a few more moments before a familiar voice sounded behind them. “Well, ladies I have got to go,” Doc said.

  “Where are you headed out so soon?” Alex asked.

  “I have a date,” Doc said. “I’m taking Angie to the Kravis for a concert.”

  “That’s great. You two have fun,” Maggie said.

  “Don’t forget Friday night,” Alex said.

  “Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he said, bouncing out the door.

  Chapter 11

  Long Island Iced Tea

  Maggie sat at her desk, trying to find inspiration for her new book. She had a bad case of writer’s block. Technical writing was much easier for her, because absolutely no creativity was required. Any time she ever tried to add any descriptive fluff in her work, it was redlined by her boss or the proofreaders. Basically, any creativity she had ever had was redlined; pulling anything out of the creative side of her brain just seemed foreign. After two cups of coffee and less than fifty words on the page, she gave up and looked for some inspiration instead. That’s when she remembered the list Rodney had given her. She had been so busy that she had almost forgotten about it.

  She pulled out the club directory and put a star by all the members who had come through the gate that day using their bar code. The list was actually six pages long. She wrote the letter c next to contractors, e next to employees. She circled Angie’s name because her car came in at 10:47 p.m.—and then again at 4:33 a.m. Some delivery trucks had come through, but the log didn’t list their destinations; but chances were these could be eliminated, as food deliveries were always to a specific member. About twenty names were left.