Chapter 9
Gretel and Jack sat opposite Ramsey Goldbloom in his office. He had to be in his early thirties, Gretel surmised. She'd expected to see someone older. His dark eyes were hiding something, she was sure of it. He ran a hand through his thick woolly hair.
Jack came right to the point and told Goldbloom he’d heard about the robbery and didn’t believe the story Ramsey had given the hospital.
A pained expression glazed over Goldbloom’s face as his lips pulled to one side. “I didn’t report it because, to start with, they weren’t my goods. I was holding on to ‘em for a friend.”
“Always a friend,” Jack said matter-of-factly.
“It’s true. A friend asked me to hold a bag for him for a couple weeks. I didn’t ask questions and I didn’t even know what was in there, know what I mean?” Ramsey shrugged his shoulders, crumpling his cheap navy suit. “When I told him what had happened, he said they must’ve followed him and then he told me what was in the bag. He admitted it was jewelry and it was hot.”
Gretel stared at the man. Did he really expect them to believe he never once looked in the bag?
“Who’s your friend?” Jack asked.
“I can’t tell you that.”
Jack leaned forward showing his patience was wearing thin. “Who did your friend think was after him?”
“A group of people who steal from people who’ve stolen. They must’ve been, since he said that, know what I mean?”
“And the name of your friend?” Jack asked once more.
He shook his head. “I’m sorry I can’t say. I’ve already told you more than I wanted to.”
“Did he say anything else?” Gretel asked.
“Only that he called them 'The Shadows.' That’s all he said.”
Jack gazed at him in a most patient manner and she could tell that was his way of making the man nervous. Finally, he asked, “Are you telling us stories?”
“Nah, it’s all true.” He shifted in his seat. “That’s exactly what he said.”
“He must’ve been upset about the … The Shadows taking his stuff,” Gretel said, half glancing at Jack, who wasn’t looking too happy. It sounded to her like this guy had been watching too many movies.
“He hasn’t talked to me since. I was pretty banged up. That helped him not be too mad at me I’d reckon.”
“Is this Shadows gang well known among your … associates?”
“All I did was help him as a one-off thing. I don’t know any criminals. Know what I mean? I run a legit car wash business as you can see.”
Gretel was surer than ever the car wash was a money-laundering operation. She’d noticed they had a sign up that they only took cash. That was unusual to say the least. “Who did your friend think was behind The Shadows?”
“He said it was run by the big guys. He said something like, they let the little guys steal and they step in and take it from ‘em, know what I mean?”
Gretel decided to count how many times he said know what I mean. She was sorry she hadn't started counting from the beginning.
“What did these men look like?” Jack asked.
“Dunno. They wore black ski masks. They were big, tall.” He made Hulk-like motions with his arms to show they were muscular.
“Did any of them have an accent?” Jack asked.
“No. They spoke like regular folk. Mean, regular folk.”
Gretel thought back to the man she’d seen in the Welches' house. He'd been alone, though. Then there were the two men searching Ryan’s hotel room while she was hiding in the closet moments before Jack had arrested her after her prison escape. Were those men The Shadows? She assumed there had been two of them because she only heard two voices. One of them called the other, 'Monzo.' “Did you hear any names mentioned?” Gretel asked him.
Goldbloom looked at her. “Huh?”
“Did one of them call the other a certain name? Frank, John, Dave?”
He shook his head. “Nah. I’d like to help ya more, but that’s all I got.” He opened his drawer and pulled out a couple of vouchers. “Here. Get ya cars washed on me. One each.”
“Thank you.” Gretel leaned forward and took hers.
Jack shook his head and held up his hand.
Gretel reached for Jack’s voucher. “I’ll take his.”
Jack put his hand over hers, and then plucked the vouchers away. “We can’t take anything, Gretel.” He pushed the vouchers back across the desk. “I’m sorry.”
“No worries. It wasn’t a bribe. Got nothin’ to bribe ya over.”
“I know, but all the same. Thank you for the offer.”
On the way out of the building, Jack explained, “We can’t take anything that could be seen as a bribe.”
“It was just a car wash.”
“It doesn’t matter. We can’t be seen to take anything or be given anything.”
She nodded. “Noted. I do like free things, though. Something for nothing. I mean, who doesn’t, know what I mean?”
He stared at her and then shook his head. “Don’t.”
Gretel laughed.
As they continued to his car, he said, “Can’t you afford to get your car washed, Gretel? I thought the interior design business was doing well.”
“It was, but I’ve since retired so …” According to the IRS she had an interior design business. That’s how she got her money. She didn’t know the FBI could look into her tax records. They might have subpoenaed them. “I don’t like to pass up something for free.” She gave him a bright smile so he wouldn’t see she was disturbed by him knowing her fake personal details.
Once they were in the car, he looked at his phone. “There’s not much to do until I get the forensic reports.”
“How long will that take?”
“Some will take weeks, others might be back as soon as tomorrow. This afternoon will be taken up with interviewing family members.” Then he smiled at her. “That manicure might have to wait.”
“I’m fine with that. I’m anxious to hear what they have to say. I wonder if you’ll crack someone by your rocking interviewing technique and they’ll confess.”
His lips curved upward slightly. “It has happened before. Today we’ve got the brother, the stepdaughter, and Greeves, the business partner. Tomorrow it’s the two full-time staff, the regular cleaners, and the company that maintains the gardens.”
“Can’t wait.”
Gretel sat in the room adjoining the interview room, the same place she’d sat for the last two days. Jack was no closer to finding out who killed Glen Welch. For Gretel, it was all a big waste of time and Ryan Castle had a huge head start.
Jack finished his last interview for the day and walked into the room with her. “I just got a message that Glen Welch’s body has been released to the family. How would you like to go somewhere with me?”
Her heart raced. Was he asking her on a date? The expression on his handsome face gave nothing away. He’d done nothing to show her he was interested in her as a woman. “Go where?” she managed to say, doing her absolute best to hide the freak-out that was going on in her head.
“Dust off your black dress, we're going to a funeral.”
“A funeral?” That was disappointing. Who was she kidding? He was too straight to be interested in a woman like her. A woman with a sordid and criminal past.
“Yes, a funeral.”
Funeral? That was so far from the date for which she was hoping. “When will it be?”
“Sometime within the next week I’d say.”
It meant being out in public and possibly photographed. “I can’t go. My parents are sure to be there. My sister is a good friend of Gizelle’s and my parents are probably still friends with Josephine. Maybe not friends, but associates—someone my parents took money from for their church.”
“I think it’s time you made amends with your parents.”
Gretel drew in a quick breath at the thought. “You know nothing about them.” What she really meant was
that he didn’t know how horrible they were. Sure, everyone thought her parents were the perfect Christian couple with the perfect family, but they weren’t. They were mean and cruel. They’d never treated her with love or shown her any understanding. All they did was judge her.
“They might know something useful about this case.”
NO! she screamed in her head. “No. They wouldn’t. They only know how to take money from people. You should see how much they rake in when they go on their tours.” They took money for their ministry and paid themselves a hefty wage. It wasn’t right, and they called her a criminal.
“I’m sure it all goes where it’s supposed to, or they wouldn’t have lasted this long. Why not make a move to bridge the gap?”
“I might.” Yes, she might go to the house on Sunday when they were sure to be in church. Her sister, Hazel, would be there and she’d find out if her folks were planning to go to Mr. Welch’s funeral. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Good girl.”
Good girl? Who did he think he was talking to? A trained pet? Maybe she was merely a project to him.
Chapter 10
Gretel’s family’s first church service of the day started at ten, so that was when Gretel arrived at her old family home on Sunday. She was pleased that Hazel answered the door since she hadn’t told her she’d be coming.
“You’re home,” Gretel said when Hazel answered the door.
“Yes. What are you doing here?” She grabbed Gretel and hugged her. “I’m so pleased you’re out and out for good.”
“Me too. Thanks again for your help.”
“Of course. I’m glad it all worked out. So, what are you doing here?” she asked again. “You haven’t been here for years.”
“I could ask you the same thing. I thought you’d be out with your boyfriend on a nice day like this. What’s his name again?”
“Jason. We broke up. I told you that when I visited you in prison.”
Gretel put her hand to her head. She did recall her sister telling her that. “Ah, sorry; I forgot. I had a few things on my mind back then.”
“I was just about to put a face mask on. Want to join me?”
“Sure.” They headed to the bathroom where Hazel had a gooey green lotion ready. Gretel picked up the brush and mixed it around. “And this is?”
“A mixture of green tea, vitamin C, Aloe Vera, and a few other things. I made it myself.”
“Hmm. Interesting.” She leaned down and sniffed it. “Smells okay.”
“You’ll need to take off your makeup.” She handed Gretel a facial wipe.
As she cleaned her face, Hazel applied the green goo to her own face.
“You heard about what happened to Glen Welch?” Gretel asked.
“Yes. It’s so awful.”
“I know. The FBI has me helping them with it. Don’t tell anyone.”
“Oh, that’s exciting. I won’t tell anyone. You live such an exciting life and you’re so lucky they’re keeping you out of prison. Do they know who did it yet?”
“Not yet.” She couldn’t wait any longer. “Are Mom and Dad going to Welch’s funeral?”
“They can’t. They’re leaving tomorrow for a ministry cruise.”
That was the best news she’d had for a while. It was a weight off her shoulders. “Ministry Cruise? That’s a new one.”
Hazel kept applying ‘green goo’ to her face. “It’s a new thing they’ve started. People will go along to enjoy the cruise and take part in daily worship sessions where they can grow closer to God.”
“How nice for them.”
Hazel giggled. “Don’t be sarcastic.”
“I’m not.”
Hazel handed her the green, goo-filled brush. “Here you go. Don’t go close to your eyes 'cuz it’ll tighten a lot.”
Standing next to her sister, Gretel brushed the concoction over her face.
“How does it feel?”
Gretel puffed out her cheeks. “It’s tightening already.”
“Yes, it’s good. Now we have to lie on the floor with our feet elevated.”
Hazel raced out of the room and Gretel followed reminded of all the fun they had when they were younger. They lay down on the living room floor with their feet on the couch.
“Just don’t get any goo on the rug or Mom will kill us.”
“No she won’t because she won’t know I’ve been here. She might kill you.”
“You should wait for them to get home. They haven’t seen you in ages.”
“Don’t tell them I was here. I’ll be long gone by the time they come home. They could’ve come to see me in jail, but they didn’t bother.”
“They were shocked, that’s why. They thought you were a decorator. Choosing lamps for people and that kind of thing.”
Gretel tried to smile at their stupidity, but the mask was too tight and hurt her face.
Hazel continued, “I couldn’t believe it when you told me about the FBI. It’s a dream come true and shows you that prayers work.”
“Prayers? I didn’t think you believed in all that.”
“Well, even you’d have to believe it was a miracle. Everyone prayed. They still pray for you. You would’ve been convicted for sure if you’d had a trial.”
“We’ll never know.” Gretel preferred not to think about it. “It’s in the past.” She could not entertain the ludicrous thought that it was prayer that got her out of prison. It was her own ingenuity, with a dash of help from several people, and a good dollop of luck.
“I’m not out of trouble just yet. Not completely. I still don’t have any real assurances that I won’t be deported to some foreign country to stand trial. Bolivia, France, England, Russia.”
“No, I don’t think Russia has an extradition treaty with us.”
“Probably not, but I don’t feel safe either way, not really.”
“I’m sure you’re out of danger.”
“For now, hopefully,” Gretel murmured to herself. “I hope it stays that way.”
“Why wouldn’t it? Wait a minute, why are you here?”
“Because I knew our lovely parents would be at work – or should I say church? – scamming people for donations, and I wanted to see you.”
“That’s not what they do, Gretel. They’re doing the Lord’s work. They are genuine you know.”
“Genuinely stupid if they expect people to believe all that. I needed to find out if Mom and Dad planned to go to Mr. Welch’s funeral. And I found out.”
“They’ll be gone for three weeks on the cruise.”
“Good. Excellent.” Gretel patted her cheeks. “How long do we leave this on?”
“A little while longer if you want your pores cleaned out.”
“I do. They’ve been through a lot.”
“Tell me about your detective friend,” asked Hazel.
“No, and he’s not a detective, he’s a special agent. Also, he’s not a friend. You can trust friends and I don’t trust him.”
Hazel giggled. “Tell me about him anyway.”
“There’s nothing to tell. He offered me a lifeline and I took it. End of story.” Gretel didn’t want to waste time talking about herself. What she needed was information. Since Gizelle was a good friend of Hazel’s it was a perfect chance to get intel. “How’s Gizelle holding up about her stepfather?”
“Is that why you’re here, just to ask me about Gizelle?”
Now she felt bad. “I wanted to see you. I know you’ve probably been past my place to see me since I’ve been out, but I’ve not been home much.”
“Mom told me to stay away from you, so I haven’t stopped by to see you.”
“Oh. Nice.”
“Don’t be mad at her, Gretel.”
“She never did like me. I’m not mad. I’m over it.” Focus Gretel, she told herself. It wasn’t the time to think about her horrible childhood. “I was just asking about Gizelle because I was there when she was interviewed. Not there in the room, but listening in. Don’t tel
l anyone that.” Gretel knew she could trust her sister with secrets.
“I won’t tell anyone. I haven’t even seen Gizelle, but I did speak to her on the phone. She’s dreadfully upset. What have you found out about Mr. Welch? I didn’t like to ask her too much about what happened. I read in the papers he interrupted a robbery and that’s how he was killed.”
In an effort to garner more information, Gretel gave her sister some things to think about. “I’m sure he was murdered and it was made to look like a robbery. I don’t believe there were intruders. That’s what I think.”
Hazel gasped. “Really? Who would’ve done that? Do you think Josephine killed him?”
Gretel was surprised by Hazel’s response. She must know more about Josephine. Gizelle must’ve said something. “Why do you say Josephine?”
“No reason, really. I just thought that you thought that.”
“I’m not sure. It could’ve been any number of people, but the first suspect has to be Mrs. Welch. She gets rid of her boring old husband, gets the insurance money from the jewelry, and gets to keep the jewelry too, if it wasn’t really stolen.”
“Back up a moment. Why would she want to get rid of her husband?”
“I don’t know. He was probably annoying. She was probably sick of him after however many years of marriage. Wouldn’t you hate the sight of someone after living with them for years?”
Hazel pouted. “Not if I was in love with him.”
“Yeah well, love’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Love is only in fairy tales. It’s not real.”
“You never change, Gretel.” Hazel giggled. “You don’t believe in love or God. What do you believe in?”
“Myself.”
Hazel giggled again.
Gretel sat up. “I have to get this thing off my face. It’s getting so tight it’s giving me claustrophobia. Okay?”
They headed to the bathroom where they both washed their faces at the double basins.
“There, isn’t that better?”
Gretel wiped her face dry with a towel and then stared into the mirror. “Yes. It does look refreshed.” She couldn’t see any difference. “I’m going to check out my old room while I’m here.” She wandered into her old room expecting to see it the same, with all her things around. When she pushed the door open, she was shocked. It’d been turned into a guest bedroom with floral wallpaper and a green bedspread. Gone were her gymnastic trophies and her running medals, along with her collection of teddies that had sat atop a high shelf. The shelf wasn’t even there anymore. What else would she expect from them? She lowered herself heavily on the bed and then Hazel walked in and saw her face.
Shiny Things Page 5
