I put the Closed sign on the front door and locked it. “Make a pot of coffee,” I said to Ivy. “I’ll call Toronto, then we’ll talk.”
Keith picked up on the first ring. “What in the hell is going on up there? I send you to fly the corporate colors and what happens? A client is murdered and there’s a hostage-taking at the branch. And you’re nowhere to be found.”
I told him there’d been a problem at the house and I had spent the night in a hotel.
“And there was no telephone at this establishment?”
I said it had been late when I’d checked in. I didn’t remind him that the wonder woman he’d hired to run the branch had nearly added me to her hit list. There was no reasoning with Keith when he was on a rant.
Then he seemed to calm down a bit. “Compliance is looking at your client accounts. They say there are no pending orders, but they’re checking them all out. I want you to do the same. Go over all those accounts with a fine-tooth comb. Not just Nuala’s, Paul’s as well. Every single account that has been opened at the Braeloch branch.”
I told him I’d do what he asked.
He cleared his throat. “You’ll have to stay up there a while longer, Pat. We need you to run the branch until we find someone else—or close it down.”
For Soupy and Ivy’s sake, I wanted to do my best to ensure that the branch got rolling. But what about Tommy? He needed to return to school and his friends in the city.
I told Keith that I’d get back to him later in the day.
Ivy had coffee and the donuts on the table in the reception area. I was about to sit down when I saw ELK TV’s van pull up in front of the building. Mara got out and hurried up the walk. I opened the door.
“Ms. Tierney, I’d like to talk to you about what happened yesterday. Nuala Larkin—”
“I’m sorry, but we have work to do in here.” I shut the door and locked it.
“Mara just wants to—” Soupy started to say.
I held up a hand and returned to the sofa.
Soupy helped himself to a Boston cream. “You don’t want to talk to the media,” he said. “But you’ll tell us what happened?”
I gave them a rundown of the previous afternoon at the branch.
“Oh, my God!” Ivy said when I’d finished. “That’s why Nuala told me to go home. She said the computers would be down for repairs.”
Soupy shook his head. “She was bilking client accounts. Unbelievable. All her talk about transparency and accountability.”
“One of the people she took money from at Optimum was Lyle’s sister,” I said.
He looked thoughtful. “When Lyle came by here he went over to Nuala’s office door and looked at the nameplate.”
“He was on to Nuala,” I said. “He must have approached her about Pearl’s account.”
“Nuala killed Lyle?” Ivy asked.
“It looks that way,” I said, “but we’ll see what the police turn up. In the meantime, head office has asked me to check all the accounts that have been opened at this branch.”
Soupy’s face clouded. “Do they think—”
I put a hand on his arm. “Don’t take it personally. All client accounts are being vetted. We have to protect our clients, you know that.”
He sighed.
“We’re down one advisor here,” I continued. “I’ll be staying on for a while.”
“You’ll be the acting manager?” Soupy asked.
“That’s right.” And too bad if you don’t like it, I wanted to add.
I looked at them brightly. “Now let’s get to work.”
I took the Closed sign off the door. Ivy was gathering up the coffee mugs, and I asked her to call the telephone company and have them reconnect the landline at Black Bear Lake. I wrote down my Volvo’s license plate number, and told her to have Sam’s Service Station bring the car into town and replace the battery. And check to see if there was anything else wrong with it.
Ivy had just returned to her desk when there was a knock on the front door. I looked out the picture window and saw Foster outside.
I brought him down to the office in the basement and closed the door.
“Ms. Collins briefed us on her research this morning,” he said as he took a chair. “Two of our white-collar-crime investigators are going over it with her. That, plus your statements and that device you turned over to us yesterday, should put Nuala Larkin away for some time.”
I sat down behind the desk. “Nuala—”
“She hasn’t admitted that she took clients’ money at Optimum or anywhere else. Yet.”
He looked at some papers in the folder he was holding. “And she’s adamant that she didn’t kill Critchley. She said she was at a restaurant in Lindsay that evening, and seven other people were with her.”
It took me a few moments to digest what he’d said. “She didn’t murder Lyle?”
“We’ll check out her story,” he said. “Talk to the people she claims were with her that night.”
I waited to hear what else he had to say. I didn’t think he’d come to the branch to update me about Lyle’s murder.
“There’s been a raid on the Dead Riders’ Toronto clubhouse. There won’t be any bikers headed this way in the next little while. And with Gallant under arrest, there’s likely to be an internal power struggle. You should be off their radar.”
“We’ll be safe out at the lake?” I asked.
“Safe from that biker gang.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
He cleared his throat. “I’d like speak to Paul Campbell now. I want to go over Critchley’s visit to this branch with him again.”
That meant he had no other leads.
I took him to Soupy’s office. I was on my way over to Ivy’s desk when Ted and Bea walked into the building.
“Is my money still here?” Bea cried when she saw me. “When I heard the news about Nuala on the radio this morning, I got Ted to drive me over here.”
I took them to the office downstairs and called up Bea’s account on the computer. I told her I would go over it carefully in the next few hours.
“You don’t know whether my money’s all there, do you?” she said.
I was pretty sure her account was fine. I didn’t think Nuala would have touched it until I returned to Toronto. Even then, she’d have second thoughts with Ted hovering in the background.
But Bea had a right to know exactly where she stood. “Not until I look at it carefully,” I said. “I’ll call you as soon as I do.”
“I should never have trusted that woman,” she said. “My money has to last me the rest of my days. My mother was nearly a hundred when she died so I’ve got a ways to go. I don’t want to be a burden on my daughter.”
Ted put an arm around her. “If anything’s been taken by a Norris Cassidy employee, I’m sure the company will reimburse you. Right, Pat?”
“That’s right.” I noted how tired he looked. The lines around his eyes seemed to have deepened since the last time I’d seen him. “I’ll give you a call later today, Mrs. Greeley.”
She didn’t look happy.
“Did this have something to do with Lyle’s death?” Ted asked. “Was Lyle one of Nuala’s clients?”
I remembered that Ted ran a newspaper. “Is this for publication?” I asked.
He threw me a smile. “We have a short item that says Nuala Larkin is in custody following an incident at the Norris Cassidy branch. I’d like to add to it if I can. We go to press at noon tomorrow.”
I didn’t see any harm in giving him some background. “Nuala worked at Optimum in Lindsay where money went missing from client accounts last year. The police are looking into whether she was involved.”
“And Lyle? Was she investing his money?”
“He wasn’t one of her clients, but his sister, Pearl, lost money at Optimum.”
Ted raised an eyebrow. “When Lyle discovered money was missing from Pearl’s account, he must have confronted Nuala.”
�
�We don’t know that.” I rose from the chair. “I’ll get back to you as soon as I can, Mrs. Greeley.”
I walked them to the front door and found Lainey Campbell at the reception desk. “I came over to find out what went on here yesterday,” she said. “Ivy tells me that Nuala had a gun.”
“Goodness,” Bea cried. “She could have killed somebody.”
“Nuala Larkin would have killed anyone who got in her way,” Ted said. “And Lyle confronted her about Pearl’s money.”
Bea gasped. “Nuala killed Lyle!”
The color drained from Lainey’s face. “Nuala wasn’t the only one who wanted Lyle out of the way.”
“Nuala is in custody and the police will get to the bottom of it,” I said. “In the meantime, we have work to do here.”
Soupy came out of his office with Foster. The detective nodded at us and hurried off.
“Hey, Mom,” Soupy said. “Everything okay?”
Lainey stepped around him and went into his office.
I opened the front door for Bea and Ted. “I’ll call you, Mrs. Greeley.”
I reached Celia at the rectory. “You’re back in your office,” I said.
“Got the green light from the police twenty minutes ago. And Bruce is back from the hospital. He just went upstairs.”
I told her we could return to the lake that evening. She said she’d like to head out early with Farah and Tommy, who were growing more restless by the minute.
“Leave for the lake whenever you want,” I said. “My Volvo is at the service station. It should be ready late this afternoon.”
I had just started on Bea’s account when Soupy rapped on the office door. He looked worried.
“Come to my office, Pat. It’s Mom.”
I got up from the desk and followed him upstairs. Lainey was seated in front of his desk crying softly into her hands.
“She won’t tell me what’s wrong,” he said.
Lainey lifted a tear-stained face. “I don’t know what to do.”
I pulled up a chair beside her. “About what, Mrs. Campbell?”
She opened her mouth to speak, then turned her head away. “I’d better get back home. Got bakin’ to do.”
“Mom—”
Lainey got up and walked out of the office.
Soupy followed her to the front door where she whirled around to face him. “Stay inside, Paul. You’ll catch a cold without your coat on.”
Soupy and I watched from the window as she hurried down the sidewalk. Ted crossed the street to speak to her, but she walked right past him and got into her car. He stared after her, looking upset.
“I wonder what’s going on,” Soupy said. “I’ve never seen Mom break down like that. She’s always on top of things.”
Ted glanced at our building. He scowled when he saw us at the window. Then he crossed the street and got into a maroon van.
“D’you know Ted well?” I asked Soupy.
“Mom and Dad hung out with him when they were young, but he went down to Toronto years ago. Before I was born.” He pointed to Ted’s van, which was pulling away from the curb. “Something strange is going on.”
The client accounts—all twenty-three of them—were squeaky-clean. I’d just started on the last one when the compliance office gave me a thumbs-up from Toronto.
At two-fifteen, I called Bea and told her that all was well. I was leaning back in the chair, relieved that our clients had suffered no harm, when Jamie walked into the office.
“I’m on my way back to the city,” she said.
“Tracy will be happy about that.” I paused. “I’ll be in Braeloch until a new manager can take over. I wonder—”
She reached across the desk and placed a hand on mine. “Tracy and I will stay at your house while you’re here. If that’s okay with you.”
I smiled my gratitude. “Thank you, dear. Have you heard anything more about Nuala?”
“It looks like she didn’t kill Lyle. Seven people have told the police she was in a restaurant with them when Lyle’s garage went up in flames.”
“But she’s been charged—”
Her eyes sparkled. “With fraud and embezzlement. She’ll never work as a financial advisor again.”
I got out of my chair and gave her a hug. “Drive safely.”
When I was alone again, I mulled over what I knew about Ted. He had worked briefly at The Times when he was a young reporter, then spent decades in Toronto. Returned to Braeloch two years before. His wife, Vi, was a resident in the town’s nursing home. Bruce was their only child, and he and Ted didn’t get along.
I knew firsthand that parents and children don’t always see eye to eye. But Bruce needed a place to live. Why wouldn’t his father help him?
I told myself that I didn’t know the Stohls’ full story. I remembered what Lainey had said to Ted that morning. That Nuala wasn’t the only one who wanted Lyle out of the way.
I flipped through the Glencoe Highlands phone directory and found a Burt Campbell listed on Highway 36. I dialed the number and hung up when Lainey’s recorded voice came on.
I grabbed my coat and went into Soupy’s office. He looked up from this computer screen. “Calling it a day?”
I bit back a tart reply. “Your mom said she was going home, but she’s not answering her phone.”
He picked up the telephone receiver and hit a button on the phone. “Today’s Mom’s baking day,” he said as it rang. With a frown on his face, he replaced the receiver in its cradle. “She’s always at home on Thursdays. I was surprised to see her here today.”
“You might want to check on her.”
He hit another button. “Soupy here, Rena. Is Dad around?”
A few moments later, he thanked Rena and hung up. “Dad’s out on a job. I’m going to the house to check on Mom. Would you come with me?”
I nodded. “Let’s go.”
He pulled his parka off the coat rack, and we went out the back door.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Soupy twitched behind the wheel of his Porsche as we headed down Highway 36. Something was gnawing at him, and I had a hunch that it wasn’t his mother and Ted.
“What’s up?” I finally said. “Out with it.”
“I want to say…need to say…I apologize.”
I looked at him, puzzled. “For what?”
“The night of the big snowfall last week. Tuesday night.”
“Yes?”
“I drained Hank Corcoran’s battery. Went over to his place and turned on his headlights.”
“It’s Hank you should apologize to,” I said. “A neighbor plowed us out. Why did you do that?”
“On your first day at the branch, you told us the Corcorans plowed your driveway. Later, Nuala asked if I knew who they were. I sure did. Their son, Hal, was our drummer a few years ago. Nuala said we were in for a big whack of snow that night and maybe we should arrange that you didn’t get plowed out in the morning. You’d miss the launch.”
“And I’d be in the doghouse with head office.”
“Right.”
“And they’d yank me back to Toronto lickety-split.”
“Right.”
“I can see why Nuala wanted me out of here—to avoid any oversight. But why did you go along with it?”
“She said you’d get all the credit for the clients we brought in in the coming weeks, and anything else we did to build the business. I thought we’d score more points without you.”
“So she suckered you,” I said. Just like she did everyone else, including me.
“You got it. I’m sorry, Pat. Can we turn the page on this?”
“We’ll forget it happened.” I paused. “Now let’s see what’s up with your mom and Ted.”
A few miles farther down the road, he turned into a lane that led to a white clapboard house and a blue barn. A maroon van was parked in front of the house.
“Ted’s here,” Soupy said.
He led the way to the side of the house and peered through
a window beside the door. “Mom and Ted are at the kitchen table. They seem to be arguing.”
“Lainey, I beg you, don’t—” Ted fell silent as we entered.
“Mom, Ted, what’s going on?” Soupy asked.
Lainey was about to speak, but Ted held up his hand to silence her. “Your mother and I have something we need to discuss. It’s none of your concern.” He glared at me. “Or yours, Pat.”
“I want them to stay.” Lainey said. “Sit down, please.”
Ted pulled his chair back from the table. “Then I’ll be going.”
“You stay put, Ted Stohl,” Lainey said. “You’re not going to run away again. I won’t have it.”
He scowled, but eased back into the chair.
Soupy sat beside his mother. I took the chair next to Ted.
“Ted and I are going over old times,” Lainey said.
I shifted uneasily in the chair. “If this is a family matter, perhaps I should—”
“Please stay,” she said. “It is a family matter. A matter that concerns the Stohl and the Critchley families.”
She had my attention.
Lainey patted her son’s arm. “We’re talkin’ about something that happened a long time ago.”
Ted opened his mouth to say something. Instead he drew a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
“Forty-two years ago last December, Ted and Vi’s son, Bruce, was born,” Lainey said. “Vi called him her Christmas gift from God.”
Ted closed his eyes. A tear ran down his cheek.
“A few months later,” Lainey went on, “in early April, Ted went down to Toronto for a few days for The Times. The paper ran the articles he wrote, but I can’t remember what they were about.”
Ted mumbled something about a conference.
“The day after Ted left Braeloch, Edna Critchley’s baby was taken from his carriage outside of Kresge’s. It was a terrible thing and everyone was talking about it. Nothing like that had ever happened around here before.”
She paused for a few moments. “Ted got back home late that Friday evening. Vi was asleep and so was the baby. It wasn’t till the next morning that Vi told him.”
“Told him what?” Soupy said.
“Crib death,” Lainey went on. “Vi told him that Bruce hadn’t woken up the morning he left town.”
Black Water Page 23
