"I'll cook as I see Rory brought supplies for breakfast. Let's see what we got here," as Ray pawed through the two grocery sacks. "I see scrambled eggs with ham and cheese. That work for you guys," he asked the table.
All voiced an affirmative. Fran went to make toast and Stacy said to Rory, "How come you so early this am Tall Man?"
"I'd a bad dream. You left me for a cowboy US Marshall and then it flashed to the boat homicide where we charged Captain Lois with murder. I jumped up and took a cold shower. Then I fax Rhonda the names for checking financial records. On the way south I realized the need to see you to make sure the cowboy, who looked like James Arness of Gunsmoke, hadn't really stolen you from me."
"Crazy dreams and I'm still here. My father loved that show. Now we have to interview again this am. Let's all take one's we never had yesterday. I'm going to press for leads to who they might think killed the CEO. Let me them point fingers at other is what I'm thinking."
"I'm going to remind each of mine that one Super Sleuth Stacy has a perfect record for the last homicides she's investigated. She always gets her man, so to speak. Then I'll say it would go a lot easier if the murder would confess."
"Whatever works Tall Man. Does Ben know he's to drive down this am?"
"Yes, I told him early this morning. He told me he'd be here right on time."
"Here's the toast and jam," said Fran putting a tall stack of bread within a close reach for Rory. She'd heard about his voracious appetite from Ray. Like most old folks, they loved to see a young man eat good homemade food.
Ray sat a platter of scrambled eggs in the middle of the table. Stacy had to hurry and get some table ware. Soon they were all chowing down with relish.
A Few 9 am Tidbits of Info
Right on time were the Portland suspects. Rory and Stacy, along with Flo, had to make sure there were nine chairs to accommodate the suspects. Stacy would use her father's office, while Ben and Rory would use her office and situation room. It would be tight, but would suffice for now.
Stacy told the nine suspects that this was no means an intense interrogation, but an additional information meeting. She said, "I'll see David Cornfield while Bonnie Igeres will be with Detective Caltex. Brad Igeres is paired with Detective Razor. After each comes out, he or she will send in another person."
David Cornfield sat down after a brief handshake with Stacy. "Mr. Cornfield, let's assume for a moment here that if you didn't kill Lane Axle, then who did?"
"You know detective, I've thought about that a lot. I realize me telling you I didn't do it would hold no water, but I think it might be one or two people who did the actual crime. I think maybe it's his daughter and if not, Fran the secretary."
"Tell me your rationality for thinking they might have been the perpetrators."
"Well, it's common knowledge about Lane's sexual harassment regards Fran. If she quit, the reference she'd need wouldn't be worth much. I think she'd a belly full of the old guy. As regards the daughter Bonnie, well, she has a lot of stock in the company. If the company goes broke, then she is on the bread lines with us. She's as hard as nails detective. I've no doubt she could take a knife and plunge it straight into his heart without moments regret."
"Why should we take you off the list of suspects Mr. Cornfield?"
"I'm the Office Manager without a backbone. If I'd a backbone I'd have quit a long time ago. I know my assets and limitations very well. I can hate, I can talk about it, but to actually take knife and stab it into a human, well, not in my murder tool kit would you find a knife."
"Okay for now, Mr. Cornfield, would you send in Felix Munster please," asked Stacy. While he slowly walked out looking thoroughly dejected, Stacy thought how pitiful this guy was. It would seem that for ten years he'd been beaten on by the tyrant boss that left him with bent shoulders and back from carrying the burden he was carrying.
Felix Munster, on the other hand, was cocky and appeared angry at all times. The report she had on him was he was a complainer. It was true the sometimes guys like him were violent and abusive, but not usually killers. However, the book was still open on this guy and his buddy James Button.
"Good morning Mr. Munster," said Stacy.
"I guess so detective, but what supposed to be a great fishing trip turned out to be a piece of shit. What I or we hoped for was a good time and now look at all of us; we're suspects in a murder case. How could I be so lucky? You can turn over all my rocks and shake my skeletons out of the closet, but you won't find me a killer. Now what can I tell you this fine morning on the coast," said Felix.
"Who do you think murdered Mr. Lane Axle," asked Stacy.
Felix looked at her knowing that this young detective was more than just a pretty face. She was becoming somewhat of a celebrity as a crack homicide detective in Oregon. He felt that caution would be best when speaking with her. He said, "What I think may not be what really happened detective. But I'd look inside the family; or close to, might reveal more answers than I've got. Also our portly CFO and his girlfriend Fran probably know more than meets the eye."
"If Extell goes down, what will you do," asked Stacy.
"I'm pretty good at what I do detective. I'll find another position rather quickly. Me and James work well together and other companies like that arrangement. Neither one of us is worried, but let me say that with new management I'd just as leave stay at Extell."
"Let's leave it at this stage Mr. Munster. I'll see you in Portland later this week. Ask Fran to come in please."
Stacy stretched her legs looking out the window of her father's office. She'd been playing with his yellow pencil. The chief was famous for having only two things on his desk: a yellow Dixon Ticonderoga #3 and a yellow legal pad. Nobody could remember the last time he wrote anything on the legal pad. However, occasionally he'd rip off the top sheet and throw it away to reveal a fresh clean one just in case. Stacy smiled thinking about that characteristic of her father and the recent relationship with Fran Parker.
Stacy turned to see Fran meekly walking in. If there was really such a case of an ugly duckling, Fran Whitmore fit the bill. At around her late thirties, Fran was probably still a virgin, Stacy thought. What a life of having to work each day with a sex pervert for a boss.
As she sat down, Stacy really felt sorry for the woman. She decided to play the friend cop and see what happened. "Good morning Fran. I hope you will soon feel better."
"Yes, good morning and already I feel like a weight has lifted off my shoulders with the boss dead and gone. I don't know if can really feel what I've gone through these last years with his sexual harassment."
"I can relate a little Fran to what you say. At the university, I had a professor that thought if I was nice to him, my grade in his class would sit at the top. I played along until one time in his office; he flashed his penis out and asked me to give him some oral sex. What he didn't know was I was recording his voice and asked him to repeat it. I said, 'Professor Eagan, you're asking me, Stacy Foreham to perform oral sex to insure my A grade in your class?'"
He laughed and 'you got it right little girl'. I said, "Maybe later professor, but right now I've meeting with the dean. He was summarily discharged as he didn't have tenure. So I can relate a little Fran.
"I'm not as strong as you are detective. Mr. Lane did the same to me but only asked for me to masturbate him. I've not much experience and when I did what he asked, he chided me for being a poor inexperienced woman. I went out crying. He was an animal detective and I'm glad he's gone. Rufus has been a big help and he's like an uncle to me."
Stacy saw Fran twisting her fingers in both hands nervously. It also seemed she was squirming in her chair. "Fran, did you murder your boss?"
Fran stopped squirming and looked with fright at Stacy. She said, "I don’t think so detective. There's part of the day on the fishing boat I can't recall."
"Do you have these black outs or lapses on memory often," asked Stacy with a frown on her face as she leaned forward onto the desk.
"Not that I know of, but the motion sickness was always around me all the time we were on the water. I know this sounds crazy, but I do recall talking to Mr. Axle. Or at least I have a vague memory, is what I should've said. I remember going down into the cabin area to lie down due my motion sickness. Lane was there and asked for a drink of water. Next thing I knew he had his hand on my breast. Then I kind of blacked out. Rufus saw my scared face when I came back up on deck. He took me aside and told me not to worry that he'd take care of Lane Axle."
"Did you at anytime remember taking a knife and stabbing him Fran?"
"No I don't detective. I think I need to see a shrink. I'm losing it for sure. This life the last few years has almost driven me insane. Excuse me detective for being or sounding crazy. I've no friends and all I've got is an aging mother who does nothing all day but watch TV and smoke cigarettes."
"How to you get along with Bonnie and her husband Brad," asked Stacy trying to steer her away from her troubled life.
"She's not a lot different in personality than her father. She struts around like a rooster in a chicken yard. Brad is a good man and has the smarts to run the company. I get along with both of them just fine. I do so hope things will be better now. To tell you the truth detective, I've considered doing myself away on more than one occasion. I've a bottle of sleeping pills right next to my nightstand."
Time to Compare Notes
From the door, both Stacy and Flo watched the Portland party depart for home. Brad and Bonnie would make arrangements for her father's transportation home. The others boarded the van probably happy to leave town. If Lois was looking for repeat customers, this party would not be among the returnees. Stacy turned to walk back to her office where Rory and Ben were chatting. She picked up her note book from her father's office and joined her two fellow detectives.
Rory looked up and said, "What say we break for lunch?" Ben just smiled and Stacy, who was ready to dig into the case, looked a bit startled. But then she realized it might be nice to get away for a while. What she needed was a walk on the jetty or a visit with Smiling Sam would be perfect.
Across the street to their usual place to enjoy some good food, the three detectives sat wondering who killed the old CEO from Extell. Surprising, the usual quiet guy, Ben, said, "The deeper we dig the more confusing it gets. I think we should charge em all and be done with it."
"Lord we just had some humor from old stoic Ben Stacy. There's hope for him yet. Maybe in the old days, they'd hang the bunch of them. But we have to sort through the chaff for the seed. My grandfather loved that saying. It makes me sneeze thinking about it."
"We're into this case whether we like it or not. Let's paw through the chaff to locate the killer," said Stacy as she put her napkin in her lap to prepare for the plate of meatloaf coming. She regretted it later as it sat heavy upon her stomach.
Who's on Prime?
Back at the station in Stacy's office, she stood at the board with board marker in hand starring at the list. "Let's start at the beginning name here on our Prime column: Brad Igeres tops the list. Rory what did you glean from him?"
"I asked who did the deed and he just stared at me. Then he said to me:
"Do you think I know who did it detective?'
I told him to take a shot in the dark. I glared at him said:
"The suspect, as of now, was him that topped the list. It was Brad Igeres who stood the most to gain." I thought it would rattle him a little and I think it did for the most part. I watched him closely as he played with his hangnails on his fingers. Then he said:
"My money is on Fran. I think she'd a belly full of that guy and finally lost it stabbing him while he lay sleeping."
"I said to him what he'd do if he lost his job and what position he would desire. He told me he'd go straight to the top looking for a CEO position anywhere in the world. I'll cut this short as I don't think he did it. I'd move him over to the Subprime column."
"Next we have David Cornfield. I had him and after our interview, I don't think he did it. The man has no backbone. Let's move him over to Subprime, or even Doubtful. After him I interviewed Felix Munster. Felix is a blowhard without a real motive. Sure he could lose his job, but after it's all said and done, he'd land on his feet finding other employment. I'll move him over to Subprime for the time being."
"Joy is a strange woman from the standpoint of having a large chip on her shoulder," said Ben who'd interviewed her. "She responded to my question of who might have been responsible by saying:
"Like I said before detective, any of us could have done it and not felt one bit of remorse. However, to actually take a knife and plunge it into a person's heart takes some real balls; which I fortunately don't have."
I asked her: "How do you see Rufus and Fran in this event both past and present?"
"Good question detective. They are like brother and sister I think. I suppose it's possible they colluded with, maybe, an unexpected result. I'm no shrink but I think Fran has some problems she needs counseling about."
"What will you do if the company goes into receiver ship," asked Ben
"Find another job detective. I'm good at what I do. It's inconvenient as all get out, but if Brad was taking over, then I'd like to stay. I do however; fear his daughter, as she's a chip off the old block."
"I think we can move her off the Subprime to Doubtful," said Ben
"I did Rufus Brown and he is one smooth talker. He works hard to be your friend and adviser. I asked him about his relationship with Fran. He said they were close friends and he liked to see that she came to no harm. I came back with saying: does that mean you alibi for her as to the murder of her boss and or does it mean you were directly involved Mr. Brown?"
"I resent the implication detective. I know not whether she killed him or not. Furthermore, I'm not protecting her in the least."
"Alright, then let's talk about what if you lost your position as the company folded from under you. What are your options for finding a similar job Mr. Brown?"
"I'll be honest with you detective. IF the company slides into oblivion then I'm probably dead duck in the current market place. The financial side of it is devastating. It's true I hated the bastard, but he was the boss. I did my job, but probably didn't inform him about our present position as much as I should have."
"If you didn't murder him, then who do you think did?"
"You want me to point to another suspect when you think I'm guilty. I'm not sure if it means much if I do speculate a little. I like the daughter Bonnie for the death of her father. She needed to save her stock and to secure her husband in the position of CEO with a total Chapter 11 bankruptcy in effect. Secondly, and sadly, maybe my dear friend Fran had something to do with it. I wouldn't blame her for a minute. The guy was sick and perverted beyond imagination."
"Thanks for your time Mr. Brown."
"You had Ed Duncan next," asked Stacy. "Do you want to leave Rufus on the Prime or move him to the Subprime?"
"Let's leave him there for the time being," said Ben
"Yes, I had Duncan. He seems rather pleasant and appears like he's innocent of the crime. This was my second time with him. I really don't think he has it in him to murder his boss. However, he did think that Rufus and Fran were rather tight lately. He also thinks Bonnie and her husband need further scrutiny. I'll leave him on the Subprime for now," said Ben.
''I had Bonnie as my last suspect," said Rory. "She is one cool customer. I could feel she felt a loss with her father, but that will last only till he's buried and gone. With him gone, she inherits the whole shebang. As she states it, and I might add, rather blatantly, she would control the company with over 50% of the stock. If the company can be salvaged, she and her husband would walk in tall cotton. She knows we have her on the top of our list. She did try and point out that the other's had motive and opportunity; especially Fran and her friend Rufus. I say we move her up to Prime column."
"I saved Fran for last," said Stacy. "She confesse
d to me like a Dear Abby person looking for some advice. She admitted she had a black out on the fishing boat. She sort of realizes she has a mental problem caused by her former boss. The crew member saw her waving her arms talking to Lane in the cabin where he was sleeping. She doesn't have any memory of that conversation. She told me that it's possible she might have killed the man but has no memory of being in his vicinity while on the boat. Let's keep her on the Prime column."
"Where do we go from here," asked Rory looking up at Stacy for guidance.
"Really good question, Tall Man. We're in unchartered waters, no pun intended. We just keep plugging away until the killer makes a mistake. As this is rather a high profile case in Portland, we can justify the expense. What does you captain say Rory?"
"He says go and solve the damn case. He made no mention of expenses. However, its government so we'll be conservative. Let's pack a bag for a week or so. I've no idea how long, but I hate to leave the coast in the summer time to hit the heat of the Portland area in July."
"Okay guys, let's call it a day and pack up for our trip north. Besides I want to chat with my father before I leave. What time should we leave tomorrow," asked Stacy.
"Let's meet at my office and see what Rhonda has sent us at, say, around 9am," said Rory.
Father-Daughter Bonding
Stacy didn't feel bad seeing Rory leave with a less than pleasant look on his face. She wanted him to get real and keep his head in the game; not in longing for her to be beside him all the time. She'd warned him not to smother her. A week in Portland would determine if he was a detective or a man with nothing but love and desire in his being.
Parking in the new driveway, Stacy saw her father busy in the ship, but Fran wasn't around. That was good as she wanted to talk with him about some family things. "He looked up with a grin, but kept working. Stacy walked around looking what he was doing and how the shop looked. She could see Frans' touch as it was swept clean and looking very nice. "I like Fran dad. She's nice and seems good for you to have around in your life. I'm happy for you and I'm not one bit jealous; when I should be, but I'm not. On another subject, I've decided to accept the Marshals position. I hope I've not made a bad decision. If they open an office in Eugene, I'll be their Marshall, but if they demand I move to Portland then forget it. I'm not ready for a big city; if ever.
Murder Mysteries #3 Page 11
