by Ian Fox
When he got older and calmed down somewhat, he got tired of San Francisco and decided to move to Medford. Over the subsequent years, he amassed so much money he didn’t know what to do with it. He gave some of it to the mayor and some for health services and the police. He regularly gave to charitable causes and gained the reputation of a do-gooder who didn’t turn a blind eye to poverty. He became a very influential and respected figure in town and was frequently mentioned in public documents. Nobody dreamed what kind of business he was really involved in.
When he reached the age of forty-seven, he decided it was time to marry. Before, it had never entered his head to tie himself to some woman. Since he was happy to throw his money around, plenty of young women were willing to spend time with him. Carlo eventually tired of each one of them. Until he saw Christine.
When he spotted her splashing in the waves, she appeared to him like a mermaid sent from God himself. From that moment on he admired her and was angry with himself for letting himself go the way he had. He felt the flab on his stomach and grimaced. He immediately called his personal physician, telling him to board a plane so that he could come and advise him about a suitable diet.
Then he enjoyed one of the most wonderful weeks of his life.
Chapter 50
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It was warm and humid, clouds were gathering in the sky, there was hardly a breath of wind. Dr. Miner opened the window of his luxury limo and extended his arm so that the breeze ruffled his hair. He was driving himself for a change, at about fifty miles an hour, and thinking of her. He could still smell her perfume and clearly see her face. She was beautiful, elegant, smart, and incredibly strong. He remembered her hands pushing him away, slapping his face. It had never happened before that a woman had beat him like that without his having to request it beforehand and pay her well afterward. And it was this coincidental nature of events that made the blood in his veins so hot that he was scarcely able to breathe.
He barely audibly said her name, shaking his head. “Why were you so stubborn? Why didn’t you want to stay with me?”
He slowed the car as he approached his house. The automatic electric gate was already sliding along its track. Dr. Miner turned into his drive and a moment later switched off the car engine in the garage.
He stopped again on the porch and put his hand on his heart. He felt a stab. “Damn it, why did you resist me?” He couldn’t believe she was gone.
He walked downstairs and entered the large room. As soon as the red lights came on, he saw her again, furiously taking off her sweater and slapping his face. He knew he would never forget her eyes, so full of determination and anger. She really was a fighter. He shook his head again.
Then Robert Miner lay in the same spot as when she had stood over him. He closed his eyes and gave himself over to the wonderful memories.
“Helen,” he said, “Helen. Why were you so stupid? Why did you have to die?”
Chapter 51
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Carlo Vucci was holding a large red strawberry, looking at it. His face was motionless and cold, but inside he was neither. Something was worrying him.
He bit into the fruit, enjoying the flavor as it spread around his tongue. At that moment, Christine walked by.
“You look kind of nervous, darling,” he said.
“Me, nervous? No, you must be imagining it.” And she walked on.
Carlo wasn’t stupid. He had noticed a certain change in Christine. He couldn’t explain what it was, but he knew she wasn’t the same. Maybe she was more energetic, happier. And sometimes more irritable.
When he discussed this problem with the influential Bill Craft, who also had a reputation of being involved in everything dishonest, Bill said to him, “Usually, there are two reasons for a woman to change profoundly. The first reason is pregnancy and the second, a lover.”
Carlo noticed that she was getting ready to go somewhere. “What’s the hurry?”
“I’ll be back shortly, darling. I just have to buy some clothes as I simply don’t know anymore what to put on. I won’t be more than three hours.”
He nodded. He had never opposed her desire to shop. Making a quick decision, he asked, “Christine, you aren’t pregnant by any chance, are you?”
She gave him a frightened look. “Have I put weight on? Do I look fat?”
“No, not at all, I just wondered ….”
“Luckily, I’m not pregnant, darling. I don’t think it’s time yet. Be good. I’ll be back soon.” She took her bag and ran out lightly, like a young deer.
From a large bowl on the kitchen table, Carlo picked up another strawberry and turned it in his fingers. Is it possible she has a lover? An invisible dagger pierced his heart. If it’s true, I’ll have to kill him. He dialed his cell phone.
“Bandito, I want you to follow my wife wherever she goes. Something isn’t as it should be.”
When he put the phone down, something stabbed his heart again.
Chapter 52
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When Dr. Patterson walked into the Eden Park Hotel, his face reflected the bad mood he was in. The same woman with red hair was at the reception desk.
“Can I help you?” she said in a friendly manner.
“I think you have a room reserved for me.”
“Your name, please?”
“Dr. Patterson.”
The receptionist opened a large book. “Yes, we do. Room 205.” She took a key on a wooden key ring and offered it to him. “Mrs. Vucci will be twenty minutes late. She called a little earlier.”
Simon felt faint from embarrassment. Never before had he met a woman in a hotel.
“Sorry, Simon. Carlo was home when I was leaving. I couldn’t just go.” She sat on the bed next to him.
“It’s OK. I’ve got plenty of time. I’ve been fired.”
“What? From the hospital? I don’t believe it.”
“You’d better start believing. But I don’t care about the hospital. When I prove my innocence, they’re sure to call me back and I—”
“Of course, Simon. Everything will work out.” She took his hand and squeezed it gently.
“But how? Ever since I was arrested I’ve been trying to think how to save myself, but don’t seem to be able to find a way. I can’t tell them that I was with you the evening Helen was killed, can I?”
Christine lowered her eyes sadly. “That’s true. There’s no way you can say that.”
“Don’t worry, Christine. I’d rather go back to jail than have Carlo Vucci on my back.”
Without looking at him, she said, “My husband is extremely revengeful. After he’d finished with you, he’d definitely kill me.”
He let go of her hand. “You see, I knew it. We should never have got involved with each other.”
She got up and started pacing up and down. “Listen! Us being together was the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me.”
“It was good for me too, but—”
“Simon, I don’t know what you feel for me, but I keep thinking about you all the time. In the morning, when I wake up, I think about you. At midday, when I’m having lunch, I think about you. Wherever I am, I think about you all the time.” She stopped and looked at him. “Finally, my life has a meaning. And I’m willing to die for that.”
He moaned loudly as if he had heard something terrible. “Oh, Christine, I’m glad you think so, but Helen and I … how shall I put it? She’s dead. … You and Carlo …. Nothing is right.”
She sat next to him again and leaned on his shoulder.
“We’ll manage somehow. There’s always a way. We’ll manage.”
“But how? Tell me what to say to the police. If I don’t give them something more tangible, they’ll put me back in jail. And then you’ll be able to visit me there.”
She took a tissue from her purse and wiped her nose. Sobbing, she said, “Simon, I’m so scared. You’ve no idea how scared.”
; He didn’t know what she wanted to tell him. “You’re scared? Why? I don’t get it.”
“I’m scared of losing you. I can’t even imagine it.” Tears streamed down her face.
“Oh, Christine, stop crying. Why are you crying? You won’t lose me. Why are you saying that?”
She pushed away the hair that had fallen across her eyes. “If they put you in jail, I’ll lose you. I definitely won’t be able to visit you there.”
“Oh, who said they’d put me away?” he said angrily. “If I didn’t kill Helen, they can’t do that.”
“You said yourself that they would.”
“Yes, but I didn’t mean it.” He was getting nervous and felt a fear in his bones that was increasingly troubling. “We have to say something. Do you know anybody who could say they saw me that night?”
“Simon, any false testimony would only worsen your situation. What if they found out?”
He took a deep breath, becoming more and more aware of what a mess he was in. He had been relying on the thought that Christine would find a solution, but now ….
“You’ve got to promise me something, Simon.”
“Of course, anything.”
“Irrespective of what happens, you must never say that you were with me. That would mean death for us both.”
He got up and started walking around the room. “Of course I’ll never do that.” It irritated him that she had said it again. He felt as if she had dug her nails in his stomach. “It’s perfectly clear what would happen to both of us. There’s no need to go on about it.”
“Sorry, I’m terrified and don’t know what we can do.”
He walked faster. In his anger with the whole world, Simon shouted, “The damn murderer! Who would have killed Helen?”
Christine covered her ears. Simon’s behavior made her cringe. “Stop shouting. I can’t stand it. Please, Simon, stop shouting. Stop shouting.”
He turned to her in surprise and was immediately sorry for having raised his voice. He knelt in front of her and put his arms around her. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry! I really didn’t mean to …”
She rocked in his arms and continued crying. Simon’s fingers were tangled with her hair. “It’ll be alright, Christine. Don’t cry. Things will get sorted out.” Instead of her comforting him, he was consoling her.
“Nothing will get sorted out on its own,” she said after a while. “If we don’t do anything, nothing will get sorted out.”
He pushed her aside gently and slowly so that he could see her face. “What do you mean?”
“Simon, I’m very sorry. But I have a feeling no one will believe you if you say that you were out walking while somebody killed Helen. And you said they found a scalpel, too.”
“That’s no proof. They can’t convict me just like that.”
“I don’t know, but I don’t think that will convince the jury. We’ll have to come up with something more original.”
“Don’t you think I know it? I keep trying to decide what to do. I’d so like to get the guy who killed her—”
“Hold on, you said you saw a guy. So, it was a man?”
“I didn’t see anybody. I assume it was a man. How could it have been a woman?”
She ran her fingers through her hair. “Simon, you have to be very precise at court. If you say one thing and then another, they certainly won’t believe you. You must never say you think it was a man. That’s not your job, it’s the police who’ll be making assumptions.”
“I know, you’re right, I’ll only say what actually happened. Oh, Christine, what if they really do put me away? God, I couldn’t take that. To be among all those criminals.”
She reached out and gave him a hug. “I won’t let them. I’ll never let them, trust me.”
They lay on the bed and pressed together.
When they had finished making love and nothing but their breathing could be heard in the room, Christine said, “There is one solution.”
“A solution? Tell me.”
“I don’t know where to start. You’ll think I’m crazy.”
“Say it, please. I’ll do anything to save myself.”
Christine’s phone rang. She checked who it was: an unknown number. “Hello?”
Simon listened intensely, but couldn’t hear. He could see that Christine was upset. “What’s wrong?” he asked as soon as she put the phone down.
“Something’s happened to Carlo. One of the servants called to let me know that he was found unconscious on the floor. They’ve already called for an ambulance. I must go to the hospital.”
“I hope it’s nothing serious,” he said encouragingly.
She nodded coldly and said, “Sorry, but I really must go. I suggest we meet again tomorrow or the day after. I’ll call you.”
When she was gone, he became aware of the four empty walls of the hotel room. A terrible feeling of loneliness forced him to go straight home.
Chapter 53
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Richard Ross came home tired and drained of energy. He hung his jacket on the door handle and flopped into the new armchair in the living room. Supporting his head with his right hand, he thought about all the problems at work.
First thing in the morning, the mayor had called him because of the Ralston case, involving the murder of a little girl whose killer had still not been found. The mayor spent over twenty minutes humiliating him, even threatening to replace him if he didn’t find the murderer.
A few minutes later, Richard’s mother called and spent the next half-hour moaning about how ill she was and how she would die soon. Richard tried to tell her how busy he was, but she wouldn’t stop. “You never find any time for me,” she reproached him.
When he finally managed to get rid of her, his secretary, Edwina Garner, came into his office telling him that Officer Travis had been badly injured. He had to go immediately to the hospital. There, he spent all his time on the phone, sorting out different matters. Luckily, the officer survived.
When Richard got back to the office, he found out that Lionel Bank on Stewart Avenue had been robbed.
Finally, he was home, enjoying the silence. He had just decided to get a beer and something to eat, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around in fear and saw the face of a man he knew.
“What the hell are you doing in my apartment?”
It was Jack, one of Carlo Vucci’s men. “The boss doesn’t like it if someone is breathing down his neck.”
“I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”
Will walked in with a sandwich in his hand. “Hi, Richard. I helped myself to cheese and salami. I have to say the salami isn’t very fresh.”
Richard forced a laugh. Why would Vucci’s men break into my apartment? he asked himself.
Jack said, “A special agent in your department is snooping around Vucci. You know the boss doesn’t like that.”
Richard sighed loudly. “That’s Sandra, damn it. I told her not to. I don’t know why she keeps investigating him.”
Will was eating his sandwich awkwardly and some of the fatty salami fell on the sofa.
“Be careful!” Richard barked. He quickly picked it up.
“The boss was furious about it yesterday,” Jack said while walking around the room. “Have you bought new furniture? This wasn’t here the last time we visited you.”
Richard nodded nervously. “I’ll sort it out tomorrow. You can tell Carlo that no one will bother him again.”
Jack took a large knife out of his pocket and started playing with it. “You’ve recovered nicely.”
“As I’ve already said, there’s no need to worry.”
The knife blade slid into the armchair a few inches away from Richard. “What the hell … are you nuts?” he said to Jack. “You’ve destroyed my chair. It cost me a fortune.”
“Let me just remind you that you’ve received a considerable amount of money from Mr. Vucci.”
And once more Jack s
tuck the blade into the leather and pulled it toward himself. The other man, who stood not far away, kept eating his sandwich, watching the performance.
With his hands to his head, Richard said, “It won’t happen again. Please, I’ll take care of it tomorrow. Tell Carlo I’m very sorry. Why did you have to destroy my furniture?”
Jack looked at Will. “Should we believe him?”
“I don’t know if we can.”
“I promise it won’t happen again,” Richard assured them.
Jack put the knife back in his pocket. “OK, we’ll believe you this time, but ….”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“OK, we trust you. Come on, Will, let’s leave him to enjoy the rest of the evening.”
The next morning, Richard Ross called Sandra Grant to his office. He was so furious with her that he felt like firing her.
When she sat down opposite him, he said, “I hear you’re still snooping around Carlo Vucci.”
“I’ve got some incredible leads. I just need another few days—”
“I told you to leave Vucci alone, did I not?”
“You did, but I think that Carlo Vucci is a murderer and I want to prove it.”
Richard thought of his furniture, which made him move his lower lip strangely inwards and almost close his eyes.
“Listen, Sandra, has no one ever told you that there are certain rules in this world? One of them says that subordinates must listen to orders from their superiors.”
“Yes, of course, but—”
“Don’t keep interrupting me!” His voice began to tremble, which meant his anger had reached its peak.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
“Since you have acted against orders, I can no longer trust you. You’re no longer on the Gowan and Gratti case. Do you understand?”
“What? You can’t do that, all I need is—”
“I’m warning you, Sandra. I don’t like people working off their own bat. If you can’t stand superiors, get a job as a private detective. Or obey orders.”
