Tattered & Torn

by Carol Dean Jones

  “Maud, now you know…” Bertha began to object, but Maud interrupted her.

  “Okay, so she drank a little, but who wouldn’t being married to that man,” she responded defensively.

  “How did you get the boys away from their father?” Sophie asked.

  “Oh, that was the easy part. He didn’t want them. He drove over here right after the funeral and dumped Jerome and Darnell off, and I haven’t seen that man since. I don’t know where he is and sure don’t care. Neither do the boys, for that matter.”

  “I thought there were three boys, what happened to the third?”

  “Jackson? I don’t know. He was the oldest and Clarissa wasn’t his mother. Jamal already had him when he met my girl. I asked Jamal why he didn’t bring all three of the boys, and he just sneered. Jackson might be dead too for all I know.”

  Bertha shook her head and rolled her eyes, but didn’t say anything.

  Before they left, Sarah again asked Maud if she wanted the quilt and Maud repeated, “Not mine to have. You paid money for it, so it’s yours now. Pleased to meet you folks,” she added, turned her back, and limped out of the room.

  Bertha walked them to the door and said, “You’ll have to excuse Maud. She always had a blind eye when it came to that girl of hers.”

  The three friends were quiet on the drive home. It had been a day filled with emotion, leaving Sarah and Sophie feeling wrung out. Charles, however, was making plans for finding out about the fire, learning who was living in the house at the time, and checking out this Jamal character. Once a cop, always a cop, he often told himself.

  Chapter 9

  “I’m off to meet with the Fire Chief,” Charles announced as he came through the kitchen heading for the garage door.

  “Do you think they have information going back that far?”

  “With computers, they probably have it easily accessible. If not, I may spend the day going through file boxes,” which is exactly what he ended up doing.

  Chief Deegan met Charles in the reception area, shook his hand firmly, and greeted him with a thick Irish brogue. “Glad to see you again, Detective. How can we help you?”

  “I’m a civilian now, Deeg. I retired a few years back.”

  “Surprised to hear that, Charlie. You seemed to love the work.”

  “I did, but you know, this old ticker told me it was time.”

  “Sorry,” his friend replied. “Anyway, how can we help you?”

  “I’m trying to help my wife solve a problem. She’s trying to find out something about a quilt which was rescued from a fire back in the mid-1980s over on 19th Street. I was hoping you could help me find out who was living in the house.”

  “That’s not much to go on, Charlie. Now, if we’d been on the computer in those days, but we weren’t. The city didn’t vote computers into our budget until the late 1990s.”

  “What kind of records do you have from the 1980s?” Charles asked.

  “Paper records, that’s it, Charlie. We’ve got boxes and boxes of paper in storage, but I don’t have the manpower to go through it.”

  “Could I take a shot at it?” Charles asked and Chief Deegan laughed.

  “Let me show you something.” As they walked through the administrative offices, the Chief called to his assistant and said, “We’re heading out to the annex. Call if you need me,” he added as he patted the shirt pocket where he kept his cell phone.

  Chief Deegan led Charles across the room and into what appeared to be a living room-kitchen combination. “This is our residential area: the day room and through that door over there you can see the cots. Our guys are ready to hit the road at a moment’s notice.”

  “Impressive,” Charles replied, noting the modern conveniences in the kitchen area.

  They walked through another doorway which placed them immediately into the large apparatus bay where the fire fighting and emergency response vehicles were lodged. “Over there’s bay support and vehicle maintenance. The men’s gear is in that room we just passed between residential and the bay.”

  “Where are we headed?”

  “Out back to the annex. We keep all our records out there, at least the ones that aren’t on the computer. What a time-saver that crazy machine has been, at least once we learned how to use it.”

  The annex turned out to be a large Quonset hut behind the station and not visible from the street. “Haven’t seen one of these for some time,” Charles remarked.

  “I know. They’ve been promising us a building for years, but now they’re saying we might not need one. There’s talk of having a crew come in and enter all this stuff on a database.”

  “What a job!”

  “You aren’t kidding. This station goes back into the 60s.” Chief Deegan unlocked the door, and Charles was stunned by the sheer volume of boxes stacked on shelf after shelf. “See what I mean? I can’t see you finding what you’re looking for on your own.”

  “I agree, but I think I can get some help. Could I come back this afternoon with a couple of guys?”

  “You sure can, Charlie. I owe you, anyway. Remember that jam you got my kid out of some years back?”

  “Ah,” Charles responded with a spark of recognition. “Your son Liam, right?”

  “Right, and that boy’s been on the straight and narrow ever since. That must have been some lecture you gave him that night.”

  “It wasn’t so much the lecture, Deeg. I put him in the tank with some real scumbags and let him think he was there for the night. I told the officer to stay close by and make sure he didn’t get hurt. I just wanted to scare the bejesus out of him.”

  “Well, you sure did. You know he went on to trade school? He’s working over in Hamilton at the airport. Diesel mechanic now.”

  “Glad to hear it, Chief.”

  “How about your boys?”

  “Both out in Colorado now. Ones into law, the other’s a teacher.”

  “They finally grow up, don’t they?”

  “Most of them,” Charles responded, thinking about Maud’s grandsons.

  As they walked back through the station, Chief Deegan said, a little regretfully that he’d hoped his son would follow him into the department. “You know I’m third generation. My father and grandfather were both with the Fire Brigade over in County Clare.”

  “Where’s that?” Charles asked, looking puzzled.

  “West coast of Ireland. That’s where I was born. Came here when I’d just turned twenty. Married Iona and brought her with me. The family thought I was leaving the tradition, but I surprised them. Been with this department since 1974.”

  “Over forty years,” Charles marveled. “Any thoughts of retiring?”

  “I’d planned to last year, but Iona got sick and the medical bills began to pile up. I figured I might as well stay on. I don’t go out on the trucks anymore. Way too old and stiff for that, but the desk job suits me.”

  Thinking about his friend being on the job through the 1980s, he said, “Maybe when I find the paperwork, it’ll trigger a memory for you. You just might have worked the fire.”

  “Maybe, but after all these years, it’s not likely I’ll remember one specific fire. Anyway, good luck to you. I’ll leave the key with Kenny. He’s in the office today.”

  “Thanks, Chief. I appreciate your help.

  “Take care, Charlie,” and the chief headed toward his office.

  Once he was in the car he put calls into Timothy and Andy. Both men agreed to help him that afternoon.

  “There’s no reason Sophie and I can’t help too,” Sarah complained as she made toast for their BLTs.

  “We’d be stepping all over each other, honey. The shelves are close, the boxes are heavy, and there are no tables so we’ll probably be sorting on the floor.” The more he talked, the less attractive it sounded.

  “Okay, but call me when you come up with something.”

  “I’ll do better than that. I’ll rush right home with whatever I find and you can call Sophie to j
oin us. She can make 3x5 cards,” he added with a mocking grin.

  “Don’t make fun of my friend,” Sarah responding, attempting to look irritated.

  Later she walked him out to the car and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you for helping me with this, dear. This is above and beyond…”

  “Nothing is above or beyond as far as I’m concerned. He blew her a kiss and backed out of the driveway.

  * * *

  While Charles was gone, Sarah took advantage of the quiet time to finish Jimmy’s sports quilt. All she had left was to add the borders: a thin black inner border and a wider one which she planned to cut from the rock fabric Sophie had found. Standing back and looking at the fabric laying against the completed top, however, she frowned.

  “I just don’t like that fabric,” she said aloud. She rummaged through her stash and found a piece of navy tone on tone which she had intended to use on a charity project later in the year. She laid that and a thin red strip against the completed top and said, “Now that’s much better.”

  By the time Charles returned, she had completed the quilt and had called Christina to schedule having it quilted on her long-arm quilting machine.

  “Good news,” she announced as he walked into the house. “I finished Jimmy’s quilt.”

  “Better news,” Charles responded. “I have the name of the owner of the house that burned down.”

  As she again saw the Memories quilt slipping from her hands, Sarah felt a wave of sadness which she attempted to hide from her husband as she smiled her appreciation.

  Chapter 10

  “I found this fantastic dress…I know I said I wanted a suit, but I saw this in the window of Crystal’s, and it’s just perfect...It’s silk like you wanted, and it’s very flattering, and I know you’ll just love it.”

  Sarah had answered the phone before she had her first cup of coffee and, for a moment, wasn’t sure who was on the other end of the line. Martha was excitedly chattering in a manner unlike the daughter Sarah had known for forty-some years. “It has this perfect neckline.” Martha continued, “and the sleeves – oh, the sleeves – you’ve got to see it. So can you?”

  “Can I what, sweetheart?”

  “Can you go with me today to look at it? I just know you’ll love it.”

  “Honey, if you love it, I know I will. The dress you get married in should be perfect in your eyes, and it sure sounds like this one is. Let me check with Charles and see if we can move a few things around…”

  “Oh Mom, don’t do that. This can wait,” her daughter said, trying to hide her disappointment.

  “I don’t think it can wait, Martha,” Sarah responded with compassion. “It sounds to me like this is something that needs doing right now. Hold on just a minute.”

  Sarah hurried down the hall to Charles’ computer room where he was already attempting to track down the owner of the house on 19th. “Charles,” she said as he looked up holding his hands in the air ready to hit the next keys. “I’m sorry to interrupt you, but Martha’s on the line. She would really love for me to go look at a dress she’s considering. Would you mind if I slip out for a few hours? I know we were planning to start this search right away this morning...”

  “It’s no problem. In fact, I’ll probably be working on the computer all morning. I have a number of sites to look at, and I also want to sign into the criminal justice database and poke around there for some information.”

  “You think the owner of the house is a criminal?” Sarah asked somewhat stunned.

  “No, I want to get more information on this Jamal character since Maud thinks he killed her daughter.”

  “Charles, don’t go there. That was more than thirty years ago. I want to talk to the owner of that house and see where they got the quilt.”

  “I know, and I’ll have what we need by the time you get back. Go on with Martha now and we’ll talk about what I find out when you get home.

  Sarah went back to the kitchen, poured herself a cup of coffee, and picked up the phone. “He said we should go ahead and go. He’s working on the computer now and doesn’t need me.”

  “What’s going on anyway?” Martha asked.

  “We’re just attempting to track down some history on that old quilt I bought. That can wait. Are you really free to go this morning?” Sarah asked, surprised that her daughter would be taking off work for any reason.

  “That’s exactly what I was hoping we could do. I’m afraid someone will buy it, and there’s only one in my size. I’ll come pick you up. Can you be ready in a half-hour?”

  “Martha, the stores don’t open until ten. Come on over and have some breakfast with us and we’ll leave in time to be the first ones in the store. Okay?”

  “Okay, Mom.”

  Sarah chopped green peppers and onions and pulled the container of leftover ham out of the refrigerator. By the time Martha arrived, Sarah had western omelets waiting in the warming oven along with a pan of biscuits, and Charles was pouring orange juice and coffee for three.

  “So tell me, Charles, how are you planning to find out where this quilt came from?” Martha asked once they were seated at the table.

  Charles and Sarah caught her up on everything they had done so far and told her about locating the original fire department’s report.

  “Tim filled me in on that search,” Martha said, shaking her head. “All those boxes.”

  “It was quite a job, but from that report I was able to get the name of the owner at the time of the fire.” Turning to Sarah, he added, “And this is the part you don’t know yet. Unfortunately, the house was sold as soon as it was reconstructed, and I haven’t been able to locate the original owner.”

  “And the people that bought it?” Martha asked.

  “They still live there, but there’s no reason they’d know anything about the quilt.”

  “This is discouraging,” Sarah said, laying her fork down and taking a sip of her coffee.

  “Not so much. I’m on the original owner’s trail. His name is Benjamin Bentz. He’d be seventy-three years old now, and I can probably track him down through the social security records.”

  “You have access to those records?” Martha asked, looking surprised.

  “I have access to people who have access…” Charles replied with a sly grin.

  “So you do,” Martha chuckled. “Mom, let’s get moving. The stores open in forty minutes.”

  “And they are fifteen minutes from here, my dear. Pour yourself another cup of coffee and I’ll finish dressing.”

  “I’ll clean up,” Charles offered, noticing that Sarah had already cleaned up her cooking mess, and all that was required was to place their dishes in the dishwasher.

  “Thank you,” Sarah called over her shoulder as she headed for the master bedroom.

  * * *

  “Sophie, can you come over and bring your 3x5 cards. Charles has some information for us.”

  “I’ll be right there, but where have you been all morning. I’ve been calling, and I kept getting the machine.”

  “Charles must have been on the phone. Martha wanted me to go look at a dress this morning that she’s considering for the wedding.”

  “A wedding gown?” Sophie crooned. “How exciting.”

  “No, remember, she doesn’t want a gown. She originally wanted a suit, but she saw this dress and fell in love with it.”

  “What’s it like?”

  “She left it here for me to show you. She has it on approval, but I’m sure she’ll keep it. Come on over.”

  Turning to her husband, Sarah said, “Sophie’s on her way. Are you going to tell me what you learned while I was gone?”

  “Not until Sophie gets here,” he responded. “I want to answer all the questions at once.”

  Fifteen minutes later, the kitchen door flew open, and Sophie came in breathless from rushing. “I saw the garage door open and decided to take the shortcut right into the kitchen,” she announced. “So what’s going on?” She pulled
out a chair and tossed her pack of 3x5 cards down on the table. “Okay if I pour a cup?” she asked, pointed toward the coffee pot.

  “I’ll do that,” Sarah offered. “Go ahead and sit down. Charles is eager to tell us what he’s found.”

  “Okay,” Charles began. He started by filling in Sophie the parts that Sarah already knew, primarily his trip to the fire department and the massive search through the old files.

  “Timmy told me,” Sophie responded. “He said there wasn’t much order to the way stuff was filed and that you boys had a time digging through all those dusty old records.”

  “We did, but I couldn’t have done it without your son and Andy. We worked out a system and literally flew through the job. Within a few hours, we had the boxes narrowed down to the ones from the 1980s, and just about the time the supervisor was ready to throw us out for the night, we found the fire on 19th street.”

  “How did you know it was the right one?” Sophie asked.

  “There was a police report attached about it being looted that night and nothing of value being left in the house. Had to be the right one. But just to make sure, I called my old supervisor at the police department this morning and asked him to check their records. It was the only report they had of a looting on 19th street during that time period. There were robberies in that district, but none of them also involved the fire department. I’m sure this is our crime scene.”

  Sarah smiled to herself. She enjoyed seeing her husband so easily fall into his old habits. She knew he missed being a detective.

  “Hold on. I want to make some notes,” Sophie announced. While Sarah freshened up their coffee and added a plate of cookies to the table, Sophie jotted down a few words on each of five or six cards. Charles wondered what she was writing, but decided not to ask.

  “So,” she said when she looked up. “Go on.”

  “So I got the name of the owner, Benjamin Bentz.”

  “Spell that,” and Sophie grabbed another card. “Shall we go see this Benjamin Bentz guy?” she asked once she got his name on the card.