by Lisa Djahed
“Ray is going to stay over at Drew’s, while we are here, to see if we can catch this guy. We’re staying up all night if we have to.” Ben was so pleased with himself I almost had a hard time being furious with him. But furious I was. Not only would I have to suffer through a dinner with the boy toy and his hussy girlfriend but I’d have to stay up all night too? Really? Lordy-loo on a stick squared and rubbed with peppermint.
Getting ready for our night of surveillance, I made a huge, strong pot of dark roast to keep me going. It was over coffee that Bev and I discussed her impending grandmother-hood. She was shocked and horrified at being a grandmother and equally as shocked and horrified at who the mother was. The talk and the coffee juiced me up for the night ahead.
But luckily for me, it didn’t do the same for Bev and she quickly fell asleep on the couch. After tinkering for ages with his new toy and showing it off to Ray, Ray snuck over to Drew’s house and ensconced himself in the dark. The plan was to have Ben watching the surveillance, me sitting in the dark front porch also watching for cars, and Ray next door in the dark at Drew’s. At the sign of anything suspicious we’d all start the cell phone chain, either Ray would contact us and vice versa. But that the second call would go to the police. Ben had checked to make sure Officer Krumpke would be on duty. He didn’t tell him about our “sting” operation but simply wanted to make sure he’d be on duty if we ended up calling.
When you are waiting for something to happen, time slows down dramatically. It is like some bad curse. Twenty minutes can feel like an hour, a day can feel like a month. This is what this evening was turning into, a great big wait fest. Just like all those months we waited to find out if we were pregnant or not. It was rare that I thought about those times anymore. Having closed the chapter on having a baby of our own brought a certain sense of finality. But not in a sad way, like I imagined. I always imagined that not having a child would leave me navigating my life like the walking wounded. Like I was injured in an accident no one could see. But it didn’t feel that way. I felt more whole than I thought I would. I was still me, just childless. It was just a fact of my life, like my weight, I’m a little over weight, a little round. Fluffy. Not obese, but curvy. I have dark hair. I am infertile. Just a fact of life like any other.
These were some of my thoughts as I went from waiting on the porch to checking in with Ben. I was joining Bev laying on the couch when Ben piped up, “Honey go check the white car outside, quietly.”
I slipped out the front door keeping close to the wall, like I’ve seen cops do on TV shows, enough to peek around the corner. There, in the dim moonlight was a white car, it was parked about 30 yards away, in between Hank Stidmore’s house and Floyd’s house, across the street from Drew’s. It was too far away for me to read the plate number clearly, but it looked like a Ford car of some kind. There was a person seated in the front seat but they were making no attempt to get out of the car. They just parked and waited, like us. Not being able to resist anything, Ben had come out of the door and stood next to me with our backs against the wall. I almost chuckled out loud to myself, it was like we were playing a game of some sort, amateur sleuths or cops and robbers but an adult version. Ben had called Ray and said to be on the alert. We didn’t know if this was our culprit or not, but it was the most suspicious sighting we had had all night.
Just as we waited there side by side, we heard a car door open and someone step out of the car. The problem was, we were both trying to stay hidden and so didn’t have a direct sight line to the car. And this is why we flubbed as bad as we did. Ben went to step around me, carefully and quietly, so he could peek out around the corner and see who was getting out the car and I backed up too much to the left and that’s when we heard and saw the crash. The planter I have in the corner of our little porch picked just that moment to topple over and crash to the ground.
The person whipped around and looked in our direction, they were slight, small that was for sure, but we couldn’t see much because they had a black or dark hoodie on and there was only one overhead street light that was down a bit from where they were. What happened next all happened so fast. The planter crashed, Ben uttered a loud “shit”, the person whipped around in our direction, dropped something, and then jumped back in the car, Ben went flying out of the porch door quickly followed by me. Ben was fumbling with his phone and the only thing I could think to do was to run towards the car to try and get the license plate number. I must have looked like a raving lunatic. There Ia m in my sweats, with my fuzzy slippers on, running down the middle of the road screaming “get the license plate number” “get the license plate” thinking that Ben was right behind me. But he wasn’t. It was just me standing in the middle of the road in the middle of the night chasing a car screaming my head off. Not one of my most smooth moments. Just as I bent down to pick up what the person had dropped, Ray came bounding out of Drew’s house and Ben screamed to him, “get in the car, let’s go.” And we all took off in Ben’s civic to try and see if we could catch the car.
We headed east down Glencove with the car about three blocks ahead of us. Both cars were doing well over the posted speed limit of 30 MPH, being that it was late at night, there wasn’t much traffic. As the white car ahead of us took the corner at Pace it picked up speed. So many of the roads in Florida are flat and long without many stop signs to hinder speeding, it is easy to get way ahead of the speed limit. We were still too far behind to read the full license plate number. The car surprised us all and took a left turn at Jupiter and then a right onto Emerson, we were getting close to catching our perp as we all approached the intersection of Emerson and Minton. Just as we were pulling up we heard the crash before we saw it, the white car ahead of us hit the SUV in front of it. We nearly ended up hitting the white car ourselves but Ben was able to swerve out of the way just at the last moment. It wasn’t a huge crash, but you could see damage to the front end of the white car. Just as the fellow in the SUV, who was rather pissed, got out of his car to see what the damage was, the white car sped off. Ben corrected his swerve and was able to dart around the SUV and follow the white car from two cars back. The pissed fellow in the SUV jumped back in his car and gave chase too. We were headed down Palm Bay Road with the SUV behind us flashing his lights and yelling his head off. Just then the white car took the entrance ramp to 95 south and we all followed, our little crazy caravan. The SUV was able to pull up beside the white car and the driver was jestering wildly while we maintained a close distance right behind the white car. We were finally able to get the license plate number. But it turns out we wouldn’t need it.
We were soon joined by two cop cars who were indicating to the white car to pull over. When it finally did and our little caravan pulled over as well we were surprised as we could have been who was behind the wheel.
“Pam?” Ben spoke first.
“What?” was all I could manage.
“I knew it!” was what Ray had added.
We had told the cops that we were witnesses to the crash on Emerson, not wanting them to know we had been following Pam since Drew’s house.
Pam was charged with leaving the scene of an accident and causing damage to the SUV although it looked like her car withstood the brunt of the crash. Turns out the person Pam had hit back on Emerson was an off-duty cop. Leaving the scene of the accident with an off-duty cop is certainly one way to get caught.
As I waited for the boys to “handle” the scene and give their two cents to the cops, it gave me a chance to look through what Pam had dropped back outside Drew’s house. And it was very interesting, very interesting indeed.
“I want to talk to you.” Ray pointed and jestered at Pam indicating that he was going to ‘take care of things’ as soon as the cops where through with her.
But it turns out we wouldn’t even get that chance.
Chapter Sixteen
My Ben had taken care of things. As he always did. It was so refreshing, I thought to myself, to have a man around, one who enj
oyed being a man and taking charge. So different from my first husband, who kind of bumbled through his life, taking what would come. He wasn’t anything like Ben and that fact I was eternally grateful for. I had left him for that reason — he didn’t want to grow up, and at age 30 I felt it was time we had. It would take me nearly half of a decade to find Ben. But it was worth the wait.
As soon as were driving home from the incident on 95, Ben had called Officer Krumpke and told him what happened, from beginning to end. Ray even took the phone at one point and put in his two cents.
Turns out Ray had been doing his own digging into Ms. Pam’s background. Her house was close to being foreclosed on, a fact that had come to Ray’s attention by some careful lifting of certain mail from her mailbox. Ray was unconventional, that’s for sure, when it came to his own investigative habits: breaking and entering, stealing, it alI comes second nature to him. Ray suspected Pam of wanting to steaI something, something of real value, of Drew’s. Thus the sleeping pills, thus the continued trying to get into his house. Whether or not it was true, I wasn’t sure. But if Pam was in serious financial trouble, that could explain some of her actions. Plus what I had in my hand had to add to the intrigue of the situation.
What was sure was that through all of this, we were developing an unlikely kinship and friendship and affection for Ray and Bev. It was funny how familiarity and a single common interest could bring together the most unlikely of friendships. Both Ben and I wondered at Ray’s involvement in all of this, we both didn’t think it was in it for the same reason we were, to help Jesse, that was for sure. But to help Bev, I might think so. For all their ups and downs and back and forths, I really did think and could see where Bev and Ray were truly in love. How their shared insecurities worked for them rather than against them. Plus add to that, Ray seemed to like being the hero. Stepping in and sweeping up the mess that was left by Drew’s death. In that way, he and Ben had had a lot in common. There’ s nothing my Ben doesn’t like more than being my hero. And that he was.
And then there was Bev. Such an unlikely friend for me. But her chatty, flirty ways were even rubbing off on me. She was very feminine, like on steroids feminine. Always checking her makeup, her nails perfectly done. Being around her made me feel both awkward and a little jealous. It made me want to be more feminine too. I spent a lot more time checking the· mirror when she was around. Plus her unconventional style choices were making me feel frumpy. I noticed
that around her I tended to choose the tighter shirts that showed off my girls and went for the tighter jeans. In some ways it was good for me, to have someone this close to help mix things up, put them just a little off kilter and make me question my own ingrained habit is.
And Bev and I had finally made our trip together to go see Jesse in jail.
“Hey mom.”
“Hey bubbe, how are you holding up?” And with that question Jesse broke down crying. It was as if he had been holding it together as much as he could and the sight, just the very sight of his mom, sent him over the top. I can’t describe how small and pitiful Jesse looked at that moment. He just sobbed and his mom tried to comfort him. It was as if all the stress of the last few weeks had finally taken their toll. Bev cried too. Even I ended up in tears. I kept having to run to the bathroom to get toilet paper for us to blow our noses into. After that visit it was like Bev and I shared something. Something very intimate and very small and very fragile. We shared Jesse and a love for him that was entirely motherly and wanted only the best for that poor kid. I knew Bev wasn’t the kind of mother Jesse needed, but she was his mother and would always hold that place in his heart. Try as I might I could never fill that hole, but I could try and be a friend to both of them, to encourage them to be better towards each other. Maybe that was part of my role too, patcher-upper of mother and child.
Plus there was an interesting development in our unlikely friendship with Ray and Bev, and that was Jules. Whether it was because she had a school girl crush on him, or what, but whenever Ray was around, Jules was about as nice as nice could get. Chipper, funny, helpful. It took me all of one afternoon to figure out this pattern and so of course, like any good stepmom, I took full advantage of it. Jules and I even baked cranberry breads together and I let her take over the one for Ray and Bev. Who knew that it took a little manly-crush for her to shape up. I really didn’t care what the reason was, if I could get along with Jules, it was worth the price of admission. And so we encouraged both Ray and Bev to come over a lot and we went the extra mile to be the helpful neighbors.
It took two days for us to find out what happened with Pam. During that time, we had given the keys to Drew’s house to Ray and Bev. She would end up inheriting the house anyhow with Jesse in jail or not and it was only right that they start to make it a home of their own. I knew in my heart of hearts it was probably not the situation that Drew would have wanted, but in the end, it was what was right and truth be told I didn’t like having responsibility for taking care of Drew’s house. It was easier for us, and easier for them. And it gave us a new couple to hang out with, now that we were on friendlier terms.
Officer Krumpke, I mean, Nunez had come over. We called next door to have our new neighbors join us since they had such a stake in what the outcome of Pam’s situation would be.
“The whole crew is here” said the officer remarking on all of us sitting on the back porch like a captive audience.
“I wanted you all to know, we’ve arrested Pam for breaking and entering next door, and for the attacks on you Ben, and Bev, ” and he paused, “for forgery, and for attempted murder.”
I think it would be easy to say that we were all a little stunned by the last part of that sentence.
“Once we got her downtown and presented our evidence to her—the prescription bottle— Pam confessed to feeding some sleeping pills to Drew. She claims she only put a few crushed up in some mayonnaise on a sandwich for him, intending to have him sleep for the afternoon so she could rifle through his computer but she must have given him more than a few because he had enough in his system to fell a horse.”
“What about Jesse?” I asked, and Bev nodded in agreement.
“Jesse is still being held, we still don’t know who, or if it was Jesse, gave Drew the Drano.”
“There is no way it was Jesse, what about Pam?” I piped up. “Pam knew nothing about the Drano, and we believe her.” He said authoritatively.
“She did have Drew’s checkbook, and we know she’s used it since his death. We’ve been able to locate two checks she wrote and forged his signature to.”
While I was glad that Pam was going to be charged in Drew’s death, my heart sunk a little. How were we going to prove that Jesse didn’t spike Drew’s Gatorade with Drano. Who would have done it?
“Why was Pam trying to break into Drew’s?” All of this still didn’t make sense to me.
“I think I can shed some light on that situation.” I piped up. Truth be told with all the comings and goings I had hardly remembered to give the piece of information I had recovered from the scene outside Drew’s house to the cops in charge.
“Here it is, it is a life insurance policy, with Drew’s supposed signature on it,” I handed it over to Officer Krumpke explaining where it came from. What we all came to believe was that Pam was trying to place the document in Drew’s office so it would be found. The life insurance policy was made out with her as the beneficiary. ·
What we didn’t know was if the signature was bogus— at least it wasn’t signed in front of a notary. Did that make the document invalid? Was it even Drew’s signature? It is hard to believe that Drew would make out a life insurance policy benefitting someone he had only known for two months. And if Pam signed his name to checks, surely she could have made this one up too.
If Pam was in trouble financially, that would make sense, she would want to get any portion of Drew’s money that she could. She had stolen his checkbook, so what’s to say she didn’t want to steal more th
an that?
“What I want to know is who fed Drew the Gatorade with Drano. It wasn’t Jesse, Officer Nunez, you have to believe that now.” I added.
“We still can’t prove that Jesse didn’t do it.” Was all he added. “What about Taylor and her mom? What’s going on with them?” I asked.
“We’re in the middle of investigating them for drug offenses, so I can’t divulge much, but just know that we are watching them and they know we are watching them.”
Officer Krumpke left and then it was just the four of us on the porch.
I had Ben dig out his index cards. He tactfully omitted bringing out those with Bev and Ray’s name on them and I hoped, for the sake of our blossoming friendship, that he tore them up. There’s nothing worse than a little “hey, sorry, we thought you were murderers” to ruin a good friendship.
After putting a big check mark on Pam’s, left on the list were Taylor and Taylor’s mom. Truthfully, out of everyone, I could see both of them doing such an awful act. They both had bad attitudes, they both were selfish and self-centered, they both were troublemakers of the worst kind. But how to prove it was them?
Ray and Ben discussed this and other man-related items while Bev and I retreated to the kitchen.
“Thank you for taking me to see Jesse” she said in a quiet tone. “You are welcome, he so needed to see you, you saw that right, how important you are to him.”
“I can’t thank you enough, you’ve been a good friend to us.”
And we that we hugged. I still couldn’t believe that I was developing real affection and a real friendship with someone I had so easily dismissed.
Laying in bed that night this is what Ben and I discussed-our unlikely friendships and Drew’s murder. If we were to help Jesse get out of jail, we’d have to find the Drano killer. We were close but not close enough.
Little did we know we were closer than we thought.
