“If you saw where I was and knew who was around me, you wouldn’t worry at all.”
Ralph shot a strange look to Derek and mouthed “who was around me?” to Derek. Derek shrugged his shoulders and made a mental note to try to find out more about Thomas’s location if and when knowing became important.
“Listen Thomas, I’ll call your father as soon as I can, but I need to know if you let anyone know that I was headed to Albany?”
“No one. Why?”
“Did you call Hertz and have them leave a note for me, welcoming me to Albany?”
“Hell no,” Thomas said. “If you got a note, that means that someone else knows you are on the case. That really concerns me.”
“Me too,” Derek said.
“Any idea who it could have been who left that note?”
“I have a short list of possibilities,” Derek said.
“Well I’m sure my name is on that list, but I promise you that I had nothing to do with it. I hope you believe me.”
“I do,” Derek said honestly. “Wouldn’t make sense for you to hire me only to set me up.”
“Listen,” Thomas said after a short pause, “I need to get running. Please make sure you call my father and keep me informed about any developments. I assume that you will be headed back this way soon?”
“You text me his number, and I will call. As far as my next steps with this investigation, I will let you know when I figure it out. You stay safe.”
“Talk with you soon.”
It was the relaxed tone of Thomas’s voice that most worried Derek. While he was happy that his client believed he was safe and protected, Derek couldn’t help but wonder why Thomas seemed to be a man without a care in the world. Maybe his attitude was the curse of being the only child of wealthy parents, or maybe his parents were overly protective since they had already lost, or thought they’d lost, their other son, and had no interest in ever losing letting anything happen to Thomas.
Whatever the reason for Thomas’s apparent relaxed nature, Derek assumed that a relaxed attitude was better than a paranoid one, though the latter seemed to Derek to be more appropriate.
The two men walked back into the diner just as their food was being walked over to their table.
“I’ve always had good timing when it came to food,” Ralph joked. “So, you headed back to the Windy City?”
“I don’t know,” Derek said. “I’m surprised that you didn’t hear about Zudak.”
“Shouldn’t be,” Ralph said as he shoved a folded piece of toast, heavily dipped in egg yolk into his mouth. “You should understand the filters involved in police work. See, once the state police took over my investigation, they started handling all communications between other departments. I know they contacted Chicago, and I also know that Chicago is gonna send any intel back to the state police. Hell, they probably don’t even know that some police department of a tiny town is involved. And that is just fine with me!” Ralph paused to drink a swallow of coffee and to take another bite out of his toast. “So when something happens in Chicago, the powers to be out there call the powers that be here, that being the state police, and I get filtered out. I betcha I get a call before too long from the state police letting me know about Zudak and any details that they deem me worthy of knowing. Till that happens, I focus on what I can focus on. And that is solving this mystery.”
“The fact that two of the doctors whose names were on the list you found at the lodge were killed in Chicago confirms that Alexander is not working alone,” Derek said.
“Well, I think we agree on that matter. But how do the murders in Chicago prove that?” Ralph asked.
“I highly doubt that Alexander learned how to drive a car while he was held up in those rooms of his. Which means that for him to get to Chicago as quickly as it appears he has, that he either took some form of public transportation or was driven there. And based on those pictures of him in that file, I don’t think the public transportation option is likely. And, while I don’t like to make any rash assumptions, I am liking Straus as the accomplice.”
“Now that is something that I’d like to hear more about. Your figuring that Straus is the guy behind this whole mess. You keep talking, and I’ll get to eating. Don’t mistake my not asking questions as me not paying attention. My mamma told me never to eat with food in my mouth, which I plan on having for the next few minutes.”
As Ralph gave his focus to the plate of food in front of him, Derek began talking about his suspicions.
“First off, Straus is a major player in this whole Alexander Black thing. It was his lodge where Alexander was living and his lodge where three men were killed. Now why in the world would those doctors be at his lodge and Straus not be there? Second, his car is spotted speeding away from the crime scene around the time the murders happened. Based on what I’ve read about Alexander, I highly doubt that Straus, who must be in his fifties, could have defended himself against someone strong enough to drive a knife through Roger Fay’s neck and three inches deep into a tree. Third, that whole path and supplies mystery almost certainly points to someone helping Alexander. And fourth, what I found outside under Alexander’s bedroom convinces me that either Alexander was able to go outside at will or that someone else removed those screws and made the hidden trap door. And if Alexander was allowed to go outside at will, then he wouldn’t have needed a trap door.
“Also, the fact that no one seems to know where Straus is, and yet his body hasn’t shown up floating in some lake and his name hasn’t been crossed off the “death list,” makes me think that he is alive and also makes me very, very suspicious.”
Ralph finished the last bit of coffee in his mug and signaled to the waitress that he needed another cup. Without a word to Derek, he returned his focus to what was left of his breakfast and resumed to his task of quieting his hunger.
“Well?” Derek asked. “Any thoughts?”
“If I disagreed with anything you said, I promise you that I would have made my differing opinion known.”
“But there are other options, don’t you think?”
“Other options?” Ralph questioned.
“Think about it, why does it have to be that Roger Fay was just in the wrong place at the wrong time? He knows the area well, and I read a note in the file that suggested that some stranger had a run in with Alexander and the doctors outside of the lodge one day. Maybe Roger wanted to see what the heck was going on in the lodge after getting a good look at Alexander. Isn’t that an option?”
“I suppose it is,” Ralph answered.
“And my client, Thomas O’Connell. Who can say that he’s not the one who is helping out Alexander? Or his mother, his father, or any of the people on that list? Let’s not forget about Brian Lucietta. Did you speak with him at all?”
“I was able to track him down. Seems the good doctor took an administrative position in a psychiatric hospital in Manhattan. I called him at this office after all hell broke loose. He didn’t seem worried in the least,” Ralph said.
“Guess I should add him to my list of suspected accomplices.”
“I don’t think so. Not yet, anyways,” Ralph responded. “From what I dug out about Lucietta, he is more concerned about his legacy than he is for his life. I betcha he and Straus made quite a team.”
“Is he taking any precautions?”
“Don’t know. He just cut me off and asked me to let him know if I felt that his life was in danger. Pompous son of a bitch just cut me off and wished me a fine day.”
Derek’s head was swimming. In most of his cases since going freelance, he only had one person to track down. One person to find, alert authorities about and to worry about. While Alexander Black was certainly Derek’s most obvious concern, the cast of potential characters who may be helping him was only being decreased after a body was discovered.
“And why is Michelle Mix’s name absent from the list?” Derek barked, frustrated by the realization that the list of confusing items
about the case was still not complete. “Maybe she has something to do with this whole thing.”
“I thought the same thing. In fact, I have yet to hear you say anything that I can’t honestly say that I haven’t thought of,” Ralph said with his breakfast plate cleaned and his mug refilled with black coffee. “But I do have to say that Fay is not a suspect.”
“Why is that?”
“First of all, while I didn’t know the man, those who did tell me that he was more of a loner and a loser than an accomplice to a few murders. Second, him being all dead doesn’t help put Alexander out in Chicago. His car is still parked in his driveway. Plus, he kept a journal. And, while I am not a fan of going through a dead man’s personal thoughts, I did read his. And from what I read, he wasn’t the person who met Alexander outside of the lodge. Furthermore, you’d think that if he was scheming something that he’d at least make some mention of it in his diary. Not a peep or an innuendo about anything suspicious.”
“Okay,” Derek said after a short pause. “Your points make sense. I’ll scratch Fay off my list of suspects,” a somewhat relieved Derek said. “How do you feel about the nurse Michelle?”
“I do find it interesting that she didn’t make Alexander’s list. And when I called her and her husband, Stanley, she didn’t sound all that concerned about Alexander being on the loose. When I told her that he’d killed two doctors already, the only thing she asked me is whether or not Straus was one of the victims. I found that a bit odd.”
“Have you contacted them since?”
“Nope. Did try, though. Calls went right to voicemail.”
“As far as my client goes, I suppose that I’m just being too suspicious. It doesn’t make any sense for him to hire me if he is working with the man I am trying to stop.”
“Also a good and fair observation,” Ralph said as he folded his short, thick arms across his chest. “And what about your client’s parents?”
“Not sure. I’ve never spoke with them. If they are in the Bahamas, then they probably shouldn’t be on my list.”
“Well, I did speak with them,” Ralph said. “And I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that he would have arranged for all them doctors to be killed if Alexander wasn’t doing it already. Boy, was that man pissed off.”
“Wouldn’t you be?”
“Yup, I sure would be. But not the type of angry that your client’s dad was, though. I’d be mad as hell, but he seemed to me the type of mad that drives people to do things they may not normally do.”
“And the mother?”
“Cried most of the time on our call. Kept saying that she should’ve known that her baby didn’t die. She sure was upset and genuinely shocked. He stayed shocked for only a minute or two before he started with that special type of anger I told you about.”
“I’ll take your word for it and keep him on my list.”
The waitress walked over and handed the check to Ralph. She gave a quick smile to Derek before returning to her spot behind the counter.
“I’ll take care of that,” Derek said.
“Take care of what?” Ralph said. “The check? Now Derek, you do insult me. I consider you to be my guest, and if my mother up in heaven is looking down on me and sees me letting a guest pay for a meal, she’d find a way to haunt me for months.”
Once Ralph paid the breakfast bill, and the two men were back driving in Derek’s rental car, Derek asked Ralph to give Stanley and Michelle Mix another call.
“I’ll tell you what,” Ralph said. “We get ourselves back to that lodge, you call your client’s father, and then I’ll give the Mixes another call. Sound fair?”
“Sounds good.”
Derek gave a quick glance at his cell phone and saw that he had received a message from his client.
“Thomas must take orders well. His text message includes his dad’s cell number and a reminder that his dad wants updates right away.”
“I’d sure like to listen quietly to that call, if you don’t mind?”
“Not at all.”
Derek and Ralph arrived back at the lodge ten minutes after breakfast was paid for. Parked in the driveway of the lodge were three New York State Trooper cars.
“Either something is about to be filtered down to me, or we have ourselves yet another problem,” Ralph said.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Add a new officer to your team, Chief Fox?” Captain Jared Smith asked as Ralph and Derek were walking up the driveway to the lodge’s front door. Smith was a twenty-two year veteran of the state police and believed that rules and protocols were in place for damn good reasons.
“Not that my department is any of your concern,” Ralph said through a smile, “but this is Derek Cole. Good friend of mine and an experienced private detective.”
“You haven’t shared any case information have you?” Smith asked as Ralph reached the front door of the lodge. Instead of giving way, Smith stood, with arms on hips, blocking access to the inside of the lodge. “Ralph, I asked you a very simple question.”
“Now, I have not known you all that long, Captain Smith, but I have to believe that simple questions is about all you can ask.”
“I’ve been hired by Thomas O’Connell to protect him and his parents from whomever killed the men in this lodge,” Derek answered, hoping to ease the palpable tension in the air. “Chief Fox has not divulged any case information, despite my repeated requests. Perhaps you can help me with my case, Captain?”
“I don’t even want you near this scene,” Smith said to Derek though his eyes were fixed on Ralph’s. “Nothing personal, but I prefer to work with professionals, not people who pretend to be something they aren’t.”
“Well now, that attitude of yours is concerning,” Ralph said to Smith. “So concerning in fact, that I’ve changed my mind. Derek Cole,” he said to Derek while extending his hand, “as the Chief of Police of the town of Arietta, New York, I’d like to extend you an offer to become a temporary officer of my department.”
Smith stood shaking his head, clearly not impressed with Ralph’s impetuous way of managing a police force but also fully aware that his position with the state police did not give him any authority over how Ralph, or any other department chief, ran their business.
“What you do with your little department is your problem, not mine,” Smith said as he cleared the entrance into the lodge. “I came by to do a bit more investigation and to let you know the latest developments. Can you and your newest officer give me ten minutes or your time, or do you have to run over to HR and fill out some new employee forms?
“I suppose we can spare you the time,” Ralph said, moving into the lodge and over to his zip lock bag containing his cigars. “Shall we sit right here, or would you be more comfortable elsewhere?”
Over the next ten minutes, Captain Jared Smith let Ralph and Derek know that both Mark Rinaldo and Henry Zudak were killed in the Chicago area.
“Chicago PD found no notes on either of the bodies.”
Smith then discussed the statewide search for Doctor William Straus.
“Straus’s car was captured on several traffic cams. Seems that he headed back down towards Long Island. We have images of his car on the Tappan Zee, the GWB, and at a stop light on the island.”
“He have a house or an apartment on the island?” Derek asked.
“Ex-wife lives in Stony Brook. Our people met with her and believe her story that she hasn’t seen or heard from Straus in over a year. He did have a leased apartment on the island, but his neighbors say they haven’t seen him in several weeks. We went through the apartment wall to wall. Didn’t find anything. Straus has a son, but he moved to Kentucky. We contacted him, but he stated that he hasn’t spoken with his father in six years.”
“Thinking he’s hiding out somewhere on the island?” Ralph questioned while drawing deeply on an Arthur Ave Maduro.
“Trail goes cold. Based on the direction he was traveling when we last caught an image, he is either on the island, or
he continued heading south. We have departments up and down the coast keeping a sharp eye out for him.”
“Well, we sure do appreciate you keeping us informed and up to date, Captain,” Ralph said. “but we already knew about Rinaldo and Zudak. Words travel fast in today’s age.”
“I figured you might have found out through whatever communication methods you have, but I wanted to keep you up to date. And there are a few other things that I’d be surprised that your network has informed you about.”
Derek straightened his back and silently hoped that Ralph wouldn’t say anything that would either delay or prevent Smith from telling them about the other developments in the case.
Heartless: a Derek Cole Mystery Suspense Thriller (Derek Cole Suspense Thriller Book 1) Page 14
