Barbara Levenson - Mary Magruder Katz 03 - Outrageous October

by Barbara Levenson

  “Catherine, this is also very confidential. I miss Carlos a lot, but I just can’t think about him now. I’ve got to concentrate on Sherry and, of course, my tree case. Don’t abandon me.”

  “Never, Mary. Just come home soon.”

  I sat down in the kitchen. Sam put his head in my lap. I was homesick or lovesick. Either way I felt so down. I kept seeing Carlos and Margarita in that cozy booth at the restaurant. I felt tears running down my cheeks and a lump forming in my throat. Sam nuzzled against me, and then he went over and picked up his food dish in his mouth and deposited it at my feet.

  “Sam, you’re right. We’re probably both hungry. I filled his dish even though it wasn’t time for his dinner. While he ate, I checked the fridge, but there wasn’t much that looked appetizing. As soon as Sam finished which is only a matter of seconds, I packed him in the Explorer and took off for the general store. A mood this bad called for one of Hal’s super sandwiches.

  The store was quiet. There were few cars parked outside, so I took Sam in with me. Hal was nowhere in sight so I rang the little bell on the counter. He came from a back room, wiping his hands on his apron. I had to laugh as I looked at his tall imposing figure. He was never without his Boston Red Sox cap. I wondered if he slept in it.

  “Well, you’re in a jolly mood. Does that mean your hearing went well over at Barre this morning?” Hal asked.

  “Just the contrary. Things were looking good until the side judge, Crumb, decided to give me a history lesson about an ancient tree statute which he compared to the ancient road controversy.”

  “Ah, yes, Mr. Crumb. What a character. I suppose you know about his adventure with a large pine tree on the River Road last year,” Hal smiled.

  “I have no idea what you’re referring to.” I shook my head.

  “Well, it seems Crumb was coming home from somewhere around midnight in his old Cadillac. It was a dry night, no snow, no rain, when he slammed his car into a huge old pine tree. Half of it broke off and took out the electric wires causing a power outage to at least 100 homes. They were without power for a day or so. When the sheriff came out to see what was wrong, he found Crumb passed out behind the wheel. Lucky for him, he was in that heavy tank of a car.”

  “Did he get charged with DUI?”

  “Sure. They took him to the hospital and checked his blood alcohol level which was about as high as Mt. Ascutney. He also had a broken arm.”

  “So what happened? Did he go to court? Don’t leave me in suspense.”

  “He went to court but amazingly, the sheriff didn’t show. Seems he was away in a training program, and Crumb argued that he was pre-diabetic, whatever that is, and the blood test was wrong. The judge found him not guilty. Of course, the next time he ran for his position, his challenger brought the whole thing up, but a lot of folks around here do some fancy drinking themselves so they voted him in again.”

  “I appreciate the entertainment, Hal. I’m feeling a little off balance today. How about fixing a couple of your super special turkey sandwiches to go?”

  “You must be pretty hungry.”

  “I thought I’d bring one over to Dash. I have to stop in the office.”

  Hal started carving bread and turkey. “You and Dash are getting pretty friendly, so Daisy tells me.”

  “Don’t start match-making, Hal. We’re just lawyer buddies.”

  Sam tugged at his leash, trying to get to the cheese display. Hal looked up and threw him a piece of the savory turkey. That kept him happy for ten seconds.

  While Hal finished the sandwiches, I thought about the rumors that must be circulating that Dash and I were a new romance. Maybe if there had never been Carlos in my life, I would appreciate Dash more, but if there had been no Carlos, I never would be here in High Pines. I never would have met Dash. How much in our lives is destiny and how much is nothing more than accidental happenings.

  CHAPTER

  FORTY-SEVEN

  I moved the car up the road and parked in the drive in front of the barn at Dash’s office. Daisy’s car was usually parked there. My first piece of good luck of the day was that Daisy’s car was nowhere in sight. I wouldn’t have to field her twenty questions like: didn’t I love working with Dash and wasn’t it great being in the beautiful Upper Valley, just the right place to settle and raise kids.

  Dash was seated at Daisy’s reception desk, looking through a file drawer. He looked up and grinned as I came in.

  “Mary, come on in. I just got off the phone with Ken.”

  “Well, then you know how the hearing went. But I have brought a peace offering for how I bungled things.” I held out the bag with the sandwiches.

  “You didn’t bungle anything. From Ken’s description, I think Crumb just wanted to yank your chain and show you that native status triumphs over good lawyering from out of town. There’ll be other hearings. This case will be around awhile.”

  We took the sandwiches into the library and unpacked them on the round table. Dash poured two cups of coffee from the pot in his office and returned with the coffee and two slices of some kind of pie.

  “George Cohen’s wife baked me a pie. I took care of a little matter for them last week. It only required a couple of phone calls, so I didn’t want to charge him. He dropped off this rhubarb pie this morning.”

  We were quiet while we wolfed down the late lunch,

  “Did you say George Cohen?” I asked after sitting back comfortably full.

  “Yes, do you know him?”

  “No, but the name Cohen surprised me. I didn’t think there were any Jewish people in this village. I thought Jewish people usually live where there is a synagogue with a congregation.”

  “Sure there are. What kind of name do you think Mellman is?” Dash asked.

  “I didn’t give it much thought,” I said.

  “You think Miami is the only place with mixed marriages? My family is a conglomerate, too. Dad was Jewish. Mother wasn’t when they married but she converted. We even have a synagogue not far from here. Want to see it sometime?”

  I tried not to look surprised. I had a mental picture of Daisy with her beehive hairdo draped in a prayer shawl. “Sure I’d like to see it. Are there a lot of members?”

  “Quite a few. Lots of kids in Sunday School and older folks who retired in the area, and other mixed couples. We even have a holocaust survivor, Franz Goldstein. He’s eighty or more now. He taught us a lot about Germany and how Hitler came to power. His point was that if you do nothing and ignore threats to democracy, a despot can take power. Franz lost his whole family. He was only sixteen when he got to the U.S.

  “I’d love to meet him and talk to him .while I’m here.”

  “He’s not too rational these days. His grandchildren live up here and look out for him.”

  “This is an amazing area. Every day I learn something new about life here; like I learned today when I got my head banged in court.”

  “Mary, I don’t want to pry. Is there any news about Sherry that you feel you can discuss with me? Can I be of some help? Don’t think I’m prying into your business,”

  I looked at Dash who looked so open and actually appealing. I must have been super paranoid to think that he was hanging out in the murder house and was involved. He had been nothing but nice to me. What is it with me, I thought. Can’t I take anyone at face value?

  “That’s okay,” Dash said. “I understand if you don’t feel comfortable confiding in me. Just know that I’m here to help if you want help.”

  “I do want to talk about this with you,” I said. “Lillian has a million dollars ready to turn over to the kidnappers, but I’m so scared that they’ll kill Sherry anyway. After all, she can identify Paul Conrad. She’s been having sex with him.”

  “That’s why you need professional law enforcement working with you, regardless of the threats of the kidnappers.”

  “We have a professional, Ken Upham. He’s been wonderful. He even had some ‘techie’ that he knows trace her route
through her cell phone. So now we know that she’s within a certain area. The only problem is the area is huge and mountainous.”

  “Now I understand why you wanted to find out if Paul still owned the Conrads’ land. I didn’t know how important that information was. I’ll go to the courthouse in Woodstock first thing in the morning and research the records. No wonder you’ve been so nervous. Where is Lillian now?”

  “At the Hanover Inn, I guess. I believe Ken was going to go up there this evening. Ken is posing as Lillian’s driver. There’s already been one meeting at a gas station where she received a call from the bad guys. Ken won’t let Lillian give over any money until she hears Sherry’s voice on the phone. So far they’ve sent a photo to Lillian’s phone showing Sherry tied to a chair. This is so bizarre. I feel like I’m part of a bad movie.”

  “Let’s call Ken’s cell. If he’s up at the inn, I’ll go up there with you.”

  “Oh, Dash, I can’t expect you to drop everything and –”

  “Don’t give it a thought. I’m happy to lend another brain to help resolve this awful event. I can’t believe something like this has happened in the Upper Valley. I can’t believe Pauly would be involved in something like this. He’s never been the brightest kid, but when Francie took him in, everyone thought he’d be okay.”

  “Good God, I came up here for R and R, and now I’ll need to get back to Miami for some peace. Car theft defendants are looking better and better.”

  CHAPTER

  FORTY-EIGHT

  Ken didn’t answer his cell phone, so I tried Brett. No answer there and also no answer from Lillian. Now I was consumed with worry.

  “None of them are answering. I’m going to walk Sam and then go up to Hanover and see if they’re at the inn,” I told Dash.

  “Just let me lock up here and I’ll ride up there with you.” Dash began turning off the lights and forwarding his office phone to his cell phone.

  I made record time to Hanover, driving eighty all the way. But when we pulled off the freeway, there was bumper to bumper traffic up the hill into the town.

  “What’s this about? I’ve never seen traffic like this up here,” I slammed my hand on the steering wheel.

  “Better take it down a notch or two, Mary. Impatience is not much tolerated here. I think this might be the start of parents’ weekend at Dartmouth. They have four days of activities. I guess the college needs to give the parents some reason to be paying all that tuition.”

  “The weekend is days away. Where can I park? I can’t leave Sam in a parking garage.”

  Pull around the corner and park near the library. It will be closing soon for the evening. We’ll take Sam in with us.”

  “Will they let him in the hotel?”

  “Leave that to me,” Dash said.

  We walked through the throngs of students and parents. The parents were wearing name tags and were headed for the Hopkins Center next door to the inn. We entered the lobby where more parents were milling about. We headed directly to the elevator, and were about to enter when a man in a suit pulled on my arm. I whirled around.

  “Hotel security, ma’am. Sorry, you can’t bring that dog in here.”

  Dash squeezed my other arm. “It’s okay Graham. This is Ms. Katz’s therapy dog. She has to have him with her at all times. She has a little-uh-problem. He pointed to his own head.”

  “Oh, sorry, Dash, I didn’t see who was with her. Too busy looking at the dog.” The security guy stepped away and we boarded the elevator.

  “Thanks a lot, Dash. Now everyone in the Upper Valley will be buzzing about the nut case from Miami,” I said.

  “We got the dog in, didn’t we?”

  The elevator stopped and we raced down the hall and knocked on Lillian’s door. Brett looked through the small opening with the chain lock in place. I waved and he opened the door.

  “Come in quick. Did anyone see you?”

  “Not on this floor. What’s happening?” Why didn’t you or Lillian or Ken answer the phone?” I asked.

  “Ken was here for a while, but he left to go home. I don’t know why he didn’t answer. Mother and I are staying off the cell phones waiting for a call from the people holding Sherry,” Brett explained. “Caller ID showed your name.”

  Lillian came out of the bathroom. Her eyes were red and she looked as if her age had finally caught up with her. Dark circles outlined her hazel eyes and fine lines creased her cheeks and chin.

  “Who is this?” she looked at Dash as if he were a home invader. “You better not have brought the FBI here.”

  “This is Dash Mellman, the attorney I’ve been working with. He knows everyone in the valley and he’s here to help. He knew Paul Conrad as a kid and his family.” I gave Lillian a hug, and she held on to me as if she were drowning. She didn’t let go of me and whispered in my ear.

  “It’s my punishment, isn’t it, for being a bad person.”

  “Lillian, don’t be silly.” I whispered back. I led her over to the bed and almost pushed her into a sitting position. “Why don’t you put your feet up for a few minutes? Can you tell us what news you have?”

  “I’ll tell you,” Brett said. “Mother, you try to rest. Dash, I hope Mary has explained to you how sensitive this is,”

  “Of course, I only want to help you get your sister back, Brett. If you aren’t comfortable, I will leave,” Dash said.

  “No, it’s okay. We need all the help we can get. We got a call at noon from the same woman, asking if we had the money. Mother has the rest of the money, but she stalled them, like Ken told us to do. She said she was still waiting for Federal Express, and that she would need to talk to Sherry before she’d give them the money.”

  “Did they let her talk?” I asked.

  No, they said they’d think about it and hung up. Ken got here shortly after that and told us everything about the cell phone trace and we looked at the map of the area where Sherry might be. He wanted us to get the FBI involved to begin a search of the area. I don’t know how we can do it alone.”

  “No police!” Lillian shouted.

  “I may be able to narrow the area more,” Dash said. “I will look at the property deeds at the courthouse. Paul’s family owned land in that quadrant. If he still owns it that may be where they’re hiding her. It’s all dirt roads up there. It’s pretty secluded.”

  “While Ken was still here another call came. The same woman said that they might let mother speak to Sherry tonight, and that they’d give her directions for dropping the money. Then the phone went dead,” Brett said.

  “Ken put a trace on the phone as soon as it rang. About a half hour later, his contact called and said the call was made from Sherry’s cell phone again. Of course, we knew that much from the caller ID. Ken thought the battery probably went dead and that’s why it cut off, or maybe they were out of range of the tower again. But the call came through that tower at Ascutney Mountain again, too.”

  “These have to be the dumbest criminals. They probably don’t have the charger for the phone or they don’t know how to charge it.” I said.

  “We’ve been here waiting for another call. If it comes, I need to get Ken on the phone to trace the call again,” Brett said.

  “Ken didn’t answer when I tried to get him. I’ll try again,” I said. “Brett, you need to order some dinner for your mother.”

  “I can’t eat, please, Mary, don’t even suggest it.” Lillian had her phone in her hand and stared at it constantly.

  I dialed Ken’s cell but still got no answer. The little room was claustrophobic with four adults and one large dog. Sam was lying on the floor next to Lillian and the bed. Every few minutes he eyed the bed. I prayed that he wouldn’t decide to leap up there next to Lillian. She would have a heart attack for sure if he did.

  Brett turned on the television and we sat in silence watching the evening news. It was followed by a Hollywood gossip show. Brett switched to a baseball playoff game. I had forgotten that it was almost World Series time.
Dash and Brett talked Red Sox baseball for a while reliving the past season. Lillian stared into space and I pulled Sam over and petted him to keep him from any sudden leaps.

  It was after seven-thirty when Lillian’s phone rang. Brett jumped to his cell and dialed Ken to try to pick up the trace again.

  Lillian answered after four rings. Brett shook his head. Ken still wasn’t answering.

  “Put it on speaker.” Dash whispered.

  “This is Lillian”

  “I know who you are,” a husky woman’s voice said. “Do you have this on a speaker phone? Who’s there with you?”

  “Just my son, Sherry’s brother.. He wants to hear you, too, please.”

  “I’m gonna let you talk to your daughter for about ten seconds. This is the one and only time, so listen. Then we’ll talk about that money.”

  There was a long pause. Then we heard Sherry. “Don’t push me.” She spoke as if she was in a stupor.

  “Sherry, darling,” Lillian let out a small sob. “Are you all right?”

  “Mommy, do what they ask. Just get me out of here. I’m sorry to cause you so much trouble. I was so stupid.”

  “That’s enough. Shut up.” The woman’s voice came on again.

  “If you hurt her, I’ll find you,” Lillian screamed.

  “Listen, bitch, I want that money. At nine o’clock tomorrow morning, be back at the Shell station. Wait by the phone. Bring the money. I’ll tell you where and when. No more stalling.” The phone went dead.

  “I couldn’t get Ken,” Brett said.

  “Lillian, I know for sure who that is,” Dash said. That’s Francie Wallace. She was Carolyn Brousseau’s housekeeper. I must have spoken to her a thousand times, and she’s the person who was the foster mother of Paul Conrad.”

  “Who is Carolyn Brousseau?” Lillian asked.

  I frowned at Dash, hoping he wouldn’t mention that Carolyn was quite dead. “The Brousseaus are clients of Dash. Maybe Dash knows where this Francie lives. That might be another area to look for Sherry,” I said.