Toni L.P. Kelner - Laura Fleming 04 - Country Comes to Town

by Toni L. P. Kelner

  “But you said Vincent graduated with you,” Thaddeous pointed out.

  I said, “Lots of people walk through the ceremony without actually getting a diploma. Sometimes they have a class or two to finish over the summer, but want to go through the formal ceremony. I knew several people who walked in June but didn’t get their diplomas until later on.”

  “So how do we find out if he’s really got a diploma?” Michelle asked.

  “Well, he’s got a diploma on his wall, and it looked okay to me, but I wasn’t looking that closely. It could have been forged. And he has an MIT class ring, but anybody can buy one of those. Paw bought me mine months before graduation.”

  Thaddeous asked, “Is there any way we can get a good look at his diploma and find out if it’s a fake?”

  “I don’t know about that, but we might can check his records at MIT.” To Michelle, I said, “I think this is a job for you.”

  She looked surprised. “Me? You’re the one who went to school there.”

  “But I was just one student at an awfully big university. And a university is like any business—it’s the administrative people who really run things.”

  “Meaning that you want me to see what I can find out through the secretary’s network.”

  “Exactly. Do you know anybody over there?”

  “I might.” She reached into her pocketbook and pulled out a small red address book. “Mind if I use your phone?”

  “Not at all.”

  “It could take a while,” she warned.

  “Maybe I should call out for dinner first.”

  “No need for that,” Thaddeous said. “I expect I can scrounge up something for dinner while you make your calls.”

  “It’s a deal.” She grinned up at my cousin. “Good looks, and he cooks, too. I must have died and gone to heaven.”

  Dinner wasn’t exactly heavenly, but it was pretty good. Thaddeous made omelettes with some cheddar cheese I’d forgotten was in the refrigerator, and an enormous stack of buttered toast. And just like his mama, he denied it being anything special. “It’s not much of a meal,” he said, “but it’s something to eat.”

  In the meantime, Michelle made I don’t know how many phone calls. The preliminaries for each call were long enough to make a Southerner seem concise by comparison, but each time, she managed to get the conversation steered in the direction she wanted it to go.

  Finally, just as Thaddeous finished fixing the last omelette, she wrote down a phone number and thanked the person on the other end of the line profusely before she hung up. “Pay dirt!”

  “You found somebody?” I asked.

  “It turns out a woman I know has an older sister who I’ve met a couple of times. This sister is working in the registrar’s office at MIT. Which is where they keep the records on graduates. Plus, she’s working tonight because it’s the end of ‘drop period,’ whatever that means.”

  Thaddeous said, “Do you want to call her now or wait until after we eat?”

  “Definitely eat first. My friend is going to talk to the sister and let her know I’ll be calling, so I’ve got time.”

  Dinner was good, although we were crowded around my tiny kitchen table. Michelle was more than happy about the cooking. In fact, to hear her talk, you’d have thought he’d laid the eggs himself.

  As soon as we were finished eating, Michelle went back to the phone while Thaddeous and I cleaned up the kitchen. The two of us didn’t speak because we wanted to hear what Michelle was going to find out.

  “Sarah? This is Michelle Nucci, your sister Teri’s friend. How are you? … Good, glad to hear it … I’m fine … Your sister tells me she just got engaged. She says he’s wonderful, but what do you think?” There was a long pause and I guessed that Sarah was telling Michelle everything about the bridegroom-to-be. Finally Michelle said, “Who me? Maybe.” She looked over at Thaddeous, whose back was turned right then. “Too soon to tell. But it looks promising … Yes, he is.” She giggled. “So how do you like it at MIT? … No kidding … I hope they’re paying you for it … Good, good. Sarah, did your sister tell you why I’m calling? … That’s right, I need a favor. It’s a big one, too, and I want you to tell me if there’s any chance at all that you could get into trouble.” Michelle held up her hand and conspicuously crossed her fingers. “Okay, here’s the story. Did I ever mention my cousin Carol to you? … She’s a couple of years younger than me. Anyway, she’s got this guy she’s interested in. He’s real good-looking and seems nice, but I don’t know, Sarah. I just don’t trust him. Neither does the rest of the family … I know she’s a grown woman, Sarah, and normally I wouldn’t interfere, but I’ve got a bad feeling about this guy. How would you feel if you didn’t think your sister’s fiancé was on the up-and-up? … That’s what I thought. Well, Carol’s like a sister to me and I want to make sure everything is okay for her. You see what I’m talking about?”

  Michelle mimed drinking at me, and I took her a glass of water.

  She took a swallow, then went on. “Okay, the reason I’m calling you is that this guy says he graduated from MIT, but I’m not sure I believe him … Yeah, I’ve seen his diploma, and it looks real, but what do I know? … What I’m hoping is that you can take a look at his records, and make sure he really graduated … You can? Oh, Sarah, I would owe you such a favor for this. Tell you what—are you giving your sister a wedding shower? Have you got a hall picked out? … Okay, when you get a date set, you call me. My uncle is a caterer. He’s got connections with the best places in town, and I’ll make sure he takes care of you … Hey, that’s what friends are for. I know what a nice party costs these days … The guy’s name is Vincent Noone. Or maybe Vinnie Noone, which he used to go by. Class of—”

  I whispered, “Eighty-nine.”

  “Class of Eighty-nine … Sure, I’ll wait.”

  It took a while, but finally Sarah gave an answer. Only I could tell from the look on Michelle’s face that it wasn’t the answer we wanted.

  “He did graduate? What were his grades like? … That good, huh? You’re sure it couldn’t have been faked? This guy is a whiz with a computer. Couldn’t he have gotten into your system and played around with the grades? … Yeah, that makes sense. As many computer jocks as you’ve got there, you must have a wicked good security system. What about bribes? Could he have paid off a professor? … No, I guess there’s no way you could know about that. Well, thanks for looking … Of course I’m still going to get you a deal on the hall … I’d love to come. Just let me know where she’s registered. ‘Bye.” She hung up the phone.

  “Rats!” I said, which was all too appropriate. “I was so sure.“

  “Hey, all it cost us was a few phone calls,” Michelle said.

  “And a deal on a hall and catering.”

  “So what? My uncle gives everybody a good deal. That’s why he never makes any money. It drives my aunt crazy.”

  Thaddeous said, “It was worth a shot, Laurie Anne.”

  “I suppose,” I said. “It’s just that I’m running out of ideas real fast.”

  “You cut that out,” Thaddeous said. “We’re not out of this yet, not by a long shot.”

  “You tell her, Thaddeous!” Michelle added.

  The both of them did their best to cheer me up, and I tried to act cheered, but I was glad when it was time to go to bed so I could quit acting. Philip had been dead over a week, and all we really knew so far was that we’d roused somebody’s suspicions. I was going to have to go back to my real job in a week or so and Thaddeous was going to have to go back to Byerly soon. And I just couldn’t stand the idea that I might never know the truth.

  Chapter 29

  I was hoping to wake up feeling inspired. I didn’t, but I went to SSI anyway. While pretending to design screen formats, I kept thinking about that second straw poll, wondering who it was Philip had blackmailed into changing his or her vote. I mentally went through the board of directors.

  Dee voted for Philip both times: once
from loyalty and once because of blackmail. Dom voted for him the first time and against him the second. I was pretty sure that Jessie had voted for him both times because she was so loyal to the group that it was hard to imagine her voting to fire anybody. Murray had openly voted against Philip the first time, and I didn’t think he’d changed his mind for the second.

  That left Vincent and Inez. Both were publicly against Philip, but that didn’t mean both had actually voted against him. If Philip blackmailed one of them into changing his or her vote, neither would have admitted it because that would mean exposing a weakness that the other one could use. That made Inez and Vincent the ones to focus on.

  I went back over my reasoning. It was made up of guesses and assumptions that people had been telling me the truth, but it was something to go on. And I sure as heck didn’t have anything better.

  Next, I had to decide which one to go after first. Offhand, I couldn’t think of any way to approach Vincent. The only lead I’d had was his brass rat, and that had turned out to be a waste of time.

  Inez wasn’t much more promising. She’d told me what it was Philip had used on her, so obviously it wasn’t a secret worth killing to keep. Come to think of it, she had told me the story pretty quickly. At the time I’d been glad, but looking back, it seemed kind of funny. Inez and I had never been all that close, and certainly we weren’t anymore. Why would she admit to an affair that was none of my business? With Philip dead, there was no other way I could have found out. Could she have lied in order to hide something else?

  I drank down the last of my coffee to give myself an excuse to go by Inez’s office. She was typing furiously at her keyboard.

  “Hi, Inez,” I said casually. “How’s it going?”

  She didn’t look up. “Insane. Vinnie should have filed this paperwork last week, and the deadline is today. Which means that I have to get it done in the next hour and a half before I have to leave for a doctor’s appointment, or we are screwed. So unless it’s an emergency …”

  “No, not at all. Is there anything wrong? For you to go to the doctor, I mean.”

  “Just a physical.”

  “Good. Talk to you later.” I started back for my desk, but then I thought of something. If she was just going for a physical, why didn’t she cancel and reschedule for a better time? I turned around and headed for Jessie’s office.

  She was working at her keyboard, too, though not so frantically.

  “Hey there, Jessie.”

  “Hi, Laura. What’s up?”

  “Just stretching my legs,” I said, and went in to sit at her guest chair. “How’s it going with you?”

  “Not bad. Just updating some records.”

  “Not with the same deadline as Inez, I hope.”

  She grimaced. “No, thank goodness.”

  “Jessie, is Inez all right?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I thought she looked a little tired.” That was a lie, but it was vague enough that I could get away with it. “And she mentioned that she had a doctor’s appointment today.”

  “Really? She didn’t mention a doctor’s appointment to me. She didn’t get an insurance form, either.”

  “Maybe she already has one.”

  Jessie shook her head. “The insurance company changed their forms, and we just got in the new batch last week. I didn’t memo you because you didn’t sign up for our plan. Anyway, the forms are right there and she hasn’t asked for one.” She pointed to a shrink-wrapped bundle on the shelf across from her desk. “Maybe I should go see if she needs one.”

  “I’m sure she’ll come by if she does. And I might have misheard her, and she has a different kind of appointment.” I steered the conversation to other matters for a few minutes before heading back for my desk to call Thaddeous.

  “Fleming residence,” he said.

  “Thaddeous, this is Laura.”

  “Hey, Laurie Anne. What’s going on?”

  “I’ve got a job for you, if you’re interested.” I spoke quietly, this time mindful of the fact that my walls didn’t reach all the way to the ceiling.

  “You know I am.”

  I quickly explained why I had decided that Inez warranted another look, and why I thought she might be lying about having a doctor’s appointment. “Do you feel up to following her to see where she ends up?”

  “I could give it a try. But she’s met me once, so I’ll have to be careful.”

  “Wear your Walters Mill cap,” I suggested. “You weren’t wearing a hat when she met you.”

  “Good idea. When should I be there?”

  “She said she had an hour and a half until time to leave. So if you could get here by eleven-thirty, that should be about right. I’d grab a taxi if I were you, just to be sure that you don’t miss her.”

  “All right.”

  “I’ll keep an eye out and see if she picks up an insurance form between now and then. There’s a pay phone across the street, so call me from there and I’ll tell you. That way you won’t be going on a wild goose chase if she is heading for the doctor.”

  “I’ll do it. ‘Bye, now.”

  I had never drunk so much coffee in my life as I did in the next hour and a half. That and going to the bathroom were the only excuses I could come up with to keep going by Jessie’s office to make sure that Inez hadn’t unsealed that pack of insurance forms. When Thaddeous called, I was able to report that she hadn’t.

  The next two hours were painful. Even though I knew there was probably time for me to run out and get something to eat, I just couldn’t bring myself to leave my phone. So I got Dee to pick me up a sandwich and ate at my desk. After that and all the coffee from the morning, I needed to go to the bathroom something fierce, but I resisted nature’s call.

  Finally, at about two-thirty, I saw Inez go by. A few minutes after that, Thaddeous called.

  “Is Inez there?” he asked.

  “She just got here.”

  “Good. I lost her on the way back, and I was afraid she might have made another stop.”

  “Where did she go?”

  “She went to the doctor.”

  “You’re kidding,” I said, feeling let down. “But I’m sure she didn’t get an insurance form. I guess she just forgot, after all.”

  “As a matter of fact, she paid cash.”

  “Really? Why would she do that if she’s got insurance? Thaddeous, what are you not telling me?”

  “She went to a doctor, all right, but I don’t think it’s her usual doctor. It was a clinic, one of those places that specializes in a certain kind of disease.”

  “Good Lord! Inez hasn’t got—” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “She hasn’t got AIDS, has she?”

  “No, not that. As soon as I walked in the front door, a woman handed me a brochure telling me what kind of services they offer and how much they cost. It mentioned AIDS, but only to refer you to another clinic. What I think she’s got is herpes.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  “I’m not, but the money she paid when she was leaving was the same amount as for a follow-up visit for herpes. The only other thing that cost that amount was a check for cancer of the—for a disease she’s not likely to have.”

  “You were there when she paid? She didn’t see you, did she?”

  “Not as far as I can tell. I was in a corner, behind a plant. I hung back, thinking I could catch up with her later, but I like to never have got out of that place. You see, I went in right after she did and read that brochure for the entire hour and a half she was there. I think the folks who work there thought I was scared to talk to them, because right after she left, the nurse came over to me and told me that I had nothing to be ashamed of and that nobody would have to know I’d been there, but it was real important that I get treatment for my problem. I tried to tell her that I didn’t have a problem, that I was just picking up a brochure for a friend, but I could tell that she didn’t believe me.”

  “I expect they hear that on
e a lot.”

  “I imagine they do, which is why I didn’t want to be rude and run out on her. She was trying to help, but I was getting right embarrassed.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I finally told her I had to get to work, but that I’d come back later. She still didn’t believe me, but she said she hoped she’d see me again.”

  “Poor Thaddeous,” I said, even though the situation struck my funny bone. But Inez’s situation wasn’t at all funny. “And poor Inez. I wonder how Philip found out?”

  “Maybe he gave it to her.”

  “You mean she might have been telling me the truth when she said she’d slept with him? I didn’t think of that. She’d have told him when she found out so he could get checked, too, in case she’d given it to him or he’d given it to her.” Then, before he could ask, I added, “If Philip had herpes, he got it after we broke up. They checked for that when I got my blood test to get married.”

  “That’s good to hear,” he said mildly, which told me he had been wondering about it. “I don’t guess it really matters how he found out—from what you’ve told me about Philip, I bet he did.”

  “And used it to make Inez change her vote. That son of a bitch! Inez would have been pure out humiliated if people here had found out.”

  “Enough to kill him to keep them from finding out?”

  “Maybe. What if her vote wasn’t enough? What if he was trying to get money or something else out of her? She’s strong enough, she’s got a temper, and she lives fairly close to my place. Not conclusive, but a definite possibility. Thaddeous, you did good! You’re wasted at Walters Mill.”

  “Well, I don’t know that I’d say that,” he said, but I could tell he was grinning.

  Chapter 30

  After I hung up, reality sank in. Okay, I was pretty sure that Inez had been the one to change votes. But even if Philip had been blackmailing her, it didn’t mean that she’d killed him. Her motive was strong, but so was Dee’s. Was humiliation worse than a ruined marriage? And I still had motives for Vincent, Murray, and Dom. So I shouldn’t get cocky yet.