Accepted Memories (Sycamore P.D. Series Book 2)

by T. E. Killian

Stan smiled again. “Well, after it was over and we were all standing around in the house, you were talking to Kelly’s brother.”

  It sounded to Stan just like the prim and proper Sonia Nordstrom snorted. “I wasn’t talking. He was doing all the talking and the guy was hitting on me, big time.”

  Stan was enjoying this. “Well that’s who I think the bartender was talking about, Wayne Newcomb.”

  “Great!”

  Stan struggled not to laugh as Sonia pulled into the dealership parking lot.

  As they were walking up to the entrance, Sonia stopped and grabbed Stan’s arm. “If Newcomb’s our man, I want you to handle this whole interview, Stan. I’ll just observe. I don’t need this guy getting the opportunity to hit on me again.”

  Stan just smiled and nodded.

  Upon inquiring, they were directed to the second floor. When they topped the stairs, they entered a waiting area with a long counter across from the doorway. Sitting behind the counter was a petite young blond who looked up from her computer.

  “May I help you?”

  Stan stepped up to the counter and said, “Detective Becker here to see Mr. Wayne Newcomb.” He knew from experience that he had to make it clear which Mr. Newcomb he wanted to see.

  She picked up her phone and dialed three numbers. Stan couldn’t hear what she said into the phone, but she seemed to have to answer several questions and she glanced up at Sonia once before answering then placing the phone down.

  She turned back to Stan and said, “This way please.”

  They followed her down a hallway to their right to a closed door that she opened and stepped aside so they could enter.

  As Sonia had requested, Stan led the way and walked up to the desk while she hung back by the door.

  Wayne Newcomb was sitting with his back to them working at his computer. It gave Stan a chance to observe the man. They had met several times over the past year. Newcomb was several inches taller than Stan was with black hair and dark complexion just like his sister Kelly. Wayne typed in a few more words then turned his chair around to face them.

  Stan almost couldn’t suppress a laugh. It was obvious when Newcomb saw Sonia. His eyes went to Stan first since he was standing in front of the guy. Then his eyes shifted to Stan’s right and landed on Sonia. Stan would swear that his eyes grew in size when he saw her standing by the door.

  Newcomb jumped out of his chair, rounded his desk, and almost pushed past Stan with his hand outstretched toward Sonia.

  “It’s good to see you again Sergeant Nordstrom.” As he led her by the arm to a chair in front of his desk, he seemed to be having trouble avoiding the handgun on her hip. “Please be seated.”

  Stan had to fend for himself as Newcomb went back around his desk and sat down. He sat with his elbows propped on the desktop staring straight at Sonia.

  Stan took the other chair, cleared his throat, and said, “Mr. Newcomb, we understand that you were at the Cactus Wren Bar and Grill Saturday night when a fight broke out.”

  Newcomb kept his eyes on Sonia and didn’t answer.

  Stan and Sonia looked at each other. She frowned and took over the interview. They both knew she had no choice. Newcomb wasn’t going to hear anything Stan had to say.

  Stan could tell that she was struggling to keep her temper down.

  “Mr. Newcomb . . .”

  “Please call me Wayne. All my friends do.”

  If anything Sonia’s face got stiffer. “Could you tell us, first of all, what happened to start that fight?”

  Never taking his eyes off her face, Newcomb said, “I’m afraid I wasn’t paying much attention to the rest of the room at the time.” He cleared his throat again, looked away then back at Sonia. “I was in a rather heated conversation with the person I was with. All I saw was the little guy hit the big guy over the head with a pool cue stick.”

  “Did you hear any shouting before that?”

  “Yes, even though the music was rather loud, I could hear two men shouting but I couldn’t make out what they were saying.”

  “What happened after that?”

  “Well, the big guy picked the little one up under the armpits and threw him all the way across the room into the bar itself.”

  “Do you think you would recognize these men if you were to see them again?”

  He chuckled. “Of course, they both work in the service department here.

  “Thank you Mr. Newcomb. That will be all we need to ask you today.”

  Newcomb stood when Sonia did and said, “Any time, Sergeant, any time.” He gave Stan a sideways look and seemed to change his mind on what he was about to say. “I’ll walk you out.”

  Once they were in the car, Sonia just sat there with both hands on the wheel. Stan could see that she was still fighting her temper. Then he remembered that she hadn’t said he couldn’t tease her, just not in front of others.

  He laughed and said, “Well, Sonia, it sure looks like you have an admirer.”

  She gave him a dirty look and said, “Shut up, Becker. And don’t even think about telling anyone at the station about this.”

  Neither said anything more as she drove back to the station.

  * * *

  Alison loved Monday mornings. Sure, she knew she was just a little bit abnormal in that way, but too bad. The rest of the world didn’t have what she had to look forward to every Monday morning.

  Being the owner and broker of Sycamore Realty, she had the joy of setting back and listening to each of her sales persons give reports of their past week’s activities. Then she could tell them all about her activities too. Quite often, she had the most activity in the office. She tried to create a friendly competition, which kept the others working harder to catch her and she loved it. And that, of course, meant more business for the company.

  This morning, she looked around the conference table at the others. She had known all but one for at least three years some for a lot longer.

  Wilson Monroe was the first one her eyes turned to. She didn’t know much about him except that he was six years older than she was. He had joined the company a few months ago having moved his license up from Phoenix where he had sold quite a bit of commercial property. She was glad to have someone who could concentrate on commercial sales. He was average in appearance and size, with brown hair and eyes. The exception was that he seemed to have a smug look about him most of the time. That had bothered her though. Because of that feeling, she almost hadn’t hired him. But, she had decided that good sales persons often were rather smug, and she did need a good commercial specialist.

  Next to him was Gary Lucas who had been a year behind her in high school. He’d been a star football player. Now he was married with three kids. He was average height and weight with sandy hair and blue eyes. She had always liked him because he never had the ‘jock’ attitude when he was a ‘big man on campus.’

  Next to him was Lucy Hernandez who was four years younger than her but the same size all the way around. Alison was sure they could wear each other’s clothes. Lucy’s brown hair and eyes set her apart from Alison though. She was a quiet, efficient agent.

  Sally Fortunado was six years older than Alison, a little shorter and heavier. Her long black hair and blue eyes reminded Alison of her new sister-in-law, Kelly. Alison knew Sally was a good sales person, but she never could understand it because Sally talked all the time.

  Gladys Humphreys was the oldest of the bunch at forty-eight. Sometimes Alison seemed to get the feeling that Gladys might resent working for a much younger woman. As long as she produced at the rate she’d been doing, Alison could put up with a little attitude. She stood out in another way also. She was a redhead complete with a full display of freckles all over.

  It had been a good week with four new listings, two new contracts, and three closings among the group. Alison was pleased.

  She smiled at each one as they filed out of the conference room. Then she noticed that Wilson was still sitting next to her on her right. It
was obvious that he had something on his mind, and she might as well sit there and wait for him to tell her what it was.

  She could hear the others scattering throughout the building, either to the coffeemaker, the front desk with Mary, the office manager, or to their desks.

  When Wilson turned his eyes from the empty doorway back to Alison, he said, “Well, Boss Lady, you seem to be doing quite well for yourself.”

  She could feel her temper rising. She did not like to be called ‘Boss Lady.’ She decided to let it slide this time since he hadn’t said it in front of the others.

  When she didn’t respond, he said, “How about you and me having dinner together tonight?”

  That she could answer. That she had to answer. “I’m sorry Wilson, but it is my firm policy not to socialize with any of my sales persons on an individual basis.”

  His smile reminded her of the wolf in “Little Red Riding Hood” and she didn’t like it one little bit. “Aw come on, Alison, you and me, we’d be good together.”

  “I’m sorry Wilson, but the answer still has to be no.”

  He didn’t respond to that as he stood and walked toward the door but then he stopped halfway. “You never know, you might be sorry you passed up such a golden opportunity.”

  Alison was glad he left the building then, because she almost went after him and fired him on the spot. She needed to cool off and quick. She couldn’t let any of the others see her so upset.

  She slipped through the door that connected the conference room to her private office.

  She almost called Sybil, but then she remembered that Sybil was going to Phoenix today with Sarah. They were going to shop for a new wardrobe for Sarah. Even though Sarah had protested, Sybil had insisted that now that Sarah was going to be working in Kelly’s office, she needed new clothes that would be proper business attire.

  Alison was glad Sarah was going to start next Monday when Kelly came back to work from her honeymoon. It would mean that Sybil would now be more accessible during the day for Alison to call or just drop in on when she needed to talk.

  What should she do now? She was still too upset to make any calls or go anywhere sales related.

  With Grant in Hawaii, and Sybil in Phoenix, Stan popped into her mind. No way! She could just hear him teasing her about having two guys she didn’t like trying to date her. No thank you! She would just have to figure out another way to calm herself down.

  It was then that Mary Long opened the door and stuck her head in. “Can I come in?”

  Still too upset to say anything for fear of growling at Mary, she just motioned for her to come in.

  Mary had been with Alison since she started the company six years earlier. Mary was Alison’s girl Friday. She did almost everything around there. She was receptionist, Alison’s secretary, and the bookkeeper too. She also kept the other agents supplied with all they needed.

  Mary was the oldest member of the staff at fifty-five. She was a rather nondescript sort of woman, one who looked like everyone’s idea of a grandmother or at least aunt. She was a grandmother too, with four grandchildren and one on the way. Alison didn’t know what she’d do without Mary.

  Mary walked up to Alison’s desk and placed her palms on the desktop. “Are you all right, Hon?”

  Alison was surprised, but realized she shouldn’t be. Mary was always running interference between Alison and the other agents, or between irate customers and Alison. Why was she surprised at this concern?

  Alison looked up at Mary, and realized she was fighting tears. Her? She never cried.

  Mary walked around behind the desk and placed a hand on Alison’s shoulder. “It’s okay Hon, don’t let that guy get to you. He’s tried to hit on every other woman here, even the married ones.”

  That shocked Alison. She couldn’t have that. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner, Mary?”

  Mary shook her head. “I didn’t want to cause trouble where there may be no problem at all.”

  Alison looked up at the older woman. “I hear a ‘but’ in there somewhere.”

  Mary’s smile was sad. “Yes, there is. After what I just overheard a few minutes ago, I was going to tell you anyway. But I have a man on the phone right now who said that his wife complained to him that Wilson hit on her.”

  Alison jumped out of her chair. “That does it. Is he still here?”

  “No, but he told me he’d be back in twenty minutes, and that was at least ten minutes ago.”

  Alison sat back down and looked at the phone on her desk. There was one line blinking. She pointed to it. “Is that line him?”

  Mary nodded and when Alison punched the button, she noticed Mary leaving and quietly closing the door behind her.

  A few minutes later, when she placed the receiver back in the base, she knew what she had to do. She buzzed Mary and asked her to send Wilson in as soon as he came back and to come in with him. They couldn’t have that kind of behavior in this company. She had worked too hard to make this a family friendly realty with honest, hard-working sales people. She wasn’t going to let some Romeo want-a-be spoil it for all the rest of them.

  * * *

  Stan sat down at his kitchen table to eat the Chinese take-out he’d picked up on the way home from the station. He could eat Chinese food three meals a day. He loved it that much. Of course, he could say the same thing about Mexican food and even Italian food too. He couldn’t help it if he had a healthy appetite and liked his food a little spicy. He spent enough time in the small well-equipped fitness center that was available to him at the station. So, he could indulge, or even overindulge whenever he wanted to.

  He thought back on his first day spent with Sonia as his temporary partner. He had to admit that it had gone well. He had enjoyed the little episode in Wayne Newcomb’s office. He smiled as he remembered how uncomfortable Sonia had been when Newcomb had hit on her again, hard.

  Sonia! Was the new Sonia for real? Was she going to follow through with the changed woman he saw yesterday and today? He just guessed he’d have to wait and see. Won’t Grant be surprised when he gets back?

  He was chewing his last mouthful when his cell phone rang. While he finished chewing, he looked at the screen. Alison? He was surprised that she would be calling him, but at the same time, he was very pleased.

  When she said hello, Stan said, “Hello Alison, look, I’m sorry about the way I came off at you yesterday.”

  There was a pause and he was sure he heard a sniffle.

  “Alison, what’s wrong?”

  “Stan, you’re the only one I can turn to with Grant gone.”

  She paused and Stan thought he was going to have to prompt her to continue.

  He was sure he heard a sniffle this time. “Stan, I had to fire one of my agents today for unprofessional behavior.”

  When he didn’t comment, she said, “He was hitting on women clients, even married ones.”

  “That’s serious. No one has filed a complaint with us yet, at least that I know of.”

  “Well, I’m not sure it’s gone that far yet, but the husband I talked to today may wind up filing a complaint. He was very upset. The guy even hit on a couple of the married women at the office.”

  “Alison, you’re not saying, but he hit on you too didn’t he?”

  Another sniffle. “Yes, but all of that isn’t why I called you tonight. He as much as said I’d be sorry for firing him.”

  Another pause then another sniffle. “I’m sure he was following me when I went to show a house this evening. It looked like he was going to stop but my clients showed up right then and he drove off.”

  “How long ago was that?”

  “I don’t know, probably three hours ago.”

  “Where are you right now, Alison?” He didn’t dare ask her why she didn’t tell him sooner. He knew she wouldn’t be able to handle any kind of reprimand right now.

  “I’m at home with all the doors and windows locked.”

  “Good, I’m going to come over there ri
ght now.”

  His phone beeped in his ear. “Just a second, Alison, I’ve got another call. I’ll get right back to you, don’t hang up.”

  When he switched to the other call, it was Sonia. “Stan, I’ll be in your driveway in five minutes, be ready. We’ve got a female assault victim at the hospital.”

  She hung up before he could reply. He switched back to Alison. “I’m sorry Alison, I can’t come right now. I just got called out, but I’ll stop by your house as soon as I can get away, okay?”

  “No Stan, I’ll be all right now. I just thought you needed to know. Oh, by the way the guy’s name is Wilson Monroe and he’s thirty-five, a little taller than me, kind of thick chested, with brown hair and eyes.”

  “Thanks Alison, that’ll help. You stay put and keep everything locked up.”

  Stan punched the off button on his phone as he walked through his front door. He stepped outside just as Sonia whipped into his driveway. He jumped in and she backed out and roared off.

  Stan didn’t like the grim determination on Sonia’s face. He didn’t think he was going to like what she had to say either.

  “Okay, Stan, here it is. A man wearing a Halloween mask assaulted a woman, and he beat her up pretty bad. That’s all Rhodes got out of her before she they took her into treatment at the ER. We’ll have to wait to talk to her while they patch her up. So right now, I’m heading up to where it happened.”

  Stan was surprised when she took Mountainside Drive up to Mountainside Estates. That was an area where large exclusive homes were located. Grant’s wife Kelly’s grandparents had a large estate up there.

  He sure hoped they weren’t going to the Newcomb estate. They’d had enough bad stuff happen last August when four guys broke in and held Kelly, Sybil, Sarah, and the older Mrs. Newcomb before he, Grant, and Sonia rescued them.

  Stan breathed a sigh of relief when Sonia drove past the Newcomb estate to another large house farther along the road.

  They spoke to the owners and found out that the woman who had been assaulted was a realtor who had been showing their house. They had been gone during the showing, but when they returned, they found the woman lying on the front lawn beaten rather badly.