Mystery at the Pet Food Corp.

by Eleanor Kittering

“Well, yes, that's always a big motivator. I mean, he is older than she is and perhaps he values his relationship with her, since Stacy isn't around. This is so weird. Carol continued to be very friendly later and said if I wanted to come over to do so at any time.” Mandy said.

  “Well, I think there's still hope.”

  “We'll see. Well, I just wanted to fill you in on today's developments. I really feel like I'm becoming part of the news.”

  “Well, the thing about web content, unless you continue to feed it, it goes away pretty quickly. There'll be another crisis somewhere else soon.”

  “Okay, we'll talk later.”

  “Sure.”

  After Mandy hung up, she started to think more and more about Carol Stamis. It might be good to drop by tomorrow, under the guise of wondering how long the commercial will take, when they decide to do it. Also, to get a feel whether Thomas is really the decision maker and if he's really made certain the commercial will not happen.

  Meanwhile, she went to get ready for a weekly job she picked up recently. Working one day a week at a restaurant, as people waited for their tables, she would read Tarot cards for waiting guests, an easy job at a nice place. She was trying to see if she could arrange for a couple of these regularly. Mostly because it would mean she'd have a little money coming in, and occasionally a satisfied customer of her Tarot reading would also ask for a personal astrological chart.

  She had been tempted all week to do the cards for herself about this Hedon situation. But her nervousness continued, and nervousness always influenced the results when doing it for yourself, and she decided against it.

  But she thought she had enough drama for one day, so she sat on the sofa and played with Roger. Roger played with his favorite toy and if he had his way, he'd play with the toy the whole day long. So she played with him for a little while, then he sat on the sofa with her as she watched a little TV before she went to work.

  She checked the local news to see if they carried anything about this Gwen Fetlock woman. But no, just local stories of different mishaps that happened to the local people. Luckily, today there were no murders to speak of.

  Once she got to the restaurant, things became pretty routine. She read for a couple of people, some of them tipped, most of them did it for fun. At one point, in between readings, she couldn't believe her eyes. Carol Stamis and Thomas Parks walked into the restaurant. Luckily, they had a reservation, so they didn't have to wait by the bar, and they didn't see her seated to the side, where she read the cards for the walk-ins. However, she could see them sitting in the distance. The body language she saw from a distance did not seem to be friendly.

  After about 15 minutes, she saw Carol get up, take her bag and head for the door. As she left, she didn't seem to be in a good mood. Mandy could just make out Thomas Parks in the distance, but he stayed at the table and didn't bother to follow Carol. After about twenty minutes, he planned on staying, so whatever happened didn't interfere with his appetite. The drama between Carol and Thomas couldn't be denied.

  The next morning turned out to be a little cloudy; the weather report forecasted some rain for the day. Mandy puttered around the house for a while, feeding Roger, getting herself dressed up so she could drop by Hedon. She wondered if things had gone from bad to worse between Carol and Thomas since she overheard them at the funeral.

  Well, she still had the offer with Loretta Gumble if this fell through. She seemed genuinely nice. While at the funeral, she never pitched anything and most of the talk revolved around the craziness of Gwen Fetlock. So, if this situation with Hedon continued to create problems for her, she's going to have to go to another company.

  As the morning wore on, at about 11:00 or so she thought it would be a good time to head over to Hedon. She arrived at the same lobby, with the same two guards at the desk. She approached them and told them she was there to visit Hedon. They told her to go ahead, the one attacked by Roger looking at her but not saying anything. She went upstairs.

  When she got upstairs, she saw Conchetta still at reception and she wondered how this encounter would go. Much to her surprise, as soon as she set foot inside, Conchetta recognized her and started to apologize.

  “Oh, Ms. Cummings, please allow me to apologize for the way I acted the other day. When I saw Ms. Parks on the floor, I started to think crazy thoughts and they took over me. I'm not really like that at all. I was so embarrassed afterwards, I wanted to apologize to you personally. I've never done anything like that in my life. But I've never had a boss die on me either.” Conchetta babbled on.

  “It's okay, Conchetta, the whole thing was a big misunderstanding all around. I just walked into a bad situation and it seemed like something else was happening.”

  “I see you didn't bring your cat today. Did you have an appointment?”

  “No, Carol told me if I had any questions or wanted to see the place, to drop by. I was driving by and figured I'd stop and talk to her, I just had a question for her.”

  “Well, she's in there with Mr. Parks if you want to wait till she's free.”

  “Oh, sure, I'll wait for a bit. I hope I didn't catch her at a bad time.”

  Mandy sat down and picked up a magazine and thumbed through the pages. However, from the reception area, she could hear voices coming from Carol Stamis' office and clearly make out a developing argument. Apparently, whatever happened last night had not been resolved. At one point she heard Thomas saying “We're not doing the commercial with the cat and I'll do whatever I have to do to prevent it. We have to channel our resources into ads that are less expensive but with more distribution possibilities. Besides, after I get the insurance payout, we're not going to have to work so hard. You're making a mountain out of a molehill.”

  Carol replied. “Look, I think you're going about this the wrong way. We need to develop the business and we need to act like business as usual.”

  “We can, we don't need to make life complicated making commercials. I'll stop it no matter what it takes.”

  A little later, the door swung open and Thomas Parks stomped out of Carol Stamis' office. Mandy continued reading her magazine and pretended to be looking at her cell phone. She didn't even want to look at Conchetta; she didn't want to become a co-conspirator on this one. Although Mandy accepted her apology, she still didn't trust her. After about ten minutes, Carol Stamis stepped out of her office.

  “Oh hi, Mandy, I didn't know you were going to come by so soon.”

  “Well, I wasn't planning to, but I live nearby and while driving by and I thought I'd stop to ask you a question about the length of time it takes to create a commercial. But if now is not a good time, it's okay, I can come back or we could talk on the phone.”

  “I could answer that easily. Usually it takes about a week. There's a studio we use and all we have to do is bring the talent over. We try to keep the commercials simple so they don't take too long. And nowadays with digital technology, a lot of the backgrounds can be added later if we shoot the commercial with green screen.”

  “I see. What exactly is green screen?” Mandy asked.

  “Well, that's where the stage or background is completely green in color and we shoot the talent in front of this background. Later on, we replace the green screen with a nice background, like a forest or an elegant room, to something never there in the first place.”

  “Wow, sounds great.”

  “Yes, it's a huge time saver and it gives us more options without going overboard with either sets or locations.”

  “Well, Carol, thank you very much, I don't want to take any more of your time. I just wanted to ask a question and although we spoke yesterday at the funeral, I wanted to speak to you in a more neutral environment.”

  “Oh, yes, the funeral definitely turned into something we never expected. We're in the process of pressing charges against Gwen Fetlock. She's been terrorizing pet suppliers and the pet food community with her ridiculous campaigns for years. She truly is crazy, but it seems like crazies c
an do whatever they want these days. However, I think she crossed a line yesterday and we're looking at our legal options.”

  “Yes, that was terrible, I felt so bad for you and Thomas. At a funeral no less! Well, I'm glad you may have some way of containing this woman in the future, even if it's just a restraining order.” Mandy commiserated.

  “Yes, we're working on something legally protecting us from her in the future.”

  “Well, I'll be going and thanks again, Carol.” Mandy started for the door

  “Yes, we'll be in touch.”

  Mandy left and on the way to car she started thinking about what she heard when Carol and Thomas were arguing. He was still adamant he would do anything to stop her commercial. Why so against this? Yet another twist to this situation. She knew he was getting an insurance payout for Stacy's death. And he said once they got the insurance payout, they were not going to have to work so hard. It must be a substantial payout.

  As she drove home, Mandy started to wonder if Stacy Parks' death hadn't been so accidental after all. Could it be Thomas killed her and made it look like a heart attack? Could he and Carol Stamis be partners in crime? On one hand, there was the possibility Carol thought they would get all this money from the insurance to spend however they saw fit. In the meantime, maybe Thomas had other plans for the money he's not going to share with Carol. Could it be Carol was his next victim and he's just leading her on?

  This is definitely not what she needed, another murder-type situation. Mandy had a feeling in her gut something didn't add up, and she knew when she got those feelings, they usually turned out to be accurate. Why couldn't she get these feelings about good things in life? Why did it always have to be about bad things? All this thinking seemed to be leading her down a very uncomfortable path. But if her suspicions were correct, this would explain the sudden death of Stacy Parks. It's possible Thomas set Mandy up to “find” the body, and now that he had used her, he didn't want her hanging around anymore.

  Mandy needed a break, so she thought she would go window shopping at the mall, to clear her head. She parked her car by the municipal building and thought about dropping in on Fred to see if there were any new developments on Gwen Fetlock. She went into the police station and asked to see Fred. He was available and she went in to see him right away.

  “Hi Fred. Just walking around the neighborhood and decided to drop by to see if anything else had happened with the situation regarding Gwen Fetlock. I attended the funeral and can tell you she's definitely scary crazy. She yelled at me saying I didn't deserve a pet because I was trying to exploit him. Not only that, she called me a couple of days ago, before the funeral, warning me about Hedon. I don't know how she got my number or how she knew I planned to make a commercial with them, which is still not confirmed. So, after seeing her in action, I'm actually a little concerned.” Mandy drew a deep breath

  “Well, Mandy, this is the problem of dealing with people like her. You see, she does all her protesting under the auspices of the First Amendment. So, yes, technically she was trespassing yesterday and she made a lot of people uncomfortable. But because she really didn't harm anybody physically, we can't say she committed a crime.

  “Hedon has their lawyers filing a restraining order against her in court. The court would advise Gwen she can't be within fifty feet of Hedon or ever talk to any of the employees, particularly Carol Stamis and Thomas Parks, since they are the ones she is after.

  “So, inasmuch as I believe they'll be successful with the restraining order, Gwen Fetlock's faculties might get worse over time, and eventually she'll do something like this again and get away with it. As long as Fetlock stays within the sphere of peaceful demonstration and petition signing, there's nothing we can do because she's not breaking any laws per se.” Fred tried to explain the situation completely.

  “So these people are allowed to roam free until one day they snap and do something horrible.” Mandy summed it up in one succinct sentence.

  “Unfortunately, that is the situation today. There is no available space in the few mental institutions existing today; they are overcrowded. Only the violently insane are committed to those places and the patients are shot up with sedating medications the whole day long.”

  “Well, if she calls me again or comes near me, I'm filing a restraining order.”

  “Let me know if she starts harassing you and we'll take the proper steps. Actually, Mandy, there is something else I wanted to speak to you about; something I could use your help with.”

  “You mean, regarding this investigation??”

  “No, actually, this is more personal. You see, Mandy, I'm in a situation where my job has become my life. I started to fall into this black hole way back in the day after my wife left me. I truly haven't dated or done anything else social since. After all these years, I realize I don't have any friends besides other cops and detectives. When we get together, all we do is talk about cases, union issues and other related stuff, and I feel like I'm right back in the office. So my question to you is, could we possibly hang out together?”

  Mandy could see that was a difficult confession for Fred to make and an even more difficult question to ask. “Is this like a romantic thing?” She wanted to know up front.

  “No, that's too complicated right now. I just need to talk to somebody who is not a cop, who I'm friendly with, who could talk to me about what's important in their life. For instance, you're into Tarot cards and astrology. Perhaps you can read my cards; or you can do an astrological chart on me. I'll pay you. From these exercises you might be able to see some options for me other than what I'm doing right now. Because I think this is beginning to drive me crazy, and I need to do something else. I decided I'd do the easy thing first and start by talking to people about something other than what I do for a living. I think that's a step in the right direction.

  “And it's not like it has to be anything fancy, it could be something as simple as going to a diner, getting a cup of coffee, reading my cards, whatever you think is best and is comfortable for you. I just need to see how other people live and how they think and showing me, hey, there's more to life than work.

  “The reason I'm asking you is because I've known you a long time and I can trust you; you won't think I'm an idiot or a nut job.”

  “No Fred, I would never think that about you.” Mandy assured him

  This whole conversation threw Mandy for an incredible loop. At the same time, she could see Fred was drowning and needed her help.

  “I think we could so some readings and I can also do a chart. Then we can start seeing what planets may be affecting you, causing you do the same thing over and over again. We can also see what the cards say. Let's start with those things and see where it goes.” Mandy said.

  “Thank you so much, Mandy. Like I said, I just need a pal who's not a cop and will talk to me about anything: cats, astrology, whatever. Not what is the union going to do about pay hikes.” He laughed at himself when he said this.

  Mandy could see Fred was in a very bad situation reaching out like he did. She reminded herself one never knows what situations people find themselves in. Truth to tell, she never thought about Fred's life or his life's situation. She just thought of him as the police chief, somebody she dated back in high school, and somebody who actually has been around her in some way or another her whole life. A week didn't go by when she didn't see him at least once, even if only at Joanie's coffee shop or on the street. But in all these instances, all they exchanged was pleasantries.

  His state sounded like a man drowning in a vortex. Maybe the cards and his horoscope would help him. She helped a lot of people in the past by giving them a different perspective in life; she felt she could do this much for him.

  When Mandy finally got home, Roger waited for her at the door. He rubbed himself against her legs, happy that she returned. She sat on the sofa and thought about everything that happened over the past few days. She became more confused than ever. Could it be possible Thoma
s Parks committed murder and Carol Stamis acted as his accomplice? Fred wanted to socialize with her and use the cards and astrology to give him a new direction and she had to run the cards for herself at some point. What did the stars have in store for her??

  Chapter Six

  Mandy woke up next morning remembering she had a job interview. While working at the restaurant, Marianne, a manager for one of the local newspapers approached her. She asked Mandy if in addition to Tarot cards, did she do astrology readings? Mandy replied she had a degree in astrology. Marianne asked if she would be interested in writing a daily horoscope for the paper. Mandy replied she would be very interested. They exchanged numbers Marianne gave her the necessary information to come to the newspaper office the next day.

  Marianne told Mandy she would be shown what they needed and were expecting. Mandy looked forward to this meeting; she felt very hopeful this would turn into a steady thing. Even though it didn't pay much, combined with one or more of the various odd jobs she was doing, all these little jobs added up to one big job. So far, things had been moving forward, with a couple of hiccups on the way. She considered Stacy Parks' death a big hiccup in life, but other people had offered work and now she might snag a gig as a horoscope writer.

  When Mandy arrived at the newspaper office, Marianne waited for her at the reception area. Marianne showed her the newspaper layout of the present horoscope. Mandy could see it wouldn't need much in the way of verbiage, it being fairly minimalistic. Mandy knew she could do this on a daily basis; Marianne offered the job on a trial basis for a couple of weeks. If it worked out, the job would be Mandy's on a full time basis.

  The possibility of this job really made Mandy excited. She kept daydreaming about all the possibilities and even though she didn't have a full time job, it would be something. She also hoped a commercial with Roger would help her, and she considered more and more working with Loretta Gumble. There didn't seem to be the kind of drama Hedon created for itself. And she really didn't like the possibility Thomas Parks could have murdered his wife, made it look like a heart attack, and collected the insurance money. But stranger things had happened.