Sleuthing Women

by Lois Winston

  We pulled partway into the driveway, and I slowly got out of Nancy’s car to unlatch the gate. No reason for me to hurry. Be casual, I told myself.

  When I turned around, I was face to face with Mark Anderson. Thank the Good Lord, he was alone. And very nervous.

  “Hi, Mrs. Andrews,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for you. I need to talk to you about something important that’s come up about the Davis Rhodes case.” He looked pointedly at Nancy, still seated behind the wheel of her car. “Alone.”

  I pretended I didn’t hear the last part. “Of course, Mark. Mrs. Green and I were about to go into the house for a cup of tea. Why don’t you join us?” I hoped nobody I knew was driving by. All I needed were neighborhood gossips speculating about why the police were calling on us yet again.

  Lucy and Ethel danced joyously against my legs when I opened the kitchen door, gave Mark a sniff and decided he was a friend, then took off for a quick run in the yard.

  Establish friendly connections, Carol, so Mark can’t tell Nancy she has to leave.

  “Come on in,” I said. “Let’s get that tea you were dying for on the way home, Nancy. I’m sure whatever questions Mark has he can ask in front of you.”

  Mark was looking very unhappy at this turn of events, but I ignored him and just kept on babbling. Something I’m very good at.

  “You remember Nancy Green, don’t you?” I asked him. “She’s Terry’s mother. I think Terry was a few years behind you and Jenny in school. Why don’t you both sit down and I’ll put the kettle on?”

  “Mrs. Andrews, with all due respect,” Mark said, “this is no tea party. I have something pretty serious to talk to you about, and I want you to give me your full attention.” He nodded at Nancy. “You can stay, Mrs. Green, but you both have to understand that what I’m going to say is extremely confidential. I took a real chance coming to see you today, and I could get in big trouble if my boss finds out I was here.”

  Wordlessly, I sat down. I had to sit down. I was shaking. I reached under the table and grabbed Nancy’s hand for moral support.

  “But I had to give you a chance to explain, Mrs. Andrews,” Mark went on. “Heck, you always treated me like a member of your family when I was a kid. I know you’re much more comfortable talking to me without my partner.” He smiled. “Paul watches too many Law and Order television shows. He tends to be over the top with his questioning.” No argument from me there.

  “Now, Mrs. Andrews, I want to know if you can identify this.” Mark reached in his uniform pocket and pulled out something in a plastic bag.

  I took a good look. It was my missing cell phone. I was thrilled.

  “Oh, Mark,” I exclaimed, stretching out my hand to take the phone from him. “I’ve been missing this for days. Thank you so much for finding it for me. But how did you get it? And why is it in that plastic bag?”

  Mark looked even more uncomfortable. “Mrs. Andrews, I didn’t exactly find your cell phone. Someone sent it to me. And I didn’t know it belonged to you until I played the voice mail messages.”

  I had no idea what he was talking about, but Nancy was now shifting around on her chair. I wondered if she had to use the powder room. Well, if she did, she certainly knew where it was.

  Mark cleared his throat and began again. “Mrs. Andrews, your cell phone was sent to me at police headquarters. There was a note attached to it which said, ‘If you want to know who killed Davis Rhodes, check the voice mail messages.’ The note was unsigned.”

  Mark looked really miserable now, and Nancy looked like she was going to jump out of her chair. I was having trouble keeping up. What was he getting at?

  “I listened to the messages,” Mark said. “I had no idea it was your phone until I heard the message Mr. Andrews left for you the day Rhodes died. The one where he says he’s going over to Rhodes’s office to have it out with him. It sounded like a threat, no matter how many times I played it trying to make it sound like something else. Mr. Andrews claims he went to the Center late that afternoon and found Rhodes dead. There are lots of people who won’t believe it was an innocent meeting after they hear this phone message. There will have to be an official police investigation about this. Do you understand?” He looked at me pleadingly. “Unless you can give me a good reason why there shouldn’t be. I sure hope you can.”

  I thought I was going to faint. The whole room started spinning. Nancy had gotten up to get me a glass of cola, which normally I never drink. I took a large swig of the soda and rolled it around in my mouth, savoring its sweet, sugary taste.

  “Mark,” I said finally. “Come on. You can’t believe that Jim had anything to do with Rhodes’s death. You’ve known us since you were a little boy. There’s no way he could have done anything like that. Sure, he was angry at Rhodes, but not enough to do him any harm. You must know that’s the truth.”

  I then proceeded to tell Mark the whole story. I told him about our first meeting with Rhodes. And Jim’s idea of making him a media star, and the Wake Up New England interview debacle—everything I could remember. I even told him about the chocolate chip cookies. I didn’t mention any suspicions I harbored about Sheila because that’s all they were—suspicions.

  Nancy interrupted me. “I think it’s time to tell Mark where we were today. And who we met.” She nudged me with her foot.

  I looked at her stupidly. Finding my cell phone and its incriminating message implicating Jim had knocked everything else out of my head. Then. it dawned on me what she was talking about.

  “Nancy and I found out some things about Davis Rhodes today that you may not know,” I said. “I was planning to call you at police headquarters to tell you as soon as we got home.”

  Not an outright lie. Just a slight exaggeration.

  “Did you know that Davis Rhodes was not his real name?” I asked.

  Mark looked surprised. Very surprised.

  I was encouraged by his reaction, so I continued, “Legally, he was Dick Retuccio. He used Davis Rhodes as his professional name. And, he was married to a woman named Grace. She recently moved into a house in Westfield, which happens to be right around the corner from the Re-tirement Survival Center.”

  Mark had flipped open his notebook by this time and was taking furious notes.

  “Nancy and I met Grace today, and she told us that Rhodes, or Dick, or whatever name you want to call him, had recentlyasked her for a divorce and she came east from California to find out why. She was really angry at him, and didn’t try to hide it from us, right Nancy?”

  Nancy nodded. She had remained quiet throughout most of this, but I could see she was dying to put in her two cents’ worth.

  “Mark,” she said, “Grace also told us that she and Rhodes came up with the concept of the Re-tirement Survival Center together. She’s a lifestyle coach, too, just like her husband was. Apparently, now that the Center has become successful, Rhodes wanted to cut her out of it. That’s a pretty strong motive for harming Rhodes, don’t you think? And who would know better than his wife if he had any drug allergies?”

  “This is all very interesting, ladies,” said Mark. “How did you happen upon this Grace Retuccio?”

  I told Mark about going to Maria’s Trattoria to plan a retirement shower for Mary Alice. I could see his eyes glazing over slightly, so I skipped the shower details and got right to the part where Maria shared information about Rhodes being a regular customer at the restaurant, how he treated the staff, and his bringing in a woman who turned out to be Grace.

  Nancy added the piece about tracking down the wife through the Realtors’ network.

  I hoped Mark was impressed with our detecting. And I desperately hoped this new information would get Jim off the hook.

  “I appreciate your telling me all this,” Mark said. “We’ll certainly follow up on Grace Retuccio.”

  “Do you have to tell her how you got her name?” Nancy asked. “I don’t know if I violated any Realtors’ ethics by tracking her down the way I did.”

/>   I was annoyed that Nancy could be so concerned about protecting her precious Realtor’s reputation when Jim was in such hot water, but I kept quiet. I couldn’t resist shooting her a dirty look, though.

  Mark snapped his notebook shut. “The police don’t have to reveal where our information comes from,” he said. “I’ll try to keep your name out of it. But Mrs. Andrews,” he went on, “I still need to talk to your husband. As soon as possible. That cell phone message is pretty damaging.”

  I must have looked shocked, because Mark added, “Don’t worry. We don’t use rubber hoses anymore. But you must understand, I have to talk to Mr. Andrews,if only to eliminate him from a list of people who could have harmed Rhodes. What time does he usually get home from New York?”

  “Jim won’t be home tonight until very late,” I said. Thank God. “He planned to go to the Re-tirement Survival Center directly from the train. His boss has assigned him to organize the Davis Rhodes memorial service, and Jim’s meeting with Sheila Carney about it.” Another prime suspect who could have harmed Rhodes, in my opinion.

  “Okay,” said Mark. “Then I’ll head over there and perhaps catch both of them. We wanted to talk to Sheila Carney, too.”

  I scolded myself for giving Mark too much information. But maybe he’d find something incriminating about Sheila and forget about Jim. I hoped he wasn’t susceptible to beautiful blondes the way my husband was.

  “Does Jim need a lawyer present?” Nancy asked. “Sorry to interfere, but I just remembered that Larry and Claire are in the Berkshires for a few days.”

  “You’re not interfering,” I said gratefully. I looked at Mark. “Does Jim need a lawyer?”

  “I don’t think that’s necessary,” he assured me. “I’d tell you if I did. Now, no more playing detective, both of you, though I must say I’m grateful for the information you gave me about Grace Retuccio. And please don’t call and tell Mr. Andrews I’m coming to the Center to talk to him,” Mark added.

  Although he said the last part politely, I got the impression Mark was giving me an order, not a suggestion. “If he has nothing to hide, he has nothing to be worried about. I’ll show myself out.”

  I reached out to take the cell phone, but Mark slipped it back into his pocket. “Say hi to Jenny for me,” he said. “We had a good time on our coffee date. At least most of it. I’d like to see her again soon.” The kitchen door closed behind him, and he was gone.

  Nancy took both my hands and squeezed them, hard. “I know what you’re thinking. But you can’t go to pieces now. Jim hasn’t been charged with anything yet. The police haven’t even come out and said the word ‘murder’.”

  At that, I started to cry.

  Nancy handed me a tissue so I could wipe my leaking eyes. “You’re not listening to me, Carol. I know that everything is going to be all right and Jim will be completely cleared. Do you want to know how I know?”

  I nodded my head.

  “I am absolutely, positively sure that Mark will clear Jim, because the last thing he said to us, when he was leaving, was that he wants to see Jenny again. Mark’s not going to let anything happen to the father of the girl he wants to date.”

  I had to admit, she had a good point.

  ~*~

  After Nancy left, I decided to switch gears and check my email. Ordinarily, I check it at least five times a day, for no particular reason. I just hate to miss anything. And once I’m online, I can amuse myself for hours by visiting all sorts of websites.

  Scrolling down and deleting all the special offers I’d received during the day, I saw an email from my darling son.

  Hey Cosmo Girl!

  Just a quick email to let you know that Jenny has been keeping me up to date on what’s happening to Dad. I know you haven’t said anything to me yourself because you don’t want me to worry, but I’m really glad she’s kept me in the loop. So, what gives? Is Dad really in big trouble? Should I come home? I can certainly find someone to watch over the bar if you need me there. Let me know. Please. Love you. The Florida Branch of the Family

  What a doll that Mike was. I know all moms think their kids are terrific, but in my case, it certainly was the truth. I was glad that Jenny had emailed him about what was going on up here, although I hated to have him worry long-distance. It was nice to know that the siblings were communicating, and I was selfishly relieved that Jenny had saved me from the burden of explaining the whole mess to him.

  I started to dash off a quick reply to assure him that things were under control when I heard the front door open.

  “Hi, Mom,” Jenny called from the front hall. “I had some car trouble at school. That’s why I’m late.”

  “Oh, Jenny, I’m so glad you’re home. You won’t believe what happened today. Nancy and I…” I stopped myself in mid-sentence because Jenny interrupted me.

  “But I was so lucky that Linda Burns came along to help me. She was nice enough to follow me home, to be sure I got here all right.”

  “Hi, Carol,” said Linda, following Jenny into my office. “I was glad to help Jenny out. How are you doing? I haven’t seen you since we met at the hair salon.” She gave me a quick once-over. Probably checking to see if my roots were showing already.

  I was trapped. What could I do but be polite to her? I quickly closed the lid of my laptop so she couldn’t read my email.

  “Thank you so much for helping Jenny get home.” I was trying extra hard to be gracious, mainly because I had no choice. “Where did she go?” I looked around, but my daughter had disappeared.

  “I think she went to change,” Linda replied. “Do you mind if I use your powder room before I leave? I got some grease on my hands fiddling with Jenny’s car. I can find it myself. Thanks.” She was up the hallway before I had a chance to reply.

  Be nice, Carol. She helped Jenny out of a tight spot, and she won’t stay long. I hope.

  Linda came back into my office, drying her hands on one of my good guest towels. You know the ones I mean—we all put them out just for show and nobody ever uses them. Some nerve.

  She handed the damp towel to me and settled herself into the sofa for a cozy chat. Great. Just what I needed. I had to get rid of her before Jim came home.

  I rose from my desk chair and stood over her, hoping she would take the not-so-subtle hint. “It was so nice of you to help Jenny today,” I said again with as much warmth as I could muster. “I don’t want to keep you. I’m sure you’re in a rush to get home.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Linda said with a laugh. “I called Bruce and told him I’d be a little late because I was stopping off here.”

  Too bad you didn’t call me, too. I would’ve found someplace else to be.

  Linda looked around my office. “This is really a nice setup. I don’t think I’ve ever been in here before. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever been inside your home before.”

  Oh, please God, don’t let her ask for a tour of the house, I prayed, remembering the unmade bed in the master bedroom and the wet towels hanging over the side of the bathtub.

  “Now, Carol,” Linda continued, motioning me to sit beside her on my sofa just like we were best girlfriends, “I heard from Jenny that you’re planning a retirement shower for Mary Alice. She is absolutely one of my dearest friends.”

  Really, I thought. Does Mary Alice know that?

  “I want to organize it with you,” Linda continued. “I’m excellent at party-planning. In fact, I don’t want to brag, but Bruce’s boss is always pestering me for ideas about parties at the office. He says if I ever decide to leave teaching, I could have a whole new career as an event planner.” She gave me a big insincere smile.

  At that point, I would have promised her almost anything just to get her out of my house. I knew Nancy would kill me, but I heard myself saying, “That’s so generous of you, Linda. We’d love to have your help. The party’s planned for Labor Day at Maria’s Trattoria. I’ve already been in touch with Maria, and she’s going to come up with some menu sug
gestions and get back to me in the next few days.”

  I stood up and looked down on her—I mean, at her. “Why don’t I give you a call when I hear from Maria, and you and I and Nancy and Claire can all get together and talk about the party. Okay?”

  At that point, Lucy and Ethel, who had been snoozing in a sunny spot on the kitchen floor, came bounding into my office and began to give Linda some serious sniffing in rather personal parts of her body.

  “Oh, dear,” Linda said, shooing the dogs away and getting up from the sofa in a flash. “I’d forgotten I have to stop and pick up some food at the supermarket on the way home. I’ll wait for your call. Tell Jenny goodbye for me, and a big hello to Jim.”

  When I heard the front door close behind Linda, I took the dogs into the kitchen and rewarded them for their bad behavior with three dog biscuits apiece.

  TWENTY-ONE

  Q: What is the common term for someone who enjoys work and refuses to retire?

  A: Nuts!

  “Sorry to leave you alone with Linda Burns,” said Jenny, walking into the office with her wet hair wrapped in a towel. “I know she’s not one of your all-time favorite people. But I was desperate to take a quick shower after fiddling around with my car. It’s a good thing Linda came along when she did and helped me. I was clueless when I couldn’t get it started.” She took a hard look at me. “Something’s up with you, and it’s a lot more serious than my stupid car problems. Or you having to deal with Linda Burns for a little while.”

  I poured out the whole story of my day to Jenny, starting with the good news: Nancy’s finding Grace Retuccio, our visit to her, and all the amazing things we found out from Grace about Davis Rhodes. And how much Grace hated him for asking her for a divorce now, when the Center was becoming successful.

  Jenny was impressed at my sleuthing. And excited at my progress. “God, Mom, you’ve got to tell Mark right away. This might let Dad off the hook, and it sure gives Grace a good motive for Rhodes’s death.”