“Max was probably hesitant to put too much detail in writing. Rita also said Max blamed himself for being so absorbed in the New Arcadia project that he’d missed what others were seeing. His plan was to spend a weekend with Charlie, hoping he’d open up more and give Max a chance to get a better idea of how big a problem he might be having.”
“In his letter, Max did worry that his preoccupation with the New Arcadia project had put undue stress on Charlie. I’m sure Max would have laid it all out in a face-to-face chat. He might even have broken down and done that if we’d had dinner together here at the resort. Thank Rita for me, will you? Tell her to call if there’s anything that I can do for her.”
“What she’s stressing out about is the possibility that Max is injured or dead and his successor isn’t all there. My words, not Rita’s.”
“Got it, Carol. I’m glad you don’t find it difficult to be blunt. I appreciate having this information before meeting with Charlie. I was also considering leaving the press conference to him, but I should probably stick around. He and Stacy may need backup.”
“That’s a good idea. Stacy might be willing to share her take on how Charlie’s doing. Before you go, there’s more about Charlie,” Carol added.
“Go on,” I said, bracing myself.
“He’s recently been involved in a few backdoor meetings.”
“With whom?” I asked.
“Board members and investors. He was meeting with a big investor group in San Francisco.”
“Surely there wasn’t anything ‘backdoor’ about that. Charlie was upfront with me about being in San Francisco to meet with investors. What have you heard?”
“You know how cat chatter gets around on the Team Talk chat line. I did a quick search and found several team members who'd been asking questions about Charlie.”
“About his health problems?” I asked.
“There was a little about that, but he isn’t the only one who’s considered ‘over the hill’ and showing it.”
“Good grief! Not me, I hope,” I groused.
“No, not you. You’re the cookie-lovers’ rock star. Anyway, someone overheard comments among board members at a restaurant about the possibility that it was time for Charlie to take over for Max.”
“No! Did they say who was speaking?”
“The chat is pretty open, but there’s some paranoia about being identified and punished for saying too much. Bottom line, no names were used. In another comment, someone at a board meeting was heard worrying that Charlie Magnum was growing restless. The person suggested it was time to push ‘Top Cat’ to retire.”
“I’m sure Charlie's restless. He's not getting any younger, and Max keeps hanging on,” I replied. “Every so often, when the matter of Max’s successor comes up, someone argues that Charlie won’t wait around forever. This sounds as if Charlie was grumbling to others even before the recent blowup with Max.”
“That’s the way I reacted to the rumors. That's partly because they were posted before the most recent argument between Charlie and Max. On the other hand, you know this wasn’t the first time they’ve had disagreements. Some team members claimed Charlie’s been ‘restless’ for years and gripes about retiring or taking another job when things don't go his way at a board meeting.”
“Okay, so I guess the rumors aren't so new after all," I commented. "Is there more?"
“A server caught Charley speaking to a ‘headhunter.’"
"How did the server know that?"
"She said he was at lunch with the same person who ‘stole Natalie Wade from customer service.’ When I followed up on it, I learned that Natalie had been recruited by a headhunter firm for an executive position. The firm that recruited Natalie is headquartered in San Francisco.”
“Well, that’s still a loosey-goosey connection. If I passed the information along to Jack, he’d ask for more evidence.”
“I asked Rita to check Charlie’s itinerary. Yesterday, he had a lunch meeting at the Frisco Bistro, a favorite hang-out for the busy headhunters at the Ganders & Gleek Group. The restaurant is on the same block as their company. It also happens to be within walking distance of the hotel where Charlie was registered.”
“Okay. Did you tell Rita why you wanted to know?”
“No. Rita assumed I was trying to determine if Charlie went to San Francisco to see a specialist about his health. The University of California, San Francisco—UCSF—has a major center for geriatric medicine. Rita said someone had suggested it to Charlie as a place he might go for a checkup that’s beyond the prying eyes of Max’s empire.”
“Well, that’s interesting. It must have been Theda, his Executive Assistant. I can’t think of too many people who could have made that suggestion to Charlie without setting him off. Is the UCSF campus near his hotel?” I asked.
“The main campus is some distance away, but there’s a clinic that’s only a ten-minute taxi ride from his hotel,” Carol replied.
“The plot thickens, maybe. Which plot is the question? Is he trying to shove Max out and take his seat, moving on to greener pastures, or planning to retire because he’s having health problems?”
“All of the above if Charlie’s working all the angles. He could be hedging his bets by getting a checkup in case Max makes a big deal out of his recent screw-ups. It is weird Charlie didn’t find and fix the problems in the accounting reports. Surely, he doesn’t pull any of those reports together anymore. Much of the report-writing must be the work of more junior people, so why not find and fix them before they got to Rita?”
“That’s an excellent point. I have a good friend in accounting. I could reach out and ask for a lesson in how the chain of command works these days. Thanks for all your work. Can you squeeze in a bit more snooping—today or tomorrow?”
“I’m on it like a cat on a ball of yarn. Give me the name of the person in accounting, and I'll arrange to take that lesson on the chain of command asap."
“Uh-oh,” I laughed. “I appreciate your simile. No puns, please? Or at least let me get through my requests, then I'll trade alliterations for your puns. I’ll throw in a food fight too.”
“Ooh, that’s intriguing. Go for it.”
I started with Hardy Hart and explained what an unusual figure he appeared to be. The role he’d assumed as the “bot whisperer” was indeed intriguing. I could hear her fingers tapping on the keyboard as she listened. I’d barely finished explaining what I wanted her to do and why when Carol spoke.
“Harold, aka ‘Hardy’ Hart, is a twenty-two-year-old graduate student at M.I.T. He’s working on a master’s degree in robotics control systems and was recently hired as an intern in the Innovations and Engineering Division. There’s no mention that he has any role as a harlequin or anything like that.”
“Okay, that’s odd," I said, still puzzled. "Hardy has the background that could enable to chat with the ‘bots.’ Why wear the harlequin getup? See if you can figure out who recommended him for the internship and with whom he interviewed. When you’ve done that, I’d like to contact his immediate supervisor and get a better idea of what’s going on. Today, if that’s possible.”
“No problem. Did your mysterious harlequin have a food fight with his beloved bots?”
“Oh, no. The food fight was between Larry Rendell and a security guard.” I was about to tell the entire story when Carol interrupted me.
“Say no more. Larry’s reputation precedes him. He’s lucky he’s such a terrific chef, or you would already have given him the boot.”
“I’ve come close to doing it on more than one occasion. Max loves the guy, and I’ve worked hard to get Larry to clean up his act. This is the first report of misbehavior in a long time. To his credit, he claims he was trying to save his kitchen and the gardens that support it. Once this mess settles down, we’ll have another chat about how to handle conflict in a more suitable way.”
“These are dire circumstances. I’m glad more Marley World team members aren’t losing it,”
Carol said. “The cat chat has gone wild, wondering what’s happened in New Arcadia. I reassured them that you were on the scene and would have told me if Max was dead or if the city was under attack. Charlie finally also put out a ‘nothing to worry about’ message about an hour ago.”
“There's another team member I want you to check on. He put himself on Larry and his kitchen assistants’ radar. Bobby Bush is a groundskeeper at the golf course but fancies himself a horticulture expert and wants to transfer to the kitchen garden team. Twice, he’s been found where he shouldn’t be, doing things he shouldn’t be doing.”
“With a name like Bush, why not become a self-proclaimed ‘garden whisperer.' From what you've said, our would-be gardener's in a pickle. A pickle that could cause him to lose a plum job. If he doesn’t stop sowing seeds of trouble for himself, his name is going to be mud…”
“Enough! No more wordplay!"
“You said no cat puns,” Carol replied, snickering. “Sorry, please continue. There must be a reason you’re bringing this, uh, dust up to me. No pun intended.”
“Right now, anyone who’s been caught in the wrong place more than once and warned about it could be worth checking out. Not that Jessica and I believe Frank or Jack would do it. That's why I’m asking you to do it. What makes me more interested in Bobby Bush is that he has some connection to Charlie.” I quickly briefed Carol on the encounter between Charlie and Bobby that Linda had witnessed.
“I’ll be happy to dig for dirt to see if I can get to the root of the matter,” she replied. When I coughed, Carol spoke again. “Punning can quickly become a compulsion, especially when I’m under stress. Did I tell you I'm stressed? Are you sure it’s safe for you and Jack to be hanging around New Arcadia? Do you really believe Max is alive? You’re not going to get mixed up in whatever’s going on, are you?”
“Jack assured me the dead man wasn’t Max,” I said.
“What body? Why don’t I know about it?” Carol asked.
“Please go make yourself a cup of chamomile tea. Eat a cookie or two before you do any more digging. This has been a rough day, and you’ve already been an enormous help. Jack told me the Visitor Center is safe. There are security personnel and police officers all over the place. As far as anyone knows, Max is still alive. I guess I didn’t pass the information on to you because I don’t really know anything other than the fact that it isn’t Max. If I find out anything more, I’ll call you as I just did. Tea and cookies are your next assignment!”
“Oh, all right. I can already report back on the cookies…rock-star worthy, as always. I can’t decide if I like the white chocolate cranberry cookies or the ginger sandwich cookies or the chocolate truffle cookie thingies. Maybe I’ve had enough sugar for now. Chamomile tea sounds good.”
Carol’s voice trailed out at the end. My phone beeped, and I was about to hang up when Carol spoke again.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about a dead man who’s not Max.”
“I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go. Jack’s calling. Maybe he can tell me more about the man's identity.”
“What man's identity?” Shirley asked. “You were talking to me, weren't you, Georgie?”
“No, I’m sorry. I was on the phone with my Executive Assistant. Jack’s calling me, and I can hear him beeping me.”
“You needed help with your husband’s identity?” she asked. “Oh, never mind. I should apologize for intruding. You’re talking about caller I.D., aren’t you? If he’s calling from underground, that could goof it up. Those cellphones can be temperamental.”
“Yes, that must be it,” I said.
“That must be what?” Carol asked. My phone continued to beep.
“Carol, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you right back.”
“Jack,” I said.
“Yep,” he snapped.
“Hang on a second, will you?”
“Is everything okay?” Jack asked.
“I’m sorry, Shirley. Do you need to use this space?”
“No, you’re fine. I just wanted to let you know that Sid wants you to call him later—after you’ve had a chance to speak to Charlie. He was quite insistent, and I didn’t want to forget about it.”
“Will do! Thanks so much!”
“I’m back,” I said as Shirley left. “We’re fine here at the Visitor Center. You’re not underground, are you?”
“No, not yet. It’s still too hot for humans. The bots have been busy.”
“So, I’ve heard. We got an ‘all clear’ at the hotel and in the nearby tunnels from the bot patrol. Security told us the same thing a little later. Their timing was perfect because Larry and his crew had mutinied.”
“Yes, it doesn’t look as if we need to leave the resort. I hope you haven’t started packing. We may not have a chance to get into the control room until tomorrow.”
“Hey, two detectives told me to get out of Dodge—I took that as an ultimatum. Not that I had time to pack—not even the cats. Felix is fur-baby-sitting for Miles and Ella, and their new best friend, Anastasia. Anyway, I was hoping you’d call. Jessica and I are way ahead of you. Instead of moving in with her, she and Frank are staying with us. She’s gone home to grab what they need to stay at the hotel for a couple of days.”
“You aren’t as far ahead of me as you believe. Frank and I are detectives, after all. I was going to thank you for making it easier for us to keep at it. It’s a huge mess for Max, or someone, to clean up.”
“Frank spoke to Jessica, didn’t he?” I asked, guessing at the “clue” that had given the detectives a heads-up about our change in plans.
“Yes. Even though we’re still topside, we have been working the scene. I promised to update you once we had news about the dead man. Do you have time to hear it?”
“I do, and I have a few updates for you, too. I’m sitting down, are you?”
“I am now,” Jack replied. “I’ll go first in case I get called away.”
“Go for it!”
7 A Dead Man’s Tale
“Since we can’t get into the tunnels yet, you’ve probably already guessed that the body wasn’t in the tunnel but above ground in the debris. There’s a maintenance entrance to the tunnels here that was opened before the blast. There are burns on the body which were acquired post-mortem.”
“Was he murdered?”
“Probably. The young man was shot at close range, but not execution-style. It's what you often find when there’s been a struggle for a gun. The gun was pressed against him when it was shot. Of course, none of this is official until we get an autopsy report,” Jack said in a calm voice.
“He couldn’t have been badly burned since whoever found him assured you it wasn’t Max,” I said.
“That’s true. It was obvious that the dead man younger than Max. That made it easy to rule out Max as the victim. Frank was also able to have security run facial recognition software to see if they could spot him on surveillance tapes. It took a while, but they found him. Kenneth O'Rourke worked on a construction team, building homes in a residential section of New Arcadia. Frank says Jessica knows the owner of the company. Her father’s an architect and real estate developer in LA, and he’s worked with Bogle and Sons Construction Company for years.”
“What else do you know about him?”
“Not much. As a construction worker, he had some access to New Arcadia. I understand Jessica has her PI pal, Jerry Reynolds, already doing some work for the two of you. She’s going to have him do a background check on O’Rourke too.”
“Jerry's background checks are part of the update I was going to give you. We’ve run into a couple of suspicious characters that both Carol and the PI will check out for us. Our plan wasn’t to say much more about them unless we dug up something that we thought you and Frank might find interesting. I’ll keep it brief because I need to share my concerns about Charlie. They didn't originate with me but came from Max, Rita, and others." I explained about the letter and Carol's sleuthing.
&nb
sp; “Okay, I understand. Tell me before someone calls one of us away. Go on, although I have another piece of news for you if we have time to discuss it.”
“I’ll keep as focused as I can since the information has come in bits and pieces.” I did my best to provide Jack with the information, starting with brief accounts of what we’d learned about Bobby Bush and Hardy Hart. I moved on to Charlie, conveying Max’s broad concerns and filling in with the details Carol had obtained. Jack was quiet until I’d finished. Then he issued one of his long, low whistles.
“You never can tell who’s going to end up on your suspect list,” Jack said, sighing. “Wanting to get rid of the guy keeping you from realizing your ambitions isn’t a new motive for murder, but I hadn’t even considered that to be a problem in this case. Charlie’s always seemed like such a decent man. Is there any indication he was angry enough with Max to want to get rid of him for keeps?”
“No, nothing like that. Besides, Charlie has the other options I mentioned—getting the board to oust Max, retire, or take a job elsewhere. Why damage the value of the company he hopes to run? Of course, men who murder their wives rather than divorce them have other options too. According to Rita, Charlie was angrier than she’d ever seen him before, so I could be underestimating what he’s willing or able to do. I feel sick, even saying such a thing out loud. I haven’t met with him yet, so I can’t vouch for his condition, nor have I heard his side of the story about the argument with Max. If I can get him to tell me what’s up, I’ll let you know asap.”
“That would be helpful. No matter what, Charlie’s on our ‘to be interviewed’ list. Rita’s on it, too, so we’ll get her story directly from her. You and Jessica have been busy. If you can’t reach me by phone, text me the minute you get more information about Charlie, Bobby Bush, or Hardy Hart. The last two are a couple of interesting characters. Still, I don’t hear anything to indicate they’re on a campaign to take over or destroy New Arcadia.”
“It’s good to be cautious. Kendra Harris was on the verge of accusing Larry of something like that. As it turns out, Larry was just being Larry. Although protesting the evacuation order was well-intended, it was misguided and put his team at risk.”
A Merry Christmas Anniversary Mystery Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery #9 (Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery Series) Page 7
