Change of Address

by Rick Polad

  “Robert picked me up at nine and we were off. I fell asleep but it wasn’t for long. There was a loud bang.” Her arms flew up in the air. “Robert pulled off the road. He had a flat. He got out and looked and came back muttering something about paying a lot of money for a cheap... well, I can’t say what he said next, you know.”

  I nodded and smiled.

  “He changed the tire and we turned around and came home. Robert refuses to drive without a spare tire. He said he’d get it fixed and we’d leave in the morning.”

  “What time did you get back?”

  “It must have been sometime between 10 and 11. I’m sorry I can’t be more precise.”

  “And Maxine says you heard the fight?”

  “Heavens yes! Well, not the whole thing, you understand. By the time I got my hearing aid in there was just the yelling ‘you can’t have her she’s mine’ over and over.”

  If she had heard the fight, Ethyl must have been home before 10:30 when the fight occurred.

  “Then what?” I asked, finishing my cookie.

  Her hands spread out and then dropped back in her lap. “That’s all. You see, that’s when the train went by. I listened some more after the train but it was quiet and I went to bed.”

  So whatever time the train passed was when Beef had left. And that was the last time anyone saw Beth alive. Except, of course, for whoever had killed her.

  “You didn’t hear anything like a gun shot?”

  “No. Nothing like that.”

  “And nothing after that?”

  “No, I took a tiny sleeping pill.”

  The place was a drugstore. “You told all this to the police?”

  She looked surprised. “No, should I?”

  Now I looked surprised. “Didn’t they talk to you?”

  “No, young man, they did not. Robert picked me up at seven and we left. He was not at all happy about driving in the heat. Said cars weren’t made for that much heat. But we were fine.”

  “So you heard about the murder when you got back?”

  “My, yes. Maxine told me all about it when I got back Monday. What a shame. And that poor little girl. Do you think I should call the police?”

  I thought about it and told her no. Maxine had already told them about the fight between Beef and Beth. There was nothing new here. I started to get up and decided to try my Ronny question again.

  “Just one more question, Ethyl. Did Marty or Beth ever mention an Uncle Ronny?”

  “Oh my, yes. Marty just raved about him. You see, she and I talked quite a bit. He’d bring her dolls and she’d bring them to my apartment to play and have tea parties.”

  I could feel my blood rushing. “Did Marty say anything else about him?”

  “Nothing much. Oh, she was very excited one day because he had promised her a horsey ride, on a real horse. I thought she was making that up. The poor little thing.”

  “Did you ever see him?”

  “No, not really.”

  “Pardon?”

  “Well, I’m not sure. I think I saw him walking down the front walk once.”

  “Can you describe him?”

  “The one I saw was one of those hippy fellows with his hair in a ponytail. Why men want to look like girls I don’t know.”

  I assured her I didn’t either. Thanking her and handing her my card, I asked her to call if she remembered anything else.

  On the way out I commented on one of the pictures.

  She replied, “Oh, yes, that was me when I was five. If you look close there to the left of the house you can see the old stable. We used to play in there a lot till prohibition years. Then we were told to stay out by my daddy. We finally figured out what he was doing in there.” She winked.

  “You sure do have a lot of pictures.”

  “Oh, this is nothing. I’ve got many more up in the attic in boxes along with old mementos. Don’t know why I save them. They’ll just be somebody’s chore to throw out when I’m gone.”

  We said good-bye. I stopped in the hall as she closed and bolted the door, locking out the steady decay surrounding her. It might get the neighborhood but it wasn’t going to get Ethyl.

  Leaning against the banister, I congratulated myself for putting Ronny on the scene and thought about the mayor and Ronny and Elizabeth. I also thought about the possibility that Beef was a lot more involved in this than he let on. Maybe this was all about Marty. One thing I knew for sure was that Beef was pretty attached to that little girl. Beef would not have been happy that Marty was living here. And if Elizabeth was moving again he might be very worried. He had a temper, but was it enough temper to kill his own sister? He might kill in a sudden rage but it wouldn’t be premeditated; at least not if it was his sister. If he killed her it was during the fight. But maybe there was another bullet waiting for Ronny if I found out he was the father. And maybe he deserved it.

  Right now Beef had Marty and she was safe. But what might he have done to get her? One way or another, Ethyl was right—that was one poor little girl.

  Chapter 19

  When I reached the first floor, I peeked out the window to check on my car. It was hidden by a crowd of kids which had grown to about twenty. And there seemed to be a new ringleader. A kid about as big as Beef was shooing the little kids away from the car. I guessed his age at anywhere between fifteen and forty. Not wanting to show my money, I took a five out of my clip and tucked it into my shirt pocket. The situation had me a little on edge. Confronting a gang of kids trying to impress their leader all by my lonesome, especially in this heat, was going to take some finesse.

  Wondering what was in store for me, I took a deep breath, puffed out my chest, and walked confidently toward the curb.

  “There he is! That’s the guy!” shouted one of the little kids jubilantly.

  The crowd instantly shut up and the big fellow sauntered around to the front of the car. The first fellow I’d done business with was leaning against the left rear door.

  “Nice car,” said the big fellow, showing crooked teeth through a plastered-on grin.

  “It was when I drove up. I hope it still is.”

  “Of course. We aim to please.”

  I reached in my pocket, took out the five and handed it to him. Instead of taking it, I got a rather unpleasant look.

  “That’s ten short, mister.”

  “That was the deal, sonny. Five up front. Five now. Ask the kid shining up my fender with his rear end.”

  The smile returned. “Ah, I see the problem. That was the old deal. This is the new deal. Comes with new management.”

  Hmmm. “I made the deal with the old management. Ten bucks.”

  “Well the old management misjudged the amount of time you were going to be here. You’re a better man than he thought.” The laugh sign went on and the crowd reacted.

  I waggled my finger at him to follow me and turned and walked away from the crowd. It wasn’t the finger I would have preferred.

  “I don’t want to embarrass you in front of your little friends here, but a deal’s a deal. Now I have one for you.” I took out my ID and waved it at him just long enough to give him the impression I was official. “This is a quiet little piece of the world. We leave you alone and you run your little business here. Now, I can change all that or you can take the five and I can perhaps throw some more money your way for some information.” His eyebrows went up at the mention of more money.

  “What kind of information?”

  “Just comings and goings. Are you out here at night?”

  “I’m out here all the time.”

  Right. I didn’t point out that he wasn’t here when I’d arrived.

  “So you know who comes and goes?”

  “Sure. Most are steady customers.”

  “Okay, I’ll be back.” I pushed the five into his hand.

  As I walked toward the car, the sea of carwatchers slowly and reluctantly parted. My key was about in the lock when we all stopped dead in our tracks and looked t
o the north in absolute amazement. Until the reality of what had happened had set in, we stared open-mouthed at an unseen force which had just changed our lives. Looking back on it, I don’t ever recall experiencing anything like it. In a split second, we were hit by a wall of cool, dry air and the temperature dropped thirty degrees.

  One by one, the kids started to cheer and dance. Those near me slapped me on the back and gave me high fives. Mother nature had diffused a rather tense situation and provided a common bond that we all would remember. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t have any trouble if I ever had to come back here.

  Opening the door, I caught sight of the big fellow. He managed an ever-so-slight Mona Lisa smile and gave me a thumbs up. I returned it, pulled away from the curb, and headed home to shower and get ready to pick up Kelly at six. With windows rolled down and the air conditioner off, I let the cool breeze mess up my hair.

  As I drove away, I found myself feeling uneasy about Maxine’s answers. If Beth had been her friend, I found it hard to believe she wouldn’t have talked about her situation. Why was Beth here? And I was pretty sure I’d seen a slight reaction when I mentioned Ronny Press. If she hadn’t seen him, she had probably heard about him, if not from Beth or Marty then from Ethyl. But why would she lie about it? But then again why should she trust me? I guess if I wore her shoes, I wouldn’t trust too many people either.

  Thinking about Maxine was only getting me frustrated. So I decided to put the case on hold for the evening and put all my efforts into enjoying Kelly Green.

  Chapter 20

  The cool front had blown in a definite change in my disposition. Pastel-tinted clouds in front of the setting sun in the west had taken the place of smog and the world was bright and cheery again. Watching the city light up as darkness gradually fell had always been one of my favorite pastimes.

  I turned onto Michigan Avenue at two minutes to six and pulled into the drive of Kelly’s hotel right on the money. Her timing was likewise perfect as she was just walking out of the doorman-held glass door. I had kept our destination a secret, but, when she’d asked how to dress for a secret, I had requested something breezy and light-hearted.

  A beautiful, vivacious Kelly Green seemed to float down the steps. In an ankle-length, white sun dress, covered with patches of multi-colored flowers, she was the picture of breezy and light-hearted and I told her so. Her musical laugh and warm smile made part of me wish I had lost the bet at the ballpark.

  “So where are we going, Mr. Manning?” she asked, pulling the seat belt across her lap.

  “North,” I replied and pulled out into traffic.

  “Good. That narrows it down. How did you manage the weather?”

  I snapped my fingers. “I’ve got connections, and for a goddess such as yourself I called in some serious favors.”

  Turning in her seat to face me, she said, “I fall a bit short of a goddess but I do appreciate the effort. That heat was awful.” She put her hand on my shoulder. “I’m looking forward to a mysterious evening and am at your command. I feel like I’m on a quest.” She laid a green sweater in the back seat.

  “Perhaps we are. We’ll have to wait and see what we find. Personally, I’ll settle for a quiet evening filled with good conversation, some witty remarks, a good steak, and perhaps the odd beer thrown in for flavor.”

  Another laugh. Very hard to resist. I could devote the rest of my life to making her laugh and have a fine life indeed.

  Michigan Avenue ran into Lake Shore Drive. I swung onto the entrance ramp and drove north with the slightly choppy waters of Lake Michigan disappearing into the horizon to the east. If the north wind continued, the chop would build. I had seen twenty-foot waves on this lake.

  A few hours ago, before I hopped into the shower, I had called my favorite hostess at my favorite restaurant and was assured that the table Dad had been reserving for as long as I could remember would be waiting for us.

  The Drive ended at Hollywood. Turning right onto Sheridan Road, I wound my way through Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka, and Kenilworth, one of the richest congressional districts in the country. Kelly watched with wide eyes and open mouth as we passed one palatial estate after another, sometimes catching a glimpse of the lake through openings in the dense tree cover. In several cases, gate houses large enough to comfortably house most people sat just inside high iron fences next to long, winding, blacktop drives leading to old stone mansions rising majestically on the bluff over the lake. The wealth here was beyond my comprehension.

  It wasn’t beyond Kelly’s, but it was different. Where she came from, money went into horses and land that rolled off as far as you could see. Here, it was compacted into one lot after the other, large though some of them were.

  “It’s like a fairyland, not real somehow,” Kelly said in amazement. “I can’t imagine living in a house that big.”

  “Didn’t you grow up in a big house?”

  She laughed. “Not that big! Not half that big. Oh, we had money, but we didn’t make a show of it. How could these people even use all those rooms?”

  It was a rhetorical question and we sat in silence and watched the homes roll by.

  “It’s not really the size of the houses that amazes me,” Kelly said. “It’s the amount of money these people must have. They can’t have a worry in the world.”

  “Well, you know the old saying—money can’t buy happiness.”

  “I know. And that’s a shame. With all that money, you shouldn’t let anything bother you. Our family would have been just as happy without the money. Dad always said money just buys relief from some of the burdens in life and gives you time to concentrate on what makes you happy.”

  “Well, I’ll agree that if you’re happy already it sure doesn’t hurt to have money. But if you have to worry about money and paying bills then there isn’t time to be happy. And there is something else these people’s money can’t buy.”

  She looked puzzled. “What?”

  “A lot of these people have a big problem.” I followed a bend in the road to the west and turned right onto Green Bay Road. I pointed out Ravinia on our right, the large outdoor bandshell that drew some of the biggest names from all types of music, and I told Kelly we were getting close.

  “So, what’s their problem?” she asked.

  “Mother Nature. Those mansions were built with old money. Living on the lake was, and is, a status symbol, and obviously a location with a beautiful view. So you want to get as close as possible. But they didn’t consider the fact that the lake is alive and constantly changing. Some ten thousand years ago, things were much different. In place of the lake there was a huge hunk of ice that would have made the Sears tower look like a needle in a haystack. The lake is the result of the melting of that glacier. Today, the land is wearing down. The bluffs are eroding so fast some of these homes no longer have a back yard. The bluff edge has eroded right up to the house and they’re in danger of falling over the edge.”

  “Can’t they do anything, like build a wall or something?”

  “Oh, they’re trying, but anything they do is only a short-term fix. Seems Mother Nature doesn’t care how much money you have.”

  Kelly thought for a second. “They could move their houses.”

  “You can move some houses but these are a bit large. But they’d also like to keep their view. The problem is they just didn’t think about eroding bluffs a hundred years ago. Everything changes. The lake is getting wider and shallower and some day will just be a big pond.”

  “I guess you don’t fool with Mother Nature.”

  “No, I guess you don’t. The problem is people don’t think about her before they build. I’ve seen pictures of homes next to the mountains in California that were built in slide areas that show large trees with boulders lodged up in their branches. The people are surprised when a landslide wipes out their house. How do they think the boulders got up in the trees? If you’re going to build there, fine, but don’t be surprised when you lose your house, and d
on’t yell for the government to pay for it.”

  “I must say, I’m impressed. Where did you learn all this?”

  I waved my hand. “Just keep my ears open.”

  “A good quality in a P.I., I would think. I’ll have to watch what I say,” she said with a laugh.

  I laughed back, but her statement made me stop and think about the fact that I was going on all gut feelings here. I didn’t really know Kelly Green or what was going on at the track or how much she really knew. But I just couldn’t believe my gut feelings were wrong. She was so honest and open and carefree and beautiful and just about everything else that was good. Even so, I’d have to force myself to be a little wary.

  After a few more minutes, we turned into a tree-lined, curving drive which wasn’t marked by a sign. We followed the drive for a couple of hundred yards through a dense, forested area and finally came out into a clearing which served as a parking lot which was almost full. But then it only held about twenty cars. To our left was the entrance to the restaurant. About thirty feet of old, gray, worn-out, cedar-sided building stood flanked by solid hedges and evergreen trees which completely blocked the views on the sides. There were no windows in the building, just a solid oak door. A small sign above it said Stanton’s.

  As I opened Kelly’s door, I said, “Well, this is it.”

  “Okay. But what is it?” she asked with a bewildered look.

  I gave her my best mysterious look and told her she’d have to wait to find out. Her reaction was just what the Stantons had in mind for a first-time customer—kind of an “I’d rather go to McDonalds” attitude. I noted Kelly’s apprehension with pleasure, knowing what awaited her on the other side of the wall.

  Taking her hand, we walked down a stone path with the last sun rays of the day scattering through the trees and dabbling the plantings on either side with yellow. We reached the door where there was a small sign asking us to please knock. I did. A few seconds later the door was opened and we stepped into another world. Kelly was holding tightly onto my hand. A smiling Nancy Stanton greeted us and invited us in.