Major Crimes (3 page)

I tilted my head back on the couch thinking of the ring and pulled a Rip Van Winkle, falling asleep for what seemed to be a hundred years.

Chapter 3

Chelsey

Bonnie Fattori was a good friend of mine. We met at a former job and became fast friends. I glanced at my watch. It was nearing four o’clock, so there was a chance Bonnie was still at work. I picked up the phone and dialed the number.

A cheery voice answered. Bonnie’s assistant, Dira. “Coral Beach clerk’s office. Dira speaking.”

“Hi, Dira. It’s Chelsey. Is Bonnie there?”

“Please hold.”

I met Dira when I was the municipal clerk of Coral Beach but didn’t know her well. She worked at the police station then, so I didn’t have the opportunity to interact with her. She reminded me of a mouse. Mousy brown hair, medium build, rarely smiled and barely spoke above a squeak. She knew I was Bonnie’s friend, but she spoke in a formal tone on the phone.

Bonnie picked up the line. “Hey, lady. What’s up?”

“Dira seemed chirpy today.”

“I told her to picture maple syrup flowing out of her mouth when she talks.”

“I guess it’s working.”

“I really do like her, but she’s just so quiet. She’s coming out of her shell a little…but, still. I mean, I’m a Jersey girl through and through. I’m loud.”

“I thought that was because you’re Italian.”

“Yeah, that’s a good reason too—I have loud voice genetics. I’m not around low talkers at home. But I’m sure you didn’t call me to discuss my progress with training my terribly shy assistant.”

“No, I didn’t. I’m calling about Archie. Have you heard?”

“Of course! He worked here, but you already knew that. The flags are all at half-staff. It’s somber around here. Very sad.”

“He was a friend of my parents. Do you have any details about what happened?”

“How much do you know?”

“Just what I saw on television.”

“Then you know as much as I know.”

“Coral Beach isn’t the sleepy shore town that it used to be.”

“
Tsk.
Starting from when you became the clerk!”

Trouble in Coral Beach Village started about the same time as my becoming the municipal clerk there. Bonnie was referring to the dead bodies that kept popping up and the horrific fire that happened in Coral Beach not long ago.

“Me? It wasn’t my fault there were murderers in town. How about you and your anthrax scare?”

Bonnie had her fair share of trouble in Coral Beach too. A lunatic sent a letter with white powder to her office and she was kidnapped. The kidnapping had nothing to do with the village, but it certainly wasn’t good marketing material for the municipality. And now, with a murder of a government employee—the head of the police, no less—it didn’t seem like Coral Beach was going to win any Local Government Excellence Awards.

“Did you go to Archie’s retirement party?”

“Pretty much everyone here at work did. They had booked out Casey Prime. They spared no expense—open bar, filet mignon. It’s really sad that the poor guy didn’t even have time to enjoy his retirement.”

“Why was he retiring so young?”

“A lot of cops do. They put in their twenty-five years, collect their pension, then get jobs in the private sector—bringing in a paycheck along with a pension check, then eventually two pensions.”

“I didn’t think police chiefs did that too much. All the ones I ever met had held the position until they were too old to work a second job. Archie was fairly new to the position too.”

“I guess it depends on how much you’re getting paid. Coral Beach isn’t a big town. He did okay, but I’m assuming the job he had lined up paid much more.”

“But he wasn’t hired there that long ago. And he didn’t even move up through the ranks. He was hired from a different P.D. Do you think someone from within the department was angry that they weren’t promoted to chief?”

“Nah.”

“Why not? Usually chiefs are promoted from within.”

“Coral Beach is more messed up than your love life.”

“Hey!”

“Well, it’s the truth!”

Bonnie had a point. I had a semi-absent boyfriend, an ex-fiancé, and a crush on a friend who was wanted in connection with a murder. But my love life wasn’t supposed to be the focus of the conversation. “Forget about my love life for a minute, Bonnie. Why wouldn’t someone be angry that Archie got the chief’s job over them?”

“Because there is a superior officer’s union. The unions negotiate for cost of living raises yearly while Coral Beach never gives a decent raise to non-union staff. Over the years, it’s gotten so that the chief makes less money than the employees who report to him since he’s non-union. None of the superior officers wanted the job because they’d have to take a cut in pay and would’ve lost the benefits of being in a union. Their union helps them with grievances and negotiates normal yearly raises, clothing allowances, or whatever.”

“Seriously? The chief gets paid less than…who? A lieutenant?”

“Yuppers.”

“That’s dumb.”

“Yes, it is! Now you understand why no one wanted the job. Coral Beach had to hire from another town that paid a lot less. I’m sure Archie got a higher salary than his previous job, but he certainly wasn’t making what he should’ve been.”

“So, you know for sure Archie was leaving for another job?”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“Where’s this going, Chelsey? Does my uncle have you working on this as a case?”

“No, it’s not for work…I just don’t understand how something like this could happen. The guy was trained in law enforcement. How could someone kill him?”

“Rage?”

“You heard who the main suspect is, right?”

“Yeah, I didn’t want to bring it up though. I know you’re fond of Bryce. I guess it goes to show that you never really know someone.”

“I find it hard to believe it was Bryce. You worked for Bryce. Do you think he’s capable of murder?”

“Chelsey, honey. Bryce was a cop. Anyone who owns a gun is capable of murder.”

“You own a gun. Are you capable?”

“Sweetheart, under the right circumstances, I could put more holes in someone than a golf course.”

“I really don’t see Bryce as the type to murder.”

“Maybe he was provoked.”

“I still think he would’ve walked away.”

“Threatened, then? Self-defense?”

“Why not shoot him then, instead of stabbing him?”

“Was Bryce carrying?”

“Carrying what?”

“Are you sure you’re not a nun who’s been locked up in a convent with no television, no radio, no Internet? No human contact?”

“What?” What was it with everyone getting impatient with me?

“A gun, Chelsey! Was Bryce carrying a gun? If he didn’t have his gun, he couldn’t have used it in self-defense.”

“Oh. I don’t know, I’ll have to ask. But I guess the self-defense explanation would be a reason Bryce could kill someone. I didn’t think Archie was the threatening type though. My parents liked him. I heard he was well liked by everyone.”

“Not everyone.”

“Really? Who didn’t like him?”

“I’m sure his ex-wife, Martha, didn’t like him too much.”

“He left her so many years ago, it doesn’t seem likely that she would kill him now.”

“I never said she did! I just said she probably didn’t like him very much. And did he leave her or vice versa?”

“It probably doesn’t matter. Who else didn’t like him?”

“Our business administrator, Vin, didn’t like him much. They sometimes butted heads. He could be real mean to others too. He always made digs about Dira. ‘A few sprinkles short of a donut’ is what he would say. He had her transferred out of the police department because he didn’t like her—she didn’t do anything wrong.”

I found it interesting that Bryce perceived Archie as well liked. Bonnie obviously didn’t feel the same. Nor did some of her co-workers. My parents thought he was a nice enough guy. But if he wasn’t so nice to everyone, I wondered if there was someone he pissed off enough to kill him.

Bryce was fast asleep on the couch. So I stayed on the phone with Bonnie, collecting information about Archie and potential suspects. She knew a couple of his favorite places, names of some of his family members, and how I could find his former wife. She also tipped me off that a grievance had been filed against Archie recently. Now that sounded like a good motive for murder. It could also explain why Archie was retiring. Maybe he wasn’t retiring by choice, but was being forced out instead.

The reason for the grievance would have to wait. Bonnie had to get off the phone. I asked her to call me back with any details she could find about the grievance. She promised and we disconnected.

I pulled the afghan crocheted by my grandmother from the back of the couch and covered Bryce with it. He seemed so comfortable that I didn’t want to wake him. I retreated to my bedroom with my laptop so I could see if the Internet had any information about the grievance or the reason for Archie’s retirement. Returning my mother’s phone call was on my list of things to do, but I thought it best to wait until she had a chance to calm down. She’d be able to give me more information about Archie if she wasn’t as distraught.

* * *

Time flew while surfing the Net. That was one thing I enjoyed about my job—I loved research. Uncovering a mystery was exhilarating for me. The grievance was from a woman named Tina Liara. Gender discrimination. She claimed she was mistreated based upon her being a woman. Demoted. Disgruntled. But a reason for murdering someone? Perhaps. Her name went on my list. I found a picture of her on Facebook and I printed it out.

She looked young. Not long out of the police academy, no doubt. She was also pretty. I imagined she was strong. A woman had to be strong in both body and mind to be a cop—unlike me. I was certainly headstrong, but I wasn’t winning any Olympic medals—unless you considered arguing with a toddler at bedtime a spectator sport.

Most of Tina’s Facebook profile was blocked.
Typical cop, doesn’t trust anyone
. In the profile picture, she had a killer body too—no pun intended. I didn’t remember her from when I worked at Coral Beach. Maybe she was a new recruit.

After several hours of research, I tiptoed into the living room. Bryce was snoring. I cracked open the back door to let Snickers sniff the yard. He quickly found a worthy spot to relieve himself. I let him back inside and fed him. Then I made a quick turkey sandwich for dinner and grabbed a glass of water before retreating to my bedroom.

My cell phone buzzed. It was Randy.

I put down my sandwich. “What’s wrong?” I didn’t trust Randy as it was, so it wouldn’t have surprised me if something bad happened or if he was already tired of being a father. Mandy wasn’t easy at times.

“Nothing’s wrong, why would you think that?”
Yeah, why would I think that?

“Is Mandy okay?”

“She’s fine.”

“Then let me talk to her.”

“She’s sleeping.”

“So, what can I do for you, Randy?”

“I know you said you wanted Mandy back by Wednesday morning, but is there any possible way you’d let her stay with me until Sunday?”

My blood boiled. I definitely did not want him keeping Mandy until Sunday. The suggestion made me furious. Who did Randy think he was? He was the person who shirked his parental responsibilities for three years. And here he was, trying to…what? Make up for lost time?

“Well?” I couldn’t blame Randy for breaking the silence.

“I’m thinking.”

“My parents really want to see her. I wanted to take her to New York to visit with them. I could call you every night if that would make you feel more comfortable.”

I remained silent for an eternity while I contemplated Randy’s request. I didn’t want Randy to keep Mandy. I missed her. Then my mind drifted to the man sleeping on my couch. I certainly didn’t want to expose Mandy to the situation at hand. Letting Randy keep Mandy until the weekend would provide more time for me to help Bryce. Except Bryce’s issues weren’t my problem. I owed Bryce nothing, and I owed my daughter whatever was in her best interest. So was letting Mandy stay with Randy in her best interest?

Mandy hadn’t had a father figure in her life.
Could
Randy be a good dad to her? Maybe “could” wasn’t the right word.
Would
he be a good dad? That was the question. Or would he confuse her by coming around for a little while and then abandoning her again? How could I protect her from that? I couldn’t.

Would my allowing her to stay longer go a long way toward keeping the peace with Randy? Or would he hold it against me down the road, if we end up in court over custody? If we ended up in court, would I see Mandy even less often than I do now that Randy is back?

It would be good for Mandy to get to know her other grandparents. They had mailed presents to her for holidays and birthdays, but since they lived three hours away, they hadn’t come to see her. With Randy having left us, I’m sure they felt awkward. I had nothing against them. They were good people.