The Beginning (9 page)

“Well that sucks,” I said. “You need better busses.”

“It’s just the way it is here,” she said.

I put transportation down on a new page in my notebook. Maybe we could add that to one of the services for our employees. Maybe it would be too expensive. I’d talk to Frankie later.

As if on cue, Frankie and William chose that moment to come through the door. Their arms were full of grocery bags.  They set the bags on the table.

“There’s more in the car,” Frankie said as he started emptying bags on to the table.

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that,” Marcella said looking embarrassed.

“Baby girl, these folks are good people and they want to help you. Right now you need their help.  Just say thank you,” William said.

She looked up at me. “Thank you.”

I smiled at her, “any time, sweetheart,” I said.

William and Frankie carried up the rest of the groceries, and put them away. Then William produced a fast food bag and three kid’s meals.

William looked at Marcella, pointed a finger at her and said, “I know you don’t want them kids to have this food that you call junk. But it’s hot and it’s free. So just make an exception tonight and let’s sit down to supper.”

“Mom, we have to go. We have that appointment to get to,” Frankie said.

“Yes, let’s go or we’ll be late. Thank you for talking to me, Marcella.”

“Thank you, ma’am. I appreciate all of your help.”

“You’re welcome, honey. Don’t worry, we’ll get him out. On more time, though, please call me Misty. You too, William.”

They both agreed. I gave Marcella another hug.  I asked her to call me if she thought of anything else that we could use to help Jerome.  Then Frankie and I climbed down three flights of stairs.

“I am so, not used to stairs,” Frankie panted.

“But, you just went up and down them several times,” I said.

“Couldn’t let William see that I was in worse shape than he was. He’s in great shape for a man his age. Hell, he’s in great shape for a man my age.”

We both laughed at this. Yeah, I could see how the twenty-something man did not want the sixty-something man to appear more fit than he was.

As we headed to the car Frankie told me what he’d learned about William. He was not well educated; in fact he quit school at a very young age to support his parents. He married at an early age. He and his wife had six children, Marcella is the youngest. And she’s the only one left. He lost the others to drugs, aids, and the gangs.  His wife was killed due to gang activity. As a result of her death, he turned his life around. He was instrumental in cleaning up the neighborhood and getting rid of the gangs. The young people we saw sitting outside when we arrived had a lot of respect for him. Frankie told him to send the ones in need of a job to the park with a recommendation from William. Frankie would let HR know in the morning.

I knew I liked William, but I suddenly had a lot more respect for him.

On the way back to the hotel I told Frankie about the list of suspects Marcella and I had come up with. 

“Mom, would you like to go to the mall?”

“What, why? Do you need to go shopping? Are you sure this is the time? I mean we have a murder to investigate.”

“I want to check out his guy, Julio. Let’s see if we can find him and get his story. Maybe he’s a better suspect than Jerome.”

“Sounds good, let’s go.”

Frankie and I drove for about twenty minutes to get to the mall. It was not what I expected. At home I had to drive almost an hour to get to a mall. The mall there was three stories high and probably had about one hundred stores, at least. I was getting kind of excited to see a mall again, to see stores again. That ended when I saw our local mall.

It was only one floor. It must have had no more than sixty stores. And I was pretty sure that included the food court and a couple of dollar stores.  When we entered the building it even smelled old and musty.  We walked around the mall, looking for a security guard with a name tag that said Julio.  Although, to be honest, I was also looking to see what stores I might like to come back to later. And I was looking for a candy store. I suddenly had a really bad craving for candy. I guess it was a reaction to the stress.

When we found Julio, he was leaning against a wall near the food court flirting with a girl. She looked underage. Yeah, he defiantly had questionable scruples.

Julio was rather tall and somewhat muscular. He certainly could have killed Barbara if he wanted to, probably with his bare hands. So would he have used the shovel? Maybe, but would he have buried her in such a shallow grave? Maybe. I mean he certainly looked like he was capable of digging a deep grave, but maybe he panicked. He didn’t really look like the planning type to me. Unless, of course, it was planning on how to get this young thing out of her too tight dress. In that he might be an expert.

“Mom, I’m going to talk to this guy. You just hover around and listen in. When I’m done I’ll walk away. You go in to a shop and I’ll call you and tell you where to meet me. OK?” Frankie said.

“OK, I can do that.” I walked over to one of the stands and ordered a coffee. I sat down at a table near Julio to sip my drink and listen to what happened. I was curious how Frankie was going to handle this.

Frankie waited for me to be seated before he walked over to Julio, “Excuse me sir, I’m from the Neuspech News. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?” Frankie pulled a small notebook and pen out of his pocket.

“Um, sure. About what?” Julio said.

“Oh, maybe you haven’t heard. The body of Barbara Neuspech was found this morning in a shallow grave near the theme park.”

“What!” Julio yelled. He looked genuinely shocked. Either that or he was a good actor.

The little girl next to him jumped. He looked at her and said, “You’d better beat it. I’ll find you later.”

She looked at him, looked at Frankie and left. Good, maybe she should go home and play with her dolls instead of hanging out with some man who would never give her the time of day once he got what he wanted.

“Yes, sir,” Frankie said, “her body was found during the ground breaking ceremony this morning.”

“Ground breaking ceremony? What’s that?”

Frankie rolled his eyes. “Never mind what that is. Barbara Neuspech was killed last night.”

“Well, I didn’t even know she was in town,” Julio protested.

“I understand you knew her, sir?”

“She was the wife of the guy who owned the park.  Everyone knew her.”

“Well, the grapevine says you knew her better than most?”

“The grape vine is wrong,” Julio said looking very mad.

“And you had business dealings with her and a friend of hers,” Frankie said.

Julio looked at Frankie as if he were going to hit him. I got nervous; Frankie didn’t even seem to notice.  Then Julio relaxed and leaned against the wall again.

“Yeah, unfortunately I knew her and Cindy. I had no business with them, though.  What about it?” Julio said.

“So, you didn’t let them in to the park to have sex with men after hours?”

“How did you hear about that?”

“And they didn’t pay you anything to let them in?”

“No, they didn’t pay me. I wish they would have. Instead we traded services,” Julio said.

So, I thought, you knowingly let them in so they could have sex with other men in the park and they serviced you in exchange. So, yeah, you could say he was having an affair with Adolf’s wife. And, with that mystery woman partner of hers. Couldn’t that cause him to lose his job here?  Or to be arrested for helping them? I’d call that a motive.

“Well, I would have thought by now the cops would have questioned you,” Frankie continued.

Me too, but Marlowe’s and idiot, I thought.

“Question me? Why?” Again Julio looked angry and I wanted to jump in to defend my son.

“People know that you knew the dead woman. The cops will ask for an alibi you know. Would you like to give one to me so they’ll leave you alone?”

“Give one to you?”

“Yes, you give me your alibi, I print it, and everyone will know you couldn’t have killed her. The police will leave you alone.”

Julio thought about this. He looked relieved. “Yeah, God knows I don’t want to talk to the police.”

I wonder what they’d discover, I thought. Then I remembered that Marlowe was in charge. Never mind.

“So what’s your alibi?” Frankie went on.

“I was working.”

“Here?” Frankie asked.

“Yeah, here. It’s my only job.”

“Did you leave at any time?”

“No. Yeah.”

“Which is it, sir, no or yes? Did you leave or didn’t you.”

“Well, I mean I went out for lunch. I picked up food for me and the guys at the drive thru. That’s it. I’ve got to be on the drive thru’s camera.” Right?

“Probably. What time was that?”

“After midnight. Probably close to one.”

“Do you still have friends who work at the park?”

“Yes, lots.”

Not any more, I thought to myself.

“And they would be willing to let you in if you asked them, right?”

“No. Besides there are cameras everywhere there.  Well, maybe not right now.”

“Are you on camera here? Can you prove when you were here?” Frankie asked.

“Hell yeah. There are cameras here most people don’t even know about.  And there are some guys who just sit and watch them all day.”

“But you know where the cameras are. You know the mall very well, don’t you?”

“I know where every one of them is. I know this place inside and out.  It’s part of my job,” Julio said.

“Well, thank you, Julio, for your time. I’ll be sure to print your alibi so the police don’t bother you.”

Frankie shook Julio’s had and started walking in my direction. I got up from my table and turned to the right. I walked into the candy store; it was time to buy some stress relief. I was filling my little plastic bag when my phone rang. It was Frankie.

“You heard all that?” he asked.

“Yeah, he’s an interesting guy.”

“That’s one way to put it. Meet me at the car when you’re done with your shopping,” he said.

“I’ll be right out; I’m just in the candy store.”

“Great, I’ll just take a nap while I wait for you.”

“Oh, ha-ha.” I said and then hung up on him. 

Several bags of candy later I headed toward the parking lot. When I got to the car Frankie looked at me, “Really, Mom?” he said.

“Really. There’s no good candy anywhere near us. Not even at the grocery store. I’m stocking up.”

“We’ll have to make sure we have good candy at the park.”

“I’m already on it.”

“Of course you are,” Frankie said. I know he was trying to make it seem as if he were lecturing me. But deep inside he loved candy as much as I did. If he weren’t driving, he’d be going through those bags right now.

On the way home I wrote the new evidence down in my notebook. Now I had a name for the victim’s friend and Julio’s alibi. However, I still didn’t know much about the friend.  Like a last name. I was sure we could find her. We just had to ask the right questions.

When we got back to the hotel Frankie and I went to my room to talk and share the candy. We laid the notebook on the table and went over it together. We tore the pages out and made one new page for each suspect.

We figured that the most likely suspect was Adolf. After all, he had the most to lose if Barbara suddenly showed up again. But, I just couldn’t see it. She was hit over the head and buried quickly. I knew that even the meekest people could lash out and kill if they were provoked. Maybe that’s what happened. But, it just didn’t seem likely. I mean the man barely moved. Of course he did have that scene at the restaurant. So, maybe he was capable.

“She wasn’t legally co-owner of the park, but if she divorced him, she’d be entitled to half, right?” I asked Frankie.

“Most likely,” Frankie said. “But it depends on Florida’s divorce laws. And how good her lawyer was.  How good his lawyer was. Oh, and if there’s a prenup.”

“Hate prenups.”

“I know, Mom, but not everybody marries for love.”

“Yes, but if you are worried about the person you are about to marry stealing from you, maybe you shouldn’t marry them.”

“Yes, but I think you’re seeing it only from your point of view.  Not everyone is as lucky as you and Dad were. Or as lucky as Angie is.”

“You’re right. You’re Dad and I were very lucky. Are very lucky. We always had love and respect for each other. Even in high school we weren’t like the other kids. They were all worried about making out.”

“Ew.”

“Oh, grow up. Anyway, you’re Dad and I simply enjoyed spending time together. We understood each other. I never had any desire to be with anyone else.” Wow, I was starting to feel sad.

“And now?” my son asked.

“I don’t want to be with him but, I don’t want to be with anyone else either. I’m open to the possibility, but not even thinking about it. He and I still respect each other. In fact, I’d go so far as to say we still have a love for each other. Not a romantic love. I’m not really sure how o describe it.”

“It’s ok; I know you’re not getting back together. Although the little boy in me is still hoping. But, I really want you to continue to be friends.”

“Oh, I think that will happen. In fact, I’m even glad he’s interested in Minerva. I really like her and I think she’ll be good for him.”

“Yeah, I’ll never get married.”

I looked at him in surprise. “Why?” I asked.

“Because I’m not sure I could ever have a relationship like the one you and Dad had.”

“No, my son, you won’t. You’ll have Frankie and insert her name here’s relationship. You are not your father and your life partner will not be me.”

“Ew, that’s gross.”

“You are sooo mature,” I laughed at him.

“True. But I know what you mean. It’s tough to meet the right one.”

“Especially if you work all the time and don’t have a social life,” I said to him.

He gave a big yawn. I could see something of the little boy I once knew in him again. I had the urge to pick him up and carry him to bed.

“Well, if we’re going to the hearing tomorrow, we’d better make it an early night,” I said.

Frankie rose from the table, walked over to my side and kissed me on the cheek. “Goodnight, Mommy,” he said.

“Goodnight, my little man. I love you.”

He paused at the door, turned around and looked at me. He was smiling. “I love you too, Mom.”

With that he closed the door and left.