by Rick Polad
“How sad,” she said. “But I haven’t heard anything about the senator.”
Stosh took over. “Senator Nadem seems to have disappeared. His wife said he was gone when she got home last night from a bridge game. The girl at his office hasn’t heard from him, and he hasn’t shown up for any of his appointments. Several agencies are looking. And we’re checking the airport. He may be long gone by now.”
“I’d love to see that bastard behind bars,” I said.
“Well, you may have to settle for a life in ruin,” Stosh said.
“If that’s what you call lying on a beach somewhere spending your drug money.”
“Can’t get ‘em all,” Stosh said.
Two busboys arrived with platters of food and passed out the steaks. Sister Katherine had shepherd’s pie.
“And I assume the drug charges will be dropped against you, Spencer,” Benny said.
“Already in process,” Stosh said. “Although he probably deserved those few hours for all the lines he’s crossed over the years.”
I didn’t agree.
“What about the two up in Wisconsin?” Ben asked.
“One is still in a coma.” I said. “The other isn’t talking yet. He doesn’t believe Bast was arrested. He thinks it’s a trick to get him to talk. He’ll talk eventually when he figures it out.”
Jane got refill orders, and we all started eating. I thanked everyone for their help.
When I asked if anyone had anything else to say, Ralph finally stopped eating long enough to say, “A couple hours in jail would have been nice.” Stosh and I laughed. Everyone else looked confused. I decided to leave it that way. If they knew what his contract said, they’d all want to be arrested.
I answered a few more questions as we finished eating. Jane started to clear and said she’d be right back with the check.
Two minutes later I heard commotion behind me and turned around. Jack was walking toward our table carrying a cake with one big candle in the middle. I stared hard at Stosh who was doing a good job of looking shocked. If looks could kill…
As Jack set the cake down he started singing, and the rest joined in. By the second “happy birthday” I was laughing. In red and blue icing was written “Happy 29th!”
They all wished me a happy birthday, and I smiled at Stosh.
“Hey, kid, if it’s good enough for Jack Benny, it’s good enough for you.”
***
As I drove home, I thought about the case. I was usually left with a good feeling that I had done something good for someone, that someone had come out on the plus side. But not this time. I had solved the case, but my client, Mrs. Margot, had lost everything… her husband, her son Reynolds, and perhaps her son Raymond. She was left with a very expensive, lonely house. Mrs. Nadem was better off without her senator husband, but she had lost her son.
Perhaps the only one who was in a better place was Raymond. He was leading the simple life he wanted to live with a neighbor who cared about him and someone to play checkers with. Perhaps that simplicity was worth more than all the money on the north shore.
Acknowledgements
This book would not exist without the help and support of several special people. To my readers and friends, Mike Polad, Carol Deleskiewicz, John Zelman, and Ellen Tullar Purviance, thanks for your edits and input. Any remaining errors are the property of the author.
Special thanks to my publisher, Gary Lindberg (best-selling author of The Shekinah Legacy) for his ongoing support and expertise.
And, as always, to all my friends and readers who have asked for more Spencer, my undying thanks.
About the Author
Rick Polad teaches college Earth Science, plays jazz trumpet, and is an editor for Calumet Editions. For over a decade, Rick has given editorial assistance to award-winning photographer Bruce Roberts and historian/author Cheryl Shelton-Roberts on several of their maritime-themed publications including North Carolina Lighthouses: Stories of History and Hope, and the third edition of American Lighthouses: A Comprehensive Guide to Exploring Our National Coastal Treasures. Rick also edited the English version of Living With Nuclei, the memoirs of Japanese physicist, Motoharu Kimura. Rick has published several Spencer Manning mysteries. The next is always underway!