by Mary Mantle
Throughout our house, we have nine-foot ceilings, and the great room consists of our kitchen, living room, and dining room. It's a beautiful, open room with only a black leather couch, glass coffee table, recliner, piano, and oak table.
The kitchen had an island with a few bar stools. All the countertops were granite that was gray, almost white color with splotches of red. I boiled a pot of water and made a cup of chamomile tea to calm the nerves.
The steam rose off the cup of tea as I looked out the dining room window to the hill full of pine trees. Some people want views of the ocean; I've always preferred the forest. It has a calming effect and makes me feel closer to nature.
My phone rang. It was Hannah for the third time since I got home. Crazy, crazy girl. I lost track of time, and the ding dong of the doorbell startled me.
I smiled as I went to the front door.
It was Faith and her daughter Katie, who had on a cute red dress.
"You look nice," I said.
"Thank you," Katie said.
Faith was a tall woman that was intimidating because she liked to lift weights. She wore jeans and a T-shirt that said, I love tacos. She looked tired like a college kid who stayed up all night cramming for finals.
"Did you guys need anything to drink?" I asked as they came into the house.
"No," Faith said.
Katie walked to the piano.
Faith plopped down on the couch.
"Long night?" I asked.
She rotated her neck and said, "Yep, been up since one in the morning."
"Wow, that is crazy. Does your neck hurt? Do you need a painkiller?"
She bobbed her head back and forth and said, "Sure."
I walked over to Katie and said, "How about you start playing, For Elise."
Katie did as instructed, and I went to the kitchen. Out of a cupboard, I pulled a bottle of ibuprofen and filled a glass with water.
I walked over and handed them to Faith. Katie played the song in the background.
Faith guzzled down the pills and the water.
"Thank you."
I hoped giving her something would open Faith up before the moment of truth.
I took a deep breath and asked, "Crazy about Mr. Hollister. I guess it was just an accident?"
Faith set the cup down and let out a sigh and said, "It was bad. You can imagine a wreck out there on the rocks. The car was in pretty bad shape, but they found something that made them think the brake lines might have been cut."
She was tired, and I'm not sure if she let that slip or maybe it wasn't privileged information, but I didn't want to push my luck.
I said, "Wow, that is crazy. Are they investigating it?"
"They probably should, but the Chief probably won't. If there is an easy way out, he takes it. Not like our old Chief, who would spend a week to figure who stole an old lady's newspaper."
"Hmm. It seems like they should look into it."
Faith shrugged her shoulders.
I turned my attention back to Katie and said, "Let's work on, Heart and Soul."
Katie shuffled the notes around on the piano. Faith went from sitting to lying down on the couch.
Soon Faith was snoring away on the couch. In the back of my mind during the lesson, I had one big question: who cut Gary Hollister's brake lines?
3
Dinner and Hannah
The meat simmered in the pan, and the aroma of beef, peppers, and onions filled the air. Hannah kept calling, and I didn't answer. I wanted to finish cooking dinner before Tanner got home.
I got lucky with Tanner. We got married before I fell in love with him, but now after six years of marriage, I love him more than ever. He's the most honest person I've ever met. One thing that surprised me was when I realized he was smart. Russians have a stereotype that Americans are stupid, and it was ingrained in my mind. However, I found that most preconceived notions I had before I came to the United States were wrong. Not every American has a swimming pool in their house, who would have thought.
Tanner is self-employed and runs his own business with his dad. They have an import-export company where they design, manufacture, and sell their products, carts that hold balls for basketball and volleyball. It is a small niche business, but it provides for us. My income is a bonus.
I heard keys jingling, and the lock opening, which meant Tanner was home. To my surprise, Tanner and Hannah walked in. His face said he was sorry.
Hannah, who has frazzled red hair and enough anxiety to start a national chain of anxiety stores, took her shoes off and said, "It smells like poop and tacos."
"Yeah, it's a long story. Hannah, what are you doing here?" I said.
"You weren't answering my calls, and I need to find out what Faith said." Hannah said as she walked closer, spotting the tacos. "Hmmm, too bad I didn't bring some of my salsa."
"I'm not sure it is going to help, but she said that it looks like the brake lines were cut. If the wife somehow cut the brakes, does that mean that the insurance is void?"
"That is something that I have to do more research on, but I hope so."
Tanner walked in and sat his lunch bag on the counter, and we hugged and shared a brief kiss.
Tanner asked, "So what is this all about?"
Hannah spent a few minutes filling Tanner in on all the events.
"So Tatiana, do you want to go with me tomorrow when I talk to the wife?" Hannah asked.
"Why?"
"I figure you can help me out, be an extra set of ears. You're good at that kind of thing."
"She did have the most to gain with the 5 million dollar policy."
"Do you have a job tomorrow, or are you able to come?"
"I don't have anything, so I can leave my schedule empty and go. It might be kind of interesting."
Tanner walked over to the sliding glass door, looked out, and said, "Why is the vacuum outside?"
I explained what happened to Tanner and Hannah. Laughter broke out. It was contagious, and I couldn't help laughing. Earlier I was mad about it, but that changed. I had to admit it was funny.
Hannah said, "If we're good, I'll come by and pick you up in the morning around eight."
"Okay, see you, then."
After Hannah was gone, the tacos were ready. I started serving up our plates—crispy corn tortillas with local ground beef, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and some salsa. Not the excellent salsa Hannah makes, but it was good. We sat at the dinner table, and Tanner asked, "Are you sure about this?"
"No, I'm not sure about it, but I'm curious, and I want to figure out if someone sabotaged his car. Plus, I have to help Hannah."
"I'm not so sure about this. It could be dangerous. If someone did kill Gary and you snoop around, they might try doing something to you."
I smiled and said, "I have you to protect me."
4
The Adventure Begins
It was a little after 8 am when I heard a honk. I looked out the window and saw Hannah's red Nissan car. I grabbed my coffee and headed out the door. I didn't know what to wear, so I wore casual dress clothes: black pants, a nice shirt, and a sweater.
Hannah was wearing a dark gray pantsuit. I had never seen her wear that before.
I got into the car and asked, "Is that a new outfit?"
"No, just want to look professional today."
Since Hannah just filed her first policy last week, it felt like maybe she wasn't allowed to be an investigator.
"Are you allowed to go out and ask these questions and investigate the claim?"
"Not exactly, but with the wife, there's a bit of a gray area since she filed the claim with me. I need to figure out what's going on so I can save my job."
We began driving up the road and headed for Cedar Cove Heights.
"Do you know what you are going to ask her?"
"Yeah, I'm going to ask her some questions about her husband, their car, etc."
"So, you don't have any idea what you are going to talk about, do you?"
"How about you fill me in on Gary's background. All I know is he is a bit of a jerk and the town real estate mogul."
"He was 65, and his wife is 64. He grew up here and went to college at the University of Oregon. He made the post-college trip to Europe and India to find himself. After that, he returned home and jumped right into real estate. Along the way to the top, he made more enemies than friends. He was on the verge of closing his biggest deal yet. He was selling off a huge chunk of land south of town to a chemical factory."
"I heard about that. Everywhere you drive in town, you see, no to ChemCorp signs, so lots of people could have wanted to hurt him. Did you find out more about what can void the payout?"
"Working on it, but not yet. My boss is probably working on it, but I've avoided him since yesterday morning."
We drove through town and up a steep road that was lined with two and three-story houses that had views of the Pacific Ocean. We got near the top, and the road wrapped to the right. We came to a massive metal gate that had a keypad.
Hannah pressed a button, and a voice came on and said, "Hello, could you state your name and what business you have?"
"Hi, I'm Hannah Stocker from Cove Insurance, and I'm here to see Kitty Hollister."
Silence.
The gate swung open. We drove through, and it closed behind us. The road was lined with pine trees and led to a circular driveway in front of the house. Outside was a white Mercedes SUV. It was the biggest house that I had ever seen. I guessed it had ten rooms and ten bathrooms. It had a stucco exterior painted yellow with red clay roof tiles. The house looked like it belonged in California.
We walked to the giant mahogany double door, and Hannah rang the doorbell.
A lady with jet black hair who looked to be about 40 answered the door. She motioned us in and said, "Ms. Hollister is in the sitting room."
The entrance was massive. The ceiling was so tall I needed binoculars to see where it ended. There was an expensive chandelier, and the floor was white marble.
We followed the butler into the sitting room. It felt like we walked into 1935 with all of the retro furniture and wallpaper.
On one of the old couches sat a frail lady with dark gray hair. She had a small, fuzzy gray blanket wrapped around her.
She offered a broken smile and said, "Please sit down."
I felt horrible. There I was, excited about this mystery, and this lady just lost her husband. I thought her mind must be somewhere dark.
Hannah said, "Ms. Hollister, I am so sorry for your loss."
I also said, "I am sorry."
"Thank you. It is a challenging time," Kitty said.
Kitty must not have been her real name. It must have been a nickname she picked up years ago.
"I know this is a horrible time, but I wondered if I could ask a few questions in regards to the policy," Hannah said.
Kitty didn't answer; she brought a teacup up from the coffee table and took a sip.
"How rude of me. Do you guys want tea or water?" Kitty asked.
In unison, Hannah and I said, "No, thank you."
Kitty seemed lost as she asked, "What questions did you have?"
Hannah shifted as she pulled a notebook from her purse and asked, "Why did you file the claim last week?"
"We talked about it for years because most of the men on his side of the family never make it past 70, so we figured it was time."
"I know these questions won't be easy, but do you know if anyone wanted to harm him?"
Kitty laughed, "He upset a lot of people over the years, and I'm sure there is a long list of people who had ill will toward him, but I don't know of any personal threats made."
Kitty set her teacup down.
Hannah looked at her notebook and asked, "Was your husband the only person that drove his car? Did he take the car to a mechanic recently?"
"Yes, and yes. Gary is the only person that drove that car. He took his cars to Oregon Coast Car Expert. Jose down there always did a great job, and Gary gave him lots of business."
"Do you know when he took the car in the last time?"
"I'm not sure exactly. Maybe a few weeks ago."
Hannah looked down at her notepad and looked up and said, "Well, we appreciate your time. Thank you, and if I have more questions, I will call you."
Kitty shook our hands and told us goodbye.
On the car ride home, I asked, "What do you think?"
"I think she did it. Who else had the motive?"
"Her? She is frail, and didn't you hear her. It sounds like Gary Hollister made some enemies. The mechanic might have had the means. You should go talk to him."
"I guess we can talk to the mechanic, but I'm not sure about him."
5
Jose the Car Expert
We pulled up to Oregon Coast Car Expert, a series of three green warehouse buildings. Hannah got out, and I could tell she had no idea what she was doing, and I was along for the ride. We walked up to the office, and there was a tall Mexican guy with a goatee behind the counter. He looked up and said, "Can I help you?"
Hannah pulled out her wallet and opened it real quick, like she was flashing a badge and said, "Yes, I'm an investigator with the insurance company, and I'm here to ask a few questions about work Jose might have done on Gary Hollister's car. Is Jose around?"
The man smiled and said, "I'm Jose. Could you show me your ID again? It looked like you showed me your Downtown Fitness membership card."
Hannah looked defeated.
"Okay, so it was. Yeah, I think I've seen you around the gym, but I am with the insurance company, and if I could ask a few questions, I would appreciate it."
"I'm not sure I want to answer any questions. You aren't a cop, and you aren't even an investigator. Why should I?"
"Please, could you help me out. I'm the agent that filed the life insurance policy, and I'm trying to figure out what happened, so I don't lose my job."
Jose filed some paperwork and said, "I'm not sure. What exactly do you want to know?"
"Did you work on his car recently?"
"Mr. Hollister had many cars, and we worked on them all."
"How about the car that crashed, the red, convertible Mercedes?"
Jose smashed the keyboard with his giant fingers and looked at the computer screen. "Looks like we worked on that about a week ago. We changed the oil, air filter, and that is about it. A basic checkup for the car."
Hannah looked at me to see if I had a question.
I asked, "How hard would it be for someone to cut the brake lines on his car?"
Jose laughed, "If someone knew what they were doing, it would be easy. Why is that what happened? Did someone cut his brake lines?"
I said, "We don't know, just asking some questions, covering all our bases. Did anything seem strange about Mr. Hollister or his car? Who worked on his car?"
"I always did the work on his cars, and I don't remember anything strange."
I looked back at Hannah.
"I think that is everything, but if we have more questions, we might call you later. Thank you," Hannah said.
Jose nodded, and we walked out.
On the way to the car, Hannah said, "I think he did it."
"Five minutes ago, you thought the wife did it. Now you think Jose did it?"
"Yep, he had the expertise to do it, plus the wife was sweet as apple pie. I don't want to judge Jose, but he looked like he might have been in jail before."
"That is a bit judgemental, isn't it. I'm not so sure Jose did it."
We got into Hannah's car and left.
I asked, "Are you dropping me back off, or do we have more interviews? What was with you flashing your gym membership ID?"
"I thought it might make Jose cooperate if he thought I had a badge. Maybe we should go by Gary's realty office and ask about anything suspicious."
"Sure."
6
>
Cedar Cove Real Estate
We arrived at a modern, two-story glass building that had a Cedar Cove Real Estate sign out front. I had seen the building before but never went inside.
Hannah and I walked into the front lobby, where a blonde secretary with a round puffy face asked, "Hello, how can I help you?"
Hannah said, "Yes, we were wondering if we could ask a few questions. I'm with the insurance company that has the policy for Mr. Hollister, and we wanted to see if we could get more background info."
The young secretary seemed confused and couldn't make that decision. She grabbed a phone and picked it up and said, "Hi, Mr. Thompson, there are some folks here from the insurance company that would like to ask a few questions about Mr. Hollister. Should I sent them up?" A few moments passed, and she looked up at us. "You guys can go back. His office is upstairs. Walk down the hallway, and it is the last one on the right."
We said, "Thank you."
Hannah smiled and looked at me as we walked up the stairs.
"What do you think? Do you like playing detective?" She asked.
"It is interesting."
We walked up the stairs and down the hallway. It was a big corner office, and Hannah knocked on the door. A booming voice said, "Come in."
Inside we found Mr. Thompson standing behind his desk. He was a tall, black man and looked like a high school athlete that stayed in shape. He must have been mid 50's but didn't look it.
He said, "Please, come in and sit down. Can I get you anything?"
"No, thank you," Hannah said.
As we sat down, he said, "I understand you guys have some questions about Gary?"
Hannah pulled out her notebook.
"Yes, we were wondering if anything strange happened recently or if you knew anyone who wanted to hurt him?"
"And you are with the insurance company?"
"Yes, we are trying to verify the events around the death, for the life insurance claim."