by VC Angell
The dining room fit with the rest of the house. On one side of the room, there was another massive fireplace. On the other side of the room, there was a large mahogany sideboard. In the center was the dining table with just six chairs around. It was evident to Jim there was room for at least that many more. On all four walls, there hung landscape paintings.
An older woman greeted Jim, “I am glad you could come. It will be nice to have company since otherwise it would be just the three of us.”
Ted asked, “I believe you know my wife Joan?” pointing at the older woman.
“Yes, I remember meeting her several times.”
Ed said, pointing at the chairs on one side of the table, “Why don’t you and Pam sit on that side of the table, and we will sit opposite of you.”
Jim pulled out a chair for Pam and held that until she sat down before sitting down himself.
The dinner proved to be an outstanding Thanksgiving dinner. There were the turkey and all the other things that made for a Thanksgiving meal.
“Would you like another piece of pumpkin pie?” asked Joan.
“No, I’m so full I don’t think I could eat another crumb,” Jim said.
Pam reached under the table and patted Jim’s leg.
Before they could get up from the table, the telephone rang, and Ted answered it. He looked towards Jim, “He’s right here. Do you want to speak to him?” There was a pause as he listened, “I’m sure he will come to see you. We are just finishing up Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, I’ll tell him.” Ted hung up and turned to Jim, “That was a sheriff’s deputy. There’s been a break-in at the paper, and he’d like to see you.” I
Jim thought a moment before standing up, “I guess I’ll have to go see what has happened. I don’t think I know enough about the paper to know if something would be missing, though.”
Ted said, “I’m sure they called you because they know you are in charge now.”
“Sorry, I must go.” Standing, Jim turned towards Joan and said, “I want to thank you and Ted for the great dinner.” He looked down at Pam and said, “It was nice chatting with you. Perhaps we could get together over coffee one of these days.”
“I’d like that,” Pam smiled an honest smile.
* * *
When Jim reached the newspaper office, there were two sheriff’s cars parked outside. The glass to the front door had been broken. He approached a deputy and said, “I’m Jim Waterman. Are you the one that called?”
“No, sir. He’s back in that office over there waiting for you.”
Jim looked around as he made his way to the office. It didn’t look like anything had been disturbed. Once he reached the office, it was a mess. He introduced himself to the deputy and asked, “Did the alarm system bring you? Is this the only place there’s any damage?”
“Yes, sir. They must’ve been looking for something. I don’t think it was theft because there is a five-dollar bill and some change on the desk over there. Do you know what they might’ve been looking for?”
Jim shook his head, “I haven’t been back here for very long. I’m still trying to get my feet under me. My secretary and I went through this office and packed up all the personal things that belonged to my brother. I don’t remember anything of exceptional value in what we found. The other things around this office are just every day.”
“They might’ve been looking for information. What might interest them?”
Jim scratched his head and thought. “I’m not sure. I have been told there was an editorial my brother wrote that made some people unhappy.”
The deputy smiled, “I wouldn’t say unhappy. I think rather it would be madder than hell.”
“What did he write?”
“Your brother wrote about how the new development plan for Alma would make certain people very rich. He also wrote that the development plan might be more about that than improving the community,” the deputy said.
“I found a file folder stuffed with things almost two inches thick labeled with something like the development. I haven’t had a chance to read it, but I figured with the long Thanksgiving weekend, I could look through it, so I took it with me to read over this long weekend.”
“I’ll bet that’s what they were looking for because your brother promised in the editorial, he would name names if they didn’t change the development plan. It wouldn’t be hard to break into this building and look and see if your brother had a list of names. A good time to do it with the holiday. You might want to upgrade your alarm system too.”
“I know the sheriff thought my brother’s death was suspicious and asked me to allow an autopsy.”
The deputy nodded, “He’s not the only one. I know when I read that editorial that I thought there’d be fireworks because of it. I didn’t work on your brother’s death. Still, the office grapevine was alive with speculation he was killed because of that editorial.”
“You wouldn’t think a town as small as Alma would have people like that,” Jim sat down in the chair behind the desk.
“People are people wherever they are. Alma might be a small town, but we have our crime problems too. We have thieves. We have drunks. We have hookers, but murderers are rare up to now. The last time there was a murder, a guy found out his wife was cheating on him. He killed her and the guy and then turned the gun on himself. He used the shotgun. Never seen that much blood before or since,” the deputy shook his head.
The deputy’s description made Jim a little queasy. It took him a while to ask, “Is there anything I should do?”
“Look through what you found and see if there are names. If there are names, get them to us as soon as possible. If your brother’s death wasn’t a hunting accident, you could be next if they think you have a list of names,” the deputy looked rather grim.
“Do you think since they didn’t find any names, they may think no list exists?”
The deputy shrugged, “I wouldn’t bet my life on it if I were you, and you would be.”
When he first came into the building, the deputy Jim had met came through the door and asked, “Are you going to secure that front door?”
“I haven’t even thought about that. I don’t have any tools or anything to fix it with. Do you have any recommendations who could help me out?” Jim asked.
The deputy Jim had been talking to spoke up, “Dispatch has a list of names who help out with things like this. I don’t think they’ll be able to get the glass to repair the door fully today, but they can make a temporary repair that will make it secure enough. You want me to call Dispatch?”
“That would be great. Thank you,” Jim said.
The deputy made the call. The first deputy, Jim, had seen left to take another call. Jim and the second deputy talked until a man arrived to fix the door temporarily. It didn’t take the man long with some plywood to secure the door until they could permanently repair it. The deputy and the repairman left. Jim searched through the Rolodex on his desk and called both Helen and Will. Helen didn’t act too surprised, but Will was happy to have another news story. Jim reset the alarm and left.
* * *
Once back at the motel, Jim was pleased to see the file folder lying on the dresser where he had left it. He started to read the contents, but the day’s activities and a superb Thanksgiving dinner forced him to give up and go to bed quickly.
* * *
The following day Jim got up early enough to enjoy the complimentary breakfast at the motel. He took a cup of coffee back to his room and turned on the TV. They were running a feature about it being Black Friday and the start of the Christmas shopping season. Jim thought it wouldn’t be a happy holiday season for Sally. He turned his attention to the file folder. After about an hour and a half of reading the contents of the file folder, he knew little more than he did when he started. There were lists of names like the people on the development committee. That list even included his brother’s name as an opponent of the development. Frustrated at not finding a list of names who wou
ld benefit from Alma's development, Jim put the file folder aside. Everybody who was mentioned in the file folder would benefit from the development of Alma. Even his brother would and now him. The development would bring more people and more subscribers. The phone rang, interrupting his thinking. It was from Carol. The Johnson’s had come up with the price for the furnishings. It sounded reasonable to Jim, but he wanted to see Carol again. Jim asked, “I have to get to work. I am trying to get caught up with things. Could we talk over my lunch hour?”
“Where would you like to meet?”
“How about the Country Kettle?”
“That sounds good to me. Could we do it a little early? For some reason, I’m hungry. I would’ve thought the great Thanksgiving meal I had at the Erickson’s would have kept me fed for a week.”
“That sounds good to me. I’m rattling around in this empty building. Because it is the Friday after Thanksgiving, my boss didn’t even bother to come in. What time would you like?”
“How about around 11:30? You want to meet there, or should I pick you up?”
“Either way.”
“Okay, I’ll pick you up.”
* * *
Once at work, Jim paged through the file folder again, looking to see if he missed anything. He buzzed Will and asked him if he could see the editorial his brother had written. Jim read the editorial. It didn’t provide him with more information. He next talked to Helen about anyplace else his brother might have stored data. Helen told him that his brother didn’t like writing on the computer. He would write things in longhand on a legal pad. However, Jim was told that he had a small digital recorder for taking notes or interviewing people. Helen did not know where it was because she hadn’t seen it since his brother was killed. Jim decided he would have to stop and see Sally and ask her about the digital recorder.
* * *
Jim picked up Carol at the real estate office, and they drove over to the Country Kettle. They were seated at a table for two. Jim was pleased because he could look at Carol without being thought of as staring. Under her winter coat, she was wearing a sweater that looked handmade. It reminded Jim of the Icelandic sweaters he had seen in Europe. Her blue eyes were as captivating as ever.
They ordered and moved on to business. Carol told him the price the Johnson’s had placed on the furnishings in their home.
Jim asked, “Do you think that’s a fair price? I haven’t been back in the States in a few years. I’m not sure what furniture and other things cost.”
“The only things they are going to take are their clothing and a few personal items,” Carol said.
Jim put his elbow on the table and his hands supporting his chin as he thought. Finally, he asked, “That means I won’t have to buy anything to move in?”
“You might want to buy some food so you won’t go hungry,” Carol said with a gleam in her eye.
Jim was happy to hear the humor in her reply. “I think I can handle making up a grocery list. Getting back to my question, do you think the price they’re asking for the furnishings is fair?”
“Yes, I do. You remember that there’s a big freezer out in the garage. The Johnson’s have extras like a tower for the TV antenna. They’ll be leaving behind all the little stuff like towels, bed clothing, everyday silverware, and so on.”
“I never gave much thought to those things. The last place I rented in Europe came like that. It had dishes and silverware. The people I rented from had someone come in once a week and clean plus change out the bedding and towels and left me fresh ones,” Jim said.
“That sounds more like hotel or motel service,” Carol said.
“I don’t know how common it was, but I knew it was unusual. The place I rented had been a relative’s home. It had sentimental value, particularly for the wife. They liked me because I was frequently gone. I didn’t use the house much other than for sleeping. I didn’t even cook that much,” Jim said.
The practical side of Carol came back, “I take it, then you will agree to their price for the furnishings?”
“Sure,” Jim went on verbally, adding the price of the house to the furnishings and coming up with the total, “Is that correct?”
“That sounds good to me. When would you like to close?” Carol asked.
“I know this is Black Friday, but I don’t know if the stock markets open today. Even if it isn’t, I could call my broker on Monday, and the money would appear in my bank account just that day or maybe two days later. I would think any time after next Wednesday would be fine,” Jim said.
“I’m not sure if it will be that quick, but I’ll do my best,” Carol said as their lunches arrived.
“I’m sure you will. It looks like I won’t starve,” Jim said, pointing to the club sandwich the waitress had delivered, “It’s a triple-decker. I don’t know if I get my mouth open wide enough to take a bite out of it.”
“Nibble around the edges like a mouse would until you can take a bite,” Carol said with a laugh.
“Your lunch doesn’t look all that small either. Country Kettle must be feeding hungry lumberjacks direct from the north woods,” Jim said teasingly.
“I can always ask for a doggy bag to take the remainder home.”
“Maybe you should, or you will lose that girlish figure.”
“I don’t worry about that because I’ve never been one to put on weight,” Carol said.
They continued to chat and found out that Carol wasn’t originally from Alma but in a slightly smaller town not all that far away. She had gone to high school in Alma. She had found her job because the owner of the real estate place was a family friend. Carol told Jim it didn’t pay all that much, but it was enough to keep Missy and her cat fed and happy. Jim was delighted because it confirmed what Julie had told him. Carol was single.
Chapter 4
After lunch, Jim drove over to his brother’s house. He obviously surprised Sally by his visit. She seemed nervous. Jim asked, “I was told at the newspaper that my brother carried a little digital recorder. I was wondering if he had it here at home?”
“Yes, I remember. It was just a little thing that fits in the palm of your hand. It was beige. I haven’t gone through Alex’s things yet. As a matter of fact, I have been avoiding it. It seems so final. When he brought it home, he always laid it on top of the dresser in our bedroom. I know it’s not there. Are you sure he didn’t leave it in the office?” Sally asked, seeming to relax a bit.
“Helen and I both looked around the office and couldn’t find it. Would he have left any other place?” Jim asked.
“If he were driving someplace and had an idea, he would dictate in the car. It could be there. The sheriff brought the car back here. You are welcome to look if you want,” Sally said.
“If you don’t mind, it might have a story he was working on.”
Sally got up and disappeared towards the kitchen. When she came back, she was holding the keys, “Here are his car keys. He always hung them up on the hook by the back door.”
“Thank Sally, “Jim said, taking the keys from her, “I’ll bring them right back after I look.” Jim went back outside and opened the car door. There was nothing obvious on the seat. He checked the glove box, and it was not there. If he was genuinely hunting, it might be in the trunk. It would be a safe place to put it. The trunk was a mess. There were a two-piece spinning rod and tackle box to go with it. A pair of waders and an old coat were the only other things. Jim picked the coat up and took it out of the truck to look in its pockets, and something fell on the ground. It was a syringe but without its needle. His brother must have had some use for it. Jim then searched the coat without any luck and placed the syringe back in one of the coat’s pockets. The trunk yielded nothing more of interest. Frustrated, Jim went back to the driver’s side and sat down in the front seat. He had searched the center console. It wasn’t there. The driver’s side door had a pocket. It held a book, Fishing Minnesota Rivers and Lakes. Jim took it out and paged through it. He looked in the pocket,
and there was a roadmap for Minnesota. It was hard to see in the pocket, so he reached down to the bottom of it in his hand and closed on something hard. He pulled it out. It was the micro recorder! He looked at it, trying to figure out how to make it play. He couldn’t. He’d have to look up the instructions for it on the Internet. That would have to be later because he had a coffee appointment with Luke. He returned the keys to Sally and thanked her.
* * *
Luke had not changed much, a few gray hairs, but still a bear of a man. They greeted each other with a hug, ordered coffee and a donut, and started to chat.
“I take it from what you are saying that you’re in charge of the paper now?” Luke asked.
“Yup, I always knew it would happen, but I thought it would be when I was an old man. What’re you doing these days?” Jim asked.
“I’m still logging. It’s gotten a bit steadier with the chipboard plant. Still, it is a long drive. It used to be the only place to sell was to the paper mill. Every time the economy went down, it went down. The chipboard plants seem less affected by the economy to the degree the pulp mills were. I just wish they were closer to Alma.”
“You said on the phone that you had two kids now?”
“Yup, a boy and a girl. I think we’re gonna quit since we got one of each. You got a girlfriend?”
“Nope, I’ve been working as a foreign correspondent in Europe. I didn’t have any time to date. You wouldn’t happen to know anybody my age who is single?” Jim asked.
“No, there aren’t many women our age around this town. I can think of one or two, but you wouldn’t want anything to do with them. There is usually a good reason they ain’t married. I was thinking back to high school the other day. We sure had a lot of fun on the marksman team. My trap shooting days are now with partridge and grouse. Do you still shoot?”
“No, I’d love to, but it was too complicated to own a gun in Europe. Before I took that job, I got involved in pistol shooting and fast draw. It was great fun.”