by VC Angell
“There are guys out there who would’ve killed him if they thought he was screwing their wives.”
“I know the Sheriff was looking into things like that. I haven’t talked to him in a while. Maybe I should see him and see if he’s found out anything. I’ve been too busy trying to keep the Journal of float,” Jim said.
They chatted for a few more minutes, and then Will excused himself.
Jim thought of his lunch, and he had seen Carol, so he called her and again went to her voicemail. He left a short message, “I saw you at lunch.”
* * *
Jim left a bit early from work and went to the Sheriff’s office. Jim asked him about the Sheriff’s search for his brother’s killer.
“We’ve got some leads, but nothing has panned out,” Sheriff said.
“I have a bit more information. I learned that before the divorce, Alex was seeing a prostitute by the name of Birdie. When he stopped seeing her, he told Birdie that he was getting it for free. He didn’t give her any name,” Jim said.
“We know Birdie. As long as she’s not too obvious, we don’t bother her. The same is true of your friend Laura Peterson. I go back and forth about them. What they do is against the law, but they are just trying to earn a living in this godforsaken land.”
“Laura has found out that she is severely dyslexic. That’s what she is all sorts of problems reading. She said there’s only one thing she was good at,” Jim said.
“I wish I had known about her father before he died. But that’s neither here nor there. We will talk to Birdie. She might be more willing to give us a name about who your brother was seeing. We got almost no evidence in this case. It’s the toxicology report that made a murder. It was hunting season, and he had on a blaze orange jacket. He wasn’t carrying a rifle, so he wasn’t hunting. That made me suspicious right away. We don’t have any solid leads,” the Sheriff said, shaking his head.
“I think his wife, Sally, might know more, but all I can get her to save is the divorce was necessary. I know he was cheating. I wonder if she was,” Jim said, thinking out loud.
“We have heard rumors that she might be, but it’s rather like your brother. There’s no real evidence, and even worse, there’s not even a name. As I told you, Sally is a friend of mine going back many years. When I tried to question her about that, she just broke down and cried. I didn’t have the heart to question her more,” the Sheriff said.
“I wonder if she will talk to me. All she’d say about the divorce was that it was necessary. If their marriage was coming apart as it seems to have been, it must’ve been tough for both of them.”
“Give it another try. I probably shouldn’t have tried to question Sally because she’s an old friend. I should’ve given it to one of my investigators to do. I think if you strike out, I’ll have to do that. I have a woman detective I could assign. She might be better than you and I. Murder cases never close,” the Sheriff said offhand.
“My brother’s death is almost a year old now. I’ll see Sally tomorrow and see if I can get us some answers. If not, I’ll call you and let you know,” Jim said.
* * *
The next day took an early lunch break and went to see Sally. She greeted him, seemingly surprised by his visit.
“Do you want some coffee?” Sally asked.
“No thanks, I’m looking for information.”
Sally shook her head but didn’t say anything.
“Here is what I know about my brother. For some time before his death, he was regularly seeing a prostitute. He stopped seeing her and told her he was getting it for free. What do you know those things?” Jim asked.
Sally seemed reluctant but finally said, “I knew of both of those things. They were the reason the divorce was necessary.”
“There must’ve been a reason for that to happen, but I won’t ask as I’m just trying to find out who might’ve wanted to kill Alex. Do you know who he was seeing?” Jim asked.
“I asked him not to tell me. I knew it would hurt me a lot more if it were one of our friends. Sure, I wondered. I know I’ve gotten older and dumpy. Maybe he needed a woman who wasn’t that. He never said anything about my weight or these,” Sally touched her breasts before continuing, “You know gravity wins.”
Jim felt he slightly blush, then asked, “Then you have no idea who it was that he was seeing?”
Sally just shook her head slightly from side to side before saying, “You’re his brother, so I’ll tell you how it started. Menopause hit me pretty hard. I dried up, and it made lovemaking painful. From the time we were married, he seemed to need a lot of that. When I was younger, I appreciated it. It made me feel like a woman and desired. I tried to keep up with his physical demands, but nothing I tried made lovemaking as comfortable as it had been. That’s pretty much the whole thing. He just found it elsewhere.”
“I was told he just wanted to talk more,” Jim said.
“You’re not married, so I’m not sure you understand that after in lovemaking session, we would talk about all sorts of things. It was like lovemaking was the start of the conversation,” Sally said.
“I can understand that. It makes sense. What about you?” Jim asked.
“Me? What do you mean?”
“I heard you found someone else too.”
Sally looked at Jim hard and said, “That’s none of your business.”
“If he were somehow jealous of Alex, he’d have a reason for killing him.”
“I still don’t think it’s any of your business, but I was faithful to Alex until the divorce occurred. I think our discussion has ended.”
Jim knew that Sally was angry with him, so he excused himself and left.
Jim called the Sheriff and told him of his discussion with Sally. The Sheriff said he would assign the woman detective to talk to Sally.
* * *
The naming contest produced a name for the free newspaper, The Alma Shopper. The real draw would be the free classified ads. You could get a free ad with ten words or less. The ads businesses buy will run both in the Journal and Shopper for slightly more than running in just one or the other. They bundled the Shopper with the Journal for a couple of weeks. Then they asked the people who wanted to continue to get the Shopper to either go online and sign up or fill out a short form and mail it in. The subscription list surpassed that of the Journal in less than two weeks. The Shopper appeared to be well on its way to be a big success.
Will and Jim were talking about success. Jim said, “It looks like we have already reached the breakeven point, according to Ralph Hansen.”
“I think people understand the Shopper isn’t like the Journal. There is no local news in it. I don’t think many people will fail to renew because they want the local news. Plus, the Shopper has all meeting announcements and church times. That helps increase its draw. How is the radio station coming?” Will asked.
“Everything seems to be going okay. There was a whole thing we had to do with the FCC about the license. Everything’s on track for that to become part of the corporation at the beginning of January. I talked to the staff over there, and they understand there will be no changes from what they’re currently doing. The salespeople are excited about being able to offer print and airtime ads at the same time at little extra cost.”
“Change of subject, anything new about Alex’s murder?” Will asked.
“No, but the Sheriff was going to assign a woman detective to the case. It was just a week or so ago. I haven’t heard anything from him. I’m not sure we wouldn’t hear unless there were some developments in one way or the other.”
Julie wants to see you. Should I send her in?” Will asked.
“Do you know what she wants to see me about?”
Will shook his head, “I have no idea. I told her I had to see you first so that we could review the Shopper’s performance.”
It was a few minutes after Will left that Julie knocked at the door to Jim’s office. She came in and sat down.
“
I understand from Will you want to see me.”
“This isn’t about the newspaper business. It’s about you and Carol,” Julie said.
Jim frowned and asked, “What about us. I saw her the other day at the Country Kettle, but Ted Erickson stopped, and when he left, she was gone. Anyway, I didn’t want to disturb her because she was with a couple, and I thought she was working.”
“She came over to our place last night. Carol thinks you’re no longer interested in her. She said she hadn’t gotten any messages from you other than about seeing her at the Kettle,” Julie said.
“I’ve called her several times, but it just goes to voicemail. I didn’t leave a message then. I didn’t want to leave her mailbox full of my comments because she uses that for her business,” Jim said.
Julie didn’t respond right away. When she did, she shook her head as she said, “I think the two of you have a communications problem. She thinks you lost interest in her, or she did something that turned you away.”
“I’ve just been busy with the Shopper and radio station. As I said, when I call her but I only get her voicemail. I did leave that one message.”
“That message seemed to convince her that you lost interest in her. She was crying when she told me that,” Julie said.
“I’m sorry. I’ve just been busy,” Jim said in defense.
“You might be my boss, but I’m going to tell you that you are a damn poor boyfriend. Carol is broken-hearted.”
Jim thought before saying, “You’re probably right. She said something that I agreed with that probably hurt her. I was just trying to be good to her and agreeing. I was trying to be good.”
“Don’t tell me that. It won’t help. Don’t call her! See her! She’s at work right now! You’re the boss and can leave your anytime you want, so go!” Julie pointed at the door.
Jim laughed and said, “I love your fierceness. Telling your boss off that he is a damn poor boyfriend and then demanding he does something.”
Julie blushed, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be pushy.”
“Don’t apologize. When I came here, I told everyone they needed to be honest with me, if you remember. I needed to be told when I was wrong. You just did that. I appreciate it because I was beginning to think Carol didn’t want anything to with me,” Jim smiled at Julie.
Julie's stiffness disappeared, and she smiled back, “Please go and see her.”
“I will. I’ll tell Helen I have some personal business to attend to and I don’t know when I’ll be back. Come on. You can walk me as far as Helen’s desk,” Jim stood up.
Jim drove over to the real estate office. Before going in, he checked his hair in the rearview mirror and said to his image, “Wish me luck. I might need it because I screwed up.” Jim got out of the car, walked up to the real estate office, and opened the door. Carol looked up from behind her desk, and her eyes widened in surprise.
“I just got a chewing out Julie telling me that I was a damn poor boyfriend. I’m sorry,” Jim said.
Carol sat stunned for a moment and then started to giggle, “I can just see Julie telling off her boss. She can be feisty when she wants to be.”
“I got caught up with all that was going on at work. I did call, but I always got your voicemail. I didn’t think I should fill it up. I was sure you’d see missed calls and know I tried. When you didn’t respond, I was beginning to think you didn’t want any part of me,” Jim said and then added again, “I’m sorry.”
Carol visibly relaxed, “I guess it was miscommunications all around again. I tried to tease you about making love. When you agreed, I thought I must be the worst lover you’ve ever had. And yes, I did see the missed calls. When you didn’t leave any messages, I was sure there was something wrong with me. I knew there was a lot of competition out there. You could have had a dozen younger women who are better looking than me and have great figures.”
“Okay, I screwed up. How about we sit down together tonight at my place and talk?”
“I’ll agree to that with one condition.”
“What condition?”
“That I spend the night with you. Do I need to make it any clearer?” Carol asked.
Jim felt his body respond to Carol’s condition. He decided to let her know that, “I agree to your condition. My body is already responding to your condition.”
Carol smiled at him and got up and threw her arms around him, and kissed him.
After the kiss, Jim asked, “Is that the sample of what I expect the night?”
Carol pressed herself closer to Jim and said, “Damn right, it is. I can feel your body agrees too!”
Jim found himself blushing.
* * *
It was just before midnight on the same day. Jim and Carol were talking, laying side-by-side his bed.
Carol asked, “You’ve made some real changes with the Journal. What with the Alma Shopper, and I hear you’re going to buy our two radio stations? How are things going?”
“It’s been a real busy time. The Journal was losing money almost every month, and our reserves are getting pretty low. The Shopper increased our ad revenue. Surprisingly, it also increased the ad revenue of the Journal. There are still some things to settle with the FCC with the radio stations. I don’t understand them, but I’m told it’s only going to slow things up and not mess up the deal,” Jim said.
“It does sound like you were busy and not just ignoring me,” Carol teased.
“I was. I had to save the paper and all those jobs. We had only made love once before, and I couldn’t forget your body.”
“You say all the right things. I thought I must’ve been so poor that one time that you didn’t want me. It was a confusing time. Let’s not repeat that,” Carol said.
“I thought you must have a reason for not wanting to make love. It might’ve been simple as it was the wrong time of the month. I agreed with you trying to make it easier for you,” Jim said.
“I shouldn’t have tried to tease you. It was partially my fault too. This evening has shown me that we just miscommunicated. I could see why you might not be interested in someone my age.”
“We’re almost the same age so that I could turn it around. You might want to a younger, more vigorous man than me.”
“If the two times we’ve been together are an example of your vigor, I couldn’t ask for anything more,” Carol then giggled.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it, Ms. Amundson, because I don’t do this with every woman I come across,” Jim said with mock seriousness.
Carol reached over and hugged Jim pulling him closer and kissed him, then she asked, “Have you heard anything more about your brother’s murder?”
Jim could feel his body responding to the closest of Carol. It confused him as to what to do next. He decided to answer her, “No, I know a bit more about what happened between him and his wife. She said that mesopause had caused her to dry up, and sex hurt. Alex had a strong sex drive, and she loved it before menopause, but it had become a problem once it started. She knew that Alex had first used one of the prostitutes in town, but then he found someone else and got it for free. She didn’t know who it was because she told Alex not to tell her. It’s clear she knew what was going on, and it bothered her.”
“That’s awful. A natural part of life destroying a marriage. It’s something I don’t look forward to in my life.” Carol paused for a moment and pressed herself against Jim, saying, “I’m not there yet.”
* * *
The deal finally closed on the radio stations. The technicalities that held up the land deal for Alla Saker Trä were solved, and that deal was also closed. The redevelopment committee began to get inquiries from other businesses looking to cash in on the new wood products plant. Alma was finally growing. The worries about keeping the Journal will float evaporated with those developments. Jim then turned his efforts to his brother’s murder.
At Jim’s request, Laura brought Birdie out one evening. Birdie turned out to be a little younger than Jim expec
ted. She was also slimmer and tinier than Jim expected. They all sat down in the living room. Jim asked, “How did you get the name, Birdie?”
Birdie said, “You know how they name people on the Rez. I was lucky I didn’t get a name like Snotnose. I guess I was named Birdie because of my small size, and I always like birds.”
Laura said, “She’s lucky. Birdie can eat an entire pizza and not gain anything.”
“I guess I’m lucky that way. I also don’t need a lot of food. I can get full on just one burger,” Birdie said.
“You are lucky. Since I came back home, I’ve gained too much weight,” Jim said.
They chatted about weight and a few other things before Laura said, “Birdie thinks she remembered the name your brother told her.”
“When Laura first asked me, I could remember her first name, Maryann, but the last name just escaped me. Just a few days ago, you ran an article about the 4-H, and I saw her name in that article. The instant I saw it, I knew it was her. It’s Maryann Hjelmstad. I’m sorry I couldn’t remember earlier,” Birdie said.
“Thank you. I’m glad you remembered,” Jim said.
“Your brother was a great guy. We could talk for hours. I never understood what was wrong with his wife,” Birdie said.
Jim was reluctant to tell the two women the details Sally had told him, so he simply said, “According to his wife, it was menopause that destroyed their love life.”
Laura said, “That’ll do it. I frequently hear that from my older Johns.” Birdie nodded her agreement.
They continued to chat about various things until the two women decided it was time they left. Jim said, “I want to thank you, Birdie, for your help. I don’t know if it will help solve my brother’s murder, but it just might. You never know.”
* * *
Jim did the most straightforward search for the mysterious Maryann Hjelmstad, the phone book. The results were zilch. He sat down at his computer and signed in to his account at the Journal. He typed in her name, and there were several articles with her name in them. The latest one that Birdie must’ve seen was about a 4-H program that she worked on as an advisor. There were other articles about her and the 4-H as well. She was always mentioned in passing as the children were the central point of the articles. Jim kept looking further back in the archives. There was a wedding photo from the five-year-old article about her marriage. Jim thought, “So she is married. Maybe not; people don’t often advertise their divorces. I think the articles about the 4-H programs are the work of Julie. I’ll have to ask if she hasn’t a phone number or address for Maryann Hjelmstad.”