by GP Gardner
“So, for one modest monthly charge—is it four hundred a month?—they get thirty lunches and thirty light dinners. What does that come to per meal? The cost, I mean.”
Unfortunately neither of us could do the math in our heads. And we had no idea how many residents took advantage of the dining room meal plan.
“Carla might not keep a record, but Emily will know how many people pay,” Patti said.
“The question is, does the number paying match the number who eat? The dining room is depressing, I think. Maybe that’s why it’s not more popular. The food wasn’t bad.”
“The lights were off. I didn’t even think about it while we were in there, but I’m sure they were off. Maybe Jamie has Carla on a budget.”
“I wonder if she’d like to have a committee to advise her about meals. She certainly seemed open to Ann’s suggestions just now. Maybe they could plan some food events, a cook-off or something.”
“Oh, I love that idea! See? I knew you were going to fix things around here. And a murder is kind of exciting, too, isn’t it? Just the possibility that that’s what it was. I can’t wait to tell people about a cook-off.”
I got to my office and listened to Travis’ message. Lee’s body had been released by the coroner and would be cremated. The memorial service was scheduled for Thursday, in Houston.
I called Stephanie and gave her the news.
“I guess I should go.” She sounded miserable.
“Yes, I think so, for your father. You can fly and make it a quick trip.”
“What about you?”
“No. I didn’t know her. And I’ve got things to do here.” I told her about Mr. Levine’s political forum, even though it seemed somewhat trivial under the circumstances.
When we hung up I phoned Chief Boozer and told him about the missing drugs. “I suppose I should file a police report.”
“Yes, definitely.” He reminded me he’d be stopping by soon. “We’ll write up a theft report while I’m there.”
Stewart came in as Patti and I were just settling down to work in my office.
“Geez, Patti, couldn’t you have told me to paint this dump? What color do you want?”
I looked around. The walls had been white a few years ago. Now there were black marks, scrapes, a few gouges and a generally dingy appearance. The floor was carpeted in medium gray and the baseboards looked fuzzy with dirt and dust. Clearly housekeeping had marked this room off their regular cleaning schedule.
“What do you think, Patti? Nothing garish but maybe a little warmth?”
“How about a pale, pale coral, almost white?” Stewart held his hands up and turned, framing various views of the walls. “Then get some plants to go near the window, with lots of lacy leaves to let the wall color shine through. Happiness in a gallon bucket.”
“I love it!” Patti’s voice soared into the stratosphere. “Can you do mine, too? Please?”
“And clean these nasty carpets. We’ll do it all tonight and you can get back to moving in tomorrow.”
“You work at night?”
“Only on special occasions, but this office is on life support. I’ll get one of the guys to help. It won’t take two hours and the carpet can dry overnight. Three hours tops. Everything will be done in the morning and we’ll bank some comp time for hunting season. We’ll put yours off, Patti, since it’s hard to see where your office ends and the hallway begins.”
She looked disappointed.
“But you’re on the list. Be thinking about a color. I brought you a key.” With a swoop and a bow, he laid it on the desk in front of me. “If you’ll just sign this card…”
I signed and got out my key ring. “You keep these cards?”
“Yes, ma’am. Locked up with the key machine.”
“Do you have a record of who has keys to the drug cart in assisted living?”
Chief Boozer knocked on the open door. “Am I interrupting?”
“Come in.” I got up and walked around the desk. “Do you know my assistant, Patti Snyder, and the head of maintenance, Stewart…?” I fumbled, and he mumbled his last name as he stuck out his hand.
“Stewart Grainger.”
The men shook hands, presenting quite a contrast, Boozer big and dark and bald and perfectly tailored, Stewart small, wiry, wrinkled and covered by tattoos.
Patti was staring at me, wearing a silly grin. “Your assistant? Did I just get a promotion?”
I laughed. I’d have to tell her about my one-month agreement with Travis. Any promotions I made, even if official, might be short-lived.
Chief Boozer addressed Stewart. “That was a good question, about keys to the drug cart. Do you have a set? Or know who does?”
Stewart threw his hands out, fingers splayed, palms facing the cop. “I don’t know anything about drugs. I do door keys, that’s all. Not desk keys, not cart keys.” He looked at me. “I assume we’re talking about that gray box they roll around?”
“Right.”
Stewart shook his head emphatically.
Officer Montgomery looked in at the door but disappeared again.
“Chief Boozer, would you like coffee or water or something?”
“Coffee would be good.”
Patti headed for the door. “I’ll make fresh. It’ll take a few minutes.”
“And I’m on my way to the paint store.” Stewart hustled out.
Officer Montgomery came in a moment later, unsmiling as usual and directing who should sit where. She spread her materials out on the desk and signaled to Boozer she was ready.
“Officer Montgomery will take notes. First, what drugs are missing?”
“Pain meds, according to the temporary RN we brought in this morning.”
“You check her recommendations?”
“Actually, no. She runs the temp agency. But she asked one of the CNAs to help her do a pill count and she called a few minutes later with their findings.”
“The medications are kept in a locked box?”
I nodded. “Should be, anyway. I asked for a key this morning and I think it might have been in Michelle’s pocket. But she didn’t admit it. She’s a CNA and was Jamie Barnes’ assistant. That’s Certified Nursing Assistant, you know.”
Chief Boozer nodded and watched Officer Montgomery change to a new page in her notebook. “I know you’re new here, Ms. Mack, so you may not know if this has happened before.”
“No, I don’t know.”
Patti tapped on the door and brought in a tray holding three filled cups, plus napkins, spoons, sweetener, and packets of powdered cream. The smell of fresh coffee crept through the room.
I thanked Patti and asked her to head off any interruptions until we finished, and she closed the door as she left.
Boozer poured in a packet of sweetener, stirred and took a sip of coffee before returning to the topic. “Do you know how many pills we’re talking about?”
“It wouldn’t be many. The prescription service delivers frequently and we only have about twenty-five residents in assisted living. I doubt all of them take pain meds.”
I had unwittingly pushed some of Chief Boozer’s buttons. “This state has a big problem with prescription drugs, the biggest in the country. If half your twenty-five residents take Percocet three times a day, that’s thirty-five pills. Say street value is ten bucks each, so three hundred fifty dollars a day. More if the dosage is higher. Don’t think this is pocket change.”
I confessed I hadn’t thought about the way numbers and values mounted up. One of the problems of being innumerate.
“Think how many hospitals, nursing homes, private houses we have in town, every one a target for medication theft.”
“You think they’re being sold? I guess that’s preferable to having a staff member using them.” I sipped my coffee.
“That’s
even worse, somebody working in a place like this, depriving people of meds they need. Do you suspect any staff members of a drug problem?”
“I haven’t even met all the staff. But Travis McKenzie said he knows who’s responsible.”
“Is Mr. McKenzie here?”
“No. Well, it’s hard to tell with cell phones. Last night he said he was in Charleston. I didn’t ask where he was today. I got a message that the memorial service will be in Houston Thursday, so he’ll be there soon.”
Chief Boozer watched Officer Montgomery and waited until she quit writing.
“We’ll need to talk with your nurse. And find out when the last drug delivery was. We can ask if residents are getting their meds, but I’m not sure they would know. Officer Montgomery can take care of all that when we finish here. She’ll bring a complaint back for you to sign.” She nodded and he asked me, “Any questions?”
I said no.
“Why don’t we take a short break, give Officer Montgomery time to set up. Then we’ll move to another matter.”
I didn’t even know where the ladies’ room was but Patti directed me around a corner. Patti was coming out of my office when I returned. I told her there was no soap and that paper towels were running low and she made a note for the housekeepers.
“Jim Bergen was here looking for you. They want to take you to dinner.”
“That’s nice.” I knew he really wanted a report on the day’s events. And chances were he’d have some news for me, too.
I had two phone messages, one from Ivy and another from Mr. Levine.
I listened to Ivy reporting that the pharmacy service had made a delivery and all was well in assisted living. “I’ll be leaving soon, but I’ll be back at seven in the morning.” So that situation was under control.
Before I could listen to Mr. Levine’s message, Officer Montgomery came looking for me. I stuck the phone in my pocket.
“Ask them to bring our lamp back,” Patti said.
“What lamp?”
“The parrot lamp from the lobby. We always leave it on at night and the police took it.”
“Oh yes. The pretty one.” I went back to the office.
The recording device, looking like a cross between a cell phone and an electric razor, was positioned on the edge of my desk. Chief Boozer had moved his chair up closer, facing mine. Officer Montgomery once again took the desk chair. There was a bottle of water beside my coffee cup.
Boozer began by stating the date and time. “Present are Ms. Cleo Mack, acting Executive Director of Harbor Village Retirement Center, Officer Mary Montgomery taking notes and operating the recorder, and myself, Ray Boozer, Chief of Fairhope Police Department. Ms. Mack, let’s begin with background. What did you know about Lee Ferrell prior to last Thursday?”
I’d known these questions were coming, but I had intentionally avoided thinking about the process until now. I cleared my throat.
“My daughter told me a couple of months ago that her father was getting married again. I don’t remember her mentioning the bride’s name, but it wouldn’t have meant anything to me.” I told the recorder about Stephanie sending a photo of the wedding party. “Jamie Barnes told me that Lee from corporate would be here when I began work. She may have mentioned the name Ferrell. But I met Ms. Ferrell for the first and only time Thursday afternoon in the lobby here at Harbor Village. And I first learned she was Travis’ new wife from you, Chief Boozer.”
“Can you elaborate on that?”
“Friday afternoon you and Officer Montgomery came to my apartment and asked why I hadn’t told you she was Travis’ wife.”
Officer Montgomery smiled quickly. That was a first.
I continued. “I didn’t tell you that because I didn’t know. I didn’t put the two weddings together. Travis’ wedding was in New Orleans, but I didn’t know where he lived. And Lee Ferrell was always referred to as Lee from corporate, which is in Houston.”
The chief was listening, nodding occasionally. He looked through his notes. “I believe you talked with Ms. Ferrell on Thursday. Take your time and tell me all about that. What did she say, what did you think of her. Tell us whatever you remember.”
I checked my coffee cup and found it empty and reached for the water bottle instead. “Late on Thursday afternoon I walked from my apartment to this building, the administration building, with my grandson. He’s two. We came into the lobby and Lee was standing there, looking glamorous in a green dress and the highest platform wedges I’d ever seen. I remember noticing her perfume. She knew who I was and welcomed me to Harbor Village. It’s possible she recognized my grandson since he’d been at her wedding, but I’m not sure she even looked at him.”
Boozer scratched his chin and doodled on his notepad but didn’t interrupt.
I got back on topic. “Lee said something I found odd at the time. She said she didn’t like working with family, that it never works out, and that I shouldn’t expect any favors. I knew we weren’t family, and the warning about not expecting favors seemed…well, it seemed like a rude welcome to a new employee. I realize now that her remark may not have been aimed me. She worked with her husband and her sister and either of those relationships might have been problematic. I don’t remember her saying anything else, except wondering where Stewart was. He’s the handyman here, and it’s possible she had an appointment with him.”
“He’s the guy who was in here earlier?” Chief Boozer jabbed a thumb toward the door and I nodded.
“Right.”
He made another note. “What time did you see Ms. Ferrell in the lobby Thursday?”
“The first time? The office staff was still here and they leave at five, so let’s say it was four thirty.”
“And she was looking for Stewart Grainger? Did she find him?”
“He came into the office while I was there. I said Lee was looking for him and he went off in the same direction she’d taken.”
He asked what direction that had been, and I told him. “And what do you know about Ms. Ferrell’s sister?”
“Jamie Barnes? I met her on my first visit to Fairhope in June. I didn’t learn Lee was Jamie’s sister until a day or two ago.”
“How did you come to get a job here? Did you apply through normal channels?”
“No. The day Jamie and I had lunch, I was still debating whether I should retire. Then when I came here to see about renting an apartment, Jamie said she’d been trying to track me down to talk about a job.” I told him about her contacting all the motels. “She gave me a tour and, over the next week or so, we worked out the job details by phone. She arranged for me to get an apartment—which I do pay for, by the way. And then Saturday, with Lee dead and Jamie leaving, Travis McKenzie dropped the director’s job into my lap. I’ve agreed to take it for a month. He’s got some problems here he wants me to investigate.”
“Tell me about those.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know much yet. Financial oddities, too many residents moving out, staff issues, a general instability.”
Officer Montgomery made a little sniffing sound. Maybe Jim Bergen had shared his thoughts about my lack of qualifications?
“Let’s go back to Thursday, after you left the lobby. Trace your actions for the rest of the evening.”
I closed my eyes and gave details about our dinner on the pier with Riley. I told about seeing Lee in the lobby when we returned then finding the lights turned off when we walked around the corner for a better look. I even told about the cat moving in that night.
“Did you see Ms. Ferrell at the restaurant?”
“No. But I sat with my back to the room, looking at the marina, so it’s possible she was there.”
He paged through his notes. “Did any of the people with you see Ms. Ferrell in the lobby?”
“I wanted them to. That’s why we walked back for a look. Just think,
if Stephanie had seen her, they would’ve recognized each other. They would’ve talked and…things might’ve turned out differently.”
“Let’s stick to what did happen,” Boozer said.
I sighed. “Riley Meddors may have seen her, but I don’t think so.”
“And Mr. Meddors lives here?”
“He’ll be in the resident directory. Or I’ll get his address for you.”
“Okay, now back to Jamie Barnes. Why did she leave town so soon after her sister died?”
I shook my head. “She got a promotion, but I wonder about the timing. I understand Lee Ferrell made the official reassignment Thursday night and Jamie jumped at it. It looks bad, I think, leaving right after her sister died. It looks bad that Travis took off, too, but I assume they had reasons. They’ve got a business to run. Jamie is ambitious. She told me the promotion was an opportunity she’d wanted for years.”
“What about the message Ms. Ferrell sent? What did it say exactly?”
I shook my head. “I haven’t seen it, but it named Jamie to head up the Charleston facility.”
Chief Boozer asked if I knew anything else that might be helpful, if we’d seen anyone out walking Thursday night, someone who might’ve seen something.
I thought back to Thursday night. It seemed such a long time ago.
“I did go out again. We were about to go to bed when my daughter asked me to check her car, to see if it was locked. While I was out, I checked the back door of my garage, and then I went home and went to bed, probably by ten. And here’s something, probably insignificant. When we returned from dinner there were two cars, SUVs actually, parked side by side in the center of the lot, one aimed east, the other facing west. When I went to check Stephanie’s car, I walked to the garages and clicked her remote. And just as I clicked, maybe a second or two later, lights on both those SUVs came on. One was just a flash but one started up and drove away.”
“Did you see the driver?”
“No. I checked the back door of my garage and went back to the apartment. The other SUV stayed there for a day or two, a silver Lexus. It may belong to a security guard, but a Lexus…I don’t know. I haven’t met the security people yet.”