Money, Marbles and Murder

by Mary Frances

  “What brings you this far from home, detective?” she asked.

  Dallas scratched his head. “I am retired, officially now,” he said and as he did, he reached into a side pocket and pulled out an envelope. This, he handed to Margaret. Margaret slid her glasses on and opened the envelope. Inside, she found a check. She looked at the check then over the top of her glasses.

  “That’s your half,” Dallas said.

  Margaret handed the check to Sandy. Sandy took it to the desk and set it down. Margaret had told her months before it wasn’t polite to hold money during a conversation. It was part of her ‘eccentric’ training. Sandy was learning fast.

  “You did say I got half, didn’t you?” Dallas asked.

  Margaret took her glasses back off.

  “You earned it, detective. More than I,” she told him. Without saying a word, Margaret had managed to relay to him that New Mexico was not a topic she cared to discuss. “So, what else brings you to Michigan?”

  Dallas leaned back on the sofa and smiled. “I am really going to retire,” he said. “I bought a place up north of here and I am on my way to see it.”

  Margaret scrunched her eyes. “You bought a place, sight unseen?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he said. “I’ve seen it on a virtual tour online and am on my way there now to sign the papers and pick up the keys.”

  Margaret shook her head. “You paid for something you haven’t seen. I can’t imagine doing that.”

  Dallas leaned back and looked at Sandy. “You can show her if you want,” he said and nodded toward the computer on the desk. “Here’s the website.” He handed Sandy a small card with an address on it. She got up and went to the computer. In moments, she had the virtual tour of his new home.

  “Oh my,” Sandy said as she clicked on the pictures of the rooms inside the house and then to the woods surrounding it. Her comments drew Margaret off the sofa and to the computer.

  “This is the house,” Dallas said as Sandy scrolled through the website. Margaret leaned closer and was amazed at what she saw. She was not yet into the millennium let alone the computer world.

  The house was beautiful. It was a very large log cabin type home nestled in the woods. The pictures showed each room and the grounds the house stood on. The most spectacular picture was taken from a helicopter. It showed the roof of the house and the fact it was actually on its own private island. The only way onto the property was a wooden bridge at the road. And the bridge was protected by very large gates and fences. As the women looked at the pictures, Dallas went back to the sofa and waited.

  “It is wonderful!” Margaret said when she came back to the sofa. “Your very own private retreat. Fantastic!”

  “I thought you’d like it,” he said. “The best part of it all, is, now, I can fish from my doorstep and hunt in the back yard. Plus, it is very private. Very secluded.”

  “Where is this house located?” Margaret asked. Wilma tapped on the door and entered carrying a tray. Margaret nodded to her and as the woman offered ice water, Dallas talked about his new house.

  “It’s about four or five hours from here. Just outside of Traverse City. I guess I’ll have the best of both worlds. It’s right on Silver Lake,” he said. “Close to the city and out in the woods.”

  “Does this mean we’ll get to see more of you now?” Margaret asked.

  “Only in the spring and summer,” he said. “I still don’t like the snow up here or winter. I kept my place in New Mexico for that.”

  “I am happy for you detective,” Margaret said as she held her glass of water. Sandy had been quiet until she saw Margaret’s hand shaking with the glass in it. She drew Dallas’ attention from Margaret.

  “You are heading up there now, detective?” she asked. Margaret sipped her water then set the glass down.

  “Yes. It’s completely furnished, a turnkey and all I have to do is stock it with food and pay the bills.” He laughed as he talked. It was obvious he was excited about his retirement home.

  “You will have to bring Margaret up when everything settles down,” he said with a wink. Then he turned to look at Margaret. “You will come, won’t you?”

  Margaret was tiring but showed a wide smile. “Just let me know when and we’ll be there.”

  she answered.

  Dallas glanced at Sandy and then again at Margaret. “Why not come up this week?”

  Margaret looked surprised. “This week?” She lifted her glass again.

  “Sure. I know you need to get away from them,” he said and pointed toward the window and the crowd outside. “It might be just what you and I both need. I don’t know about you, but they have been at me ever since you walked away on that hill in New Mexico.”

  Margaret looked at Sandy and back at Dallas.

  “If I could get away without them following, I would,” she told him. Dallas got up and looked out the window. “You know I can get you in and out of here without them knowing,” he said as he came back to the sofa. Margaret slid to the edge of her seat.

  “And how do you propose to do that?” she asked.

  Dallas smiled at her and turned to Sandy.

  “You remember how we tricked them out west?” he asked. Sandy nodded. She had dressed like Margaret and covered her head. Dallas had walked her out in front of the cameras and media and slid her into the limousine. After the driver took her and the media following in one direction, he took Margaret another. It was Sandy’s idea and with his help, it worked.

  “We could try that one again,” he said with a grin. “Send your maid out in the limo and we can slip away in my car.”

  At the mention of his vehicle, Margaret rolled her eyes. “Please,” she said. “Not that awful jeep thing again.”

  Dallas shook his head. “No. I left that in the desert. I bought a new SUV when my plane landed this morning.”

  Margaret looked relieved. She felt she had been tortured as she rode in the small jeep across the desert. Her body still had not forgiven her.

  “Well, what do you ladies think?” he asked.

  Sandy looked at Margaret and Margaret looked back. Neither one wanted to be first in the conversation but both were grinning.

  “Well?” Dallas said and waited.

  Margaret finally gave in. “How long before we leave?” she asked.

  “How long before you ladies can be ready?”

  “Would you like to stay the night?” Margaret asked and added, “I can be ready in the morning.”

  Her remark surprised Sandy. Dallas leaned back and waited for Sandy’s answer. She thought for a moment. Margaret needed to get away and this was the perfect opportunity.

  “I’ll be ready first thing in the morning,” she answered.

  Margaret got up and headed for her room. “If you’ll excuse me, I have some packing to do. Tess will show you to a room,” she added, and went through her bedroom door. Sandy was left staring at the man on the sofa.

  “She really needs a vacation, detective,” Sandy said when she was sure Margaret was out of ear shot.

  “We all do.” Dallas replied. His face had gone from sunshine and smiles to solemn.

  “Was it that bad, out there, in the desert?” she asked.

  Dallas let his eyes find the river through the doors. As he stared without blinking he told her a little of what he found. “The children were all there. The driver too. It was like they had been turned into mummies. He had gathered them close to him in the darkness and held them until they all died. It is one picture in my head I’ll never forget.”

  For almost a full three minutes, Dallas stared out the door and Sandy sat quietly with him. He finally blinked and wiped an eye. Then, the smile returned.

  “Let me get my car in the garage and my suitcase in,” he said as he walked back through the room to the front door. Sandy touched one button on the intercom and let William know Dallas would be parking his SUV in the garage. William acknowledged and opened the doors. Sandy got up and from the window, watche
d Dallas as the security guards helped him get to his car and then as he drove up the side drive and into the building. The camera crews followed closely until the garage doors closed. The new garage had been built partly inside of the fenced yard. The wrought iron had been taken down, up to the building, and started again at the other side.

  Dallas came through the side door with William at his heels. The man was trying to carry Dallas’ bag and Dallas was trying to outrun him. As she opened the door, Sandy could hear Dallas telling William he didn’t work for him and he could carry his own bags. William gave up when he saw Sandy holding the door open. With his hands in the air, the driver turned and headed back to ‘his’ garage.

  Tess led the way up the steps and Dallas followed. As he climbed the stairs, Sandy could hear him talking about the size of the house and the many doors he could see. His voice faded as Margaret’s door opened again. Sandy was sure Tess would help get Dallas settled in and show him the rooms upstairs. As Margaret came back into the office, Sandy touched the intercom and let Wilma know they would have a guest at dinner.

  “Was I wrong in accepting his invitation?” Margaret asked as she took a seat behind the desk. Sandy shook her head.

  “I think it’s a wonderful idea,” she said.

  Margaret clicked on the keyboard of the computer with one finger and waited to see if she had done anything. The screen did not respond.

  “How do you get this thing to show me the pictures of the house?” Margaret asked. Sandy reached across and clicked a couple times and in seconds, the pictures showed again on the screen. Margaret sat quietly staring at Dallas’ new house. As Sandy headed to her side of the house to pack, she heard Margaret’s voice.

  “Dallas never does anything without a motive. I wonder what he’s really up to.”

  Chapter Three

  At dinner, it was decided that Tess would dress like Margaret and go for a ride in the limousine. Hopefully, the media would follow her and let the others get away in Dallas’ SUV. She had errands to run anyway and Wilma had been invited, along with Sandy and Margaret, to vacation up north. The housekeeper accepted Dallas’ invitation only after Margaret had nodded and again only after Dallas agreed to let her cook and clean while she was there. It would take some of the work off Dallas and Sandy. Wilma served dinner and afterward, cleared the table and set off to pack on her own. Margaret went to her room early and left Sandy to entertain Dallas for the evening.

  Sandy started with a tour of the house. She showed him each room on each floor. When he saw the boxes stacked along the walls, he could only scratch his head and wonder. When they got to the attic and well away from Margaret’s ears, Sandy showed him a few of the pages in Margaret’s old scrap book. Dallas stared at the beautiful woman’s pictures and whistled.

  “She was so beautiful when I first met her,” he said.

  “She’s only a few years older than you, detective,” Sandy told him as she closed the book and put it back in the box. “These boxes,” she said and spread her arms to show the stacks before her, “may end up killing her in the long run.”

  Dallas looked at the piles of boxes. “Sometimes, when you love what you do, you keep doing it, even though it hurts,” he said.

  They went back down the stairs to the ground floor and outside to the back yard. There, Sandy took a seat on the bench facing the river. Dallas stood behind her and watched a ship as it slid down the river.

  “This was her only form of entertainment for almost ten years,” Sandy told him. “No television or radio and no body to talk to.”

  Dallas rubbed his chin as the ship slipped by. “Why are you telling me this?” he finally asked. The ship slid out of view.

  “I don’t want anything to happen to her,” Sandy said as she stood again. She turned to face the man behind her. “Please, let this just be a vacation for her.”

  Dallas wrinkled his brow and thought for a moment, then he smiled. It was a meek smile, but a smile none the less.

  “Margaret was right when she talked to me on the hill in New Mexico,” he said. “She said I would earn my half of the reward. When she left, I had to stand out there in the hot sun for three days while they uncovered the bus. I had a mountain of paperwork to fill out even though I was retired already and I had to face the media.” Dallas stopped for a second and stared again at the river. “And I have the pictures of the children, forever in my head. Trust me, I need a vacation just as much as she does.”

  Sandy smiled at him and started back to the house. Dallas stayed for a moment staring at the water. Margaret watched the two from her window and as they started back to the house, she let the drapes close again. The night would slide into morning and when the sun came again, Margaret would be dressed and ready before anyone else.

  She waited in the office and sipped coffee until everyone woke. Dallas was down the stairs before Sandy. He had coffee in the office with Margaret and by the time breakfast was ready, Sandy was awake.

  The women set their bags by the door and went about getting themselves ready for the

  “adventure” as Wilma had called it. Tess was dressed like Margaret and ushered out to the garage. The media was waiting at the gates and as William opened the garage doors, they were right there with their cameras. The limousine started out slowly and as everyone watched from the house, some of the media followed it. Sandy frowned when all the cars did not vacate the street. After an hour, the street was still full of vans and people. Margaret got up slowly and with her cane in hand, headed out the front door. The security men were at her side instantly trying to stop her. She waved them away with her cane. Following close behind, they watched anyone and everyone on the other side of the gate. Cameras flashed and arms stuck through the wrought iron. Most of them held microphones and everyone was yelling. Margaret stopped close to the gate and waited. The frenzy had begun. After a few moments of turmoil, Margaret whacked the gate loudly with her cane.

  “Shut up!” she said. The voices stopped momentarily. Then, as quickly as they quieted, they started again. Margaret whacked the gate again.

  “I am asking you to be quiet,” she whispered. The voices stopped. “If everyone will just listen for a moment, I have something to say.” Margaret kept her voice to a whisper. This time, everyone kept quiet, although cameras clicked like crazy.

  “I am Madame Cobilet. I wanted to thank you for your support after the New Mexico incident, however, I am tired and would like to go on a vacation.” She put her hand up when someone tried to talk over her voice. She began again.

  “I am leaving here in a few minutes and going north toward Traverse City. I will be staying on Silver Lake. The house is fenced, as is this one and I will not be taking any calls. If you want to follow, I cannot stop you, but I do want to let you know that I will not give any interviews yet and if you choose to follow, you will be standing at the gate as you are now. However.” She stopped to look into the cameras, “if you leave your card in the mail box, I will personally call each and every one of you and give you five minutes, un-interrupted when I return. All I ask, is please, leave me to have one vacation on my own.”

  Margaret turned to go back up the walk. The voices called out to her as she walked away and by the time she was back inside, most of the vans were leaving the street already. When Margaret sat down in the office, the front of the house was cleared.

  “If I had known it would be that easy, I would have done it three days ago,” she said. Dallas loaded the car and got the women in and within an hour, they were headed north. Wilma was delegated to ride in front and as they drove, Margaret napped. Sandy read a book and Dallas drove. Wilma was the only one who talked, for an hour straight. By the time they reached Flint, Dallas was looking in his rear view mirror as though he needed help with Wilma. Her gravelly voice was slowly driving the man crazy. Sandy caught his eye and after a few smiles and smirks, she suggested they stop to walk around a bit. Dallas took the invitation and pulled off at the first stop. As he climbed out of the
car, Wilma jumped out too. Her voice followed him as he wiped the windshield down and filled the car with gas. Margaret stayed in the car and when they started again, Sandy took the front seat. Wilma climbed in the back next to Margaret and within two miles, fell asleep.

  The scenery was fantastic for Sandy. She had been born and raised in the city, and Northern Michigan was green and filled with trees. Mile after mile, she stared out of the window. Dallas stopped just south of Traverse City and filled the car with gas again. The women stayed in the car. After another hour, they sat again, waiting for Dallas as he went into the Realtors office and picked up the keys to his new vacation home. After another half of an hour, he turned the car down a dirt road. Silver lake was true to its name. The water was like liquid silver on both sides of the road and in minutes, they were there.

  The island was about one hundred feet from the road. Just off the side of the road there was a fenced area. Inside the fence was a large garage. Dallas got out, punched in the security code and the gates slid open. He pulled the car into the garage and closed the doors. As the doors shut behind him, another set opened in the front. Sandy stared ahead. Dallas shut off the motor and climbed out. The women slowly followed. There were two electric golf carts waiting in front of the doors. The back end of the garage housed the carts. As Dallas loaded the luggage into the carts, the women stood and watched.

  He tossed a set of keys to Sandy and as he offered Margaret a hand in one cart, Sandy and Wilma climbed in the other. With a grin, Dallas started down the path to the small bridge and across to the island. The path led along the right side of the island and around by the edge of the lake. Then, it slowly started to climb up into the woods. The trees shaded the path and as Sandy followed Dallas, she couldn’t help but catch the silver glint of water through the trees. Higher and higher, the carts went up the path.