Black Adagio

by Potocki, Wendy

  “You mean, like me?” Missy joked.

  “Exactly like you.”

  “Except his moustache is a little heavier,” Missy retorted, grabbing her upper lip, mocking abject horror.

  “Here you are.”

  Startled by the male voice, the two women looked behind them. Treated to Todd’s somber expression, he unzipped his parka.

  “Honey, what are you doing home?” his mother asked.

  “I just wanted to check on you two.” Strolling over to the computer, he peered over his mother’s shoulder. “Who’s that?”

  “Irwin Belmont,” Joan stated, folding her arms in smug satisfaction. “You’re not the only one that knows how to conduct an investigation.”

  He let out an exasperated sigh.

  “Well, if you know how, I think you might join our ranks. Doing a piss poor job in solving this one.”

  “Don’t tell me that something else has happened?’ Melissa asked.

  Holding her breath, she prayed that he’d tell her she was way off base and that everything was just fine.

  “Yes,” was the one word reply.

  Gasping, she covered her mouth, quickly standing.

  “Not Una! Please don’t tell me something’s happened to her!” she pleaded.

  “No, it isn’t Ms. Velofsky … or her grandmother,” he added anticipating her next question. “It’s Manny. He’s disappeared.”

  The color draining from Missy’s face, Joan grasped her hands as the timer went off again.

  Chapter Fifty-eight

  “Todd!” Bonnie shouted as she ran across the diner. Not filled with hungry patrons, they’d been replaced by rapacious officials and medical personnel intent on stopping the wanton assault on Holybrook’s citizens. “Isn’t it horrible? Manny? I’m in shock,” she confessed. Trembling, her usually affable voice rounded out in nervous tremors.

  “Yes, it’s more than bad.”

  “But why weren’t you here earlier? With the vanguard sent to investigate?” she asked suspiciously. Sniffling through tears, a ratty-looking paper napkin was clenched in her hand.

  “Because I got tossed off the case a long time ago. Seems my personal feelings in this case were making me biased. At least that was the theory.”

  “That’s crazy! What’d they think, that you were rearranging evidence so that Melissa would escape scrutiny? Pah-toey!” she spat dismissively. “Yeah, we all live in terror of her rage.” Not nearly done with her tirade, she didn’t care that it was overheard. “They’re a bunch of idiots! No wonder this case hasn’t been solved yet!” she added for good measure.

  Although heads were raised and action stilted for a moment, the intense activity picked up like a tide knocking over a sand castle. Something about the scene triggered his memory.

  “Bonnie, have you seen that guy who used to come in here?”

  “What guy?”

  “The one with the dyed black hair. Wore it in a 50’s greaser style. Had a leather jacket that matched and …”

  Her eyes opened wide, bursting with unbridled excitement. She poked her finger into his chest as if tapping out a message in Morse code.

  “But that’s him!”

  “That’s who?”

  “The guy that Manny left with! He came in last night—around 7:00 or 8:00 PM. I was expecting him to sit down, but he went over to Manny. Don’t know what he said, but the next thing I know, Manny’s taking off his apron and telling me he’d be back in a few minutes, but he never showed. I closed up, but when I got here this morning, he still wasn’t around. I called his wife and she said that he’d called last night to say he’d be late, but never came home.”

  “What?” he shouted, grabbing her by her upper arms. “Are you sure? He left with Mulligan?”

  “Mulligan? If that’s his name. And that’s what I told that Murray person.”

  “Angela, huh?” he said putting on his hat. “You hang in there, Bonnie.”

  “Oh, I’ll hang in there, alright, just not here! I’m going home, and then taking a long, unplanned vacation. My sister said she’d put me up in her house until this blows over. Main thing about my sister is that she doesn’t live in Holybrook!”

  “Sounds perfect,” he replied, happy that she’d be out of harm’s way. Zipping his coat, his inner anger boiled away until all that was left was the rage he felt about being ignored.

  * * * * *

  Fuming on his drive back to the station, he barged in as if bent on violence. His colleagues looked up when they heard the door slam, but went right back to work. They’d figured this was coming.

  Foster got up, greeting him.

  “Where is she?” Todd demanded, loudly enough for everyone to hear.

  “In her office,” he said hooking his thumbs in his belt loops. His slight belly peeking over the waistband, his chest puffed out to make it look more harmonious. “Looks like you were right. Sorry I doubted you. You got a big apology coming.”

  The earnestness in Foster’s eyes outweighed the need of saying ‘I told you so.’

  “Thanks for that,” he replied, patting him on his arm before heading away.

  The hallway was buzzing—the professionals working in a concerted effort to stop the mayhem from continuing. Angela’s office door was open, her cell phone plastered to one ear. Todd shuffled to the side, letting a member of her task force litter her desk with new forensics reports.

  “Well, then get someone here!” Glancing up, she motioned for Todd to sit down as she continued to speak in hurried, urgent tones. “Yes, we need help! Now!”

  Ending the call, she slumped in her chair, running her hand across her brow. Throwing her hands in the air, she replied, “Before you say anything, I know why you’re here.”

  “You do?” he said fingering his hat.

  “Yes, you’re here because we blew it on Robert Mulligan.”

  “Yeah, well, that bad decision erased any evidence we might have gotten from his room and car. Not to mention fingerprints, and any DNA from the victims, or …” he listed, pausing. “Actually, we don’t know what else because everything is gone, isn’t it? All because someone thought I was a loose cannon for dating someone involved in the case! Meanwhile, you and your cohorts are still on the case when it was one of your own that disappeared! Then there was Larabee and now Manny. Everyone knew Manny! We all ate in his diner so now everyone on this force and in this town is personally involved. Does that mean we’re all unfit to aid in this investigation?”

  Exhaling, she banged her foot on the ground as she gazed up at the ceiling. He wasn’t making it easy, but then she hadn’t expected him to.

  “Look, in the first place, you didn’t exactly have things right. You thought he was a victim …”

  “Point was that I knew he was involved! And by sifting through the evidence, you could have discovered exactly what part he played, but …”

  “That I believe was a ‘yes’ as to you being wrong? If I can say I was wrong, you certainly can admit you weren’t 100% right on everything. Look, Cummings was a hothead, and I’m not. It won’t happen again. Every single piece of evidence or suggestion will be judged on an individual basis, and not because the someone who said it knows someone that’s involved. As you so eloquently pointed out, that’s all of us. Okay?”

  “No, not okay,” he said leaning the palms of his hands down on her desk. “Am I or am I not part of this investigation? The way I see it, having a dog in the fight makes me more anxious to solve this.”

  “I really appreciate your concern, but that was what the phone call was for. We are currently expecting reinforcements.”

  “You mean, the agents Cummings sent packing are returning? And that is what being ‘objective’ means? Making exactly the same disastrous mistake over and over again?”

  “No, it means being in charge which is what I am. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a case to solve.”

  Not at all intimidated, Todd wasn’t done.

  “Let me just say this. Offi
cially or unofficially, I am on this case.”

  Todd exiting, Angela slammed her hand on the desk. While she couldn’t blame him for the enthusiasm. she couldn’t risk totally bringing him onboard. As she’d learned in training, it was the display of that kind of emotion that got you killed.

  Her phone rang for the hundredth time that day. Picking it up, there was an instantaneous recognition of the voice heard. The heavy Russian accent gave her away. Given the grim statistical ascent in victimizations, she listened with uncompromised focus. Not taking her long to formulate her conclusion, she spoke with studied calmness disguising the coiled spring that was tightening.

  “Yes, Ms. Velofsky, we can be right there.”

  Chapter Fifty-nine

  “Sorry for the problems, son, but don’t let them turkeys get you down,” Grant sagely counseled his son who was still agitated over this morning’s proceedings.

  “Yeah, easier said than done.” Falling back into the well-worn easy chair, it was one of his father’s purchases. His mother had been aghast, but it hadn’t taken long for her to discover its real purpose—providing comfort. Before long, she was actively engaged in nightly tussles over who would win the right to squander the evening in its luxurious, body hugging padding.

  Placing socked feet up, he tilted the adjustable chair back, the instant gratification doing little to settle his restive mind.

  “So what’s your new role? Director of Watching Them Run Around Like Headless Chickens?” his dad asked, sniffing the air to catch a whiff of dinner. The lingering cookie aroma masked any traces of the more nutritious fare.

  “Pretty much. I rode around awhile, then went back to the Grey Lodge Inn to talk to a few people and see what they knew. I’m acting like a lone gunman, and that’s just the sort of thing they warned us against at the academy. You don’t ever go outside your department or team.”

  “But what if they’re wrong?”

  “Supposed to give you more reason to stay in the pack.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, if they’re going in the wrong direction, how are they going to be put in the right one if you remove yourself as an influence?”

  “Makes sense, but they’re ignoring you.”

  Todd banged his head against the headrest.

  “That’s what’s so frustrating. I tried convincing them, and even turned my back on what I knew.”

  “Should ‘a been something about ‘staying true to yourself’ at that police academy. Think that supersedes all the rest.”

  “I guess you’re right, Dad. At the end of the day, you do have to face yourself in the mirror, but I feel so guilty going out on my own. It’s wrong. I know it is.”

  “Todd, don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s not like you know what the hell is going on. You’re guessing right along with everyone else, and this time your guess was better.”

  Todd flipped the chair into its normal position.

  “You got that right. And I wasn’t entirely correct as Agent Murray so nicely pointed out. It’s just that if they’d done what I wanted, we might have cleared this whole thing up. All that evidence gone with a swipe of pine-scented ammonia.”

  “Hi, baby!” Joan greeted her son who was curled up on the recliner. Kissing him on his forehead, she whispered, “You beat him to the throne, huh?”

  “Yeah, I outran him,” he said rather dully.

  “You okay?” she asked.

  “No, he’s not. That guy he pegged turned out to be one of the main perpetrators in this crime extravaganza. He’s the one that made off with Manny—not that those bigwigs would care what happens here. I mean, we’re only a bunch of yokels and not important like they are.”

  “And who was it that you pegged?”

  “Mulligan,” Todd responded.

  “Robert Mulligan?” Melissa asked, entering the room.

  “Yes,” Todd acknowledged. “Actually, I shouldn’t be upset about being dissed since it was Melissa that first called him to my attention. I thought he was a victim, but she’s the one who knew he was a bad guy.”

  The harried look Melissa wore suggested she hadn’t even heard his comment. Shrinking, she shriveled into the nearest chair, pulling her sweater’s sleeves down until they covered her hands.

  “That right, Melissa?” Grant inquired.

  “What?” she responded.

  “Robert Mulligan. Todd says it was you that noticed him.”

  “Yes, it’s true. Guy gave me the creeps,” she said hugging herself.

  “Well, then why the hell isn’t she on the force?” Grant aggressively suggested.

  “Good question,” Todd remarked, brushing through his hair with an open hand.

  “So he really has something to do with this?” she queried.

  “Yes,” Todd admitted.

  “How’d you find out?” she asked, feeling as if she’d float out of her body at any moment.

  “Through Bonnie. She said he came to the diner last night. Talked to Manny a bit, and then they left. Together. Manny never came back. When he didn’t show up for work this morning, Bonnie called his wife and found out he never came home.”

  “Oh, no!” Joan gasped, her hand going to her stomach.

  “Oh, no, is right. Damn! If I’d only fought harder,” he said, criticizing his own inaction.

  Joan patted him on his back, reassuring him with comforting words.

  “You did all you could. It’s not your fault they wouldn’t listen.”

  “So he didn’t leave town?” Melissa mumbled, staring off in the distance. She was getting that feeling again. The one she’d had since youth … the one she got before performing adagios. It was the feeling she would get lost … lose herself and never be found.

  “I don’t think so. Unless he left and came back …” Todd hypothesized.

  “That wouldn’t make too much sense, would it?” Grant asserted.

  “I suppose not,” Todd allowed.

  “He was probably hiding,” Joan added. “Since you talked to him, maybe he thought you were onto him. It might have been part of the plan to make you think he’d left.”

  “Your mom’s right … for once,” Grant teased.

  “Grant …” she growled, giving a warning.

  “Seriously, she’s got a point. And I’m not talking about the one on her head, but there’s something else. If that motel thought he’d skeedaddled, he’d know that room would be cleaned. They’d obliterate the evidence for him.”

  “Dad, I gotta admit, that’s good. I hadn’t even thought about that. If he’d cleaned the room himself, it would have drawn suspicion, but leaving it to the motel made it seem natural. And it worked.”

  “Sure did,” Grant agreed.

  “Well, I say that we continue this over dinner,” Joan suggested. “It’s almost ready and Melissa helped me so you-know-who better not say anything he might regret,” she quipped, directing the remark towards her husband who dramatically flinched.

  “Not a word,” he answered meekly.

  Joan and Grant walked ahead, Todd hung back, waiting for the young girl who still hadn’t moved.

  “You okay, baby?”

  His voice broke the trance. Throwing her arms around him, she fitfully held him near. Not mistaking the impetuous act as affection, he kept his arms out to the side.

  “Just hold me,” she whimpered, her face covered by her silky hair.

  Slowly, he wound his arms around her, returning the embrace. Massaging her back, he tried to give her the comfort she sought.

  “Is it Mulligan?” he asked, concerned about what she was going through.

  She shook her head, looking up into his eyes.

  “No, it’s not him, it’s me,” she confessed. “I feel so lost. So scared. Like I’ll never see you, or anyone else again. I don’t want that. I don’t,” she vowed, her eyes filling with tears.

  Running a finger down the side of her face, he whispered, “There’s not a chance in the world of anything happening to you. I won�
��t let it. Do you understand?”

  She shyly nodded, breaking into a smile. Melting into his arms, she gave him a tender kiss on his cheek.

  “Thank you!” she murmured.

  “Todd! Melissa! You coming?”

  Breaking his hold, Todd brushed her hair back from her face.

  “You know my mom. She’ll be sending out a search party if we don’t eat that roast beef.”

  “It’s turkey,” she contradicted. “I should know. I stuffed it myself.”

  “Impressive,” he joked, taking her hand and lifting her to her feet. “But not as impressive as this,” he added in a hushed sigh. Gathering her into his arms, he wallowed in a sumptuous kiss.

  ChapterSixty

  Grant wiped his lips, collapsing against the dining room chair.

  “Well, I don’t know who was responsible for what, so I’ll just say that the dinner was delicious.”

  “I’ll second that,” Todd concurred, giving a quick smile to the girl who remained subdued. Sipping coffee, his work cell rang. While he always carried it, he didn’t remember a time it was used during an off-hour. His family froze at the sound, unsure what to make of it. Robotically digging into his pocket, he answered the sound of duty.

  “Cavanaugh,” he answered. The napkin discarded, his body rose, moving towards the kitchen so he wouldn’t be overheard. Angela Murray’s voice filled his ears, making him stand a little more at attention.

  “Cavanaugh, I’d like you to bring Melissa Solange to Velofsky’s ASAP.”

  “Melissa? Why?”

  “This is not a debate,” she snapped. The hostility created from the morning’s confrontation clearly on view, he was beginning to regret his impetuous behavior. It was never a smart thing to piss off superiors … especially not in this line of work. There were always ramifications for trying to imply you were smarter than the people in charge.

  “Yes, I understand,” he answered, trying hard to sweep the previous words under the rug of the past. “I’ll bring her. I just wondered the reason, that’s all.”

  “You’ll be apprised when you get here!” she retorted, hanging up.