The Country Guesthouse

by Robyn Carr

  “Here’s the thing—I’m very good at snooping, but just along legal channels. And I think I’m clever about figuring things out—like what she might be up to. Like we’ve thought all along, I think she wants a piece of Noah’s trust. But here’s what I’m not good at—getting the proof.”

  “Banking records might help,” Cal said. “For that we need a warrant. I don’t think any judge would give me a warrant because she lied about when she had cancer.”

  “Is it possible she’s been ripping people off for years and hasn’t been caught even once?”

  “It’s possible she has no arrest record in Minneapolis,” Cal said. “And if the police have looked at her, questioned her, watched her movements, there wouldn’t necessarily be a record of that. And some records are expunged, if there’s no action. But usually people who make a living stealing are very well-known by police even if they aren’t formally arrested or indicted. We always look first at public records—warrants, arrests, convictions. We like a snapshot—where she lives, what she drives, where she works, divorces or deaths, approximate income level, credit scores. We also like to know who her friends and family members are.”

  “She called me and told me she was hospitalized for tests at the Mayo Clinic. I called every hospital within range of the clinic—she was not a patient. Cal, I think she might’ve stolen my wallet out of my purse but other than that suspicion, she hasn’t really done anything wrong. Yet I feel her continued presence in the area is suspect. I could be wrong, but I think she’s targeted Noah and Hannah. I think she’s setting up a plan to fleece them. I just don’t know how.”

  “I think we’re going to have to open a dialogue with Hannah and Owen about what you’ve learned and I’ll have to deepen my investigation. When are you free?”

  “I’m at your disposal,” Helen said. Then she clapped her hands together. “I love this stuff!”

  “We might be disappointed, you know. She could be a curious woman who is not above taking advantage of a little boy and his trust fund if she can. And if she can’t, she might move on,” Cal said.

  In life you are either a passenger

  or a pilot, it’s your choice.

  —Author Unknown

  16

  Roger Addison entered the police department in Minneapolis, the place he hated the most in all the world. His AA sponsor had offered to go with him but he went alone. It was important that he go alone. This would be the hardest thing he’d ever done.

  His mother had called him a few days ago and asked him to come to Colorado. She said she had a job for him, an important job, and if he’d do this one last time she’d never ask another thing.

  He had argued. “I can’t leave the state. I’m on parole!” he had said. “I’m in a good program and I’m not using and I’m done with crimes. I can’t.”

  “You’re not wearing an ankle monitor,” she said. “You can slip away for a day or two and no one will ever know as long as you don’t miss your appointment with your parole officer. Just come. I’ll make it worth your while.”

  “Tell me what you want me to do,” he said.

  And she had laughed. “You think I turned stupid? I’ll tell you when you get here.”

  “It doesn’t have anything to do with Erin’s little boy, does it? Because I’m not getting in the middle of that. There’s no reason to do anything bad to that little boy.”

  “I never do anything bad!” she snapped. “It’s all perception. It’ll be fine.”

  But he knew better, he’d been down this road before. He told her he’d have to think about it for a couple of days. Rather than thinking about it, he told his counselor in his rehab program. His counselor already knew about his twisted relationship with his mother, and in rehab that wasn’t a rare story. His mother was a thief. She’d been the one to teach him how to get a wallet out of a pocket or purse. He’d never been as good as she was, but it had gotten him by a few times when he needed drugs. He and his boys used to steal just about anything they could get their hands on.

  He escalated his thievery as his drug habit had grown until he was arrested for armed robbery and was facing twenty years. He got away with only three and parole, and that was where he got cleaned up, in a program in prison. It was a miracle, really. It wasn’t at all hard to get drugs in prison, but he got the right cell mate and tried the program.

  The police had talked to him about his mother several times but he couldn’t turn on her. Not because she was so good and not even because he cared about her, but she was his mother. She’d been involved in shady real estate deals, in fraudulent guardianship situations. Victoria could smell a potential scam in so many situations and it wasn’t unusual for her to recruit Roger to help out in one of her business deals. Her last project was the guardianship of an elderly man with dementia. She took care of his bills and living expenses out of his account. There appeared to be no will so Roger held the smartphone and recorded the old guy saying that he was so grateful to Victoria that he wanted her to inherit his estate. His assets were valued at around $800,000.

  But there was a will executed before the man entered into a guardianship arrangement with Victoria. His original will was drawn when he was lucid and in control, and given he had no family, he had bequeathed his estate to the public library. And the library had a copy of the will and contested Victoria’s claim.

  As it turned out, Victoria was part of a small group of guardians headed up by a crooked attorney, and one by one they were going down. And that was when Victoria decided she must find her grandson. She suspected Erin might have left behind at least a good insurance policy. Then Victoria found Noah in the custody of Hannah and a man she described as rich.

  “Well, Roger,” Detective Wilhelm said. “I have to say I’m surprised to see you here. Have you decided to talk to us about your mother?”

  “I might want to talk about possibilities,” he said. “I don’t know. I don’t want to roll over on my mother. But I might have to. Depends.”

  “She’s a person of interest but her status is rapidly changing as witnesses talk to save themselves. And, of course, we know where she is,” Bruce Wilhelm said.

  “Do you know why she’s there?” Roger asked.

  “I think we’re up to speed, but why don’t you tell me why you’re here?” the detective said.

  “My sister,” he said. “I never treated her right. At first because I was a spoiled kid and later because I was a delinquent usually on drugs. I’ve been clean a few years. Well, three and change. And my sister is dead. I wasn’t able to make amends.”

  Wilhelm frowned. “What’s that got to do with anything? You know what I want to know. I want to know about that crooked guardianship con your mother was running with her crew.”

  “It wasn’t her crew,” Roger said. Because, as Roger knew, she liked to work alone.

  “Okay, she was recruited or she heard about their con and got on board—doesn’t matter which. Does that conspiracy have something to do with your sister?”

  “No, I can’t tell you about the guardianship thing—I wasn’t involved. Since I’ve been in a program, I keep a safe distance. Really. But something might be happening that would be bad for my sister. My dead sister. See, she had a kid. She had a kid and a will that said to keep that kid away from her family, specifically me but also my mother. The reason my mother’s in Colorado is to see if she can get custody of the kid. He’s just a little boy and he’s on crutches. I guess he’s got some kind of disease or something. Like I said, my sister didn’t talk to me. But my mother wants me to come to Colorado and do a favor for her.”

  “What kind of favor?”

  “She won’t tell me till I get there but I know her—it has something to do with the kid. She wants custody for my sister’s insurance money or whatever is left to the kid. If she wants me involved, she plans to do something not good. She’ll want me to do it becaus
e she doesn’t like to get her hands dirty. Maybe I can keep something bad from happening to my nephew. That would make my amends with my sister.”

  Bruce Wilhelm folded his hands on his desk and looked directly at Roger. “I’ll be honest with you—I want your mother for fraud in the guardianship scam. I think she got away with some serious money and she can witness against the others. I can’t arrest her for what she might want to do.”

  “Well, I could go to Colorado like she wants. I could find out what she wants me to do.”

  “You know you can’t leave the state under your parole conditions. Unless,” he said, drawing out the word. “You talking about a sting?”

  “I’m not going to testify against my mother. I can’t, that’s all. But if I have a chance to stop her from robbing my dead sister’s kid... That’s another story. It would be the first time I did anything for my sister.” His eyes grew moist.

  Bruce Wilhelm was quiet for a long moment. “Give me a few hours to think about this. Can you hang around?”

  “Here? Come on, man. This place gives me hives. How about the Starbucks down the street?”

  Bruce looked at his watch. “Four o’clock.”

  * * *

  One of Cal’s favorite PI’s from the Twin Cities called him. “Something popped. We have an extraditable warrant, which means they might be looking to arrest Victoria Addison and extradite her back to Minneapolis. I have the name of a detective in the fraud unit. You might want to speak to him.”

  “I might want to, yes,” Cal said.

  * * *

  Victoria wasn’t surprised when Roger agreed to come to Colorado. She gave him her address and asked him to meet her at her little rental.

  She gave him the details of her plan as soon as he sat down. “I need your help on a project and then I will never ask you for anything again. And you’ll be paid very well. I have been observing my grandson and his new family so that I know their habits well, and the schedule they keep is very routine. You’re going to snatch him.”

  “What?” he said, shooting to his feet.

  “Oh, relax, we’re not going to hurt him. Just borrow him for a little while. He goes to school every day, has regular trips to the physical therapist, likes to visit a little campground across the lake, but the best part is—he lives in a large house in the woods on the lake. There is a long drive around the edge of the lake that runs through the woods. The best time and place to catch him alone is when he’s playing after school in the big yard. He plays with a dog—big dog, but very friendly. You should have some hamburger or something for the dog to lure him. The boy will follow. You can just scoop him into the car. A rented van would be better.”

  “You have completely lost your mind,” he said. “This is too much. You get twenty to life for something like this.”

  “Well, I have to. But that’s just part of the story. I admit, that’s the hard part. But when that’s done, you take him to Colorado Springs, call my cell phone and I will go to them—Hannah and her artist boyfriend—I will be stricken, but I’ll tell them I know where the boy is and that I can safely retrieve him for five hundred thousand as long as there are no police. I’ll explain you just want some money to get away and you’ll never be back. I’ll give you a hundred.”

  Roger just smirked. “They’ll never go for it. They’ll call the police before you even get there.”

  “If it doesn’t work, we’ll both make tracks out of here. But I think they’ll go for it. See, the man—Owen is his name—he had a son who was kidnapped years ago, and he didn’t get him back. I have a feeling he’d like a second chance.”

  Roger shook his head. “I think you’ve finally lost your mind. You do know the police want to talk to you about the guardian thing you were involved in...?”

  “Ach, I had very little to do with that.”

  “That’s not what the other people are telling the police.”

  “I knew I should have talked first. I should have known they’d say it was me. I had that one case. That woman lawyer in charge must have had twenty cases. Well, I’ll be out of that business for good. But I do have to get out with a little money.”

  “I can’t believe you’re broke,” he said.

  “I have a little stashed away. Not enough to retire on. I’m thinking Florida. I’ve always had good luck in Florida.”

  “Fleecing old people?” he asked.

  She didn’t answer. “Are you going to do this for me, Roger? I swear it’s the last thing I’ll ever ask of you.”

  “You say that a lot. I could get three years just for being here. I have a program back in Minneapolis, one that puts me on the right track.”

  “You’re using again, aren’t you?”

  He just shook his head. “I don’t know if I can do this. I’ll have to think about it.”

  “Listen, I’ll give you directions to the place on the lake. You can drive out there and look it over, see how isolated it is. This is like taking candy from a baby and I promise you, I’d never hurt anyone. I’ll come and get the boy and you’ll take off, never to be seen again. You can go somewhere, find a new program, ditch parole and change your name. It’s easy. At least look at the place before you say no.”

  “I’ll think about it. But I’m not staying here with you while I think.”

  “Probably best,” she said. “We really don’t want anyone to see us together. I might still have a little time to further endear myself to family and friends. How much time are you planning to take?”

  “Prepare yourself for me to say no. I’m not sure I’m willing to take this kind of risk. But I’ll think about it. Maybe have a look at the property and the dog.”

  While she was waiting for Roger to come around, she phoned Helen and invited her to meet at the pub for a glass of wine.

  “I didn’t realize you were back!” Helen said. “And how are you feeling?”

  “Splendid!” Victoria said. “I’ll catch you up when you get here! Same time, same place?”

  “I look forward to it,” Helen said.

  * * *

  As she was leaving the store, Helen called Cal to tell him she was meeting Victoria. “I’ll tell you if I learn anything.” Then she gave Sully a kiss on the cheek.

  “Helen, this sets my nerves on edge,” he said. “You playing detective.”

  “I’m just going for a glass of wine,” she said. “There’s really nothing to worry about. We’ll be in a public place. Nothing can happen to me.”

  “I know she’s not a serial killer or anything, but I also know you think she’s trouble. I know that’s why you’re going. Not because you like her but because you don’t.”

  “I’m doing it for Noah,” Helen said. “For Owen and Hannah, too. She’s a con artist. And you don’t have to worry, Sully. I’m very cautious and I’m very smart.”

  “Smart women always have scared me to death,” he admitted. And Helen laughed.

  Helen really expected Victoria to be wearing her sick makeup and clothing, acting out. But she wasn’t. Just the opposite. Helen hoped her surprise didn’t show. “You look wonderful! You look the picture of health and vitality!”

  “Thank you, I’m feeling okay. I’m afraid there’s a little more treatment ahead, but not nearly what I worried there might be. And I have good news about that—the doctor says that while I’m going to have to suffer through some chemo, this is not likely to be as bad as the last time. We caught it early! My doctor has a treatment plan and says I’m going to be fine.”

  “You look better than the last time I saw you,” Helen said.

  “Well, I wasn’t sick the last time we had a glass of wine so I think that was just stress and fear. And when I last talked to you, I wasn’t sure of the diagnosis. I admit, I was weak with worry. The doctor was very successful in putting my mind at ease. He’s seen this before. The cancer coming back, you kno
w. That’s why they check so often so they can catch it early.”

  “What about your insurance?”

  “Nonexistent, I’m afraid.”

  “But I thought it was against the law to cancel insurance because of recurring illness.”

  “Someone must’ve forgotten, but there are alternatives. First off, I have a little savings. Not much, but a little. And the hospital will help with some financing. I’ll soon be healthy and have enough energy to work. It’s just a matter of finding a job. Any kind of job. This little duplex I’m renting is cheap and the landlord is nice. Of course I’m staying here. I’ll find some sort of work.”

  “Staying here?”

  “I may not be invited to see Noah much yet but he’s the only family I have. I think if I’m careful not to be pushy, eventually Hannah will give me another chance. For now, while I’m recovering from another bout of cancer, I probably won’t have the energy to be a pest and maybe she’ll take mercy on me.” She took a sip of her wine. “I wouldn’t mind if you put in a good word for me when you have the chance. I think they respect your opinion.”

  “Sure,” Helen said. “Meanwhile, when do you start treatment? And where?”

  “In a couple of weeks. Mayo, of course.”

  “There are a lot of Mayo Clinics,” Helen said.

  “I’ve given some thought to having my records transferred to the Mayo in Arizona. I could use a little sun. Minneapolis is freezing in the winter! And the snow...”

  “But will you keep your little duplex?”

  “Yes, if possible. Mayo has a small residence inn on the property. If they have room for me there, I’ll be all set. Oh, Helen, I’ve had to survive some very tough times in my life. If I can get through this, I might have a grandson in my future. Maybe not right away but even if it’s in a few years... It’s something to look forward to.”