by Liz Eagle
The U.S. Marshal heard the 9-1-1 operator report the call, “All units 10-62 in progress.” She gave the address. It was a break in and it was Lil’s house. He was not far, turned around and saw a female running from down the street. He radioed back that he was the suspect’s location.
Chapter 50
Warsaw, New York
Milton left the doctor’s house and drove through downtown like a bat out of hell. The hospital was on the north side of the town. Pulling into the hospital’s back parking lot, he parked his car and entered through the emergency department doors. Milton practically ran down the hall to the lab where he knew the doctor’s favorite nurse was working. She was at her desk.
“Hello,” the nurse said with a smile. “How may I help you today, sir?”
“I am looking for Doc Lewis,” Milton said. “It is an emergency, I am afraid. Please tell me where I can find him.
“If you are having an emergency,” the nurse said, “please go down the hall to the emergency department and get signed in. Someone will be happy to help you there.” She pointed down the hall in the direction from which Milton had arrived.
“Oh, please,” Milton said tactlessly. “If I was having an emergency medical problem, I would not have walked all the way down the hall past the emergency department and asked for a specific doctor, now would I?” His patience was wearing thin, and he was in no mood to chit chat with some slut nurse.
“Very well, sir,” the nurse said. “I will try to find Dr. Lewis for you, but I am cautioning you not to speak to me in that fashion again, or I will call for hospital security.” She got up from her chair, tuned on her heels, and headed back into the lab.
“She’s a feisty little thing,” Milton thought to himself. Perhaps she did have some sense about herself and was not just a pretty face and a quick lay for the doctor.
Dr. Lewis walked quickly toward Milton from down the hall, the sides of his white coat waving, with the nurse following close behind.
“What in the name of God are you doing here, Milton?” Dr. Lewis asked. “My nurse said you had an emergency, are you alright?” The doctor put his hand on Milton’s shoulder and looked into his eyes, as if he were giving an examination.
“I am fine,” Milton said as he swatted the doctor’s hand off his shoulder. “Get your hands off me. We need to talk. Is there someplace where we can talk privately?”
“Of course, calm down,” Dr. Lewis said. “Follow me back to my office.” They left the hall and the nurse and went into the doctor’s office. Milton closed the door behind them.
Dr. Lewis sat down behind his desk and said, “Now, what seems to be your problem, Milton? What is the emergency?”
“Louise and I had a horrendous evening with Phillip last night,” he said. “He told us officially that he plans to marry that New York City girl, Jacqueline Gaylord, the investigator’s daughter.”
“That seems like a good evening to me,” Doctor Lewis said. “I will be excited to hear that my daughter is engaged someday. Maybe I am not following….”
“Her father was also there, the FBI agent,” Milton said. “I get the strong feeling he is looking into, no, rather, investigating the murders at the park. He almost said as much during dinner. We have to have a plan on how to handle this. I am not going to put my family on the line again.”
“Well, you must be aware of how I feel about the whole damn situation,” Dr. Lewis said. “I refuse to do you anymore favors. As far as I am concerned, I fulfilled my end of the bargain, so you and your sick family are officially on your own. That last stunt was payment in full for your little blackmail scheme. That reminds me, I must destroy that picture you took of me and the nurse at the house that night. It was in the safe for safekeeping, and I trust you have destroyed any copies you made. That was our agreement.”
Milton responded, “You don’t seem to realize that if my family and I go down, you do as well. You were as much a part of this as we were, perhaps more. If you don’t try to help us, you will also be on your own for any legal representation or legal advice.”
“So, this is how you are going to play it?” Dr. Lewis asked. “You are one heartless son of a bitch. Alright, what do you have in mind this time?”
“Well, if you must know,” Milton said, “I was thinking about setting up a meeting with Max and see what he has to suggest. He has been listening in through the vents at the inn. He probably knows more than we do at this point. Can you come over later tonight?”
“Yes. I will make arrangements,” Dr. Lewis said. “I will be there right after my shift is over. I want to go on the record that I am opposed to any more violence whatsoever. I will be there, but reluctantly.”
“Good,” Milton said. “I will see you at the inn later tonight. And by the way, please tell your wife that she can keep the homemade wine. We will have enough of our own for the damn wedding.” Milton tipped his hat and left the office.
The doctor wondered why Cynthia would say something like that to Milton and what wine was she talking about? The nurse knocked gently on the door frame and walked in and closed the door behind her. She smiled as she unbuttoned the first two buttons of her uniform to expose her large breasts. The good doctor knew exactly what that meant. He sat down at his desk and unzipped his pants, after which she knelt, crawled under his desk, and went to work. His thoughts were immediately transported to someplace where Milton Chandler and his wife, Cynthia, were not.
Chapter 51
Warsaw, New York
Later that evening, Milton, Doc Lewis and Max had a meeting in the kitchen at the inn.
“What the hell are we going to do?” Milton asked the others. “Gus is getting way too close to knowing the truth. I think we should stop him.”
Dr. Lewis sat on a chair with his arms crossed and watched Milton and Max.
Max said to the group, “How do you know such a thing?”
“He said as much during dinner last night,” Milton said. “He said that he was assigned to investigate some complaints from Attica, but then he said he was reassigned to just one case in particular. You know that has to be the murders in the park.”
Doctor Lewis chimed in. “That is simply ridiculous, you are just jumping to conclusions, Milton, and being rather paranoid, I think,” he said. “It could be any number of inmates’ cases over there that he is looking into. There are hundreds of inmates there. How can you be sure Gus is honing in on Harvey’s case?”
“What would you say if I told you that Gus said he was getting help from our dear friend Max over here in the winemaking business? That Max was actually helping him with the case, according to Gus.” Milton walked over to Max and put his hands on Max’s shoulders.
Max swatted Milton’s hands away? “That is utter nonsense,” he said. “I know what Gus is up to because Gynnie and I listen to his conversations through the vents all the time. He has not mentioned that case, or Harvey’s name, any time we were listening. I know he has a briefcase under the bed, and I really tried my best to open it, but that thing was as tough a lock as I have ever seen. Must be some newfangled G-man thing.”
Dr. Lewis chimed as he stood, “Well, if that is all, I must be going. Cynthia will be waiting for me. Since we appear to be even with your blackmail scheme, I will dispose of those two tainted jars of wine in the safe and you will destroy any incriminating pictures you have of me. There will be no more of that then. Our secret will stay between us. Are we in agreement?”
“Yes.” Max and Milton agreed.
Dr. Lewis took his time driving home. He knew there was nothing much to welcome him there. Besides, he was already sexually satisfied, thanks to his nurse, but all that discussion at the inn and the late hour made him hungry. He wondered how much more of the Chandler family he could handle. He was satisfied that their deal was finally over, and he could have piece.
He pulled the car into the garage
and went into the house, which was completely dark. Dr. Lewis thought it was strange but surmised that Cynthia had gotten drunk and passed out. He turned on the lights in the kitchen and made himself a sandwich, pouring himself a glass of water to go with it. Nothing seemed to have been touched since he left this morning. He hoped that Cynthia had eaten something, as it was really not healthy to drink as much as she did on an empty stomach.
After the good doctor ate, he cleaned up the dishes and walked to the front of the house. Dr. Lewis reminded himself that he needed to dispose of the two tainted jars of wine which he kept in the study, so he walked into the dark study, leaned over his desk and turned on the desk lamp. As he walked toward the safe, he tripped over something. It was Cynthia on the floor, still in her nightgown. She had collapsed.
“What on earth … Cynthia!” he cried out. Kneeling down beside her, Dr. Lewis shook her. He leaned over to listen for breathing and took her pulse on her neck. Nothing. Cynthia was dead. “What happened?” he uttered under his breath and looked around. The wine! He saw the half-drunken jar of wine that had spilled out onto the carpet. “Oh my God in heaven!” he screamed. “What did you do? What the hell am I to do now?”
Dr. Lewis went to the phone and called Milton Chandler.
“Hello, who is this calling so late?” Milton said, answering the phone.
“This is Doc Lewis,” he said. “We have a situation. Cynthia is dead. I am too upset to know what to do.”
“What the hell happened?” Milton asked.
“Oh my God,” Dr. Lewis said. “She drank that wine from my safe, the wine I took from the park that fateful night. I blame myself. No matter how I felt about her, she did not deserve to die. Not like this.”
“My God, man!” Milton said. “You must call an ambulance and get her to the hospital, shouldn’t you?”
“She is already dead,” Dr. Lewis said. “There is no need to call for the ambulance or even rush her to the hospital.”
“I will get dressed and be over there as soon as I can,” Milton said. “You are upset and need my advice on what and what not to say.” He dressed and headed over to the doctor’s house, informing Louise of what had happened before he left.
The doctor’s house was completely dark except for the kitchen. Milton let himself in the back door and found Dr. Lewis sitting on the floor beside his wife in the study. He saw the jar of wine that had spilled onto the floor.
“Is that the jar that was in your safe?” Milton asked. “The jar you were saving for blackmailing me? A hell of a lot of good it has done you now!”
“Yes,” Dr. Lewis said, “but I did not mean for it to end this way, you know? I really had intended to get rid of both of them after we came to an agreement. I essentially forgot about them in the safe. I completely forgot about them. They were in the back of the safe. Cynthia knew the combination. She must have gotten into the safe today after I left.”
“That must have been the wine she was talking about this morning when I came by,” Milton said. “Had I known, I would have called you immediately. Should we get rid of it? Dispose of the evidence, so to speak?”
“How can we?” Dr. Lewis asked. “The cause of death will be copper sulfate poisoning. The physical exam will determine that, without a doubt. There could be no other explanation. What are we to do? I must explain how Cynthia got the deadly substance in her, and Max’s tainted wine is the only rational explanation.”
“Oh hell, man,” Milton said. “We can’t let that get out. Do something, Doc! Find a way!” He was screaming at the top of his lungs, pleading not only for himself, but for his whole family.
“There is no other way,” Dr. Lewis said. “Can’t you see, there is no other way. I must tell the authorities and that will be it for all of us.”
“No!” Milton shouted. “Why can’t you rule it as accidental or a suicide? You are the mighty surgeon in this town, for Christ’s sake! It was not your fault that she got hold of the tainted wine, is it? You and I both know that Max and Gynnie did not mean to sell that wine to those girls. It was an accident. Maybe we can fabricate a bill of sale from another person in the county or another distillery.” Milton was drawing at straws.
“Oh, Milton,” Dr. Lewis said and started to gather his thoughts. “Be realistic. We cannot put the blame on someone else. I will take your - our secret to my grave. You can count on it, no matter what the outcome when Cynthia’s death is revealed. I will do whatever I have to do, for now, to make this whole damn mess go away.”
Chapter 52
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Lil drove home, exhausted after a long day of sentencings and staying up all night talking to police and covering the broken window. They would let her know if they found or discovered anything. Same ole’ story. Even her federal credentials could not pull any weight with local law enforcement. She desperately wanted to go to sleep but could not. She was determined to stay awake long enough to finish looking through the last box. It was sad, but it had to be done.
Joe was waiting for her in the kitchen and helped her with her coat. “I have started dinner,” he said. “You change your clothes and when you come back, I will have a glass of red wine waiting for you.” He kissed her head, and she went to change.
Lil was depressed and admittedly very tired. She was grateful for Joe and his willingness to help her during times like these. Her depression was mostly due to all the sentencings. They were sad times for Lil. Each person who had been sentenced was given a lengthy time in federal prison. The United States Attorney never accepted any cases from the state level that they could not prove. She wondered how the federal judges did it. They sentence guilty defendants all day long, sometimes for several days in a row, and watch from the bench as these defendants say their goodbyes to their families for the last time for sometimes years. Lil and the other officers hoped that the federal judges did not automatically associate sentencings with the probation officers. That would truly be a sad thing. But, she could understand it if they did.
Lil came into the kitchen and accepted a glass of wine from Joe, thanking him with a kiss on the cheek. “You are such a dear,” she said. “How did you know that I would need this?”
“You forget that I am in love with you and know you pretty well,” Joe said. “I understand how disappointed you will be to go through the last box. Not sure what you will find, or if there will be any answers. Do you want some company?”
“Yes, I would love some company,” Lil said. “Thank you, honey.” They sat on the couch, sipped red wine, and took the last of the documents out of the box. Lil pointed out the death certificates for the two ladies from the park. The other documents seemed somewhat insignificant. “Nothing to write home about,” as they say. Until she pulled the last piece of paper from the bottom of the box. It looked as though it was shoved and crumpled into the bottom of the box.
“Hey, look at this,” she told Joe. “It’s another death certificate from Warsaw.” It was in bad shape, wrinkled and very faded.
“Whose death certificate is it?” he asked. “I can’t make it out, can you?” They both strained to read the document and even held it up the lamp light for a better view.
“I think it reads ‘Cynthia something,’’’ Lil said. “Could it be Cynthia Lewis, Doctor Lewis’s wife?” Joe asked.
“Perhaps,” Lil said, “but I don’t know why it would be amid these papers. Do you?” She asked even though she knew that Joe would not have a clue.
“Can you make out the cause of death?” Lil asked.
Joe held it up to the light again. “I think it says something about ‘copper sulfate poisoning – tainted wine.’ What the hell is that?”
“Poisoning, huh?” Lil asked, feeling a light go on in her brain. She rifled though some of the other papers from the last box. “Here look at this one.” she said, showing Joe a document that was written by her grandfather
before reading it aloud.
This is the last report by FBI Agent Gaylord.
Two days ago, Dr. Lewis’s wife was pronounced dead. The cause of death was ruled a heart attack. The doctor signed the manner of death and provided a copy to me. For all I can fathom it is a fake certificate, but I cannot prove it. He signed it. There is nothing left to do with this case. I have hit a dead end. No one in this town is willing to divulge any information to me on the matter of the girls who died in the park. Seems everyone in this town is closed-mouthed as far as my suspicions on the tainted wine. I cannot prove the McDougals, Chandlers, or Lewises had anything to do with the murders of those poor two girls. But I believe an innocent man is imprisoned, and I am powerless to do anything about it.
Jacqueline has decided to marry Phillip Chandler, and I must go along with it. God help her. She knows there is something dreadfully wrong with her in-laws but has decided to go ahead with the plans. If anyone reads these documents in this file, please take notice that this family has some dreadful secrets and they will not be disclosed, at least not by me.
Signed
Augustus Gaylord, Agent for the Federal Bureau of investigation
“Oh, wow! Do you know what this means?” Lil asked Joe.
“No, not really,” he said. “You lost me.”
“It means that this is quite possibly the true death certificate, and Dr. Lewis’s wife died of copper sulfate poisoning from Max and Gynnie’s homemade wine or brandy. I am sure the wine was hidden in their house, and she discovered it and somehow consumed it. Lord knows why. I don’t know how, but those two girls probably got some, too. I am not sure how I feel about this. On one hand, I am relieved that my family was not found out and sentenced to prison for murder, but poor Gus, he worked so hard, and just as he thought, an innocent man suffered because of my family. Somehow Grandpa Gus got his hands on another death certificate and stuck it in this box. Maybe the doc gave him the one with the heart attack to deliberately to keep him off their tracks, and this one is the real one. I wonder how it got into this box?”