Double or Nothing

by Wells, Donald

  May whispers. “April, is father in there…dead?”

  “Yes and Carlo is dead too by now, and soon it’ll be David’s turn.”

  “Poor Simon, he may faint when he finds father in the morning.”

  “Yes, but it’s June I’m concerned about, when she learns that David is dead she’ll be devastated. The two of us will have to be there for her, after all, we’re now her only family.”

  “Of course April, what else are sisters for?”

  David parks his car in front of his apartment building in Greenwich Village and enters.

  Why am I even keeping this place? June was just here yesterday picking up some of her clothes. What if the burglars had been here then? Oh God, why did I think of that. It’s time to start house shopping anyway. I had better pick a house with a lot of closets, June can surely shop. That’s funny, I can see the lock’s been broken but there’re no lights on. Maybe Tompkins got tired of waiting. Well, let me take a look anyway and see what’s missing.

  David enters the apartment and flips the light switch, nothing happens. Sparse light from the marquee of the newly reopened movie theater and an intimate knowledge of the apartment’s layout help him to navigate his way around.

  The TV and stereo are nowhere to be found. David goes over to the closet to check on the lockbox he keeps there. The box contains the only pictures of his parents that he owns. David finds the box and relief sweeps over him.

  He goes to the desk in the corner of the room and sets the box down. Suddenly, from the kitchen comes the sound of movement and in the doorway the silhouette of a man appears. The silhouette of a man holding a very long gun.

  “…Are you Sergeant Tompkins?” David asks, hoping against hope that the New York City Police have started issuing 9mm.Glocks with sound suppressor silencers as standard issue firearms. As David talks, his hand reaches for the heavy glass paperweight he knows is on the corner of the desk.

  “No David, unfortunately for you I’m Mr. Parker. April and May Davenport send their most heartfelt regards.”

  Parker raises the gun and aims carefully at David’s head, at the same time David’s hand closes upon the paperweight.

  Parker fires and misses David completely, then, recovering from his shock, Parker quickly fires a second shot at the very instant David releases the paperweight.

  Parker’s hurried shot smashes into David’s skull and the impact sends him over the desk and onto the floor where he lies in a broken, bleeding heap, unmoving.

  At that same moment, at Davenport Manor, June is in her bedroom sleeping on the loveseat. She had decided to read while waiting for David to return and dozed off. June reclines tranquilly with the book still in her hands.

  She awakens abruptly and sits bolt upright as the book slides from her grasp and hits the floor. June’s head is tilted in that strange listening posture she assumes whenever she senses trouble or danger.

  Without apparent cause or reason she begins crying and shudders uncontrollably while whispering one word.

  “David?”

  24

  Sunday June 8th, 1:07 a.m.

  It is the third ring of the telephone that makes its way into Dr. Carol Manning’s sleep and rouses her from slumber. Carol squints at the bright red neon numbers on the bedside clock and immediately awakens.

  Oh God, it must be a patient.

  On the fifth ring she picks up the phone. “Hello, Carol Manning, may I help you?” There is a pause and then Carol hears a small voice.

  “David hasn’t come home. I don’t know what to do. It’s been so long.”

  “June? Is that you honey?”

  “Yes Carol, David still isn’t home and it’s been hours. I’ve called his cell phone and all I get is his voice mail. What do I do?”

  Carol reaches to her side and gently shakes Al awake.

  “Huh, what’s wrong?” Mumbles a somnolent Al.

  Carol covers the phone’s mouthpiece with her hand. “Davey might be in trouble.” Al awakens at once.

  “Where did Davey go June?”

  “David got a call from the police saying that our apartment was broken into and that he should come right away, Carol that was over three hours ago. I’m so worried.”

  “I want you to calm down honey. Davey’s probably still filling out police reports, those things take time. Meanwhile, I’ll call the precinct there and look for him. Do you know who Davey went to see?”

  “It was a Sergeant…oh I can’t remember—no wait! Tompkins, it was a Sergeant Tompkins, like the name of the park in New York City.”

  “All right honey, I’ll call and get more information. In the meantime I want you to calm down, Davey will be all right.”

  “Carol I have a very bad feeling…one of my very bad feelings. I’m so scared for David.”

  “I understand. I’ll call you back soon, bye bye.”

  “Thank you, goodbye.” June hangs up the phone and sits on the end of the bed for a time. She then puts on her robe and slips the cordless phone in a pocket to take with her. When June goes into the hall she begins to head right, where her sisters’ and her father’s bedrooms are, then, thinking better of it, she turns left.

  Descending the stairs, she makes her way through the kitchen, pass the pantry, and knocks on a door at the back of the house.

  Several knocks later a voice answers, “One minute please, I’ll be right there.” Moments later, Simon, in robe and slippers, opens his door.

  “June, what is it dear? Is something wrong?”

  June tells Simon about the missing David and about her sense of foreboding. Simon motions for June to follow him into the kitchen where they sit at the table.

  “We’ll wait a while longer for him to return, at least until Dr. Manning phones you back. After that I’ll awaken Blake, he’ll know what to do. In the meantime I’ll make you a drink.”

  “Simon I don’t drink liquor. I don’t like the taste.”

  “Good for you my dear, no I had something else in mind.” Says Simon, he speaks in a shout to be heard over the sound of a blender as he busies himself making June’s drink.

  “Simon where could David be? I’m so worried.”

  “Don’t you worry, David will be back soon. Now here, this will help you to wait.” Simon places a mug in front of June, there is a frothy looking beverage inside.

  June gives it a strange look and then a smile lights her face. “I think I remember this.” She raises the mug and takes a taste. “You used to make this for me alone, April and May never liked it. What’s it called?”

  “It’s called an egg cream and I haven’t made one since you were nine-years-old.”

  “Thank you Simon, this was very nice of you, it’s delicious.”

  “Anytime you want one just ask, it’s my pleasure.”

  “How did you know it was me and not April or May when you opened the door?”

  “My dear I could always tell you three apart, I don’t know how other people can’t.”

  “David knows when it’s me, but he can’t tell April from May.”

  “David’s heart lets him know it’s you. That young man loves you very much, anyone that sees you two together knows that instantly.”

  June appears anxious again. “Where is he? I’m so scared.”

  Before Simon can answer, the phone in June’s pocket rings.

  “Hello…Carol?”

  “June…something is wrong. There is no Sergeant Tompkins and there’s been no report of a break-in at Davey’s building. Al’s getting dressed and going over there to check, I don’t know what else to do.” As Carol speaks, June hears the apprehension in her voice.

  “Oh God, where is he?”

  “I don’t know honey, try not to worry, Davey will be fine.”

  “Maybe we should call David’s friends in the city. We left the address book at your house, it’s on the little table in our bedroom.”

  “I called June, I woke them all up and no one’s seen David.”

  �
��Carol…maybe—no, never mind. He wouldn’t be there.”

  “What June? Honey let’s try everything we can.”

  “Alison, I was wondering if he was with Alison, I almost pray he is now.”

  “I called Alison already. I wondered about that too, if it was a scheme of hers to get Davey alone, but June, she sounded genuinely concerned, she had no idea where he is.”

  “Simon and I are going to wake father, maybe he’ll know what to do next. I’ll call you back later.”

  “Honey try not to worry too much. Davey will be fine. I’ll talk to you soon, goodbye.”

  June tells Carol goodbye. She and Simon then go upstairs to Blake’s bedroom. After several bouts of knocking, Simon tries the doorknob. They look in and see that the bed is undisturbed.

  “Where could father be?”

  “It’s all right dear, he’s probably just fallen asleep on the sofa in his study, it happens from time to time, he’ll sit there reading and then nod off. Let’s go wake him.”

  Upon entering the study and turning the lights on, Simon is overcome with a sense of dismay when he sees the empty sofa. June follows as Simon walks into the room.

  “This is most peculiar. I would have sworn he was in here asleep, where could he be?”

  Out of the corner of her eye, June spots something jutting out from behind the desk. “Look, a shoe.” June says, pointing.

  Simon walks over to the desk to pick up the shoe and spots Blake’s body. Blood soaks the area around the corpse and takes all emerging thoughts of Blake having suffered a heart attack out of Simon’s mind.

  “Oh my sweet merciful Lord.”

  June walks over to take a look. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  Simon takes June by the shoulders, “No dear don’t look!” But it is too late.

  At first, June’s mind refuses to comprehend the violence before her. Then she fully grasps it and screams. While staring at the dead form of her father, June’s fear for David spirals into terror.

  7:05 a.m.

  June and Simon are together with April and May on one of the massive sofas in the Davenport living room. On the other side of the room, Al and Carol sit on a loveseat. Police officers are everywhere and outside the gates of the house reporters have set-up their units.

  Blake’s body was removed hours ago and the study is now filled with fingerprint technicians and crime scene investigators. All staff of the house have been accounted for and interviewed. All doors and windows have been checked for signs of tampering and the machine that is a homicide investigation has been running at full power since Simon summoned the police at 1:56 a.m.

  The family has been questioned repeatedly by different detectives about various aspects of their stories. The one thing that stands out most clearly to the police is the fact that David is missing.

  “Is there any news on my brother yet?” Carol asks one of the detectives.

  “No doctor, that crime scene is still being investigated.”

  “Dear God, what could have happened?”

  “That’s what we’re going to find out Ma’am.”

  Carol looks across the room at June and sees a look of anxiety on her friend that breaks her heart. June makes eye contact and Carol gives her a weak, disingenuous smile.

  Davey where are you? Where the hell are you?

  Greenwich Village, New York

  Detective Joe Shannon of the sixth precinct stands in the middle of the eighth street apartment of David Manning stroking his beard as he tries to make sense of what he’s found. His partner, Arnold Jones, walks through the open door and comes over to him. Jones, a rookie detective, is a head shorter than Shannon and looks up to him in more ways than one.

  “I’ve finished interviewing the neighbors and man that Mrs. Johnson can talk. Two of the neighbors say they heard noises in the hall around 2:00 a.m. but nobody bothered to stick their heads out and take a look.”

  “No one heard the gunshots?” Shannon asks.

  “No, not a sound, a silencer maybe? Sounds like a pro.”

  “It’s starting to look like a pro too. Those two shell casings were from 9mm. bullets. The fuse box was tampered with to kill the lights and the TV and stereo are piled in a corner of the kitchen to make it look like a robbery. That’s probably what drew Manning over to the desk.”

  Jones says, “What about this?” as he bends over and picks up the glass paperweight. “Damn, this thing’s really heavy.”

  “It probably just fell off the desk and rolled over here.”

  “So Joe, what do you make of the scene?”

  “Hmm, from what I’ve learned from the guys in Westchester County, Manning was about to marry into some very big bucks. Maybe he decided to speed up his fiancée’s inheritance by hiring a hitter. Westchester’s saying that Davenport was definitely a pro job made to look like a surprised burglar. They also say money was taken from Davenport’s safe. The hitter makes up that story to lure Manning here and the two of them fight over who gets to keep the proceeds from the safe. Two shots are fired, one of which shatters the mirror on the open closet door…”

  “…And the other kills David Manning.”

  “Yeah, at least that’s how I see it right now.” Shannon says.

  “But Joe, where’s the body?” Jones asks.

  “The hitter must have taken it. Maybe he thinks no body no conviction later on. He had to leave Davenport’s body behind, otherwise the will would be held up, Manning’s another story.”

  “I guess you’re right, he must be dead. The crime scene boys say that the bullet they dug out of the wall behind the desk had hair and blood on it, and possibly skull fragments.”

  “All I know Arnie, is that that’s an awful lot of blood on the floor over there.” Shannon says, and he and Jones stare grimly at the puddle of congealing blood by the leg of the desk.

  8:46 p.m.

  June sits very still on one of the sofas in the living room at Davenport Manor. To her right sit April and May who have both donned long black dresses to signify their mourning of their father. June still wears her pajamas and pink robe of the night before. To June’s left sits Carol, she and June are holding hands.

  The police and their crime scene technicians have all left, taking their evidence and suspicions and leaving behind only their condolences.

  Simon enters the room holding a tray of food that he places on the coffee table directly in front of June. The tray holds sandwiches, coffee, and a bowl of grapes and melon slices. April and May begin attacking the food ravenously while Carol pours herself a cup of coffee. June simply sits and stares ahead at nothing as she has done for most of the day. Simon places a roast turkey sandwich and a cluster of grapes on a plate and hands them to June. June looks at the food and shakes her head no.

  “June I insist that you eat something, you have not eaten all day.”

  “I’m not hungry, besides I’m so worried about David that I don’t think it would stay down.”

  Simon still holds the plate out to her and June looks up at him.

  “Just a little, please, for me?”

  June gives Simon a wan smile and takes the plate from him, she places it on her lap and begins eating the grapes.

  “There’s a good girl. When David gets back he would throttle me if I allowed you to get sick by not eating.” Says Simon, who then sits on the sofa opposite the coffee table.

  Al enters and looks at Carol and then June. He walks over to the sofa and sits beside Carol as he puts his arm around her.

  “What happened at the police station Al? You were gone for hours.”

  “It’s not good Carol. It doesn’t look good at all.”

  June pales a shade. “What do you mean?”

  Al sighs and looks over at June. “Honey, the cops think Davey is involved in your father’s murder.”

  Carol gasps. “That is ridiculous. I hope you straightened them out.”

  “I couldn’t straighten them out. They sweated me for three hours for the n
ame of the hitter. They think that Davey made contact with a hit man through me and that I could tell them who it is. My lawyer finally told them to charge me or let me go. I also learned that the bullets found at Davey’s apartment and the bullet taken from Blake matched. I think that’s really making them look hard at Davey.”

  “Are you telling us that David had our father killed?” April asks.

  “I’m saying that’s what the cops think. Their theory is that Davey hired someone to kill Blake and then the two of them met last night to discuss the fee.”

  “Where do the police think David is Al, in hiding?” May asks.

  “No.” Al says quietly.

  Carol closes her eyes. “They think he’s dead, don’t they?”

  “They’ve identified the blood in the apartment as his, and there’s…other evidence.”

  “What other evidence?” June asks.

  Al reaches across Carol and takes June’s hand in his right hand and Carol’s hand in his left. In a voice breaking with emotion he speaks.

  “One of the bullets found had blood and hair on it, Davey’s blood and hair. There were also…bone fragments, most likely from his skull.”

  Carol shrieks. “Oh God no! No, no, they’re wrong it can’t be Davey’s, he can’t be dead.”

  “I’m sorry Carol, June, it doesn’t look good.” Al says.

  June starts to cry as the plate containing the uneaten sandwich and the remaining grapes slips from her grasp and falls to the floor.

  She whispers. “David,” She then turns and hugs Carol intensely as Carol cries her own sudden tears.

  “Don’t cry for David, June. If the police are right you’re much better off without him.”

  “April,” June says, sniffling, “David would never do such a thing as they’re saying. David would never have had father hurt, especially just for money.”

  “It’s not ‘just money’ June. It’s a lot of money. Now that father’s changed his will you may be worth over a billion dollars, money corrupts people June, even good people.”

  Carol releases June and stands. She now looms over April and stares at her with venom in her eyes. “You listen to me April or May or whatever goddamn month you happen to be. My brother is one of the kindest and gentlest men on the planet. Davey would never hurt anyone for money or for any other selfish reason. He especially wouldn’t cause harm or pain of any kind to June. The thought that he could be involved in some sick scheme to marry her for money is ludicrous. Davey loves June and he would sooner cut off his right arm than see her suffer any pain, much less the pain of losing her father. Don’t ever let me hear you speak that way about him again. Do we understand each other?”