by Millie Mack
“All right then, back to more serious subjects. I’m not sure the mugging has anything to do with Jamie. In fact, according to Simpson, nothing was taken. It was probably a prank from a couple of teenagers.”
“I think it is a little more than a prank when someone gets clubbed over the head,” offered Carrie. She didn’t want to share with Joel that Simpson just confirmed the muggers were after the letter.
“Wait a minute. You think Simpson was mugged for Jamie’s letter?” He paused for a moment to mull over what she just said. “Is the letter missing?”
“Simpson didn’t have the letter. I took it back from him just before he left the house. But only Simpson and I were aware of this fact. Everyone else thought Simpson walked out of the Faraday house with the letter in his pocket.”
“Why did you take the letter back?” Joel asked.
“It’s quite simple. Everyone seemed so interested in the existence of the letter I decided that I better read it before the meeting in Simpson’s office. And before you ask, the letter provided no information about what Jamie was doing.”
“Surely Jamie’s letter must have provided some information, or why write the letter?” Joel cocked an eyebrow at Carrie.
“The letter started out as we did today, reminiscing about the past. Jamie acknowledged that if I was reading the letter, he was dead. He told me I’d have access to his papers, but mentioned nothing about anything that might have led to his untimely death.”
“That’s our Jamie.” He paused for a moment and then added, “Seems odd the letter didn’t mention anything about a story.”
“Why…did you think he was working on a story?”
At that moment the waiter came by and cleared the table. They refused dessert, but each ordered a cappuccino to end the meal.
“You were saying you thought he might be working on a story?”
He grinned. “That’s not quite what I said. I was asking you if Jamie’s letter indicated he was working on a story. For me, it’s hard to know. When Jamie came back from overseas we had lunch. In fact, it was in this restaurant. You know Jamie. Even when he was out relaxing with friends, he would ask everyone around him a thousand questions. That’s how it was with our meeting. He asked how I was doing, what type of law I practiced, how my import/export business was faring, what type of items were being imported through the TriCity docks, did I see any of the old gang, on and on. I really don’t know if he was gathering information or just being Jamie. I guess I’ll never know if his questions had anything to do with writing a story.”
The waiter returned with their cappuccinos. They took a moment to enjoy the taste of the frothy liquid.
“How is your law practice doing, and what’s this about an import/export business?” Carrie asked.
“My practice is doing well, and my import/export business started quite by accident. I was doing some legal work for one of the many import/export businesses in TriCity, and my research allowed me to become a bit of an expert. Soon I had a thriving practice, with one import client recommending another. You know, being a harbor city, we have quite a lot of business in this area. I’ve taken on three additional associates and at least for right now, we have more legal business than we can handle. As far as my own import/export business, it’s really quite small. It’s more of a hobby as a result of all the legal work I do.”
“It sounds wonderful. I’m glad your practice is doing well, and there’s nothing wrong with having a hobby.” Carrie paused again as she looked around the restaurant. “Joel, what do you think about Jamie’s death? Do you think it was an accident?”
“His death was certainly unexpected. As for the details, I really don’t know anything more than what I read in the papers.”
Carrie sensed that Joel wanted to leave the subject of Jamie, but she asked her question anyway. “Do you think he was meeting someone that night and that’s why he was on the pier?”
“I just don’t know. However, if there’s no indication that Jamie was working a story, I can’t imagine why he would be meeting anyone. Besides, the real point of this luncheon is to find out what you’re going to do.”
“I’m going to go through Jamie’s materials like he asked. Get his papers separated so they can be given to Christopher and others. Stone thinks there may be some works that could be published, and then I was thinking about giving the rest of the materials to the TriCity College.”
“Not his journalism school?”
“That school is large enough to receive lots of donations. However, the college here in Tri-County could use the donation. He’s probably the most famous student that went through the place. I thought they might want some of his original drafts, along with the published documents for the library.”
“You’re famous in your field.”
“Thanks for the compliment. I’m also still alive and I’m stingy. I’m keeping my papers for now.”
“Carrie, I’m going to be perfectly frank. No one seems to know what Jamie’s death is all about. Let’s assume for a minute it was murder. What will the murderer do to the person who starts to meddle in something they thought was closed? Please don’t get curious the way you used to.”
“I’m not planning on doing anything other than sorting Jamie’s papers. If I find something in the papers that looks like it could be related to Jamie’s death, I’m turning it over to the police.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear it, and my offer still goes. If you need a place to work, I’ve an empty office. My secretarial staff would be available to help you do any cataloging. You could ship the whole studio lock, stock, and barrel to my office, and we could help you cut your sorting time.” He seemed excited with his plan.
“Thanks, Joel. I do appreciate the offer, and I may take you up on it. I’m not looking forward to spending any more time than necessary in the Faraday house. I’m going to start this afternoon and get some idea about the size of the job. Then I’ll let you know.”
“Great.” Joel seemed satisfied with her answer and insisted on paying for lunch.
After leaving the restaurant, Joel wanted to walk Carrie back to her car. But she convinced him she wanted to window shop before returning to her car. He kissed her on the cheek and she waved goodbye.
12
Carrie really didn’t want to window shop. She wanted to clear her head from the morning’s events. Both Joel and Simpson felt Jamie’s death may not have been accidental. Why didn’t the Faradays insist on finding out what really happened? With the Faraday money and influence, they could have demanded a thorough investigation from the authorities. No one was doing anything, but everyone was concerned about what would happen to her if she started an investigation into what Jamie was doing. Well, like it or not, she was going to follow Jamie’s trail and see where it led. And if she was going to accomplish anything, it would start back at the Faradays, going through Jamie’s papers. She ended her wandering and headed toward the parking garage.
On the way to the garage, she spotted a stationery store and decided to pick up some supplies for her cataloging. She purchased spiral notebooks, index cards, and pens in different colors. Even though she brought her laptop, she decided it might be easier to catalog the old-fashioned way with pen and paper. Later she could transfer the written information to her computer. This method would provide backup for her paper notes, which she was planning on mailing to her parents.
She left the store with her purchases and crossed the street to the garage. She waited with a group of people for the garage elevator to slowly make its way to the street level. After waiting what seemed an eternity, the elevator arrived. By the time the people in front of her entered, including a mother with a stroller, there was no room for her and several others. She looked around, saw the door for the stairs, and decided it would be quicker to take the steps to the fourth level, where she parked.
As Carrie was turning the corner to the fourth level, she heard the voices of two men. They didn’t seem to be moving but talk
ing in the stairwell at the fourth floor. Carrie stopped in her tracks as she began to understand their words.
“Where is she now?”
“Don’t know. Followed her from the restaurant, and then she went in that store.” The man answering the questions had a slight accent. Carrie thought it might be Russian or Eastern European.
“Did she buy anything?” The other man’s voice was very soft and almost feminine.
“Pens and paper. Then I followed her back here and left her at the elevator. Lots of people waiting. Maybe she didn’t get the first car.”
These men are talking about me! Carrie thought. She stood frozen afraid to move for fear the men would hear her.
“Maybe she forgot something at the store,” offered the man with the soft voice. “Let’s find out. You go down the steps. I’ll take the elevator down and then back up.”
Carrie knew she had only seconds. She forced her body to move. As quietly as she could, she went back down the few steps to the third-floor door. When she reached the third-floor door, luck was with her. There was a group of business people who also took the steps rather than wait for the elevator. They flung open the door to the third level, and Carrie walked through with them. She immediately veered to the left and hopped the low wall of the ramp to the fourth level. Carrie used the ramp wall as cover and ducked when she heard the door open. She carefully peered over the wall, but could see only the back of the door and not the man opening it. The man’s attention was drawn by the group of people who entered the third floor with her, and he wasted little time before retreating back into the stairwell.
This was Carrie’s chance. She sprinted up the ramp to the fourth floor. Fortunately her car was parked at the end closest to the down ramp and farthest from the elevator. She had her keys in her hand and punched the unlock button on the electronic keypad. Carrie jumped in her car, locked the doors, started the car, and headed toward the exit, all within seconds. When she looked in her rearview mirror, she saw a very thin, short man standing in the middle of the ramp. She had only a brief glance before another exiting car honked him out of position.
Carrie was still feeling an adrenaline rush after her escape, but she breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled her car out of the parking garage. What was happening? She was experiencing events and emotions similar to those Ascot had in the book she was writing.
All the way back to the Faraday house, she kept checking her rearview mirror to see if she was being followed. She spotted no one. However, the more she thought about it, the more she realized these two men didn’t need to follow her. They seemed to know how to find her, so they probably also knew she was staying with the Faradays.
Who were these men? She didn’t think she was followed from Simpson’s office. But if they hadn’t followed her, how did they know where she would be? A nagging little voice told her that Joel suggested the parking garage. Then she shook off the little voice when she realized any one of the attendees at Simpson’s could have overheard Joel’s instructions. Carrie didn’t want to face another thought. What were these two men planning to do if they came face to face with her in the garage?
13
Carrie parked her car, grabbed her bag of supplies, and was locking her car when she became aware of someone behind her. She spun around
“So, how was lunch?” Charles greeted Carrie as if nothing happened between them at Simpson’s office. He had changed from his dark blue suit into brown slacks, a cream shirt, and brown leather jacket. Carrie couldn’t stop herself from thinking how good-looking he was.
“Did you go to the Harbor Net Restaurant?”
“What…oh, yes, we did. How did you know?” Carrie was taken aback that Charles knew where she ate lunch in light of her adventure after lunch.
“It’s Joel’s favorite restaurant, and he eats there almost every day. How was the food?”
“It was fine, although the food wasn’t our focus. We spent most of the time reminiscing about college and remembering Jamie.” Carrie was actually thinking about her experience after lunch, but decided not to say anything to Charles. After all she still wasn’t sure who told those men where she would be. She added, “You know, we did have some good times with your brother.”
“I know you did,” he said quietly. “Jamie shared many of the stories and even some of your newspaper staff antics with me. Even though I was six years older, we were very close as brothers. I miss him very much.” Charles stopped for a moment and then added, “Look, I’m sorry about my comments at Simpson’s office.”
“It’s all right,” Carrie responded.
“No, let me finish.” His blue-gray eyes focused on Carrie. “You’ve every right to go out to lunch with whomever you want and whenever you want. We offered you a place to stay, but there are no restrictions on that offer. Come and go as you please. I just ask one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“I want you to be very careful. I know there’s no evidence to support this theory, but I believe my brother was murdered. So until we know for sure, I don’t want anyone else to be hurt or…”
“Murdered! Charles, were you about to say ‘murdered’? Do you think I’m in danger of being killed?”
“Look, Carrie, I’m not trying to frighten you, but I don’t know what is happening. Every time I try to find out information from the police, I’m told the case is still under investigation.”
“That explains why nothing seems to be happening, if you aren’t getting any help from the police.”
“They have been of no help whatsoever. I even tried assigning one of our reporters to the story, and he can’t find anything out from his sources in the department. The police have completely shut us out from the investigation. Maybe I’m on the list of suspects, and that’s why they don’t want to share.”
Carrie wondered if something had happened between the brothers that would make the police think of Charles as a potential suspect. She decided to ask, “Why would the police think you could be a suspect?”
“They have this wild theory that with Jamie returning home, there was a power struggle for control of the company.” Carrie said nothing, but Charles guessed what she was thinking. “And, no, there was no power struggle. The management of the company was left to me through my father’s will, not to mention Jamie wanted nothing to do with management. He wanted to write. Anyway, that’s why I’m hoping you’ll find some clue in Jamie’s papers.”
“Apparently everyone else is hoping the same thing. I just hope we aren’t all disappointed when everything is cataloged. I know Suzanne is already disappointed because she wasn’t given the cataloging job. Charles, I have to ask. How much do you know about Suzanne?”
“Just between us, I know very little about Suzanne. Christopher doesn’t seem to know much about her either. She simply showed up in Europe, latched on to his father, and seemed content to be part of their lives. Christopher says she never spoke much about her past. She did tell them she was left an inheritance and was using it to travel in Europe. That’s as much as I know about Suzanne.”
“There must be some way of finding out more about her?” Carrie added.
Charles looked a little sheepish and then said, “I did ask Jonathan Stone to see what he could find out. He has many contacts including some in Europe so I think it’s only a matter of time before we find out more about Suzanne.”
“I guess it could all be innocent but it would be nice to have more facts.”
And as long as we are being honest with each other and discussing people related to this case, there’s someone else I’m not sure about.”
“Who’s that?” asked Carrie.
“I’ve never trusted or, for that matter, liked Joel. I look at it this way. If Joel and Jamie were such good friends, how come Jamie went to Simpson to prepare his will and handle your letter?”
“I don’t know, but one could ask the same question about the family. How come Jamie didn’t have someone in the family go through the papers?”
Carrie regretted the question almost the minute she asked it.
“Like me?” Charles took the question in stride. “That’s a fair question. I like to think that Jamie thought it might be too difficult for us to deal with his writings after his death. He thought we would either pack his work away without reviewing it, or let the work sit until we felt we could deal with the memories. As a result, any trail related to his death would be cold.” He paused for a moment and then looked directly at Carrie. “I also think that my brother might have been afraid that we, especially Mother, wouldn’t want to stir things up. But he was wrong. I want to know the truth. And, hopefully, with your help, I’ll find out the truth.”
Carrie wasn’t sure what to say after Charles’s revelations about his feelings. Then he added, “Are you planning on getting started this afternoon?”
“Yes. I think the sooner I get started, the better. I’ve got my office supplies and I’m ready to go.”
Carrie held up her plastic bag of recently purchased materials.
“Hey, you don’t need to buy anything. If you need any supplies, just charge them to Faraday Press. We have an account at that store.” Charles glanced at his watch. “Look, I’ve got to run to the office for a few hours, but hopefully we can talk more when I get back.”
Charles turned and went into the garage. He entered through the side door, and the first garage door began to open automatically. Carrie stood and watched as Charles guided the car out of the driveway. Then she headed into the house to change her clothes to something more comfortable for her task of cataloging. Hopefully, just as Charles suggested, she would find a clue to Jamie’s murder in his work.
14
When Carrie opened the door to Jamie’s studio above the Faraday garage, she was stunned. It was as if she had traveled back in time. The room looked exactly like the office they shared at the college newspaper. The desk, filing cabinets, and even the desk chair were made of a heavy light-oak wood that was typical of older offices. Could it be the same desk from our old newspaper office? She asked herself. There was one sure way to find out. She tried the desk drawer, but it was locked. She took the set of keys that Simpson gave her and tried the one that looked like a desk key. The key worked and Carrie slid open the top drawer. Then she pulled out the second drawer. Inside was a wooden divider that cut the drawer into two sections: a smaller section for envelopes and a larger one for letterhead. She lifted the divider straight up and flipped it over. There it was on the back of the divider—an inscription in the wood! Carrie put on her glasses and read the inscription aloud.