by Millie Mack
Carrie and Charles were deciding where to sit when Suzanne spoke. “Charles, come and sit next to me.”
Before Charles had a chance to respond, Christopher practically jumped from where he was standing and slid in next to Suzanne.
“Christopher, I just asked Charles to sit there.”
“I know, but it’s been such a long time since I had the chance to sit with you. This will be like old times. You know, when we were overseas, and I’d sit next to you at dinner.” Christopher smiled innocently.
Carrie was sure Mrs. Faraday took a quick sip of wine to hide a grin from showing on her face. Christopher’s quick action allowed Charles and Carrie to sit next to each other. Under other circumstances, this would have been a cozy setting for a meal. Only one lamp in the room was on low. The meal was lit by candles on the table and the light from the wood burning in the fireplace. Once the members of the group finished dinner and were eating dessert, Charles changed the direction of the dinner conversation.
“I’d like to review one more time what we know about Jamie’s death. I feel we are still missing some key information.”
“Oh, Charles, we spent this morning doing the same thing at your office. Can’t we just have a quiet meal together without discussing Jamie’s death?” Suzanne poured herself a cup of coffee.
As if his response was rehearsed, Christopher said, “I disagree. I think this is the perfect time, Uncle Charles. After all, Grandmother and I were not at your meeting. We may know something that wasn’t mentioned there. Our information combined with what you learned today might be the perfect clue.”
“Clues,” snapped Suzanne. “This isn’t a mystery book for little boys. This is real life.”
“I know it’s real! Even if I’m a kid, I’d like to know why my dad was murdered!” Christopher put extra emphasis on the word “murdered.”
“I’ll be glad to tell you what we learned today: nothing! Absolutely nothing that would change the ruling from accidental death to murder,” Suzanne sneered.
They all stared as Suzanne lost her cool. Then she stopped abruptly and sweetly added, “Well we didn’t.”
“Suzanne, I disagree,” Charles said. “I think we learned some important things today, but you were rather quiet at that meeting. I thought perhaps here, with just the family, you might have something to add.”
Before Suzanne could respond, Mrs. Faraday interrupted the exchange. “I’ll start.” Everyone turned to face her. “My son was an expert swimmer. He wouldn’t have drowned unless some other factor kept him from using his swimming skills.”
“That’s an interesting place to start, Mother, because Carrie took some photos of the pier area that support that conclusion.” Charles summarized the information Carrie presented at the meeting. Christopher and Mrs. Faraday asked several questions, and then Suzanne inserted herself back into the conversation.
“You’re right, I can share something,” Suzanne said abruptly. “I’d like to know what Christopher removed from Carrie’s car last night. I think it was something he took from his father’s studio just before the fire started. Which reminds me, Christopher what do you know about the fire. You were wandering around just when it started.”
“I didn’t start that fire!” Christopher started to jump up but Carrie touched his arm and he quickly resumed his seat.
All right I won’t go down that road for the moment, but you two won’t deny I saw Christopher at Carrie’s car?” She looked from Carrie to Christopher.
Carrie was surprised by Suzanne’s forthright approach, and Charles was caught off guard by the revelation. Christopher didn’t know what to do and looked to Carrie. Carrie really didn’t want to talk about the journal, but decided to follow Suzanne’s direct approach.
“Suzanne, that’s a fair question. And, yes, we did find something, or rather Christopher did. It was Christopher’s find, and he wanted to be the one to tell everyone about it. Charles, Christopher planned on telling you tonight.” Christopher nodded his head in agreement. “You see, Christopher found his father’s journal in the studio.”
Charles raised an eyebrow and looked at the others sitting around the table. He noticed that only Suzanne shared his surprise at this announcement. “Mother, you don’t seem surprised. Did you know about the journal?”
“Yes, Christopher told me this afternoon. But as Carrie mentioned, he wanted to be the one to tell you.” Mrs. Faraday calmly took a sip of her coffee.
Christopher jumped to his own defense. “Uncle Charles, I didn’t have time to tell you. I was asleep when you left. This was the first opportunity…”
“It’s all right, Christopher, I understand,” Charles interrupted.
Suzanne looked unnerved. “Christopher, I can’t believe you just found Jamie’s journal! You’ve probably had it squirreled away the whole time while playing detective.” Then Suzanne thought for a moment. “Besides, I bet there isn’t anything of importance in the journal. Jamie rarely used it and he wasn’t writing a story,” she added with emphasis.
“Suzanne, you’re lying,” Charles pushed back. “You and I saw Jamie use his journal right in this room, and you were there today when we learned that Jamie was starting a story about smuggling.”
“Listen to your own words, Charles. He was ‘starting’ work on a story. That means he was just beginning. I bet there’s nothing in that journal about smuggling, is there?” She looked at each of them and added, “See, I’m right, aren’t I?”
Carrie didn’t want anything more revealed about the journal. Instead, she wanted to confront Suzanne about the phone call. Carrie cleared her throat and said, “Suzanne, you’re right, but let’s not talk about the journal. Let’s talk about the phone call you made just before dinner to Bill. Bill was one of the two men chasing me the other night, one of the two men who set the studio on fire, and one of the two men who killed Jamie.” It was Carrie’s turn to be direct.
“What phone call? I didn’t make any phone call.” She was clearly nervous.
“The phone call you made on Jamie’s cordless phone. Apparently you weren’t aware that the cordless phone line from the studio is the same line in Jamie’s bedroom. When I picked up the receiver to call my editor this afternoon, you were on the line. I heard your entire conversation.” Carrie looked at Mrs. Faraday. “I think this is the proof we discussed this afternoon.”
“What proof? There’s no proof, because you’re mistaken,” she stammered. “You’re just trying to put me in a bad light with the family.” She looked to Charles and Mrs. Faraday for sympathy, but none was forthcoming.
Carrie continued, “Suzanne, who were you talking with on the phone? Who is the man you told about Christopher taking something from my car? Who is the man that is going to give you money and a ticket to Europe? Suzanne, it’s time for the truth. Who paid you to be part of Jamie Faraday’s murder?”
Suzanne jumped up from the table and moved away from the group toward the fireplace. “No, you’re wrong. They didn’t kill Jamie. They just wanted him to stop poking around in their business. He had no story, but he kept digging. His death wasn’t murder. It was accidental. I had nothing to do with it. Charles, you know that! I was here in this study with you the night your brother was killed.” She was speaking rapidly.
“That’s true, Suzanne, but I think it must be obvious even to you that Jamie’s death wasn’t accidental. If you’re working with these people, then you’re an accessory. You can be charged with murder. You could go to jail,” Charles said, deliberately trying to frighten her.
“I swear I had nothing to do with Jamie’s death.” Suzanne removed a small vase from the fireplace mantle and was turning it in her hand. “Look, I’m not saying another word until I have an understanding.”
“Suzanne, come and sit down with us. Let us help you. If you cooperate and give us the names of these men, I’m sure we can limit the consequences for you,” offered Mrs. Faraday as she patted Suzanne’s chair.
“There will be no
consequences! I want the same things from you Mrs. Faraday that Carrie overheard on the phone call. I want a ticket to Europe and some money.” Suzanne looked at Mrs. Faraday, but her face showed no emotion, so she added, “I just want the money Jamie promised me in his will. Is it a deal?” Suzanne replaced the vase back on the mantle and turned to face the group.
“It’s a deal,” Charles said with no hesitation. “Now, what do you know?”
Suzanne headed back toward the table. But before she could reach her seat, there was the sound of glass shattering, and a gunshot stopped her progress. She briefly put her hand to her head then Suzanne Redmond slumped to the floor in a pool of red liquid.
36
Charles grabbed his mother and pulled her to the floor. Carrie, in turn, pulled Christopher from his chair on top of her.
“Everyone, stay down!” shouted Charles.
He crawled across the floor and turned off the lamp. Carrie reached up and pulled the table candles to her and extinguished them. At that moment, Mary came to the door. “What’s happening? I heard glass breaking.”
“Mary, don’t come in! Suzanne’s been shot. Get to the phone in the hall and call the police and get an ambulance.” In the remaining light from the fireplace, they could all see Suzanne lying on the floor in a pool of blood. She wasn’t moving.
Charles crawled over to Suzanne and hunched over her. Carrie saw her hand move slightly. Then Charles leaned close to her face, and Carrie could see Suzanne’s lips moving. Charles took her hand and held it as she struggled to whisper something to him.
“Suzanne, save your strength. Don’t try to talk. We have help coming,” Charles responded.
It seemed that Charles had barely finished speaking when they heard the sounds of sirens coming up the street. The first police car arrived, and when the officers realized it was a shooting, they immediately called for backup and the crime team. The ambulance arrived, and the medics worked quickly, attaching medical devices to Suzanne and getting her bundled onto a stretcher. Everyone knew Suzanne’s only chance of survival was getting her to the hospital as quickly as possible.
Captain Becker arrived as Suzanne’s stretcher was passing through the front door. He watched as the medics maneuvered the stretcher down the walk toward the waiting ambulance. As the ambulance departed with sirens blaring, he entered the house and took charge of the investigation by immediately snapping out orders. One of his first orders was to send officers outside the home to search the area for any evidence left by the shooter.
Before the officers left the house, Christopher piped in, “Be sure to search on the other side of the hedges at the back of the garage. You can enter the property that way and not be seen.” Christopher knew from the night of the fire this was the preferred entry for the bad guys.
After Christopher’s suggestion, Becker ushered or more accurately pushed the family and staff into the living room, away from the police investigation. They could see flashes of light from the study as a police photographer took camera shots of the scene. Carrie wished she had the opportunity to photograph the room before the police came. Instead they had to rely on their memories for the details of what just happened.
As they sat quietly together, Carrie looked across at Mrs. Faraday and realized she was very pale. She gave Charles a gentle nudge and nodded toward his mother. He immediately saw the ashen color of her face.
“Mother, I think you need to go up to your room and rest. If the police need a statement, they can talk to you in the morning. Christopher, would you call Dr. Nilson? Since he lives on the next block, maybe he would be willing to come over to the house and check your grandmother. Mrs. Cavanaugh, can you help me?”
“Yes, yes, of course, Mr. Charles.”
Charles and Mrs. Cavanaugh guided Mrs. Faraday from her seat and toward the hallway. The policeman at the door asked them to wait while he got permission from Captain Becker for them to leave. Carrie saw that once the officer left his post, Charles didn’t wait. Instead, the trio proceeded from the room and directly to the elevator.
The policeman returned and directed his question to Carrie. “Where did they go?”
“They took Mrs. Faraday upstairs to her room,” answered Carrie.
“They should have waited for the official okay, even though the captain said it was fine.” He looked around the room. “Where’s the kid? Did he go upstairs, too?”
“No, he’s over there in the corner.” Carrie pointed to Christopher, who was just hanging up the phone. “He’s calling the doctor for Mrs. Faraday. Officer, could you do us one more favor and let the officer at the front door know to allow Mrs. Faraday’s doctor access when he arrives?”
The officer nodded and left the room again. This time he closed the living room door tightly, eliminating the opportunity for them to watch the police activities.
“I hate just sitting here. Do you think the police would mind if I went to the kitchen and finished my work?” Mary asked.
“You’ll need to ask the officer on duty, Mary. However, if I were you, I’d ask the officer if it was all right if you went to the kitchen to make coffee for everyone.”
Mary nodded her head, smiling. She left the room and didn’t return, so Carrie assumed her approach worked.
Christopher was now sitting next to Carrie. He took a deep breath and asked, “Do you think Grandmother is all right? You know I’ve only one grandmother. I don’t want to lose her now that I have time to spend with her.”
“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Carrie said trying to sound positive. “We have to remember that your grandmother is older, and all these events have been very stressful for her. We have to protect her from any more shocks and make sure she gets plenty of rest.”
Christopher nodded in agreement, but seemed lost in his own thoughts.
“You know what we should do while we are sitting here?” Christopher didn’t respond, but Carrie continued. “Let’s review what happened. One way to help your grandmother is to solve this crime. So, tell me, what did you see? Any impressions of Suzanne or what she said?”
Christopher looked up and then said seriously, “I thought witnesses to a crime weren’t supposed to talk to each other.”
“You do know your crime scene procedures. On the other hand, when have you and I done anything we are supposed to do?”
It was the right thing to say because Christopher giggled. “Yeah, that’s how we keep coming up with clues. We don’t pay attention to the rules.”
“You go first. What did you see?”
“Well, Suzanne was very sure of herself until you brought up the phone call. Then she started to fall apart. Hey, that reminds me. You never mentioned that phone call to me. Did you make that stuff up?”
“No, it was a real call. I picked it up by accident in those few minutes before I came down to dinner. That’s why I didn’t get a chance to tell you about it.”
“That was neat the way you kept pushing her. If she hadn’t been shot, I think she would have spilled her guts.”
“I think she got scared when your Uncle Charles told her she could be charged as an accessory. I think, until tonight, she really believed your father’s death was accidental. When it appeared it might not be…well, she wanted out. Did you notice anything else?”
“I think that’s all.” Christopher closed his eyes, as if he was trying to remember. “Wait a minute… I did notice something else. When she was standing by the fireplace, she kept playing with a tissue, and then I saw her stuff it in that little flower vase on the mantel.”
“I noticed that, too. Maybe she was just nervous.”
“From where I was sitting, it looked like Suzanne was stuffing the tissue in the vase on purpose,” added Christopher.
“I was concentrating on pushing her verbally, but now that I think about it, you’re right. Do you think she was hiding something in the vase?”
“It would have to be something very small. I mean, that vase is tiny,” Christopher reflected.
> “What was hidden?” Charles asked as he returned to the room.
Both Carrie and Christopher asked simultaneously about Mrs. Faraday’s condition.
“She’s a little weak. The doctor is here now and is giving her something to help her relax and sleep. He seems to think it was the shock of the shooting that affected her and nothing more serious. Dr. Nilson assures me that, with some rest, she’ll be fine. Mrs. Cavanaugh is going to stay with her.”
Carrie could see Christopher’s shoulders relax as he heard the positive news about his grandmother.
“You two were talking about Suzanne’s fascination with that small vase on the mantle?”
“You saw it, too?” Carrie asked.
“Something else I noticed was the timing of the gunshot,” Charles added. “Suzanne could have been shot at any time. However, the moment she agrees to tell us what she knows, she’s struck down. It’s like the shooter knew what she was saying.”
“Of course…that’s it!” Carrie said excitedly. “I bet if the police check that vase, they are going to discover some sort of a listening device. That would explain how the shooter knew the exact moment when Suzanne was about to betray him.”
“I think you’re right, but a listening device would have to have a home base,” Charles said. “Somewhere nearby, maybe a vehicle.”
“I bet it was parked on the street behind us on the other side of the hedges. Remember, I told the police to check there,” Christopher reminded them.
“That you did. Look, I’m going to see if I can talk to Becker. I’ll tell him about the vase, and I’ll also see if I can get an update.” Charles opened the door of the room, said something to the officer in the hall, and then closed the door behind him.
37
Christopher and Carrie had little opportunity to discuss more details about the shooting before Charles was back.