by Millie Mack
“Exactly. That was Jamie, and that was our deal.”
For a man who originally didn’t want any lunch, Joel now dug into his food with a vengeance. Carrie and Charles had barely touched their soup, and Joel was already attacking his crab cake sandwich.
“If you had a deal from Jamie, why did you break into the studio?” asked Charles.
“I had a promise from Jamie, no one else. I was afraid he might have mentioned me in his notes. All I was trying to do was make sure there was nothing around to implicate me.”
“But, Joel, you knew I was going through Jamie’s papers. Why didn’t you say something when we ate lunch? I’d have honored Jamie’s deal, and it would have saved us all this aggravation.”
“To be honest, when we started reminiscing, I couldn’t get past the old memories. I kept remembering your sense of right and wrong. I wasn’t sure I could trust you not to turn me in to the authorities.”
“You’ll be glad to know I’ve mellowed. I’ve learned there are all kinds of shades of gray, but let’s get back to your meeting with Jamie. What kind of questions was Jamie asking?”
“As you suspected, his questions all concerned smuggling. What was the best way to hide an item? How did the person receiving the item get it? Was there someone on board the ship or someone at customs working with the smugglers? What happens at customs? What were the penalties if you got caught? Questions like that.”
“Did Jamie say what types of goods he thought were being smuggled? Drugs?” asked Charles.
“I don’t think it was drugs because he never asked any question specifically related to drugs.” Joel was silent, but then an idea flashed across his face. “Wait a minute. Now that you mention it, Jamie did say one thing. When we were talking about penalties, he asked if the penalty for smuggling weapons or drugs differed from smuggling consumer goods.”
“Consumer goods,” Carrie said. “I wonder what type of consumer goods.” Then Carrie remembered Jamie’s list. Her eyes meet Charles and confirmed they were both thinking of the reference to caviar on Jamie’s list.
“I’ve no idea. Jamie never mentioned details. It may only have been a research question to give him a better understanding of the process.” Joel paused and then added, “So, what happens now?”
“We finish our lunch, and Carrie and I keep looking for clues,” offered Charles.
“Good! If it’s all right with you two, I think I’ll head back to the office. You don’t mind picking up the check, do you, Charles?” Joel stood and emptied his glass of wine and left. He stopped by the maître d’ stand on the way out and pointed back to the table. Joel, no doubt, was making sure he knew Charles was paying the bill.
After Joel departed, Charles asked, “What do you think?”
“I think for the first time since this whole thing started, we know the reason for Jamie’s murder,” said Carrie sadly.
“We do? I’m afraid you will have to enlighten me,” said Charles.
“Joel reminded me of the way Jamie would make those deals. I think Jamie discovered who was behind the smuggling. I think he confronted this person, just like he confronted Joel. He offered this person the opportunity to stop the smuggling. In exchange, Jamie wouldn’t write the story, and he would forget what he discovered. Just in case the person didn’t follow through on the promise, Jamie kept a couple of aces up his sleeve. His aces were me and his journal.”
“It also means one other thing.”
“What’s that, Charles?”
“If it was someone he didn’t know, he would have simply written the story and exposed the person. I think this is what Suzanne meant by this person being ‘closer than you think.’ Jamie knew the person who murdered him.”
39
The next day was Saturday and Mrs. Cavanaugh’s day off. She decided to spend her afternoon playing cards with Mrs. Faraday. Mrs. Faraday was feeling much better, but remained in her room for extra rest.
Although Mrs. Cavanaugh was in the house, the one thing she didn’t do on her day off was cook. It was a school day for Mary, and she wouldn’t be back until the afternoon. So Christopher suggested ordering Chinese food for lunch. The ladies were sent a tray with a selection of Chinese food. Christopher, Carrie, and Charles sat at the kitchen table and shared the cartons of food.
“Uncle Charles, did you call the hospital today to check on Suzanne?”
“I did. She came through the surgery, but is still unconscious. The doctors feel the next seventy-two hours are critical to her recovery. But I have some other interesting news. I had a call from Becker today. Becker lifted Suzanne’s prints from that vase she was handling and ran a check. He got a hit. Her crimes were mostly teenage pranks, but they were enough to get her fingerprints on file. Here’s the interesting part: her name is Suzanne Renwick, not Redmond. Maybe that’s why Jonathan’s search didn’t turn up much.”
“I knew it!” Christopher said. “I knew she was a phony. I could tell. She was always looking over her shoulder, as if she expected to be nabbed.”
Carrie looked at Christopher in amazement. She continued to be impressed with Christopher’s power of observation. “Was Becker able to trace any family for her?” she asked.
“Yes, her parents live in Chicago, and Becker said they are a nice middle-class couple. They were receiving postcards from Suzanne while she was in Europe. Then she wrote to tell them she would be returning to the States and would let them know where she was. They were waiting to hear from her.”
“She probably didn’t tell them where she was for fear they would show up at our house and blow her cover,” said Christopher.
“Now, Christopher, be nice,” said Charles.
“Sorry, it’s just that everything I thought about her is coming true.”
Carrie turned back to Charles. “You said Becker called you. Is he now sharing information?”
“I think he wanted to see if we knew more about Suzanne than what we previously stated. However, he did offer an apology for his abrupt behavior last night. He said he appears abrupt when he’s concentrating on a crime.”
“Maybe Becker was just feeling guilty since he didn’t spot Suzanne as a phony. In fact, I wish one of us discovered the truth sooner. Maybe we could have saved her from being shot,” said Carrie.
“Don’t feel guilty,” said Charles. “We only had suspicions and no real evidence of her involvement until you overheard that phone call. I believe Jamie was suspicious, and that’s why he brought her home. Mother and I had suspicions, which is why we allowed her to stay. But suspicions don’t count.”
“I know. I just wish there was a different outcome,” answered Carrie.
“I think her associates knew Suzanne’s usefulness was ending. That’s why they were listening last night. At least, with the shooting happening here, we were able to get immediate medical help for her. That medical help is probably what saved her life,” concluded Charles. “I just wish she had told us more before she was shot.”
“Me, too, because other than looking for photos, we don’t have any more clues,” stated Christopher.
“Well, I have a next step. I’ve been thinking about talking to that kid at the Admiral’s Saloon.”
“Do you mean Ben?” supplied Carrie.
“That’s the one. The more I think about him, the more I believe he may know more.”
“Good idea,” Carrie said. “I’ll go with you.”
“Yeah, me, too,” piped in Christopher.
“Whoa! Both of you get to stay right here. I want to approach it from a different angle. I want to find out what Ben knows about the docks of TriCity. Maybe importers eat at the restaurant.”
“Charles, I don’t like the idea of you going there alone. You see, the more I think about my adventure at the harbor, the more I think it may have been Ben who alerted those two men. I told him I was looking into Jamie’s death, I gave him my name, and I told him I was going to the pier. The timing was just right between my leaving the restaurant, visi
ting the pier, and those two guys showing up by my car.”
“That’s why I’m not going alone. I’m calling Jonathan Stone to go with me. He knows more about TriCity than anyone I know. He can help me ask Ben the right questions about the docks.” Charles went to his study to call Stone.
Carrie and Christopher sat silently as Charles made his arrangements to meet Stone at the Admiral’s Saloon.
“All set.” He returned to the table. “Hey, before I go, I’d like to take one more look at that poem in Jamie’s journal. Could you get it for me?”
“I just happen to have it here.” Carrie reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the journal. “I thought we might want to take another look at it.”
Charles took the book and flipped to the page with the poem. Carrie slid her chair next to Charles, and Christopher came and looked over their shoulders.
“Have you figured out the meaning, Uncle Charles?”
“Not really. I just wanted to memorize some of Jamie’s thoughts. Its funny how certain words come up in a conversation about a particular industry.” He handed the book back to Carrie. “Okay, I’m on my way.”
Charles wanted to give Carrie a goodbye kiss, but he realized Christopher was in the room, so he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.
“Good heavens, Uncle Charles, give her a proper kiss. I’ll turn my back if you’re embarrassed.” And Christopher turned around.
“Well, you heard the man,” said Carrie.
After giving Carrie a “proper kiss,” Charles gave Christopher a light punch on the shoulder and went out the kitchen door. Christopher and Carrie watched his car pull away.
“You’re okay that your uncle and I like each other?”
“I think it’s great! I like the idea of having you around, and I can tell Uncle Charles feels the same way. How about having some ice cream?”
Carrie fixed a couple of dishes of ice cream to go with their almond cookies. When they were seated at the table, Christopher said, “I think Uncle Charles knows something he’s not telling us.”
“I thought the same thing. What do you think he’s up to?” Carrie asked. “Maybe he saw a clue in the poem.”
While they ate their cookies and ice cream, Carrie opened the journal to the poem and read it out loud. “Do you hear anything that we may have missed?”
“The lines about shipping sound okay, but that stuff about the picture hanging and five from the left doesn’t fit.”
“I agree. I think your father was trying to tell us there’s a picture, and the person we’re after is five places from the left.”
“Maybe Uncle Charles found the photo,” replied Christopher.
“I was just thinking. Did your father give you any pictures to hold?”
“The only pictures I have are ones from our vacations. And those photos are of Dad, me, and sometimes Suzanne. Dad’s poem implies it’s a group of people, like a class picture, where everyone lines up.”
“That’s it! A group shot where everyone lines up and smiles. Come on.” Carrie jumped up from the table, ran out of the kitchen, and headed for the hallway.
“Hey, where are we going?” Christopher asked as he ran after her.
They both took the hallway steps two at a time and flew down the hallway to Carrie’s room. Once inside, Carrie went right to the wall. Hanging in plain view was the picture of the launch of the News World magazine. She counted five from the left. Then she stood and looked in disbelief at Christopher.
“Christopher, five from the left is Jonathan Stone!”
40
“Joel?”
“Yes.”
“It’s Carrie.”
“I know who it is, but I didn’t expect to hear from you. I thought we finished our discussion at lunch yesterday.” With his deep voice Carrie couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or apprehensive about more questions.
“Now, Joel, don’t be that way. Charles and I learned a great deal yesterday, and we can’t thank you enough for your honesty and cooperation,” Carrie said in a low, calming voice.
“In that case, I’m glad I helped.” Joel’s tone changed. “To be honest, our talk helped me, too. I feel the burden of worrying about my couple of importing indiscretions was lifted. You must believe me when I say that I’ve stopped those activities, and I also trust you and Charles will keep your promise.”
“I assure you, Charles and I will keep our word. We have no interest in anything other than solving Jamie’s murder.”
After a silence, Joel said, “Carrie, I hope when all this is settled, we can still be friends.”
“Joel, we’ll always be friends. We go back too far and have too many wonderful memories to allow one incident to affect our friendship.”
“That’s good to know. I assume you’re calling for a reason.”
“Charles and I have one more question. We were wondering if anyone else who worked with Jamie, or knew the Faraday family, contacted you about importing.”
“Is it important? I don’t like revealing my client names.”
“Joel, it’s very important. It could literally be a life-or-death situation.”
“You mean this person could be in danger, like Jamie?”
Carrie decided not to tell Joel she suspected this person could be the villain and not the victim. Instead she said, “Yes, someone could be in danger.”
“There’s one person, but please don’t let him know I gave you his name. I’ve helped Jonathan Stone a couple of times.”
“How did you help him?” Carrie felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as Joel verified what Carrie already suspected.
“Jonathan contacted me to help him bring in some items from Europe. But, Carrie, I wasn’t doing anything unusual with Jonathan, if you know what I mean. He had purchased some items in Europe, and I was just facilitating some straight importing for him. Do you think he’s in danger?”
“I don’t know, Joel, but I better check this out right away. I’ll talk to you soon, and thanks.”
“Carrie, wait, be careful! I don’t know what’s happening, but I don’t want to pick up the paper and read about any more murders.”
“Thanks, Joel, I have to go. I’ll take care, and I’ll be in touch.”
When Carrie hung up, her heart was racing. She needed to get to Charles.
41
Carrie tried Charles’s cell phone. There was no answer, and she wasn’t comfortable leaving a message. She decided to drive to the Admiral’s Saloon. Christopher wanted to go, but Carrie convinced him he needed to be in charge at the house and to warn Uncle Charles in case he called.
As Carrie was driving to the saloon, she hoped her conclusions about Stone were incorrect. Carrie pushed her speed, but once she entered the city limits, she was slowed by the traffic lights on every corner. When she reached the harbor area, she drove past the parking lot on Pier Eight. She didn’t want to take a chance that her two friends were still hanging around. Instead, she drove to High Seas Street and parked in the residential section.
Carrie locked her car and started her walk to the restaurant, keeping an alert eye. Pedestrian traffic was light until she reached Harbor Avenue, and then she encountered crowds of tourists enjoying the harbor. She blended in with the walkers until she reached the Admiral’s Saloon. Once inside, she slipped onto a stool at the far end of the bar. Her seat was hidden by a large group standing around drinking beer. From her perch, Carrie could see virtually everyone entering or leaving the bar.
“What can I get you? We have some great beers on tap,” stated the bartender, who was decked out in a clean, crisp white shirt and black bow tie. He wiped the space in front of her and placed a square cardboard coaster advertising a light beer down on the bar.
Carrie looked at a table tent on the bar that advertised a frozen drink of the month. “I’m not much of a beer drinker, but I’ll have one of those strawberry daiquiris you’re featuring.”
“Coming right up.” After a quick whir on the blender, the bart
ender returned with Carrie’s drink and a mixed bowl of nuts and pretzels.
“Is Ben working tonight? He waited on me the last time, and I liked his service.”
“Yup, he’s working, but you may have to wait for one of his tables.”
“Why do you say that? It doesn’t look that busy in the dining room,” observed Carrie.
“You’re the third person within the last thirty minutes asking for one of Ben’s tables. Two gentlemen said they were also pleased with Ben’s previous service.”
“Two guys at one table? Ben can certainly handle two tables at a time.”
“No, the gentlemen weren’t together, and each server has a limited number of tables for single seating. Unfortunately for you, both men were seated within the last fifteen minutes. You should sip your drink slowly.”
Carrie wondered who these guys could be. Charles and Jonathan wouldn’t ask for separate tables Maybe they were just two businessmen who wanted Ben to wait on them. Of course, that seemed like an odd coincidence.
“You know, maybe when Ben comes down to pick up drinks for his tables, I’ll just say hi. That way I can have my dinner at the bar and another one of your delicious daiquiris,” Carrie suggested. She was thinking she was in a better position to watch the traffic from her bar stool.
The bartender nodded his head in agreement with her suggestion. “Sounds like a plan to me. When Ben comes by, I’ll send him your way. Let me know when you’re ready to order another drink or dinner.” The bartender left to serve several couples who sat at the bar a few seats away from Carrie.
Carrie moved two stools away from the new arrivals, closer to the dining area. She continued to sip her drink while she angled her position to better see the people in the dining room. She saw no signs of Charles or Jonathan Stone. Did they change their plans? Was Jonathan Stone aware he was a suspect? More importantly, did Charles know Jonathan was a suspect? She didn’t like waiting and was debating what to do next when she saw Ben enter the waiting area from a door marked “Management Offices.” He wasn’t dressed in the usual Admiral’s Saloon garb, but in street clothes. Carrie jumped up and quickly threw a ten-dollar bill on the bar as she realized Ben was leaving the restaurant.