by Millie Mack
“Ben, wait a minute!” Carrie called after him.
He looked over his shoulder and said, “Sorry, got to run.”
Carrie could see panic on his face, but it was also obvious he didn’t recognize her. “Ben, it’s me, Carrie Kingsford. We spoke the other night. Where are you going?”
“Me? I’m, uh, I…I don’t feel well,” he stammered. “I’m going home.”
Just as Ben was about to escape through the front door, a large group of people entered and blocked his way. While Ben waited to get past, Carrie grabbed his arm.
“Hey, let me go. Who are you, anyway?”
“I told you. I’m Carrie Kingsford. Remember, we talked about Jamie Faraday’s death the other night.” Panic returned to his eyes. “Ben, if you’re in danger, you shouldn’t just walk out of here without protection.”
He pulled her over to the side, away from the incoming patrons. “I know I’m in danger. That’s why I’m getting the hell out of here.”
“Has Charles Faraday been here to talk with you?” Carrie asked.
“No. Who’s he?”
“He’s Jamie Faraday’s brother. He was coming to talk with you. He would have been here with another man or maybe even the police,” she stated.
“The police! Why would the police want me?”
“Blackmail is usually considered police business.”
“Blackmail? I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Ben shot back.
“Cut the crap, Ben,” Carrie said. “This murder case is in its final act. We are about to nail the murderer of Jamie Faraday. So far, all you’re in trouble for is a couple of blackmail payments. The police won’t care about these payments if you help nail a murderer.”
“Look, you’re wrong. I’m not a blackmailer. I may have gotten paid for providing some information, but I certainly have nothing to do with any murder.”
“Then why don’t you tell me the whole story?”
“All right, I’ll talk, but not here.” He looked around again at the faces of the incoming patrons. “We need to leave here.”
They went out of the restaurant, and Ben turned left toward the main downtown area.
“My car is the other way,” Carrie offered. “We could talk in the car, and then I’ll drive you somewhere safe.”
“No, there’s a small pub nearby. They don’t do dinners or happy hour, so they won’t be busy at this time. We can talk there.”
The little voice in Carrie’s head kept asking, Where is everyone? She saw no signs of Charles and Jonathan. Why was Ben in such a hurry to get away from the restaurant? Ben walked quickly along the boardwalk, dodging in and out between people as he walked against the flow of traffic. Carrie found it difficult to keep up with him and was just about to tell Ben to slow down when she recognized Officer Reynolds coming their way. She felt relief at seeing his friendly face. Carrie raised her hand and waved, just as Ben made a quick right turn down a side street and headed back toward Harbor Avenue. Officer Reynolds waved back, but Carrie didn’t know if his wave was a friendly gesture or if he recognized her.
Midway down the block was a refurbished row house with a single wooden door. Over the top of the door was a swinging pub sign advertising the Dancing Sailor. The sign portrayed a sailor with his leg raised, as if he was doing a jig. Ben entered the pub, and Carrie followed.
The low lighting and the deep-brown wood walls and furniture made the place so dark that Carrie was momentarily blinded. As Carrie’s eyes began to adjust to the lack of light, she saw an open area to her left with a series of dartboards on the wall. Around the three adjoining walls was a ledge to hold drinks and snacks for the players. The brightly lettered sign near the dartboards indicated tournaments were held Monday through Friday nights, starting at eight. This was Saturday, so no dart games tonight.
Since the pub was located in an old row house, the building was longer than wide. Next to the dart area was a bar that took up half the length of the remaining floor space. At the end of the bar, the room opened up again. On the right side of the room across from the bar were a series of high-back booths and several small tables. Ben was right about the place providing privacy at that hour of the day. Only one couple was seated at the end of the bar nearest the door.
Ben’s eyes must have adjusted to the light quicker, or maybe he was more familiar with the layout. Carrie saw him standing at a booth almost at the back of the pub. She nodded to the bartender as she passed him on her way to join Ben. And then she stopped in her tracks. She was inside a bar that was almost exactly like the one she created for Ascot in her book. Was it possible that her mind had some vision into the future? She walked more slowly toward the back, where Ben stood. In her book, Ascot was surprised by whom he saw sitting in the booth.
Carrie had reached Ben and she turned to look at the person sitting in the booth. She couldn’t hide her shock. She quickly spun around in an attempt to escape, but her path was blocked by two men who came up behind her. One was tall and heavy, like a football player. The other man was short and very thin.
42
“Thanks for the warning, Mr. Stone. I think I got away from the restaurant just in time. Two men arrived and requested my tables, and then this lady asked for me, but no one else,” said Ben.
“Ah, Ms. Kingsford, I was hoping to catch up with you! I’m always glad to have additional guests when I throw a party. Please, join Charles,” offered Jonathan Stone as he pointed to the other side of the booth.
Carrie slid in next to Charles. When she looked at him, she saw his cheek was bruised.
“Charles, you’re hurt!”
“It’s nothing, just a bump.” Charles was clearly surprised by Carrie’s arrival. “Carrie, what are you doing here?”
“I came to warn you, but it looks like I didn’t do a very good job.”
“That’s all right. I didn’t do a very good job, either.” Charles looked away from Carrie at the young man standing next to Jonathan. “I assume this is Ben from the Admiral’s Saloon.”
“Hey, who is this guy?” demanded Ben.
Jonathan Stone decided to play the perfect host by providing introductions.
“Ben, I’d like you to meet Charles Faraday, Jamie Faraday’s brother. Obviously, you’ve already met Carrie Kingsford, and you know me. Ben, come, sit down here.” Stone patted the wooden seat next to him.
Ben wasn’t sure about Stone’s offer to sit next to him, but Stone’s two associates helped him decide. They stood beside Ben, and the bigger man placed a hand on his shoulder. Ben slid in next to Stone.
“Shall we get started?” offered Jonathan.
“Wait a minute!” Charles interrupted. “You haven’t finished your introductions. We don’t know the names of these gentlemen.”
Carrie wasn’t sure their names were important, considering the circumstances, but decided to play along with Charles’s request. “Yes, I’d also like to meet these gentlemen. Although I feel I already know them, having experienced so many close encounters.”
“Of course, my dear,” Jonathan said, addressing Carrie. “This is Mr. Tomas Petrovich. I met him on a trip to Eastern Europe.” Petrovich, the bigger man, stood to attention, clicked his heels, and bowed slightly to the group. “And this is Mr. Bill Genello, whom I’ve known for many years from my early days in New York.” Mr. Genello looked at his fingernails and grinned. It was a nasty grin. “Now, everyone knows everyone, and it does make it more pleasant,” said Jonathan.
Carrie heard a noise and looked back over her shoulder. The couple sitting at the bar was leaving. The bartender followed them to the door, flipped the “Open” sign to “Closed,” and locked the door.
“All set, Mr. Stone. The place is all yours,” the bartender said as he passed the booth and took the stairs at the back of the pub, leaving Stone and his group alone on the first floor.
“Now, folks, it is important for me to understand how much you two know and what evidence led you to me.”
“Look, M
r. Stone, if I could just get my money, I’ll be out of here,” Ben said.
“You’re right, Ben, it’s time for your payoff.” Stone nodded to Petrovich, who in one quick motion snapped his hand against the back of Ben’s neck. Petrovich and Genello pulled Ben from his seat and dragged him to the back room.
“Jonathan, there’s no need to hurt the boy,” Carrie said. “He really doesn’t know anything about the murder.”
“He knows we were together, and I can’t have him tell the police even the little bit he knows,” answered Stone. “Oh, my dear, I’m so sorry. I’m afraid I’m not only going to have to deal with Ben, but both of you as well.”
43
“Before you ‘deal with us,’ as you put it, I have one question for you,” Charles said. “Does Ben know you murdered my brother?”
“No, as a matter of fact, he doesn’t. What he saw was a brief meeting between me and Jamie at the Admiral’s Saloon bar the night of the murder. Unfortunately, he heard Jamie call me by name. Fortunately for me, the police didn’t question him about that night. I went back the next night and talked with Ben. I was able to convince him that Jamie and I were working on a story together. After all, would I come back to talk with him if I had anything to do with the death? I told him there was a possibility the death wasn’t an accident, and I was investigating what happened. I gave him a nice tip and promised him more money if he would let me know if anyone started nosing around. You see, Ben was convinced I was one of the good guys in this whole affair.”
“Ah, so it was Ben who alerted you I was at the Admiral’s Saloon? That’s how Petrovich and Genello were waiting for me at my car,” confirmed Carrie.
“Yes, the boys were having a terrible time trying to catch you. They missed you on the highway.”
Stone just verified the nagging feeling Carrie always had that her incident on the highway was not a coincidence. “I wondered about that encounter,” said Carrie.
“Then they missed you in the garage the day you lunched with Joel and again the night you met Ben.” Genello reached over and lightly tapped Stone on the shoulder. “Yes, yes I remember. The boys would like me to ask where you hid the night they chased you.” Stone’s tone remained light and friendly.
Carrie looked at Charles. “I guess it doesn’t matter if I tell. I hid in a bank’s ATM lobby and used the customer service phone to call the police.”
“My, my, you are a clever girl. Boys, you will have to add ATMs to the list of places to check when you are chasing someone.” Stone returned his attention to the couple. “Now back to my original question. How much do you two know about what Jamie was doing?” His tone changed.
“Not enough to understand why you murdered my brother. Of course, I know you didn’t do it. Which of these two goons did your dirty work?”
Petrovich stepped forward and nodded to the group.
Charles continued, “I assume you were the one that decided to try to make it look like an accident. Jonathan, come clean and tell us what happened that night.”
“Unfortunately, I was responsible for your brother’s death. Your brother just wouldn’t stop digging into smuggling at the harbor. His research coupled with his idealized sense of right and wrong made him a big problem for my business.”
“What kind of a business are you running that you have to hire thugs to murder people?” Charles demanded.
Stone looked from Carrie to Charles. “I guess it won’t hurt at this time to tell you about my caviar business. I really haven’t had the opportunity to share my success story with anyone.”
Stone was obviously pleased that Charles had asked the question. However, Carrie wondered why Charles seemed so determined to keep Stone talking. It was clear now what happened to Jamie would happen to them. Perhaps Charles was trying to delay their ultimate fate.
“While your brother was in Poland, he notified Bill Owens he had a tip about smuggling and thought it would make a great story. Owens asked me, and I approved the idea.”
“Good grief, Jonathan, if Jamie asked about working on a story that would affect your business, why didn’t you stop him?” Carrie asked.
“There were several reasons, my dear. First, Jamie’s original story was not specific to the caviar business. It had more to do with political corruption. Second, I thought with Jamie’s research expertise, I could learn more about law enforcement techniques for spotting illegal imports. Third, if Jamie’s investigation led to my business, it meant I had a weak link that needed to be fixed.”
“Jonathan, who are you working for?” Charles asked. “Who is supporting this little sideline of yours?”
“Who’s supporting me? Don’t be ridiculous!” Stone huffed. “No one is supporting me. I’m in charge. People work for me!”
Carrie remembered Jamie’s wake and her first impressions of Stone as he munched on a toast point with caviar. She couldn’t help but wonder if the caviar was provided by Stone.
“Did serving as general manager for the magazine help you find contacts to run your business? How many Faraday employees are helping you in this sideline?” Charles was lightly tapping his fingers on the tabletop.
“You’ll be glad to know, Charles, that no members of your staff met my standards for employment. Although, I admit, I occasionally used the overseas staff to take small packages back and forth for me. Of course, they thought these packages were just personal gifts between friends.”
Charles asked point blank, “What else are you importing besides caviar—military documents, art, or drugs?”
“Good heavens, no. I’m not a criminal! I’m a businessman. You may not believe this, but caviar has become quite a tasty little business for me.” Stone laughed heartily at his little joke. He quickly regained his composure and added, “Since the fall of the Communist-controlled governments, the strict regulations regarding caviar exports have become lax. As a result, more people around the world, including TriCity residents, want caviar. The profits are huge, but, alas, there is a limited supply.”
“Jonathan, what are you saying?” asked Charles. “Are you smuggling real caviar, or are you producing fake caviar to sell?”
“Both,” Jonathan replied. “Most consumers are fascinated by the aura surrounding Russian caviar. However, except for the most experienced connoisseur, the average person can’t tell one fish egg from another. This leaves the market wide open for some blending of less expensive eggs. I have sources that provide me with authentic Russian labels, so no one is the wiser. Of course, I also import black market Russian caviar for those special affairs where someone might know the difference.”
“Did Jamie discover a shipment of your caviar on a dock in Europe?” asked Carrie. “Is that what led him to your smuggling activities?”
“Actually, if he had discovered a caviar shipment for me, I doubt if anything would have happened. He would have teased me about my expensive tastes. No, what he discovered was a shipment of the fake Russian labels. One of our reporters was dropping off some material for Jamie and picking up a package of labels for me. The idiot got the packages mixed. With a little backtracking, Jamie found one of my caviar sources in Poland. It didn’t take him long to put together what I was doing when he found Polish caviar in a tin with one of my fake Russian labels.”
“You’re saying this…this, as you call it, ‘little caviar business’ cost my brother his life!”
Carrie sensed the emotion rising within Charles. She was afraid he might do something foolish. She reached over and gently touched his arm. She felt him relax.
“You two still don’t understand that my ‘little business’ is worth millions. However, I’ll tell you that no one was ever supposed to be hurt,” he added softly.
Stone looked down at his suit jacket and carefully picked off a speck of lint. Then he turned his eyes to Carrie. “Carrie, don’t you have any questions about my business?”
“I was wondering if Joel works with you since he also does importing.” The minute Carrie asked the que
stion, she regretted it, realizing she may have just placed Joel in danger.
“I’ve used Joel as a backup. If I couldn’t get a shipment out of a particular location, I’d check with Joel to see if he had a contact. But Joel assumed my shipments were legitimate.”
Charles and Carrie exchanged a quick glance. Wouldn’t Stone be surprised to learn that Joel had a little secret, too?
Carrie was about to ask another question when she felt Charles take her hand underneath the table and squeeze it gently. Suddenly everything seemed fine. If it was time for her to die, she was glad she was with Charles.
Stone, seeing there were no more questions, said, “Since I have been open about my business, I hope you will be equally open in telling me how you learned I was involved. Should we continue our civilized approach and have Carrie go first?”
Carrie’s mind raced quickly to create a plausible response of how she discovered Stone. She didn’t want to involve anyone else or reveal any evidence. She carefully selected her words. “I think you’re going to be terribly disappointed. I’m afraid I didn’t know you were involved.” She decided to play to his ego. “You see, I was thinking about the night Mr. Petrovich and Mr. Genello chased me. I was positive I wasn’t followed from the house, which meant someone alerted them to my presence at the harbor. The logical person was Ben, and I came here tonight to confront him. He said he would talk with me but not at the restaurant, and I foolishly followed him here to the pub.”
“You’re telling me that you weren’t looking for me, but just tagging along with Ben?” he asked with genuine surprise.
“I warned you my explanation wasn’t anything spectacular. Only now do I realize how stupid my actions were.”
Carrie couldn’t get a reading on whether Jonathan accepted her explanation, but he turned away from her and asked Charles, “What about you?”
Charles looked at Carrie. “It’s all right, I feel equally shortsighted.” Charles then turned to Stone. “Is it correct for me to assume Suzanne was working for you and the listening device was yours?”