Watson Manor Investigations (Watson Manor Mystery Series Book 3)

by Ronald S. Craig

  Jenny pulled her phone out and hit the speed dial for Marina PD. "Good morning, Jacque, is Edwards in?"

  "Hello, Jenny, I'll connect you."

  "Detective Edwards."

  "Good morning, this is Jenny. Did we recover Rosalyne's purse or phone in her car?"

  "Nothing in the car. No prints on it either, other than hers, of course."

  "Have you heard how she's doing?"

  "The Chief is at the hospital now. He said she is responding well to the treatment but that they may keep her sedated a couple more days."

  "That’s promising. Charlie and I are headed to Santa Cruz. We'll look around where her car was found, maybe get lucky."

  "Good idea. We left in kind of a hurry when Charlie found Rosalyne. Let us know," Edwards replied.

  Jenny put her phone away and turned to face Charlie. "Rosalyne is getting stronger, but still sedated. Feel like another nature walk? Her purse and phone are missing."

  "It's just ahead, we can drive in to the place we found her and work our way back," he said, slowing to pull off the road. "We never get it right, do we? This time I wish we were in the truck." He drove slowly on the utility dirt road leading away from the gravel shoulder where Rosalyne's car was found. They walked up the hill to the channel and found she hadn't lost her purse where she had fallen in. Jenny went down into the channel and started dragging her fingers in the loose soil and found a set of keys.

  "They must have been in her hands," she said. "I don't see a phone anywhere."

  Charlie was walking back toward the beginning of the dirt road, hoping to find footprints she might have left when she turned up the hill off of the dirt road. "No sign of her trail, I guess we just comb this area back to the gravel."

  Jenny joined him in the slow walk back through the trees and brush. When they reached the beginning of the dirt road he said, "There's the possibility that they took her purse and this whole thing was a random opportunity robbery."

  "Still seems too coincidental with the message she left for Henry."

  "That's why we're here. I'm just saying coincidences do happen. Let's check the other side of the road on the way back to the car."

  They crossed the dirt road and beyond the first bushes they discovered a pile that appeared to be dumped from a purse, a wallet, checkbook, compact, small bottles of makeup and various coins. Jenny opened the wallet. "It's Rosalyne's. Her driver's license, credit cards and cash, Charlie."

  "Not a robbery; they wanted her phone," he said. "Look, they dumped the purse here and tossed it over there." He walked over to retrieve it and brought it back so they could put her items inside it. "When we get to Santa Cruz and find a phone signal we can call Henry and Edwards."

  "Did she drop it on the road by accident or was she thinking that’s what they wanted, giving her a chance to hide?" she asked.

  "Lord willing, we'll have that answer soon from her lips." Charlie handed her the car keys. "Jenny, you get the car and I'll look around on the gravel side, now that we have daylight."

  "Sure," Jenny said, walking slowly through the brush towards their car.

  Charlie looked closely at the base of the bushes that had trapped windblown debris over the years. Most of the papers were well eroded, with the content bleached by the sun and no longer legible. He pulled a few business cards away that were trapped there as well. Three of the cards were Rosalyne's and four were not. He reasoned they were loose in her purse when it was dumped. Checking the area further he found three more clean business cards. He walked between the foothills on the dirt road to the gravel area. The trash was heaver there and aluminum cans and fast food wrappers dominated the area. Jenny pulled up in the car and walked over to where he stood.

  "Nothing out here, but I found some business cards close to where her purse was dumped," he said handing them to her.

  Jenny started going through them and stopped. "Dave Reed, reporter for the San Jose Herald," she said. "Another call when we get a signal."

  When they reached the city limits of Santa Cruz, Jenny was on her phone reporting their discovery of the purse to Detective Edwards and then called Henry Wilson.

  "Henry hadn't even thought about canceling her credit cards. He said he took a week off from work and even though they tell him at the hospital she'll be unconscious a few days, he stays and reads to her. Doesn't have any place better to be he said. My heart really goes out to him, Charlie."

  "I'd be going nuts in his position. Maybe Dave, either friend or foe, can help us figure this out."

  Jenny punched in Dave Reed's number and was directed to an answering machine after four rings. She left her name and number following his 'On the go' message.

  1200 Mission Boulevard was a six story office building showing thirty plus years of dulled aluminum window frames and surrounded by over grown bushes. Some of the trees reached the sixth floor. Real Estate firms seemed to hold the largest billing with a few insurance companies and Sentinel Corporation. The bottom of the sign indicated a number to call for the vacancies.

  They found Sentinel Corp on the bottom floor and walked in. There was a single reception desk in the twelve-foot square area behind the office glass door. A woman casually dressed in jeans and a simple light green blouse, in her mid-twenties, looked up as they approached her desk.

  "Pick up?" she asked them.

  "No, we were wondering if you had some information, a pamphlet maybe on Sentinel Corp?" Jenny asked.

  "No," she said.

  "Can you tell us then what kind of business this is?" Jenny asked.

  "They buy and sell property mostly I think," she said as the phone rang. "Sentinel Corp…tomorrow night...I'll see he gets the message." She hung up the phone and started typing on the computer keyboard in front of her. When she was done she turned back to them. "I'm like the switch board slash mailroom for the partners."

  "Do you have a list of the partners?" Charlie asked.

  "I can't give out that information, they insist on their privacy. I'm sorry; I need to put some mail together before pick up so I need to get to that."

  "Oh, we understand, thank you for your time. Is there anyone else we should talk to?" Jenny asked.

  "I'm the only one working here."

  Charlie pointed to the door marked 'Private' behind her desk, "No office manager in there?"

  "That's a conference room. I've never seen it used."

  "Well thanks for your help," Charlie said then turned to open the office door for Jenny. They left the building in silence and Jenny took a picture of the occupant listing board for the businesses outside the building.

  "She seemed friendly enough. She was just told to keep the partners names private," Jenny said.

  "Did you happen to read the label of the letter on top of the out basket? Laurie Gayle," he said.

  "Like, Laurie Gayle, our mayor?"

  "I'm thinking one and the same. It was addressed to a PO Box in Marina."

  "How many letters were in the out box?" she asked.

  "Five, maybe six."

  "All the same size envelope?"

  "I'd say, yes. So you're thinking all the partners are getting the same mailing?"

  "That was my thought, but she said she had more mail to do, so maybe not," Jenny wondered.

  "You could be right with five or six partners. There were no envelops or a stack of letters to be put in envelopes on the desk, so she was talking about a second group mailing she hadn't started yet is my guess."

  "Being so close to that list of partners is frustrating," Jenny said, sliding into the passenger's seat.

  "Not a wasted trip. We can assume the tie between our mayor and Sentinel Corp."

  "She didn't ask our names and we didn't press her, hopefully we didn't send up a flag here."

  "Jenny, I don't think she has any knowledge of wrong doing here, and quite frankly, neither do we, beyond the secrecy."

  Charlie started the car for the trip home and Jenny pulled out her phone. "Before we lose this signal, I
want to try Dave Reed again." Charlie waited beside the exit of the parking lot while she was on the phone. After she'd made several calls she hit End Call and slowly lowered the phone to her lap. "That was his editor, Charlie. He hasn't heard from Dave for three days!"

  Chapter 6

  Charlie left the Sentinel parking lot and they were driving through Santa Cruz toward home.

  "Wait here a moment, Charlie, I need to call Henry," Jenny said, grabbing her phone. Charlie pulled into a parking spot and turned off the car.

  "Hello," Henry answered.

  "This is Jenny; have you heard Rosalyne refer to a Dave Reed? He's a reporter for the San Jose Herald."

  "Yes, in fact I've met him once. She called it the 'Scoop Club'. There was another gal… Linda… no Lacy, Lacy Peters. I want to say a reporter for a Salinas newspaper, but I'm not sure."

  "That helps a lot Henry. There might be a connection as it seems Dave is missing."

  "I don't like the sound of this. What in the world was she into?"

  "We plan to find out. We're headed back to Marina and will touch base with Chief Walker. How's our girl doing?"

  "They are very optimistic about her recovering physically, but don't want to rush things and they are vague on when they will let her wake up."

  "I know how hard this is for you, Henry. She is in our prayers and we all need to think positively that she will make a full recovery."

  "I'm trying… Catch these bastards Jenny!"

  "We'll keep you posted," Jenny said disconnecting the call. "One more call Charlie, before we lose our signal. He knows Dave and there is a Lacy Peters in what he called a Scoop Club."

  "Ask the Chief to track her down, hopefully in time with a warning."

  Jenny dialed Chief Walker's cell phone and he answered after the second ring.

  "Walker."

  "Hello Chief. Two things, Dave Reed, a reporter with the San Jose Herald is missing and a Lacy Peters with the Salinas Tribune. Henry told us they were connected through what they called the 'Scoop Club'."

  "Dave Reed is missing?"

  "His editor told me he hasn't heard from him in three days."

  "And this Lacy, is she missing also?"

  "We haven't contacted her yet. We're on our way back to Marina. Can you try to contact her at the Tribune?"

  "First call, I'll see what I can find out on both of them. You said Lacy P-e-t-e-r-s?"

  "Yes, with the Salinas Tribune."

  "See you soon," Walker said, disconnecting the call.

  Charlie started the car and drove back toward Marina. Jenny was making notes on what they had so far and then she turned to face him. "Did you see anything in the City Council meeting notes referring to Sentinel Corp?"

  "I only looked at the July meeting. We can check June when we get back home. There wasn't some notation on her computer where you saw Sentinel?"

  "Just the question mark and the address."

  "Pieces of a puzzle scattered across the table," he said.

  Charlie pulled into the Marina PD parking lot thirty minutes later and they went inside. "Hello Watson Investigations," Jacque greeted them.

  "Hi, Jacque, we are still getting used to that being official now," Jenny replied.

  "Edwards is in the Chief's office; they're expecting you."

  "Thanks," Charlie said as they walked back and entered Walker's office.

  Jenny handed Rosalyne's purse to Walker and said, "I think it's your place to return this."

  "Thank you, Jenny. With my officers rotating watch at the hospital, I haven't had a chance to check the scene out."

  "With everything there but her phone, we can rule out a random road side theft," Charlie added.

  "I contacted Lacy Peters," Edwards said. "I took the liberty to set up a meeting with her at 1:30 this afternoon for you two at the Tribune."

  "Thank God she is alright," Jenny said relieved.

  "I talked to Andy, Captain Becker at Salinas PD and until we understand what's going on here, he has an officer watching her," Walker said.

  "We look forward to talking to her. What about Dave Reed?" Charlie asked.

  "Spoke with your old friend, Detective Derrel Miller, in San Jose. Apparently there was no missing person report filed until you talked to his editor. Single, no family in the area, it seems his editor was the only one missing him."

  "Small world," Jenny said. "We haven't spoken to Detective Miller since the trial. Is he going to look into finding Dave?"

  "Yes, and will give us an update when he has something," Walker said.

  "Here's the contact info on Lacy," Edwards said handing the note to Charlie.

  "Thank you, Edwards. We'll let you both know what we find out. Jenny, you ready to head home?"

  "Yes. I'd like to go by the hospital to see Rosalyne this afternoon after we meet Lacy. Thank you guys for your help."

  "No thanks required. You two feel more like an extension of Marina PD than outside investigators," Walker said.

  When Charlie and Jenny entered Watson Manor Julia came from behind the front desk and met them at their office door. "Hey you two, busy morning?"

  "You can say that, Julia," Jenny answered. "How are things here?"

  "Madison is running a slight fever and Lisa has her in bed resting."

  "Oh no, she seemed a little under-energized this morning, thanks Julia. We'll check on her right now," she said.

  They went to Lisa's unit for Madison and took her upstairs to their residence. Her fever was mild at 101.5 and she was able to sleep. "I guess we reschedule with Lacy," Charlie said.

  "There's no need for both of us to be here. This is a mild temperature, Charlie. You go talk to Lacy and I'll stay with Madison. I'll call you if things change."

  "Are you sure? Walker said she is being guarded, so it can wait."

  "Don't be silly. I've got this. We really need some answers."

  "I guess you're right. I'll only be twenty minutes away after all."

  Charlie drove his pickup to Salinas and found the newspaper office without any trouble. The Salinas Tribune building was twice the size of the Marina newspaper building where Rosalyne worked. He parked his truck beside the Salinas PD Cruiser in the parking lot and then walked into the front office.

  "I'm Charlie Watson to see Lacy Peters," he said to the man behind the front counter. Without comment the man turned to a switchboard sized phone and hit a key. "Lacy, your appointment's here."

  The small front desk was surrounded on three sides by glass paneled walls attempting to muffle the chatter and activity going on beyond them in the large open area scattered with desks. Charlie watched as a tall dark haired young woman walked toward him from a desk in the back. She opened a door off to the left of the front desk. "Mr. Watson, I'm Lacy Peters, please come in."

  "Pleased to meet you, Lacy, I'm Charlie."

  "We can use the conference room in the back. It will be a little quieter." He followed her back through the noisy open area where multiple conversations were being carried on between reporters at their desks over their phones. When she closed the conference door behind them the transition to silence was remarkable. "How is Rosie? Excuse me, have a seat Charlie. What in the world is going on?"

  "That’s what we're trying to find out, Lacy. You know Rosalyne is still sedated in the hospital and we can't find Dave Reed?" he asked taking a seat.

  "Yes! And that a policeman is outside, to keep me safe?"

  "Henry, Rosalyne's husband told us you three were in a 'Scoop Club'. Given that Dave is missing and with what happened to Rosalyne, we didn't want to take a chance if you are in danger also. When did you see either of them last?"

  "Well I'm a nervous wreck here. We meet as a group once a month, but I missed the last meeting a week ago."

  "Were the three of you working on the same project?"

  "At the June meeting we wrapped up a story on a senior home here in town. Rosie said she was looking into what looked like a shady land deal in Marina."

 
; "Anything specific?"

  "A big project, a hotel and I think she said a movie theater."

  "Were all three of you going to investigate?"

  "Dave was excited and able to jump right in. I told them I'd have to pass this time. I'm two months behind on the completion of my first novel and my publisher is putting heavy pressure on me."

  "Congratulations on the book. It might be the very reason you didn't alert someone as a threat."

  "So you think whoever is responsible for putting Rosie in the hospital and for Dave's disappearance is not after me?"

  "I don't know, so keep your eyes open. If whoever it is doesn't know about the connection between the three of you, this 'Scoop Club,' then maybe they aren't looking at you. Here is my card, Lacy, if anything comes to mind or you hear from Dave. I don't think I need to suggest that you leave investigating this alone."

  "No, Charlie, that's real clear," Lacy said and handed him one of her business cards. "These are my friends. So please keep me informed on them?"

  Charlie stood up and shook her hand. "My wife, Jenny, or I'll be in touch, Lacy."

  "Thank you, Charlie. Our Chief Editor wants to say hello; follow me." Charlie grabbed his note pad and followed Lacy to the editor's office door. "Let me know about Rosie and Dave."

  "I will Lacy, and thank you again for your time." He turned from Lacy to face the open office door.

  "Hello Charlie," she said standing beside her desk. "I figure it's been what, fourteen years?" Charlie felt the blood drain from his face.

  Chapter 7

  Charlie stood in the doorway as his mind rewound those fourteen years. Standing in front of him was his first of so many things dear to him. He felt both the pain of their last kiss when he closed the rear door of her family's station wagon and the labored breathing as they held eye contact while the car pulled away and faded into traffic so many years ago. The emotions consumed him with every detail. The wonder they shared on a path of loving each other that took them through the innocence to exploring intimacy was all there again with an overwhelming force.

  "Please sit down, Charlie," Eden said, feeling as overwhelmed as she sensed he was and moved behind her desk. "I'm sorry for the shock. Lacy mentioned a Charlie Watson was coming to see her and once I confirmed it was you… I had to say hello."