Jenny, beside him as they moved around the room, was acutely aware of his enhanced animation as the host and greeter. She tried to accept it as the initial launch of the dinner offering, but Eden's quite demeanor that evening told her it was something else.
*****
The warmth of the summer day in the coastal community of Marina had Eden, Jenny and even Charlie dressed in beach casual, shorts and sandals. Jacque greeted them as they entered the Marina Police Department and introductions were made.
"Come on back," Edwards said and they passed through the half door toward his desk in the back of the squad room.
"Eden, this is Detective Stan Edwards," Jenny said.
"And equally as important, the reason Julia and Timmy live in Marina," Charlie added.
"Hello Eden, we're all so glad you're here and safe."
"I'm pleased to meet you as well, and grateful for your intervention yesterday."
"As I told Charlie yesterday, Eden, we thank you," Walker said, joining them in the squad room. "I'm Chief Walker and very pleased to meet you. Bringing those two in has given this case a tremendous boost." He reached out and shook her hand.
"Hello Chief Walker. I'm hoping these two were my threat and, as beautiful as it is here, I can take Emily home now."
"Let's walk through what we know at this point," Walker said indicating the chairs facing the large evidence board that was set up and then continued, "before we evaluate your safety in this matter, Eden."
Eden gasped as her eyes scanned the evidence board and she found the photos of herself, Emily and the missing child photo she had received.
"I'm sorry for the shock, Eden. This is what we found in the possession of the two men we brought in," Walker said. "Edwards, why don't you get this started."
Detective Edwards waited while the group took their seats and then began.
"We have a positive ID on Jackson Black, one of the men. Seems when he was almost eighteen the judge gave him the choice of juvee or two years in the Marines. He quickly proved his worth as a soldier and earned a dishonorable discharge from his first duty assignment for striking his sergeant. We have sent out the mug shot of our second man along with the ballistics from their weapons and are waiting for answers. What is clear is these two men are professional hit men and were brought in to eliminate a threat to someone. Information is getting back to them that Rosalyne Wilson, Dave Reed, Sandra Jenkins, and you, Eden, are digging into their business. The caliber of the men we have in lockup indicates big money behind this. Jenny sent over the emails from Dave Reed, the last one confirming Jackson was the man that threatened him," Edwards told them.
Walker added, "It seems that the red flag went up when Sandra Jenkins, an intern for Assemblyman Mitchell, was discovered looking into his affairs after overhearing his comment shown on the board there," Walker pointed to it. "I've asked Captain Richards to look into locating Sandra Jenkins."
Eden stirred in her seat after reading the message. "Chief Walker, I told Charlie about some property acquired by the Sentinel Corporation in Salinas. The original owner had a heart attack! Do you think that’s related to Mitchell's comment?"
"Yes," Walker replied. "Our look into Sentinel has only produced one name, the president, a licensed real estate broker named Steven Ashland. His financials reflect a very small percentage, sales commission we think, of their overall cash flow."
"Can we tie Mitchell to Sentinel or these two men?" Jenny asked.
"The problem," Edwards said, "is we don't know what Sandra did to trigger the red flag. Was she caught by Mitchell or his staff, or was it something else she did we don't know about yet?"
"We know Rosalyne was driving toward Sentinel when she was accosted. I see on the board these two had her photo with them," Charlie said.
"Oh, my God, what happened to her?" Eden asked nervously.
"Sorry Eden, we didn't want to add to your stress. Rosalyne is safe. We hope to get her story soon," Charlie told her.
"Eden," Walker said softly, "I think Charlie's answer to reduce your awareness is a disservice in evaluating the threat from who is behind this. Charlie and Jenny found Rosalyne in a ravine a quarter mile from her car. She had been there for two days. They saved her life." Eden went quiet absorbing his words but she was fully alert.
Edwards pointed to the photo of Charlie and Jenny. "This is a strong tie to Sentinel as well. This photo, taken in their office, wound up in our guy's briefcase. That tells us Sentinel is one of the triggers, but is it the only one?"
Jenny turned to face Eden, "Eden, did you contact Sentinel in anyway?"
"I never contacted them directly. I searched for their website and took a look there."
"From your office computer. I'll bet, their website must have registered your visit somehow," Charlie guessed.
"We don't have the contact log feature on our website for Watson Investigations, but I think for an additional fee it was offered to us as a lead tracker," Jenny told them.
"We have a contact log here of course," Edwards informed them.
"Chief, Henry Wilson on line one. Rosalyne just woke up." He took the call in his office and then returned to the group. "We can finish this later today after hearing what Rosalyne has to offer us."
Chapter 13
Charlie and Jenny took Eden back to Watson Manor and headed to the hospital. Eden gave Julia at the reception desk a half smile as she walked through the empty dining room toward a small sitting area. She sat down in an overstuffed chair beside a small book case filled with paperback books below a sign "Take one-Leave One." The colorful display of books failed to draw her interest as she sank deeper into the chair, distracted by thoughts of all she had learned and what she needed to do from there.
"Hello Ms. Downey," Julia said placing her hand gently on Eden's shoulder. "Can I get you anything?"
Producing a weak smile, Eden turned to face her. "Please, it's just Eden. She shifted in the chair slightly toward Julia and continued, "Thank you, Julia, I'm fine. A lot on my mind I guess."
"Ok, Eden then," she said and removed her hand. "I hope you know you're safe here. Charlie and Jenny wouldn't let anything happen and my husband would be here in five minutes."
"I just met him, quite a catch," she said, her smile becoming more genuine. "You care a great deal for the Watsons, don't you?"
"Oh yes," Julia's face lit up with warmth and love. "They are the family I never had. You know about my son Timmy, don't you?"
Eden turned her head away from Julia, and stared across the empty room. She relaxed a little, moving her arms from her lap to the arms of the chair. "I was working in Chicago when that story went national. It was significant for me as well, ended a long search…," she said cutting herself off. Her body tensed at the slip and added, "Maybe some water if you don't mind."
Julia went into the kitchen and returned with two bottles of water then handed one to Eden and sat down beside her. "Jenny tells me you went to high school with Charlie."
Eden turned to face Julia. "Yes, we did, a long time ago." Dropping her eyes from Julia's she continued, "It was such a surprise when he walked into the Salinas office to talk to one of my reporters."
Julia reached out and took Eden's hand drawing her eyes and said, "Eden, this is just between you and me. I couldn't love Jenny and Charlie more and their special marriage inspired me to take a chance with Stan." Julia softly tightened her hold on Eden's hand, "I suspect Charlie was more than a friend in high school, and… now I also think your moving to Salinas was more than a coincidence."
Eden gripped the arms of the chair as if starting to get up. "We were just friends…," Then she sank back into the chair and lowered her head to conceal her tears. Julia went to the reception desk and returned with a box of tissues. She handed them to Eden and sat back down beside her again. They sat quietly for several minutes. "Julia, please don't say anything to them," Eden said, then turned slowly to face her. "You're right, I moved us here to be closer to Charlie. I've never stop
ped loving him." She paused a moment wiping her eyes dry. "Our being forced together by this case is killing me. I realized yesterday that moving here was a big mistake."
Julia reached out and took Eden's hand again. "I can't even begin to know how difficult this is for you not knowing what you'd find here. I also know Charlie is struggling as well."
"Sure. there were fantasies about us being together again initially," Eden said gripping Julia's hand and holding her eyes, "but I would never, you have to believe me Julia, interfere with the love I've seen between them."
"I believe you're not here to break them up. I'm hoping it's because you still care about him that much."
"I'm a wreck. How is it you have more faith in me then I do?" Eden turned her body quickly to the extent the chair would allow, facing the book case as her hold on the tears failed her. Julia, catching sight of some guests entering through the front door jumped up to draw their attention away from Eden. She guided them into the back room for beach towels and sand chairs and then walked them back out. Julia went back to the reception desk with the pretense the papers she was shuffling around held her complete attention. Her ploy to give Eden space only took ten minutes.
Eden looked around the room to ensure they were alone again then approached the desk.
Julia looked up and said, "Things are so volatile right now. I hope you and Charlie can seize control of your emotions and rebuild a friendship." Julia moved around from behind the desk and hugged her. Then she moved back a step and put her hands on her hips as an instructive mother would and said, "Right now though, I suggest you change into a swimsuit and go reclaim your water fight title from your daughter."
Eden laughed and replied, "My daughter said it all last night; this place is magical because of all of you. More great advice. I'm going swimming!" Then she turned and headed for the stairs.
*****
Charlie and Jenny walked into Rosalyne's hospital room and were so relieved to see her sitting up, very alert and animatedly talking to Chief Walker.
Henry rushed over and gave Jenny a big hug."She's going to be fine. Her first words woke me up at five this morning. 'Where's the beef, honey, I'm starving'." Henry stepped back smiling and turned to face Charlie. "You believe that, where's the beef!" Then he laughed again.
Charlie leaned against the wall just inside the door to not crowd Rosalyne as Jenny moved to the opposite side of her bed from Chief Walker. "Hello Rosalyne. This is so wonderful seeing you coming back. How do you feel?"
"Stiff and sore," she replied and reached for Jenny's hand, "And most of all, very much grateful to you and Mr. Watson for my life."
"In the first place, it's Charlie and Jenny," he said moving closer behind Jenny and slipping his arms around her waist. "I hope that cast on your leg is the only thing broken."
Henry jumped in, "Broken in two places and there'll be a scar where the skin was torn. Doctor said she'll be good as new in three months."
"Charlie and Jenny it is then," she said giving them both a smile of gratitude. "After all this, my friends call me Rosie and I think you two more than qualify as friends. Besides the scrapes and bruises you can see, my ego will take some time to heal." Rosalyne's smile faded to a serious expression then added, "I can't believe how stupid I was."
Jenny squeezed her hand to draw her attention and said, "You couldn't have known how big this was."
Chief Walker placed his hand on Rosalyne's shoulder and when she turned to face him he said, "I've made some notes, but if you don't mind, could you take Charlie and Jenny through this?"
"Sure Chief." She turned back to Charlie and Jenny. "You two know about our 'scoop club'. Well, Dave had been contacted by someone working with Assemblyman Mitchell. She overheard a conversation about "using any means" to acquire some property, "even if it took a heart attack" that they had apparently used before. A few days later, a very angry woman came into the office, demanding to see Assemblyman Mitchell right away. Dave's source…"
"The source, was her name Sandy or Sandra?" Jenny asked cutting her off.
"Yeah, that’s right, Dave called her Sandy. Apparently the woman, not Sandy, but the angry one, didn't want to give her name and said 'tell him Cinemagic'. Sandy announced her as such and Mitchell saw her right away. Dave told me that Sandy found out later the woman was the Mayor of Marina. It seemed like he was on to something and Dave was going to stay with his source and nose around in real estate holdings and financial records on Mitchell. I was going to do the same with Laurie Gayle, our mayor, and find out from whom Cinemagic was purchasing its property. The last three Cinemagic theaters built in this area were built on property sold to them by Sentinel. I couldn't tie either Mitchell or Gayle to them and decided to work it backwards."
Charlie moved beside Jenny, leaving one arm around her waist. "We have a thin thread, in the out mail basket at Sentinel, I saw a letter addressed to Laurie Gayle at a PO Box in Marina." He turned toward Jenny and she gave him a positive nod. "Please Rosie, go ahead. Work it backwards?"
Rosalyne straightened up slightly in the bed eager to continue, "After extensive research and by sheer coincidence that I was wearing my most flattering outfit," she paused a moment with a smile to indicate the stretch, "I happened to run into Bob Stewart at his favorite lunch spot outside Cinemagic Headquarters in San Jose." Her face lit and as she tossed her hands up for effect and continued, "What a surprise to learn he managed their planning department. So I…"
Henry's laughter drew the group's attention to him. "Sorry babe. They can unplug that brain scan machine, like I said and am thrilled to confirm, you are definitely hitting on all cylinders!"
They all enjoyed the moment and shared the humor. Jenny seeing a small pout stealing the smile from Rosalyne's face, interjected, "I think your approach was very creative, Rosie."
Rosalyne's smile returned and she said with understanding, "I'm a chatter box, like you all needed me to point that out. In a gracious attempt to condense this, I discovered Cinemagic was looking to break ground in Marina inside of nine months. I looked around Marina for land I thought would work for them and contacted the property owners. All three had received a letter of interest to purchase their property from Sentinel Corporation."
"Excuse me for interrupting, Rosie," Jenny said. "That connection between Sentinel and Cinemagic, we need to see if that’s exclusive."
Rosalyne paused a moment to consider it. "I don't know, my focus was in Marina. So I met with Christine Hodges, one of the three owners. What a great ol' gal. She's been widowed over ten years, eighty five, and sharp as a tack. I hope I'm as sharp at sixty. Anyway, she's living comfortably on income properties so when she gets this visit from Sentinel offering a third of its value because, get this," Rosalyne paused to look around the room so the point wasn't missed, "they tell her there are heavy unpaid tax liens and penalties on the property and they, Sentinel, could make her problems go away. Like I said, sharp as a tack, she told them to "go to hell". Really, the exact words she told me."
"I'll want to talk to her, if more pressure is coming," Walker said. "Did the other two property owners get the same treatment?"
"Not that I know of yet. I have contact information in my computer…" she said, looking around the room and then at her husband.
Jenny raised her hand and confessed. "I have it Rosie and will return it to you later. We never found your phone though."
"Rosie, were you headed to Sentinel when …," Charlie asked.
"When I fell in the ditch. Yes, I was. I'd called Sentinel and talked to some woman, their receptionist she told me. I told her who I was and where I worked. I asked if I could speak to someone in their management. She said there was no one there, and she only processed mail and such. I told her I was also a friend of Christine Hodges and would like to get their side of the story before the morning edition went to press. Her attitude changed and she told me someone would contact me. Thirty minutes later a Nathan Thomas called, said he was the VP of acquisitions and would be
pleased to meet with me at Sentinel in Santa Cruz, but his schedule was full until six p.m. that evening."
Henry pulled his phone from his belt and held it up. "That's when you left the voice message on my phone."
Rosalyne faced him with a painful expression on her face. "Yeah, honey. Blinded by excitement and walking stupidly into a trap," she said.
Walker pulled the two mug shots out of his case and handed them to Rosalyne. "Do either of these men look like the men you encountered on the road?"
"I never saw this man or the driver," she said and handed the photo of Jackson Black back to him. "That's the man that tried grabbing me." She settled deeper into the bed as if seeking protection from it as she relived the moment. Her voice lost its confidence as she continued, "It happened so fast, if I hadn't moved onto the shoulder their car would have pushed me there. It was a deep shoulder and I saw the dirt road, but the black car pulled in front of me, blocking my escape. I saw that man jump out as the trunk of their car popped open in front on me. I was terrified, grabbed my computer and ran like hell. I didn't dare look back, afraid I'd lose my determination if I found them close behind me. I knew I had to get off the dirt road, too easy to catch me there. The shadows were playing tricks on me. I tripped several times but caught my balance. Then I felt the ground under my feet go away. The next thing I saw was Henry dozing in that chair."
"This is important Rosie, think carefully. While you were running away do you remember hearing a gun shot," Walker asked her.
Concentration masked her face a moment then she turned to face him. "Maybe…just as I was falling. I heard what I thought was a large branch breaking, a loud cracking sound."
"The reason I asked, is with Dave it was a verbal threat, not attempted physical harm."
Defensively she crossed her arms across her chest and said, "When I saw their trunk pop open, Chief, I didn't stick around for a conversation."
Watson Manor Investigations (Watson Manor Mystery Series Book 3) Page 7