“Well, yes. I’ve only met her once. I guess twice maybe. What’s this all about?” The doctor took a defensive tone like he’d been accused of something.
“Well, which is it Doc? Have you met her once or twice?”
“Er, well the thing is…” the doctor stuck his finger in his shirt behind his tie and stretched it outward in a circling motion as if the tie was now constricting him. “I met the girl when she was a baby, see.”
“Go on.” The detective took a sip of coffee.
“Well, a little more than twenty years ago, two babies…twins…were left on my porch.” The detective scribbled into a notebook.
“What year was that?” The detective asked.
“I can’t say for sure,” said the doctor “1990 maybe. It was in the news.” The detective scribbled some more and then gave a look that indicated for the doctor to continue. “Anyway, we called the authorities…”
“We?”
“Er..my wife and I.”
“And you’re wife’s name is?”
“Ex wife”
“And your ex wife’s name is?”
“Jane.” The doctor was looking more nervous and began fidgeting.
“So you and Jane called the authorities? Then what?”
“They sent out child protective services who took them in and after the parents were never located, they went up for adoption. It is my understanding that they were both placed in homes.” The doctor looked relieved to have the attention focused on the two girls and not on his wife. He took a sip of coffee. “What’s this all about Detective?”
“You said you met them twice. Tell me about the second time.”
“Well, a couple of days ago two girls came to my door claiming to be the girls that were dropped off twenty one years ago.”
“What day was this?”
“Today’s Thursday, so Tuesday I guess.”
“What time Tuesday?”
“Well, I was just sitting down to dinner so probably about five pm.” The doctor took another sip from his cup.
“Were you expecting them?” The detective asked.
“No, they just showed up.”
“Who else was with you in the house?”
“Nobody. I live alone.”
“Was there anybody outside your home? Lawn care people, landscapers, etc?” The detective asked.
“No, I do most of that stuff myself.”
“What do you mean most?”
The doctor thought for a moment. “Well, if I get too busy or I’m not feeling well, I call Nathan’s Lawn Care. But I really haven’t had to call them for most of the year. Are you going to tell me what this is all about Detective?” The doctor was getting aggravated. He glanced down at his watch.
“Sorry Doc. This shouldn’t take too much longer. Tell me about what happened. What did the girls want? Don’t leave out any details.”
The doctor took a long sigh and leaned back. “Well, I only got to meet one of them. Amber, I believe her name was. Her sister was with her but stayed in the car. After Amber knocked, she told me something special had been dropped off at my doorstep twenty one years ago and I concluded that it must be her. So I invited her in.”
“What did you talk about?”
“Well, she and her sister were trying to locate their birth parents. She wanted to know if I had any ideas or if there was a note with them when they were dropped off.”
“And was there?”
“Nope. Nothing. Neither we, or the authorities were ever able to determine where the babies came from.”
“Why you?” The detective asked.
“Excuse me?” The doctor looked perplexed.
“You’re not an Obgyn are you?”
“No. I’m a surgeon. Ear, nose, and throat primarily.”
“So, why would someone choose you as a place to drop off babies? I would suspect they must have known you.”
“I just assumed someone thought we had money because of my profession and the large house. They probably thought it would be a good home for their babies.”
“I see. And why didn’t you keep them?”
“I don’t know. I guess my wife and I weren’t ready to have children yet.”
The detective scribbled some more into his notebook and sat back. He took a long swig of his coffee. “When the girls left your house on Tuesday, did you see anything odd, suspicious, or out of the ordinary?”
The doctor thought for a moment. He looked up as if he were playing back the night in his mind. “No, not that I recall. Did something happen?”
“What kind of car were they driving?”
The doctor reflected again. “I don’t know what kind. Small, black. Toyota maybe.” The doctor took another sip of coffee.
The detective put his own cup down and leaned back. Now it was time to watch for a reaction. If there was one thing Detective James was good at, it was reading people. He’d asked enough questions to get a base line and read his reactions. So far he didn’t believe the doctor had been deceptive about what he had seen or heard. He was nervous and appeared to be hiding something…but what? The detective leaned forward and pierced him with his cold blue eyes.
“Dr. Wimonowski, Amber came in Wednesday morning and reported that she and her sister had been kidnapped. She claims that her sister was shot and killed while she managed to escape.”
The doctor’s hands began to tremble, shaking the coffee cup. He placed it down on the table. “That’s…that’s…terrible. Who would…Killed you say? What…what…why?” The doctor’s eyes were beginning to water up.
“That’s what we are trying to figure out Doctor. Amber claims they were kidnapped from your property.”
The doctor had a look of shock on his face. “That’s impossible. I saw her out the door myself. They were both fine when they left.”
“And you saw them both drive away in their black car?”
“Yes. Er, well…” The doctor looked up trying to remember. “I guess I just walked her out the door. But she was only parked twenty feet away. She couldn’t have…I mean…my place is surrounded by a brick wall. It just doesn’t make sense.”
“Did Amber feel threatened or scared of anything or anyone?”
“No. not that I recall. She was a real sweet girl with a kind demeanor. Who would want to hurt her?”
“What about you? Have you had any threats or have any enemies that might have thought the girls were your relation?”
The doctor looked stunned by this. He thought for a moment fidgeting with his cup. He took his glasses off, pulled out a cloth and cleaned them; then replaced them above his nose. “Detective, I don’t have enemies.” The doctor adjusted his tie. “I can’t think of anyone who might want to harm me or anyone that I know.”
The detective just stared at him for a moment. The doctor held his gaze but felt like he was going to vomit. It was like the guy was looking right through him. Could he tell that he was lying? He didn’t think so. But that stare sure gave him the creeps.
“Well, I’ll let you get back to your work Doctor. I know you are busy. If you think of anything else…” The detective reached into his inside jacket pocket and produced a card. “Please call me right away.”
“Will do.” The doctor said taking the card. “What about the other girl?”
“Amber? What about her?”
“Is she ok? I mean…she’s not in any danger is she?”
“Physically, she’s fine. Whether she is still in danger or not, we won’t know until we determine who attacked them and why.”
“She was such a nice girl. I sure hope she will be ok. The other girl…?”
“Maria.” The detective said.
“Maria. Was she robbed, violated?” the doctor asked.
“We can’t say. We haven’t been able to find the body.” The detective was still piercing the doctor with his eyes suspiciously and giving him the creeps.
“Well, if there is anything more I can do, please let me know.”
/> “You just give it some more thought Doctor. You may remember something that might help us.”
“I sure will. And if I do, I’ll call you right away.” With that the doctor headed out the door and the detective headed for a refill.
Chapter 3
Spring time in upstate New York. A sparrow sat perched quietly in a tall pine that overlooked a 20 acre field. The morning breeze floated across the treetops and made a swishing sound as the trees swayed gently. The sparrow was watching the house across the highway. A small one story cottage was nestled in on a ten acre wooded lot. The house was white with a large bay window in the front. And ten feet out from the bay window was a bird feeder that had been empty for two seasons now. The birdbath next to it though, had been a regular source of water for a week or two after a good rain. The sparrow launched itself out of the tree and darted down and came to perch on a barbed wire fence at the edge of the field. There were a couple other sparrows and a squirrel drinking from it now. Once the sparrow had felt it was safe, it glided across and joined its companions at the birdbath.
Michael and April pulled into the drive in their green Ford Explorer. There was a sporty looking silver car in the drive and Dawn, their real estate agent stood outside of it waving to them. April hit Michael on the arm, “Look hun, we’ve got squirrels and birds already!” April, an outdoor enthusiast loved gardening and nature. If it were up to her, she would have made the whole state a nature preserve with their house in the middle.
“Well, it is the country dear, there are bound to be some natives out here.” Michael looked at April and smiled.
“Smart ass.” She said hitting him in the arm again. Her dark curly hair fell forward and she brushed it back and looked at him out of her big brown eyes. Michael had dark and curly, short hair and a strong chiseled face. When he smiled back at her, dimples formed on his cheeks that just warmed April’s heart every time she saw them.
The real estate agent waited patiently by her car. Michael and April got out and met up with her. Dawn was an older lady in her fifties with gray curly hair and fierce green eyes. Those eyes lit up as the couple approached. “And how are the two of you this morning?”
“We are ready to do some house shopping!” April said with a smile.
“And I’m here to keep her happy and the budget balanced.” Michael said with a smile. April gave him a look that said watch it buster!
“Well, let’s take a look shall we?” Dawn said while shoving her clipboard under her arm and heading for the door. Dawn stopped on the walkway leading up to the front door. She pointed at some tiny bushes behind some landscape timbers. “Oooh aren’t these adorable? I think these are called Wisconsin Juniper bushes. They don’t get very big but they do bush out a little more. Are either of you into gardening?”
“She is. Me…not so much!” Michael said. April was looking over the bushes and reached out and touched one.
“While we’re here, I’ll also point out that this siding is vinyl and less than three years old. The color is called feathered brown. The windows are also new and were put in at the same time the siding was done. What a beautiful color. Doesn’t if give it almost a log cabin kind of look?”
April nodded and Michael was looking the structure over carefully. “Is this a crawl space?” he asked.
Dawn pulled out her clipboard and flipped through a page or two. “It sure is.” She said. “That should make it easy for you should you ever need to work on plumbing or anything.” Michael nodded agreement and rubbed at his stubble.
“What about the roof?”April asked looking up. They were too close to the house to get a good view. She backed up a bit, stumbled over a brick used in the landscaping and fell backward onto the grass.
Dawn gasped and put her hand to her mouth as Michael stretched out his arm to help her up. “Are you ok?” Dawn asked.
April took Michael’s hand and pulled herself up to a sitting position. For a moment Dawn thought April was going to break out into tears, but she suddenly broke out in laughter. “Of course I would have to be wearing a skirt on top of it all,” she said while still laughing. Michael, still holding her hand, put his other hand on her arm and hoisted her to her feet. April brushed off the back of her skirt with her hands. “Do I have any dirt on me honey?” She asked.
“Nope, you got it all.” Michael said. “Did you get a good look at the roof from down there?”
“Ha ha very funny…” April gave him a look.
Dawn flipped through a couple of pages and traced down with her finger. “It says here that the roof is about five years old.” Dawn looked up. “Wow, new siding, new windows, new roof, you just about have yourselves a new house. You ready to check out the inside?” They both nodded and followed Dawn as she unlocked the door and went inside.
The inside of the house smelled of fresh paint and new carpet. There was a living room directly to their right and straight in front of them was a dining room with a big open sliding glass door. It overlooked a small but cute walk-out deck and a beautiful back yard.
April immediately headed to the back door. “Gosh this is nice hun. Look at the back yard!” April was excited and her voice was getting high pitched. “Just look at all the birds and squirrels!”
“Honey there’s like three birds and one squirrel.” Michael corrected. He had told her not to act excited around the realtor so they could negotiate a better deal. Too late for that. He thought.
“Ya but they’re really cute and they’re soo close! Look at the woods out there.” April made an arc motion with her hand indicating the woods surrounding the property. “I’ll bet deer come through there all the time!”
Nice…Michael thought. She’s going to do all the work for the realtor. Michael smiled and nodded his head. He was happy to see her so excited anyway.
“Are you a deer hunter Mr. Bander?” The realtor asked.
Great…two against one. “I do a little hunting from time to time.” Michael answered. Now she’s going to tell me there are deer everywhere out here.
“Well you are in luck. I have it on good authority that there are deer everywhere out here.” Dawn was watching them. She wasn’t sure he was on board, but the woman had sold written all over her face. “Would you guys like to see the other rooms?”
April smiled and grabbed Michael’s arm and put hers through the crook of his elbow so they would be arm in arm. And then she dragged him around the house that way.
It was a cute little house. The realtor took them from room to room and throwing in the 'Wow look at that’s!' And the 'did you see this?' And the 'Oh isn’t this adorables' and so on. Michael put up the best fight he could to try and negotiate a better price. He was sold on the house just like April, only he knew to control himself when negotiating a deal that could cut five thousand or more off the price. If the realtor knows you’re sold, they won’t push for a better price. The more money it sells for, the more they all get.
After showing the place thoroughly, the realtor finally grew silent. “So, what do you guys think?” She asked.
There it was. The test close. April looked up at Michael with her eyes beaming and a big smile stretched out across her face.
“Well what do you think honey?” She asked.
Michael looked at her and then at the realtor. The realtor was smiling too. “It’s a nice little house, I admit. But I think the price is way too high. I think we should look around a bit more.” Michael threw out phase two of his negotiating. Phase one, don’t look excited even if you are. Phase two, act like the price is too high and like you’re not interested.
The realtor was experienced and savvy. She knew they were going to buy this house. And she knew he knew. But she followed through with her phase two of closing the sale. Phase one, point out all the good things and leave out most of the bad. (She always tried to point out at least a couple of bad things that were minor to get the clients arguing against the bad and for the house. They would say “Oh I can fix that” or “that’s no b
ig deal” and then she could gauge how interested they were. If they argued in favor of the house, she knew they liked it. If they just agreed, she knew to move on to a different house.) These two were sold on this one. But phase two, give them some urgency, was about to begin. “I understand. Prices always seem high when times are tough. I have some other houses I would be glad to show you but we better get moving along because there’s two other couples coming to look at this place before noon.”
The smile disappeared off April's face right away. She turned her big brown eyes and sad little expression up to Michael. “They’re coming to look at our house.” She said.
Oh crap. Michael thought. So much for negotiating a better price. Michael looked at the realtor who quickly looked away like she had found something else worth checking out. He knew she must be exploding on the inside. Easy sale. “Can we have a moment alone?” He asked her.
“Sure, take your time.” Dawn said and stepped into the next room but didn’t stray too far out of hearing distance. If there were objections, she wanted to know what they were so she could tackle them head-on.
April watched the realtor leave and then looked up smiling at Michael. Michael just looked into her eyes and his heart melted at the happiness he saw there. April threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. After a moment she pulled back a little and looked into his brown eyes. “What do you think hun?” she said.
“You’re sure this is what you want? We haven’t really looked at that many places. This place is cozy, but it’s not that great. We could do better is all I’m saying.”
Over Her Dead Body Page 3