Too Many Crooks Spoil the Plot

by Sarah Osborne

  I picked up Mason around nine, and he looked a lot better than the last time I’d seen him. He tried to hug me, but his ribs were too sore. His concussion might leave him confused for a few days, but he had no internal injuries. A lucky man.

  Mason wasn’t ready to take it easy. Neither was Dan. Eddie fixed bagels for both of them, and we sat around the kitchen table as they ate. We kept the conversation light. Jason didn’t say anything about the night before. Had he really forgotten it?

  I got him to sit on my lap. “How did you sleep last night, Jason?”

  “I had a bad dream. Lurleen said it was just a bad dream.”

  Lurleen looked at me and shrugged.

  We’d have a talk about what really happened later. For now, I didn’t want to upset Jason. Lurleen offered to take the kids out back for a bird-watching expedition. Once they left, the rest of us shared what information we had.

  “So all our evidence is gone,” Mason said.

  “Maybe now the kids will be safe,” I said. “We don’t have anything else to give them.”

  “You sure about that?” Mason asked.

  “What do you mean?” I could feel my heart rate pick up.

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Eddie gathered up the empty plates from breakfast and took them to the sink. She was still close enough to hear everything we discussed. Dan and I sat glued to the kitchen table.

  Mason looked at me. “We don’t know who’s behind all of this.” His gray eyes were a shade too dark for my liking. “It’s possible the kids know more than they realize or that someone may think they do.”

  “Like maybe they could identify the mastermind,” I said. “But Lucie said she never saw the third person.”

  “I wonder if the person in charge believes that.”

  “So they may still be in danger,” I said.

  “Yes. I’ve had a lot of time to think. You don’t get much sleep in a hospital.”

  “That’s for sure. What have you come up with?”

  “A number of suspects, police included.”

  “Captain Blakely?” I asked.

  “Yes. Blakely for one. Dave’s an old friend. But what’s he doing taking the memory card that no one at headquarters seems to know about?”

  “He didn’t deliver the card to the chief, that’s what you’re saying?”

  “I’m still persona non grata, so I can’t say for sure. But I did have some visitors last night from the department. They said the chief and Sandler are frantic to find the card and it hasn’t turned up.”

  “But why keep you out of it now? They can’t suspect you of being involved.” I hesitated. “It’s Tommy. They think he’s involved, don’t they?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Should I try him again?”

  “Don’t bother. You won’t reach him. He and Charlie Flack are long gone. That would be my guess.”

  “And the bad guys have the information? But surely, it won’t do them much good at this point.”

  “My guess is they have a buyer lined up and a way to remain protected. Or they plan to leave the country.” Mason looked discouraged.

  “That could be good for the kids,” I said.

  “Could be.”

  “And what about Kathleen Sandler? Has anyone followed up with her?” Eddie asked.

  “You’re asking the wrong man. I’m now officially on sick leave for a week. But I don’t feel sick.”

  “You don’t know how sick you are when you have a concussion,” I said. “You might not be thinking clearly for a while. But perhaps the five of us can think clearly.”

  Mason nodded. “I’m not about to let this drop.”

  “Whatever you say we do, boss. I’m with you,” Dan said.

  Eddie poured Dan and Mason another cup of coffee. “I’m in all the way. You know that.”

  “That would be my mother,” Mason said. He spoke to me but he was smiling at Eddie. “Never leaves an investigation until it goes down. If it takes twenty-four hours or twenty-four years, my mom is on it.”

  “You know this could cost you your job, Mason,” Eddie said. “The job you love.”

  “I’m not sure I still love it.”

  The kids and Lurleen ran in from the backyard. “De l’eau, de l’eau,” Lurleen cried, running to the faucet. I pulled out three glasses from the cupboard, filled them with ice, and handed them to Lurleen. She poured the water and handed each child a large glass.

  “We ended up playing softball. You may not realize it but your son Jason has a mean slipper of a pitch.”

  “Slider, Lurleen, slider,” Dan corrected.

  No one corrected the “son” part, but I could see the funny look on Jason’s face. I took his hand and knelt down beside him. “Your mom is always your mom, Jason. But I can be a substitute mom, kind of like a substitute hitter. You okay with that?”

  Jason nodded. “You won’t go away like Mom?”

  “No,” I said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Lucie sidled up beside me and took my other hand. She looked so small standing beside me. Just a little girl trying hard to act grown-up, to not be a burden, to not show how much she missed her mother.

  “Now, I see some individuals who need a bath,” I said. “And I don’t mean Hermione.”

  Lucie giggled and rubbed at the mud that was covering her shorts. She stopped smiling when she saw they were ripped. “I’m sorry. I’ve made a mess of things. Money doesn’t grow on trees.”

  Eddie took a look at the tear. “That, dear one, is easily mended. I’ll show you how to do it.” She looked at me. “I’ll handle the baths.”

  She took the kids upstairs and we didn’t see them again for half an hour. Long enough for the four of us to come up with a plan.

  We reviewed everything we knew. Dan was the biggest help. He’d been in the middle of most of it.

  “Marie Vanderling and Sandler are definitely partners,” Dan said.

  “Partners like business?” I asked. “Or partners like lovers?”

  “I don’t know for sure. They were all over each other, but I couldn’t tell if one of them might be playing the other. They didn’t keep me around long enough to find out.”

  “Who knocked you out?” Mason asked.

  “I’m not sure. Sandler said they had to do it to keep me quiet. The investigation was winding down and he couldn’t take any chances. That’s why they tied me up, or so they said.”

  “Marie was involved in that part?” Lurleen asked.

  “Marie seemed to be involved in all of it,” Dan said.

  Lurleen looked upset. “Marie has been telling me about this mysterious boyfriend of hers. I thought she’d have better taste.”

  “You saw Tommy?” I asked.

  “The only time I saw Tommy was when he untied me and Charlie Flack showed up.”

  “They seemed to know each other? As if they were working together?” I asked.

  “Flack had a gun and was talking trash. He was waving it at Tommy. ‘You got me into this. You’re going to get me out. I’m not gonna die with a bullet in my head.’ Then he started waving the gun at me. Tommy told him to settle down and ordered me to drive to your place.”

  “Hmm,” Mason said. “We have plenty of suspects. Marie and Sandler. Tommy and Charlie Flack. Dave Blakely. And Kathleen Sandler. How does it fit?”

  “In med school, you’re trained to list all the possibilities but look for the simplest diagnosis that explains all the symptoms. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it’s probably a duck. This quacks like a business in trouble with a game-changing product that could turn the company around. Who would want to keep that from happening and why?”

  “It’s one giant puzzle,” Lurleen said. “I do love puzzles.” She settled herself next to Dan. “I can tell you one thing. Marie w
ould never be involved in murder. Never. I don’t know about Sandler. In his youth, he was ruthless. Loyalty, like mafia loyalty, has always been his thing.”

  “And Kathleen Sandler?” I asked. “How does she feel about loyalty?”

  “She was schooled at the old man’s knee, that’s for sure. The same steel runs through her,” Lurleen said. “That’s why the old man was grooming her to take over. But killing her own cousin?”

  “The Tudors did it all the time,” I said. “The Sandlers are a kind of US royalty. Maybe the same rules of human nature apply.”

  “I like your idea,” Mason said to me. “Keep it simple. According to Dave, it was all part of a sting operation. With Billy Joe at the core and someone higher up pulling the strings. Of course, we don’t know how much of Dave’s story is the truth.”

  “Billy Joe loved money and always wanted more. He thought he was smart,” Lurleen said. “No matter what the evidence showed. I remember Marie telling me that Sandler had had enough. Billy Joe was being cut off. That was more than a year ago.”

  Mason shifted on the sofa, put his hand against his ribs, and grimaced. “Detective Schmidt must have figured something out. That’s why he got shot. And someone cleared out his notes. That had to be someone within the police department.”

  We heard skittering down the stairs before we saw two squeaky clean children.

  “Don’t you two look well-scrubbed,” I said.

  Jason made a face. “She’s going to wash my cape!”

  The “she” was Eddie. “You can help me do it, Jason,” she said. “Superman would never run around with a dirty cape.”

  That seemed to make an impression on him. “Can I do it myself?”

  Eddie nodded.

  “Can I help?” Lucie asked.

  The three of them disappeared into the basement with a basket full of dirty clothes.

  “I would guess that gives us another five minutes to talk,” I said. “Where do Tommy and the police come in?”

  “The chief has helped Sandler out in the past,” Mason said. “I know that. I’ve seen it happen. If Tommy is the deal maker, then it may be he got brought in to help. Just the way Dave said.”

  “Are you saying that to make me feel better?” I asked.

  “It could be true.”

  I let out a breath. “I hope you’re right. And Captain Blakely?”

  “What do you think, boss?” Dan asked. “Has he gone rogue?”

  “I don’t know. If it was all a sting operation, then why didn’t he give the memory card to the chief? He’s seemed different lately, desperate for money. I gave him a loan two months ago, but I can’t see him killing Schmiddy. And whoever killed Schmidt did the same to Eleanor and Billy Joe.” Mason stood up. “We have a lot of theories and not many facts. It’s time the chief and I have a talk. I’m going to police headquarters. You stay here, Dan.”

  Chapter Thirty-five

  We followed Mason out the front door and stood on the wraparound front porch. It was another perfect spring day. It lightened all of our moods a little. Except for Mason’s.

  Mason was all business. “I’ll need to take your car, Dan.”

  “Fine, I’ll stay put.”

  “I want all of you to stay put,” Mason said. He stared hard at Lurleen and me.

  Lurleen nodded but didn’t make eye contact. I looked at her, but she kept her eyes glued to the ground.

  “What was that all about?” I asked her later.

  “Nothing.”

  Lurleen’s “nothings” have always made me uneasy. Like when a two-year-old gets too quiet and you know he’s up to something. “What are you planning to do, Lurleen?”

  She primped her hair. “I’m going stir-crazy,” she said. “I might need to take my little car out for a drive. Look at the weather. Don’t you need to get out of here?”

  “Where are you planning to go, Lurleen?”

  Lurleen shrugged. She could be very annoying when she chose to be.

  “What are you up to? You want to find Marie? To see Kathleen? I let Ellie walk out on me. I’m not letting you do that. We could still be in danger. Don’t you realize that? Let Mason see what’s going on.” I felt myself getting more agitated. “Lurleen, you’re my best friend. Don’t make me worry about you. We stick together.”

  She took my hand. “I’m sorry, chérie. I know how strong you are and I forget that even you may have a point a casse.”

  “Yes, Lurleen, I do have a breaking point.”

  “Perhaps we both need a little ride in the country,” Lurleen said. “Dan and Eddie can watch the kids, although God knows they need a break as well.”

  Once Lurleen had planted the seed, I couldn’t let go of it. To get out of the house. Nothing sounded better. I broached the subject with Eddie privately, and later with Dan. Eddie understood, but Dan refused to budge on the issue.

  “The boss said we stick together. That’s what we do.”

  He was right, of course. I helped Eddie make dinner along with the kids. We chose something elaborate enough to occupy our time and something the kids could help with—no-knead bread with meatloaf and green beans. Lurleen said she needed a rest and disappeared upstairs. Dan played with the kids. We heard nothing from Mason until dinner was on the table. Then we heard him unlock the front door. The kids jumped up from the table and rushed to meet him. Eddie went to turn off the alarm and discovered it wasn’t on.

  “That’s not like me,” she said, frowning. “I was so sure I set it.”

  “Never mind, I’ve got news,” he said. “And I’m starving.”

  Mason gave Eddie a hug and sat down at the table. Lurleen was still upstairs. I called up to announce that dinner was on the table. No answer.

  “She’s either sulking or in the bathtub,” I said. “When she’s really upset she drowns her sorrows in a bubble bath. We wouldn’t let her leave the house.”

  “All that may be behind us,” Mason said. “I finally got to see the chief. He had the memory card and thanked me for my help in locating it. Sandler and Tommy were in the room with him.”

  I held my breath.

  Eddie looked at both of us and stood up. “I think I’ll take the kids outside for a special picnic.” She looked at Lucie and Jason. “Would you like that? This is going to be boring adult talk, and I for one need to have some fun. Grab your plates and we’ll sit on the porch.”

  Neither one of them argued. You didn’t argue with Eddie. They’d learned that some time ago. Jason was always happy to be on the move. “Can Hermione come?” he asked.

  “Of course,” I said.

  Lucie stood up more slowly and I gave her a quick hug. “I’ll tell you everything you need to know after dinner,” I whispered to her. “I promise.”

  Once we heard them settled at the table on the back porch, I closed the door and Mason continued.

  “It’s been an elaborate manhunt, according to the chief. I got pulled off because of you, Ditie. Tommy said he couldn’t do his work if you were involved, that I was too close to you.”

  “His work?” I asked.

  “Tommy has been Sandler’s man throughout most of the operation. Sandler got wind of something brewing in his company. First he blamed it on Billy Joe. Then he realized it was more than that. He learned that someone in his organization was trying to sabotage the company, starting with the hacking incident.”

  Mason paused to catch his breath and take a bite of meatloaf. “Fantastic,” he said with a nod in my direction. I nodded back at him. It was a great recipe.

  “Go on,” Dan said between mouthfuls.

  “When Kathleen got the police involved and Schmiddy was killed, Sandler wanted to go underground. He wanted Tommy to help put the sting operation in place. Tommy had helped Ellie get a job at Sandler. She owed him. He helped her connect with Billy Joe under the pret
ense she wanted a big-money deal and heard he had some scheme going.”

  “So Ellie was doing the right thing,” I said. “No wonder Tommy was so upset by her death. He got her involved.”

  “And she got Charlie Flack involved,” Mason continued. “They needed a technical expert, and Charlie was it. He’d worked on a prototype of the new product, and he felt as if the company owed him something. He didn’t know it was all a setup. He was in for the money and a chance to get back with Ellie. When Ellie was killed and then Billy Joe, all Flack wanted was out, but Sandler wouldn’t allow it. Sandler needed to know who was betraying him at the top.”

  “Tommy was supposed to figure that out?” I said.

  “He’d done it before for Sandler. Apparently your brother has a way of getting people to trust him and tell him everything he wants to know.”

  “He certainly manipulated me often enough when we were kids,” I said.

  “A smooth operator. That’s what Sandler needed,” Mason said. “Tommy thought he had Ellie on his side. She was to go along with things until the person at the top of the pyramid could be identified. But Ellie got killed before she could give Tommy the information. No one knows if she switched camps thinking she could make more money or if someone found out what she was up to.”

  “Oh, Ellie.” I’d probably never know the answer to that. Had her greed led to her death or had she really been trying to do the right thing?

  “When Billy Joe died, Sandler and the chief brought Blakely on board and took me off the case.”

  “So Blakely is also on the right side,” I said.

  “Yes. Tommy thought that if Blakely acted like a renegade, ready to sell the memory card to the highest bidder, he could find out what Tommy didn’t know—who the person at the top was.”

  “Did he succeed?” Dan asked.

  “He did.” Mason wasn’t big on drama, but even he couldn’t pass up the moment. He paused to take a bite of meatloaf.

  “Come on,” Dan and I said together.

  “Lurleen won’t want to hear this,” he said. “I’m glad she’s upstairs. It was Marie Vanderling. It broke Sandler’s heart apparently.”