FIRST STEP MURDER

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FIRST STEP MURDER Page 7

by H. R. Whidden


  “This is Barbie, Barbie Benton. Remember, I live at the Boston View Apartments, 130 Bowdoin Street, Apartment 1202. You’ve been there, you took some pictures, but the last time we saw each other was at Ned Devine’s upstairs in the bar, remember now?”

  “Yea, of course, sure, what can I do for you Barbie?”

  “I have this client, I should say ex-client, he won’t leave me alone, he comes by uninvited, he tries to run off my other clients, and he takes pictures of them and then threatens to expose them. He’s starting to hurt my business. Before you ask, I’ve refused to see him.”

  “Barbie why don’t you file for a restraining order against him,” he asked?

  “Yea well, I don’t really want the authorities attention if you know what I mean, how am I going to explain about my occupation.”

  “Ok, I should have thought of that. I’m going to need to come by, when’s a good time, I don’t want to run into any of your clients.”

  “Come by today, before 10:00 pm though.”

  Faxon got up and took a shower, brushed his teeth, combed his hair thinking it was time for a trim. He put on a pair of jeans, boots, and a sweatshirt, wrapped a scarf around his neck and put on a jacket with a hood. The streets were just starting to get icy so he called a cab before he left the bar.

  “Damn, it’s cold in here what’s up with the heat,” Faxon asked the driver?

  “Broken sir, sorry sir, I have to drive what they give me,” the Cabbie said.

  He dropped Faxon off in front of the apartments telling the driver not to wait he hoped he’d get a different cab when he was ready to leave, up the elevator and down the hall to number 1202.

  Barbie greeted him wearing a pair of shorts and a grey sweat shirt and socks, no shoes. She hugged him and kissed his cheek then turned and walked through the apartment to the kitchen. She was drinking a soda from a can, she opened the fridge and pulled out the brand of bottled beer he liked, took off the cap and poured it into a cold glass from the freezer.

  “See, I remembered what you drank from the night at Ned Devine’s. I have to admit though it’s part of the job.”

  Faxon took a drink then took out his pad of paper.

  “What’s his name?”

  “Jason Frisch, he’s an accountant with a company in the financial district, Clark and Beck.”

  “Tell me everything you know about him, everything.”

  Faxon took another drink of his beer.

  “He’s married, he drives a black Beamer, he has two kids, daughters, his wife works at a law office, Briggs and Briggs, and she’s a secretary. Jason hangs out at Bleacher Bar, when he’s not stalking me.”

  She didn’t know his home address but that would be easy enough for Faxon to get. He finished the beer and without asking, Barbie got him another one and poured it in the glass.

  “I’m going to need to put pressure on him, enough that he’ll forget about you, so that means I’ll need to follow him for a few days then meet him in the right place. If you see him around just ignore him.”

  “Faxon, sweetie, I don’t think I can afford your fee.”

  “Damn Barbie you charge more than I do.”

  “Well I’m a customer, so we can’t trade the fee out, can we? Hell you wouldn’t even do me when I was free.”

  Barbie stood beside Faxon and put one arm around his shoulders and ran her other hand through his hair.

  “I happen to know you did pretty good last week.”

  “How the hell do you know that?”

  “Women talk Faxon, I know Shira and Lisa Colman, I buy shoes from her, and I guess we talk about men we can’t have, it’s frustrating you know.”

  “I’m not doing it for free Barbie.”

  “You need a haircut, let me do it.” She went into the back room and came back out with a kit that had brushes, combs, and a pair of electric clippers.”

  “I don’t know about this?”

  “It’s what I used to do, I was a hair dresser, I went to barber school, and well, it’s just the men wanted more than just a haircut.”

  Barbie put a smock around him and began cutting Faxon’s hair, he sipped his beer as he thought about all the angles and ways he could ruin this guy Jason’s life, while Barbie talked.

  “Say who’s that woman that followed me out of Ned Devin’s that night I saw you there? She had a lot of questions about what we were doing.”

  “That’s the stalker bitch that made me swear off ever having anything to do with a client. I don’t know why but women that want me to catch their husbands fooling around on them, and well they always seem to want to get back at them with me. Well now that bitch want leave me alone.”

  “So you had sex with her?”

  “Yea, once, and never again, I can’t get rid of her.”

  “Shira, she wanted you bad,” Barbie said. “So you want me to set you up with a nice girl?”

  “No, thanks, I can find my own dates.”

  “From what I see you don’t have any dates. There I’m done you look great.”

  Barbie gave him a hand held mirror to look and Faxon was satisfied. He finished his third beer and started to leave.

  “That was a thousand dollar haircut,” Barbie said smiling.

  “We won’t agree on a price right now but it’s not going to be free, and we’re not trading it out either.”

  “Ok,” Barbie hugged him and kissed his cheek goodbye, “You know we could be good friends, I’ve never had a guy friend, and it’s kind of comfortable knowing you’re not trying to get me in bed.”

  Faxon waited in the lobby until a cab came, then he ran out and got in, this one had the heat on and drove him back to the bar, and his warm room.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Harper drove her pickup to the office to have lunch with her husband. She talked with the young girl at the front desk. Kate had ridden horses her whole life, her father was a trainer. She’d heard about Harper’s recent success at every event she had participated in recently.

  “Kate if you want you’re welcome to come out to New Castle and I’ll let you ride one of my hunters, the trainer I work with is Walter Keys, if you meet his approval I’ll let you ride in an event.”

  “Harper I would really love to, tell me when and I’ll be there.”

  “Well come by Saturday morning, Walter will be there, we’re getting ready for The Hampton Classic, they have a junior class. It would be a good first event for you. You know the dress is formal for a hunter event right?”

  “Yea, I’ve got all that, I road in some junior events for my Dads clients, so I’m not a complete novice.”

  “Well I’ve got a great hunter that I haven’t had time to show, he’s a five year old thoroughbred gelding, he’s a tall horse 17 hands, he’s determined and takes long strides, I’d love to see you ride him in an event.”

  Harper left Kate excited about riding with her. She knocked on the open office door, Richard was looking at a file open on his desk, and she noticed the frown on his face. Harper looked around the room as she walked in, it still looked too much like it did when her father sat in that chair and she would have thought Richard would have remodeled like they had discussed.

  “I thought you were going to remodel the office?”

  “I just haven’t had time Harper.”

  “What were you frowning at when I walked in?”

  “This,” he turned the file around on the desk and Harper looked at it standing up. She read the heading at the top. It was printed on expensive paper, The Marine Group. She knew what it was in reference to the first paragraph had the address of Mass. Ave. and Dalton St. It was the family property in the Boston city limits. It was prime real estate near the Hynes Convention Center and the Sheraton Boston Hotel. The letter went on to say this would be their last offer and it referenced that it was well above the appraised value of the property. Harper looked at the bottom where a man named Manuel Molina signed. She closed the file and threw it in the trash can beside the desk.


  “Are you ready to go to lunch?”

  Richard’s face turned red, he picked the file out of the trash and stood, and he held the offer in his hand and pointed at it.

  “Damn-it Harper, did you even look at what their offering, it’s a fortune, your father had no intention of building on that property, He was holding out for an offer just like this one. It’d be different if he had some grand plan to build a high rise and attach his name to it. You’re just being stubborn.”

  Harper leaned over the desk, and they were nearly face to face.

  “A week, I’ll give you a week to have this office remodeled or I’ll have Sam bring a crew in here and have everything torn out and do it myself.”

  Richard leaned back as Harper raised her voice.

  “I told you I won’t sell that property, and if you show me that offer again, I’ll stick it up your ass, do you understand?”

  “Oh that’s so lady like Harper. The office not being redecorated,” he asked? “Is that what this is about? Hell I’ll start on it today, but at least consider the offer, people dream their whole lives hoping to make money like that.”

  “It’s all about the money with you isn’t it? Money, money, money, you’re concerned about your percentage of that sale. You don’t give a damn that the property was my great grandfather’s inheritance passed on to my mother. This isn’t about my father. I had a mother you know?”

  “You ride your horses and your motorcycles, and go to hunt camp with your fathers friends and you don’t give a damn about this company. I’m the one here every day making the deals kissing the ass of prospective clients all in the name of Lewis.”

  Harper walked to the door and turned around. “Fuck you Richard.” She walked out of the office, the door hadn’t been shut and nearly everyone had heard them yelling at each other. Harper drove home.

  Aunt Rachel couldn’t help but see how angry she still was. The two of them sat out back in the cold talking about the argument that she had with Richard. It gave her time to cool off, literally, and finally Rachel talked her into going inside and having a cup of hot tea, more for herself than Harper.

  Rachel had an appointment with a neighbor to go to yoga and left her at the house. She kept thinking about yelling at Richard and about the office not being remodeled. She had done nothing about her father’s office here at the house. It looked just like it did when he had died, she had told herself she’d pack everything away and had neglected to do it.

  She drove to the local truck rental lot, inside they sold packing supplies and she bought a stack of boxes and a couple rolls of strong tape then went back to the house. Harper had to fold the boxes together and tape one end closed then she began to fill them one at a time. Old files from the desk drawers, a stapler, the desk plaque with her father’s name on it, in another box she started putting books from the shelves behind the desk. Harper stopped and looked at the three full boxes, and the rest of the room.

  The books were all lined up on the shelves, their spines flush with the front edge, but that left enough room behind them and Harper found a three inch in diameter tube with end caps. Written on the outside was the name Lewis, she sat in the desk chair and opened the tube. Inside were a set of blue prints, Harper pulled them out and unrolled them across the cleared desk, they looked like they had been in there a long time. She weighted the corners down with four books and at the top it read in large letters, THE LEWIS TOWERS, it was a plan for two towers, thirty floors each connected at the bottom for retail stores. The lower floors for commercial offices and the upper floors for residences, the design of the building was modern, but with form and style. It made Harper cry, this was her father’s dream for that property, he did have a plan, something he would leave with the Lewis name on it. There was a written proposal to sell the condos on the upper floors to finance the building of the towers. Then the doorbell rang.

  Harper went to the door and looked out the window at a man holding a rather large bouquet of flowers.

  “Mrs. Lewis?”

  He asked after she opened the door.

  “I’m Harper Lewis.”

  “I have a delivery, and here’s a card, where would you like these?”

  “In the dining room I guess, follow me.”

  Harper led the delivery man into the dining room and he set them down on the large, dark, hardwood table.

  “Would you like them all in here, Mrs. Lewis?”

  “There’s more,” she asked?

  The flowers all came with vases and she had him place them around the house, the family room, the kitchen, one even in Aunt Rachel’s pool house on the bar. After the delivery man left she opened the card, Harper smiled, she knew who they were from and wondered what the card would say. It was simple and written in Richards hand writing.

  “Harper, I’m sorry, I love you.”

  She put the card on the side table by the door where Richard would put his keys when he came in. She went back to work filling boxes, then with a hand truck she wheeled them out to the utility room and stacked them against the far wall. Everything was out of the office except for the blue prints that she left spread out on the desk.

  Rachel came home and found Harper in the office mopping the hardwood floor and dusting the shelves.

  “Wow, I didn’t know you had it in you, you could have had the maid do it when she comes on Tuesday ya know.”

  “You’re so funny, look what I found.”

  Harper showed Rachel her father’s plans and explained where she found them, they both agreed this should shut Richard up about the property, but considering all the flowers neither of them thought the property would be an issue again.

  Rachel made spaghetti with a meat sauce and took her dinner to the pool house.

  When Richard got home he smelled the aroma of the red sauce coming from the pot on the stove and noticed one of the large bouquets of flowers on the bar. He walked through the house. The flowers added something to the rooms in winter, a touch of spring before its time. Richard called Harpers name.

  “In here Richard,” she said from the office.

  When he walked into the empty office and looked around. Harper sat behind the desk.

  “Wow, I get the hint. I’ll have the office done before the weeks out. I had some of the guys help me box things up after you said, fuck you, and left.”

  “I’m sorry,” Harper said “look what I found when I was cleaning out dad’s office. I found them behind the books on one of the shelves.”

  Robert looked at the plans.

  “Well it looks like he had a plan for that property after all, but Harper if you plan on pursuing this project you’re going to have to do it yourself. I’ll commit the company but everybody heard us today and I love you, but if you’re going to do this it’s going to have to be your project.”

  “We’ll I’m not ready to commit full time to something this large. I might take the plans to the city development committee and maybe have a study done on the possibility of selling the condo units as a means of financing. But I’m not going to break ground anytime soon, and I’ll have to talk to Sam about how we commit to a project this big and still handle the jobs that you sell. I won’t take from you to see the project done, so until that’s worked out, nothing’s gonna happen.”

  Harper kissed Robert, “thanks for all the flowers. I guess we had our first fight.”

  “I hope we don’t have another, you’re pretty damn good at getting the best of me.”

  “Come on let’s eat,” Harper said.

  * * *

  On Saturday morning Harper was at the stables, Jose’ was saddling Neck Rider, the fences were already set up and even though it was cold there wasn’t any snow or ice on the ground. Walter Keys, the trainer arrived wearing his heaviest coat, scarf, and a fedora hat. Harper had made one pass after warming up Neck Rider when they heard a car pull in. She introduced Kate then went to make another pass. Kate explained to Walter that she had ridden in some hunter junior events. />
  Jose’ went and got Tao saddled up and then adjusted the fences more suited to a hunter course and Harper stood with Walter while Kate rode. Walter barked out orders to the young girl and after they stopped for the day the older trainer was satisfied that Kate would be able to compete, but she’d have to commit more time to practice. Jose’ put the tack away and brushed down the horses, Walter said goodbye and the two girls sat in the office at the stables and had a cup of hot coffee.

  * * *

  In the early morning hours the day of the Hampton Classic, Harper’s truck was hooked up to the neck over trailer and all the tack had been loaded. Walter would ride with Robert to the event, Kate and Jose’ would ride in the king cab with Harper.

  At the event she parked along with all the other competitors and then while Jose’ stayed with the horses Kate and Harper went to walk the courses. They paced them off and checked all the fences Harper explained to Kate about how Tao had long strides and how many to expect between each of the barriers. The girls walked back to the trailer and Robert and Walter had arrived, Robert kissed Harper.

  “Kick their ass out there today, I’m going to go get a cup of coffee and find a place in the stands, damn place is packed today.”

  It was a very pleasant day, the air was crisp but it was warming up, it wasn’t quite a spring day but they weren’t far off. Walter talked to a very nervous Kate while Harper smiled and listened. Kate’s father found them and wished his daughter luck then had to get back to his employer.

  The two girls went into the mobile home part of the horse trailer and dressed. Kate had to dress in a much more formal uniform for Hunter class, Harper always dressed nice even though the jumper class was more lenient focusing on the jumps more than what the riders wore.

  Harper went third in the jumper event and she had a perfect round, Neck Rider was the horse to beat at the event, he had this fearless attitude reflecting his rider’s confidence. She received the largest applause of all the jumpers and was beginning to receive more unwanted attention from the other riders. Harper hadn’t been their friend until her success and didn’t see why she had to fake friendship now. Walter scolded her for her indifference, telling her this is the way of the sport. She gave an interview to an equestrian magazine reporter, attributing her success to Walter Keys, her trainer, and her horse Neck Rider.

 

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