by J A Whiting
A shudder of unease shimmied along Claire’s spine.
Paul’s face darkened. “You hear about that woman who’s missing?”
Claire’s heart jumped into her throat. “You mean the woman who disappeared and didn’t return to her job at the airport?”
Paul nodded. “She grew up in this neighborhood, too. A cute girl, sweet, nice family. Melody. I always loved that name.”
“Did you know her well?”
“The family lived here until Melody was in her early teens. They moved to Medford, got a nice house there. Still live there, I understand.” Paul took a swallow of his coffee and set the mug down. “I haven’t got in touch with them since Melody went missing. I’ve been shook up about Alicia. I was hoping Melody would turn up.” He let out a long, low sigh. “What’s going on? So many bad things happening. Alicia, Melody.”
“Did Melody know Merritt?”
“Oh, sure. The kids in the neighborhood played together.”
Claire’s throat was so tight that she could barely squeeze the words out. “Were they the same age?”
“Merritt was a couple of years older. It didn’t matter. The kids around here would all hang out together, go down to the baseball field, go to the town pool. The kids separated out from each other once they went to high school, but until then, they hung out in a gang. I mean that in a good way. Not a gang like people mean nowadays.”
Her head still spinning from what she’d heard from Paul, Claire gave a slight nod and said softly, “It sounds like it was a great place to grow up.”
“It was.” Paul looked out the window at the green grass and the colorful flowers growing along the fence. “Too many things have changed though. Too many.”
21
With Tony following behind, the two dogs came out of the market’s store room with each one chewing on something.
“Did Tony slip you a treat?” Claire asked the Corgis while reaching for more boxes of rice to place on one of the shelves. She gave Tony the eye. “You’ll make them fat.”
“It was only a small thing.” Tony shrugged. “Dogs get hungry.”
“You spoil them.” Claire finished her task. “Is there anything else I can help with?”
“Let’s sit.” Tony brought over two bottles of seltzer. “Tell me what you found out.”
Claire arrived at Tony’s market right after visiting Alicia Fitchburg’s husband, Paul, but the market was busy and she needed to talk to Tony privately so they had to wait until the customers cleared out. Talking quickly in case more people came in to pick up some groceries or deli items, Claire reported what Paul had told her about the ties between Alicia and Merritt, and Melody and Merritt.
“It’s a small world, isn’t it?” Tony crossed his arms over his chest. “So what are those two girls up to? Either they’re working together as partners with Freeman in his illegal activities or they’re helping each other, maybe gathering information on Freeman and what he’s up to.” Tony made a face. “Or Merritt has done something to Melody under Freeman’s orders.”
Claire nodded. “Those are the only three options aren’t they? Can you think of anything else?”
“I think that’s it.” Tony glanced at the door to be sure no one was coming in. “So what’s going on? Are Merritt and Melody guilty of working with Freeman or not?”
“Yet to be determined.” Claire sighed. “If Merritt was close to Alicia, then I can’t believe Merritt was involved with having her killed.”
“But,” Tony offered, “Freeman might have been angry with Merritt over something and had Alicia killed as a warning to Merritt to shape up. Merritt might have wanted out of whatever is going on so Freeman killed Alicia to keep Merritt in line.”
“That’s terrible.” Claire’s eyes misted over and she wiped at them. She stood up and started pacing. “I’ve been thinking. I need to talk to someone who works at Fast Freight Airlines.”
“How are you going to manage that?” Tony stared at Claire. “And why would that help anything?”
“I read in a follow-up news article that shortly after Melody got refused for that supervisory job, she’d reported some harassment that was going on among some of the employees. A guy who worked there also reported being the victim of harassment from certain individuals which corroborated Melody’s complaints. There’s another news article that was printed a few months after the decision about the supervisory job was overturned and the position was given to Melody. It says that Melody and some of her colleagues reported that harassment on the job was escalating and that the union was filing grievances with the airline to force them to investigate the harassment claims. I emailed the guy who was quoted in the story and asked him if he’d meet with me because I have some questions about Fast Freight. He responded and asked what I wanted to know. I’m trying to think how to answer him. I’d like to arrange to meet with him tomorrow evening, if he’s willing.”
It took Tony a few moments to respond. “Is that risky?”
“Why would it be risky?’
“What are you going to ask him about?”
“The harassment. Maybe while we’re talking, he’ll reveal something else.”
“Let the police handle this. Too many things have gone on. Alicia and Siobhan are dead, maybe because of this Freeman guy trying to protect his operation.”
Claire’s voice was soft. “I’m sure the police are handling it, but there haven’t been any arrests and Siobhan died only a few days after Alicia was killed. Nicole and I were in the line of fire from the gunman in that car. I cared about Alicia, Tony. I feel like I need to do something.”
“You do need to do something.” Tony’s voice was stern. “You need to stay alive.” He got up and went behind the deli counter.
“I’ll be careful. I’m meeting the guy in a public place. We’re only going to talk.”
“I don’t like it,” Tony muttered over his shoulder. “I don’t like any of this.”
The bell above the door tinkled and the dogs rushed over to greet the entering customer. Claire and Tony turned to see Judge Augustus Gunther coming into the market dressed in his usual attire of trousers, starched white shirt, necktie, and suit jacket. “Good afternoon.” Augustus took a seat in the corner and Tony hurried to bring the man a mug of coffee.
“What are you two arguing about?” Augustus asked.
Tony and Claire said in unison, “We’re not arguing.”
“Why would you think that we’re arguing?” Claire sat down across from the judge.
Augustus said calmly, “I don’t think you were arguing, I know that you were arguing.”
“But we weren’t.” Claire smiled at the man.
Augustus folded his hands and set them on the table. “My dear, I was a lawyer and a judge for over sixty years. I don’t need to hear words being uttered, I am able to read body language, I can sense tension in the air.”
Claire gave in with a shrug. “It was just a little bickering.”
“About those girls?” Augustus asked.
Claire’s jaw dropped and Tony stared wide-eyed at the judge.
“What girls?” Claire asked.
Looking from Claire to Tony, Augustus let out a small sigh. “The two of you are not that subtle, you know. I hear parts of your conversations. I read the news. It isn’t that hard to put two and two together.” Augustus let his words sink in and then he added, “I have experience in legal matters. I know some members of the police force.” Augustus’s eyes bored into Claire’s. “I am acquainted with other kinds of people, as well. Should you ever want my opinion or suggestions, I would be happy to listen.” He raised his mug and sipped.
Claire leaned forward. “Do you know a lawyer by the name of Alex Freeman?”
Augustus’s right eyebrow raised slightly. “Is Freeman involved with the missing girl?”
“I don’t know,” Claire said, and then she told the judge what she did know.
Augustus took in a long breath. “Alex Freeman is an arrogant, small-minded, uneth
ical, sleazy piece of work who should have been disbarred years ago. The man is dangerous, as you have learned. I would like nothing more than for someone to bring Freeman down. Some of us have recently suspected that Attorney Freeman has a side business that takes a good deal of his time … and is quite profitable. I won’t say what is suspected because of ongoing law enforcement investigations, but anything that you can find out about him would be worthwhile.”
“Hold on,” Tony had been waiting on customers as Claire spoke quietly with Augustus about her ideas. Tony came from behind the deli counter. “If this man is so dangerous, I don’t think Claire should be pushing her nose anywhere around him.”
Augustus narrowed his eyes. “Claire is gathering information. She is not going to accuse Mr. Freeman. She hopes to meet the man who works for Fast Freight to discuss his experiences with harassment in the workplace.” Augustus gave Claire a pointed look. “Perhaps Claire is considering applying for a position at Fast Freight. Perhaps Claire has read about the problems at the company and wishes to get the opinion of a current employee. Use that as your reason for contacting the man. Tell him you’re thinking of working there. Tell him you saw his name in a news article. Meet publicly. Should you feel uncomfortable at any time, leave. Be aware of who is around, who might be showing interest in your conversation. Keep your voice down.” Augustus pointed to Claire’s long, wavy blond hair. “Be subtle. Put your hair up. Dress conservatively. Don’t call attention to yourself.”
Claire nodded.
“If anything is amiss, call my number.” Augustus exchanged numbers with Claire.
“I don’t like this,” Tony growled. “You’re both acting like spies or something.”
Augustus looked up at Tony who was standing next to the deli case with his hands on his hips. The judge used a gentle tone of voice when he said, “Sometimes there is danger in working against wrong-doers. Claire and I are using our skills for good.”
The Corgis woofed in agreement.
Augustus narrowed his eyes at Tony. “Why are you so out of sorts? What’s going on with you?”
“Has something happened?” Claire looked at Tony with alarm realizing what might be bothering him. “Is there news about the sale of this building?”
Tony shifted his gaze to the floor. “The current owner called me today. He is entertaining a very good offer. Since I’ve been a tenant for so long, he wanted me to know.”
“He got an offer already?” Claire’s voice went up an octave.
Tony cleared his throat. “If the deal goes through, the new owner is planning to turn the building into condos. I’ll have to vacate.”
Nobody said anything for almost a full minute.
Claire broke the silence. “Maybe it won’t go through or if it does, maybe there’s a nice place nearby you can move to.”
Tony shook his head. “I’ve been talking to a real estate agent. There isn’t anything available in the neighborhood. Anything available in the Back Bay is too expensive for me. It’s not looking good. I don’t know what I’m going to do.” Tony rubbed at his eyes.
Bear and Lady scurried over to Tony and leaned against his legs.
Claire stood up, wrapped her arms around the big man, and said softly, “Don’t give up. Things look gloomy right now, but good fortune must be just around the corner.”
It has to be.
22
Claire, wearing black slacks and a light blue button-down shirt, had her hair pulled back and wrapped into a bun to be as plain and inconspicuous as possible. She entered the Back Bay coffee shop and glanced around to see a small, wiry, dark-haired man stand up and make eye contact with her. She gave a nod and headed to the booth at the back of the room where she introduced herself to the Fast Freight employee.
“Joe Elliot.” The guy fidgeted in his seat and held tight to his coffee mug.
“Thanks for meeting me.” The waitress came over and Claire ordered some tea. She waited for the woman to walk away from the table before speaking. “I’ve read a lot about Fast Freight. I was thinking of applying there, but the news articles have made me think twice. It would be a big help to me if you could talk a little about the working conditions, especially for women.”
The man was muscular and tanned and Claire guessed he might be in his mid-thirties despite the deep creases in his face.
“I’ve been working there since I graduated high school. I started the very next day. The pay is good, they offer a pension, give three weeks of vacation, health insurance. A lot of people would like to get in there.” Joe hesitated and then said, “But things have changed since I started.”
“How have things changed?” Claire asked.
“Used to be a friendly place, everybody got along. We worked hard, but we’d have a good time. The shift would fly by.”
“And now?”
“You read about the harassment? Things changed about a year ago. Some new guys started. They can be hard to work with.”
Claire waited for the man to go on with the story.
“One guy in particular. He causes trouble. We have a break room. It can get uncomfortable in there. These new guys talk dirty. I’m no prude, I do my share of swearing, but these guys … I don’t know.” Joe shook his head. “The things they say are over the top. We got women working the ground crew, they work hard, they pull their weight. Most of us got nothing against them, we work together good. We get along good. But these guys, they say dirty stuff, it makes all of us uncomfortable. If you say anything or act uncomfortable, then they go after you. They push people around, do nasty things to people’s lunches. They hang up dirty pictures on the fridge. It’s sick.”
Claire could see the tension building in the man as he reported on the workplace environment.
“Some of the things they do seem illegal.”
Claire’s eyebrows went up.
Joe went on. “The girl they mentioned in the news article, Melody Booker? She was taking the brunt of things since she filed that grievance about the promotion. She should of gotten that job right off the bat, but management gave it to the guy who applied. He hadn’t even been there half the time Melody has been there. Some of the guys used to harass Melody before, but she got it good after the job was finally given to her.”
“What happened?”
“They drew naked pictures of her and hung them all over the place. Wrote rude comments. They’d push her around, push her into a corner and whisper things to her. The worst thing was right before she went missing. They drew a picture of a coffin with her in it and wrote something like, your time is up.”
Claire swallowed hard and lowered her voice. “Do you think those guys did something to her?”
Joe’s eyes darted around the coffee shop. “I don’t know.” He looked like he wanted to bolt, so Claire didn’t ask any more questions about Melody’s disappearance. “Do they harass some of the other women?”
“Sure, they even do stuff to some of the men, me included. Melody gets it the worst though.”
“Why do you think she does?”
“She’s a pretty girl. I think they resent a woman doing the job. Melody has some ambition. She wants to do as well as she can. She doesn’t bend the rules. The guys don’t like that. They don’t like having a woman as a supervisor.”
“Those guys ask Melody to bend the rules?”
Joe nodded. “That’s what she told me.”
“What do they want her to do?”
Joe shifted around uncomfortably in his seat and avoided making eye contact.
Claire asked again. “Did Melody tell you how they wanted her to bend the rules?”
Giving a shrug, Joe looked up. “I don’t trust those guys. They’re bad news.” Joe seemed to be struggling with how much he wanted to tell Claire.
“Do you think those guys are up to something?” Claire asked, her voice just above a whisper.
Joe’s eyes widened and he pushed against the chair back, blinking. “What do you mean?”
“Co
uld they be doing something illegal when they’re on the job?”
Joe’s lips held tight together in a thin line and the muscle in his jaw twitched. “Why do you say that?”
“I’ve read the articles about the harassment. I have a feeling that those guys are doing something illegal. Maybe loading or unloading things from the company jets? I wonder if it could be an organized ring, well-run and efficient. They probably want a supervisor they can push around so they can remove things from the jets without interference.”
Joe looked like his face had gone all rubbery. He grabbed his mug and drank the remaining liquid in one big swallow. When he placed the mug on the table, his face was flushed. “I ain’t saying anything about that.”
“Were you working on the day Melody went missing?”
“I didn’t do anything to her, if that’s what you might be thinking.” Joe’s voice shot up in pitch. “She was my friend. I’m not part of whatever the guys are up to. Are you an investigator or something?”
Claire shook her head. “Absolutely not. And I don’t want a job at Fast Freight. I want to know what happened to Melody. I think two people have been killed because of what’s going on with Fast Freight. I want to know who killed them. And I want whoever is responsible for their deaths to be brought to justice.”
Joe’s shoulders seemed to relax a little. He nodded. “The night Melody went missing, she asked the crew if they wanted to order from the sandwich shop. She wrote everything down and called it in. She left to go pick up the food.” Joe’s eyes glistened. “I asked her if she wanted company, but she said no. I should have gone with her anyway.”
Claire asked gently, “How did Melody seem that day? Was she herself?”
Joe turned his empty mug in small circles on the tabletop. “Melody was always positive. She was strong. She knew what was right and wrong. She was funny, good to work with. She was quiet that night, didn’t really seem like herself. I wondered if she was coming down with a cold or something.”
“Did you see those guys harassing Melody that night?”