“It’s certainly fascinating stuff. He’s really a good writer. I can picture in my mind a lot of the stuff he talks about.”
“Good. I think that’s what he was hoping for when he left the journals for you to read. So what do you want to do for dinner? Are you cooking?”
Mariah sucked her teeth. “Are you kidding me? You know how I feel about cooking, especially during the week. What about you? Are you cooking?”
“I could,” Carson shot back. “You know between the two of us who the better cook is.”
“You’re right,” Mariah conceded waving her hand. “But you’ve had more practice than I have. Having children will do that every time.”
“Thanks for giving me my props. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, Shanti called me last night, and she asked if Sasha could spend Saturday with us. I am taking the girls to Dave & Buster’s Saturday evening.”
“I am sure Sonni wouldn’t have a problem with that. In fact, I’m babysitting Sasha Saturday night to give Michael and Sonni some private time. So tell Shanti I believe Sasha going with you Saturday will be a go. I will check with Sonni first.”
“Great. You’re welcome to join us if you want to,” Carson offered. He sipped from a bottle of water.
“I’ll think about it. I may pass this time and spend some time with Granny. We haven’t seen each other since Christmas Day, although we’ve talked.”
Carson looked downward when Mariah mentioned Rosemary. He had debated with himself whether to mention that he had gone to see Mariah’s grandmother. He decided not to mention it.
“I am so excited about moving into the house next door. It’s beginning to shape up, and I feel like it’s my house. I’ve enjoyed staying in the big house, but it never felt like my home. I assume you’re going to help me move?” Mariah asked Carson.
“Definitely,” Carson said enthusiastically. “I talked to Alex and a couple of guys on my crew and we’ll be there bright and early, when you’re ready. Are the painters painting the coach house too?”
“Yes. I figured I might as well get everything done at one time. You know I’ve ordered new furniture and it’s stored in the coach house. I donated more furniture to the Salvation Army, and kept some furniture.”
“I hear you.” Carson looked at his watch. “I need to head out. I’ll call you later about dinner. It’s supposed to snow steadily throughout the evening. We’re supposed to get six inches of snow. If the snow continues, then I’ll bring over my snow blower and clear out the snow for you.”
“Hmmm, that sounds good. How about I order Chinese as incentive for you?”
“That sounds like a good plan, but you know you don’t have to do that.” Carson shook his head. “Spending time with you is incentive enough for me.”
“I like the sounds of that,” Mariah purred. “You’ve got to go, and I have reading to do. Be careful and I’ll see you later.”
“You take care,” Carson told Mariah tenderly.
Carson entered his office on Kennedy Avenue. He took off his coat and hung it up. Then he sat in the chair at his desk, dialed his voice mail, and checked his phone messages. He jotted the messages on a legal pad.
Carson returned the calls. Then, he called his crew manager to make sure no problems had arisen during his absence. There hadn’t been any. Carson swung his chair around and faced the window. He felt so uneasy about the information Mariah was about to uncover. He wished he could take on her hurt, but he knew that he couldn’t. He just prayed things would work out the way Mr. Ellison wanted them to. He remembered when Mr. Ellison had first told him about his daughter.
At first Carson had been appalled. He couldn’t wrap his brain around what Mr. Ellison had told him. He avoided Mr. Ellison for a few weeks. Finally, he gave up that burden to the Lord, and God instructed Carson not to turn his back on his mentor, everyone makes mistakes, and to have a forgiving spirit. Now, the question was how would Mariah react? That was the $64,000 question, and time would reveal her reaction, sooner rather than later.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Carson had left Mariah’s house at eleven o’clock the previous night. The couple shared Chinese food and then watched a basketball game. Carson cleared the snow that had accumulated. Friday morning, at five o’clock, Carson was getting dressed for work when his landline telephone rang. Carson noted that the caller ID unit read Hammond Police Department. Carson snatched up the silver cordless telephone and said, “Hello?”
“Good morning. This is Officer Mark Janokowski from the Hammond PD. I am calling for Carson Palmer?” a male voice inquired.
“This is Carson Palmer, how may I help you?” Carson asked apprehensively.
“Sir, a person who works in the same building as you do reported a possible break-in in your office. We are en route to the premises. Our ETA is five minutes. Can you come to the office ASAP?”
“Yes,” Carson answered bleakly. “I am on my way.” He grabbed his keys and wallet, threw on his coat and hat, and was on his way. Twenty minutes later, he arrived at his office suite.
Carson gasped when he walked inside his office. The reception area had been trashed. Papers were strewn over the office floor. The locks to his secretary’s desk had been picked and the drawers were pulled out. Her personal computer, printer, and telephone had been removed from the desk.
The door to Carson’s office was ajar. He walked toward it and bit a curse back when he went inside the room. The locks had been picked on all the file cabinets as well as his desk. His computer equipment, telephone systems, and tools had been stolen. Carson paled when he saw the safe was ajar, and about $3,000 was removed from it.
Carson walked back into the foyer to see if the alarm system had been set. His mouth set into a straight line when Carson saw that it hadn’t been set.
Officer Janokowski had followed Carson to the foyer. “That was my next question, if you have an alarm system or a surveillance camera? I see that you have an alarm system. Was it set yesterday?”
“Usually I set it before I leave for the day. My secretary, Janae Hughes, worked late, and stayed longer than I did. In the past, she has always set it before she leaves. I don’t have a surveillance camera. I have a meeting set up with my security company this week to install one as a precaution. I had put off getting the camera due to finances. I am now in a position where I could afford one. I guess I was a day late and a dollar short.”
The police officer wrote notes on a pad of paper. He asked Carson, “Does anyone else have the pass code to the system?”
Carson closed his eyes. He recited, “Janae of course, my crew manager, and a couple of family members.”
“Sir, why don’t you take a look around and see what else is missing or destroyed. I’m going to request a couple of crime scene technicians come here and process the scene for evidence.”
“I’ll do that.” Carson walked back into his office. The pictures of his daughters and a couple of snapshots of him and Mariah were upended and on the floor. Carson’s chair was turned down on the floor. He placed it upright and set in front of the desk. He slammed his fist on top of the desk and dropped his head in his hands. How could this happen? he wondered.
The crime scene technicians arrived within thirty minutes. They began snapping photos and dusting for fingerprints. Carson was irritated at himself for not depositing the receipts from yesterday’s clients as well as the petty cash fund. He usually kept no more than a couple of thousand on hand. Several small clients had paid him with cash.
“Thank God for insurance,” Carson muttered. He stood up and surveyed both offices to see what else was missing. He couldn’t believe it; the thieves had taken food and soft drinks from the dining area. Other various and sundry goods were removed, like Carson’s work outfits and boots. He wondered how they had managed to remove all those items from the office without someone hearing a sound. Most of all, he couldn’t comprehend why the alarm system hadn’t worked.
Carson was talking to Officer Janokowski when
Janae walked into the office. She gasped and her knees buckled when she surveyed the scene. Janae dropped the McDonald’s bag containing her breakfast to the floor. “My God, Carson. What happened here?”
“Someone broke into the office last night.” He pointed to the technicians. “They are processing the scene.”
“How did this happen? Everything was fine when I left to go home last night.” The young woman moaned.
“Are you sure you set the alarm before you left?” Carson held his breath, awaiting her answer.
“I am positive,” Janae replied without hesitation. She walked over to her desk and picked up her chair. “I’m sorry, I need to sit down.”
“Is it okay if I speak to Ms. Hughes?” Office Janokowski asked Carson. He picked up the McDonald’s bag from the floor and laid it on Janae’s desk.
“By all means,” Carson replied glumly. “I’m going to call my insurance company. I assume they’re going to want to come out and make an assessment.” He walked back to his office and saw the Rolodex file was missing from the desk. Luckily, the telephone number was programmed into his iPhone. He quickly selected the number and called the company.
The insurance company promised to send a representative out within a couple of hours. Carson sat at his desk and tried to remember who was in and out of the office the previous day. It was payday, so most of the crew had been in the office. Using his phone, he called his parents and then Mariah to bring them up to date on what had occurred.
“Oh, no,” Mariah sighed after Carson told her the news. “I am so sorry. Do you have any idea who may have done this?” Mariah felt guilty for immediately thinking of Michael; burglary was part of his old MO. Then she suppressed the thought. Carson had told her many times how well Michael was doing.
“No one comes to mind. The place is completely trashed. Seeing my office like this is a violation. It felt personal.”
“What about rival companies, would they do something like that?” Mariah asked.
“I don’t think so. The business is going well, but I’m not on a par with the bigger companies. My business thrives mostly on word of mouth. I work with small to midsized companies, and homeowners.”
“Do, you need me to come down there? Can I do anything for you? I am just heading to work. I don’t have a busy day planned,” Mariah offered. She was still in shock by Carson’s announcement.
“No, it’s just very upsetting to just see the place like this. Janae is a bundle of nerves. So I may just send her home. There’s not much she can do here today until the offices are cleaned up.”
“You don’t have an ex-employee with a grudge against you, do you?” Mariah couldn’t help asking Carson.
“No, no one I can think of. I haven’t let anyone go since early last year.” Carson looked up to see Office Janokowski gesturing for Carson to join him. “Look, babe, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you back.”
“Okay. Call me if you need anything.”
“Will do.” Carson swiped the end call icon and stood up and went to the outer office.
“We were able to get a few good prints. Of course, we’ll need fingerprints of you and your staff to do a comparison,” the policeman informed Carson.
“Great, maybe we can get to the bottom of this and figure out who did this. If possible can you fingerprint my secretary first? She is awfully upset and I’d like to send her home. In the meantime, I’ll call my crew and ask them to come in and we’ll proceed from there.”
“Yes, we can do Ms. Hughes first.” Officer Janokowski called one of the technicians, and they went to over to Janae’s desk. Carson joined them.
“After the techs have taken your prints, why don’t you go home, Janae?” Carson suggested. “There’s nothing you can do today. I’m going to stay and work with the crew to get the office cleaned after the officers and insurance company are done. I’ll give you a call later on.”
“Thank you, Carson. I can’t believe it.” Janae looked around the room, dazed. She dropped down heavily in a seat, and waited to be fingerprinted.
Carson returned to his office and called his crew members and asked them to come to the office ASAP.
At Sonyell’s house, Sasha was in her bedroom, flipping the pages of her social studies book, cramming for a test that day. Sonyell had taken chicken breasts out of the freezer for dinner. Michael was sitting at the kitchen table finishing a cup of coffee when his cell phone chimed. He answered the phone and listened to Carson. “Say what?” Michael said as his mouth gaped open. “Man, I’m sorry. When did it happen? I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Sonyell paused as she put dishes in the sink to look at Michael. His expression was positively dour. “What happened?” she asked after he got off the telephone.
“Someone broke into Carson’s office last night. The police are there and he wants all employees to come in to be fingerprinted,” Michael informed her looking troubled. He walked to the coat tree and removed his jacket and laid it on the back of a chair. He began gathering his work gear.
“Wow, that’s terrible.” Sonyell began trembling. She wet her lips and asked, “You didn’t have anything to do with that? Did you?” She looked at Michael’s eyes. They say the eyes don’t lie and she wanted to see what Michael’s expressed.
“How could you ask me that?” Michael asked her incredibly. He put his hand on his chest. “Wasn’t I here all last night?” Michael put down his work bag and walked to Sonyell. He had a pained expression on his face.
“I don’t know . . . I just had to ask.” Sonyell dropped her eyes. She then looked back at Michael. “You’ve been known to do stuff like that before.”
“You’re right.” Michael’s eyes glinted with anger. “And, I guess I deserve that question from you. Let me assure you that I had nothing to do with what happened at Carson’s office.” He sucked his lips. “I just know I am going to be suspect one based on my past.”
“Unfortunately you’re probably right. I’m going to check on Sasha and see if she’s ready to go. I’ll take her to school, and then drop you off at Carson’s office before I go to work.” Sonyell peered at Michael probingly once again and left the room.
Michael could hear Sonyell talking to Sasha urging their daughter to check her backpack. Sonyell was telling the girl to make sure she had everything she needed for school, so that they could go.
Half an hour later, Sonyell had dropped Sasha off at school and had parked her car in Carson’s parking lot. She and Michael were unlatching their seat belts when they heard a car horn. They looked up to see Mariah’s SUV pull up next to Sonyell’s car.
Michael exited the car. He raised his hand halfheartedly to Mariah. His heart beat rapidly. He took a deep breath as he rushed inside the office.
Sonyell got out of her car. She clicked the remote and walked over to Mariah’s vehicle. She got inside the passenger side. “Michael told me what happened. I am shocked.”
“Me too,” Mariah remarked. She left the car running due to the cold weather. “Carson really sounded bummed when I talked to him.”
Sonyell looked at Mariah uneasily. “I asked Michael if he had anything to do with the break-in. He said emphatically that he didn’t.”
“Do you believe him?” Mariah looked back at Sonyell unwaveringly. Her hands clutched the steering wheel tightly.
Sonyell dropped her gaze. She took a deep breath. “I really don’t know. He seems to be telling the truth, but I don’t really know.”
“I understand what you mean. When Carson called me to tell me what happened, my first thought was that Michael had something to do with it. Then I was ashamed, because I was judging Michael.”
“Based on his background, he will be judged and probably found guilty. I feel so bad,” Sonyell cried. “I wish Carson had never hired him.”
“I think we should just let this play out and see what happens. Let’s not jump the gun. Maybe Michael is telling the truth. He’s been doing so well. Maybe he has turned his life around.” Mariah pat
ted her friend’s arm.
“You’re right. I should at least give him the benefit of the doubt. Although that seems so hard right now.” Sonyell brushed away a tear from the corner of her eye.
Mariah turned the car off. “Let’s go inside and see what’s going on.”
As they walked into the building and stamped the snow off their boots, Janae was exiting the building. The women stopped to talk.
“It’s awful in there,” Janae lamented. She waved her gloved hand in the air. “I feel so sorry for Mr. Palmer. He is devastated. Most of the crew are being questioned and fingerprinted right now.”
Mariah and Sonyell looked at each other then back at Janae.
“Do they have any suspects?” Mariah asked quickly.
“The last thing I heard them ask was if Mr. Palmer has any enemies. The police also asked if there are any ex-employees or present employees with criminal backgrounds.”
A dart of terror zinged Sonyell’s heart. Her and Michael’s worst fears had materialized. As Michael predicted, he may indeed become suspect number one.
Sonyell heard Janae babble on as if from a distance. What if Michael did this? careened through Sonyell’s brain.
Janae finally departed and the two friends pushed the door open to Carson’s office and walked inside.
Chapter Twenty-eight
One of the crime scene technicians was packing evidence bags into his black case. Another technician was still fingerprinting a crew member. Officer Janokowski and his partner were taking statements from the men who had already been fingerprinted. Mariah and Sonyell were stunned by the disarray of the office. There wasn’t anywhere to sit, so Sonyell walked over to Michael and stood by him. Mariah, meanwhile, went into Carson’s office.
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