“I don’t have any idea. I haven’t thought too much about this,” she said. “I’d love your help. Why don’t I take you to dinner tonight so we can put some plans together?”
“You’re on.”
“Come over after work and we’ll go from there. In fact, how about I pick up takeout from Pete’s on my way home and we stay in and make plans?”
“I’ll never say no to staying in with you. Not sure how many plans we’ll get made, but I’ll do my best to fight you off.”
Maggie laughed. “After last night, you’re going to have to! See you later.”
Chapter 41
Frank Haynes locked the door of Haynes Enterprises and watched as Loretta Nash got into her car and pulled out of the parking lot. He returned to his office and placed the call he’d been thinking about all day. Professor Upton picked up on the fourth ring.
“Don. Frank Haynes here.”
“Frank, how’s it going down there? Any more untimely deaths?”
“No. But that’s one of the reasons I’m calling. I’ve been thinking. Maggie might be right about Wheeler. He may have been connected to the mob. God knows, he wasn’t smart enough to think up that sophisticated embezzlement scheme on his own.”
“So you want to call the feds in, too?”
“Not necessarily. Chief Thomas and Scanlon are more than capable of handling it. What I’m worried about is Maggie. As you said the other day, she’s in over her head.”
“I said that she feels she’s in over her head.”
“Come on, Don; you think so, too. If Westbury were the sleepy little town it’s supposed to be, she’d be more than capable of handling the duties of mayor. But we’re up to our eyeballs in trouble. We need someone with experience.”
Haynes paused to let Upton comment. When Upton remained silent, he continued. “You agree with me, don’t you? And she’d admit it, if she were honest with herself. She didn’t choose to run for the position after all. And now she might be in real danger. We should encourage her to resign.”
“She’d never do that; she’s no quitter.”
“I’m not so sure. We owe it to her to try, don’t we? You care for her, and so do I.”
“Who’d fill the gap, Frank? What’s the process?”
“The council would select longterm Councilman Russell Isaac to serve until the next regular election.”
“Wasn’t he defeated in the special election?”
“He was, but that was because of a backlash against Wheeler. He’s clean and capable. He filled in when Wheeler resigned, and he can handle the job again.”
Both men remained silent.
“She’s getting hate emails from constituents. You said it yourself, Don; she’s doubting her capability. And now Chief Thomas and Alex Scanlon are at odds with her. We’d be doing her a favor to encourage her to resign. Plus, we both feel that Westbury would be better off under different leadership. The town needs someone who can bring people together.” And it wouldn’t hurt to have someone in office who wasn’t determined to uncover every detail—every participant—in the fraud scheme, he thought.
“You could be right.” Upton sighed heavily. “And I might be able to help. I’m looking for someone to be an expert witness in a fraud case I’m working on in California. It’ll require a tremendous number of hours for the next year and will involve frequent trips to Los Angeles. If she wasn’t the mayor, Maggie would be perfect.”
“And she’d love going to California because she could see her family. This could be the carrot we need to convince her to resign.” Haynes sounded almost giddy.
“And the fee she could charge is very high; this would be an extremely lucrative engagement. Cases like this don’t come along very often—”
“All the more reason to phone her,” Haynes interjected.
“I was thinking of offering the opportunity to her, even before you called.”
“Good. Then it’s settled. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help convince her.”
Chapter 42
Business was brisk at Haynes Enterprises during the weeks before Christmas. People weren’t just buying gifts; they were going out to eat, too. Swamped with work for the first time since she had started, Loretta was finally feeling useful. The uptick in revenue had lightened her boss’s mood, as well. When he wasn’t barking orders at her, Frank Haynes was pleasant enough, she supposed.
Loretta was absorbed with this week’s payroll when she heard Haynes’ cell phone ring through his closed office door. Though muffled, the urgency of his tone in response to whomever had called brought her to full attention. She was leaning across her desk to eavesdrop when he tore out of his office, shrugging into his coat with his phone to his ear. He charged the door then turned back to her.
“I’m on my way,” he stated firmly into the phone and hung up. “Store number eight’s been robbed.”
Loretta gasped. He held up his hand to stop any conversation.
“Nobody was hurt. The store was packed, and it’s chaos over there. I’m going to talk to the police and shut the place down for the rest of the day. God, this hurts revenue,” he spat. “Everybody gets nervous about going in the place. And all because some tweaker wanted a little cash. The idiot just got what was in the drawers; he didn’t go after the safe. What a pain in the ass.”
“I’m glad everyone is okay,” she stated lamely. She reached for her purse and started to come around the side of her desk. She assumed he would send her home; he’d never left her there alone before.
“No. You stay here,” he ordered. “I need you to answer the phone; the media will be calling. You’re to tell them that Haynes Enterprises is grateful that everyone is safe and appreciates the careful actions of its employees in handling the situation. And the quick response of the police.”
Loretta typed furiously while he spoke and nodded her understanding.
“Can you stay late tonight?” he asked. “I don’t know how all this is going to play out.”
“I think my kids can stay at their afterschool sitter’s house.” She picked up the phone. This might be her one and only opportunity to be at Haynes Enterprises without the watchful eye of Frank Haynes. “I’ll call her now. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
Haynes was halfway to his car before she finished her response.
***
As he had predicted, the media began calling before he had even left the parking lot. Loretta handled them all on the fly. She smiled in satisfaction when she hung up on one especially persistent reporter. She hadn’t gotten flustered and didn’t allow herself to be drawn off the message Haynes had given her. She was quite good at this.
She leaned back in her chair. It was almost six o’clock. The phone had been quiet for the last ten minutes. Her kids were cleared to stay at the babysitter as long as necessary; it was the holidays, and the woman needed the money. Loretta wondered, did she dare snoop around a bit?
She rose from her desk and crossed the room to look out the window at the parking lot. She needed to be sure that Haynes wouldn’t walk in on her going through his office. He’d fire her for sure, or worse. She shivered involuntarily. Maybe it was the company he kept; that Delgado creep was a thug straight out of central casting. She had no reason to think that Haynes was anything other than an honest, successful businessman—a bit formal and unfeeling maybe, but not a criminal. Still, her gut told her to proceed very carefully.
Loretta threw the deadbolt on the entrance to Haynes Enterprises. It was after hours and Haynes wouldn’t question this precaution. She closed all of the blinds and turned off her radio. She needed to be able to hear his car pull up. That should give her enough time to get back to her desk.
She entered his office. Papers were scattered across his desktop and his computer was still on. She had never been farther into this room than a few feet in front of his desk. She noted the orientation of his chair before she sat down; she’d have to make sure everything was exactly as he’d left it.
She leaned back in his chair and scanned the office. She carefully slid open his top desk drawer and was greeted with a neat array of pens and pencils. She was sliding it back into place when her knee brushed something sticky on the bottom of the drawer. Loretta slid the chair back and got down on her knees to look. On the underside of the drawer, she found a small metal key affixed to the underside of the drawer with an old strip of tape, curling at the edges. Loretta’s heart leapt into her throat. This was it. She knew it.
Loretta checked her watch—almost seven o’clock. Haynes could be back at any time. She surveyed the papers on his desktop; they were as he had left them. She quickly went to the reception area window to make sure he wasn’t driving into the parking lot. She had to find what that key opened.
Loretta slipped off her shoes and left them by her desk; she didn’t want to be hampered by her heels if she needed to move quickly. She returned to his office and slowly circled the room, looking for anything that locked.
The filing cabinets opposite his desk were unlocked. She had been in all of them at one time or another. Another quick look confirmed that they contained only the employee files and leasing records she was familiar with.
She turned to his desk and credenza. They held nothing more than carefully labeled files on each of his stores and records detailing every penny he had donated to the community. All neat, clean, and orderly. There was no reason to keep any of this a secret, she thought. Unless he wanted to conceal his wealth, but that was belied by his constant grandstanding.
It didn’t add up.
Frustrated at having come to a dead end, Loretta stood and meticulously returned his chair to its original position. She double-checked to make sure that every drawer was completely closed.
On her way out of the office, she noticed that the small painting hanging to the left of the door was askew. She absentmindedly straightened it, then stopped dead in her tracks. A bead of cold sweat ran down her back. Had it been crooked when he left, or had she jarred it by opening and closing the filing cabinets underneath it? Would he notice it?
She opened and closed several of the drawers and the picture didn’t move. It must have been crooked when he left, she reasoned. She’d need to set it that way again. As she adjusted the frame, the back caught on something. She pulled the bottom of the frame forward and pressed her face against the wall to see what lay behind the picture. And there it was. The door to a small wall safe, no more than eight-by-ten inches, with an opening for a key.
Loretta gingerly lifted the picture from its hook. I’ve hit pay dirt, she thought. She had just succeeded in removing it from the wall when she heard the telltale sound of a car coming down the driveway, fast.
Loretta panicked as she realized that Haynes had pulled up. He’d be at the bolted door in moments. He must not find her in his office.
She replaced the picture on its hook, set it on an angle, and hoped it looked like it had when he’d left his office earlier in the afternoon. She hurried to his desk and replaced the key under the middle drawer, managing to get to the front door just as he was inserting his key into the lock.
Chapter 43
After rushing out of Haynes Enterprises the afternoon of the robbery, Loretta was surprised that Haynes didn’t even enter his office when he returned later that evening. He looked exhausted, and his complexion had a gray cast to it.
“Are you feeling all right?” Loretta asked.
“I’m fine. Get your things,” Haynes replied impatiently. He clearly wanted to lock up and leave.
She quickly complied. When she tried to ask how things were at the restaurant—to get the details of the robbery—he cut her off saying they’d go over all of it in the morning. She was almost to her car when he called out to her.
“Thank you for staying late tonight, Loretta. I appreciate it.”
“No problem,” she answered.
“I’ll pay you overtime,” he grumbled.
He reached into his wallet and pulled out a small stack of twenty-dollar bills. He motioned to her as she was unlocking her car, approached, and thrust the money into her hands.
“Here. This is for the babysitter. Thanks again.”
Then he turned on his heel without waiting for her response.
***
Loretta arrived at Haynes Enterprises before seven the next morning. She was anxious to observe him in his office. She had wanted to arrive by six fifteen, since she knew Haynes was usually there by six thirty, but her kids had been sluggish after their late night the day before. She finally deposited them at the babysitter’s at six twenty and headed straight for the office.
Relief that Haynes had not yet arrived turned to impatience as she waited for him in her cold car. He finally pulled up at seven fifteen. She met him at the door.
“Good morning, Mr. Haynes,” she said in her most cheerful top-of-the-morning-to-you voice.
Since he didn’t remark on her being there so early, she decided to blow her own horn.
“After what happened yesterday, I figured you might need me. I got here half an hour ago.”
When he turned to her then, she saw that even that small movement took effort. He looked even worse than he had the night before.
“You’re not feeling well, are you, Mr. Haynes?”
“I’m fine,” he replied through gritted teeth. “And thank you for coming in early,” he added as an afterthought.
He unlocked the door and held it open for Loretta to precede him. Without further conversation, he headed directly to his office.
Loretta settled herself behind her desk and resumed her work on the payroll. She was relieved to see that he had left his door ajar, so she could surreptitiously keep an eye on him. He spent the morning reviewing his product orders for the next month.
She knocked lightly on his door at eleven fifteen, letting him know she was going to the bank to make the daily deposit. He didn’t turn around from his computer, contenting himself with a tiny wave to acknowledge that he had heard her.
Miffed at his dismissive attitude, she set off. Who did he think he was that he could ignore her like that? If he took such little notice of her, would he even know if she took some extra time and did a bit of Christmas shopping? She’d combine the bank run with an early lunch hour.
After she had completed her business at the bank, she headed to the superstore at the edge of town. It was busy on this weekday in early December, and her shopping took longer than expected. She kept glancing at her watch, telling herself she needed to get back. Then the memory of Frank Haynes’ seeming indifference to her flooded back, and she continued to shop.
It was shortly after one thirty when she pulled into the lot at Haynes Enterprises. Had she lost her mind? She hadn’t intended to be gone that long. If he took her to task, she would tell him that her son had gotten sick at school and she had needed to pick him up and take him to the babysitter. He’d never check her story.
She quietly opened the door to Haynes Enterprises and slipped behind her desk. No point in drawing attention to herself. She cautiously glanced toward his open door; he was not at his desk. He must be rummaging in his filing cabinets. She turned back to her computer and became absorbed in the accounts payable report. When she glanced at his office thirty minutes later, she was surprised to see that he still wasn’t at his desk. She paused to listen but couldn’t hear any sounds coming from his office.
Alarmed, she rose and approached his door. She raised her hand to knock when she saw, from this vantage point, what she hadn’t seen from her desk. Frank Haynes was on his knees under his desk, slumped over, clutching his stomach and chest. His breathing was shallow and sweat trickled down the sides of his face.<
br />
“Oh, my God.” She raced over to him and snatched the phone from his desk, dialing the emergency number. “You’re going to be fine,” she told him. “I’m calling 9-1-1.”
“No,” he gasped. “I’ll be okay. Just help me up. Indigestion’s all it is.”
She eyed him closely as the emergency dispatcher answered. “9-1-1. What is your emergency?”
Loretta hesitated as Haynes attempted to pull himself back into his chair. Watching him double over in pain convinced her. “We need an ambulance at Haynes Enterprises.” She gave the address. “Frank Haynes may be having a heart attack.”
He tried to protest, but Loretta remained firm. “Mr. Haynes, something is terribly wrong. You need to go to the hospital.”
He finally nodded his assent.
“The paramedics will be here soon,” she reassured. “You’ll be in good hands shortly.”
Haynes fumbled in his pants pocket and extracted his keys, which he dropped on the floor. Loretta bent and retrieved them.
“These are your office keys, right?’
Haynes nodded imperceptibly.
“I’ll make sure that everything’s locked up tonight, and I’ll open up tomorrow. I’ll keep the office running while you’re out,” she said, feeling a twinge of excitement at the prospect of being in charge.
“Is there anyone I should call?” she asked, as the sound of a siren could be heard approaching.
With great effort, Haynes croaked out, “Delgado.”
Loretta pretended not to hear; that was the last person she wanted to contact. “I’m going out front to meet the ambulance,” she said as she skirted his desk. “Hang on. Help is here.”
***
The events of the last two days had taken a toll on Loretta. She was exhausted. The ambulance crew told her that Haynes’ vital signs were all strong; they didn’t think he was having a heart attack. The son of a bitch had managed to grab his cell phone, and she heard him make the call to Delgado, asking him to keep an eye on his office. She knew what that meant for a creep like Delgado; he would use this as an excuse to drop by and harass her. She desperately wanted to take this opportunity to unlock that wall safe and examine its contents, but she didn’t dare if Delgado might come charging in at any moment.
Weaving the Strands Page 21