Barbara Levenson - Mary Magruder Katz 03 - Outrageous October

by Barbara Levenson

  Dash and I looked at each other. “We’ll get out of your way,” I said. “Can we get copies of those records for our file?”

  “Yup. Here, just take them up to Mrs. Bradley at the front desk.”

  I clutched our copies of the hospital records as we got into Dash’s car. “Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?” I asked.

  “And what would that be?” Dash smiled.

  “That we can easily get into Roland’s house through the back entrance. That is if you don’t mind fighting your way through the overgrowth. The sheriff hasn’t stationed anyone back there. By the time Jim gets there, we’ll be out. And I can use my phone camera to record whatever we find, so Jim can’t hide evidence from us.”

  “Mary, we could get ourselves in some big trouble.”

  “Or we could get Ken out of trouble. Come on. Let’s go.”

  We parked down the street from Ken’s house. I remembered how Ken and I had accessed Roland’s house the day we went to court.

  “Just follow me between those two houses and we can cut through the easement and get right into the backyard,” I said.

  I motioned Dash to follow me. Soon we were facing the mess that comprised Roland’s yard.

  “Are those targets for gun practice?” Dash whispered.

  “They sure are. Come on. Let’s see if the back door is unlocked.”

  We made our way through the old tin cans, the weeds and God knows what else that was concealed in the brush. In another minute we were on the rickety back steps leading to the back door. Dash pulled back the screen and tried the door. It was locked and no amount of jiggling forced it open.

  “So now what?” Dash asked. “Do your talents include blasting through bolt locks?”

  “No, and if we make much more noise the lone deputy watching the front of the house will be back here.”

  “He’s probably sleeping in his squad car,” Dash answered.

  I began walking around the back of the house. There were three windows facing the back yard. The first was a small window that looked like it was over a kitchen sink. The second and third windows were larger. I peered through the nearest one and saw overturned furniture and papers strewn on the floor. The third one had a screen that was partially unhooked and hanging slightly from the window.

  “I can see the bathroom over here.” I motioned to Dash.

  I pulled on the screen and it promptly fell onto my foot. The window was the old pull up style. It yielded with no effort.

  “I think I can get through this one. I might need a little boost,” I said. “Then I’ll let you in the back door.”

  “Are you nuts? I can’t let you do that.”

  “Well, you’re much too tall to crawl in there. We need to see what’s in this house. We may not get another chance. If Jimmy Parsons decides that Ken Upham is the guy who did Roland in, you know he won’t change his mind and he’ll make any other evidence disappear or overlook it. Look how he screwed up on Carolyn Brousseau’s murder.”

  “Okay, but this is against my better judgment.” Dash moved under the window and gave me a boost. I grabbed the window sill and pulled myself up and jumped down, landing in an old claw footed bath tub.

  “I’m coming to unlock the door,” I said as I picked myself up and hurried through the house.

  Even though it was still light outside, the house was almost dark. The windows were obscured with a decade of dust and grime. The weeds and overgrown shrubs obscured any ray of light coming in the front windows. I found the kitchen and opened the bolt lock and a second lock on the doorknob. Dash almost fell through the door.

  “Look at you. You’re covered in dust or mud or both.” he said. He brushed some dust from my hair.

  We started through the kitchen into the living room, dining room combination. There was an old sofa and table and chairs. Book shelves were loaded with aging books.

  A small room in the back of the house was the one I had seen from outside the back of the house. Someone had thrown the contents of an old roll top desk to the floor. A chair was turned on its side and a there was a broken lamp and an overturned end table.

  “Don’t touch anything. There may be fingerprints on these things.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket and began taking pictures of the mess.

  “See if you can find a flashlight in the kitchen.” I said. I glanced down at some of the papers and saw they were letters that were written in a foreign language,

  Dash returned carrying a large flashlight. “This was next to the back door on the counter. I thought you said not to touch anything, but we need the flashlight.”

  “I’ll wipe it off when we return it,” I said as I continued snapping pictures.

  We took the light back into the living room. I began to shine it on the floor. We both immediately saw dried stains on the carpet that looked like they could be blood. They led to the front door. I turned the light back around the room and saw a flash of silver. I moved closer and saw that it was a casing. Dash started to pick it up.

  “Don’t, Dash. We know what it is and where it is, but we can’t remove it. It shows that Roland was probably shot in here and was thrown outside into the bushes, or he tried to get out before he died. Either way, it’s important to leave it where it is”. I took several pictures of the casing and tried to get shots of the blood stains.

  I picked up one of the books on the edge of the shelf and saw that it also was in a foreign language.

  “That’s German,” Dash said examining the book. “We need to get out of here before someone finds out we’ve committed a burglary.”

  “Okay, but let’s just see what else is in here.”

  I walked into a small hallway. There was a door that I guessed went to a closet. It opened but instead of clothes or linens there was a stairway.

  “Shine the light here. Where do these steps go?”

  Dash approached with the light and we saw that they led to a basement. I hurried down the steps. Dash followed behind me. The light exposed a large room, its walls covered in posters and photos. There were flags in a stand and other paraphernalia of some kind. My mouth dropped open when I realized what we were looking at.

  CHAPTER

  FIFTY-NINE

  “Roland Behr wasn’t a tree Nazi. He was a real Nazi,” I said, as I walked around the basement area.

  “I can’t believe this. So this is what Roland’s secret club was,” Dash said.

  Swastikas emblazoned each wall and several bulletin boards. There were German flags, pictures of men dressed in boots and uniforms. A gun cupboard held a variety of weapons. There were typed and printed slogans and pledges pinned to the walls.

  “We will not be silenced. We will rise once again and show pride for our Aryan Nation,” Dash read as he flashed the light over the words. “Jews do not rule America, Down with Jewish filth,” covered another wall.

  “This is a Nazi clubhouse,” Dash said, as he continued to read the manifestos.”

  “This isn’t something to be handled by local law enforcement. This has national implications. Who can we call?” I asked. I snapped photos of the walls with their Nazi messages.

  “You’re right. I know the U.S. Attorney for this area. His office is in Burlington. We were friends when I practiced up there. Let’s get out of here, so I can call him.”

  “Better get him on this fast before Jimmy comes in here, and while you’re at it, maybe he can prosecute Sherry’s kidnappers. They did take her across state lines from New Hampshire into Vermont, even though it was only across a river.”

  We tiptoed up the steps and out the back door. Then we ran to Dash’s car.

  Dash used his satellite phone. It was after five o’clock but like all lawyers, the U.S. Attorney didn’t keep nine-to-five hours. Dash spoke to him for ten minutes, explaining what we had seen and what details we knew of Roland’s murder.

  Finally, Dash clicked off. “Curtis is going to call Jimmy Parsons right now and order him off the investigation. He’l
l have the FBI and one of his assistants here in a few hours. I had to tell him how we got in the house and saw the meeting place. He promised not to reveal his source. He also told me that there have been rumors of a neo-Nazi cell in Northern New England. He was contacted by the rabbi from the temple here a few weeks ago complaining that there had been some anti-Jewish incidents and some members believed that there was an organization in our area.”

  “Curtis? That’s the attorney’s name?”

  “Yes, Curtis Lemay. He’s a real go-getter. I can’t believe this has been going on right under our noses.”

  “You seem to be saying ‘you can’t believe’ an awful lot lately. Well, I don’t believe that no one knew about this. Everyone gossips in this village. Everyone knew who I was, what case I was handling. Your friend, Curtis, has had tips about this. The good news is Ken shouldn’t be a suspect any longer. It seems Roland wasn’t so interested in trees after all.”

  “But now I think maybe someone in our Jewish community may be suspected. Let’s go back to the office and see if my mother is still there. I wonder if she’s heard about this neo-Nazi group.”

  “If anyone knows everything, it’s sure to be Daisy,” I said

  CHAPTER

  SIXTY

  I was surprised to see Daisy’s car as we drove up to the office. I wasn’t surprised that she was on the phone. We heard her as we opened the front door.

  “Yes old Roland was found dead in his front yard and Dash’s client is being questioned. I can’t tell you who. Yes, I’ll keep you posted,” Daisy said as we stood in front of her desk.

  “I didn’t hear you come in.” Daisy stood up. She looked like Sam when he’s caught with one of my shoes.

  “Mom, you know not to discuss office business with your friends,” Dash said.

  “I didn’t tell Phyllis anything she couldn’t read in the paper. I didn’t name any names.”

  “Daisy, do you know anything about an anti-Jewish group in this area?” I interrupted Dash and his mother’s quarrel. No sense shutting her up when we were looking for information.

  “Well, sort of. Why do you want to know?”

  “Never mind why we want to know about this. What have you heard?” Dash was quickly losing patience.

  “Well, the Rabbi met with the synagogue board a couple of weeks ago. Mary, I’m the head of the caring committee. I make visits to people who are ill or have had a death in the family.”

  “Never mind that. What happened at the board meeting?” Dash asked.

  “The Rabbi told us there had been some incidents. A swastika painted on the door and garbage left in the vestibule. One window was broken another time and someone pinned a note to the door saying Jews weren’t wanted in the Upper Valley.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about this?” Dash asked. I could see that his hands were trembling.

  “Because the Rabbi told us to keep it quiet. He said it was best if we kept a low profile. Some of the members repaired everything. The consensus was that if this were broadcast, then other copycat crimes would occur. Everyone thought it was just kids who didn’t know better.”

  “I can’t believe that you kept this to yourself,” Dash said.

  “What’s happened? Is there going to be trouble?” Daisy asked.

  “Not going to be. There is.” I said.

  “I’m going to call Rabbi Goldblatt. I want to talk to him right away.” Dash went to the phone in his office.

  “You can’t call him now,” Daisy called after him. “It’s dinner time.”

  Within minutes Dash and I were back in his car on the way to meet with Rabbi Goldblatt.

  “We need to warn him so he’s prepared if the FBI decides to question his members. He may know who would have a motive to go after Roland. Maybe he even knew about the Nazi group.” Dash said.

  My mind was whirling. My half Jewish side was sickened by what we had seen in Roland’s basement. Being raised in Miami, I had never experienced this kind of religious hatred. Of course, there are small minded people in Miami who resent immigrants, but this was a different kind of hatred, one that should have died with the worldwide pain of the Holocaust.

  Now I was on the way to meet with a rabbi. I hadn’t done that since I was twelve years old. For a while I attended two religious schools until I called a halt to the tug of war between my parents’ and grandparents’ background and decided that organized religion was not in my future.

  “Mary, we’re here. Come on,” Dash said.

  We walked up to a pretty white frame house with green shutters that looked like it belonged on the set of a movie about New England. A gray-haired man dressed in sweater and slacks opened the door before we could knock. He smiled at us and ushered us into a cozy library. Dash introduced me and I shook hands with Rabbi Goldblatt who looked a lot like my Uncle Max.

  “Well, it’s lovely to see you, Dash. I haven’t seen much of you lately, except of course at Yom Kippur services. Is your mother well?” Rabbi Goldblatt asked.

  “Yes, she’s fine.”

  “So is this about you two, you and Mary? Maybe you have some good news to tell me.”

  “No, Rabbi, it’s not good news. Mary is a lawyer from Miami who’s been helping me with some cases. Today we uncovered something that I must warn you about. You probably know that Roland Behr is dead. He was shot and found in his yard.”

  “Yes, I heard. One shouldn’t speak badly of the dead, but I have to say, he was an unsavory person.”

  “Rabbi, did you know that Roland had a Nazi group meeting in his home?”

  “I didn’t know that’s where it was.” The rabbi sighed and looked as if he might cry. “I have heard for some time that there was a neo-Nazi group somewhere in our area. We had some incidents at the temple. Some members have reported various rumors to me. I finally called on the U.S. Attorney and asked him to investigate.”

  “Is it possible that any of your congregation could be under suspicion? The FBI is opening an investigation into this group and Roland’s murder.” I asked the hard question, hoping to get Dash off the hook.

  “Anything is possible. Of course, there is Franz. You remember him, don’t you, Dash? Franz Goldstein? He’s a Holocaust survivor. But he hardly goes out anymore.”

  “What about his family, his son and grandchildren?” Dash asked.

  “His son works in New York and comes up here about once a month. His grandson and wife work in this area. In fact the grandson, Jeff, is one of the people that passed on rumors about a Nazi group operating in this area. He was pretty upset.”

  “It’s up to you whether you want to give anyone a warning that they might be questioned,” Dash said. We just thought it best to give you some time to prepare for what may come out of this whole event.”

  Dash stood up and we began to inch our way to the door. The rabbi followed and thanked us repeatedly for coming directly to him. The aching feeling in the bottom of my stomach was growing as I flashed back to Roland Behr’s basement.

  “Dash, can you drop me at home, please, I think I’ve had it for today.”

  I waved goodbye to Dash and hurried inside. Sam was barking as I opened the door. He had bent the bars on his crate door and was lying next to the back door.

  “Bad boy,” I yelled. I need that crate for traveling back to Miami. What have you done?”

  Sam rubbed his big head against my legs and made his moaning noises. I realized that I was being unfair to him, leaving him holed up in a strange place.

  “We’ve had enough of this crazy place. We need to go back to Miami. I promise, we’ll go soon,” I said.

  I went to the fridge and pulled out some leftover chicken and ham. I made myself a sandwich and filled Sam’s dish with the rest of the chicken for a special treat. I opened a beer for my special treat, and snapped on the TV. The news carried Roland Behr’s suspicious death and a short blurb about a Dartmouth coed who was alleged to have been kidnapped by locals in the Upper Valley. The announcer was saying, “th
is normally tranquil area has been shaken by two crimes in the same week.”

  I was reminded to call Lillian and check on Sherry. It seemed a month since we found her, but it was less than twelve hours ago.

  Brett answered Lillian’s phone. Lillian and Sherry were resting. Then he lowered his voice.

  “Mary, we’re going to be packing Sherry’s stuff in her dorm room tomorrow and shipping everything back to Miami, but Sherry doesn’t want to leave until she visits that animal, Paul, in jail. Mother is dead set against it.”

  “Maybe Sherry needs closure, or maybe she just wants to tell him what a pig he is. Either way, maybe it’s best to let her get this off her mind so she can look ahead.”

  “I’ll tell mother what you think. She usually listens to you.” Brett said.

  As soon as I hung up, Dash called to say that Curtis Lemay had let him know that he was on his way down here along with FBI agents. He had decided to start this investigation himself, and would be calling on the lawyer who found Roland first thing in the morning. He also said that he wanted to talk to Ken Upham. I told Dash I’d be ready to sit with Ken.

  I sat down on the comfy sofa and was half asleep when Sam began to bark and jump at the back door. “Haven’t we had enough excitement for one day?” I asked as I got into my boots and coat and grabbed my flashlight. I hooked Sam’s leash on him as he pulled me through the door.

  CHAPTER

  SIXTY-ONE

  As soon as we galloped into the back yard, Sam began to pull me toward the path through the woods. I really didn’t want to take a hike in the dark, but I didn’t have a choice. As long as I held tight to the leash, my eighty pound dog was in charge of our flight pattern.

  I shined the flashlight on the semi-path through the woods that connected to Carolyn Brousseau’s property. Now that Carolyn’s killers were safely locked up, I wasn’t worried about confronting a killer, but I also didn’t think this foray into the woods was in pursuit of some wild life. Once and for all, I wanted to catch whoever had taken up residency in the Brousseau house. No one else seemed to care. I wasn’t even sure why I cared. Maybe it was just lawyer’s curiosity.