. . .
When we walked into the office around 1 in the afternoon, Marnie stood up and gave us both a hug. She was excited about something.
As I put my hat on the rack, I said, "OK. What's going on?"
She grinned like I'd never seen her do. "Alex proposed last night. I said yes!" She held out her hand and showed us a gold band with a small diamond.
I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Carter did the same. I said, "Congratulations, Marnie!"
Carter asked, "When's the big day?"
Marnie looked at me and then at Carter. "That depends."
"On what?" I asked.
"On the two of you. After Mother's big wedding at Grace Cathedral, I'd rather have a small event. And--"
Carter whooped and lifted Marnie off her feet, swinging her in the air. "Absolutely, Marnie!"
I shook my head as Marnie giggled and ran her hand over her hair. "What are you two talking about?" I asked.
Carter looked down at me with a big grin. "They wanna get married at our house, son. Try to keep up."
. . .
After we set the date for Saturday, August 7th, at noon, Marnie got on the phone to get things rolling. Carter and I walked down the hall to Mike's office to catch him up on what had happened in Galveston.
I sat down across from his desk and asked, "How're things?"
Mike smiled and said, "Fine. Just fine. I heard you had quite a time in Texas."
Carter and I gave him our report. When we were done, I asked, "Have you talked to Dawson or Andy today?"
"Other than to tell them to take the day off, no."
I nodded. "Good. By the way, I've been wondering about Dawson and Dr. Wildman. What happened?"
Mike grinned, leaned back in his chair, and pulled out a cigar. Carter walked behind him and opened one of the windows as Mike lit up.
"Don't like the smell?" That was Mike.
"Not really." Carter smiled in reply but he was just being polite. He'd told me a long time ago that the smell of cigars brought back bad memories of his father.
Mike nodded and asked, "You want me to put it out?"
Carter shook his head. "As long as the window is open, I'm fine."
Mike pointed his cigar at me. "Dawson never made a move because he was trailing the doctor. Did you know that the man had relations with the jail supervisor?"
I nodded. "Twenty-five grand included incriminating photographs."
"Where are they?"
"Kenneth has them, along with our affidavits on why we paid the bribes. It's a little bit of security, in case we ever need it."
Mike puffed on his cigar thoughtfully. "I still don't like you doing that, but I understand why you did."
I shrugged. "Cost of doing business."
Carter asked, "How're things with Greg?"
Mike grinned. "Couldn't be better."
Carter and I just sat there. I suspected we were thinking the same thing. And it was all about their compatibility in bed. Mike took a big puff on his cigar. "I know what you two perverts are wondering about." He leaned in conspiratorially and said, "Let's put it this way. Greg's got a thing for motorcycles. And motorcycle cops." He paused as he took a puff. "Who smoke cigars." He looked at his cigar for a moment and then grinned at me. Mike had been one before he was promoted to lieutenant.
That explained that.
. . .
On Friday morning, we took John to breakfast at Mildred's. As Carter opened the door, I heard a big voice say, "Well, look what the cat dragged in!"
Mildred came over and gave Carter and then me a big kiss on the cheek. Carter introduced John and then we sat down at a table close to the kitchen.
Once we all had coffee, Mildred took our orders, ran them into the kitchen, and then returned to sit down with us for a moment.
"I can only sit a spell but I have to tell you, I'm so glad to see you two. Yes, sir, I sure am." Her eyes sparkled as she grinned broadly.
Leaning in, she asked, "Slim, did you ever look in Shorty's wallet?"
I shook my head. "No. What was in it?"
Mildred leaned against her chair, slapped her hand on the table, and laughed. "There was a couple hundred in the money clip but I found twelve grand, all in thousand-dollar bills, in his wallet."
Carter asked, "What are you gonna do with all that?"
Mildred grinned. "'All that,' like twelve grand idn't just a walk in the park for you two." She pulled out a rag and wiped off a speck of sugar from the table. "Truth is, I sent half of it back to Shorty. It's community property, after all. Besides, he's prolly gonna need it." She winked at Carter. "For the hospital bills."
Joe, her cook, called out, "Table 3!"
"That's you. Hold on a sec, hon. Be right back." With that, she stood up and ran over to the counter and scooped up our plates.
John was shaking his head. In a quiet voice, he said, "She's like a tornado."
Carter smiled and nodded. "Yep. She's a great gal. And, thanks to Nick, she's in love."
Mildred heard that last line and, as she was putting our plates down, said, "You bet I am. You just missed Manny. I'm gonna have to ban him from the diner."
Right then, Patty walked by the table and said, "You sure are."
Mildred laughed and sat down again. "I just can't seem to take care of my customers when he's around. Now there's a man who knows how to treat a lady." She looked at John for a moment.
I had an idea what she was thinking, so I said, "He's one of us."
She leaned in and, in a low voice, said, "Ain't quite like Shorty in the bedroom department but it's plenty, if you get my drift. Not nearly as exhausting, thank the good Lord!" With that, she stood up and went to take care of her other customers while we laughed.
. . .
After breakfast, we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge and up Highway 101. Our first stop was at Marin General Hospital.
We parked and then made our way into the modern hospital and upstairs to where Mrs. Gonzalez, the cook at the county jail, was staying for the duration.
I knocked on the door of her room and a boy of about 14 opened it. "Yes?"
"We're here to see Mrs. Gonzalez. My name is Nick Williams. What's yours?"
The kid said, "I'm Peter. Come in."
We walked into the room. There were two big bouquets of flowers on the sill in front of the window. Mrs. Gonzalez was in bed but not looking any worse for the wear other than the fact that her torso was covered in a stiff cast and her right leg was covered in a big bandage and propped on a pillow.
"Hello, Mr. Williams. Come in. This is my daughter Anna and you met my grandson Peter. What brings you here?"
I smiled and said, "Just wanted to see how you were doing."
"Well, the itching is the worst part but look at all this! The flowers come almost every day and someone is paying for all my hospital bills and they even gave me a private room." She lifted a small box on a cord. "It even comes with a television and I can turn it on and off without having to make Peter do it for me. Isn't that nice?"
I nodded. "Mrs. G., this is Carter Jones."
She smiled and said, "Hello, Mr. Jones."
"And this is his cousin John Parker, who's moving here from Georgia."
Anna looked up at John and batted her eyes. She said, "This is the best place in the world to live."
Mrs. Gonzalez looked at me and then said, "Anna, why don't you take Peter down to the cafeteria and get him a snack?"
In a very peaches and cream voice, John said, "If you'll show me the way, I'll be happy to escort you both."
Peter rolled his eyes and said, "Oh, brother. Come on mom. And Mr. Parker." He led them out of the room and down the hall.
Once they were gone, Mrs. Gonzalez said, "Anna don't know a lot about men, particularly about barking up the wrong tree, if you know what I mean."
"Widow?"
"Yes. Her Bill was a Marine and died at Iwo Jima. Such a tragedy. Peter looks just like him. And he's just as smart, too
. Now, why are you really here, Mr. Williams?"
I said, "You probably heard about how they have a new cook at the jail."
"Yes." She looked at me intently.
"Well, that's just temporary until you get back on your feet."
She shook her head. "I'm not going back. I shoulda quit a few years ago. I have a nice pension from when my Freddy worked for the Southern Pacific. Anna wants to go back to work now that Peter is getting older. She can go work in the City. She's a great secretary. And I'll stay home and take care of Peter when he gets home from school." She looked around the room and sighed contentedly. "So, I have my little vacation in the hospital and then I'm a free woman." She laughed as she said that.
Carter leaned in and said, "Well, if there's anything we can do to help, please let us know."
She nodded and said, "Besides sending me flowers and paying for my hospital bills?" She winked at me. "I sure will."
. . .
Our second stop was to take Ben and Kenneth out to lunch. Ben's office was in downtown San Rafael on 4th Street. Carter parked the Mercury in front of his building, a narrow wood-frame affair that said, "Benjamin Ross, Attorney-At-Law," on the door. We all walked in and found Kenneth there, leaning over Ben who was sitting at a big desk cluttered with law books and piles of paper.
After introductions were made, the five of us went to the diner next door and sat in the back. While we ate, Carter and I filled them in on our adventures in Galveston while they gave us news about the fallout from our trial.
Kenneth picked up a french fried potato and pointed it at me. "I'm telling you, that's going to go down as the trial of the century around here. They'll be talking about it for twenty years, I bet."
Ben nudged Kenneth, smirked, and said, "If you do say so, yourself. Huh?"
Carter asked, "What about Sergeant O'Connor?"
Ben took a sip from his bottle of Pepsi. "He's gone. Quit the force the same day. Slipped out of town. No one's heard from him since."
I asked, "Did he move to the City?"
Kenneth said, "If he was smart, he went down to L.A. His skills are in demand down there."
"Beyond that one photograph of Noreen, I never saw any of his other work. Did y'all?" That was Carter.
Kenneth pursed his lips. "Your guys found at least five different magazines where his work has been featured. The guy must be making a fortune."
John asked, "Why was he even a cop, then?"
Ben said, "You'll have to ask Dr. Wildman. If you can find him."
"Where'd he go?" I asked.
Ben replied, "Last anyone heard, he's down in Mexico. I doubt he'll be back anytime soon. Word is that Weissech issued a subpoena for him to appear before the grand jury and he never replied. So now there's a warrant out for him. As soon as he steps back into California, he'll be hogtied and sent up here."
Carter nudged me in the arm. "Don't you owe Noreen an icebox?"
Ben and Kenneth looked at me in confusion. I explained Walter's interview approach. They both grinned as I tried to mimic his high-pitched radio announcer voice. "He's a cute little thing. Totally in awe of Mike and terrified of Carter."
Ben smiled and looked at Carter frankly. "Who wouldn't be?"
I glanced over at my husband, who had the good sense to blush and pull at his tie.
Ben continued, "But, I think Noreen has followed her meal ticket south. Her husband filed a missing person's report with the Sausalito police. Mountanos called me and asked me if I knew anything. I told him everything I knew and spared no detail." Ben was smirking as he said the last part.
Kenneth turned and said, "You didn't!"
Ben nodded. "I did. For such a young guy, he's really got a stick up his ass. He didn't even snicker. Of course, this was over the phone."
Carter said, "Sounds like he'll make a fine police chief." Ben nodded and John laughed but didn't say anything.
I looked at Ben and Kenneth. "Are you two going into practice together?"
Kenneth looked at me for a long moment. "Maybe."
I tilted my head and asked, "Just maybe?"
Kenneth threw a potato at me and said, "One of these days, Nick..."
Ben laughed. "Truth is that I've already decided to close up my practice here and move down to the City. I hope there's gonna be room for me in your new building."
I nodded. "Of course."
Ben looked over at Kenneth with a look of pure adoration. "He's just shy about admitting that he's sweet on me."
I smiled and said, "I knew it was love when he invited you to go with him to Palo Alto to interview those doctors. What could be more romantic than that?"
Everyone laughed, even Kenneth.
. . .
Our final destination was in Mill Valley. Marnie had arranged for us to stop by so that I could keep the promise that I had made to Office Krauss. Carter pulled the Mercury to the curb and asked, "You want to do this alone?"
I shook my head. "No. The foundation has your name on it, too."
John asked, "Can I come in?"
I nodded as we piled out of the car and made our way up the sidewalk to the small house. I rang the doorbell. After a minute or so, the door opened and Officer Krauss, in short sleeves on a warm day, smiled and said, "Glad you could make it, Mr. Williams."
I took off my hat and offered my hand, which he shook. "It's Nick." I turned and said, "You know Carter." They shook hands. "And this is Carter's cousin from Georgia. He's a former policeman and is moving here."
"John Parker."
"Bill Krauss. Welcome to the best place on Earth."
John laughed. "Everyone keeps telling me that and, from what I can tell, I'd have to agree."
"Come on in. Marybeth, that's my wife, is out back with Pauline. They're having a tea party."
We followed him through the house. It was clean and modern but also cozy. As we stepped out onto the concrete patio, I could see a girl of about 6 in a pretty pink dress sitting on a chair in front of a small table on the green lawn. On the table was a tiny teacup set complete with a teapot. A young woman, about 25 or so, was seated next to her. She looked up at us and waved. She was pretty, with auburn hair, blue eyes, and freckles. Her long hair was pulled back in a ponytail.
She stood up and said, "Be right back, sweetheart."
The little girl replied, "OK, Mommy."
Mrs. Krauss walked across the grass and extended her hand to me. "Mr. Williams?"
I shook and said, "Nick. Pleasure to meet you."
She stood there holding my hand for a long minute. Finally, she let go as Carter handed her his handkerchief. "Sorry." She wiped her eyes and handed the white cloth back to Carter. "I promised Bill I wouldn't cry." Her husband put his arms around her. "But you have no idea how much you've helped us."
"It was really my stepsister, Marnie Wilson. She organized all of this. I didn't even know about it until your husband told me."
Carter said, "You have a lovely daughter, Mrs. Krauss."
She laughed and said, "Thank you. You must be Mr. Jones."
They shook and then Carter introduced John, who said, "I love tea parties."
Mrs. Krauss smiled. "I'm sure Pauline would love for you to join her."
John strode across the grass and Carter followed him. As they approached, Pauline looked up and asked, "Would you like some tea?"
They both sat down on the grass. Carter asked, "Do you have any sugar?" I had to pull out my handkerchief at that point.
. . .
On Saturday night, we were invited to dinner at my father's house. John came with us. Geneva and Lettie did the cooking together. I volunteered to serve so that Geneva could join us. We were halfway into the main course of Chicken Kiev when I realized that my father hadn't harrumphed or looked at me witheringly for serving or askance at "the help" for eating with us.
I finally put my fork down, looked at my father, and asked, "Who are you? And what have you done with my father?"
He looked at me with a raised
eyebrow. Everyone else laughed. "I'll have you know, Nicholas, that the leopard can change his spots. And it's all thanks to my wonderful wife, Leticia." She looked over at him and smiled. He lifted his glass of wine and said, "To Leticia, the best gal I've ever had the pleasure of knowing."
We all laughed and said, "Hear, hear!"
. . .
Carter and John washed the dishes as the rest of us sat and chatted while gazing out over the City. The view from their apartment was something to see. Lettie had turned down the lamps and let all the bright lights below the hill gently illuminate the room. The windows were open and a gentle breeze blew the curtains around in a way that was almost poetic. It was a beautiful night.
John came in with a dish towel in his hand and asked, "Anyone want some coffee?"
My father stood up and said, "I'll take care of that, John. You have a seat and enjoy the view. Carter and I will take care of things."
He walked into the kitchen. As he did, we could hear him say, "Now, Carter, my boy. How does this thing work?" We all laughed.
I looked over at Geneva and said, "Thanks for playing Aunt for Larry and Sammy up in San Rafael."
She smiled. "I'm happy to. Thanks for taking an interest in them. Lettie and I asked around town and it turns out they've been evicted from their apartment."
Lettie added, "And fired from their jobs."
I looked at Lettie and Geneva and smiled.
Lettie asked, "Yes, Nicholas?"
"What have you two been up to?"
Geneva said, "We three, you mean."
I looked over at Mrs. Jones, who was smiling.
Right then, Carter walked in and sat down next to me. "I've been fired. Dr. Williams is going to do it all."
Lettie and Geneva both stood up in mild alarm and walked into the kitchen without saying a word.
I elbowed Carter and said, "You should ask your mother what she's been up to."
Carter looked over and asked, "What?"
She smoothed out her skirt and said, "Lettie, Geneva, and I have decided to start a Prisoner's Aid Society in San Rafael."
Carter looked at me. I shrugged.
"And Samuel is going to run things. We've already talked him into it. First, we'll start with the county jail and then we'll hopefully be able to help those poor men in San Quentin."
The Iniquitous Investigator (A Nick Williams Mystery Book 8) Page 21