Till Death - Mark Kane Mysteries - Book Four: A Private Investigator Crime Series of Murder, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Stories...with a dash of Romance. A Murder, Mystery & Suspense Thriller

by John Hemmings

  “I haven’t bought them yet.”

  “No, but really?”

  Lucy smiled and drummed her fingers on the coffee table.

  “Lucy this is a serious business we’re in. Posters of fictitious private eyes aren’t what I had in mind for the décor.”

  “You promised to leave the décor to me. Don’t worry, you’ll love them, and so will the clients. They’ll subconsciously associate you – I mean us − with all those famous movie detectives. It’ll send a kind of subliminal message that will give them confidence in you; in us. Plus, the guy in the shop says they’re a really good investment. They weren’t cheap, but I got Chinatown thrown in for free.”

  I felt as if I was in the midst of a ghastly dream. Then Lucy leaned across the table, made her eyes big at me, and grinned.

  “You’re kidding, right?” I said.

  “That’s for me to know and you to find out,” she said.

  I had to believe she was kidding; it was the only way to maintain my sanity. I decided to let it rest there.

  “What about our new case?” Lucy said. “Have you got an appointment to see the client yet?”

  “No, he hasn’t been in touch so far. Maybe he’s decided he doesn’t need an investigator after all. Or maybe he’s just been too busy to call. Let’s wait and see. You want to rustle us up something for lunch? I’ve got plenty of stuff in the refrigerator for you to work your magic on.”

  “Okay, then we can go back to my place to watch a movie. I’m in a good mood so I’ll let you choose.”

  “Can I talk as well?”

  “Don’t push your luck.”

  “I was planning on reading a book this afternoon.”

  “Then what would I do?”

  “Watch a movie?”

  “It’s no fun watching a movie by myself.”

  It’s no fun not to be able to make disparaging comments, I thought. “Okay,” I sighed, “we’ll do that then.”

  While Lucy was in the kitchen preparing the lunch I sat and put the piles of papers that I’d sorted earlier into numbered box files. I’d got to file number four when the telephone rang. I picked up the receiver and found myself talking to Don Maddox.

  “Hi Mr. Maddox, Duncan told me to expect a call from you. How do you think I might be able to help you?”

  “Call me Don. I feel as if I know you already. Duncan and I were pretty close back in the day and he told me a lot about you. It may be nothing much, but I’m a bit worried about my wife, Lisa. She’s been preoccupied with something lately; she hasn’t been herself. She won’t talk to me about it – says I’m imagining things, that nothing’s wrong; but she’s been going out at odd times during the day and I don’t think she’s being truthful to me. It’s not like her at all. We’ve been married a few years now and everything’s been perfect, but something or somebody is bothering her. I was hoping maybe you could discreetly find out what it is. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”

  “So you want her tailed, or what?”

  “I think we’d better meet so that I can give you the full picture. When can we hook up?”

  “I’m kind of between offices at the moment,” I said. “I’m moving from my office downtown to a new place here in Norbury and it’s not ready to move into yet. Can we meet at your place?”

  “I think it would be better if we meet somewhere else. Um, maybe I could come over to your place tomorrow. But if that’s not convenient we can make some alternative arrangement. I’ll sling some golf clubs in the trunk so that Lisa won’t worry where I am. I go to the range sometimes.”

  “Even in winter?” I said.

  “You’ve got keep it up if you want to improve.”

  “Okay, that’s fine.” I gave him the address. “What time do you want to drop by?”

  “Say eleven. Would that be okay?”

  “See you at eleven,” I said. Then we hung up.

  Lucy had stopped dicing the vegetables when the phone rang. She looked over at me inquiringly.

  “Looks like we’re in business,” I said. “Maddox will meet us here tomorrow morning and give us the low-down. Obviously his wife doesn’t know – he’ll tell her he’s practicing his golf swing. Other than that I’m no wiser than you.”

  “Which is pretty wise,” Lucy said.

  “Now I can’t promise that there’ll be anything for you to do, but she’s likely to need tailing to find out where she’s going or who she’s seeing. I guess you can do that. Remember it has to be surreptitious. On foot it’s not too difficult as long as you keep a discreet distance. Tailing a car is trickier – you’d be surprised how people pick up on that quite easily. I’m not letting Tony go until I’m sure you can do it effectively. I guess we’ll have to ditch the movie until later. I’ll take you walkabout and give you some tips. Then you can shadow me and if I spot you I’ll bring you back here and devise some suitable punishment for you.”

  “Oooh,” Lucy said, her mouth forming a perfect ‘O’, hunching her shoulders and making her neck disappear. “Then I’ll be like the invisible woman, don’t worry.”

  “We’ll have to work out a sensible fee if Maddox wants us both involved. He probably will because I’ll tell him it’ll be less obvious for his wife to be tailed by a woman. Anyway, I’ll be with you, or at least nearby. Say she meets somebody and goes to a restaurant or bar. It’ll be less noticeable if you’re not on your own.”

  “How about a thousand a day?” Lucy said; “you told me he’s wealthy.”

  “We’ll see how it goes. We can start at a grand and then maybe negotiate.”

  “It’s so exciting; I can’t wait,” Lucy said.

  “It’ll be the acid test – any goofs and you’ll be back to answering the phone,” I said.

  “Do you think she’s cheating on him?”

  “I don’t think anything yet. And neither should you. Let’s wait until we have all the facts.”

  “We really will be like Nick and Nora Charles,” she said, “won’t we?”

  “Except Nora Charles was rich and you’re not.”

  “Well you’re not thin either.”

  “Nick wasn’t the thin man. The stiff was the thin man. Oh never mind – let’s just be ourselves, shall we? What’s for lunch?”

  Chapter Five

  Maddox

  At eleven in the morning I was sitting on my sofa reading Huckleberry Finn when an M class SUV Mercedes pulled up in my driveway and out stepped a fifty-something man dressed in navy pants and matching polo shirt underneath a sheepskin coat. The coat was unbuttoned and he didn’t seem to mind the cold. I walked out to the porch as he strolled up and we greeted each other.

  “Hi, I’m Don Maddox and you must be Mark, although your brother says you prefer Kane. Am I right?”

  It was a sunny morning, but cold. “You’re right on both counts,” I said. “You’re nothing if not prompt. Come inside and meet my assistant, Lucy.”

  “I can see the family resemblance,” Don said as we went inside. “I understand the two of you are quite close.” He was referring to my brother Duncan.

  Lucy came around from behind the kitchen counter and I introduced them.

  “Well, Duncan and I have always got on well together, although I don’t see much of him these days, I’m afraid. Please, take a seat,” I said, indicating my leather armchair.

  Don was a little shorter than me but similar in build to myself, although perhaps a bit heavier. He was strongly built and the extra weight was muscle, not fat. His thick hair was silver and crew-cut, and his face was attractively tanned, even though it was the middle of winter.

  “Would you care for some coffee, Don? I’ve just brewed a fresh pot,” Lucy said.

  “That’d be swell,” he said, “Thanks.”

  Lucy brought over the coffee and the two of us sat down on the sofa facing Don.

  “Well, maybe you’d better tell us what’s troubling you Don,” Lucy said. I’d
suggested to Lucy prior to the meeting that if she wanted to be part of a team then she might like to take the initiative.

  “It’s kind of embarrassing really,” he said, “and I must say I feel uncomfortable talking about Lisa behind her back, so to speak. I adore her and we have a great marriage. But I’m convinced that something’s worrying her at the moment and I’ve tried to give her a chance to open up to me about it but she won’t. It’d probably help to let you know briefly about ourselves.”

  “Okay,” said Lucy. “Take your time. We’re here to help if we can.”

  “I know, and I’m sure I can trust you both implicitly. Duncan and I go back a long way and he’s told me all about the pair of you. He says the two of you have had the longest non-engagement in the history of the state.”

  Lucy and I smiled. “That sounds like my brother,” I said.

  “I met Lisa about five years ago when I was taking a short break down in Florida. It was like something you only read about or see in the movies. It was love at first sight,” he said. “We got engaged after a single afternoon together, and neither of us has regretted it for a moment. Lisa packed her bags and came back to Boston with me and we got married soon after. We were both single. I’d never been married before, although I’m a good deal older than Lisa. Actually at the time we met she was less than half my age. I was forty-nine and she was twenty-four. Naturally we talked about the age difference at the time. I told Lisa that I didn’t want to start a family at my age, but she was fine with that. We used to joke that she was young enough to be my daughter anyway. But seriously, it’s never been something that’s bothered us – in fact it’s never been an issue. Nor has the fact that neither of us really knew anything about each other before we got married, because in all important regards we’re birds of a feather. We’ve never had a falling out since we met.”

  “So what has happened recently; in as much detail as you can manage?” I said.

  Don inhaled, blew out his cheeks and then exhaled audibly.

  “I don’t want to give the impression that we live in each other’s pockets,” he said, “even though we do most things together. I’m fortunate in that I don’t need to work – I was left very well-off when my parents passed away. They died within three months of each other more than ten years ago now. As a result, Lisa doesn’t need to work either. As I said, we do most things together – we travel frequently; in fact, we were on a cruise in the Caribbean at Christmas. We have mutual friends. We play tennis together. We work out together. We both do voluntary charitable work. We still go to movies together like teenagers and we go to the theater and concerts. We both have similar tastes in music. But we also have our own interests. I teach martial arts for a hobby and I play golf occasionally. Those things don’t interest Lisa. She has her own casual friends that she likes to sometimes go shopping, drinking or just hanging out with.”

  Don paused for a moment or two, rubbing his bottom lip with his forefinger.

  “But since we came back from our vacation things have changed. Last weekend, for example, we were supposed to visit friends in New Hampshire for the weekend but at the last minute she backed out. When I said I’d cancel the trip she got annoyed – not annoyed exactly; it was more like she was frustrated. She said that she needed some space, so I went without her. When I got back on the Sunday afternoon she seemed distracted somehow. She seemed on edge.

  “I don’t know whether Duncan told you, but I’m a martial arts instructor. It’s voluntary, unpaid work. I run classes every Wednesday and Friday at the youth center from noon until two. It enables some of my students to use their lunch breaks to attend – the ones that have jobs, that is, which isn’t many of them. I usually leave home at eleven-thirty and get home about two-thirty. Last Wednesday when I arrived at the gym I discovered that they’d had a burst pipe and the place was flooded. We had to cancel the class so I was home before one. Lisa wasn’t home. There was nothing particularly unusual about that, but when she got back at about two o’clock she was surprised to see me there. I didn’t ask where she’d been, but she mumbled something about leaving some kit at the gym or something. All I can tell you is that when you spend every day of your life with someone for five years you instinctively know when they’re not telling the truth, and I was sure she wasn’t, but I didn’t say anything. I let it pass. Then on Friday she was expecting me to go to take my class, and at about eleven forty-five she reminded me that I was going to be late. So I told her that the classes were canceled because of repairs that were necessary in the gym. She seemed a little flustered and then she said she had to go out to meet Cindy for lunch – that’s one of her friends – and she left the house. When she came back I asked how was Cindy and she said something about comforting Cindy because she had boyfriend trouble and that was that. But I was worried about her recent behavior. I called Cindy – not to check up on Lisa, but to ask her if she knew whether Lisa had any problem that she may have told her about. Cindy said she was sorry but she hadn’t seen Lisa for ages.

  Yesterday Lisa told me that she has a lunch appointment on Monday with Cindy again. She said, ‘you know, she just needs a shoulder to cry on’ or something like that. I know she’s not being truthful, although I didn’t tell her. I’ve asked her a few times if anything was wrong but she said she was fine. But she’s not fine. She’s worrying about something. She’s not been eating much either.”

  I sat absorbing all this for a minute or two.

  “Have you noticed any changes in the way she dresses, or how she is in the bedroom? I’m sorry, but I have to explore all the angles, I’m sure you understand.”

  “She’s very demonstrative and affectionate. She always has been and, if anything, even more so lately. I haven’t noticed any changes in the way she dresses – or in her day to day behavior, other than those I’ve mentioned to you. And she’s a lot quieter – as if she’s got something worrying her. Of course it’s occurred to me that she’s having an affair but I’m practically certain that’s not it. I trust her implicitly and I feel guilty about that thought even crossing my mind.”

  “You said you knew little about her background when you married. Has that changed?”

  Don rubbed his cheek with his hand, and then squeezed his chin between his thumb and forefinger.

  “No. It hasn’t changed. Lisa doesn’t like to talk about her life before she met me. She’s from a small town in Minnesota. She did mention the name of it once – Rapid Falls I think she said...yes, that's it; but she’d left home before I met her and she’s never told me anything about her life there. In the early days I used to ask her the usual things that people do when they get involved but her response was always the same. ‘Past is past’ is all she’d say. In fact, one of the first things she ever said to me was that if she never went back to Minnesota it would be too soon. I’ve always respected her reluctance to talk about her past. Maybe a little mystery in a relationship isn’t such a bad thing.”

  “What was her name,” I said. “Before she was married?”

  “Burrows,” he said.

  “Have you met any of her family?”

  “I know nothing about her family; not even if she has any living relatives. My own parents died before we met, and I had a younger brother who was killed in a biking accident in Peru many years ago when we were in our twenties. I have uncles and aunts and a few scattered cousins somewhere. I’ve not had contact with any of them since my parents died. All I can say is that nobody from Lisa’s family or mine came to the wedding. I asked her if she wanted to invite anyone – even a friend – but she declined. We got married in Vegas – just the two of us there. It was Lisa’s idea.”

  “Have you ever seen any of Lisa’s friends from the time before you met?”

  “No, I haven’t. She’s told me many times that I’m the only friend she wants or needs. She doesn’t use Facebook or any of those social media sites. She doesn’t even use email. Of course we have mutual friends that we see from
time to time, but I wouldn’t describe any of them as close friends. We have each other, and that seems good enough for both of us. Of course we both have casual friends of our own too, but neither of us has anybody who is really important to us except each other.”

  I reflected that it wasn’t much different from me and Lucy. Except that we weren’t married of course. Or rich.

  “I wonder if something − or somebody − has come back from her past to haunt her,” I said. “Perhaps one of her parents has died or is sick and she’s bottling it up inside her.”

  “I’m really at a loss – I just don’t know what to think. The last thing I want to do is to jeopardize our marriage. It sounds a trite thing to say but I couldn’t live without her. It’s strange. I was nearly fifty when we met and the idea of sharing my life with one person had never even crossed my mind before that. I was the proverbial confirmed bachelor, but now…”

  “From what you’ve told us already it seems unlikely that there’s anyone she knows that she’s likely to have opened up to about whatever it is that’s worrying her. It’s pointless to speculate what the problem may be, but if she loves you like you say she does then whatever she is hiding from you is likely to be something serious; you must realize that.”

  “I know. And that’s why I’m here. I need your help…desperately.”

  It seems inevitable that she’ll need to be tailed the next time she goes off on her own, but I can give you an assurance that we’ll be discreet. She won’t suspect anything.”

  “Could you start right away? Or have either of you got something pressing to do at the moment?”

  “No, we’re both free. As you can see from the files on the table I have some paperwork to do, but that can wait. They’re cold case investigations. The investigations date back several years so a few days more won’t make any difference.”

  “That’s a relief. I’d really like to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible. I want my old Lisa back – I miss her.”

  “It’ll probably be less obtrusive for Lucy to tail your wife. If you want Lucy and me together then the daily fee will be a thousand dollars. If that’s a little steep, then I can handle everything by myself. In that case the daily fee would be six hundred. Either way, I’d need a retainer equivalent to three days. If the case runs over that period, then you’ll be billed by the day. Any incidental expenses will be charged on top of that. I’ll let you know beforehand if any major expense is likely to be incurred.”