* * *
The office was typical of financial firms that littered the district. CC often wondered what these folks really did all day long. They always seemed busy, yet given the way the economy was circling the bowl, what did they do for forty-some-odd hours a week? A good-looking man directed them toward J.M. Charles Stern’s office.
“Snaps, will be with you in a moment,” he informed them.
“Snaps?” CC couldn’t resist.
“College, nickname. He had a thing for wearing suspenders.” He chuckled. “Well, until . . .”
“He met his wife?” CC finished for him.
“Yeah,” his smile dimed. “Oh, here he is.” He quickly blurted out.
“Mr. Stern, I’m Detective Calloway and this is Detective Mulligan,” CC offered her greeting as his college pal darted out of the office.
J.M. Charles Stern was thin, a bit on the wiry side. He and his wife were a picture-perfect suburban couple. Hair properly coifed, nannies for the children, and a gal who came in twice a week to clean. Like his wife, he spoke proper English clouded by a hint of disdain.
“I have met Detective Mulligan previously.” Since he failed to offer his hand, CC refrained from doing so. “Any luck? I’m quite surprised that Annie hasn’t been in touch. She appeared to be far more responsible.”
“Appearances can be deceiving.” CC tried to gauge just how much this man knew about what was and wasn’t happening in his happy home. “When was the last time you saw or spoke to her?”
“The morning she quit.”
“Did she seem distracted?”
“Not at all.” He shook his head as if trying to understand the situation. “Everything was normal. Annie said she was taking the boys to the park. I was more than a little surprised when I returned home that evening and my wife informed me that she tendered her notice.”
“Well she didn’t,” CC said. “She didn’t give the standard two weeks. Annie walked out.”
“Yes.” He cleared his throat. “So unlike her. And not come by and get her last check or belongings. It doesn’t make any sense. Then again, my wife…” His words trailed off, and a look of confusion clouded his face.
“Mr. Stern, we hate to take up your time,” CC quickly began to say when he seemed to be losing his train of thought. She suspected that if he started thinking about his wife’s version of events, chances were he would quickly clam up. “Would you mind if we took a look at Annie’s belongings? It might give us some hint as to where she’s staying. Maybe there’s a friend or schoolmate we haven’t spoken to yet that might know something.”
“Of course. Just let me…”
CC was on her cell phone before he could finish what he was saying. She knew he was about to call his wife to clear things with her. Mr. Stern contacting his controlling wife was the last thing she wanted.
“I just need you to confirm that with the ADA.” She thrust the phone at him. His eyes bugged out. “Just need to keep things on the up and up. Annie might try to blame you or us for invading her privacy. Teenagers can be unpredictable. No one wants a lawsuit when all any of us are trying to do is put her parents’ worries to rest.”
He seemed baffled by her actions and threats but conceded and gave his verbal consent. CC had just gotten exactly what they needed. Max loved it when she pulled a fast one on some hapless idiot. She was going to miss the way he’d shake his head and call her slick.
“Thanks.” CC smiled graciously after she concluded her call. “Trifling details can be tedious. I guess I don’t have to tell you that.” She nodded towards his overly organized desk.
“Oh, I understand,” he said, although CC could detect a lingering sound of confusion in his voice.
“We’ll let you get back to business.” They tried to appear casual as they made their departure as quickly as possible.
“That was interesting,” Leigh said while CC drove with urgency. “Let me see if I can follow your reasoning. Mr. J.M. Charles Stern just gave his consent allowing us to search his home. Something the formidable Mrs. Stern is against. He has no idea at how pissed off his wife is going to be. But since you had him give his consent to our ever friendly ADA I’m assuming it was Collins he has no recourse.”
“I just wish I could have called in the techs,” CC said. “His wife is going to be pissed.”
“I know it’s wrong to feel good about this.” Leigh gave a snort. “But knowing that we’re going to disrupt Natalie Stern’s day pleases me.”
“Yeah, me, too.”
“More importantly, I’m hoping we discover something that will help us find Annie,” Leigh said. “You are good. Everyone we’ve talked to, you’ve somehow reminded them this is about Annie.”
Upon arriving at the Stern residence, they learned the lady of the house had dropped her faux politeness and opted for a more hostile approach to her guests.
“I told you before that you can’t invade my privacy,” Natalie Stern bellowed in the most unpleasant manner.
“I understand how upsetting this is,” CC said soothingly. “Perhaps you should contact your husband? He gave permission. In the meantime, we just need to see Annie’s room. We’ll be out of your way as quickly as possible. Again, perhaps you should call your husband. I swear if we didn’t keep track of them, they’d forget to eat.”
“Really?” Mrs. Stern sounded suspicious. “And just what does your husband do?” Once again her condescending tone was painfully obvious.
“I married a doctor.” CC brushed past the annoying woman.
“Really? Then why—”
“Oh, my pension might come in handy,” CC offered in a conspiratorial whisper. “Like I said, if we don’t keep track of them, Lord knows what kind of trouble they can get into. I’m just thinking ahead and putting a little something aside.”
“Smart girl.”
“Now if you could just show us Annie’s room? We can get out of your hair, and I can head home for the day. Plus if we clear out all of her things, you won’t be troubled by any of this any longer.”
Mrs. Stern reluctantly showed the detectives the way. Her hesitation only further confirmed CC’s suspicions. When she saw the state of Annie’s room, her heart dropped. Everything was in place except all the bedding had been torn off the bed and tossed onto the floor.
“What happened to this girl?” Leigh voiced CC’s fears.
Chapter 5
They took all of Annie’s things back to the station. Wayne needed to go through the laptop and cell phone. Leigh personally wanted to go through the phone log.
“Pretty girl.” CC stared at the picture of Annie Fraser and her family. She had found the family portrait resting on top of the girl’s nightstand.
CC couldn’t shake the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. The way the girl’s bed had been trashed didn’t fit. Who keeps their room immaculate then tosses their sheets around?
“Who walks off their job in a foreign country and leaves behind everything including their passport?”
“No one.”
CC felt her stomach churn as she gazed at the image of Annie laughing happily, surrounded by her parents and her two older brothers. It was the same with all cops. When the victims are so very young, full of life and promise, the loss seems immeasurable.
“I used to do that,” CC said.
“What’s that?” Leigh glanced at the picture.
“Look at the jacket and belt Annie is wearing. I’m willing to bet they belong to one of her brothers. When I was a kid, my older brother couldn’t keep me out of his closet.”
“I only have sisters,” Leigh said with a smile. “But all my friends used to raid their brothers’ closets. Nice belt. Armani? I would have swiped it. So, do you still ransack your brother’s closet?”
“He died.” CC tried to shrug it off. She liked Mulligan; she just didn’t feel a need to divulge the convoluted details of her troubled childhood. “You can tell that’s Armani from this picture?”
“Oh yeah.”
“Any luck with the cell?”
“Annie didn’t lead an exciting life. She called the employment agency, the Sterns, BC a couple of times, the library, and with the aid of an international calling card, she called home. The calls back to Kensington were the most frequent. The husband seems clueless. He struck me as a gutless wonder since the first day.”
“No kidding. I worry about people who let their girlfriends or wives change them. Mrs. Stern is the key to this case. Getting her to be more forthcoming is going to be a challenge.”
Max flopped down in his chair. “Can’t get a woman to talk to you? Must be losing your touch, Calloway.”
“Bored suburban housewife. You want to take a shot at her?” CC challenged him in hopes that he might actually get out of his chair for something other than another cup of coffee.
“Good looking?”
“Eh, one of those skinny, tight-lipped, ‘I went to Wellesley’ types.”
“I hate those broads,” Max said. “The only time they talk to a guy like me is when they’re working a fund-raiser for their kid’s school or trying to beat a ticket.”
“Shirley know you try to chat up other women?”
“You know, that’s who could hold their own with that type.” Max wagged his finger at her. “My wife can outsmart those tight asses anytime, anywhere.”
“Did Shirley ever try to change you?” CC studied him closely. “How you dress or act?”
“Don’t all women?” He laughed. “Nah, not really. But after we were married, she started buying my clothes and giving me the ‘is that what you’re wearing’ shtick.”
“Good Lord. Are you telling me this is the improved version?” CC gasped with mock horror, fully aware that Leigh was watching their banter very carefully. “Fair enough. I get it from Jamie now and then. She’s much more fashion savvy than I’ll ever be. I do miss having cartoon characters on my underwear.”
“We’re cops. What do we know,” Max said. “Well, except Mulligan. She cleans up nice.”
“Thanks, I think. So Jamie is the fem.”
“No.” CC laughed. “Everyone thinks so, but she’s much more athletic and handier with power tools than I’ll ever be. Mulligan, did you see that picture sitting on Stern’s desk of him and hiswife?” She had begun to study the picture of Annie and her family again.
“Yeah, the same belt.”
“You’re certain?”
“It’s Armani. Not much chance of mistaking it.”
“I hate that designers put their names all over things.” CC grimaced but was silently impressed by Mulligan’s observations. “I mean what’s up with charging six hundred dollars for a bag that isn’t practical and promotes the company that made it? I blame Gloria Vanderbilt. She started that whole designer jeans crap. Personally, I’ll take a well-worn pair of Levis any day. I still can’t see how you can tell it’s an Armani.”
“Trust me.”
“So, what have you got?” Max asked. “I can see those wheels turning. You’re onto something.”
“I got a missing kid, who dutifully called home and seemed devoted to her job and studies. Who for some reason just up and left her job not taking any cash, her laptop, cell phone, or her passport. The only person who seems to think she did this voluntarily is the wife who claims that the girl is nothing but a whore. This is the same person who was the last person to see Annie alive. I’ve got a room that is as neat as a pin except the bed, which has been trashed. I’ve got a wife who has a jealous streak when it comes to her husband. What I got is an itch to look at the wife’s GPS records and no grounds for a warrant to do so.”
“Annie didn’t drive much,” Leigh added. “Mr. Stern said she was nervous that she would end up driving on the wrong side of the road. She mostly walked or took the subway. Mrs. Stern was most displeased that she subjected the children to such an unhealthy environment.”
“Another exact quote?” Max asked.
“Oh yeah.”
“She’s a snotty bitch,” Max said. “Why the GPS on the family car?”
“You know why,” CC replied.
“Help Mulligan out.”
“Because she had to get rid of the body,” CC said. “Two-car garage with an entrance off the kitchen. Easy stuff to move a small girl like that without anyone, even the nosy neighbor, catching on.”
“Other than the bed, I didn’t see any overt signs of foul play.” Mulligan sounded almost disappointed.
“There isn’t always a blood trail when you kill someone.” CC sighed heavily. “We need to know Mrs. Stern’s movements on the day that Annie disappeared.”
“Why are you so certain that the wife offed her?” Max asked. “Maybe she and the husband had a thing going, and he’s got her stashed somewhere. Or he made a play, she turns him down, he freaks thinking Mrs. Snooty Pants is going to find out and he kills the girl.”
“Then why was the wife the last to see Annie?” CC said. “Plus I don’t think this guy takes a leak without clearing it with his wife. Just to be on the safe side, Wayne is looking at Annie’s laptop to confirm that she really was the good kid everyone thinks she is.”
“Almost everyone,” Mulligan added. “Mrs. Stern’s attitude has made me hinky from day one. She didn’t even pretend to be concerned about Annie’s whereabouts. Which tells me she knows exactly where she is.”
“What kind of car does the wife drive?” Max began his ritual shifting in his chair, making it squeak. CC often wondered if he did that just to annoy her.
“One of those Mercedes SUVs.”
“What is the point of that?” Max scoffed. “Get a minivan or get a luxury car.”
“Mulligan, what would you like to do?” CC asked. “It is your case after all.”
“Easy to forget with this one. She’s like a steamroller.” Max aimed his thumb at CC.
Leigh smiled. “She’s made a lot of headway.”
“No, I’ve just come up with more guesses,” CC said. “And that’s all they are. Without any proof, not much you can do. Except lean on the wife. No way the husband isgoing to give you permission for anything else. I’m thinking Mrs. Stern has already ripped him a new orifice by now. Whatever you’re going to do, I’d do it quickly before the Feds get involved.”
“Any ideas you have, I’d be grateful,” Mulligan said. “I don’t think I can keep the Feds from taking over. I’ve got a missing kid from another country. Her parents are going crazy. Not that I can blame them. I can talk to the neighbor again. Maybe she saw something that day and didn’t think it was important.”
“You can try, but I’m thinking she told us everything and enjoyed doing it. We got nothing,” CC said. “I can’t take another lecture from our esteemed attorney general on what does and does not qualify as probable cause.”
“Seriously? Coakley scolded you?”
“Scolded, spanked, and—” Max added.
“Hey.” CC cut him off. “The deal is we need to find out what happened, without blowing the case. We’ve all been through this far too many times to count.”
The three of them sat there stony faced, seemingly awaiting divine intervention. Mulligan’s face skewed as she took another look at Annie’s cell phone.
“Maybe we don’t need to look at Mrs. Stern’s GPS,” she said quietly. “Maybe we could just look at Annie’s.”
“Excuse me?”
“Almost every cell has a GPS,” Leigh said. “And Annie didn’t like to drive. Still she had a routine to follow that involved the family. If we follow where the nanny was, perhaps we can find some of Mrs. Stern’s stomping grounds.”
“Good call. Let’s go see Wayne.”
Leigh seemed pleased by the compliment. She held the cell tightly as they made their way over to Wayne’s lab. Fortunately, the Crime Scene Unit was just down the street.
“Why are you so fascinated by Annie’s belt?”
“I’m not.” CC shrugged. “It’s just that I noticed the suit jacket with her stuff. It was hanging
in the closet. Why not take the belt? Then again maybe the brother took it back or she didn’t take it with her. Or she did and I just didn’t notice it.”
“I doubt that there is very little that goes unnoticed by you, Calloway.”
“Sucking up? I like it. Thinking about making a move?”
“It’s no secret how screwed up the budget is,” Leigh said. CC liked that Leigh was direct with her answers. “Do you know Krassowski?”
“That dick?”
“My partner.”
“Oops.”
“No oops. He is a dick and a whole list of other things my mother would never approve of my saying,” Mulligan said. “Word is there might be a spot opening in homicide. It’s a move I wouldn’t object to making. Besides who wouldn’t want to ride with the woman who bagged Jeffrey Charles West?”
“Why is everyone talking about him today? Look, Max turned him over to the Feds,” CC said. “He was the one who ran the sick bastard’s prints.”
“Rumor has it that was because you asked him to.”
“Hey, he was a gold shield. Me, I was still a lowly foot soldier.”
“What tipped you off?”
“With West?” CC rolled her shoulders. “It was outside the Garden. A Celts game had just let out. We lost, so the crowd was surly. West looked like everyone else. Stocky guy with a hoodie. Thing was, he had his hand attached to his jewels and he was muttering. I brought him in on a PC and followed a hunch.”
“What was he muttering about?”
“It’s a wonderful life.” CC laughed. “That’s all the guy did was quote lines from the movie.”
“It’s a Wonderful Life? With Jimmy Stewart?”
“Yeah. West wouldn’t shut up, but he never said anything, like his name or why he was wandering around Boston with his hand on his nuts. All he did was quote lines from the movie. I’ve heard that he did the same thing during his trial. Had a kid a few years before that and named her Zuzu Petals. The guy was seriously fucked up.”
Checkmate (Caitlin Calloway Mystery Book 2) Page 5