I simply did not know. And so I left immediately for the Pelican Club bar, seeking inspiration.
Chapter 14
MY PARENTS WERE NOT PRESENT that evening, having been invited to dinner at the home of octogenarian friends celebrating the birth of their first great-grandchild. And so I dined in the kitchen with the Olsons, and a jolly time was had by all. Ursi served a mountainous platter of one of her specialties: miniature pizzas (two bites per) with a variety of toppings. Romaine salad with vinaigrette dressing. Raspberry sorbet on fresh peaches for dessert. (Please don’t drool on this page.)
That delightful dinner numbed me, but I was able to work on my journal in lackadaisical fashion until it became time to depart for my meeting with Sgt. Rogoff. Obeying my mother’s dictum—“Never visit without bringing a gift.”—I stopped en route to pick up a cold six-pack of Corona. It is one of Al’s favorites, but I must admit that when it comes to beers he has no animosities that I’m aware of.
Rogoff’s “wagon” is a double mobile home set on a concrete foundation and furnished in a fashion that would make any bachelor sigh with content. Comfort is the theme, and everything is worn and shabby enough so you feel no restraint against kicking off your shoes.
The barefoot host was wearing jeans and a snug T-shirt, and when he uncapped the beer I had brought he put out a large can of honey-roasted peanuts. I said, “Al, I speak more as friend than critic, but your waistline is obviously expanding exponentially. To put it crudely, pal, you’re cultivating a king-sized gut.”
“So what?” he said. “I’ve noticed you’re no longer the thin-as-a-rail bucko you once were.”
“Touché,” I said, “and I hope it will be the last of the evening. I’ve been meaning to ask, did you ever get to see that portrait of Theodosia Johnson by Silas Hawkin in the Pristine Gallery?”
We were sprawled in oak captain’s chairs at the sergeant’s round dining table. He had put on a cassette of the original cast recording of “Annie Get Your Gun,” and what a delight it was to hear Ethel Merman belt out those wonderful tunes, even if the volume was turned down low.
“Oh yeah,” Rogoff said, “I saw it. Great painting. And a great model. She’s a knockout.”
“My sentiments exactly,” I said.
He looked at me quizzically. “Taken with the lady, are you?”
“Somewhat.”
“You’re asking for trouble.”
“Odd you should say that, Al. Priscilla Pettibone at the Pelican Club told me the same thing.”
“Smart girl,” he said. “But I don’t expect you to take her advice or mine. You’re a hopeless victim of your glands. But enough of this brilliant chitchat. I’ve got the skinny on Hector Johnson and Reuben Hagler. The agreement was that you tell me why you want it before I deliver. So let’s hear.”
“It’s a long story.”
He shrugged. “And it’s a long night. We’ve got your six-pack and another of Molson in the fridge. Get started.”
I told him everything relevant: my first glimpse of Hagler while I was with Shirley Feebling; learning that Hagler was one of Hector Johnson’s bank references; his hole-in-the-wall office as an investment adviser; my luncheon with the two men; and my accidental meeting with Hagler when I had traveled to Fort Lauderdale to question Pinky Schatz.
“My, my,” Rogoff said when I finished, “you have been a busy little snoop, haven’t you. You figure these two guys are close?”
“Peas in a pod.”
“And you think Hagler shot Shirley Feebling?”
“That’s my guess.”
“Motive?”
“Haven’t the slightest,” I admitted. “Pinky Schatz might know, but she’s not talking. At least not to me.”
“How did you get chummy with her in the first place?”
“Told her I was Chauncey Smythe-Hersforth.”
The sergeant laughed. “What a scammer you are! If you ever turn your talents to crime, Florida will be in deeeep shit. Well, it’s not my case but I’ll give Lauderdale Homicide a call and tell them about this Reuben Hagler. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the guy. What’s he like?”
“Dracula.”
“That sweet, huh? And what was the name of the woman you talked to?”
“Pinky Schatz. She’s a nude dancer at the Leopard Club.”
“Your new hangout?” he said. “Well, I guess it’s better than collecting stamps.”
“Oh, shut up,” I said. “Now tell me what you learned from Michigan.”
“Hector Johnson used to be a stockbroker. Racked up for securities fraud. He was fined, made restitution, and was banned from the securities business for life. He never did hard time but apparently while he was in jail for a few weeks he met Reuben Hagler. This Hagler has a nasty file: attempted robbery, felonious assault, stuff like that. He’s done prison time: three years for rape. He was also suspected of being an enforcer for local loan sharks.”
“Sounds like he’d be capable of killing Shirley Feebling.”
“I’d say so,” Rogoff agreed. “And now he’s an investment adviser in Fort Lauderdale?”
“That’s what the sign on his office claims. But in view of Johnson’s history, Hagler might be a front and Hector is calling the shots.”
“Wouldn’t be a bit surprised. What do you suppose Johnson’s angle is on all this?”
I shook my head. “Can’t figure it.” I confessed, “but there’s obviously frigging in the rigging.”
We sat in silence awhile, trying to imagine scenarios that made some loopy kind of sense. But neither of us had any suggestions to offer.
“Al,” I said, “how did you make out this morning when you talked to Louise Hawkin?”
“You were right,” he said. “The lady was totally befuddled. And you know what? I think Hector Johnson means to keep her that way.”
I will not say his comment was the key to the whole meshugass. But it did start me thinking in a new direction. I began to get a vague notion of what might be going on.
“Do you believe that letter Marcia Hawkin gave me?” I asked the sergeant. “Do you think she really did kill her father?”
He shrugged. “Beats me. Maybe yes, maybe no. If he had given her motive, I’d be more certain one way or the other.”
“Me, too,” I said. “Any word yet on that stained sheet or whatever it was we saw in the back of her Cherokee?”
“Nothing yet. These tests take time; you know that.”
I stared at him a moment, then decided to put my vague notion to the test. “Are you a betting man, Al?”
“I’ve been known to place a small wager now and then.”
“Tell you what,” I said. “I’ll bet you ten bucks I can tell you what those stains on the sheet are even before the tests are completed.”
“They’re not blood,” he said. “I told you she was strangled.”
“I know they’re not blood. But I know what they are. Is it a bet?”
“Okay,” he said. “For ten bucks. What are they?”
“Acrylic paint.”
He took a swig of his beer. “How the hell did you come up with that?”
“A swami told me.”
“If you turn out to be right, tell the swami there’s a job waiting for him in the PBPD.”
“I think I’m right,” I said, “but I don’t want your ten dollars. I want a favor instead.”
He groaned. “I’d rather pay the ten.”
“A simple favor,” I said. “Get back to your Michigan contact and ask if they’ve got anything on Theodosia Johnson, Hector’s daughter. The last name may be different but ‘Theodosia’ is probably for real. What woman would use that as an alias? And you met her this morning, you can describe her accurately. Or send Michigan a photo of that Silas Hawkin portrait.”
He looked at me a long time. “She’s involved?” he asked.
“I would prefer to think not.”
“Screw what you’d prefer,” he said roughly. “Do you figure she is?�
�
“As you just said about Marcia Hawkin, maybe yes, maybe no. This is one way to find out.”
“I guess,” he said, sighing. “All right. I’ll play your little game. I’ll query Michigan just for the fun of it. But our sawbuck bet is still on.”
I finished my beer, grabbed a fistful of peanuts, and stood up. “I’m going home,” I declared. “It’s been a long, tumultuous day, and bed beckons.”
“Yeah,” Rogoff said, “I could do with some shut-eye myself. Thanks for the beer.”
“And thank you for the peanuts,” I said politely. “Al, let me know if anything turns up.”
“Sure,” he said. “And Archy...”
“Yes.”
“That Reuben Hagler sounds like a foursquare wrongo. Watch your back.”
“I always do,” I said blithely.
By the time I returned home my parents had retired. I ascended to my seventh heaven and prepared for bed. I had had quite enough mental stimulation for one day and decided to postpone adding recent revelations to my journal.
I awoke on Friday morning ready for a fight or a frolic—or perhaps both simultaneously. Again I had overslept and was forced to construct my own breakfast. It consisted of leftover mini-pizzas from dinner the previous evening.
Before leaving home I remembered to phone Consuela Garcia as I had promised. She was at work in her office and was already in a snit trying to answer the demands of Lady Horowitz. I was hoping for a lazy, affectionate chat, but Connie made it short and sweet. Well... not exactly. Just short. But she did agree to meet me for dinner that evening at the Pelican Club.
I then tooled over to the McNally Building to check my messages (none) and incoming correspondence (none). My business day was starting auspiciously. I finished my inventive expense account, signed it with a flourish, and dropped the completed document on the desk of Ray Gelding, the firm’s treasurer. He glanced at the total.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” he said.
I treated that remark with the silent contempt it so richly deserved, bounced downstairs, and vaulted into the Miata for a drive to West Palm Beach and my appointment with Mrs. Jane Folsby.
Her sister’s home was located in a neighborhood I can only term bucolic and was more bungalow than South Florida split-level ranch. Rose bushes were plentiful and the front yard boasted two orchid trees that would have elicited gasps of awe from my mother. The house itself was freshly painted and had a semicircular stained-glass window over the front door. Very nice.
Mrs. Folsby answered my knock and seemed pleased to see me. She led the way to a small, brightly furnished living room in the rear with windows mercifully facing north. Everything was flowered chintz but not overpowering, and the white wicker armchair I sat in was comfortable enough.
She insisted on serving minted iced tea. I told her how delicious it was—which wasn’t quite the truth. Then we agreed that South Florida was, indeed, hot in midsummer. We also concurred that crime rates were too high and youngsters today had little respect for their elders.
Then there was a pause in this brilliant conversation. “About Marcia Hawkin...” I promoted.
“Yes,” she said, looking down and moving a gold wedding band around and around on her finger. “I don’t know how to say this, Mr. McNally.”
“Take your time,” I said encouragingly. “I am not a policeman, you know, although Sergeant Al Rogoff is a close friend. But if you wish this conversation to remain confidential, I shall certainly respect your wishes.”
“That’s for you to decide,” she said. “The only reason I’m telling you is that a crime has been committed, and someone should be punished.”
I have previously described her as “old, large, creaky,” and with a chirpy voice. But now I saw something in her I had not recognized before: strong will and stiff determination. Not a woman to be trifled with, and I wondered how she had endured the disorder of the Hawkin ménage. Economic reasons, I supposed; she needed the money.
“I hadn’t been with the Hawkins long,” she started, “before I realized something was going on.”
Again there was a short lull. I didn’t want to spur her with questions, feeling it best to let her tell the story at her own pace.
“Mrs. Louise Hawkin and Marcia...” she finally continued. “Always at each other. I thought it was because Louise was a stepmother. Sometimes daughters resent it. And her drinking so much,” she added. “The missus, that is.”
I nodded.
“But it was more than that,” she went on. “I don’t know how to tell this and I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t believe me, but I’ve got to say it.”
I waited.
She looked away from me. “Silas Hawkin,” she said, and her voice was dry, “the mister, he was bedding his daughter. I know that for a fact.”
I took a gulp of my iced tea. “You’re certain of this, Mrs. Folsby?”
“I am,” she said firmly. “There is no doubt in my mind. I don’t know how long it had been going on. Years, I’d guess. Before Silas married Louise. She was his third wife.”
“So I read in his obituary.”
“And Marcia was his daughter by the first. Yes, I think it had been going on for a long time.”
I drew a deep breath. “Marcia was very disturbed,” I commented.
“She had every right to be,” Mrs. Folsby said angrily. “What her life must have been like! So naturally Louise was her enemy.”
“Naturally,” I said.
“I can’t tell you how poisonous they were to each other. They had a fight once. And I mean a fight with slapping and kicking. The mister broke it up.”
“Dreadful,” I said.
“They hated each other,” she said sadly. “Jealous, you see. Louise knew what was going on. Marcia was her rival. And Marcia saw Louise as her rival. All because of that awful man. He came on to me once. Can you believe it?”
“Yes,” I said. “I can believe it.”
“So that’s why I think she did it.”
It took me a moment to sort that out. “Mrs. Folsby,” I said, “are you suggesting that Louise may have murdered her stepdaughter?”
“It does not behoove me to accuse her,” she said primly. “But I think the matter should be looked into.”
“It shall be,” I assured her. “May I have your permission to relay what you’ve told me to the authorities?”
“Will you give them my name?”
“Not if you don’t wish it.”
“I do not,” she said sharply. “But if you want to tell them the other things—well, that’s up to you. I’ve done all I can do.”
“I understand completely,” I said, “and I thank you for your honesty. And for your hospitality.”
I finished that wretched iced tea and rose to leave. She accompanied me to the front door. Just before I departed I said, “Mrs. Folsby, do you think Marcia Hawkin killed her father?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head, “she loved him too much.”
I drove back to the Island in a broody mood. I figured that conversation with Mrs. Folsby had yielded one Yes, one No, and one Maybe.
The Yes was the information that Silas Hawkin was having an incestuous relationship with Marcia. After what Lolly Spindrift had told me of the man’s sexual proclivities, I could believe it. And probably, as Mrs. Folsby had guessed, for many years.
The No was her accusation—or suggestion—that Louise Hawkin had killed her stepdaughter. That I could not believe. Marcia had been strangled, and that is very, very rarely the modus operandi of a murderess. Also, I did not think Louise had the strength—to be crude, it takes muscle to wring a human neck—and what could possibly be her motive since Silas, the reason for the two women’s enmity, had been eliminated.
The Maybe was Mrs. Folsby’s stout declaration that Marcia didn’t murder her father because she loved him too much. Perhaps. But that unhinged child had also described daddy to me as the “horribilest” person in the world. Theirs coul
d have been a love-hate affair in which the second verb finally triumphed over the first.
It was then a bit past noon and I lunched alone at Bice, ordering a hearts-of-palm salad and a single glass of sauvignon blanc. Feeling justifiably virtuous at having put a choke collar on my appetite, I returned to the McNally Building and phoned Mrs. Trelawney. I asked if the seigneur might be available for a short conference. She was absent a moment and then returned to tell me I had been granted a ten-minute audience before the boss departed for lunch with a client.
I scampered up to the sanctum and found him at his antique rolltop desk filling a briefcase with blue-bound documents.
“Can’t it wait, Archy?” he said irascibly.
“Just take a moment, sir,” I said. “It’s something I think you should be aware of.”
I related exactly what Chauncey Smythe-Hersforth had told me of the prenuptial agreement demanded by Theodosia Johnson. The sire halted his packing to listen closely. And when I mentioned the amount requested, five million dollars, one of his tangled eyebrows rose slowly as I knew it would.
“A tidy sum,” he remarked wryly when I had finished. “I am not too familiar with the precedents of prenuptial agreements, but I shall certainly research the subject. Why didn’t Chauncey consult me on this matter?”
“Father,” I said gently, “I think he’s afraid of you.”
He actually snorted. “Nonsense,” he said. “Am I an ogre?”
“No, sir.”
“Of course not. And he obviously requires legal counsel. I suspect Chauncey’s actual fear is having to inform his mother of what his fiancée has requested.”
“I’d say that’s close to the mark,” I agreed.
He pondered a moment. “That young man does have a problem,” he finally declared. “He’s of age, of course, and can marry whomever he chooses without his mother’s permission. But I can understand his not wishing to endanger his inheritance of the Smythe-Hersforth estate in toto. Any suggestions, Archy?”
The Archy McNally Series, Volume 1 Page 68