by J A Whiting
After the first notes of a popular Broadway musical show tune sounded, Robby began to sing. A well-dressed crowd of people stopped what they were doing and stood still listening to the song.
Every time Claire had seen the young man perform, little goosebumps spread over her arms and the same thing happened to her as she listened in the lobby.
James was an amazing pianist and Robby’s warm, heartfelt performance touched Claire’s heart. When the song was over, the room erupted into cheers and applause, and the two young men took bows with huge grins on their faces.
Their friends stood off to the side beaming with pride, and when the performers walked over to them, they received hugs and mountains of praise.
Tessa smiled. “So beautifully done.”
“It took my breath away.” Claire’s hand rested over her heart.
“I’d better start saving my money,” Ian said. “Because if I want to see you perform in a few years, I’m going to have to pay big bucks.”
Tony nodded. “Don’t forget, we were your friends back in the day when you were unknowns.”
Ryan, a neurologist at a downtown hospital, agreed. “Don’t leave us in the dust when you’re rich and famous.”
Robby put his arms around Ian and Tony. “How could I ever forget my biggest supporters? Besides, I’ve been roped into cookbook contracts with these two.” He nodded to Claire and Nicole. “I’ll be in Boston forever because I’ll never get away from them.”
Nicole gave him a mock dirty look. “We’ll release you from the contracts, if you don’t want to work with us anymore.”
“I’m good,” Robby smiled. “Working with you two is the only way I’ll make any money.”
The group left the hotel and walked along the waterfront under the streetlamps. Lights flickered in the harbor making the water look like it was covered with diamonds. The air was warm and pleasant and the group of friends were in high spirits as they chatted away strolling along the sidewalk.
“We’re thinking of changing up the cookbook and the television show a little,” Claire announced. “It was originally going to focus on Early America and popular foods from the country’s beginnings and the historic sites around the city, but we think it would be fun to expand our reach.”
Nicole said, “While we’ve been researching recipes and food trends, we decided it would be really interesting to talk about what people ate during different time periods. Remember all of those recipes from the 1970s with gelatin? Like ham in aspic, gelatin molds with fish in them, potato salad formed into a loaf and covered with a layer of mayonnaise.”
Ian made a face and asked, “Are you trying to turn viewers away?”
The friends chuckled.
“I remember that stuff,” Tony told them. “Some of it was actually tasty, but I doubt I’d eat it now.”
“We think it would be fun for viewers to remember some of the food they had as kids and younger people would enjoy being grossed out by the stuff,” Robby said. “Like over on Boylston Street during the 1960s and 1970s there was a popular jam room where lots of famous rockers went to play. It’s not there anymore. Now it’s a hair salon. We would talk about the music and musicians who played in the space, we’ll show old photos of what the place used to look like, then we’d go into the TV studio to highlight some foods that people liked during those decades, and then we’ll prepare an updated version of that food.”
“I like it,” Ian said.
Tessa said, “I think you’ll draw a lot more viewers this way. You’ll pull in people who would like to hear the history of Boston and surrounding towns that spans centuries, not just information from Revolutionary and Colonial times.”
“And I’m going to make sure I sing a little in each episode,” Robby grinned.
Nicole rolled her eyes. “He’s looking for free publicity.”
After getting ice cream and sitting on benches beside the water, the friends dispersed back to their own homes. Ian and Claire headed to her townhouse and then brought the Corgis outside for a late-night walk.
“It was a great time tonight,” Ian said holding Claire’s hand as they wandered around the neighborhood with the dogs on their leashes.
“We’re so lucky to have a tight group of such nice people,” Claire told her boyfriend. “I feel like I could call on any one of them if I needed help or I was in trouble.”
“Speaking of trouble….” Ian let his voice trail off.
Claire forced a smile. “It was good not to have to talk about the Wilbys while we were out with everyone.”
“Should we table the discussion for now?” Ian asked.
“Not at all. What were you going to say?” Claire slipped her arm through Ian’s and pulled him closer.
“We have the meeting with Jason Spencer tomorrow. I know people describe him as a friend of Cheryl’s from school, but when I go through the case notes, it seems Jason spent some time with Jackson, too.”
“But that isn’t unusual for couples,” Claire said. “My friends became your friends and vice versa.”
“I wish I had the notes with me,” Ian said. “There was something somebody said that made me wonder about the relationship between Cheryl, Jason, and Jackson. I didn’t really get the idea the men were friends. Maybe they were business associates or something.”
“We can bring it up when we interview Jason tomorrow,” Claire suggested.
“There’s a lot about this case that seems convoluted. A little boy saw a fight between his parents, but he was only three years old so he’s not exactly a reliable witness. People say Cheryl was the brains behind the company, but after she went missing, Jackson brought the business’s worth into the billions. The pastor of the church and a daycare provider think they saw Cheryl drive by them, but it was a dark winter night so how could they be sure who the driver of the car was? Some interviewees alluded to both Cheryl and Jackson being involved in affairs, but Cheryl’s sister denies that Cheryl would ever do such a thing.”
Claire shrugged. “People see what they see, and it often doesn’t match up with what others see. Everybody brings their own unique spin to things. A lot of witnesses are unreliable, they lie, they misdirect, they overlook things. You take all this stuff, analyze it and interpret it and sort through it until you find the criminal.”
“What does your intuition say?” Ian asked. “Have you sensed anything about what’s going on?”
“Jackson is hard to read. He has an ego the size of a small country and he’s very good at keeping his emotions hidden. Cheryl’s sister, Cara, is full of sincere love for John Wilby. She’s also boiling with rage at Jackson. She thinks he had something to do with Cheryl’s disappearance. She believes he’s evil. The fury she harbors for Jackson is hard for me to break through so I can sense things from her.” Claire gave her boyfriend a little smile. “I’m going to have to up my game if I’m going to be able to give you any help on the case. The only problem is … I don’t know how to do that. I’m going to ask Tessa if she knows how I can break through people’s defenses so I can feel what’s really going on.”
“It’s lucky to have Tessa around,” Ian said as they stopped at the corner to let the Corgis sniff at the ground.
“She’s been a huge help to me. If she wasn’t here to explain what was going on with my intuition, I think I would have thought I was losing my mind.” A wave of anxiety rippled through Claire’s body recalling the first few times she had a paranormal experience.
Ian chuckled. “I never knew there were so many people around who had something extra. I’m sort of jealous I don’t have any such skills.”
“You have amazing skills. You’re an incredible detective. You bring people to justice and you help bring peace to victims’ families.”
“I think you’re overstating what I do.”
“I’m not. And you do your job with kindness and sensitivity.”
Ian said, “I have never seen those words on any of my performance reviews.”
“T
hey should be on them. Those characteristics are some of the reasons you’re so successful solving cases. People feel comfortable telling you things.”
With a smile, Ian said, “Between your skills and mine, I think we make a pretty good team.”
“The best.” When Claire turned her head and looked into her boyfriend’s dark brown eyes, her heart did a little flip, and they kissed standing under a streetlamp.
The Corgis woofed their approval and the couple laughed.
They returned to Claire’s townhouse for coffee and some fruit salad, and then Claire and Ian sat with the dogs in the living room in front of the fireplace cuddling on the sofa together.
With thoughts of murder, missing people, rage, and distrust far, far away from their minds. For the rest of the evening anyway.
9
Claire and Ian sat in Jason Spencer’s large office with floor-to-ceiling glass walls looking down on the showroom floor of his auto dealership.
Fifty-nine-year-old Jason had light brown hair cut close to his head, blue eyes, broad shoulders and a medium-build.
“Thanks for meeting us,” Ian said after introductions were made.
Jason leaned back in his swivel chair. “I was surprised to hear that Cheryl’s case was being reopened.”
“Cold cases get second looks pretty often, sometimes even third and fourth looks. They’re never really closed,” Ian explained. “We’d like to talk to you about Cheryl and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.”
“Sure. What can I tell you?”
“You and Cheryl met when you were graduate students?” Claire asked.
“We did. We were in a lot of the same classes. We had similar business interests. Cheryl and I both wanted to run our own companies.”
“What was Cheryl like?”
“She was brilliant. Cheryl was at the top of the class, in fact, she probably was the top student in the class. She had innovative ideas, she knew ecommerce was going to explode and she wanted to position herself to take advantage of that,” Jason said.
“Did the two of you date?” Ian asked.
“Oh, no. We were friends. Cheryl started seeing Jackson during our last year of school. We had a group of people we hung out with at the university. We all studied together, worked on projects together. It was a great group of people.”
“When you were studying, did you have the idea to open car dealerships?” Ian questioned. “Did you know when you were in the program that you wanted to own a dealership?”
“I did, yeah. I always loved cars. Since I was a kid, I wanted a business selling cars. It’s hard to get a dealership, you have to start off slow and small and prove your ability to present the inventory in a professional way and to actually close deals and sell cars.”
“It must take a lot of money to start up,” Claire noted.
Jason said, “It certainly does. I had loans from the bank to start my first place. It was basically a small parking lot with a tiny shed as my office. I worked hard, impressed people, got more financing, and kept growing. Now I own six dealerships spread over the state.”
“Very impressive,” Claire told him. “I understand Cheryl’s home goods store was doing well when she went missing.”
“It’s true. Cheryl was a dynamo. What a mind for business she had. She was amazing.”
“You and Jackson were friends?” Ian asked.
“Not exactly friends. Sometimes a group would get together for drinks and Jackson and I would talk business. Jackson had some managerial experience. He and Cheryl hit it off and they got married right after she got her MBA.”
“Do you still get together with Jackson?”
“Not anymore, but we occasionally run into each other at city events.”
“Did you socialize with Cheryl after graduating?” Claire asked.
“Yeah, we did. We’d meet for lunch or drinks. Sometimes we’d get together with a group of friends.”
“Excuse me for asking,” Claire said, “but did you want a romantic relationship with Cheryl?”
“Me? Not at all. Cheryl was smart, fun, beautiful, but our relationship was strictly platonic.”
“Did you ever want to date her?”
“Maybe momentarily, but you know how sometimes you meet someone and you have a great connection as a friend? That’s how it was with me and Cheryl.”
“There wasn’t a romantic relationship going on?” Ian asked.
“Listen, I know people talked. They were wrong. People love drama. Cheryl and I were close so of course, people made up rumors about us. It was really unfair and completely off base.”
“Did Cheryl confide in you?”
“You mean about her business ideas?” Jason looked slightly uncomfortable.
“That, yes, but what about personal things?” Claire asked.
“Personal?”
Claire held Jason’s eyes. “You know, how she was feeling about things. Was she stressed out? Did she talk about the kids? Did she complain about the busy life she had?”
“Cheryl had a demanding life, that’s for sure. Work, kids, marriage, the house. I honestly don’t know how she held it together. Sometimes, she’d complain. We all do. It wasn’t excessive or anything.”
“Was she happy with Jackson?”
Jason paused. “I think so.”
“Did she ever say anything negative about him?”
“Once in a while, I guess. Jackson wasn’t the main part of our conversation. We talked about our companies.”
“Had you seen Cheryl around the time of her disappearance?” Ian asked.
“Yeah, we’d get together twice a month, maybe more.”
“How did she seem?” Claire asked.
“She seemed normal.” Jason shrugged.
“Was anything bothering her?”
Jason shook his head. “It was so many years ago. I don’t remember anything unusual. Nothing stands out to me about our meetings. Cheryl seemed like her normal self.”
“Cheryl’s company had started selling online at that time, is that right?”
“That’s right. Cheryl was really excited about it. She knew it was going to take off. She was working really hard.”
“Was Jackson working equally hard?” Claire asked.
“I assume so.”
“Did Cheryl give any indication that she might leave the area for a while?” Ian questioned.
“No, she didn’t. Not to me.”
“Was she struggling emotionally?” Ian asked. “She had a toddler, an infant. Were things hard for her?”
“She didn’t complain. She didn’t seem emotional or tired or anything. I didn’t notice anything different than usual.”
“What have you heard about the evening Cheryl went missing?” Claire watched the man’s face.
“I don’t know any more than what was in the news. People speculated, but no one knew anything. Cheryl and Jackson had an argument. Jackson struck her, she fell down. Jackson went to tend to their son and when he went back into the kitchen, Cheryl was gone. She took off and drove away from the house. No one ever saw her again.”
“Had Jackson ever struck Cheryl before?”
“I don’t know. She didn’t tell me that.”
“Had they ever had such explosive arguments before?” Ian asked.
“I have no idea.” Jason shrugged helplessly.
“Did Cheryl ever mention anything about leaving Jackson?”
“Not to me.”
“Was she afraid Jackson was going to leave her?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Was Jackson seeing anyone at that time?”
“I … I don’t know.” Jason shifted around in his chair.
“Did you know Lisa Richardson?”
Jason exhaled loudly. “I know what you’re getting at. Lisa and Cheryl were friendly, but Lisa also had a thing for Jackson. Lisa is an accountant. She still lives around here. She worked for the home goods company before opening her own firm.”
; “Was she having an affair with Jackson?” Ian’s voice was firm.
“I really don’t know. Other people thought so. Cheryl never said a word about it to me and I never brought it up. Lisa did some accounting work for me early on, but we parted ways. She was hard to work with, she had an edge to her. From what I heard, Lisa was really into Jackson and her friendly way with Cheryl was a put-on.”
“Would Jackson have been open to an affair?”
“I suppose he would have. Jackson thought a lot of himself. Rules were for other people, not him. I don’t see him holding back. That’s the impression I got from him when we talked.”
“Did you ever have business dealings with Jackson?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Did you have business dealings with Cheryl?”
“No.”
“What do you think happened to Cheryl?” Claire asked the man.
“I don’t know what happened. At first, I thought maybe Cheryl just took off, but I don’t think she would have left without her kids. Maybe she ran into someone who carjacked her, and … you know.” Jason moved his hand around in the air. “And he killed her.”
“Do you think she’s dead?”
“I think she probably is. Why would she leave here and go make a life in another place? Live a secret life? For what? What would be the reason?”
“Did anything she said to you hint at running away? When you think back, it might not have seemed like anything at the time, but now, knowing what you know, did she drop a hint?”
Jason looked out through the glass wall of the office. “No, she didn’t. Unless I was too dense to see it.”
“And you never had any romantic involvement with Cheryl?” Ian asked again.
Jason’s head turned back. “I told you. We were friends. That’s it. There was never anything more between us.”
“From what you knew of Jackson, do you think he could have hurt Cheryl?”
“I hope not, but who knows?”
“Was there anyone who had a grudge against Cheryl?”
Jason thought about the question. “Some people in the MBA program seemed jealous of her. She was such a star.”