“That’s not until three.” Then, he turned to us.
“Listen to Midge and get out of here,” Carl insisted. “The sooner you put Domino to work, the better chance she has of tracking the woman who may have left here against her will.” Domino was sniffing the walkway. Then she pawed at it and made digging motions.
“Look, Marty,” Neely said, pointing at Domino. “Maybe she’s already picked up something. I don’t see a trace of blood, but Domino must be able to detect drops that fell through the slatted wooden walkway to the sand beneath it.”
“I’ll tell the police to check the area under this section of the walkway if I can get them to do it. Take this with you.” Midge handed me a mailing envelope as she spoke to us about its contents. “I peeked inside, and a scarf is in there. The charge nurse told us it belongs to Elizabeth. If her scent is on it and Domino stalls out when you get to the boardwalk, it could help. Marty can explain how we got it.”
At that point, we left in a hurry. The sirens were loud enough that the police had to be in front of the hotel by now. I assumed one of the officers would speak to whoever was at the front desk, but Midge could be right that others would head directly to the tiny cottage.
Domino eagerly followed the trail of footsteps. At one point, she stopped and whined before digging at the sand again. When I gave her leash a little tug, she continued toward the boardwalk. We were all breathing heavily as we tried to keep up with her. In between huffs and puffs, Marty gave us the scoop about Elizabeth Stockton as we hustled as fast as we could through the sand.
“We went to the hospital yesterday, expecting to have a chat with Elizabeth Stockton. One of Midge’s friends who books appointments for the nursing staff put us on Elizabeth Stockton’s calendar. Before she did that, she gave Midge an earful about Leonard Cohen. Apparently, he was more notorious than we realized. Especially in Santa Barbara, where he recruited many of the people he scammed. When he was admitted to the hospital by hospice, it created quite a stir.”
“They have a long memory since his scamming days ended decades ago,” I said and then paused before I continued. “Never mind, you don’t have to tell me how long trouble can follow you after someone in your life has made stupid financial decisions.”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Neely added, giving me a reassuring pat on the back.
“Apparently, we just missed Elizabeth Stockton. According to the charge nurse, she stopped long enough to say she was late for an appointment, and in such a rush that she left that package sitting on the counter. Midge explained that Elizabeth’s appointment was with us, so maybe she’d misunderstood and was on her way to meet us at our hotel.”
“How’d you end up with the package?”
“She handed it to us in case Elizabeth had intended to take it with her to our meeting. Then she reassured us not to blame ourselves about the mix-up. Elizabeth had been preoccupied lately, and ours wasn’t the first appointment she’d goofed up. The charge nurse sounded a little ticked but quickly apologized. ‘Elizabeth has taken a few sick days, so maybe she’s dealing with a health issue.’ When I asked if she seemed ill before she left, she said no. In fact, she claimed she was more upbeat than she’d appeared to be in several weeks.”
“How did you find out she was here?”
“Midge knew Elizabeth wasn’t on her way to meet with us at our hotel or anywhere else. We had her home address, and we took a chance that she’d gone there. We hoped we could deliver that package to her and use it to start a conversation. Elizabeth didn’t answer her door, and there was no car in the carport, so we went back to Midge’s car. After almost an hour, we were about to leave when she suddenly appeared. Elizabeth parked under the carport and practically ran into her house. She was in such a hurry, we waited to see if someone was after her.”
Marty hadn’t finished her story, but she abruptly quit speaking as we reached the boardwalk. I let Domino check out the area. Marty must have thought she needed a little help and slid the scarf out of the envelope. It was neatly rolled up. As she unfurled the scarf, a tiny key on a chain tumbled to the ground.
While I bent down to pick up the key on its chain, Domino sniffed the envelope and scarf. Then she sniffed the boardwalk and started moving again, pulling me with her. She walked away from the beach and toward the street lined with shops and parking meters. Marty held the envelope for me so I could slip the key back into it.
“What do you want to bet Elizabeth intended to bring that key with her wherever she was headed?” Neely commented.
“Obviously, she was headed here,” Marty responded. “We didn’t even have a chance to get out of our car before Elizabeth Stockton was back carrying a suitcase. When she left, we followed her until she checked into the hotel here last night. We parked on a side street, and followed her to see what room she was in.”
“I don’t suppose you saw anyone else following her last night or waiting for her when she arrived?” Neely asked.
“No, but we could have missed it if someone was keeping an eye on her. We weren’t the only people on the beach last night. The boardwalk was still all lit up, and there was still lots of action at the eateries and carnival rides.”
“How could someone else have tracked her here unless they followed her, too?” I asked.
“Devers would blame us,” Marty responded. “Elizabeth could have called someone before she left her office or once she arrived here. Our first impression was that she was on the run. Given what her colleague at the nurse’s station told us about Elizabeth’s upbeat mood, maybe she was just in a hurry to get here to keep a rendezvous she set up yesterday.”
“That’s possible,” Neely said. “By the looks of her room, the rendezvous didn’t go so well.”
“Maybe she was supposed to bring that key with her,” I mumbled. “What time was it the last time you saw her?”
“We checked into our hotel room a little before nine. We’d hung around, walking back and forth along the beach for well over an hour in case she had a dinner date. When she had pizza delivered to her door, we figured she was settled in for the night. We left soon after the delivery guy did, which I’d say was eight-thirty.”
We came to a stop when we reached the point at which the boardwalk ended at a set of cement steps. At the top of the steps, we found ourselves at a crisscross of sidewalks. One set, to our right and left, ran parallel to stores and hotels on the beachside. Another ran straight ahead to the street and intersected with sidewalks that ran along the street in front of the establishments.
“Now, what?” I asked. “Where do you want Momma to go, Domino?” She’d stopped again and sniffed the ground whining a little. We bent down and saw a small dark smear.
“That could be blood,” Neely suggested. Domino tugged on her leash and moved forward on the sidewalk leading toward the street. When we reached the curb, she grew more excited, moving back and forth a few feet. On the curb, not far from a parking meter, I bent down to see two drops of what appeared to be dried blood.
“More blood,” I said, scanning the area around us. Still early, the street wasn’t packed, but the traffic was steady. “Elizabeth must have gotten into a car parked here. I can’t believe no one called the police about a bleeding woman being dragged all the way up the boardwalk and then forced into a car.”
“There might not have been many people around. Unless she was screaming or making a huge fuss, it’s possible no one noticed.”
“Midge said it wasn’t much blood, which is why she hoped she’d be okay if we could find her soon.” Marty lowered her voice before going on. “When we first arrived at her room, the door was open a little. When we went in and found that mess, Midge checked the mattress lying on the floor. She said it was still warm, so she couldn’t have been gone long. We figured she’d just gotten up and let someone into the room since the lock on the door wasn’t broken.”
“So, that must have been less than an hour ago. Do you see a surveillance camera?” I
asked, searching the street again.
“No, but this coffee shop would have been open by then. Let’s see if anyone at the counter remembers seeing a car parked here when they arrived.”
“That’s a great idea. You two go ask, and I’ll wait here with Domino.” Then on a hunch, I added. “Do you have that picture Charly sent us of Mark Viceroy, Neely?”
“Yes, I do. Ooh, that’s an excellent suggestion!” She exclaimed even though I hadn’t followed up my question with a suggestion at all. They returned in minutes with three coffees and a cup of water for Domino.
“One of the perky baristas told us she saw a pickup truck parked here. She remembered because it was a wreck and she wondered how it was even allowed on the road. Her equally buzzy associate at the counter said the ‘old guy’ she saw getting into it later could have been the same man in the photo I showed her on my phone,” Neely said.
“And,” Marty added, “she also said the woman with him was really drunk.”
“Hm. Punch drunk, maybe, if Mark Viceroy worked her over trying to get her to hand over whatever he was after. It could have been the key we found inside the package or something with that lightning symbol on it.”
“The surprises keep on coming, don’t they? I’m sure Midge has her hands full with the police, but I’m going to call her. She needs to give them the information so they can speak to Ms. Perky and Ms. Buzzy.” I dug into my bag and tried to find my phone.
“Why not? Midge already told me surprises, like misfortunes, seldom come alone. What’s one more?” Marty asked.
“One more surprise or misfortune? Mark Viceroy seems to qualify as both,” Neely observed.
“What will surprise me, is if the police take Midge seriously when she tries to convince them that Mark Viceroy’s responsible for the destruction of hotel property and the possible abduction of Elizabeth Stockton,” I added.
“Given Mark’s reputation, the police can’t be happy that he’s out on the street and back in the area again. They don’t have to take our word for it if they interview the baristas. If they don’t already know where he lives, they must have some way to locate his home address sooner than we can,” Marty assured us.
“Yeah, but if you were Mark Viceroy and you were holding Elizabeth Stockton against her will, would you stick around at any address the local police could dig up?” I asked.
“Let’s hope he can’t afford to miss his dialysis appointment and shows up later this afternoon. I’m almost certain that’s still our best chance of catching up with him.”
“I agree, Neely,” I said just as Midge answered my call. I quickly gave her the details about where we were, the location of what looked like blood on the sidewalk and curb, and the information we’d obtained from the baristas in the coffee shop. I also mentioned the key and chain we’d found wrapped up in the scarf tucked inside the package.
“How’s Midge holding up?” Marty asked as soon as I said goodbye.
“She says things are going ‘as expected.’ From her tone, I figure that means the police haven’t swung into action. She also added that it’s going to be a while before she can join us. She thinks we should go ahead and call Judith Rogow and Ginger Winger—Leonard Cohen’s ex-wife—to warn them that Mark Viceroy’s up to no good.”
“So, Leonard Cohen has an ex-wife?” I asked.
“Yes, Midge got that information from another of her contacts before we tried to meet with Elizabeth. We hoped we could find out more about what, if anything, Leonard had to say to his ex-wife on his deathbed.”
“Why did you suggest we meet for dinner at The Maiden Inn?” Neely asked.
“Midge says she and Marty picked up a rumor from her contacts in Santa Barbara that makes me want to have another chat with Nick Martinique. Let’s hear what Marty has to say, but I’m pretty sure he was holding out on us.” We both looked at Marty.
“Is she talking about what happened to Wendy Ballard?” I nodded.
14 Enemies
“Some people are nobody's enemies but their own.” ~ Oliver Twist
∞
“Okay, but I need to drink my coffee. Do you want to go sit on the wall back there near the boardwalk?” Neely and I nodded as we all moved back to the sidewalk behind the coffee shop. One of the servers spotted us as Marty perched on the edge of a low wall with her back to the ocean.
“Hey, if you want to come in here and sit down to drink your coffee, dogs are allowed on the patio.” Then she opened a low iron gate and ushered us to a table. Once we were seated, she left. “Holler if you need me to top off your coffee or bring you something else.”
“Thanks,” Marty said. The server gave us another smile and hurried inside. “It always pays to leave a good tip.”
“She gave us a good one about the pickup truck,” Neely retorted. “Who’s going to call the ex-wives?”
“None of us know them,” I offered.
“That won’t matter if you can get the words ‘Mark Viceroy’ out before they can hang up,” Neely said. “You and Judith hit it off. Call her and say, ‘Hey Judith, it’s Miriam, and I’ve got a recipe designed to save your neck.’”
“That doesn’t sound like a joke to me. I’ll try giving it to her straight. I’ve got Judith’s number handy. Do you have one for Ginger Winger?” Marty nodded and began scrolling through items on her phone. My call to Judith went straight to her voicemail.
“Judith, this is Miriam Webster. I need to speak to you. It’s important, so please call me as soon as you pick up this message.” I ended the call, anxious about not being able to reach her. “I hope she’s okay and not being held hostage by Mark Viceroy.”
“I hope so, too. Here’s the number I have for Ginger. Do you want to give her a try?” Judith was a busy woman, so I had no reason to believe she was in trouble just because she didn’t answer her phone. My paranoia heightened my sense of urgency to reach them both ASAP.
“Sure—read it off to me.” This time a woman answered my call on the first ring.
“Ms. Winger, this is Miriam Webster. I’m Judith Rogow’s friend. I’m calling because I wanted to share some information with you about Mark Viceroy.”
“Please, tell me he’s dead.” That caught me off guard.
“No, he’s not dead. He’s very much alive and in the area. We’re concerned for your safety given a situation that’s occurred here in Pismo Beach.” Before going into the details about what had gone on this morning, I explained to Ginger that I was with a private detective agency Judith hired after hearing Leonard’s claim that someone murdered her ex-husband.
“Okay, let me sit down, will you?”
“I don’t want to scare you, but is your house secure?”
“Hang on, I’ll set the alarm if that’s what you mean. I live in a gated community that’s patrolled by armed guards. If he turns up looking for me, he’ll get more than he bargained for.” The phone was quiet for a moment except for a rustling in the background. Then I heard what sounded like ice being dropped into a glass.
“Okay, the alarm’s on, and I’m sitting down. What has that scoundrel done now?” I quickly explained what we knew at this point.
“I met Elizabeth Stockton when I visited Leonard. There’s something flaky about her. I wish Leonard had just come right out and told me what he wanted Judith to know and I would have passed the message along to her. He was a sucker for a pretty face until the very end.”
“When you say Elizabeth Stockton was flaky, what do you mean?”
“I don’t want to badmouth nurses, but it has to be tempting to help yourself to whatever you need for a bad back or a bum knee. She had both, or so she said. On one occasion when I visited Leonard, I would have sworn that she was looped, and trust me, I know what I’m talking about.” The tinkle of ice that followed made me believe her. “I wish Leonard had never met Mark Viceroy. That goes for Allen Rogow, too, although I don’t believe it was his fault that he was mixed up with a loser like Mark Viceroy.”
“Ju
dith said much the same thing about his pal, Mark. Apparently, once an Army buddy, always an Army buddy.”
“Leonard explained all that, but that didn’t make it any better. Poor Leonard was so naïve. Even though he got into so much trouble using OPM.”
“What’s OPM?” I asked.
“Sorry, OPM is jargon in the finance business for ‘other people’s money.’ He had no idea how difficult it would be to keep his clients happy. I know it’s all water under the bridge now, and if your money’s gone it’s gone, but Leonard didn’t start out intending to be a crook. He had a bad run of luck in the market, and when his clients started to bail, he panicked and broke the law hoping he could stay afloat long enough to fix the problem. Not that I knew any of this at the time. I guess that’s hard to believe, isn’t it—especially coming from a woman who married him?”
“Not for me,” I replied without explaining about my own experience with a husband who I still hoped had never intended to be a crook.
“I apologize for going on about this, but Leonard’s death has brought it all back for me. I would have stuck with him if his problems had only been about money. He was too easily led astray by women like Nurse Elizabeth, and his infidelity is what made me send him packing. Tell whoever’s trying to track down Mark Viceroy and Elizabeth Stockton to be wary. I wouldn’t turn my back on either one of them.”
“Thanks for the advice. I’ll pass it along. I apologize for adding to your burden so soon after Leonard’s passing. We’re trying to round up Mark Viceroy, but I figured it was better to be safe than sorry when it comes to a man like him.” I thought our conversation was ending. Then Ginger dropped a bomb—several of them, in fact.
“He’s got to be too old to play Houdini anymore. What do I know? As old as he is, he still doesn’t believe what I told him years ago. Once he left Vietnam, he wasn’t just his own worst enemy—he was the only enemy in his life. At least until he turned into a mad dog.” She paused and must have had another sip of her drink. “Given that Allen Rogow was serving time in prison for drugs, I thought that’s how Mark Viceroy’s troubles started, too. Leonard said no, that Mark had created big problems for Allen even while they were still in the Army together.”
Grave Expectations on Dickens' Dune Page 12