The Bitter With The Sweet

by J A Whiting

  “No,” was all Charles said in reply.

  “What about a time frame?”

  “Between sunset and sunrise.”

  If anyone else responded in that way, the chief would have been sure the person was being flip and antagonistic, but that’s not the way Charles came across. His answers seemed sincere and without ill-intention.

  “Please repeat for us why you went to see Perry that night, what happened when you were inside the boarding house, and how long you stayed,” Chief Martin requested.

  Charles let out a soft sigh and gave a slight shrug. “Certainly.” He cleared his throat. “I know Perry from the medical school. We’ve been in classes and rotations together. There are times when we share information, books, articles, clips of presentations. He is very smart and has a talent for medicine.” Charles sat very straight in his chair. “Perry had a book I wanted to read. He wasn’t done with it, but he knows I’m able to read quite fast and would be able to return it to him the following day.”

  “What was the book you wanted to borrow?” Chief Martin asked.

  Charles gave a long title that had something to do with anesthesia and blood sugar levels during cardiac surgery.

  “You went to Perry’s to get it?”

  “I did.”

  “What else did you do that night?”

  “I was reading in the library. There were a number of articles I wanted to get ahead on,” Charles said matter-of-factly.

  “Were you in the library before or after seeing Perry?”

  “Both.”

  “Did Perry know you were coming?” the chief asked.

  “Yes, as I told you previously, I texted him and he texted me saying to come within the hour.”

  “Do you still have those texts on your phone?”

  “I don’t, no. I delete texts after I send and receive them. I do not like clutter.”

  “If we check with the phone company, they’ll be able to confirm that you and Perry texted that night?”

  “They will.” Charles still sat at attention in his seat. His face was expressionless, but attentive.

  From what she’d seen so far, Angie thought it was best that Charles had no interest in becoming a family physician or general practitioner since the man was very robotic and lacked a pleasant bedside manner. She imagined it would be very difficult for Charles to connect with a patient or for him to present a caring, empathetic demeanor.

  “What happened when you arrived at the boarding house?”

  “I rang the bell and Perry came to open it. We went to his room off the hallway and he gave me the book.”

  “If Perry knew you were coming, why didn’t he just hand the book to you at the door?” Chief Martin asked.

  “Perhaps Perry thought I wouldn’t arrive until later. I have a habit of becoming engrossed in my work and losing track of time. Perry was aware of this.”

  “Did you see anyone else in the house when you were there?”

  “No one. The house was quiet. I believe the other residents were in their rooms.”

  “What did you and Perry talk about when you were in his room?” Angie asked.

  Charles turned to her with a slight expression of surprise as if he’d forgotten she was in the room. “Perry told me what chapter he’d read in the book. He had a favorable opinion of it. I told him I’d give it back to him when I saw him in the lab the next day.”

  “Did you talk about anything else?” Angie questioned.

  “Just the book.”

  “Did you stay for a little while? Did you sit down?” Courtney asked.

  “There was no reason to. I left the house and returned to the library.”

  Angie asked with a pleasant tone of voice, “How did Perry seem when you were with him?”

  “How do you mean?”

  “Did he seem tired? Happy? Energetic? Did he seem like he wasn’t feeling well?”

  “He seemed normal.”

  “What was normal for Perry?” Angie asked.

  Charles looked down at the table thinking about the question. “Perry was like he usually was. Nice. Helpful. He made intelligent, insightful comments about the book.”

  “Did you like Perry?”

  “Most of the time.”

  “When didn’t you like him?”

  Charles pursed his lips. “When I was busy or when we disagreed about something or if I was late and he got angry about it.”

  “Did you argue?” the chief asked.

  “Not exactly. We didn’t get into fights or yelling matches. We just annoyed one another sometimes. We had different viewpoints and defended them. Neither one of us liked to be thought of as wrong or misinformed.”

  “What was Perry doing when you left?” Angie asked.

  “He walked me to the front door and said goodbye. I left and he closed the door behind me. I don’t know what he did after that.”

  Angie decided to come out with the question she wanted to ask. “Did Perry have a headache that night?”

  “I don’t know. He didn’t mention it to me.”

  “Did you know Perry had to deal with severe headaches?” Angie asked.

  “I knew he got headaches fairly frequently,” Charles said.

  “Do you know how he treated them?”

  “He used an injectable medication that is not approved for headache use.”

  “Do you think Perry did wrong to use that medication?”

  “Some medications are effective for treating conditions they have not been approved for,” Charles said.

  “But do you think Perry was doing wrong by self-injecting the medication?” Angie asked more specifically.

  “No, I don’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “It isn’t illegal to use something that hasn’t yet been approved to treat pain. There are guidelines. Perry followed them.”

  “But Perry was still a student. He shouldn’t have been acquiring medication and treating himself with it. Am I wrong about that?” Angie asked.

  Charles said, “In general, you are not wrong, however, if someone wanted to file on Perry, it is my opinion that Perry would not be disciplined for what he was doing.”

  Angie nodded. “Do you know the other residents of the boarding house?”

  “I’ve met them.”

  “All of them?”

  “At one time or another, I believe.”

  “Do you know Andy Hobbs?” Courtney asked.

  “A poor excuse for a human being.”

  Angie had to bite her lip to keep from smiling at the comment.

  “Why do you say that?” Courtney asked.

  “The man is full of himself, rude, self-possessed. He likes to make comments to rile a person and then plays the victim when the person calls him on it.”

  “Have you ever argued with Andy?” Chief Martin asked.

  Charles snorted. “I wouldn’t argue with Andy. I don’t like to waste my time. He is no match for me mentally or verbally. I’d crush him and he would be humiliated.”

  Angie’s eyebrows shot up her forehead.

  “I see,” the chief said.

  “Do you know Megan Milton?” Angie asked.

  “Yes, I do. She’s a pharmacy student at the university and a friend of Perry’s. She lives in the boarding house,” Charles said.

  “What do you think of Megan?” Courtney asked.

  Charles shifted his eyes to the young woman. “Megan is a very nice person.”

  “Have you asked her out?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where did you go?”

  “Megan declined my invitation.”

  “Did that upset you?” Courtney asked.

  “No. I assumed that it was an inconvenient time for her.”

  “Have you asked her out again?”

  “Just the one time.”

  “I heard someone say they saw Megan strike you one day on the boarding house porch,” Angie said.

  Charles shifted a little in his chair and his straight post
ure sagged slightly. “It happened, yes. I said something to her that she didn’t like.”

  “What did you say to her?” Chief Martin gave the man a serious expression.

  “I don’t recall.”

  “You don’t have to repeat exactly what you said,” Angie told him. “What was the gist of it?”

  “I told Megan how beautiful she was and that I would like to kiss her.”

  “And she hit you?”

  Charles nodded.

  “Had you said something like that to her before that day?” Angie asked.

  “A few times.”

  “If Megan reacts in a negative way towards you, why do you persist?”

  Charles raised an eyebrow. “Because I think she’ll change her mind.”

  Angie stared at the man marveling at how someone could be so incredibly intelligent yet so completely clueless.

  19

  “Thanks for talking to me again.” Angie and Megan Milton sat on the bench on the veranda and looked out over the ocean. “Can you tell me about Charles Conte?”

  Megan looked sideways at Angie. “I don’t know much about him. Perry told me he’s a genius and he knows everything about medicine. Perry said Charles could be difficult, a real pain sometimes, but he liked the guy even though he was odd.”

  “Do you think he’s odd?”

  “Yeah. He always seems engrossed in his own thoughts, in his own world. He doesn’t seem to care about anyone else. Charles misses a lot of social cues.”

  “Isn’t that a bad thing for a doctor?” Angie asked.

  “Perry said Charles’s social deficits wouldn’t really have an impact on his career because he would choose a very specialized field where only his skill as a doctor would matter.”

  “I guess that makes sense,” Angie said. “Did Perry and Charles do things together?”

  “They’d go out for a bite to eat, sometimes go down to the beach, or go see a documentary. Perry told me you had to overlook Charles’s quirks and see him for who he was,” Megan said. “Perry was right, but I didn’t have any interest in getting to know him.”

  “Perry and Charles had arguments sometimes?”

  “Sometimes. Charles could get very angry with Perry when they disagreed about diseases, treatments, and outcomes. Their discussions could get quite heated. I’d shut my door whenever I heard one of their debates starting.”

  “We’ve heard that Charles was here at the boarding house the night Perry died,” Angie said.

  “Oh?”

  “Did you run into him in the house?”

  “No, I don’t think I saw him that evening,” Megan said.

  “Charles came to see Perry, but he only stayed for a few minutes before leaving. Maybe you were out?”

  “I think so.”

  Something about Megan’s answers caused a flicker of doubt to flash through Angie and she shifted on the bench to face her. “Did you happen to run into Charles that night? Maybe somewhere in the neighborhood?”

  Megan opened her mouth to speak, but then stopped and took in a breath. “I remember now. I did run into him. He’d been at the house to get a book from Perry. He was heading back to the library.”

  “You chatted with him?” Angie asked.

  “Briefly.” Megan looked down at the porch floor. “Look, I don’t like the guy. I try to steer clear of him.”

  “Because he likes you?”

  Megan whirled and stared at Angie. “Did you talk to him? Did he tell you that?”

  Angie nodded.

  Megan leaned back against the bench and sighed loudly. “It’s ridiculous. He can’t get it through his head that I’m never going to date him. Never. I’ve spelled it out on several occasions, but it goes in one ear and out the other. Actually, I don’t know if it ever goes in his ear. Charles has a mental block against things he doesn’t want to hear. It’s like he’s got a force field around him and only things he wants to hear are acknowledged … everything else gets ignored.”

  “He’s tried to kiss you?” Angie asked.

  “Oh, brother. He told you that?”

  “Sort of.”

  Megan shrugged. “I slapped him one day. I’m ashamed I handled it that way. It was the third or fourth time he came at me for a kiss, and I’d had it. Really, I’m not interested in him and I never will be. There’s nothing Charles can do to change my mind.”

  “Did you tell him that?”

  “A thousand times.” Megan rolled her eyes. “A million times. I told him we’re not the right fit. I told him he is not my type.”

  “What did he say to that?” Angie asked.

  “He asked me who was my type.”

  “How did you answer?”

  Megan’s shoulders drooped. “I said Perry. Perry was my type. I know that was a stupid thing to say. Charles seemed hurt. I should have picked some celebrity out the air. Or I shouldn’t have answered at all. It just came out before I could think.”

  “Did Charles appear angry?” Angie asked.

  “Not angry. Maybe a little sad.”

  Angie tilted her head to the side. “You saw Charles outside the boarding house? In the neighborhood? The night Perry died?”

  “Yeah.” Megan nodded. “About a block from the house.”

  “Did Charles have anything with him?”

  “A book. He said he borrowed a book from Perry.”

  Angie’s eyes widened. “What time was it when you ran into him?”

  “I don’t know. I went to Main Street to walk around, do a little shopping,” Megan said. “I ran into a friend and we went to a restaurant to have a drink together. It was probably a little before midnight?”

  “Is the medical school library open after midnight?” Angie asked.

  “It’s open twenty-four hours a day.”

  “Okay. Charles said he was returning to the library after picking up the book.”

  “Not a surprise,” Megan said. “Charles practically lives in the library.”

  Angie couldn’t help the look of impatience on her face. “Why didn’t you tell us this earlier?”

  Megan held her hands up in a helpless gesture. “I don’t like talking about Charles. He’s a pain.”

  “When you got home that night, did you see Perry?”

  “Just for a few seconds. When I went to my room, Perry was about to shut his door. He said he was tired and was turning in,” Megan said.

  “Did you tell the police you ran into Charles leaving the house?”

  “No. What does it matter if I didn’t tell anyone I ran into Charles that night? It doesn’t have anything to do with Perry.”

  Angie tried to keep her frustration out of her voice. “It matters because Charles might have been a suspect. It matters because it proves Perry was alive after Charles left the house. It tells us Perry was alive at midnight.”

  “Oh.” Megan shifted her gaze to her hands. “I didn’t think. I should have said something.”

  “When you saw Perry, did he mention he wasn’t feeling well?”

  “No. He just said he was tired.”

  “Did you stay up or did you go right to bed?” Angie asked.

  “I went to bed. I was feeling exhausted, like maybe I was coming down with a cold.”

  “Did you wake up during the night?”

  “I don’t think so. I didn’t get out of bed until I heard the commotion in the morning.”

  “Did you hear anything that night? Anything that might have woken you?”

  “I don’t remember hearing anything at all. If I did wake up from a noise, it didn’t register with me and I must have fallen back to sleep,” Megan said.

  After leaving Megan, Angie met Chief Martin at the police station to tell him what she’d learned.

  “That throws cold water on my train of thought.” The chief absent-mindedly twirled his pen between his fingers. “After talking with Charles Conte the second time, my suspicions about him grew. It sounds like he has a temper and has argued with Perry on a number of oc
casions. It seemed plausible that Charles could strike out at Perry during an argument. He knew Perry used an injectable medication for his headaches. He probably knows where the medication and syringes are kept in Perry’s room. Charles has a thing for Megan.”

  “And on top of all that,” Angie said, “Megan told Charles that Perry is her type and Charles is not.”

  “Right,” the chief said. “Now there’s only one problem with suspecting Charles.”

  Angie nodded. “Perry was alive after Charles left the boarding house.”

  “Yup.” Chief Martin ran his hand over his face. “We’re coming up empty. Nobody saw anything. Nobody heard anything.” Leaning back in his chair, he asked, “Do you feel anything about this case? About anyone in particular?”

  Angie’s sensations were a big, messy jumble that swirled around and around and wouldn’t come together in a logical way. “That smell in Perry’s room still picks at me. I know only Jenna and I could smell it, and because of that I think it points to the killer. Unfortunately, how and who is beyond me so far.” Angie looked across the room at nothing. “I also think someone in that house knows more than they’re telling us. Maybe Megan … maybe Mary Bishop. They were both close to Perry. Why would someone keep information from us? Is the person trying to protect someone? Is the person afraid of someone? Was the person threatened into silence? Is the person the only one who knows something incriminating and if he or she tells us, the killer will retaliate?” Angie’s forehead creased in thought. “Is there another reason someone wouldn’t share important information with us?”

  Chief Martin asked, “Because that person is the killer?”

  20

  Angie, Jenna, Mr. Finch, and Ellie emptied the contents of the bags onto the counter of the boarding house while Maribeth exclaimed over each dish. In a kind gesture, the sisters and Finch had prepared dinner for Maribeth and the residents of the boarding house so everyone could relax, enjoy a good meal, and talk.

  “This is bowtie pasta in a cheese sauce and this pan holds the same pasta but in a red sauce,” Ellie pointed.

  “We have grilled vegetables in this one,” Jenna said, “and this pan has meatballs and sausages.”

  Angie peeled back the foil on another pan. “This one has the mixed green salad and that one over by the refrigerator has the garlic bread in it.”