“That would make sense,” Doc nodded. “There might not have been a dog at all, and Merton could be the name of a close friend, too.”
“Even so, I could make a list of all the apartment complexes that allow pets, particularly those who cater to seniors,” Anna suggested, practically bouncing in her chair with excitement.
“Doc, would you call Chief and let him know what we’ve found out? Tell him I’ll call him once we’ve checked out these leads, but I think the dog’s name as well as her husband’s name are the most promising.”
“Will do,” Doc nodded, smiling. “And Ms. Tomaselli, you’ve been a great help. We were afraid our Jane Doe would never speak.”
“It’s nothing,” Anna protested. “Just common courtesy. And please, call me Anna.”
“Of course, Anna. And feel free to come back later today to speak to my patient again. I’m afraid we’ll be transferring her to the county hospital tonight. We just haven’t the facilities or the staff to deal with a memory care patient.”
“I’ll be back around four if that’s okay,” Anna suggested.
“That’s fine,” Doc agreed, rising to shake her hand.
“Thanks for your time, Doc,” Michael added, also rising to shake Doc’s hand. “Tell Davey I said hi and we really should get together soon.”
“He’s always talking about setting up a reunion of the team,” Doc laughed, “but he never gets past talk.”
“Then I’ll have to nudge him,” Michael smiled. “It’s a good idea.”
Then Michael turned serious. “But I’m afraid that won’t be until this story is done, hopefully with a happy ending.”
“I’ll tell him anyway,” Doc said, sobering himself.
Michael nodded, and taking Anna’s arm, he steered her out of the office. Chief was right. Anna was as sharp as they come. Add that to a kind and generous nature, not to mention a beautiful face and figure, and you had an unbeatable combination.
Anna was having some thoughts of her own. To her surprise, Michael was much more than an ex high school jock with mush for brains. He’d allowed her the space to speak to Jane Doe on her own and hadn’t butted in with nosy reporter questions. And he’d quickly grasped the important information and suggested what could be done with it. Even when he talked to the chief, he hadn’t put on his hard-nosed reporter hat. He’d been friendly and laid back and just let the conversation flow. Yes, there was definitely more to this gentle giant than she’d first realized.
Both deep in thought, they were reluctant to part when they reached Anna’s car. She was a little taken aback when he grasped her hand in both of his rather than shaking it, but she was also pleased at the warmth of the gesture.
“I’ll call you if I find out anything,” he promised, his voice low and soft.
“Call me either way, please,” she all but whispered.
Michael only nodded, then reluctantly released her hand and opened her car door. He watched her drive away, only heading for his own vehicle when she was out of sight.
A promise to call. It was a good way to end a good morning, and Michael couldn’t help but whistle the victory tune the school band played whenever they’d scored a touchdown. He hadn’t won the game yet, but he’d definitely scored some points with Ms. Tomaselli, and he was very content with that.
Chapter Six
Mia had to admit that she was having a good time with Jessica and Ashley, even if Michael was off with Anna doing who knows what. And Michael better not be messing with her friends. What if things didn’t work out between them? She would either lose a brother or a friend and she didn’t want to lose either. At the very least, things could get downright awkward and she didn’t want that, either.
Not only that, but Mia was chafing at the bit to hear what he’d found out from Officer Guard Dog who was keeping her from getting into her house.
And make no mistake. That house had been hers since she’d seen it on the way to Tae Kwon Do class for the first time at the age of ten. Chief had been driving her since he was the one who’d gotten her interested in it. He’d invited the Brodericks to watch a tournament he was in and Mia had sat wide-eyed through it all. Especially fascinating was watching one woman defeat man after man. It wasn’t until the final match that Chief himself had won over her. Now Mia was a black belt herself and taught others both the joys and discipline of the sport.
And the best part was, she’d be opening her own dojang in the very house she’d dreamed of all those years ago. The house she associated with that first magical day of wearing her first dobok and learning the five tenets of Tae Kwon Do: courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, an indomitable spirit.
The original owner where Mia had trained for so many years, had long since turned over most of the teaching to his son, Mark Tomaselli, Anna’s cousin. She and Mark lived in different towns and went to different schools, but they both had the Tomaselli looks. The same dark, curly hair. The same deep blue eyes, but while most of the Tomasellis had a way with people that was bred in the bone, it was something Mia tried, and failed, to emulate.
Not that she was incapable of being kind and caring; it was just not something people sensed in her like they did with Mark and Anna, and even, she had to reluctantly admit, her brother.
“Mia, are you even bothering to look at this wallpaper?” Jessica demanded, finally losing patience with her friend’s lack of enthusiasm.
“Sorry, guys. Just worried, I guess.”
“About what?” Ashley asked.
“You know,” Mia shrugged. “This whole situation.”
“Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet,” Jessica challenged her. “You’re the one who talked us into this.”
“It’s okay, Mia,” Ashley put in. “It is pretty worrying. I mean all those poor people wandering around, not knowing where they are or even who they are. But we know that has nothing to do with the house.”
“Sure, Ash,” Jessica told her, keeping her eyes on Mia. “But does our formerly fearless leader know that?”
“Okay, okay. Enough,” Mia laughed. “No, I’m not worried about where the woman was found. But Ash is right. How did this even happen? Did some predator prey on people with no family and no memory of their lives to get their Social Security checks?”
“Hey, that’s a good thought,” Jessica exclaimed. “You should tell Michael.”
“Yes, right now!” Mia was excited that she might have hit on a motive for these seniors being abandoned the way they were. But instead of dialing Michael, Mia dialed Chief, putting him on speaker. That’ll put a twist in Michael’s boxers, she thought spitefully.
“Chief? It’s Mia.”
“Hey, girl. Are you doing okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Good. Mikey told me about the house. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure it was just a coincidence that our Jane Doe was found there.”
“No, we’re not worried about the house and that’s not why I’m calling. I’m sure you’ll let us know when we can get back in.”
“We have to notify the owner first, but I don’t see a problem with giving you a heads-up afterwards.”
“Oh, the owner first. Of course. But that’s not why I called.”
“You just want to hear my dulcet tones, right?” Chief chuckled.
“Yes, Chief, hearing your soothing baritone is always the highlight of my day,” Mia laughed. “But really, I was just sitting here with my friends, feeling bad about those abandoned seniors, and I had a thought.”
“Have you told Mikey?” Not that he didn’t trust Michael’s discretion, but he did need to know who knew what and when.
“Well, no, I’m not working with Michael on this, but I was wondering if some predator picked on seniors with no family and no memory for their Social Security checks then callously abandoned them, hoping they would die before they were found.”
“Good thinking. We’ll definitely follow up on that.”
“I’m glad you think it’s wor
th looking into.”
“You should tell your brother, too. He’s writing the story and he should know.”
“Michael? No, I hadn’t thought to tell him. I mean, he’s probably pretty busy running down leads, doing research and such. You know. All the B.S. he calls work.”
“Do I hear a bit of spite in your voice, Mia McKinley Broderick?” Chief chided her.
“Okay, yes, it is work, I know it’s work,” she sighed, knowing she couldn’t win with Chief, “but I wouldn’t think he’d have the resources to follow up on this kind of thing. That’s why I called you because you have access to state and county people and all those country-wide databases.”
“Sure that’s it and not a little sibling rivalry?” Chief chuckled.
“I don’t see what’s so funny. And no, I’m not miffed at Michael about anything,” Mia huffed. “In fact, I’ll call him right now. Love to Mom. Bye, Chief.”
Mia looked at her friends just in time to see them wipe the grins from their faces.
“Not you, too!” Mia glared at Jessica and Ashley, but knew she’d been in the wrong.
“Okay,” she grumbled. “Chief’s right and I guess you agree with him. I am a bit miffed.”
“But why?” Ashley asked. “I mean, Michael was pretty helpful at the house yesterday and then he bought us ice cream.”
Now Jessica and Mia had to laugh out loud. Ice cream was one of the surest ways to Ashley’s heart. So was chocolate and spaghetti and meatballs and hot dogs and really, any kind of food. What nobody understood was how Ashley could pack it in the way she did and not gain an ounce on that softly curving figure of hers.
“You’re right, Ash,” Mia said, wiping her eyes. “Why don’t you see what’s in the fridge. Maybe we can scrounge up some lunch.”
That was all Ashley needed to get her off the subject of Michael, but Mia knew that Jessica wasn’t so easy to distract.
“I’d better call Michael since I promised Chief.”
“Hmm, then after we eat, you’ll be looking at wallpaper samples, right?” Jessica told Mia firmly.
“Yes, of course,” Mia agreed, but she was a bit wary of the look in her friend’s eye.
“And while we’re eating, you can tell us all about Michael and why you’re so reluctant to talk to him.”
“Am not,” Mia shot back hotly. “See? Hitting his speed dial button right now.”
* * *
Michael’s enthusiastic acceptance of her theory went a long way toward forgiving him for hitting on her friend. And she would have forgiven him completely … maybe … if he’d completely accepted her theory. But no. Cautious big brother had objections.
“It’s a good thought, Mia, and I’d say probably right. Why else would we be finding these people wandering around, half-naked, frightened and alone if someone wasn’t exploiting them?”
“Thanks, Michael,” Mia smiled. At least he agreed with her.
“I’ll be looking into similar scams over the past few years across the country.”
“I knew you’d follow through, Michael.”
“Oh, I will, but …”
“But?” Mia gritted, her hackles already rising. She was getting really tired of Michael not taking her ideas seriously. She was his younger sister, not his baby sister.
“But it’s a long shot. I mean no matter what I find, it’s going to be difficult if not nearly impossible to link whoever I find with the men that are operating in our area.”
“Impossible?”
“I said nearly impossible,” Michael corrected his sister. He could hear the ice creeping into her voice and wondered why she was so hostile. “There could be dozens of homes operating scams against the elderly, especially those without family. Most of these small places are legitimate and give their residents the best of care, but there are always a few scammers. Unfortunately, many of the bad ones don’t get caught.”
“Right,” Mia sighed, knowing her brother was right but not willing to concede too quickly. “But you will look into it.”
“I will. Definitely,” Michael assured her. “Does Chief know?”
“Yes, I spoke to him before I called you.”
“Good, I’ll coordinate with him. He has access to a lot more databases than I do.”
“So, what did you and Anna find out from the guard dog at the house?” Mia asked, taking the opportunity to insert Anna into the conversation.
“Guard …? Oh, you mean the officer,” Michael laughed. “It was Charlie Gordon. He was a year behind Annie and me in school but played varsity with me for a couple of years.”
Mia noticed how Michael’s tone changed when he said Anna’s name and mentally ground her teeth. It wouldn’t do to let her friends see how upset she was.
“Have a nice little reunion?”
“Sort of. Look, I had to give him your names and Anna was going to call him with Jess and Ash’s addresses when she got back to the office.”
“Oh, so Anna went back to work? Good, I hope she’s lighting a fire under that rental agent. We need a decision on the repairs ASAP.”
Neither did Michael fail to notice the change in his sister’s voice when she mentioned Anna’s name but for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why.
“Why don’t you give her a call?” Michael suggested. That should get her off his back and besides, Anna was more than capable of handling a testy client. Look at the way she’d handled Jane Doe back at the clinic. She’d been amazing and had given them some excellent leads to follow.
Time to start calling vet’s offices, but first he’d call Anna and warn her not to say anything about what they’d found out. Not that he wanted to keep anything from his sister, and Chief had already given him leave to print it. He just didn’t want the news spread all over town. The public should be able to read the facts in the paper and not have their information tainted by rumor and gossip.
* * *
An hour later, Michael hung up with the last vet in the county. He’d never realized there were so many sick animals that needed care. Of course, some of it was wellness, but he hadn’t counted on all the farm animals that needed vaccinations or stitching-up or pregnancy tests and so on. Plenty of country vets around but they couldn’t be skipped. Suppose little Merton, if he did exist, had been owned by a farmer? He’d just have to expand his search, but before he got buried in calling every vet in the state, he’d start looking at property and tax rolls for the name Merton. That could have been JD’s married name.
Unfortunately, he’d about run out of time. He had to write his story and get it filed for tomorrow’s morning paper so the search would have to wait until tonight.
You had to love the Internet, Michael thought with a grin. Halls of records closed promptly at five pm, but the Internet never slept. And apparently, neither would Michael until this case was resolved one way or the other.
* * *
Anna waited in vain for Michael to call or even text. She’d been so excited after her talk with Jane and she absolutely knew both Michael and Doc were just as excited as she was. That’s why she was sure Michael would have called her whether or not he’d found anything. But while her business cell rang several times, her personal number remained silent, the screen dark and silent as if to mock her.
Not that she had a life anyway. She worked, picked up takeout or ordered in, and … and … yes, she lunched with people. Right. But if she were honest, those people were clients.
What had happened to her friends? She’d had friends in high school, hadn’t she? People she was in class with or the math and French clubs. But were they really friends or did they just get together once or twice a month for serious discussions about serious topics?
There were banquets, too. End of year banquets for all the clubs at the same time in the same place. Not like prom where you were brought by a date. Some of the attendees came as a couple, but those were few and far between. And, of course, she hadn’t been invited to prom.
But what about college
? She’d made friends there. Yes, Anna sighed to herself. Clubs and study groups.
Had she really been so isolated all her life? And what was she doing selling real estate instead of getting her master’s degree and working toward tenure at some prestigious college?
Well, she knew the answer to that question, having given it a lot of thought before she made the move. She’d wanted to be home in her own little town where she could at least be close to her large family. A family that knew her and could always be counted on to include her for the holidays. No sitting home alone on Christmas or Thanksgiving or even New Year’s Eve.
But now there was Michael Broderick. Was she so desperate for a man to call her that she’d latched on to the first one that asked for her phone number? Besides a client, she reminded herself. And he hadn’t asked as part of her professional relationship with his sister and her friends. He’d asked because somehow she’d become involved in the case of the lost seniors and it seemed he valued her opinion and her help.
But now he hadn’t called and here she was, once again, anxiously biting her lip and staring at the phone that refused to ring.
Well, was she a mouse or a strong, independent woman? A professional woman who had no trouble making phone calls and talking to clients. Charming them, too. And Michael Broderick was the brother of a client. So, she’d call him. Yes, she would. But she’d give it another minute or even five minutes so he wouldn’t think she was anxious to talk to him.
Just then the phone rang and she jumped a foot off her chair, holding her hand to her heart and slowing her breathing before she answered. But caller ID showed it was just her cousin Mark.
Swallowing her disappointment, Anna swiped the green button and greeted her favorite cousin.
“Hey, Mark.”
“Hey, Cuz.” he smiled. Mark had the kind of smile that you could hear over the phone. “Just a reminder. Fourth of July coming up and we’re doing a cookout at Sunfish Park.”
“I didn’t forget,” Anna replied, smiling back.
“Swimming in the lake, hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad and Mom’s making a big pot of spaghetti and meatballs.”
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