“Well, for a cat, you have a good vocabulary. Even if you were a person, you'd have a good vocabulary.” Roger said.
“I'll take that as a compliment.” Lana said, still upset with being left behind.
Mandy put the leash on Roger and as she took him out, she said to Lana.
“Lana honey, I know I said we were going to the park, but something else has come up. I have to take Roger because it's part of work. I promise we'll spend some quality time later, it's just this came up out of nowhere.”
“She said she's sorry she's not taking you, but she's on a job. We'll be on the job tonight, just you and me.” Roger said to Lana.
“Ok.” Lana said, as she sadly slunk away.
Lucy Denon's place was a little out of Mandy's neighborhood, but not in a bad area. Mandy wondered how this interview would go, and wondered what kind of person Lucy would turn out to be. Well, she'll find out soon enough, she told herself. She felt safe having Roger with her. Thinking of Roger made her think of Lana, which made her feel bad. She told her she'd take her to the park and now, twice in one day, she took Roger and not her. She thought Lana's feelings were hurt, so she thought she'd better do something special for her tonight. In the middle of her day dreaming, Mandy arrived at Lucy's house. It was an older, yet nice house. She parked in front of the house and rang the bell.
“Hi, are you Mandy?”
“Yes, hi Lucy.”
“Oh, what a nice cat.”
“Thank you. Yes, Roger and I are kinda joined at the hip, it's hard to leave him home. Hope you don't mind I brought him?”
“Oh no, I love cats.”
Mandy went inside the house. It was well kept, but it wasn't a modern house. It seemed from another era.
“I took you for someone much bigger, since you said you were with the police department. I figured they would send somebody big and burly to get the truth out of me.” Lucy said. Mandy laughed.
“Oh Lucy, you've been watching too many police shows. Nah, this is a preliminary process. Anybody who knew the victim is asked questions, cause that's how we can piece together what happened. So, you're not a suspect or anything, you're a person who knew Michael, and since we don't know him, what you tell us helps us find out what happened to him.”
“Uh, ok. You want something to drink, soda, coffee?” Lucy asks.
“No, I'm fine.” Mandy answered.
“Alright, so what do you want to know?” Lucy asked, getting to the point.
“Why don't you tell me how you met Michael.” Mandy replied.
“Ok. It's going to sound a little weird, but things changed after our meeting.” Lucy started.
“I'm not here to judge Lucy, feel free to say what you want.”
“Alright, first, I want to say, I'm not doing real well financially and I have a young son, I'm a high school dropout, so some of the things I'll tell you are a little embarrassing, but this all started when I put up a craigslist ad. I thought I'd try my hand at some light sex work. Nothing too crazy, just meet with guys who couldn't have a relationship with a regular woman because of their interests and fetishes. I figured, that would eliminate any regular sex type situations, I'd focus more on fantasy type situations. More like a very open minded counselor that worked one on one with the guy.
“Previously, I did phone sex work, but some scripts didn't make me feel too comfortable, and I couldn't stand a lot of the guys at the other end of line. Anyway, I had this craigslist ad, to see what kind of response I would get. I got a lot of calls from a lot of crazies, and I was going to pull the ad, when one day I got a call from Michael.
“He explained to me what he wanted to do, he needed someone to look out for him so he wouldn't hurt himself. This was exactly the kind of work I wanted, just work with the guy without actually having sex with him. Long story short, Michael and I hit it off right away, and he trusted me, and felt he could work with me regularly.
“Michael started giving me more money than I charged so I wouldn't get together with other guys. We had an arrangement where he would give me enough money to live and take care of my son, and I wouldn't have to do sleazy stuff with strangers. So, I felt real fortunate meeting Michael. Usually he would come here during the day, do his thing so I could make sure nothing happened to him. I talked to him on various occasions as to why he did this and he said it would help him relax and blow off steam. Sometimes he would come over a couple of times a week when he had an unusually stressful week.
“After a while it became pretty commonplace his coming over. He would also talk to me, as though unburdening himself. I know of his arrangement with his wife. She didn't know before they got married and she really didn't want to indulge in his fantasies, which is why he sought me out.
“Michael mentioned this guy, Chester Brady. Chester headed the firm Michael used to work at before he worked at his present firm. Chester threatened Michael with lawsuits and physical harm, saying Michael had stolen his clients. Truth is nobody wanted to work with Chester, people liked Michael, so they followed him to his present place of employment. But Chester didn't see it that way. Chester was a big reason why Michael had gotten married. Chester wanted his employees to look like they were happy and normal people. Little did Chester know how left of center Michael really was.
Over time, our relationship, if you can call it that, evolved. Michael mostly came here to hide from the world and be himself. Which is why I really don't understand why he would do this at the office? He would never do this at the office, for fear of being caught. I've no idea where he did it before he met me, but that was the reason I was in his life, to make sure he didn't hurt himself, to take care of him.
“I know I sound like an idiot Mandy, but I fell in love with Michael. In spite of his eccentricities, he was a good man and he always treated me well. He never even asked me to have sex with him, even though I would have done it out of love for him. And now he's gone, I don't understand why he would do this by himself, when he ran a risk of real danger. Now, I don't know what I'm going to do Mandy, Michael was my lifeline, we had this very strange relationship, and when I heard he died, I felt a part of me had died too. I'm certainly not going to put up another ad on Craigslist, I realize now that's just plain crazy. But I have very limited skills, and I truly don't know how I'm going to care for my son. Getting a job as a cashier isn't going to cut it. Anyway, that's my story.”
By now, Lucy was crying, crying over Michael, over her situation and her lonely lot in life. Mandy replied.
“Lucy, it doesn't have to end like this. I know maybe this whole relationship with Michael was maybe a big highlight in your life, but you can turn your life around so you can be self sufficient. I know that you say you're a high school dropout, but you know, you can get a high school equivalency diploma by taking an exam.”
“Mandy, don't you think I'm too old for that.” Lucy said.
“Lucy, you're never too old. What are you, in you middle thirties? There are thousands of women out there who have not had good financial situations in their life, and they have turned their life around. So getting a high school diploma is your first step to going to trade school, and learning some skills where you can get a good paying job, that way you don't have to do these crazy things.” Mandy said.
“But Mandy, I don't have the slightest clue as to how to go about doing this.” Lucy said.
“Listen. I'm going to help you out with this Lucy. I know people, I can hook you up with. All you have to do is promise me you'll do the work. It may seem hard at first if you haven't done it in a long time, but think of the goal, of getting a better life through a higher income, and doing something you enjoy and in a professional environment.”
“You would do that for me?”
“Why not, it's not hard for me to reach out to these people and say, hi, there's this woman that needs your help. They would be glad to talk to you and help you, and let you know all the options you have. There's no reason to be stuck in this life Lucy.” Mandy said
.
“Mandy, thank you so much. I would love to talk to anybody that can hopefully point me in a different direction in life.” Lucy said.
“Ok then, you'll hear from me and I'll send you to talk to different people from various organizations.”
Mandy got up to leave and Roger was by her side. “Anyway, I think I got enough information. You're not implicated in this situation at all. But you'll hear from me either today or tomorrow on how to start to get your life in a new direction.” Mandy put out her hand to shake hands with Lucy. Lucy took her hand and gave her a hug.
“Thank you Mandy. You know, I didn't know what to expect from today, I thought I was in trouble. But I never expected somebody to take an interest in me and in my life, aside from Michael and everything. I'll be looking forward to your call.” Lucy said.
Mandy and Roger left for the car. She opened the door so Roger could climb in. Then she got in the car and drove away. In the car Roger ran through his mind what he had just witnessed. The main thing that stuck out to him was Mandy is a great person. He couldn't recollect of anybody going on any investigation and coming out of it that they were going to help the person.
Mandy's head was full of thoughts too. Mostly regarding the people she needed to call so Lucy could get in touch and hopefully she would follow through and get her life together. A lot of times, you can offer people help, but they won't do anything for themselves. So, unless someone helps themselves, nothing is ever going to happen. Lucy didn't strike Mandy as that type. What Mandy got from that whole conversation was that Lucy didn't know she had options. That she was not aware she could do something else with her life right now.
After a thoughtful drive, Mandy and Roger made their way back to the house. Lana, bored and lonely, waited for them at the door.
“Hi, was there any trouble, did you have to beat anybody up?” Lana asked.
“No, luckily, this was more of a social work type situation. The person was just uneducated and Mandy is going to help her get ahead.” Roger said.
“Well, I'm glad you didn't have fight anybody. You never know if you're going to get hurt.” Lana said.
“Me too. I really don't want these situations that turn violent because you're dealing with somebody that's crazy.” Roger replied.
Mandy heard the cats meowing and figured Lana had missed them.
“Hi Lana, did you miss us? I tried to get back as soon as possible, so you wouldn't get lonely.”
“What did she say?” Lana asked.
“She's looking out for you.” Roger summarized.
From the sounds coming from the kitties, Mandy assumed this was their version of socializing. She felt she had to call Fred to give him an update while things were still fresh in her mind. She dialed his number.
“Hi Mandy” Fred said.
“Hi Fred. Well meeting with Lucy happened sooner than later. I tried setting up and appointment and she asked me to come over today.” Mandy said.
“How did it go? Was she defensive? Did she say this was none of your business?”
“Actually, quite the opposite. She was very helpful and very forthcoming. I think part of it is she really has no one to talk to about this situation with Michael. So, she shared a lot with me. As a result, I'm going to try to help her get her life turned around.”
“Really. Is she in a bad way?” Fred asked.
“Yes, she really lives in a world of her own and doesn't know how to forge ahead in life. So, I'm going to hook her up with people that can help her.” Mandy said.
“That's great of you Mandy.”
“Also, before I forget, I found some things that could be crucial to the investigation. First, she had a very friendly relation with Michael. She was probably the only friend he had in the world. She took care of him. She said he would never do his activities by himself, that's why he had a relationship with her. She didn't understand why he would do this at the office, by himself, that doesn't make any sense at all. So the question is, why did Michael do this in the office by himself, if that was not his usual way? She felt something was very wrong there. Also, she said he had a contentious relation with his former employer, who kept accusing him stealing his clients.”
“Did you figure out why he gave her money?” Fred asked.
“Yes, she was his 'mistress' for lack of a better word, but without any sex involved. Her job was to make sure he was alright when he did his thing. She also became someone he could talk to and trust. My gut feeling is she's not a suspect, and she feels very strongly Michael would not do this at the office, that it would be strange for him to do so.”
“So you suspect foul play?” Fred asked.
“Well, why would a person that normally engages in an activity in a controlled environment all of a sudden throw caution to the wind and do it in a public space with nobody to help him if things went awry?” Mandy said.
“You have a point. I'm going to ask the coroner to take a better look and see if anything else seems amiss with Winnan's body. Mandy, I wanted to say thank you, you did much better than any of us would have. And from what you tell me, she's in need of help herself, and you're going to make sure she gets it. I'm going to look into this Chester Brady character and see what we can find out about him. I'm sure he's going to be a difficult customer.”
“Yes, from what she told me, he really doesn't like Michael.”
Chapter Nine
After Mandy hung up with Fred, she called Jill to tell her of her experiences in the Michael case and to sound her out for contacts to help Lucy.
“Hi Jill.”
“Hi Mandy, whatcha been up to?”
“Well, you're not going to believe it, but Fred actually asked me to help him on this case.”
“What! You mean he thinks you can actually help solve this case?”
“Well, I guess he figures whatever it is that happens whenever I get involved with a murder, usually turns out to catch the bad guys. So, he might be figuring, having me around on the case may get results sooner than later. Who knows? But I was definitely floored when he asked me to help.”
“So, what did you do?”
“I went to interview this woman who had been involved with Michael. It's a long story, but basically she's a good person in a bad situation, who's more than a little lost. I'm gonna be putting her in touch with Billie Gordon and Sue Merckle to get her life around.”
“Don't they work with social services?”
“Yes, Lucy, the woman I interviewed, needs to get a high school diploma, needs to get a trade and needs to turn her life around, but doesn't have a clue how. I told her I would hook her up with the right people, and those two are a start.
“Well, call me if you need anybody else. I know a counselor for adults from low income households who would be happy to work with her.” Jill said.
“Yes, absolutely. She needs to be surrounded by people who can help her and at the same time, people who are helping themselves, so she can see it can be done.”
“So, not only are you helping solve the crime, you're helping others in the wake of the crime.” Jill said.
“I'm certain others involved with this Michael matter are not going to need my help, but Lucy is a special case. She just needs a positive intervention in her life. I certain this can be achieved.
“Well, let me know if I can be of any help. There's also a group that teaches computer skills to non-computer people for free. It's possible she can benefit from that.” Jill said.
“Every little bit helps. That's something else she can explore. I'll give her the information.” Mandy said.
They hung up and she considered what else she could do with the case. She wondered if perhaps by feigning to still have an interest investing with this firm, she could speak to Cathy and Tim, the other main employees of the hedge fund. Was it possible they knew something? She would run it by Fred. Now that he had requested her help, she just went with her gut instinct. And this is how she solved crimes in the past. If Michael died
at the office, and he shouldn't have died there, then maybe somebody knows something.
*****
Roger had been thinking about this whole case, since he was privy to the meeting with Fred and the meeting with Lucy. Lana saw him quiet and was wondering what he was up to.
“You seem awfully quiet ever since you got back from meeting that Lucy woman. Did she get under your skin.?” Lana asked.
“Nah, I'm just thinking out this whole situation. More likely than not, this is a murder. But the big question in my mind is, who benefited from Michael's death? The first two logical suspects are the wife and the boyfriend, statistically speaking. I'm hoping Fred looks into those two more closely. He mentioned he was looking into whether there was a will or an insurance policy. If that exists, and everything goes to the wife, then the wife is a strong suspect.”
“Why is that a problem? Don't you think he wanted to leave her the money anyway?” Lana wondered.
“Yes, but it turns out she's having an affair with another guy, they want to get married and it's possible Michael refused to give her a divorce. Sometimes, people get desperate and do awful things, like go kill another person to get what they want. In her case, it not only clears things so she can marry the boyfriend, but she gets a lot of money in the process as well. Now, I'm not saying that's what happened, but it's always a possibility.”
“People do things like that?” Lana asked, amazed.
“Yeah, people can be pretty bad sometimes.” Roger replied.
“So, what happened at Lucy's?”
“She was a good Jane. In my book, she's out as a killer. She had no reason to kill him. He was taking care of her financially. Why would she want the gravy train to end? Besides, she was in love with him. If Michael had any brains, he'd dump the trophy wife and take up with the good Jane. But guys like him are smart for some things but dumb when it comes to dames. Not to mention the fact that Lucy understood his crazy hobbies. But she was from the wrong side of the tracks, as they say in my day.”
Mystery at the Hedge Fund Page 7