The dying five, p.19
The Dying Five, page 19
“Stephen, someone is here!”
“Answer the door, make up a story, and whatever you do, do not let them in.”
Shelly set the drawer under the desk, grabbed her walker, and rolled to the front door. The top half of the door was glass, and she could see two men standing outside. They looked official, and Shelly knew they were the police. Of course the police would come here, Heather was just murdered. Shelly searched her brain for a story. Who am I? Why am I here? She decided the truth was as good as any other story.
She cracked the door just wide enough to talk. She placed one of the legs of her walker in the door opening and leaned on it for stability, so the men didn’t have enough space to walk through if they tried. The two men looked surprised to see a septuagenarian with a walker answering the door.
“Hello,” Shelly greeted them with a sweet smile. “How can I help you?”
One of the men, corpulent to say the least, in a suit too tight and a tie too short, took the lead. “Hello ma’am. We’re here to follow up on the death of Heather Fullerton.” He slid his card through the door opening. Shelly examined the card. Stan Masterson, Detective, Indianapolis Police Department.
“It’s just awful, what happened to sweet Heather. I didn’t know her well, but she was always nice to me, helping me get to the restroom and such.” Stan looked at his partner and shrugged. Shelly couldn’t take her eyes off his tie skirting the top of his gargantuan stomach. Didn’t he know he looked ridiculous?
“May we come in ma’am, take a look around, and ask you and the other Green Playscapes staff some questions?” Corpulent asked.
“Oh. Well, I’m the only one here. I’m the silver intern and have been helping out with accounting for a month, give or take. Shana has the day off, and Mark is out and about at lunch and work sites. Mark is the operational manager. Would you like me to give you his cell phone number? You could call him from the hall there. I do not feel safe letting you in while I’m here alone. Mark should be here. I’m sure you understand.”
The other detective, skinny, whose suit was too big, and tie was too long, scanned Shelly up and down. “Sure ma’am,” he said. “We have Mr. Kim’s number. When he returns, will you have him give us a call? We don’t need to bother him while he’s out.”
“I sure will, officers.” Shelly started to close the door when the skinny detective stuck his hand between the door and the jamb.
“One thing, Ms., um, I didn’t catch your name.”
“Perkins. Mrs. Perkins. And what is yours, sir?” She was handed another card. Ken Collins, Detective, Indianapolis Police Department.
“Mrs. Perkins, I do have one question for you. Were you aware that Mr. Kim and Miss Fullerton dated last year? Can you confirm any knowledge of that?”
“I cannot. Like I said, I have only been here a month and I stay out of the personal lives of the other employees. I’m here temporarily, and do not plan to involve myself in the office drama.”
“Understood,” Corpulent said. “One last thing, though. In the month since you’ve been here, Ms. Perkins, did you ever hear Heather talk about someone she was dating recently? You know, water cooler chat?”
“Detective Masterson. Did you not hear what I said? I do not gossip. Even if we had a water cooler here, which we do not, I would not stand there, with my walker, to listen to the stories of the twenty-somethings’ dating lives. Now, if that is all, I have reports to finish.”
“Thank you for your time, Ms. Perkins.” Slim said.
“It’s Mrs. Perkins,” Shelly said, correcting them a second time. “Have a nice day, detectives.” Shelly watched as they retreated to the elevator. Good lord, no wonder the TD5 has made more headway than the police. Mary had sharper investigation skills than those two combined.
Shelly glided her walker back to the front window to watch the two detectives leave. She made her way back to Heather’s office and lifted the drawer back onto the desk.
“Nicely done,” Shelly heard Stephen say. “Thanks for letting me listen in. You put on quite a show.” Shelly smiled to herself. She did, didn’t she? “Now, turn the drawer over and look underneath.” Shelly did as Stephen instructed and again, no key. “What do you see? What does the bottom of the desk drawer look like?”
“There’s a post-it note sticking out between the side and the bottom, but that’s it.”
“Pull on that post-it note.” Shelly pulled on it, thinking it would slide out between the sides of the drawer fascia. Instead, it acted as a pulley, raising the bottom of the drawer out and exposing a hidden compartment. Inside, there were two keys.
“Bingo,” Shelly said. “How did you know, Stephen?” Then Shelly considered the absurdity of the question. “Never mind.” Stephen chuckled.
“By the way,” Shelly said as she started trying the keys on various drawers. “Why don’t you use video calling? Wouldn’t it be easier for me to show you what I’m doing then just tell you?”
“No video.” Stephen said. And that was that.
Shelly found that one of the keys opened the two desk drawers and the other key opened the drawers in the filing cabinet. “All I see are papers, books, and notebooks. No laptop.”
Stephen sighed. “Shelly. She hid her keys. Do you think she would make it that easy to find the laptop? Anyone can break into drawers. One of the drawers, probably in the filing cabinet, has another false bottom.”
Stephen was lucky Shelly had developed some patience; a skill required to work for the governor for thirty years. Otherwise, she’d give him the what-for. He was so patronizing. Shelly pulled everything out of the top drawer.
“What are you doing now?” Stephen asked, but it was more of a statement.
“I’m emptying the top drawer.”
“NO,” Stephen said. “It won’t be the top drawer. Heather was short, correct? Slightly over five feet? Look in the bottom drawer.” Shelly sighed loudly so Stephen could hear her frustration. She emptied the bottom drawer.
“Now what? The bottom drawer is empty. I can’t pull it out.”
“Push on the bottom of the drawer.”
Shelly did, and magically the bottom popped open, and there was the gleaming silver of Heather’s laptop. Shelly slid it into her bag, grateful Heather used one of those small, slim models. It was light as a feather and fit neatly in her walker bag. Shelly removed her silk scarf and covered the laptop. She put Heather’s office back together as she found it and wheeled back to her cubicle.
Mark returned an hour later, and Shelly was pleased she’d been able to complete the mission with an hour to spare, even with the interruption. She updated Mark on her progress with the reports and that she’d have them sent out by end of business. He thanked her profusely and went on to inform her about a new deli she should try up the street. When they’d gotten the chatting out of the way, Shelly told him about the visit from the detectives.
“They asked me if the two of you dated last year,” Shelly said nonchalantly.
“I figured it would come up,” Mark said. “We did date casually but parted as friends. I had nothing to do with her death, and I’m quite shaken up about it, actually. And I hope they catch who did it quickly.” Shelly refrained from snorting. She found it difficult to believe Mark was completely innocent in all of this. “Heather would want this work to continue. She would want people to have safe and beautiful outdoor spaces to spend time. It’s going to be difficult to carry on without her. Anyway, I have nothing to hide.”
Shelly believed him; he seemed sincere. She rolled closer to him and placed a hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry, Mark. Heather was a special young woman.” Mark wiped a tear from his eye.
“Yes, she was.”
“I hate to have to tell you this, but the police wanted you to give them a ring when you got back.” Shelly handed Mark the detectives’ cards. He nodded and pulled out his cell phone.
Chapter Fifty
Another undercover job, how exciting! Mary wore her best blouse and slacks for this one. She wanted to look professional, but not snooty. She slung the strap of her portable oxygen tank around her shoulder and walked out the front door of her apartment to the bus stop. She was glad no one was there, so she wouldn’t have to make small talk. Folks at her bus stop just loved their small talk. Stephen had offered for Miguel to take her to the Legal Earth office, but she thought taking the bus would seem more legit for this mission.
The bus dropped her off about a block away from Legal Earth’s downtown office. She hated downtown. Maybe she should have had Miguel drive her. This one block walk would be the worst of it. Mary was banking on one major thing playing out with this mission: the other lawyers at Legal Earth remembering her from her last visit. When she’d gone in before, she smiled at them all at their workstations as she followed Nadine to the room, or the closet, as Mary recalled, where she deftly conducted her interrogation.
Mary didn’t need to look at the directory this time, she knew exactly where to go. When she arrived at the Legal Earth office, she opened the door and announced herself as if they were expecting her, in hopes to catch them off guard. “Hello everyone!” Mary used her loudest indoor voice. “Nadine! Mary’s here!” The thing about having a mental illness, especially schizophrenia, is even when your symptoms are well-managed, as Mary’s were, you could use it to your advantage. Mary didn’t like to perpetuate stigma but being able to talk about her experience publicly at times when it suited her purposes had served her well.
One of the lawyers jumped up from his desk and met her before she’d gotten too far. “Hi there, can I help you?”
“Oh yes,” Mary said. “I have an appointment with Nadine. Do you remember me coming in to see her a couple of weeks ago?” She craned her neck and moved her head back and forth, as if looking for Nadine.
The young man, dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans, was a little casual for a lawyer, like Nadine had been. She’d read about the new “wear what you want to work” movement and how comfortable clothing in the office improved productivity. Mary believed more in the “dress for success” movement and thought about suggesting this to the young man. However, she didn’t have that conversation scripted out and didn’t want to waste time.
“I’m sorry, I don’t recognize you. Are you a friend of Nadine’s?”
“Not exactly. More of a client. She’s been helping me on the side, pro bono, you know, ha, that rhymes.” The young man smiled but looked confused about what he should do with Mary. “She was helping me with my social security benefits. I get government assistance because I have voices in my head. Do you ever hear voices in your head? It can be scary sometimes, but I just tell them to hush. Anyway, Nadine and I have a mutual friend, Heather Fullerton. Heather kindly referred me to Nadine and Nadine agreed to take my case free of charge. Isn’t that wonderful?” The young man appeared uncomfortable, and Mary was delighted. She’d missed her call as an actress. She could have played in a movie version of one of her nephew’s books.
Two more lawyers approached to come to the young man’s aid. She walked to the middle of the office, addressing everyone at once. “It’s just awful, what happened to Heather. Such a sweetie pie, she was. Did you all know Heather? Isn’t it horrible, what happened to her?”
Now, surrounded by three of Nadine’s colleagues, Mary had an audience. “I just cannot believe Heather is dead! I hope Nadine will see me anyway. I really need her help. The government won’t return my calls. You know those government types. They come after you when you owe them a dime but won’t answer when they owe you thousands.” Mary reached out her hand to shake those of the other lawyers. Her oxygen tank clanked as it tumbled to the floor. One of the lawyers picked it up and handed it to her. “Nadine was helping me, can you let her know I’m here? We already talked about my case, briefly, a couple of weeks ago. Where is Nadine, by the way? We have an appointment today.”
One of the others that had joined them, a woman with dreadlocks and a colorful shift dress, took a step toward Mary. Mary took a step back. Didn’t this woman understand personal space? Did they not teach that in law school? “Hi, Mary. I remember you from a couple of weeks ago. Nice to see you again. Nadine didn’t mention what your meeting was about a couple of weeks ago, so we’re a little surprised to see you here when Nadine is on vacation.”
“On vacation?” Mary used her best wounded animal voice. “But we had an appointment today,” Mary whined. “Maybe she took the day off, because she’s very upset about Heather?”
The woman with the dreadlocks shook her head. “She was upset about Heather, yes. She left the day Heather died for the Pacific Northwest with her friend’s husband. Her friend and our former colleague, Talia, died, and they flew out there to memorialize her.”
“Oh, my goodness, poor Nadine!” Mary exclaimed. “She’s lost two friends in three weeks. That is just so sad.” Mary found a chair and sat down, signaling she wasn’t about to leave any time soon. “I know how close Nadine and Heather were. I wonder if Nadine even knows Heather died?”
“She knows,” the shift dress said. “I talked to her before she boarded her plane last night. And you’re right, she’s devastated. Heartbroken. She and Heather developed a strong friendship when they collaborated on a project last year. Nadine thought about staying in town, but she knew there was nothing she could do and wanted to go on this trip. I told her I would attend Heather’s funeral and would make a donation on her behalf to Green Playscapes.”
“I cannot imagine Green Playscapes is going to make it,” Mary said. “Heather told me about her boss getting murdered, and now she has been killed too! Can you imagine? What in the world?”
The three lawyers exchanged glances. Mary read their expressions perfectly. Wrap this up and get this lady out of here.
“Are you sure your appointment was today? I don’t think Nadine would have scheduled to see you while she’s gone.”
Mary pulled out her phone and brought up her calendar app. “Oh my! It looks like Nadine and I had our appointment scheduled for two days ago. Did anyone see her here? Was she waiting around for me? Was she upset? I can’t believe I got my days mixed up! These damn voices in my head, sometimes I get confused.” More glances were exchanged by the three. Mary saw the corners of their mouths turn up. Good, she was just a harmless person with mental illness. They would feel sorry for her and answer her question.
“Nadine was at work all day up until she went to the airport. That’s why she didn’t know about Heather until I called her,” dreadlock girl said. “But I didn’t hear her mention anything about you, or having an appointment with you, or you not showing up, so I think you’re in the clear!”
“Oh, that’s good! Thank you! Sorry to have bothered you.”
“I’ll let Nadine know you stopped by.”
“Don’t bother her. Sounds like she’s quite busy on her trip. I’ll reach out to her in a couple of weeks.” Mary got up and thanked them again. She got a good vibe from the dreadlock girl. Nice, authentic, no boloney. Mary made a mental note that the woman might actually help Mary down the road if she really did need some assistance with her social security disability.
Chapter Fifty-One
Shelly handed over Heather’s laptop and watched while Stephen worked his magic. Shelly had realized over these last months that people like Stephen were the reason the populace was electronically safe, and equally electronically unsafe. This man knew how to take the internet apart with his mind and put it back together again. She was glad to be on Stephen’s good side. He could teach her how to use the new tablet her kids had given her for Christmas last year. She’d not even taken it out of the box.
“And here it is, what we’ve been looking for.” Stephen typed on his own laptop and motioned for Shelly to look at one of the dozen monitors on his wall. He scrolled through emails sent from one of Nadine’s private accounts to one of Heather’s private accounts. The women thought they’d deleted the emails, Stephen explained, but nothing really disappears. Not on the world wide web. Not with people like Stephen around.
Shelly read the emails as Stephen moved his mouse, loading entire conversations at once. Shelly couldn’t believe what she was reading. The look of horror on her face was mismatched with the look of calm on Stephen’s. It’s like he already knew what he would find. It wouldn’t surprise Shelly if he did, but why wouldn’t he tell her? She dismissed the thought. There was no way Stephen knew this, he just had a way of appearing he knew everything and was surprised by nothing.
“What do you think?” Stephen said.
“What do you mean, what do I think? This answers all our questions, doesn’t it?”
“Not even close,” Stephen said.
Chapter Fifty-Two
The Situation Room- Week 4 Investigation Report
I didn’t take attendance. I did make note of how folks were doing. Shelly looked a little frazzled, but all was well otherwise.
Mary was still buzzing from her latest undercover mission. She regaled how she’d fooled them all at Legal Earth, a group of attorneys who were supposedly trained to spot fakes and liars.
“Apparently you don’t know how law school works,” Stephen commented, which Mary ignored. She said she was going to see if her nephew wanted to co-author the story of TD5 solving the murders. I thought it was a wonderful idea and might alleviate me from my duties to write all this down for the history book. What a delicious thought, someone else telling this tale and me retiring from TD5 with all boxes checked. Of course, we had to solve the murders first, which seemed elusive, even with all the progress we’d made.
“Shelly was able to obtain Heather’s laptop yesterday.” Stephen wasn’t wasting any time with chit chat. Mary pulled out her notebook. “Thankfully, she grabbed it before the cops could find it, if they could find it, the oofs that they are.” Shelly told us about her run-in with the five-oh. Shelly never ceased to amaze me with her ability to move through these situations like a chameleon. I would mention it, and compliment her, but I’m sure she’d say she got a lot of practice working for the governor for thirty years. I think if I were in Shelly’s shoes, faced with the police asking questions, I’d freeze. My little acting bit at Elaine’s office a couple of weeks ago was my fifteen minutes.
