The Beginning Read online

  “No, I can’t do it.”

  “Damn. Why not?”

  “I don’t have those kinds of computer skills. But, I think I know who can. Remember when I went to school in Virginia? I met this guy named Rob. He was going to be a lawyer, but instead he opened a computer game company.”

  “You’re going to call a college buddy who makes computer games for a living?”

  “He makes a very good living. And he has a lot of computer geniuses working for him. If anyone can do it he can, or his people can. By the way he has already supplied us with the genius who is setting up our computer system here in the park.”

  “Oh. And he seems very good. Ok, I trust you. Call your friend and get back to me.”

  “I’m on it now.”

  With that he hung up.

  I thought I heard movement in the bushes behind me. I turned around quickly, but I saw nothing. No, wait something did move. I stopped and waited with a pounding heart. Was someone listening? Then I saw it.

  An armadillo came crawling out of the bush. He was in search of bugs; he could care less what I had to say. I smiled at the little guy. I loved armadillos. They were so cute. And they lived wild here in Florida. I smiled at the little guy and then got up and finished my tour.

  Chapter 15: Clues Over Pizza

  Frankie and I had pizza for dinner in his room that night. Yep, I was as sick of pizza as I was of the buffet. It was good, but I’d been living on it for weeks now. Even mixing up the toppings didn’t help.

  “Wonder if Minerva could rent a kitchen just to cook for us,” Frankie said as he slapped his pizza slice on to his paper plate. “Even I’m starting to get sick of this food.”

  “Well, considering Adolf’s arrest may slow down my buying the house that might be worth investigating” I said.

  “Speaking of which,” Frankie said. “I found out some information about George. First, I asked Pete to check him out. He thinks I’m looking to have a lawyer here in Florida.”

  “Clever, but don’t make Pete nervous, he’s a good lawyer. And a good friend.”

  “Yeah, well, I didn’t say that, he just assumed. He really didn’t recommend hiring George. He tried to keep his professional integrity, but I get the impression that he thinks George is an ambulance chaser. He said George has low morals and will do anything to make a buck.”

  “I could see that about George.” I had an image in my head of George actually running after an ambulance waving his briefcase. It fit him somehow.

  “Pete said if I really wanted a lawyer in Florida he’ll find one for me. By the way, we do need a legal team for the park. George was the only lawyer and I don’t really trust the guy.”

  “And one man does not make a team. Add it to the to do list. In fact, make it number one.”

  “Good idea,” Frankie said as he stabbed at his phone. “I’ll contact Pete as well; maybe he can make some recommendations. Or maybe he’ll move down here too.”

  “Good idea. And why not everyone else is moving down here. We’re going to double the population of this town if we keep it up.” As far as I could tell Pete was the closest thing to a friend that Frankie had, I really hoped he did move here.

  “Well not Mrs. Dr. Angela and her family,” Frankie said.

  “Not yet. What else did you find out about George?”

  “He does fly to Miami every weekend. Or at least he did until the murder.”

  “He stopped going there after the murder? Why?”

  “Don’t know, but he wasn’t going there to visit his parents. They were both killed when a burglar broke in to their mansion when he was about eight.”

  That confirms Jerome’s story.

  “Their mansion? And George found them?” I asked.

  “Yeah, how’d you know?”

  “Just a guess. Go on,” I said.

  “And the murderer was never found. There was some suspicion that George did it. Apparently his parents had become suddenly strict with him and he even told a school mate that he was going to kill his parents.”

  “How were they killed?”

  “Their heads were smashed in with a baseball bat. Apparently the dad kept one by the bed in case someone broke in.”

  “Interesting. Did they never ask how a robber could have known the bat was there? And, if I remember what your Dad said, most home robberies do not end in murder.”

  “Yeah, I think I remember Dad saying something like that too. I don’t know much more about the case but from what I could find out George was never arrested.”

  “But they were killed pretty much the same way Barbara was. Maybe Adolf did both? No, he didn’t know George yet.”

  “Oh, by the way, Mom, my friend also found out that when Adolf’s wife left him, she went to Miami. She made no attempt to hide it.”

  “Yeah, I’ve already heard something along those lines. What about George’s finances?’

  “Don’t know yet, but my friend Rob has someone working on it for me.”

  We ate in silence for a few minutes. Then Frankie spoke, “Mom, why are you suspicious of George? I mean, she was Adolf’s wife. She was found on park grounds, something Adolf still has full access to, by the way. And both the shovel and blood were found in his garage.”

  Suddenly a light bulb sent off. “She wasn’t killed in his garage. “

  “There was blood there. The shovel was there,” he sensibly pointed out.

  “Yeah, but the shovel wasn’t in the garage at the time of the murder, it was with the other two at the park entrance ready for the ceremony in the morning. What did he do, run over, grab the shovel, hit her with it, and then take her back there to bury the body?”

  “Maybe he hit her there, buried her and then took the shovel with him.”

  “And then left it in his own garage so anyone could find it?” I asked.

  “But anyone couldn’t find it; it was in his private garage.”

  “But the house was for sale. Lots of people could be walking through it. Most people look through things when they buy a house. Some of us even open drawers and closets. Surely someone would have found it. How dumb is Adolf?”

  “I’m calling Marlowe,” Frankie said.

  “Why?”

  “We’re on to something and he should know about it.”

  “I still think he’s an idiot.”

  “I know. Hey, Marlowe this is Frankie Summer, I would like to discuss something with you if you have the time.”

  I let Frankie talk to Marlowe and I let my mind wander. There was no way she was killed in that garage. If he killed her there why would he travel all that way to bury her? After all there is a lake behind the house. Why not dump her there? We have gators here in Florida; maybe they would have eaten her. Or at the very least he could have weighed her down and dumped her in there. It’s a rather large lake, and the odds were probably slim that someone would have seen him if he did it at night. And he had at least one boat.

  No, whoever killed her did so at the park entrance. They must have heard someone coming, or it was getting to be morning so they buried her as quickly as they could, intending to come back after the ceremony and move her. After all, the construction was supposed to start the next day. Nothing much would have happened that day in that area if the photographer hadn’t had Frankie and I move.

  So, whoever did it knew what was happening at the park. Then again almost everyone knew what was happening at the park. We made no secrets about any of the construction work and its schedule. We wanted people to feel excited about the progress.

  Maybe it was the friend, Cindy. She and her husband were at the ceremony. They were posing for pictures every chance they got. Maybe Cindy was there to watch over the body? However, Aretha the maid said that Cindy was really drunk the night Barbara was killed. She did look pretty hung over the morning of the ceremony too. So maybe not.

  So, most likely it was Adolf not George. Adolf was not at the ceremony. But then, I wouldn’t have expected him to be. It would p
robably be a sad day for him. George however was there. Why was he there? He had no stake in the park, other than as a community member. Maybe he saw it as a way to get in good with us so we’d hire him.

  “Marlowe will be here in five minutes,” Frankie said. “Apparently he doesn’t live too far from here.”

  I was so deep into thought that Frankie scared me when he spoke. I jumped and dropped the pizza I was holding on my lap and on my white skirt. “Damn, it!” I yelled.

  “Sorry, Mom, I didn’t mean to scare you. Do you want to use my bathroom to wash that off?”

  “No, I’ll run to my room and change. Then I’ll let it soak in my sink. I’ll be right back. Don’t tell Marlowe anything until I get back. I want to be in on it.”

  I left and went down the hall to my room. I removed the skirt I was wearing, washed it by hand a little, and then let it soak in my sink. Oh, to have my own washer and dryer again! I went to my closet to grab anther bottom to put on. Nothing worked with the top I had on so I took that off too. I chose an outfit that I liked and put it on. Then I realized that my jewelry didn’t go. So I changed my jewelry. Then I changed my shoes. Finally, I was happy with the way I looked and went back to Frankie’s room.

  Marlowe was sitting at the table eating the pizza and drinking one of Frankie’s sodas. He tried to stand when he saw me, but he only ended up hitting his knee on the table and swearing.

  “Nice greeting, thank you,” I said.

  Frankie just smiled at me. “You look nice,” he said. He was looking at me king of strange.

  I ignored this. I changed because of the pizza falling on my lap, that’s it. No other reason.

  “Sorry, but that hurt like hell,” Marlowe said.

  “Marlowe hadn’t eaten dinner yet, so I offered him some pizza,” Frankie said.

  I sat down in a chair near the table where Marlowe was seated.

  “So, Frankie says you have something to tell me,” Marlowe said between bites. Was he avoiding looking at me, or was he that interested in his pizza?

  I went over everything that Frankie and I had been talking about. I minimized the fact that Frankie and I had been investigating George. It was possible some of our investigations weren’t legal, after all. And even if they were Marlowe probably wouldn’t approve.

  “I know about Mr. Dirkmyer’s childhood drama,” Marlowe said. “He was never charged even though the report said the kitchen window was broken from the inside.”

  My eyes got big, “It was?”

  Marlowe looked at me with a bit of disgust. “Yes, it was, but that doesn’t mean he did it. And yes, I investigated Mr. Dirkmyer.”

  “And you found no reason to suspect him?” I asked.

  “Lady, I found reason to suspect everyone. Including you and your son here.”

  “Well, yeah, if she came out of the woodwork like that she could have ruined everything Frankie and I had planned. All the money we invested would have been gone,” I said.

  Frankie looked at me, “Mom, don’t help.”

  “I can’t help it problem solving is what I do. Besides, Honey, we didn’t do it. We may have had access to the property and the murder weapon, but would we really have dug right where we buried her? Come on.”

  “Exactly,” Marlowe said, “The two of you never would have let her body be discovered.”

  “Ok, but why Adolf?” I asked.

  “You’re smart, you tell me,” Marlowe said. From the way he said it, I didn’t think he really thought I was smart, just a pain in his ass. But I was smart so he had better be ready.

  I took a deep breath, exhaled and said, “Because he is the husband, and it is often the husband.”

  “Yep,” Marlowe said.

  “Because she could ruin him if she demanded money from the sale of the park.”

  “Yep.”

  “Because both the murder weapon and her blood were found in his garage.”

  “Nope.”

  “Nope? What do you mean, nope?” Frankie asked.

  “I wasn’t her blood,” Marlowe said. He was smiling. I think he enjoyed knowing something we didn’t. That little jerk.

  “So someone else was killed in the house I want to buy?” I asked. Did I just hear the price drop?

  “No. Not too long ago some local kids decided to meet in that garage. They had a fight. One of them got beat up so bad he had to go to the hospital. It was his blood.”

  “And…you just learned this now?” I asked.

  “No, we knew they had gotten into a fight. But they lied about where they were and what happened. But the blood matches the fight victim’s DNA.” Did he roll his eyes at me?

  “I thought you had to send forensics work to Jacksonville?” I asked.

  “Been talkin’ to Frank, huh? Not all of it goes to Jacksonville. We have some equipment.” He sounded more like a small child defending the amount of toys he had compared to the rich kid down the block.

  “Well, good that makes me feel better,” I said.

  “Back to the subject”, Frankie said.

  “What about Adolf’s alibi?” I asked.

  “At home. Alone,” Frankie said.

  Marlowe and I looked at him. “It was in the paper,” Frankie said. “Mom, you really should read the paper.”

  “Ok. What about George’s alibi,” I asked.

  “He doesn’t need an alibi,” Marlowe said.

  “In my book he does,” I said. He was starting to make me angry. I mean, couldn’t he see it?

  “Well, your book doesn’t count for very much,” Marlowe said.

  “Wanna bet?” I said.

  “Stay out of it, lady. We got the killer, its over.”

  With that Marlowe left the room, carrying two slices of pizza and an extra can of soda with him.

  “It’s not over. Is it, Mom?”

  “Not by a long shot. I really hate that man. He won’t listen and he jumps to conclusions.”

  Frankie smiled at me.

  “What?” I said.

  “Nothing. You two don’t like each other. A lot. That’s all.” He raised his eyebrows for emphasis.

  He was still smiling. I looked at him, shook my head and left the room. “See you tomorrow in court”, I said as I closed the door.

  “Sounds like you’re suing me,” he yelled through the door.

  “I’m thinking about it. Good night,” I yelled back.

  “Good night,” he yelled.

  I smiled as I entered my room. My kid was a nut.

  Chapter 16: Grilled Adolf, Anyone?

  The next morning Frankie and I met in the hotel lobby and drove to the courtroom together. Frank and Minerva were already there. In fact there were a lot of people there. I started to wonder if anyone was working at the park today. Oh well, I guess this was the biggest thing to happen around here for a long time. Besides, if I wasn’t there how could I blame anyone else for doing the same?

  As we made our way in to the courtroom, I saw William, Marcella’s father. He walked over and shook hands with Frankie and I. I introduced him to Minerva and Frank.

  “My, you have an interesting family situation,” William said.

  I smiled at him, “Yes we do. How is your family doing?”

  “Marcella and the kids are much better now that Jerome’s been cleared. Thank you for what you did for them. Those kids had full bellies for days after you left.”

  “Kids should always have full bellies,” I said.

  “Yes,” William said, “but unfortunately the Lord still sees fit to make life difficult for them. I help when I can but between preachin’ and bussin’ tables at the restaurant, there’s not much I can do.”

  “And you have your own bills to pay,” I said.

  “Yes, and thank the Lord, they’re pretty low.”

  “Speaking of the Lord, did Jerome ask you about opening day blessing for the park?” I asked.

  “Yes, ma’am he did. I would be delighted to do it. I also started to contact the other churches in town.
So far everyone is on board.”

  “Thank you, William. That’s great.”

  “Opening day blessing?” Frankie said. “Isn’t that a bit controversial?”

  William looked at him with raised eyebrows.

  “Maybe,” I said “but it will show community support. And we could certainly use some divine intervention for the park.”

  “Point well taken,” Frankie said.

  William was smiling and nodding his head now.

  The bailiff stood and asked everyone to take their seats. Frank and Minerva went to sit near Marlowe. I really didn’t want to talk to that man so Frankie and I accepted William’s invitation to join him.

  I have to be honest; the only time I was ever in a court room was for my divorce and Jerome’s hearing. And all Frank and I had to do was simply agree to the terms and that was it. A formality, the lawyers kept saying. Therefore, I know nothing about courtrooms or their procedures. What little I do know I learned by watching TV. And I’m not sure that transfers well to real life.

  But, from the little knowledge I had it seemed like George was doing a crappie job. His voice was shaky. He didn’t ask Adolf a lot of questions. He never objected when the other lawyer did what I would think of as badgering Adolf. The judge had to finally step in. She told the prosecution to cool it. Then she actually asked Adolf if he still wanted George to represent him. Adolf said yes, so the trial continued.

  At about one, the court was adjourned for lunch. Some enterprising person set up a hotdog cart outside the courthouse. I hoped they were safe to eat, but since I was so tired of the same food every day I bought two, a bag of chips, and a soda. William, Frankie, and I joined Minerva and Frank at a table.

  “Saved you a seat,” Frank said. I was grateful. People were sitting in the grass and on the curb. I had no problem with doing that under normal circumstances, but right now I was wearing a skirt. So, I had no idea how I could have either sat down or got back up gracefully from either of those places.

  “So, you two were married?” William asked looking at Frank and I.

  “For almost thirty years,” Frank said.

  “What happened? Sorry, it’s the preacher in me. I don’t like to hear of marriages ending.”