Ting-A-Ling (25 page)

I picked up on a figure strutting in front of the picture window on the third floor across the street. I redirected my attention from the two girls at the bus stop. I moved the binoculars up toward the picture window and focused. At first I thought one of the sisters was pregnant. Even worse, it turned out to be some guy with a beer belly sipping coffee and unfortunately clad in boxers. That was more than enough for me and I went to grab some coffee of my own.

My phone sang out, it was Heidi. I answered before Blondie got to the second stanza of the ring.

“Hello.”

“Hi Dev, Heidi. I’m returning your call.”

“My call?”

“From the other day. I called you. Apparently, you were so busy you couldn’t talk to me. You called me, so now I’m calling you back.”

“The other day? Heidi, that was six weeks ago.”

“Get out of here, it couldn’t have been.”

“Guess again, it was. Matter of fact it was three days after Valentine’s Day, the seventeenth, I remember.”

“Whatever. Anyway, I’m calling you back. What did you want?” she said, suddenly sounding down. I had a pretty good idea where this was going. God knew I’d been here countless times before.

“Everything okay? How are things going with…”

“Don’t mention his name.”

“Dalton?”

“It was Denton, and if I never hear his name again it will be too soon.”

This was where I was supposed to ask what happened. I had a better idea.

“Look it’s been so long since we’ve been together, I’d love to take you out for dinner. You free tonight?”

“Actually, I just kind of feel like staying in.”

“Okay, would I be imposing if I offered to come over and cook you dinner?”

“I suppose that would be okay, unless you wanted to just bring over some sort of take out.”

“I could do that.”

“Nothing fattening, no pizza, don’t do White Castle again, that wasn’t good. I’m out of wine. I suppose if you felt like it you could pick up some Prosecco?”

“No.”

“What do you mean, no?”

I back tracked quickly. “I meant, let me surprise you. You just get comfy, I’ll be there about six. That sound okay?”

“Make it seven, I’ve got yoga and then I’ll want to shower.”

Perfect. “Hey, you know what? Don’t get dressed on my account. Just throw on a robe, get comfy, maybe stream in a chick flick if you want.”

“You sure? You always say you hate those.”

“No, not a problem, I’m sort of up for it. I’m just glad to finally be able to see you.”

“God, I’ve been awful, haven’t I? I’m sorry, I guess I’ve been kind of a bitch. I’ll try and make it up to you.”

Bingo!

“Not to worry, enjoy your workout, then relax and have a nice hot bath, maybe some bubbles. I’ll be there around seven with dinner.”

“Thanks, Dev, you’re so sweet. See you then.”

Perfect! It was going to be a well deserved great night.

Chapter Fifty-Four

“This isn’t even the
saddest part,” Heidi sniffled. She was curled up in the far corner of her couch, legs tucked beneath her with a robe padlocked tightly around her waist. She clutched a paper dinner napkin. Apparently she had applied eye makeup after her hot bath. I knew that only because dark rivulets were running down either side of her face. Her glass of wine sat on the coffee table in front of her and remained largely untouched.

“I’m scared, Mommy. Is it getting dark outside?”
A dog whined somewhere near the only bed in the pioneer cabin. The gorgeous female star blinked back tears and looked out the window at her young husband’s gravestone under a large oak tree. There was about six minutes left in the movie and it was clear to me if the kid died I wasn’t going to get any action. It would take Heidi the rest of the night to recover.

“Who digs a grave under a tree? What bullshit, all those roots, no one would do that.”

“Please be quiet, you’re wrecking this, Dev.”

“But it’s so stupid. Look at her she’s not even dirty or sweaty after she supposedly carried that damn kid across the prairie for ten miles. Her hair isn’t even…”

“Will you please shut the fuck up. You are wrecking this entire evening.”

“Are you kidding? I brought dinner and thought you’d want…”

“Out,” she said and pointed toward the front door. She hit the pause button and glared at me through red, puffy eyes. “You have ruined the mood, Dev. Why don’t you just go to some sleazy bar and watch the hockey game or something?”

Actually, at this stage that didn’t sound half bad.

“Now, I’m going to have to rewind this and if you say anything else you are so out of here. It’s just heartbreaking she has to dig her little boy’s grave all by herself.”

“What?”

“I said she has to dig the grave by herself. Yes, Dev, under the big tree, with all the roots. Then she cries on top of the grave for days on end and practically starves, you never even know if she recovers.” She made a face and shook her head as she said it, mimicking me.

“You mean you’ve seen this movie before?”

“You kidding? I love it.” Then she pushed the rewind button, based on the digital counter that was displayed she rewound thirty minutes that I’d just suffered through. She blew her nose, then settled in for a fresh cry. The rewind had stopped right when the mom was about to shoot the favorite horse and then carry the kid for ten miles.

“Maybe we should just climb into bed and express our feelings in a little more physical…”

“Get out,” she half screamed and pointed toward the door.

I raised my hands in surrender and rose from my chair. “It’s been real, Heidi, catch you another night.” I walked toward the door and kissed her on the top of the head. I slowed for a couple of steps, hoping she’d come to her senses. She didn’t. As I opened the door she hit the play button and began sniffling anew. Mommy was just about to pull the trigger and shoot the horse.

By the time I climbed on my stool at The Spot, Mike had drawn a Mankato ale for me and pushed it across the bar. “Working tonight?”

“Unsuccessfully.” I nodded and took a sip.

There were two flat screens mounted up by the ceiling at either end of the bar. Both had a news station on, but the sound was off. I think it was Leonard Cohen I heard moaning on the jukebox. I just couldn’t seem to catch a break tonight.

“You been busy, Dev? Haven’t seen you around for awhile.” Mike was washing pint beer glasses, two at a time. There was a wet sink, a soap sink, a rinse sink, and then a drying board. He sloshed both glasses in each sink a couple of times, then set them on the drying board. He had to bend over then move sideways about four steps to complete the entire process.

He’d maybe washed about twenty glasses and was making small talk that I hadn’t been following. I was still half wondering what sort of idiot would attempt to dig a grave right beneath a giant oak tree. I glanced up at the flat screen. The image was a couple of squad cars and an ambulance. Two guys were rolling a stretcher with a body bag strapped onto it into the back of the ambulance. The scene looked to be out in the middle of nowhere. A large, flat, muddy field stretched out for miles with row after row of what looked like corn stalks that had been cut down last fall. There was still a fair amount of snow in the drainage ditch between the road and the corn field. I couldn’t decide which was worse, the muddy field, Leonard Cohen or Heidi’s movie. The night was a bust. I finished my beer and went home.

Chapter Fifty-Five

It was the end
of the week and I was back sitting in the office in mid-afternoon. I’d been investigating work disability scammers for Eddie Bendix. I’d photographed a young lawyer the other day wearing a neck brace and using a walker to hobble around town. This morning at a little after six, I photographed the same young lawyer exiting his girlfriend’s apartment and running to his car at the far end of her parking lot. Eddie was paying me twenty percent on these cases.

After tailing the couple for the better part of the evening I’d been parked on the street for most of the night. It had been worth the wait, but I was on my third cup of coffee and trying to stay awake when Louie strolled in.

“Coffee?”

“Yeah, I was on a stake-out all last night. I’m dragging.”

“Sounds sinister.”

“It was. There’s a lawyer involved.”

“Anyone I know?” He’d stopped in mid-stride toward the coffee pot.

“I doubt it, young kid just out of law school. Faking neck and back injuries to scam the insurance company.”

“Your insurance pal Bendix?”

I nodded then glanced across the street to the third floor.

“Anything happening over there?” Louie asked.

“No, as a matter of fact, God I hope they haven’t moved,” I said.

“You hear the news?” Louie said.

Probably not. To be honest, I’ve been focused on these insurance scammers, I’m working five of them. Well, after last night probably down to four.”

“Renee Paris. They found him.”

“You’re kidding, now what’s he done?”

Louie shook his head. “They found him down in some drainage ditch out in Afton. I guess he’d been dead for awhile, buried under the snow. Some power line crew came across his body the other day. They just came out with the identification this morning.”

The news report I’d glanced up at the other night when I was in The Spot flashed across my mind.

“God only knows what that bastard was doing out there on a deserted country road.”

“Maybe he was looking for an investment opportunity,” I said.

“In a drainage ditch?” Louie shook his head.

“What?”

“They figure he got hit by a car and landed there. Doesn’t make a lot of sense. ‘Course, the list is long and includes some well connected folks who would have loved to run over that guy, including your girlfriend, Danielle Roxbury. That’s Washington County out there, I’d guess the cops probably looked up and down the road, didn’t see a car, and called the case closed. Hey, give me a yell if anything happens across the street,” Louie said, then turned on his laptop.

I nodded, but I was thinking of the broken headlight on Sue White’s car that morning a few months back. Then back to the night before, a snowy, freezing cold night. I remembered I thought the road was bumpy, but I was freezing and shaking so badly I couldn’t really tell. Danielle told Paris to drag me out of the car. The wind was howling and the snow was blowing across the road. I was so cold, that’s what I really remember, so damn cold. It had been bright in the headlights and that field seemed to just go on forever and ever…

“Oh, hey, some fan mail for you, too.” Louie said and sailed a post card across my desk. It landed upside down, only my address was written on the back, no message. I flipped the card over and stared at the image of a slingshot. I flipped the card back over to check the postmark but it was smeared and unreadable.

“Are they up there?” Louie was standing at my side. He’d picked up the binoculars and dialed them in on the apartment window across the street. “Damn it, I must have just missed them. You were so focused I knew something was up. Oh, well, at least they’re still up there,” he said and went back to his laptop.

Chapter Fifty-Six

I had a rematch
planned with Heidi tonight. I was pulling out all the stops, flowers, Thai take out, her favorite little pastry for dessert and Prosecco. I didn’t care, it had become a matter of urgency. On the way over to Heidi’s I’d picked up a small gift for Jimmy White, little Jimmy. I wasn’t due at Heidi’s for another hour and I figured what kid doesn’t like Play Dough?

I turned the corner and pulled in front of the house. It was still the soft gray exterior, but all the white trim looked freshly painted. The door looked to have a fresh coat of that Fire Engine Red. Then there was the For Sale sign in the front yard, which might explain the freshly painted trim.

I rang the doorbell and peeked in the front picture window, the living room was empty, not so much as a dust bunny on the floor. Peeking in the bedroom window revealed the same result, complete and total emptiness.

I sat in my car and dialed the agent’s number from off the sign.

“This is Kevin,” he answered after a couple of rings.

I read Sue White’s address to him off the front of the house and told him I might be interested.

“That’s a very motivated seller and that property is priced to move. It’s a great location, school just three blocks away, stable area, not too many turnovers pop up in that neighborhood.”

“How long has it been on the market?”

“I’ve had that listing for maybe ten days, we’re just coming into the season and after the long winter I don’t expect it to be available for much longer.”

“Where did they move to?”

“To tell you the truth, I don’t know. I’m actually dealing with an attorney who represents the owner. They seem pretty tight lipped. That usually suggests a death or something. But it’s been inspected. I’ve got the Truth in Housing report. Now the furnace is only four years old…”