[To Die For 01] - A View to Die For (2012) (18 page)

“Something wrong, officer?” I asked after he tied up alongside.

“I stopped you because of the dog up front,” he answered. “It’s not legal to have a passenger outside the fence when the boat is in motion.”

Fred started to growl, so I quickly opened the gate for him before he jumped in the water to attack the cop. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” I said, grabbing Fred by the collar.

The officer didn’t try to board my boat. Either it was standard operating procedure for them to stay on their own vessel, or Fred had scared him off. “Can I see your registration and boating certificate?”

“Boating certificate? What’s that?”

“Missouri requires a boating safety course for anyone born after January first nineteen eighty-four. Looks like you won’t need that. Your driver’s license will do,” he answered.

Fred sat at the side rail watching our new visitor while I fumbled with my wallet. I gave the officer my license then went searching for the boat’s registration. I couldn’t find it. “It’s my brother-in-law’s boat, or was. He died last month, so now I guess it belongs to my sister. I have no idea where he put the registration.”

He pointed to the key hanging from the shifter on the side of the boat. “Look in there,” he said while keeping one eye on Fred. “That bobber holding the key is meant to keep the registration dry.”

Sure enough, it was where he said it would be. “That’s a clever idea,” I said, handing him the folded piece of paper.

He removed his sunglasses and studied the document for a moment. Then, without putting his glasses back on, he looked at me. “I thought that boat looked familiar. I was at your sister’s dock last week when the sheriff pulled that body out of the water.”

“Then you know Sergeant Bennet?” I asked.

His eyes seemed to soften. “Chuck? He’s a friend of yours too?”

I decided to press my luck a little further. “You could say we know each other. I found something by my dock that one of his deputies must have lost last week. Have you seen him out on his Tracker today by any chance?”

“No, but I can check when I run your registration.” He left the side of his boat and picked up a microphone from the helm. I could hear him calling in a check on his radio. Then he started writing something on a pad he had under his dash.
Had he seen through my lie that easily?

“I couldn’t raise Chuck, and your boat checks out. So it looks like you’re okay,” he said when he came back to my side of his boat. “You and your family have been through enough, so I’ll let you go with a warning.”

He had me sign the warning then untied his boat. “I’ll let Chuck know you’re looking for him, and take care of that beautiful dog,” he said over his shoulder while pulling away.

* * *

When I returned to the dock, Megan’s realtor was putting the finishing touches on her ‘For Sale’ sign. “You must be Jake,” she said after I stopped the motor and started tying the boat to the dock cleats. “I’m Janet. Megan didn’t mention what a handsome brother she had.”

She caught me off guard. It had been some time since a woman hit on me and not the other way around. She had to be at least ten years older than me, but she still had her looks and figure. Though, I could see they came at a price. Her choice of knee-high shorts and low-cut blouse may not have been professional, but they weren’t cheap either. “Glad to meet you, Janet,” I replied, wondering what she paid for tanning sessions and her silicone breasts.

“Megan says you talked her into listing the house. I hope you don’t expect a finder’s fee,” she said with a laugh. “Well, maybe dinner. I’m told I cook a really good Boeuf en Daube.”

“A what?” I asked.

She laughed again. This time it seemed genuine. “Pot roast,” she answered.

“You sell the house, and I’ll buy you dinner,” I said. I didn’t mention it would have to be from the dollar menu because of my finances.

Before she had a chance to accept my generous offer, Fred saw a stick float by and decided to show his retrieving ability. Naturally, he chose to do a belly flop and splash water all over us. Megan’s new realtor didn’t seem to mind, nor did she notice her hard-earned tan streaking down her legs. I guess I overestimated the cost of her youth. Even spray-on tans didn’t wash off that easily. Fred came back with his stick, but we had beaten him to the lift before he could shake the water off. He would have to take the stairs, or my sister’s new realtor would be a zebra before we reached the top.

“What’s her chance of a quick sale?” I asked on the way up.

“Not good, I’m afraid. This market is tough on higher-end homes. I’ll put it on the MLS of course, but our best bet is to run some ads in the Kansas City and St. Louis papers.”

We reached the top, and Megan was there, waiting with her arms folded. My mother and the boys were sitting at the table eating lunch. “Where the hell have you been?” Megan said. “I’ve been trying to get you on your damn phone all afternoon.”

“Sorry. The phone kept losing its signal, so I turned it off. Guess I forgot to turn it back on. Is something wrong?” I asked.

“Mom wants to go home. We need your help with the big rug in the great-room. I told her she could have it and anything else she wants.”

Janet must have realized it was time to leave. “Well, Megan, I need to get back to the office and get started on this listing. I’ll have someone come back for pictures.” Then turning toward the lake, she said: “What a wonderful view you have from here, Megan. That picture alone should sell the house.”

“Mike used to say it was a view to die for,” Megan said, lowering her eyes. Then she noticed Janet’s legs. “Did you fall in the water?” she asked.

“No. Jake’s dog jumped in after a stick and splashed a little water on me. One of the hazards of my profession,” she answered with a forced laugh.

“I’m sorry, Janet. He can be as big a pain as his master at times. Come with me, and I’ll get you some dry clothes,” she said as she led her realtor into the house.

Kevin put his hand over his mouth and kicked Taylor under the table while pointing at Janet’s legs when she walked passed him. Pieces of Taylor’s sandwich went flying from his mouth just as Megan and Janet closed the door.

“Are you alright, Taylor?” Mother asked.

“Sorry, Mrs. Martin. It must have gone down the wrong way.”

Since the rug wouldn’t fit in Meg’s Jeep, Taylor let us use his truck. He couldn’t drive after losing his license, which meant I had the pleasure of listening to Mother complain all the way into Truman. She said it made her look like Grandma Clampet from the Beverly Hillbillies. She could have ridden with Megan and the boys in air-conditioned comfort, but she didn’t want to wait for them to get ready.

The little house my parents had bought on Sycamore Street had been sitting empty since the funeral. Except for the overgrown grass, the house didn’t look that bad. I pulled into the driveway and went around to the passenger side to help my mother when I saw a woman with hair the color of snow beat me to it. “You must be Jacob?” she said, blocking me from helping my Mother out of the truck. Taylor’s truck had a lift-kit which made it impossible for my mother to get in or out without help.

“I’m Anita, your mother’s next-door neighbor. I’m so sorry to hear about your father. He was such a dear man. And so helpful. He would always cut my lawn when he cut his, but now look at it. I’m going to miss him. Did you know…?”

“Are you going to help me out of this pile of junk, Jacob?”

Anita stopped talking and stepped aside. I quickly moved in and offered my mother my hand. “Thank you, Anita,” I said, hoping she hadn’t taken offense.

Anita ignored Mother’s rudeness and kept on talking while I struggled to get my mother down from her perch. “How are you doing, Hazel? I hope you forgive me for missing Marvin’s service. You know I adored him and wouldn’t have missed it for anything; but my sister had come down with a terrible case of shingles, and I was in Kansas City. I do hope you understand – don’t you? I feel so bad after all he did for me.”

“I’ll let you two catch up,” I said and started for the house. “I’ll go check out the air conditioner and get it going. It must be over a hundred in there with all the windows closed.” It was my excuse to get away. I knew from experience not to get involved when my mother, or anyone her age, gets caught up in the disease of the week conversation.

I could feel something was wrong when I put the key in the door lock. It was one of those feelings that can’t be explained, but all of a sudden, I had a terrible sense that someone had been here. My fear was confirmed when I opened the door. The house had been ransacked. From the doorway, I could see the couch cushions had been cut and stuffing was everywhere. “Mother, you better come and look at this!”

My mother turned toward me and asked, “What do you mean, Jake?” Anita kept on talking as though nothing was wrong. Mother left her in mid-sentence and walked briskly toward me.

“Oh my god! What happened?” she asked after she walked past me and into the house.

“It looks like you’ve been robbed, Hazel.” Anita had come in behind us. “I better go home and call the police. Make sure you don’t touch anything. My cousin in Springfield had a break-in, and the police were so upset with him when they found he cleaned up before they had a chance to get there. But they made him wait two days before they…”

“It’s okay, Anita,” I said. I’ll call from my cell phone, but you better take my mother and go to your house while we wait for them.”

My mother’s phone line was cut, so I called 911from my cell. The operator picked up immediately. I was surprised when she transferred me to the Truman police department when I told her the nature of my call. She must have deemed my call didn’t qualify as an emergency. Truman police must have had the same thought. They told me someone would be out in a day or two to take a statement.

I’d seen enough shows on television to know not to disturb a crime scene, but it was obvious nobody was going to rush over with a CSI unit. So I decided to take some pictures of the damage with my phone before calling my mother back in.

Someone had been looking for something and didn’t care what they destroyed to find it. Pictures had been ripped off the walls and holes punched in the drywall. They had smashed my grandmother’s buffet and broke mirrors as though there might be something hidden between the glass and backing. There wasn’t a piece of furniture, picture, or mirror that was still intact. They had even torn up the carpeting, where I assumed, they were looking for a floor safe.

I was taking my last picture when the front door opened. “My god. What happened in here?” It was my sister. Kevin and Taylor were right behind her with their mouths open, and I could see Mother and Anita coming up the walkway.

“Mom’s been burglarized,” I answered.

“No way,” Kevin cut in. “Wait ‘till I tell my friends. Do you think we’ll get in the paper?” Then he pushed past his mother and walked into the living room.

“Don’t touch anything, Kevin,” Megan said. “We should wait for the police.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “They’re not coming.”

“Too busy giving out tickets, I’ll bet,” Kevin said while heading for the kitchen. Taylor had taken his lead and followed right behind.

By now my mother and Anita had made their way into the house. “Not my mother’s buffet,” she cried. “That was our wedding gift.” She must have missed it on her first inspection.

“Why would someone do this?” Megan asked. She had already gone over by the buffet and was picking through a pile of broken picture frames. “What could they possibly be looking for?”

It didn’t take long for Mother to regain her composure. “This would have never happened, Jacob, if you had checked on the house more often.”

That was more like the mother I knew. “We’ll find the bastards, Mom. I promise. Can you tell if anything is missing? We should make a list for your insurance company and the police for when they do show up.”

“Must you swear so much, Jacob? No, I have no idea if anything is missing. Thank the Lord I took all my jewelry over to Megan’s.”

Father had never owned any stocks or bonds, and any savings they had managed to put aside before he died would be in the bank – he didn’t trust mattresses.

“I know what they was looking for, Uncle Martin.” We all went silent and looked at Kevin.

“What is that?” Megan asked.

“The coins of course. I’ll bet they thought Grandpa had them.”

* * *

My plan to hack Hal’s computer got put aside until the boys and I could get my mother’s house repaired - that and the fact that I really didn’t have a plan after my failed attempt at his dock. Megan had the good sense to get our mother out of the house so the boys and I could get to work. I assigned Kevin and Taylor to collecting trash while I worked on packing my mother’s belongings for her to sort through later. Fred was assigned to guard duty, but he was constantly falling asleep on the job. We would have been dead-meat if the burglar came back.

We used up the few boxes and trash bags that Dad had in his garage, so I made a quick trip to the SuperMart for more supplies. When I got back, Amy’s expensive SUV was parked in the driveway.

All kinds of thoughts went through my head:
What should I say when I see her? And why is she here? To see me? No. More likely Taylor.
I quickly combed my hair with my fingers in the truck mirror, grabbed the beer and soda I had picked up at the store, and started up the walkway. Hal came out of the house before I made it to the door.

“Long time no see, Stranger. How have you been?” he asked, offering his hand.

I tried to look past him for his wife, but he seemed to have gained more weight since the last time I saw him at the funeral. I set down the six pack of soda in my right hand and took his hand. He had a very large ring I could feel as he squeezed my hand firmly. I squeezed back and he squeezed even harder. “Getting by,” I answered and let go. I didn’t feel like getting into a pissing contest, and I let him have his little victory. “How about you? Keeping out of trouble?”

“More like trying to keep my kid out of trouble. Amy wanted me to stop by and check on him. It seems like he spends more time at Meg’s than at home lately.”