Uncovering Secrets: The Third Novel in the Rosemont Series (14 page)

Chapter 34

Forest Smith turned up the collar on his coat against
the icy wind as he headed to his car in the deserted parking lot of Stetson
& Graham. He hadn’t left work earlier than eleven o’clock any night since
he’d been assigned to assist Special Counsel Scanlon with the town’s fraud
investigation. Tonight was no exception. He was unlocking his SUV when he saw
headlights approaching in the window’s reflection. Turning, Smith shielded his
eyes noticing the car was headed straight toward him.

A
black sedan pulled up next to him. The darkly tinted front-passenger window
came down and the driver leaned toward him. “Forest Smith,” came a gravelly
voice. “I’m Chuck Delgado. Get in. We gotta get to know each other.”

Smith
hesitated. He knew who Chuck Delgado was, of course, and had heard the rumors
of his ties to organized crime.

“I’m
not gonna do nuthin’ to you,” Delgado said. “I just wanna talk.”

Smith
bent and spoke through the open window. “Then we can talk in my car.”

“Have
it your way, kid,” he said, putting his car in park. Delgado climbed out from
behind the steering wheel, leaving the engine running.

Smith
unlocked his SUV, and both men settled themselves in the front seats.

“See?”
Delgado said. “No trouble. And there won’t be any trouble if you take care of
your friends.”

“You’re
not a friend,” Smith stated firmly.

“Maybe
not, but your dealer is.”

Smith’s
eyebrows shot up.

“We
know about your fondness for painkillers. Our boy supplies you. And any
customer of his is a friend of ours. Particularly if he’s a hotshot young
attorney trying to make a name for himself.”

Smith
stared at Delgado in stony silence.

“I
thought you’d warm up to me.” Delgado smiled, pleased with himself. “Here’s
what we need you to do. Simple, really. Just keep us informed of what’s going
on with the investigation. Hell—I’m a councilmember—I’m entitled to
be informed.”

“I
don’t know anything. I’m just helping Scanlon push paper.”

“I
think we both know that’s not true. Or won’t be for long.”

“What
exactly are you looking for?”

“You
tell us everything you know, and we’ll decide what’s important to us.” Delgado
stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles. “Here’s how we’ll do this. We’ll
meet once a week, just like we’re doing now. Isn’t this cozy?”

Smith
turned away from Delgado. “You cooperate, and we can help with your career,
too.”

Smith
finally nodded.

“Smart
boy. Good decision. How’s about we celebrate our new relationship?” He pulled a
flask out of his breast pocket.

“I
don’t drink and drive,” Smith answered icily.

Delgado
shrugged. “Gotta have some fun once in a while, buddy boy.” He reached for the
door handle. “I’ll see you here next week, same time.” He turned back to the
younger man. “And don’t go doin’ nuthin’ stupid. You don’t wanna mess up that
bright future of yours,” he said as he heaved himself out of the passenger seat
and stumbled to his car.

Chapter 35

Maggie was in her seat in the council chamber as the
department head and managers of the Transit Department filed into the room. The
other members of the council who sat on the Transit Committee were Tonya Holmes
and Russell Isaac. Tonya hurried to her seat as Maggie was calling the meeting
to order. Russell Isaac was nowhere to be seen.

“Ladies
and gentlemen, thank you for your very thorough report,” she said, resting her
hand on a thick stack of papers, “and your recommendations for budget cuts.”
She turned to Tonya. “Have you had a chance to review these in detail?”

Tonya
looked at Maggie and opened her mouth to reply, but her words froze on her
lips. She stared, wide-eyed, at the flashing orb on Maggie’s left hand.

Maggie
smiled and shook her head.
Later,
she mouthed.

Tonya
cleared her throat and began. “I’ve reviewed them. The cuts to bus routes will
yield the budget savings the council requested of the department, but we were
hoping that the department could come up with other ways of saving money
besides discontinuing essential services for a significant portion of our citizens.”

The
department head smiled smugly and shrugged. “There really isn’t anything else
we can do,” he stated. “If you want to save money, that’s the only way.”

“Really?”
Tonya shot back. “You haven’t gone out to bid on your maintenance contract in
over five years; you’ve made no effort to avail yourself of federal funds to
defray the cost of newer, more energy-efficient vehicles; and you set the bus
schedules using paper and pencil. It looks to me like you’ve made no effort
whatsoever to modernize your department.”

“What
are you suggesting?” he demanded.

“Maybe
we should cut costs by replacing you with someone that’s interested in making
improvements and running the department efficiently.”

The
temperature in the room seemed to drop precipitously while the Transit
Department head and Councilwoman Holmes glared at each other.

Maggie
broke the silence. “I had some of the same questions this morning when I
reviewed your report. Why don’t you use a computer program to generate your
routes? I researched the issue. There are a number of programs available to
municipalities.”

“They
cost money. And aren’t we supposed to be saving money?” he retorted.

“They’re
not that expensive. Have you investigated any of them?”

A
manager seated in the row behind the department head raised her hand.

Maggie
nodded to her. “Yes. Do you have something to add?”

“Thank
you, Mayor Martin. I’ve been looking into this very issue for the past several
years. I’ve put together recommendations.”

The
department head swiveled stiffly in his chair to face her.

Maggie
and Tonya exchanged glances as the woman flushed and looked down at her hands.

“Do
you have them with you? We’d like to review the issue in detail. What’s the
bottom line?”

The
woman cast a sidelong glance at the department head and cleared her throat. “I
believe we can revamp our bus routes, adjust our fee schedule, provide expanded
bus service, and almost double our ridership revenue. We won’t need to cut our
routes, and we can contribute more money to the general fund,” she concluded
proudly.

“Now
that’s the kind of thinking we need on Westbury’s staff,” Tonya declared.

Maggie
cut in. “That would be an outstanding improvement.” She turned to the
department head. “I’m glad to see that your department is filled with such
competent, creative people.”

“I
was just getting to this,” he lied.

“Let’s
review this proposal in depth and reach a decision on it before we leave here today,”
Maggie said. “We don’t have the luxury of sitting on our hands.”

She
turned to the manager. “If this will do what you say it will, we need to act on
it now.”

***

The transit meeting finally concluded at seven o’clock.
The department head shook hands unenthusiastically with Maggie and bolted for
the exit before he had to speak to Tonya.

“You
won’t be sorry, Mayor Martin,” the manager who put forth the winning proposal said,
pumping Maggie’s hand. “I’m positive this will work. It’ll be even better than
projected.”

“We
appreciate your speaking up,” Tonya interjected. “I know that wasn’t easy. And
if you get any backlash from your boss, you let me know.”

“He
won’t be any trouble,” she said. “I’ve worked for him for years. He just hates
change. I think he’s scared of his computer. Now that you’ve made the decision,
he’ll let me implement it.”

Tonya
nodded. “We won’t forget whose idea it was.”

“Thank
you,” the woman said happily as she made her way to the door.

“We’re
finally alone,” Tonya said, turning to Maggie. “Let me see that ring you’re
sporting. You practically blinded me during the meeting. I almost pulled my
sunglasses out of my purse.”

Maggie
grinned and held out her hand, waving her ring finger up and down.

“Holy
cow, girlfriend,” Tonya exclaimed. “Is this what I think it is?”

Maggie
nodded.

“When
did this happen? Did he propose properly, down on one knee and everything?”

“He
sure did. It was so romantic. On New Year’s Eve.”

“New
Year’s Eve? That was ages ago. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“We
got so busy with Roman getting lost and the new kittens and everything, it just
didn’t seem like the right time. And John let me pick out my own ring, so we
decided to wait until I had it.”

Tonya
stared at her pointedly. “You certainly picked out a gorgeous ring for
yourself. Forgive me for being nosy, but I’ve got to ask. How big is that
diamond?”

“It’s
four carats.”

Tonya
gasped.

“Can
you believe it? I told him I wanted a stone large enough that I wouldn’t need
my reading glasses to see.”

“Good
move. You certainly won’t need any help to see this.” Tonya hugged her. “I’m so
happy for both of you, Maggie. George will be thrilled to hear this. I can’t
wait to give him the good news. We were heartbroken when the two of you broke
up last year. You belong together.”

“Thanks.
You and George are very special to both John and me.”

“When’s
the big day?”

“We
haven’t gotten that far, yet. We need to coordinate the date with my kids and
my granddaughters’ school holidays. But one thing is certain—the wedding
will be at Rosemont.”

Chapter 36

Loretta knocked on the closed door to Frank Haynes’
office and cringed in anticipation of his response. She knew she was on thin
ice because of her frequent absences to take care of her sick daughter, and she
didn’t want to do anything to further annoy him.

Loretta
poked her head into the office. “Sorry to disturb you. You’ve got a visitor.”

“Delgado?”
Haynes looked up from his computer screen. “I told him not to come here anymore—since
he upsets you so much.”

Loretta
looked sharply at her boss; she didn’t know if he was being sarcastic or if he
was trying to be nice. She’d bet on his being sarcastic. “It’s David Wheeler,
sir.”

“David?”
Haynes rose from his chair and walked swiftly past her to the reception area.

“What
can I do for you?” he asked, motioning the boy to follow him to his office. He
turned to Loretta. “Can you get David something to drink? What do we have?”

“We’ve
got sodas in the refrigerator.” She turned to David and gave him an appraising
glance. She’d never known Frank Haynes to offer anything to anybody when they
visited his office. “Would you like something?”

“A
Coke would be great,” he replied, twisting his cap in his hands.

“Would
you like something, Mr. Haynes?” she asked, and he shook his head.

She
placed the soda can on a coaster in front of David Wheeler and exited the
office, leaving the door open. Loretta was curious about this boy who had
intruded upon Frank Haynes, uninvited, yet received such a warm reception from
him.

“How’s
Dodger? Dr. Allen tells me he’s making a remarkable recovery.”

“He’s
doing great. But Dr. Allen doesn’t think he’ll be able to return to the agility
class anytime soon. Maybe not ever.”

“You
don’t know that for certain. You have to give these things time,” Haynes said.
“Don’t be discouraged.”

“That’s
the thing. I’m not discouraged. Mr. Vaughn suggested that Dodger would make a
good therapy dog. You know—for old people and sick children. We’ve gone
to Fairview Terraces three times, and Dodger is a natural. You should see the
way people react to him.” David leaned forward in his chair and quit fidgeting
with his cap. “It’s incredible. I think Dodger knows what these people need and
that he’s helping them. I’m convinced of it.”

Frank
Haynes smiled. “I’ll bet he does. I’ve never seen a therapy dog in action, but
I’ve heard about them. There’s definitely something to it.”

“We’re
going to get certified to go to the hospital. I’ve read all about it, and I’ve
been working with Dodger. He knows all that stuff anyway. We take the test this
Saturday.”

Frank
Haynes nodded. “That’s terrific, David. Good luck to you both. Thanks for
stopping by to tell me,” he said, starting to rise from his chair.

“That’s
not why I came, Mr. Haynes,” David said.

“Frank,
remember?”

David
dug into his pocket and produced a ten-dollar bill, which he slid across the
desk toward Haynes. “I want to start paying you back for all you’ve done for
Dodger and me. Now that we can’t represent Forever Friends in the agility
trials.”

Frank
Haynes picked up the bill and came around his desk to sit next to David. “I
don’t want any of the money back that I gave you. It was a gift. And instead of
representing Forever Friends at the agility trials, why don’t you represent us
at the hospital and nursing homes? I think that’ll be even better public relations
for us.”

Loretta
restrained herself from falling out of her chair.
Maybe Frank Haynes does
have a decent bone in his body.
But why didn’t he ever show that to her?

***

Glenn Vaughn was pushing back in his recliner on
Saturday afternoon, preparing for a nap in front of the television when Frank
Haynes called again.

“I
wanted to thank you, Glenn. I just had a visit from David. The kid’s spirits
are high as a kite. He couldn’t stop talking about taking Dodger to Fairview
Terraces.”

“You
should have seen them, Frank. Dodger is a terrific dog, friendly and calm.
David’s done a terrific job of training him. But the remarkable transformation
was in David.”

“Really?”

“David
has a warm, charming bedside manner, and it’s genuine. I’m telling you
what—he should pursue a career in medicine. He’d make a great doctor. Or
maybe a vet.”

Frank
Haynes paused and realized he was smiling ear to ear. He sure was proud of that
boy. “Good to hear, Glenn. Thank you for setting this up for him. He told me
all about it. He’s fired up to work with the children.”

“It’s
your interest in this kid that got the ball rolling, Frank. I’m glad you called
me.”

“Thanks,
Glenn. Let’s keep in touch.” Haynes ended the call with the unaccustomed
feeling of being genuinely happy for someone else.