“I couldn’t say,” Hawkins responded.
“You don’t know or you don’t want to talk about it?”
“You cannot attain a position of power and wealth without some people being envious of your accomplishments. That said, I am not aware of the Boyds having any enemies who would inflict injury on them or their offspring.”
Ray held Hawkins in his gaze. “If the man knows something, he clearly isn’t going to share it,” he thought.
Ray walked beyond the window to a wall covered with photos. There appeared to be several such areas spaced on the perimeter of the room. Small spotlights in the ceiling illuminated a collection of moments from Dorothy Boyd’s past. There were shots of her as a young girl, many posed with a collection of wirehaired terriers, the poses and backgrounds suggesting that they were taken at dog shows. There were also shots of her as a young woman playing polo and standing next to ribbon-bedecked horses. And then were photos of her standing with members of a college rifle team, carrying a rifle across her back as she skied, and firing at a target on a snow-covered range. And finally, there was a collection of photos from various marathons showing Dorothy crossing the finish line. “It looks like Mrs. Boyd is quite the athlete,” Ray observed, allowing his gaze to come back to the biathlon photos.
“She is the consummate athlete,” Hawkins said. “She participated in the winter Olympics after college.”
“Does she still shoot?” Ray asked.
“Not that I know of, not since I’ve been with them.”
“And how long has that been, Mr. Hawkins?”
“It will be one year in January.”
“And would you explain to me again what your role is?”
“I’m Mr. Boyd’s personal lawyer and his administrative assistant. Because of the nature of his business, I provide guidance on possible legal or taxation problems. I also serve as a gateway to my law firm when Boyd needs expert consultation in specialized areas.”
“Like what?”
“Since Magnus Conservus has clients worldwide, they need to be sensitive to the laws of the countries in which they operate.”
“Does sensitive mean obeying the law of those countries?”
“Not always. At times when civil authority has broken down, Magnus has to take extraordinary measures to protect its clients and their property. But given the chaos of these situations, there are seldom any legal problems.”
“And what’s your training, Mr. Hawkins?”
“I was an undergraduate at the University of Virginia and have a law degree from American University. Both my parents are lawyers.”
“Do they practice law?”
“After a fashion; they both work for the same Washington think tank.”
Before Ray could ask a follow-up question, Sue returned with the twins, Dorothy, and Marie. After kneeling and greeting the girls again, Ray stood, reaching out to Sue for a steadying hand, his recently wounded leg still not at full strength or flexibility.
He called Sue’s attention to the wall of photos, “Mrs. Boyd was once an Olympian.”
Dorothy joined them looking at the black-and-white pictures.
“Not an Olympian, they weren’t ready for women yet, but I did show up for the trials. And I almost made the team competing against men. That was so long ago,” she said wistfully. “I wish I were still in that shape. Age…”
Before anyone could comment, the girls were dragging their grandmother out of the room. Ray and Sue followed, Hawkins at their heels. Farewells were said and Hawkins walked Ray and Sue to the door.
After they were back in the Jeep rolling on the ribbon of carefully cleared blacktop, Sue said, “So mother was on a college rifle team and showed up for the Olympic trails in biathlon. She must have been a very plucky young woman. Perfect training for someone intending to do a winter hit.”
“I was watching her closely as we were standing there. She didn’t show the slightest hint of concern in our knowing that. And why would she want to shoot her own daughter?” questioned Ray.
“Families and madness,” rattled Sue flippantly.
“You’re stealing my lines again.”
“Tell me about Hawkins; he’s sort of cute.”
“I was having a flashback,” said Ray.
“Flashback to what?” asked Sue.
“Those days when I was in the hospital on heavy drugs and everything was surreal,” said Ray.
“Why am I’m not following your conversation?”
“My talk with Hawkins was that strange. I felt like I was part of a vintage James Bond film. It’s like Lynne’s father runs Spectre, only he’s given it the pompous name of Magnus Conservus.”
Before they reached the gate, Ray had given Sue a brief summary of his conversation with Harry Hawkins, including the Maine lobster roots of Magnus Conservus and Hawkins’s comment about Boyd being patient and not bringing in his own experts to solve this crime. After they turned on the highway she asked, “Does Hawkins think their people can take over the investigation?”
“Hawkins knows better; he’s a lawyer. He was just blowing smoke. That said, a lot of these companies are cowboy operations. In parts of the world where civil authority is lacking, they’re often left to their own devices.”
A long silence followed. Finally Sue asked, “Are you just irritated, or is something else going on?”
“I was thinking about medieval Europe, where the rich and powerful surrounded themselves with their private armies.”
“Well I hate to pull you away from your musings, but we need to talk about our interview with Biff Guerski. We’re running late for it.”
“So I would like to know more about Magnus Conservus and whether their personnel have the necessary licenses and permits to operate in Michigan. This will be a challenge because it’s a privately held corporation.”
“Biff Guerski,” Sue repeated.
“I’m also curious about the target distances in the biathlon.”
“You think that her mother…?”
“No, not impossible, but no.”
“I’ll start on this as soon as we’ve interviewed Guerski,” Sue responded.
“Thank you for coming in,” said Ray as they were settling on opposite sides of the conference table, Sue between them at the head of the table.
“My pleasure, Sheriff, my pleasure. I’m happy to help law enforcement get to the bottom of this awful crime. You can’t believe the effect it’s had on both me and the entire News Six family. We are just devastated by what happened to poor Lynne.”
“Do you know anyone who might have wanted to harm Lynne Boyd?”
“I wish I could help you, but I don’t have a clue.” “Did she say anything to you recently that suggested that she thought she was in any danger?”
“Nothing, Sheriff, nothing at all.”
“So tell me, Mr. Guerski, how long have you known Lynne Boyd?” Ray shot in his question as Guerski paused for a breath. “From the first day she came to the station, what’s it been, five years, maybe a little more.”
“And how well do you know her?” Ray asked.
Guerski seemed to consider the question. “What do you mean, Sheriff, how well?”
“Are you just professional colleagues, do you just see her at the office? Perhaps your families get together, maybe the two of you have lunch occasionally.”
“I’d say these days we’re mostly work friends,” Guerski answered.
“So there was a time your friendship was different?”
“Yes, especially in the beginning. She had a lot of trouble that first year.”
“You’re referring to her ex-boyfriend?”
“Yeah. I’m a pretty big guy, and at times I escorted her places and went out of my way to look after her. It was sort of a big brother, little sister kind of relationship. But after that all came to a head, and she got married, I really didn’t see much of her anymore.”
“Have you been seeing her recently?”
“At work,” Guerski responded, perspiration forming on his florid countenance.
“And outside of work?”
“Never.”
“And you’re sure of that?”
“Of course I’m sure of that,” Guerski answered, his geniality being replaced by an undertone of hostility.
“You travel around the region quite extensively, don’t you Mr. Guerski?”
“I do, Sheriff, I do. I try to keep close to the high school sports, especially football and basketball.”
“So occasionally you do stories from some smaller high schools in places like Harbor Springs, or perhaps Gaylord, or Petoskey.”
“Yeah, I know them all,” responded Guerski, warming to the topic. “High school sports is really important to our viewers. We need to be showing their kids on TV, and they need to see us walking the sidelines with a cameraman.”
“Been in Grayling lately?”
“Not this season. But someone from our sports team was there for at least one home game. And that’s what we try to do. Make sure we’re in almost every small town in the region once during football and basketball seasons.”
“You ever get to Grayling?”
“Drive through occasionally when I’m heading for the U.P.”
“You’re probably wondering why I keep asking about Grayling?” said Ray.
Guerski didn’t respond.
“We’ve heard you’ve been spending Wednesday afternoons there. We did some checking, and you have been renting the same room in the same motel for several months. It’s a room in the back of the building, the kind that would allow one to come and go fairly discreetly.”
Guerski remained silent.
“The owner can identify you, but says she never saw who you were meeting. I was wondering who that might have been.”
“Sheriff, what I was doing might not have been right, but I wasn’t breaking any laws.” Guerski said after a long pause. “Oh, I think I get it. Bet some little birdie flew in and told you I was having an affair with Lynne.”
Ray and Sue remained silent.
“It’s not what you think, Sheriff.”
“What should I think, Mr. Guerski?”
“Well, it’s like this. My wife found a credit card bill. She confronted me. I told her I was involved with Lynne.”
“And?” prodded Sue.
“I just told her that.”
“It’s not true?” Sue continued.
“Not the Lynne part.”
“Why did you tell her that?”
“It was an easy way out.”
“Out of what?” asked Sue.
“Well it’s hard to explain,” said Guerski.
“Try us.”
“The wife and I, we haven’t had much of a marriage for years. I’ve just been hanging in there. The kids, you know. I’ve just been waiting until they’re off to college. And all these years I’ve been faithful. But recently, well, I got involved with one of Rachael’s friends. I mean Rachael’s best friend. When she confronted me, I just couldn’t tell her. It’s bad enough that I was unfaithful, but to have to tell her she had been betrayed by her best friend. Well I just couldn’t do that. I told her it was Lynne. I mean that’s the first person who came to my mind.”
“And you will give us the name of the other woman so we can verify your story.”
“Do I have to?”
“Yes,” Ray responded; his eyes fixed on Guerski.
Guerski settled back in his chair and exhaled loudly. “Sure,” he said, in a tone of resignation. “I’ll give you her name. You won’t tell my wife?”
“You get to figure that one out,” said Ray. “We just want to make sure you are in no way connected with this crime.”
“I’m not, Sheriff, absolutely not.”
“Sorry to disturb you,” she said.
“I don’t know what happened,” he said in an embarrassed voice.
“Ray, you’re exhausted. You’re still in recovery mode, and you’ve been pushing yourself nonstop. I think I should drive you home; you’ve put in a full day already.”
“You know I wouldn’t normally ask you to do this, but would you get me a mug of coffee?”
“You need rest, not more coffee.”
“Please,” implored Ray.
“Martian,” said Sue as she headed down the hall. In a few minutes she returned with a mug of coffee and set it on Ray’s desk. “Careful. It’s from a fresh pot, and it’s very hot.”
She settled in a chair across from him and opened a manila folder, “I’ve got some information on private military companies that I think you will find interesting.”
“What?” askedRay, after carefully taking a sip of the steaming brew.
“You asked me to do some research. Magnus Conservus. I googled them. Couldn’t find a website for Magnus Conservus, but I did find them on several sites that listed private military forces, security forces, or armies. Let me read their description from one of the sites:
Magnus Conservus provides security services to corporations, governments, NGOs, and private individuals. MC employs a team of highly-trained professionals to meet every contingency including: security/military, medical, logistical, and communications. Security personnel are recruited from the elite military forces worldwide.
“I should add, Ray, that this description is fairly typical of all the companies listed on the website. I was just astounded. I knew that there are soldiers of fortune working in far off places, and our government has hired some of these companies in recent years, but I had no idea it was this extensive or this organized.”
“Did they mention bringing in fresh Maine lobsters for beach parties?” Ray asked sarcastically.
“No. That’s probably not part of the business plan anymore,” said Sue.