Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 01 - Bogey Nights (27 page)

Chapter
Twenty-nine

C
hris held out his hand and Charlotte took hold of it in both of her teeny tiny hands. Letting go, she reached for me. “So lovely to meet you both. Let’s go out on the patio. It’s too beautiful this afternoon to stay inside.”

I could see where Midge and Pidge had inherited their
small stature. Charlotte was about the size of a miniature toy poodle. Of course, I’m exaggerating, but she was definitely small. Her hair was colored somewhere between light red and strawberry blonde. Not a natural color, but it suited her coloring and her short haircut. Her eyes were sky blue, and bright and alert. If I had to guess, I’d say she was in her mid- to late- eighties. She’d allowed herself to grow old gracefully and naturally, and her wrinkles only added character to her small, oval face.

“You have such a wonderful home,” I said, following behind her.

“Thank you, Pamela. I’m quite proud of it. My husband and I worked hard to achieve what you see. It was a work of love. I’ve always wanted a home to be proud of, and Parker didn’t let me down. He passed on a few years ago, but this house always reminds me of my time with him.”

She showed us out to the patio, which was rather small compared to everything else on the property
. Then I took a closer look. The patio wrapped around the side of the house, so there was probably quite a bit more to see. She had iced tea and cookies waiting for us.

“This is my downfall,” she said as we sat down
. “I’m just nuts for cookies, especially if they have chocolate in them. I made these myself. Chocolate chip cookies are a staple in my home.”

“Ah, a woman after my own heart,” I said
. “No matter what the problem, chocolate can solve it or make it better.”

Charlotte smiled at me
. “I can see we’re going to get along famously, Pamela.”

Turning to Chris, she said, “And I
can see what all the hubbub is about you, Chris. You bear a startling resemblance to Humphrey Bogart.”

“
So I’ve been told. If you don’t mind me asking, why did you want Midge to hire me to find out about your brother?” He looked around the estate. “You could certainly have hired a professional investigator.”

She smiled, one of the prettiest smiles I’d ever seen
, wrinkles or no wrinkles. “Ah, but if I’d hired a professional, I wouldn’t be able to say I’d hired the Bogey Man. Yes, I read about you in the newspapers. I believe you’ll do the job I want done. You’ll try harder
because
you’re not a professional. And I understand that you’re working well with Detective Riley, from the police department.”

My eyebrows shot up in almost perfect unison with Chris’s.

“How do you know about Janet Riley?” I asked.

This time her smile was sly
, but honest. “I have connections. I’m keeping up with everything you do on this case. I like to know where my money is going.”

“But you’re not paying us,” Chris said
. “I told Midge that I couldn’t take payment for what I’m doing.”

Charlotte tipped her head and looked into Chris’s eyes without replying
. I was flummoxed. She knew what we were doing, so had she hired a P.I. to watch
us
? And she talked about her money, but we hadn’t taken any. Could Midge have taken the money for herself and not told her mother? I needed some answers, and I’d find them when the time was right. But now wasn’t the time.

“Not all payments are made with cash,” Charlotte said
. “Eventually you’ll understand what I’m talking about.”

Apparently she didn’t think it was the right time either.

“Now, what would you like to know about my brother and the time of his disappearance?”

“Anything you can tell us will be helpful,” Chris said
. “What was he like, did he ever tell you anything about the boarding house or his landlord, can you recall any stories he might have related to you, anything at all that you can remember?”

“And there’s something I’d like to tell you, too,” I
added. “He never received your last letter to him, nor did his letter to you ever go into the mail. We found them behind a bookcase at the house. When I can, I’ll bring you his last letter. The police are looking at them right now.”

Charlotte was quiet, digesting what I’d told her
. “The letters had fallen behind a bookcase?”

“We believe they were hidden there
. Someone, for some reason, was trying to stop communications between three of the boarders and their friends and family. When we know who and why, we may have all the answers.”

“
Then I’ll return to your husband’s questions and we’ll keep this investigation moving along. My brother was the salt of the earth. He was a man among men. Oh, I know I’m speaking in clichés, but Charles really was one of those rare, wonderful men that come along once in a lifetime. My mother and I had such high hopes for him. I know he would have done something exceptional with his life.

“He aspired to be a pediatrician
. He was very good with children. Things were different during the war years though, and he’d made a few blunders along the way, but he was pulling his life back together when we lost touch with him. It’s so sad that he never got to live up to his potential.”

Charlotte sat quietly for a moment, looking out over the grounds of her home
. She took a deep breath before continuing.

“He ha
d mentioned, casually, that he had some problems at the boarding house he was living in. We’d spoken on the telephone, although a long-distance call was something neither of us could easily afford at the time.”

“Did he say what kind of problems?” Chris asked.

“No, just that it wasn’t anything to worry about. He could take care of it himself. Well, he did mention three men and two women living at the house, so I assumed it had to do with petty jealousies. I didn’t push him about it because he didn’t seem to want to go into detail. Instead he spoke about obtaining a job and starting college. He couldn’t serve during the war because of a health problem, although now, with modern medicine, he could have overcome his issues.”

“Chance Murphy, his landlord, mentioned that he had a couple of friends who used to visit him at the boarding house
,” Chris said. “Would you have any idea who they might be?” Chris was on a roll. I’d already forgotten about the friends Chance had mentioned.

“No, I’m afraid he never mentioned his friends
. My husband and I moved to New York for a few years, but when Charles disappeared, we returned to California.” She put out her arms, hands up, indicating her home and the grounds. “That’s when all of this happened. Oh, not right away, but we did make some sound decisions in our lives, and my husband was quite creative.”

“It would appear so,” I said
. I didn’t ask what her husband did for a living. I figured if she wanted to talk about it, she’d bring it up.

“Charles was a quiet man, but he made friends easily
. He had friends all through school, but he drifted away and went out on his own when most of his friends enlisted in the various services. I always believed he was embarrassed because he couldn’t join up with them. It wasn’t his fault. He’d had a mild case of polio and it had left him with some problems. He had a decided limp.”

“Would you happen to know someone named Sarah Smith?” I asked
. “We found a letter she’d written to Charles that he never received. In it, she made a comment about someone sending him threatening notes and going through his things. I’d really like to find her, if I can.”

“That name does sound familiar
. Let me go fill the plate up with more cookies and I’ll think about it while I’m gone.”

I hadn’t noticed that Charlotte and I had finished the cookies.

“Is that something women do?” Chris asked after Charlotte left the table. “Eat when they talk about things that upset them?”

I laughed
. “I can’t speak for anyone else, but it works for me, and apparently it works for Charlotte, too. I’m surprised she doesn’t have a housekeeper or a maid to serve us.”

She
was gone for several minutes, leaving me to wonder just how far the kitchen was from the patio. She finally returned with a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies.

“I’m sorry I kept you waiting
. I happened to think of someone who might know who Sarah Smith is, so I called her. She’s a cousin of mine. She said she not only remembered Sarah, but she went to her wedding all those years ago. She married a banker by the name of Ozzie Pensella, and they’ve retired to Arizona. She and Sarah are still in touch, infrequently, and she gave me her telephone number.” Charlotte set a piece of paper in front of Chris. “You might try giving her a call. My cousin said when Sarah moved to Colorado with her parents back in the forties, she and Charles started writing to each other. They were quite close when we were children, although Sarah was quite a bit younger than Charles.”

Chris rolled his upper lip under before smiling his best Bogey smile at Charlotte
. “Who knows? You might have just given me what I need to crack this case wide open, shweetheart. At least, I hope so.”

Charlotte placed her hands together as though in prayer and placed them under her nose, against her mouth, and her eyes lit up
. I could see the edges of a smile beside her hands. She dropped her hands to her lap.

“I can see why you create such a stir, Mr
. Cross, and I can most decidedly understand why you’re referred to as the Bogey Man.”

I couldn’t help but smile myself
. Chris always seemed to bring a specialness into people’s lives.

“I like you two,” Charlotte said
. “Pamela, have another cookie.” She pushed the plate in my direction. “And, Chris, do that lip thing for me again.”

***

By the time we picked Mikey up at Constance’s house, she’d already fed him dinner. I’d called her because it was getting late, and since he’d already eaten, we picked up In-N-Out hamburgers to take home with us.

On the drive home, Mikey was all abuzz because of an arts and crafts show that was coming up at school
. He wanted to know if Chris and I could work one of the booths. Of course, we said we would.

“Who’s going to make all of the arts and crafts?” Chris asked.

“Us kids,” Mike replied. “We’re going to work on things every Monday and Friday for the next two months, so you’d better bring your wallets with you when we do this. There’s gonna be lots of good stuff. Even the teachers are going to bring some things.”

“I’ll bring trucks of bucks with me,” Chris said.

“You’re a poet and don’t know it,” Mikey responded. “And your feet are Longfellows.”

“Wow
. I haven’t heard that one since I was
your
age, Ace,” Chris said.

“Were you ever his age?” I asked.

“Funny lady.” Chris poked me in the ribs.

Mikey laughed, looking very happy
. We’d spent the first few years of his life with just the two of us, and I felt that adding a father to the equation had probably been the best thing for both of us.

My son had done his homework while he was at Constance’s house, so I sent him upstairs to take a shower and get ready for bed.

Chris and I ate our burgers before relaxing on the couch in the living room.

“Talk about two different women,” I said
. “Chance and Charlotte both have money. One lives like a pauper, and one lives the good life.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call Chance’s lifestyle that of a pauper,” Chris said.

“I know, but it seemed like the easiest way to compare them. And Chance isn’t very likeable, while Charlotte made me feel right at home. In fact, Charlotte seems a lot nicer than her daughter and granddaughter, too. Interesting what money can do to people. Chance is afraid people will hit her up for handouts. I get the feeling that Charlotte would be there with cash in hand before anyone asked her.”

“Yeah, on the one hand we’ve got the Duchess, who’s nuts about herself
and thinks everybody is after her lettuce. On the other hand we have the classiest dish in town, with the obvious exception of you, who seems like she’s about as jake as any woman could be.”

“You’re right, she’s a bit of okay, and she definitely has class.”

Chris sighed and leaned back, closing his eyes.

“Chris
– ”

“I’m just resting my eyes.”

“Uh huh. Well, go rest them in bed. Tomorrow’s another day, and it’s sure to be filled with more fun and adventures.”

Chris rolled his upper lip under before pulling himself up and off the couch
. “Tomorrow we’re gonna make hay while the sun shines, doll. Hey, tomorrow let’s go visit that gin mill,
Daniel’s
. Maybe we can find out if any of the old-timers still hang out there.”