Drawing Close: The Fourth Novel in the Rosemont Series (6 page)

Chapter 11

Tonya Holmes picked up the
complimentary toothbrush and sample of floss that her dental hygienist supplied
after every cleaning. She pulled her phone out of her purse as she walked the
short distance to her car. There were three missed calls from Maggie.

Tonya opened her car door, slung her purse onto
the passenger seat, and tapped the Call Back button.

“Thank goodness!” Maggie said, answering on the
first ring.

“I was at the dentist. What’s so urgent?” She
reached for the ignition, then stopped. Something told her to give this call
her full attention.

“Delgado’s been arrested.”

“What?” Tonya gasped. “When?”

“This morning. About five minutes before my first
call to you. I wanted you to know before you got here. Town Hall is crawling
with reporters.”

“I’ll bet it is.” Tonya leaned back against the
headrest. “About time we put that creep behind bars. When will you talk to the
press?”

“We’ve scheduled a news conference today at three
in the lobby here at Town Hall. I’d like you to be there, and I need to fill
you in.”

“On my way. Have you thought about who you’ll
appoint to fill Delgado’s seat while he’s awaiting trial?”

“Haven’t gotten that far yet. We’ll need someone
that everyone in town knows and respects. They’ll have to be squeaky clean.”

“Are you open for a suggestion?”

“I’d be grateful. Who do you have in mind?”

“The perfect candidate. And if you ask him, I’ll
bet he’ll say yes.”

“I’m all ears.”

“Tim Knudsen. Voted most respected Realtor in the
state the last six years.”

***

Tim Knudsen pulled into the lot at
Town Hall shortly before noon. Maggie’s cryptic call an hour earlier intrigued
him. What urgent assistance did the Town of Westbury need from one of its
busiest Realtors?

Maggie’s assistant rose from her desk as soon as
he entered the anteroom to the mayor’s office. “Mayor Martin and Council Member
Holmes have been waiting for you. I’ll take you right in,” she said as she
knocked lightly, then opened the door.

“Ma’am, Mr. Knudsen is here to see you.”

Maggie came around the side of her desk and
extended her hand. “Thanks for coming on such short notice. I know you had to juggle
your schedule.”

“Good to see you, Tim,” Tonya said, offering the seat
next to her.

“Happy to do anything to help, Maggie. You two know
that,” he said, taking a seat. “I’m beyond curious. What does the town need
from me? Are you planning to sell some of its property?”

Maggie shook her head. “It’s much bigger than
that.” She took a deep breath and launched into her story.

“So, you see, Chuck Delgado’s seat on the town
council is now vacant, and I’d like you to fill it. The mayor has the authority
to appoint a replacement, and I need someone on the council that is experienced,
well-respected in the community, and—most importantly—someone I can
trust.” She looked pointedly at him.

“We think you’d make a strong addition to the
council,” Tonya added.

“I don’t know. I’ve never aspired to political
office. I don’t know the first thing about it. You can do a lot better than
me.”

“I disagree,” Maggie replied. “Your business
acumen and knowledge of the local real estate market will be invaluable as we
dig ourselves out of our current financial mess. And after the arrests of both
William Wheeler last year and now Council Member Delgado, the public perception
of local government is significantly tarnished. Your presence on the council
will restore credibility.”

Tim dropped his gaze to his hands.

Maggie scooted to the edge of her chair and leaned
toward him. “I know this is sudden. You should be afforded the time to think
this through. Being on the town council right now will eat up a lot of your
time. The pay is inadequate. But I know you love this town with every fiber of
your being. And I am absolutely certain that you are the best person for the
job. I can’t afford to appoint someone who isn’t qualified. The town needs
you.” Tim raised his eyes to meet hers. “If you need time to think about it,
I’m willing to give it to you. But if you know—in your heart—that
you’d like to do this, I encourage you to commit right now. If I can announce
your appointment at the news conference today at three, it will send a positive
message to our constituents.”

Maggie leaned back in her chair and regarded him
thoughtfully. “We’re going to get coffee and leave you alone to think about
this.” She motioned for Tonya to join her. “Want a cup?”

Tim turned to face them and a smile crept across
his face. “Does the mayor serve coffee to the council members in this town? Is
that one of your official duties?”

Maggie stopped short, searching his face to make
sure she correctly understood the implication of his words. Tim nodded as he
stood up. Maggie closed the gap between them and swept him into a quick hug.
“This is a very courageous thing you’re doing. There may be times when you’ll
want to strangle me for this, but I know you’ll be proud of yourself in the
long run.”

“Thank you, Tim,” Tonya said. “I’ll show you the
ropes and help you any way I can.”

Tim checked his watch. “I’m assuming you’re
staying put until the news conference?”

Maggie nodded. “And I’d like you there with us
when I announce that you’ll fill Delgado’s seat. Would you like to say a few
words?”

Tim rolled his eyes. “Not really, but I think I
should. I’ll come up with something between now and then. In the meantime,” he
said, heading to the door, “why don’t I go over to Pete’s and bring us back
some sandwiches? I don’t imagine we’ll get out of here on time for dinner,
either.”

“Great idea and much appreciated. Will you get
something for Alex as well? He’ll be here for the news conference, and I’m sure
he won’t have eaten lunch.”

***

Alex hurried up the back stairs at
Town Hall and into the mayor’s office at three fifteen. He didn’t try to
approach the elevators. The lobby was packed with reporters and curious members
of the public as news of Delgado’s arrest spread like wildfire through the
small town. They were all on hand for the news conference that was now running
late. He burst into Maggie’s office with an apology on his lips.

Maggie held up her hand to silence him. “Don’t
worry about it because nobody’s going anywhere. Believe me—they’ll wait.
A few more minutes won’t hurt them. Sit down and relax for a minute.” She
reached into the small refrigerator behind her desk and withdrew a sandwich
wrapped in paper. “Here,” she said, thrusting it at him. “Eat this. You don’t
know when you’ll get another chance today.” She nodded to the far corner of the
room. “Council Member Knudsen got it for you.”

Alex’s head snapped up from his unwrapped sandwich.
“I didn’t see you there,” he said. “Maggie told me she was going to approach
you. You’re the ideal person to succeed Delgado. Thank you for agreeing to step
into this quagmire with us.”

“Is that what I’m doing?” Tim joked. “Maggie
didn’t put it quite that way.”

“Now, gentlemen …” Maggie began.

Tim waved her off. “No worries, Maggie. I know
what I’m getting into.”

Alex turned to Maggie. “Why don’t you run through
your presentation for me while I finish this?”

***

Police Chief Andy Thomas met Mayor
Margaret Martin and Special Counsel Alex Scanlon by the rear stairwell on the
first floor of Town Hall. Council Members Tim Knudsen and Tonya Holmes brought
up the rear.

“Good work, Chief,” Maggie said, extending her
hand. “Now—let’s get this news conference over with. It’s quarter to
four. The building closes at five. I’ll use that as an excuse to end the
conference if I have to.”

“I think you’ll have to, ma’am,” Chief Thomas
said. “The natives are restless.”

“We’d better get started. Follow me.” Maggie
turned sharply on her heel and made her way through the crowded lobby to the
podium. “Members of the press and citizens of Westbury,” she began, “as you may
have heard, council member and local businessman Charles Delgado was arrested
this morning on eighteen counts of fraud, embezzlement, perjury, and conspiracy
related to the recent theft of funds from the town’s general fund and the town
workers’ pension fund. Special Counsel Scanlon is with me today, and I’ll turn
the microphone over to him to give you a detailed recap of the charges.”

Hands flew up across the room. “We’ll be taking
questions after Special Counsel Scanlon concludes his remarks. First, I want to
publicly thank Chief Thomas, the Westbury Police Force, Special Counsel
Scanlon, and his staff for their hard work and dedication in uncovering the
evidence to support this arrest. This case has been extremely complex and
everyone involved has worked tirelessly to get to this point. Without—”
Maggie was interrupted by a reporter from the crowd.

“Mayor Martin, can you explain to us why it took
so long?”

“As I said, we’ll be taking your questions after
Special Counsel Scanlon’s address.” Maggie motioned for the smattering of
raised hands in the crowd to be lowered. “By operation of state law, Council Member
Delgado’s arrest suspends his position on the council until he is cleared of
all charges. As your mayor, I’m empowered to appoint his replacement. I’m
pleased to announce that prominent local Realtor and lifelong Westbury resident
Tim Knudsen has graciously agreed to serve out the remainder of Mr. Delgado’s
term.”

A smattering of applause spread through the crowd.
“I’ll bet every one of you out there knows Tim and shares my belief that he’s
exactly who we need on the council right now. Born and raised in Westbury,
there’s not a square inch of this town that he’s not familiar with or a person
or business that he doesn’t know. We’re very fortunate that he’s willing to
take time away from his thriving real estate business to help us restore
prosperity to the town and integrity to Town Hall.”

The sea of heads in front of her nodded in
agreement. “Without further ado, let me present to you Council Member Tim
Knudsen. Tim—why don’t you say a few words before I turn the podium over
to Special Counsel Scanlon and Chief Thomas.”

Tim Knudsen approached the microphone. “I’m as
surprised to find myself up here as all of you must be. Mayor Martin is
right—I’m a born and bred local boy. I know many of you whose futures are
now uncertain because your retirement funds have been snatched away from you,
through no fault of your own. I’ll work tirelessly with the mayor and the other
council members to right this wrong. Looking around the room, I see people I
went to school with and members of my Kiwanis club, couples I’ve helped
purchase their first home and people I regularly pass on the street. You know
where to find me, and my door will always be open to you. I’m honored to be
selected to fill this position, and I thank the mayor and all of you.” He
stepped away to an enthusiastic round of applause.

Maggie nodded to Alex and he came forward,
motioning for Chief Thomas to join him. “As Mayor Martin just said, Charles
Delgado was arrested at his place of business this morning and taken into
custody without incident. This arrest is the culmination of months of detailed
police work and Chief Thomas and the Westbury Police Force are to be
congratulated for their efforts. I’ll now ask Chief Thomas to read the formal
charges against Mr. Delgado.”

When Chief Thomas finished, Maggie returned to the
podium. “We’ll take as many of your questions as we can before the building
closes in twenty minutes.” She pointed to a reporter she recognized from the
Westbury
Gazette
.

“Where is Delgado being held?

Maggie deferred the question to Alex, who joined
her at the microphone. “He’s incarcerated at the town jail.”

Maggie pointed to another reporter.

“How strong is the state’s case? Why did it take
so long to arrest him?”

“The state’s case is substantial; our evidence is
compelling,” Alex answered and launched into a detailed account of the
difficulties of subpoenaing documents from the offshore banks.

“Do you expect Delgado to get out on bail?”

“We really couldn’t say if Mr. Delgado will post
bail or not,” Alex replied.

“I can answer that for you,” came a booming voice
from the back of the room. A tall, stocky man with an expensive suit and a
confident swagger addressed the crowd in a voice that needed no amplification.
“Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce myself. You’re going to be seeing a lot
of me. I’m Phillip Hastings, and I’m Mr. Delgado’s attorney. I’m not from these
parts. I’m from Chicago. I look forward to getting to know all of you and your
lovely town. A town that Mr. Delgado, much like Mr. Knudsen,” Hastings turned
to glare at the newly appointed council member, “has spent his life working to
make a better place. I’ve reviewed these charges,” he continued, flicking a
piece of paper he raised over his head, “and can assure you that none of these
will hold water. Mr. Delgado will post bail later today and get a good night’s
sleep in his own bed tonight. And he’ll be found not guilty of every single
charge on this sheet. I promise you that,” he concluded.

“We’ll leave this debate for the courtroom,”
Maggie replied. “It’s after five and Town Hall is now closed. Thank you all for
coming.” Maggie turned and, flanked by the others, pushed her way to the
elevators.

Chapter 12

David Wheeler sat in the waiting
room of Westbury Animal Hospital with Dodger sitting like a perfect gentleman
at his side. The dog was due for his annual checkup. Dodger had been working as
a therapy dog at Mercy Hospital and needed to be up to date on all of his
shots. Juan, the senior veterinary technician, knelt to scratch Dodger behind
the ears.

“I hear you’ve been taking the hospital by storm,”
Juan said, looking up at David.

David shrugged. “Dodger’s a natural. Everybody likes
him—young and old. He loves visiting people in the hospital and nursing
homes.”

Juan nodded. “And I hear you’re an excellent
handler. Weren’t the two of you doing agility before he got hurt?”

“We’d just started.”

“Have you ever thought about being a vet or a vet
tech, like me? I love my job, and you’d be good at it.”

“I’ve thought about it,” David said. “I’m not sure
I’ll have the money to go to college.”

“You could get loans. I did. When do you
graduate?’

“I’ll be a junior this fall.”

“You’ve got plenty of time to figure things out.
Think about it. And if you want to spend a day or two here shadowing me to see
what I do, I’ll ask Dr. Allen about it. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

David nodded. “That’d be cool.”

“Let me see if they’re ready for you.”

***

“Hello, David,” John said,
extending his hand. “How’s the talk of the town?” he said, bending to stroke
Dodger.

“He’s good. We’re here to get his shots so we can
keep going to the hospital.”

“Excellent. Let me have a look at him.” John ran
practiced hands over the compliant animal. “What are you doing this summer?”

“Dodger and I spend a day a week at the hospital
and at Fairview Terraces, and I’m working at Forever Friends.”

John nodded. “The folks at the shelter speak very
highly of you. You’re a natural with animals.” He paused and looked at David.
“Juan tells me you might be considering studying veterinary medicine and that
you’d like to spend time with us to see what we do. We’d be delighted to have
you anytime you can make it. Just coordinate with Juan.”

David smiled fleetingly. “Thank you. That would be
great. But right now I need to get another job.”

John turned his attention back to Dodger. “I see.
I thought you were full time at Forever Friends.”

“I am, but my mom’s hours got cut back, and she
says we’re going to lose the house,” he blurted. “I work at the shelter during
the day, but I need something on the weekends.” David fixed his gaze on his
shoes.

John glanced at the boy. “I’m very sorry to hear
that, David. The two of you have been through enough.” He paused, thinking.
“You know, now that Maggie and I are married and I’ve moved into Rosemont,
she’s got a honey-do list for me that’s a mile long. Can you lend us a hand,
like you did last year with the attic?”

“Sure,” David replied quickly.

“Sam Torres is installing a safe and building us
cabinets for all of that silver. I know he could use some help. Why don’t you
come by this Saturday about eight? Is that too early for you?”

“Not a bit. I’ll be there, for sure.” This time,
the smile remained on David’s lips.

***

Sam Torres was carefully unloading
lumber from the back of his pickup truck, parked along the side of Rosemont.
Once he got it loaded onto his cart, he’d be fine, but transferring it to the
cart was tricky business. As Joan liked to remind him, he wasn’t a kid anymore.
He’d hoped to enlist John’s help, but John had been called to the animal
hospital on an emergency earlier that morning.

Sam paused and leaned against the side of his
truck, catching his breath. He almost missed the solitary figure walking
purposefully up Rosemont’s long, winding driveway. He waved when he recognized
David Wheeler.

“What brings you out here so early on a Saturday
morning? It’s not even eight o’clock. I thought all kids your age were asleep
at this hour,” Sam called.

David grinned. “Maybe so, Mr. Torres, but not me.
Dr. Allen said I should come by. I’m here to help with his ‘honey-do list,’
whatever that is.”

“That Dr. Allen is a smart man, David. He’s been
called out on an emergency, but Maggie’s inside. You can go around to the
kitchen door and knock. She was in there a minute ago.”

“I’m also meant to work with you, Mr. Torres. Can
I help you unload your truck? This wood looks heavy.”

“I’d be grateful, David.”

The pair set to work. “Balance the load evenly on
the cart, and we’ll have an easier time pushing it,” Sam said.

“What are you working on?” David asked.

“Shelves for all of that silver you found in the
attic.” He winked at the boy. “See what a lot of work you’ve created? You’ll
probably have to haul it all downstairs for her to put away, too.”

“I hope so. We could use the extra money.”

“What do you mean? You’re still at Forever
Friends, aren’t you? Frank Haynes didn’t lay you off, did he?’

“No—nothing like that. I’ve still got my job,
and he even gave me a raise. Mr. Haynes has been great to me.” The two muscled
the cart around the side of the house and stopped by the French doors to the
conservatory. “My mom’s hours got cut, and she’s afraid she’ll get laid off and
then we’ll lose our house. So I’m trying to make extra money this summer. Just
in case.”

Sam searched the boy’s face. “You’re being very
mature and responsible about the whole thing. I’ll bet your mom is very proud
of you and your dad would be, too,” he said quietly.

David turned aside.

“You know,” Sam continued, “I’ve got more work
this summer than I can handle. Joan’s been after me to hire someone to help,
but I’ve been resisting the idea. I need someone that I can trust to do a good
job and to be on time. I think you’d fit the bill nicely.”

David’s head snapped up.

“I put in a twelve-hour day most Saturdays, but I
never work on Sunday. I’d pay you fifteen dollars an hour. It’s hard work and
I’m a tough taskmaster. What do you say?”

David pumped the older man’s hand. “You’ve got a deal,
sir! That’s way more than I make at the shelter. You won’t be disappointed.
I’ll do a good job for you. You can count on me.” He took a breath. “My mom’s
going to be so excited. That’s enough for a week’s worth of groceries, all in
one day.”

“Then you’re hired, starting now. Let’s get this
lumber unloaded, and I’ll show you how to use a table saw.” David turned and
began stacking the lumber along the side of the house. Sam shook his head. A
sixteen-year-old shouldn’t be worrying about grocery money.