The Price of Candy (12 page)

“Ruth, you need to change things. Shake
things up. Start with things you can change easily. Throw away that
stupid ashtray from Branson. It triggers bad memories. Go to the
dog pound and save some little dog’s life. I’m sorry, I should shut
up.”

“You know, I do have a wish. I’d like to have
lunch out with someone. Someone smart. I’d like to have someone
clever across from me at the table. We’re trading amusing comments
back and forth.”

“You don’t mean a man?”

“God no. Some nice woman. We’d definitely be
talking. We’re talking about how we’ll spend our time. Because
we’re carefree, you see. Our time isn’t already set out for us. And
she’d be looking at me, you know. Looking at me because she’s
interested in me and what I have to say. I’m holding a teacup, not
a mug, and my little finger is sticking straight out.”

“That would be very nice for anyone.”

“She wouldn’t be mean and nobody would be
yelling. Oh, well...do you want some tea? Did I already ask you
that? I have teacups somewhere. They might be cracked but I got
them. You can stick your little finger out.”

Ruth now seemed to be trembling slightly
again. She crossed her arms and hugged her shoulders as though
cold. Her knees were pressed together. As though talking about
change had threatened her. She moved her eyes slowly around the
room as though it was unfamiliar, then back at Sandy. “You ever
worry about that wolf scratching at your door?”

“That wolf scratching at my door?” Sandy
stared at the woman for a half minute and then moved over and sat
beside her on the couch. She resisted the urge to reach over and
touch her. “Yes, Ruth, I often worry about that goddamn wolf
scratching at my door.”

They sat together in silence.

And then. “You know I can't let you leave.”
Ruth now stared strangely at her.

Sandy’s jaw tightened. What did that mean?
She felt a hot rush on her face. She slowly got up from the couch
and started walking toward the front door. Ruth jumped up and got
to the door ahead of her. She stood there blocking Sandy.

“You're not going to leave.”

Sandy tried to appear calm. “Nice meeting
you, Ruth. Must be on my way now.” She tried to step around, but
the woman again moved close in front of her.

“You're not quite as innocent and harmless as
you pretend to be, are you Sandy? You’ve got a good act. Excellent
performance. Cute little trick with that blank check too. Hadn’t
seen that one before.”

Sandy’s phone rang. She answered quickly. She
knew that whoever it was would be able to hear her scream if that’s
what it came down to. She recognized Kevin’s voice. She said
hurriedly, "Yes, I'm at Ruth Towalski's house. West on Indian Road.
Almost to 95." She lowered the phone and challenged the woman with
an intense stare.

Ruth stepped back.

Sandy smiled. “My boss. It's so annoying. The
first thing he always wants to know is my exact location. Okay,
we're done here. Nice chatting with you.”

“Please don’t leave.”

Sandy stepped around her and continued out
the door. The woman made no move to stop her. Sandy walked to her
car while listening to Kevin’s excited voice, “I spent the day
following Abby around South Florida. Can’t wait to tell you where
she went. Let’s meet.”

“Hold on, let me get safely away from a
neurotic woman.” Ruth waved from the porch as she drove off. “I was
partially successful today. I failed to find Jamie. I did locate
the mysterious Toby. The guy Abby tried to kill. I know where he
lives. No sign of Jamie there. Maybe he didn’t snatch her, although
I’d love to look in that locked garage. Anyway, now we need to
determine what’s going on between him and Abby. Where are you
now?”

“I’m in my room at the Ramada. The one out
near the exit on I-95, Room 210. Come on over. We’ll have a
drink.”

The motel was less than fifteen minutes away.
She pulled in and circled until she spotted Room 210 on the upper
level. She saw Kevin’s Toyota SUV parked by the stairs. She backed
into a space opposite and looked up at his room. Quite a guy. At
least he seemed so. She phoned him.

He answered, “Where are you? Come on up. Room
210.”

“I thought we’d have a drink in the
lounge.”

“We can have some drinks in my room. We can
sit here where it’s nice and quiet and won’t be bothered.”

Tempting. A drink with him would be nice, but
why up in his room. Damn. Why did he have to say his room? We just
met. Wouldn’t a drink in the bar or restaurant be more appropriate?
Why do men have to be so insensitive? Sure, Kevin we could drink in
your room. We could kick our shoes off. Pop open a fifth of bourbon
and knock back slugs out of plastic glasses while we sit on the
edge of the bed listening to the romantic strains of the air
conditioner. Sure, Kevin, that would be charming.

Geez, even the smart guys are clueless. Even
the good-looking ones. That’s another thing, why couldn’t he be
overweight and not in such great shape? Why couldn’t he be ugly or
smelly? Now she sounded silly even to herself. To be fair about it,
she realized his thoughts were on the plight of his daughter, not
the protocol of a new relationship. Possibly, he wasn’t thinking
about Sandy at all.

She’d have to pass up this opportunity.
“Sorry, Kevin, I’m not going to be able to make tonight after
all.”

“Oh, come on. I want to talk with you about
everything that’s going on. I can help you fight that charge. We
can decide what we need to do and I’ll tell you what I found out
today.”

“No, I’m too tired. I’m driving on home. What
do you have? Something about Abby?”

“I watched Abby’s house this morning. She
doesn’t know my vehicle, however I parked out of sight anyway. She
took off and I followed her and followed her some more. She drove
out of town. I thought, my god is she going to Miami. All the way
down to Jensen Beach. Down to a big fancy estate on the water.”

“Who does she know down there?”

“No one she knows has that kind of lifestyle.
She doesn’t move in those circles. She stayed there about a
half-hour and then drove back home. I wrote down the address. Are
you sure you won’t come up?”

“Just give me the address, Kevin.”

She thanked him and phoned Chip. She gave him
the address in Jensen Beach where Abby had gone.

“Google it yourself.”

“You cops confiscated my laptop, remember?
You’ve access to that nifty national crime database. And if you do
it, I don’t have to pay.”

“Hold on.” After a moment, “That address is
the residence of Frederick J. Kidde.”

“So?”

“Freddy ‘Environmental’ Kidde?”

“I still don’t get it.”

“That’s right you’re from Philly. How about,
Congressman Frederick J. Kidde member of the United States House of
Representatives representing a congressional district in
Florida?”

“Okay, okay, I got it. He’s a big deal
politician. What business does a low life like Abby have with
Kidde?”

“You’re the girl with all the guts, why don’t
you go ask him?”

“Maybe I will. More good news, Chip. You know
that list of criminal offenders named Toby you printed out for
me?”

“Don’t tell me, the Toby you wanted was there
on the list.”

“He isn’t a criminal offender, but his father
is and they’re both called Toby. I now have his name and address.
His mother confirmed he knows Abby.”

“That’s great. Part of that was luck, but you
dug in and made it happen. Now what?”

“This is the guy Abby intended to kill, not
Banks. Now I go to Moran and trade the info for dropping the
conspiracy charge against me.”

“Wait a minute. Triney is the investigator on
that case. You owe him. I think you should leak the information to
him first.”

“Then I’ve nothing to trade to Moran.”

“I think you do. Moran will still need your
cooperation and testimony.”

“You’re right, Chip. I’ll let Triney make a
couple of points. Are you still at your office computer?”

“Sitting right here. What else do you
need?”

“Would you run a Kevin Olin for me?”

“LKA?”

“Athens, Georgia,” she answered.

“Wait a sec. Okay...here he is...nothing...no
priors. He’s the father, huh? Well, he’s clean. Anything special
about him I should know?”

“No. Thanks. See you.”

She called Kevin back. “I’ll meet you in the
lounge. Five minutes...get yourself down there.”

Sandy was at her desk in Kagan’s office when
Kevin phoned. She told him, “I enjoyed our little date last night.”
It was just a drink with him, but it was a start.

Meeting with him in the Ramada lounge was
pleasant in spite of the overhanging gloom of a missing child. They
had talked about Jamie, his job, her job, Georgia, and Florida. She
couldn’t get him around to the subject of his divorce. Divorce
details can say a lot about a person. Abby had described him as a
dull stay at home kind of man. If Abby didn’t like him, that was a
plus in his favor. Jamie would be the one to ask.

Sandy liked the considered way he looked at
her. He had a way of smiling without breaking eye contact even for
an instant; looking as if ready to dive right into her eyes. She
hoped it was unrehearsed.

His harsh words this morning broke the spell,
“Sandy, where are you? Last night you said you intended to tell
Moran you located Toby so you could get some kind of a break. I
thought you meant later. Aren’t we going to spend the day looking
for Jamie?”

“Right now I’m talking to my lawyer about how
best to keep Moran at arm’s length. If he decides to throw me back
in jail, I can’t help you at all.”

“Frankly, right now, I don’t give a damn
about your legal problems. They don’t amount to a hill of beans if
Toby has his hands on my daughter.”

“Don’t go crazy on me, Kevin. Like after we
had drinks last night, you should have told me you were going to
follow me home. I notice that kind of stuff and it makes me
nervous. I think it's spooky.”

“What? I didn’t follow you anywhere. I went
right to bed.”

“Sorry, I thought it was you. Anyway, I know
you’re upset, but I haven’t given up on finding Jamie. We’ll get
back on it today.”

“I know...I’m overreacting. Sorry, it’s all I
can think of.”

“What’s next? I searched Toby’s house
yesterday as well as I could. I called my name out loudly. If Jamie
was there, she didn’t hear me.” Or had a gag in her little mouth,
Sandy said to herself. “Let’s do this. Triney helped us
unofficially by checking on her bike. Maybe he can do something
more. Let’s go talk to him today. You know where the county
sheriff’s office is. Let me finish up here. I’ll meet you there in
one hour.”

Kevin was there waiting when she arrived. As
they walked back to Triney’s desk she told him, “Please don’t
mention I might go for a deal with Moran. I might need to hold back
some good info to trade.”

The detective greeted them. He remembered
interviewing Kevin in November when the police were stopping all
white SUV's in connection with the Privado Beach case. “I heard
Sandy had located you in Georgia. Somehow, I’m surprised to see the
two of you together. Guess it’s normal with your daughter missing
and all.”

“Of course I’m going to be down here. Since
my ex won’t report our daughter missing, I want to do so right
now...officially.”

“Are you the custodial parent?” Triney
asked.

“No, but I have visitation rights. Jamie is
supposed to be with me next weekend.”

Triney shook his head.

“Geez, he’s the father," Sandy said. "He has
some rights. If he has visitation rights, then he has legal access
to Jamie. What if Kevin shows up at Abby’s house to pick up his
daughter and Abby can’t produce her, which she is legally obligated
to do? Would you consider his kidnapping report at that time?”

“I’d consider her unavailable, not
kidnapped,” the detective said, “Look, what you just said makes
sense, however it sounds like a civil matter not criminal. Run it
past your own attorney.”

“I’ve something for you on your Abby Olin
shooting case.”

“You know I can’t talk to you without your
attorney present. So shut up and say goodbye.” He smiled while
brushing her away with his hand.

“You remember Abby yelled out the name Toby
as she fired?”

“According to you, she did. Detective Pomar
didn’t hear her. Now that’s it. I’m violating rules, goodbye.”

“I’ve located him.”

Triney raised his heavy black eyebrows and
glanced around the squad room to see who was watching. “Mr. Olin
would you please wait out in the lobby. I need to ask Miss Reid
something about her being jailed here a few days ago. Would you
please excuse us?”

Kevin started to say something to her then
shrugged and left them alone.

“You have a knack for making cops bend the
rules. At least I don’t want a witness. Make it quick.”

“His last name is Towalski. His father is
Humphrey Towalski presently in Okeechobee Correctional. He lives
with his scary stepmother, Ruth. I can give you the address.”

“I’m thrilled and delighted.” He faked
yawning.

“Look, if you can prove Abby intended to kill
Toby, instead of merely shooting Banks accidentally, then you have
her for attempted murder. Much better than some hokey prowler
manslaughter charge.”

“Attempted murder. I like that. Where’s the
evidence?”

“A strong enough motive can be evidence. I
think I have it. He and Abby are into something big enough for her
to have ten grand cash and Toby’s stepmother an expensive new TV.
They’re fighting over illegitimate money from somewhere. Enough
money that she wants him dead. Check out Toby Towalski and keep
your eyes out for Jamie. You might solve a kidnapping while you’re
at it.”