Ting-A-Ling (15 page)

“No, it’s so damn cold I’m still freezing. You can feel the cold coming right through that window, another polar vortex according to the weather guy, whatever the hell that is. God, I hate this shit.”

“Tell me about it, I had to walk home last night.”

“From The Spot?”

“No, I was checking on something then thought a car was following me. I was afraid it might be the cops.” I went on to tell Louie about locking the keys in my car, breakfast with Heidi, and the parking ticket.

He shook his head and then said, “You better get your ducks in a row. Manning’s got you at the scene. He’s got you assaulting Renee Paris. He’s got your statement about ‘delivering a message’. Christ, he’ll probably have the prosecution open with that line. You’ve got to find your client, this Danielle woman, Dev, and find her soon.”

“I’m trying to, that’s who I was checking on last night. Not that it did any good.”

As if on cue an unknown number rang my phone. ‘
Ting-A-Ling.’

“I don’t believe it,” I said and answered. “Haskell Investigations.”

“Dev. Danielle. I thought our deal was you were going to check in with me every day.”

“That’s what I’ve been doing, Danielle. Checking in every day, you just never answer. Did you get any of my messages?”

“No. What number are you calling?”

I told her the number.

“Oh. I’m using a different phone, new number,” she said like it was no big deal.

“I even went over and checked out your house.”

“You did? When?”

“A couple of times. I walked all around the place, checked the side door and your garage. I even drove past late last night as a matter of fact.”

“Oh, so those were your footprints we saw in the snow the other day? That was you who walked along the side yard, in the back and all around the garage?”

I caught the ‘we’, but just filed it away and didn’t ask. “Yeah, like I said, I’ve been over there checking out the place.”

“God, I wish you would have told me. I didn’t know what to think. I thought someone was trying to break in, for God’s sake. You know how big this place is. This kind of weather everything is creaking and cracking in the middle of the night. Those footprints you left scared me half to death.”

I ignored her rant and asked, “Did you hear anything from Renee Paris?”

“No, not so much as a text message. I don’t know what my next step will be.”

“I still think your best bet is to get an attorney and take him to court.”

“I suppose, I just don’t know.”

“You’re aware that the place where I met him, Casey’s, burned down?”

“Well, I heard the news report a few days ago. I don’t get the paper anymore. But that has nothing to do with me.”

“I know it doesn’t, Danielle which is exactly why I went down to the police station and made a statement.”

“A statement?” she half shouted.

“Yeah, just in case someone saw me or my car there. I wanted the cops to know I‘d been there, that I spoke with Paris and when I left everything seemed just fine.” I didn’t see any point in mentioning the security tapes to her.

“What did they say?”

“Not much. I didn’t expect them to, actually. I just wanted to get it on the record. Well and then help their investigation anyway I can.”

“They hired you?” She sounded concerned.

“No. I meant if they had any questions, anything I might be able to answer or confirm I wanted them to feel comfortable getting in touch with me.” I thought,
‘Yeah, that’s what I wanted, Manning feeling comfortable.’
I picked up on the look Louie was giving me.

“Did you tell them about me?” Suddenly there was an edge to her voice.

“No of course not, but listen, Danielle, I wondered in the interest of full disclosure and helping their investigation would you mind if I gave them your name? I’d like to let them know you were the client that asked me to contact Paris. Get it on the record that neither one of us is hiding anything.”

“I’m not hiding anything. I told you I haven’t seen Renee since…well, since forever. You sure you didn’t tell the police my name?”

“I didn’t. That’s why I’m asking you now. I wanted to make sure it was all right with you before I passed your name on. They’ll find out sooner or later. Your name is bound to be listed along with maybe a thousand other people who were involved with Paris. It would just be a good idea to get it out there on your terms before the police come around knocking. And believe me, they will, come around knocking, that is.”

“You think they’ll want to talk to me? The police?” Her voice had raised an octave.

“I don’t know, Danielle, maybe, maybe not. I’m just saying you could do yourself a favor by letting them know. Obviously your concern about being repaid was one of, if not the last thing, presented to Paris before that fire. You saw the report about human remains being found in the rubble, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t have anything to do with that.” She sounded defensive as she half-yelled.

“I’m not saying you did, Danielle. I’m just suggesting that in your own interest it would probably make sense to let them know you have nothing to hide.”

“I don’t have anything to hide.”

“Exactly, which is why you should get in touch with them or let me tell them you were the client I was working for when I spoke with Paris.” It was beginning to feel like I was talking to a petulant thirteen-year-old.

“I’m just not sure. I’ll have to think about it.”

“Well, do what you want. Just remember, they aren’t going to be sitting around waiting. Sooner or later you’ll have to move on this, and the sooner you do, the better it will be.”

“Okay, okay. I get it. I just don’t like being pressured, is all.”

“Believe me, this is nothing like the pressure the police can put you under. You may want to talk to your attorney first. See what they suggest. I’m not trying to pressure you, Danielle, honest. I’m just giving you a heads up.”

“Okay, okay, God, I already told you, I’ll think about it.” She sounded like a snippy little teenager.

“Fine, just don’t think too long. I gotta believe the police are working on this full time. If the remains they found turn out to be Paris they are going to zero in on you and me.”

“Well, then it sounds like we should probably end our working relationship.” She spoke in almost a pouty, little girl way, as if to say,
‘I’ll show you.’

“Our working relationship?”

“Well, yes. I mean, I enjoyed everything and all, but I’m feeling like you’ve done as much as you can. And, well, maybe it would just be better if we weren’t in touch any longer. I mean, you did talk to him, Renee, and I haven’t heard back, so obviously that didn’t work. I think the next thing I should do is maybe just take your advice.”

“My advice?” Either she wasn’t catching on or she was suddenly way ahead of me, I wasn’t sure which it was.

“Yeah, I’ll just get in touch with my family’s attorney and take Renee to court. I don’t know, maybe it was a mistake to hire you in the first place.”

“To hire me? Danielle, it’s not like I forced you. Remember? You called me. It was the middle of the night, I was asleep and you were sitting on the toilet at Bun...”

“I think I’ll just contact my attorney. I should have done that in the first place instead of letting you get involved and creating this horrible mess.”

“Horrible mess?”

“Whatever. Look, I can’t thank you enough for
everything
you’ve done,” she said and hung up.

I called her back once I calmed down. I got a message that said, “The person at this number is not taking calls at this time.”

“So?” Louie asked after I’d hung up.

“So nothing. Apparently, everything is suddenly my fault. She’s going to contact her family attorney. Then I think she fired me. I don’t know it’s almost like she’s living in her own little dream world.”

“Gee, there’s a surprise someone with a trust fund not dealing with reality. Did she happen to mention who her attorney is?”

“No, and I think it might make a lot of sense to not try and grab her as a client, if that’s the direction you’re heading.”

“Believe me I don’t need her kind of business. Like I said, reality isn’t the strong suit.”

“What a strange chick. Hey, speaking of attorneys, does this name ring a bell with you? Richard Hedstrom?”

“God, you’re kidding? The Dick Head? Where did you run into that jackass?”

“Actually, I didn’t. A pal of mine had used him sometime back. His wife mentioned the guy’s name. I’d never heard of him before.”

“I think he was a couple years ahead of me in law school. Not the kind of guy who’s easy to like, if you know what I mean.”

“I’m not sure I do.”

“I don’t know exactly. It’s not that he’s an intentional jerk or anything. It just always seems to work out that way. He’s all about himself and if you get screwed in the process, well, that wasn’t his intention, so it’s not his fault. He’s another one of those people who really doesn’t need anyone else. He’s just perfectly content with himself. My guess, your pal feels he got screwed. The truth is whenever anyone deals with guys like the Dick Head, you’re just never going to come out on top.”

“Sounds like Renee Paris.”

“I guess it does now that you mention it. Maybe birds of a feather.”

“This gal, my friend’s wife, she thinks Hedstrom is tied into Renee Paris, somehow.”

“Let me guess, Dick Head was their attorney, he was going to file an action or a cease and desist order or something against Paris and they’re out a couple of grand and little or nothing to show for it.”

“Close. Actually, they’re out ten grand, cash up front, with nothing to show for it. I forget how or maybe she never even told me. But she seemed pretty sure Hedstrom and Paris were tied in together.”

“Possibly, from the sounds of it. Obviously they’d swim in the same shitty water, developers and bankers. Not to defend Hedstrom, but your friends may not have had much of a case to begin with. A lot of people end up thinking they got screwed by their attorney because when the deal was cut they were too smart and too special, so they didn’t need an attorney in the first place. They somehow get it in their heads that they don’t have to read the fine print like the rest of us.”

“I don’t know.”

“That cash up front she referred to, Dick Head probably called it a retainer, he may’ve known going in that they didn’t have much of a shot. He may have even tried to talk them out of the whole undertaking. You’d be surprised the hours a guy can spend filing briefs, working a case and after you give it your very best effort, the client doesn’t think he should have to pay. All because you weren’t successful and couldn’t grab his one percent shot at victory.”

“Yeah, she may have alluded to some of that, at least the too smart angle when dealing with Paris,” I said.

“Neither one of them, Paris or Hedstrom would seem to be the sort of person you could count on to watch your back. If they’re working together, Paris and Hedstrom, everyone else is going to come out on the short end of the stick. That’s just an unpleasant fact of life.”

“I think she knows that now.”

“Wow, Richie Hedstrom, the Dick Head. Man, I haven’t thought of him in years.”

Chapter Thirty-Five

I knew I should
be relieved, but it bothered me that Danielle had fired me. Even though I’d done exactly what she asked, and for all intents and purposes I’d successfully completed my task. I decided not to let her actions bother me. I simply moved beyond her stupid, petty, childish, rash, unimportant, and inconsequential outburst and went in a completely different direction. I wanted to find out everything I could regarding Richard Hedstrom.

I went online to check him out. He looked squeaky clean at least as far as his Google persona read. There were a couple of articles where his name was mentioned, but nothing earth shattering. Like Louie, he seemed to have developed a specialized law practice. The only difference was Hedstrom dealt with commercial development instead of drink related cases. That put him in the same cess pool with the likes of Renee Paris, but it also put him in with good guys like Jimmy White. Hey, there were even sleaze balls in my business.

A reverse directory search gave his address as living in a pretty tony condo along the river. Like sixty-percent of today’s population it didn’t list a land line phone number. It didn’t list the names of any other individuals at the address, either. No wife or kids which meant, there was a fifty-fifty chance, maybe, that he lived alone.

I knew the development. There were five, four story brick buildings with underground parking, tree lined brick paths and flower gardens along the river. They were situated on a rise along a bend in the Mississippi, where every unit boasted a balcony with a view of the river. The entire area was cordoned off from average people like me by thick hedges and a manned guard house that gave you clearance before you could drive in.

No casual callers here, the guards had to be alerted in advance of your arrival and departure times. They made a note of who you were, and probably took your picture and finger prints before they issued you a parking permit that had to be placed on the dash of your car. The condo units started at about nine hundred and fifty grand and headed north depending on amenities. They were populated by heavy hitters and the ‘Swells’. The development was named River View Terrace, but collectively referred to around town as the
‘Viagra Triangle’
.