Drawing Close: The Fourth Novel in the Rosemont Series (9 page)

Chapter 19

Frank Haynes entered the sleek
reception area of the prestigious New York City law firm of Hirim &
Wilkens. Unlike his first visit to the firm, he was escorted directly back to
the office of his attorney, Simon Wilkens.

“Mr. Haynes,” Wilkens said, coming around his desk
with an outstretched hand. “Can I get you anything? Coffee? Or something
stronger? It seems you have something to celebrate.”

Haynes shook his hand and took a seat in one of
the client chairs.

“I’ve been anxiously awaiting this affidavit from
the mysterious attorney,” Wilkens said.

Haynes nodded and took an envelope out of his
attaché case, sliding it across the desk. He sat back and waited while Wilkens
studied the document. When the attorney was finished, he looked up and smiled
broadly at Haynes.

“This should do it. It’ll be more than enough.”

“No glitches? No qualifications?”

“Well … not necessarily.” Wilkens hedged his bets.
“How hard do you think this Martin woman will fight? Does she have the money to
wage war with you?”

It was now Haynes’ turn to smile. “She’ll fight
it. She’s been around litigation as an expert witness, so she knows the ropes.
But I’ve got a war chest and she’s got a piggy bank.”

“Doesn’t sound like a fair fight.” Wilkens
smirked.

“What could they do to challenge this?” Haynes
asked, pointing to the document lying on the desk between them.

“Question its validity. Authenticity of the
signature or his mental capacity at the time he signed it. You said he was very
ill when he wrote this. Undergoing chemotherapy?”

Haynes nodded. “Could they say that he wasn’t in
his right mind?”

“They can try. If this gets heated, they most
certainly will allege that this isn’t credible—that it shouldn’t be
admitted into evidence because Spenser is dead and they can’t cross examine
him.”

“How do we handle that?”

“It’s acknowledged, of course, so we might need
the testimony of the notary. A notary has the duty to make sure that a person
knows what they are signing and has the mental capacity to understand its
ramifications.”

“Can we find this notary?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem. They’re licensed by each
state.” Wilkens turned to the computer behind him. “Let me do a quick Google
search.” He reached for the affidavit and typed in the name of the notary and
pressed enter.

“Your good luck continues,” Wilkens said. “The
notary works for the largest law firm in Richmond. We’ll be able to find her,
and my guess is that she followed all the rules when she notarized his
signature.”

For the first time since he’d entered his
attorney’s office, Haynes allowed himself to relax.

“Congratulations. Something stronger, now?”
Wilkens asked, pulling out a bottle of Glenfiddich and two cut crystal glasses
from the credenza behind his desk.

“Why not?” Haynes replied. “So what’s next?”

“You give me the go-ahead, and we’ll start
drafting the paperwork to reopen Hector Martin’s estate.” Wilkens handed a
glass to Haynes. “The neat and tidy life of your Mayor Martin is about to come
crashing down around her ears.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Haynes said, clinking his
glass to Wilkens’ and draining it in one gulp.

Chapter 20

Maggie glanced out the mullioned
window over her kitchen sink as she finished loading the dishwasher and pressed
the start button. The back lawn of Rosemont was in deep shadow at twilight. For
the first time in over a week, the evening promised to be clear and dry. She
turned as John approached, two leashes in hand.

“Remember how much we enjoyed our evening walks
after dinner in Cornwall?” he asked. “And how we swore we’d keep it up when we
got home?”

Maggie nodded. “It’s been too wet,” she replied
defensively.

“It’s not too wet tonight. I’ll saddle up Roman
and Eve. Go get your shoes on.”

Maggie sighed, and John shook his head, sweeping
her into his arms and planting a kiss on the top of her head. “No excuses.”

“You’re right. Once we get out the door, I’ll be
glad we went. It’s just that I brought a mountain of work home with me,” she
said, a note of pleading in her voice.

“All the more reason,” he replied with mock sternness
as he released her and whistled for the dogs.

***

The four of them set off down the
long, sloping driveway through the tunnel of trees that imposed an early dusk.
By the time they emerged at the bottom and stepped onto the sidewalk, the
spreadsheets and financial statements in Maggie’s briefcase didn’t seem so
pressing anymore.

“Which way?” John asked, as Roman sat to an
immediate heel while Eve pulled at her leash.

“Let’s make a lap around town square. It’d be fun
to window shop. Like we did on our honeymoon.”

John stepped out with Roman at his side. Eve cut
in front of them. “We’re going to have to train Eve to walk on the leash,” he
said.

“I’ve never been good at dog training,” Maggie
replied. She looked over at him. “I guess you knew that before you married me.”

John nodded. “Here,” he said, handing her Roman’s
leash. “Let’s trade dogs. I’ll work with Eve, and Roman can show you how a dog
should behave. Unless you want to do this yourself?”

“No. Good idea,” Maggie rushed to reply, grateful
that she could rely on John to train Eve.

“Speaking of shopping in Cornwall, shouldn’t the
painting we bought arrive soon?”

“I think so. I’ve been tracking it online, and
it’s supposed to arrive in New York next week. I’m planning to have it hung
before Gordon Mortimer returns to go through the furniture in the attic.”

“Hoping he’ll approve of our purchase? We like it,
and that’s all that matters.”

“I know. But he’s very knowledgeable about fine
art, and it would be fun to see what he thinks.”

John eyed her kindly. “Just don’t get disappointed
if he doesn’t rave about it. That painting will always take us back to those
windswept green highlands and some of the happiest moments of my life.”

Maggie leaned into him. “I’m glad we finally
decided to throw caution to the wind and buy it.”

They crossed the street and began strolling along
the sixteen-block rectangle that surrounded the square.

“I haven’t been to Celebrations since we’ve been
back. Let’s see what Judy has in her window,” Maggie said as she turned in the
direction of the card and gift store that was her favorite shop on the square.
John and Eve followed slowly in her wake.

Maggie was studying a beach-themed tablescape in
the window when she heard John call to someone.

“Jackie. We get to see David quite a bit at
Rosemont, but I’m sorry that we haven’t seen you,” he said, nodding to the boy
at her side. John dropped to one knee to greet Dodger. “How are you?” he asked,
looking up at her.

“We’re all right,” she said stiffly.

John stood up as Maggie and Eve walked over to
join them. “David’s been a great help to us, and Sam Torres raves about him,
Mrs. Wheeler. You should be very proud of him,” Maggie said, smiling at the
widow of the town’s discredited mayor. She wanted to reach out to this betrayed
woman—to tell her that she understood what she was going
through—but knew that she would remain silent.

Jackie Wheeler looked at her shoes.

“We came down to check out places for rent behind
the candy store,” David said, pointing in the direction of Candy Alley. His
mother reached up and pulled his hand down.

“I lost my job. We’re losing our home to
foreclosure.” Jackie made an effort to keep her voice even. “We’re moving in with
my brother for a while, but we can’t stay there forever.”

“Those places behind the square are pretty small
and won’t have a yard for Dodger,” John said, all the while thinking of how
hard it would be for mother and son to move from their lovely home to a shabby
apartment behind the square. “We’re putting my house up for rent,” he
continued. “The yard is fenced, and it already has a doggie door. Sam and David
have painted it on the inside, so it’s ready to go. Why don’t you look at it?”

David beamed. “It would be perfect.” He turned to
his mother. “You’ll love it, Mom. You should see the kitchen. Mr. Torres and I
put in granite counter tops. It’s close to my school, and Dodger would have a
yard.”

Jackie Wheeler turned to her son. “I’m sure we
couldn’t afford it, David. Everyone in this town thinks I knew that William was
embezzling. They think I have a ton of money hidden somewhere.” Jackie turned
to John and Maggie. “I assure you I don’t, and we’re broke. I’ve found a job,
but it pays half of what I used to make.”

“We’ll work something out so you can afford it,”
John said. “I want a tenant I can count on that won’t tear the place up. You
and David would be ideal. And if anything needs to be repaired, I know David
can fix it,” he said, clapping David on the back. “Tim Knudsen has the key.
Call him tomorrow, and he’ll show it to you.”

Jackie Wheeler nodded slowly. “We will.” She
looked at John. “Thank you. You’ve always been kind.”

“I think this will work out for all of us,” Maggie
interjected. “I’m so glad we ran into you.”

Jackie Wheeler ignored her and turned on her heel.

“Thank you, Mayor Martin,” David said quickly over
his shoulder as he followed his mother.

“What did I ever do to her?” Maggie huffed.

“You replaced her husband as mayor,” John replied.
“She may blame you for his demise.”

“That’s ridiculous. I didn’t even live here at the
time the fraud and embezzlement took place.”

“I know, but it looks like she’s holding you
responsible. Would you like me to change my mind about renting my place to
them?”

“C’mon, Roman,” Maggie said as they resumed their
walk. “Of course not. I feel sorry for both of them. I believe her when she
says she didn’t know what her husband was up to. I certainly didn’t know Paul
was embezzling from Windsor College or that he supported Loretta Nash and her
kids. I was lucky that I was able to quietly settle the college’s claim. Jackie
Wheeler hasn’t been so fortunate. I don’t think she’s sitting on piles of money
anywhere. And David is a really nice kid. I want you to be kind to them. I
don’t care how much you charge them in rent.”

“That’s the woman I love,” John replied.

***

“Why were you so rude to Mayor
Martin?” David whispered as he caught up to his mother.

“Do you forget that she’s the main person on that
committee that framed your father? She’s the forensic accountant that came up
with all the evidence.”

David looked over his shoulder at the retreating
figures of Maggie and John. “You don’t know that, Mom. We don’t know what they
had for evidence. And now that Dad’s gone, we’ll never know,” he said with a
catch in his throat.

“I know all right,” she spat back.

“Dr. Allen has always been really nice to me and
Dodger.”

“Dr. Allen is a good man. I don’t know what he
sees in that woman.”

“So are you going to look at his place tomorrow? I
know you’ll like it. It’s way better than anything we’ve seen so far.”

She nodded. “If we can help out Dr. Allen by
renting his house and taking care of it for him, I think we should.”

David lowered his face to hide his smile. If his
mother wanted to think they were doing Dr. Allen a favor that was fine with
him. He just wanted to leave the memories at their current home behind and
start over, with Dodger at his side.

Chapter 21

Maggie Martin rocked back on her
heels on the Wheeler’s front porch and tried to discreetly peer through a crack
in the blinds covering the window adjacent to the door. She’d rung the doorbell
but hadn’t heard any sound and wondered if it was still in working order. She
stepped to the door and knocked firmly. This time, she heard footsteps
approach. The door opened a crack. Maggie could see one eye of a
disheveled-looking Jackie Wheeler, staring back at her.

“Mrs. Wheeler?” Maggie began.

“Why the hell are you here?”

“May I come in? I have something important to
discuss with you. We need help in the fraud investigation.”

“Why do you think I’d have the slightest interest
in that? I’ve lost my husband to it and now my house. Get off my property,” she
said as she slammed the door shut in Maggie’s face.

Maggie took a deep breath and raised her hand to
knock again, but thought better of it. She slowly retraced her steps to her
car. If she had turned around, she would have seen David Wheeler peering at her
through a small opening in the blinds of the window next to the door.

Maggie retrieved her cell phone and placed a call
to Alex as she pulled into the street.

“No go,” she said the moment he answered.

“I take it Mrs. Wheeler respectfully declined our
request for cooperation?”

“Something like that, yes,” Maggie replied,
stopping quickly to avoid a child chasing a ball into the street. She was
abreast of a sedan with darkly tinted windows, parked in deep shade on the
other side of the street, two houses down from the Wheeler residence. She took
no notice of the man sitting, motionless, watching her behind the steering
wheel.

“I’ll start the process of getting a search
warrant,” Alex said. “We’ll serve it on the new owners right after the sale. I
think the Wheeler family has been through enough.”

“I agree with you on that score,” Maggie said,
turning her car in the direction of Town Hall.

***

“You finally got somethin’ for me?”
Delgado snarled into the phone in his office above the liquor store. Since his
release on bail, he’d been following his high-priced lawyer’s advice and laying
low. Mostly. He’d assigned a few of his guys to watch Martin, Scanlon, and
Smith. That hardly counted as doing anything wrong.

“I do, sir. On Martin.”

“Well?” Delgado barked.

“She just paid a visit to the grieving widow
Wheeler. Or tried to.”

“How’s that?”

“The missus wouldn’t let her in. Looks like she
never took the chain off the door. Didn’t give our esteemed mayor a chance to
say much before she slammed the door in her face.”

Delgado smiled. How he would have loved to have
seen that.

“Martin looked like she wanted to try again, but
had second thoughts. Finally put her tail between her legs and got back in her
car and drove away.”

“Did she see you?”

“No way. She got on the phone and was deep in
conversation when she drove past me.”

“You don’t say,” Delgado said. “Martin’s an odd
broad, but it’s even odder that she went to see Jackie. Keep an even closer eye
on her from here on out, okay? I’m talkin’ 24/7. Somethin’s goin’ on.”

“You got it, boss. If they’re up to anything,
we’ll find out what it is.”