Stacy Matthews - Dear Mary 01 - Think Twice Before You Order (5 page)

June 9
^th

Dear Mary,

I tossed and turned all night. Charlie finally came over around eight
this morning. I had coffee, bacon, eggs, and toast waiting for him. We sat at
the kitchen table, ate, and talked. Charlie said Tatiana had started the
process of moving back into Grandpa’s house. All three (the doctor, Grandpa,
and Tatiana) had a meeting and decided it would be best if Tatiana moved back
into the house slowly. She was only staying one or two nights a week, because
they didn’t want her to be tempted by anything. Charlie said Grandpa had made
sure there wasn’t any alcohol in the house so he wasn’t really sure what the
doctor thought she would be tempted by.

I asked if things were going any better since Tatiana had started moving
back in, but Charlie wasn’t sure. He said from the start of this whole “new
wife” thing Grandpa had been keeping him at arm’s length. When the business
with the counselor started he said it was like pulling teeth trying to get any
information out of Grandpa.

This was my chance to find out exactly what kind of work Charlie did, and
what Mark still does, so I asked. He said he couldn’t give me the exact name of
the department they worked for, but it is a secret part of the CIA that deals
with international operations of businesses. The actual businesses are here in
the United States, but are managed from another country. They basically insure
that these businesses are legit and not a front for a terrorist group or some
form of criminal activity.

He really was a spy! I knew it. The Crossland’s didn’t have any kids, but
as far as all of the kids in the neighborhood were concerned, Charlie was the
go-to-dad. He could fix anything. If the chain on your bike came off he was
there. Flat tire or basketball he was on it. On top of that he could always
come out and play. It didn’t matter who knocked on the door Mrs. Crossland
answered it. When we would ask if Charlie could come out and play, she would
laugh and yell, “Charlie your friends are here.” He could play any game we came
up with, and for an adult that was amazing. “Kill the man with the football”,
“hide-and-go seek”. Let me tell you, some of those hide and go seek games
lasted for hours. One of the best parts about Charlie coming out to play was at
some point Mrs. Crossland would bring out snacks and drinks for everyone. Now
that I think about it, I don’t know that any of us ever knew her first name.

Back then Charlie seemed like a cross between the typical guy next door
and a secret agent. We didn’t know for sure what he did for a living. All we
knew was that whatever it was we all wanted to do the same thing when we grew
up. It seemed like he always had plenty of time to play, and when you’re ten
what more could you want out of a career? I think a lot of adults still look
for that in a career. When we asked him what he did, the only reply we got was
“It’s pretty complicated and you wouldn’t understand it.” That’s what he told
all of the adults that asked as well. The only part we hated was he would have
to leave town every now and again and he would be gone for weeks at a time.

See how I do that? Just start rambling? That’s another wonderful trait I
got from my mother. Actually the entire side of her family was like that.
Compared to them she was an amateur. I’m not as bad as my mother, so if I would
have had children their children or their children’s children may have had a
chance of being normal, but we’ll never know. Back to what Charlie had to say.

When Charlie gave Mark Dr. Niemeyer’s name, Mark realized it was the same
doctor another agent, Bob, had asked him to look into. Bob had been transferred
out of the country, and asked Mark if he could look into a problem his neighbor
was having. Bob’s neighbor, Mr. Gunther, had asked Bob if he could find out
what happened to his friend Mr. Clark. Mr. Gunther said he and Mr. Clark had
been friends for over twenty years. Mr. Clark’s wife had died ten years before
and Mr. Clark always said he would never date or marry anyone else. According
to Mr. Gunther, he had gone over to Mr. Clark’s house five months ago and was
introduced to a woman named Nadia Clark. Mr. Gunther told her he didn’t think Mr.
Clark had any family but was happy to meet her. Mr. Gunther was quickly told
that she was Mr. Clark’s wife. Needless to say Mr. Gunther was shocked.

When Mr. Gunther tried to talk to Mr. Clark about his new bride, the only
thing Mr. Clark would say was that he had met her online. Mr. Gunther said Mr.
Clark had invited him to dinner that weekend, but when Mr. Gunther called to
confirm what time to meet them, no one answered the phone. Mr. Gunther had called
several times, and even gone to he house on numerous occasions, but didn’t have
any luck contacting anyone. The message on the Clark’s answering machine didn’t
say anything about them being out of town or on vacation. Mr. Gunther hadn’t
heard anything from Mr. Clark since.

Mr. Gunther decided to ask a few of Mr. Clark’s neighbors if they had
seen the couple. Most of the neighbors told him Mr. Clark had become rather
unsociable after he got married. They used to see him out in his yard or
sitting on the patio. Since Nadia came on the scene they hardly ever saw him.
Mr. Gunther knows for a fact that Mr. Clark doesn’t have any family, and was
getting worried that something may have happened to Mr. Clark, so he contacted
Bob.

When Charlie got the message I was in town and asked about the woman in
the pictures he realized I knew absolutely nothing about Grandpa’s marriage. He
had suspected I didn’t, but it wasn’t until I asked about Tatiana that he knew
for certain. He really didn’t want to be the one to tell me about Grandpa’s
marriage, but got stuck with doing the job. So far he and Mark are having
problems coming up with any information on the names they have connected to Dr.
Niemeyer. They do know he is a real doctor and has been in this area for ten
years. They also have not been able to find any kind of connection between the
doctor and the agency these men may have used.

Mark and Charlie think if they can prove the connection between the two
they will be onto something. Charlie said he and Mark were going over what
information they did have when I got into town. They have some theories but
nothing concrete. They are finding it impossible to get someone on the inside.
When Charlie got my message he did his best to explain the situation to Mark.
They went over all the information they have so far, and agreed since I am the
only family member they know of, they may need my help somewhere down the line.
They thought it would be best to fill me in now rather than later.

I told Charlie about all of the information I had found on the Internet.
He was just as surprised as I was at how many men get their wives through those
agencies. I asked Charlie if he and Mark had come up with a plan, or even an
idea as to where or how we should start looking into this situation. He said
Mark had done some investigating into Mr. Clark’s background to see if there
would be any information we could use. I love saying we, makes me feel like I’m
part of the investigation. Anyway, Mark discovered Mr. Clark was a rather
wealthy man, and has no living family that they could find. Mark and Charlie
had gone over to Mr. Clark’s house yesterday and let themselves in to look
around. Charlie said it appeared as though no one had been living there for
quite some time, but it did look as if someone had been taking in the mail. So
far the only people they have been able to connect to this group are Tatiana,
Dr. Niemeyer, his receptionist, Mr. Clark, and Grandpa.

Charlie said he and Mark discussed it and thought it would be a good idea
to start by having me go to the doctor’s office, and see if they had any
information as to where Grandpa and Tatiana were. I was ready to go then, but
the office was closed. Charlie decided we would go to the office first thing in
the morning. I am hoping Grandpa and Tatiana are on some stupid bonding trip,
and that will be the end of this. I’m glad Charlie said he wanted to go with
me. I would like to think that it’s because he’s concerned for my safety, and
not just the fact that he’s afraid my mouth will get me in trouble. I think
it’s a little of both. I am good with that.

Talk to you later

Evening June 9
^th

Dear Mary,

I was too excited to sit around the house so I decided to get rid of some
of this nervous energy by taking a walk. I love walking but sometimes it gives
me too much time to think. For instance, I started thinking how crazy all of
this is. I have never done anything like this in my life. I can’t tell you how
glad I am Charlie will be there with me at the doctor’s office. I need to know
if there are going to be certain questions they want me to ask. I need to ask
Charlie about some of this in the morning. I was starting to get a little wound
up, when I saw Mrs. Houtz in her garage.

There was a huge dumpster in the driveway, and it looked like she was
trying to clean out the garage. The dumpster was so full you would have thought
there was nothing left in the house, the garage however looked as though she
had barely made a dent in it. She wasn’t surprised to see me. I guess word has
gotten out that I’m in town. She said, “Sid, thank heavens you’re here to help
me!” Her arms were full, so I ran over and helped her get everything in the
dumpster. She asked if I wanted to come in for some coffee. I said no, but we
ended up at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee anyway. I asked if she was
getting ready for a yard sale. She proceeded to tell me how she and Mrs.
Edmonds had been having coffee last month, and got to talking about how
expensive everything has gotten. They went over their budgets and came to the conclusion
they should move in together. Since both of their husbands had passed, and both
Mrs. Houtz and Mrs. Edmonds are on fixed incomes, they thought this would be a
great way to save money. I think the best part is neither of them will be
lonely anymore. They are both stubborn as the day is long, so you would never
hear this from them, but I think they are both looking forward to having the
company.

The biggest problem they’ve run into so far was trying to decide which
house to keep, and which to sell. Mrs. Houtz said, and I quote “The Edmonds
being good Catholics had seven children, so their house is huge. We being good
Methodists only had two.” Mrs. Edmonds has sixteen grandchildren, and Mrs.
Houtz has four. At first they were going to keep the bigger house so there
would be room no matter how many of the kids wanted to come visit. Then they
decided they should keep the smaller house, and get rid of the big one. Smaller
house smaller bills. They told all of the children they will need to make
reservations in advance if they want to come for a visit, because the house
wasn’t big enough for all of them to stay at once. The ladies were both happy
with the fact that none of the kids or grandkids could just drop by unannounced
anymore. Mrs. Houtz said she knew it sounded sort of mean or uncaring, but she
didn’t particularly care for it when her kids just dropped in and ended up
staying three or four days. Mrs. Houtz said she may be older but she does have
a life, and didn’t like having to miss out on bowling, dances at the VFW hall,
or any other activity she may have had planned.

Apparently some of the Edmonds kids were upset at losing their childhood
home. Mrs. Houtz said they knew some of the kids would be upset no matter which
house they decided to sell, but they both agreed they shouldn’t have to pay
higher utility bills for people that don’t live there. And now that they are
getting up in years they didn’t like the idea of having to keep such a big
house clean, and there were all of those stairs. She was so excited that they
were going to be like the Golden Girls. They couldn’t wait to invite all of
their friends over for dinner or a Sunday brunch. I made the mistake of
suggesting they ask Mrs. Ruby to live with them, that way there would be three
of them just like on the TV show. It made sense to me. She gave me a look that
could have stopped traffic, and said two old ladies in one house was enough. I
have to agree with her on that one.

I’m trying to imagine how those two are going to live together. On one
hand I can see it. They have been friends for a very long time, and have
several things in common. They both have children and grandchildren. They both
came to this country when they were young. Both of their husbands have passed,
and they both live on fixed incomes. On the other hand they are both
hardheaded, and are particularly fond of the way their homes look. It will be
interesting to see if they will be able to compromise on blending the two
households together.

Mrs. Houtz is a very stout German woman. She’s not really heavy; she’s
more square-shaped. Good hardy peasant stock. I believe her family came over
when she was three or four. She said she learned to speak English at school.
They only spoke German at home. Her maiden name was Laddenburger. You can hear
a little of her accent every now and again. Mr. Houtz was a skinny little thing
when they got married, but after a few years of her cooking he ended up being a
pretty big boy. He had been a manager at the co-op. It wasn’t a glamorous job
but it provided very well for his family. Mrs. Houtz was a stay-at-home mom,
and loved being active in her children’s school activities as well as being
able to volunteer at her church.

Mrs. Edmonds is a tiny little eastern European woman who I believe came
from Hungary. Her accent has always been thick. I’m not sure how old she was
when her family came over. She met Mr. Edmonds when she worked at a men’s
clothing store. Mr. Edmonds was a very successful businessman at the time, and
her family couldn’t wait for them to be married.

She always seemed to be on the go. Not only did she take care of her
seven children,
but
she was always doing something for
the church or the community. I would think by now she would be happy to sit,
relax, and have a drink every now and then. It sounds like the two of them will
be as busy as ever. I see dinners, potlucks and brunches every week in their
future. They may not have to worry about the kids or grandkids coming over,
there won’t be any time left for them.

Speaking of dinner, while we were talking and drinking coffee, Mrs. Houtz
had thrown together this wonderful smelling stew. The coffee had been replaced
by wine. Mrs. Edmonds had shown up at some point with fresh baked bread, salad
and a warm berry cobbler for dessert. I hadn’t really planned on staying for
dinner, and now that I think about it I wasn’t really asked. I think those two
just assume if you are in the house at dinnertime you’re going to eat with
them.

Those two have made fixing dinner a tag-team sport. Mrs. Edmonds put the
cobbler in the oven to stay warm. Got out the silverware, the bowls for the
stew, plates for the salad, and put all of it on the table. Mrs. Houtz brought
out the stew, filled the bowls and made sure the wine glasses were full. When
Mrs. Houtz came back in from the kitchen she had put the bread on a board and
had the knife and butter all ready to go. At some point someone had moved me to
the dining room table and I was sitting at my seat. Before I knew it, we were
eating, drinking and talking about all the different activities the
grandchildren were up to. Apparently several of the grandkids are into sports.
Neither Mrs. Houtz nor Mrs. Edmonds care for sports, let alone understand them,
but they make a big deal about every touchdown, goal, point or
thing-a-ma-bobbies as they call them that each grandchild makes.

As we were having our dessert they both asked how Grandpa and Tatiana
were doing. Of course I told them they were fine. There’s something I have to
explain to you about Mrs. Houtz and Mrs. Edmonds, or as several people in town
refer to them “Miss Marple and Mrs. Fletcher.” They both love a good mystery,
be it book, movie or TV, but the Holy Grail for them is if it’s a real life
mystery, which they are constantly on the lookout for. The drawback is
sometimes they try to make something out of nothing. I say they, but Mrs. Houtz
is more like Jane Marple.

Jane Marple was a character written by Agatha Christie back in the
twenty’s. I loved this character. She looked like every other old lady you see,
didn’t matter if she was knitting or pulling weeds in her garden, but when it
came to mysteries she had a sharp logical mind. Although she looked sweet and
old she feared neither dead nor living, and had a remarkable ability to latch
onto a casual comment and connect it to the case at hand. That pretty well sums
up Mrs. Houtz. Mrs. Edmonds is more like Jessica Fletcher, mysterious things
just sort of happen around her.

Jessica Fletcher was a character on TV played by Angela Landsbury. It was
a show about a widowed mystery writer who lived in the tiny made up town of
Cabot Cove, Maine. I swear wherever this woman went people died and she had to
help the local authorities figure out who did it. Thank goodness no one ever
dies around Mrs. Edmonds, just strange things happen.

With the two of them spending more time with one another, I can tell the
influence each has had on the other. Each of them has a way of asking you
questions, and you don’t realize how much information you’re giving them until
the cats out of the bag, and there’s no way to get the information back. That’s
why I hadn’t asked them any questions about Grandpa and Tatiana. I knew they
would have their own theories, and most likely an entire scenario about the
older man dating a much younger woman. But I did want to know what they thought
about Tatiana, and when was the last time they had seen either one of them. I
had to be very careful with my questions, or they would be on me like white on
rice.

At first glance they both appeared to be happy that Grandpa had found
someone, and said how it used to break their hearts seeing him working out in
the yard by himself for all those years. Mrs. Edmonds casually mentioned they
had noticed Tatiana’s accent, and asked if I knew where she was from. I watched
their faces closely as I said Russia. I am in awe of these women’s control of
their facial expressions. I wanted to ask them right then and there how they
did that, but it wasn’t the time. Russia was where they thought she was from. Mrs.
Houtz said at first, most of the neighborhood was shocked that Grandpa had a
girlfriend. It had been so many years since Grandma died they assumed Grandpa,
like a large number of widowers in town, was content being alone. When they
found out Tatiana was actually living with Grandpa, and how young she was,
Marple and Fletcher became intrigued and a little worried.

I could tell they were trying to get as much information from me as I was
trying to get from them. I thought if I asked why, they would be
worried,
I would be falling into a questioning trap they may
have planned, so I let that slide. I casually mentioned that the late night
traffic was driving Mrs. Ruby crazy. I tried to play it
off
as “we all know how she overreacts.” The three of us sat there trying not to
look too interested in what the other had to say, and yet trying to get more
and more information out of one another as we possibly could. I knew from the
get go getting information out of these two was going to be hard. But I also
knew if anyone in the neighborhood had any information or ideas of what was
really going on, it would be one or both of them.

Unfortunately with all the excitement of getting to work with Charlie I
had completely forgotten how far ahead of me these two were in the
“investigation” game. They have been getting information out of people for as
long as I can remember. This was going to be harder than I thought. I would
have loved to been able to tell them everything Charlie had told me, but I knew
he would never forgive me. This was going to be a delicate game of cat and
mouse, and I could tell they were thinking the same thing.

Mrs. Houtz thought it must have been Tatiana’s sister they had seen at
Grandpa’s house from time to time. I asked why she thought it was her sister,
and Mrs. Edmonds said because the woman had the same accent, and the two of
them looked similar. Both were tall, slim and had dark hair. They had only seen
the woman a couple of times but she seemed to be very pleasant, but they never
caught her name.

I don’t know if it was too much wine with dinner, being too tired or that
I am new to the investigation game, and maybe it was all of the above, but I
found it very hard to keep my mouth shut and try to get information out of them
at the same time. I think they were starting to have as hard of a time keeping
track of who gave
who
what information as I was. I
don’t think anyone verbally said we were all getting a little confused, but we
sort of stopped talking about Grandpa and Tatiana. I need to have Charlie give
me a few tips or lessons.

It was fun having dinner with them, even if we were trying to get
information out of each other. They wanted me to stop by before I left town to
see how well they were able to pull the house together. I bet that will be a
barrel of fun, two women with two sets of everything making it fit into a
four-bedroom house. I will definitely be stopping by, and if it happens to be
at dinnertime, so be it.

By the time I got back here it was already nine-thirty, so I
thought now would be a good time to get you caught up on everything. Time for
bed, we have a date with the doctor in the morning.

See you later