The Easter Egg Murder (7 page)

15

Harrie looked at her watch for perhaps the fifth time. Less than fifteen minutes had passed since she arrived and saw Sunglasses standing in the outer office, looking like he owned the place. She struggled to concentrate on the papers in front of her. She felt like such a fool. God only knew what Caroline must think right now.

Instead of going out to
help Ginger get Caroline acclimated, Harrie had sequestered herself in her office. She didn’t understand why. When Ginger poked her head in a few moments later, Harrie mumbled an excuse about needing to finish something. Ginger sounded annoyed and said they could use her help when she had a minute. Then she closed the door, leaving Harrie to her busy work. But the only busy work Harrie had consisted of regaining control of her unexpected runaway emotions.

The
reception area was surrounded by three offices, a conference room and a tiny kitchen. Because it originally held a savings and loan branch office, there was a small vault at the back that now housed filing cabinets and storage shelves. The offices and conference room had windows facing the reception area. Vertical blinds afforded privacy when needed. Harrie had quickly availed herself of that privacy and had thus cut off her normal view. When she peeked out and saw Sunglasses had left, she took a deep breath, gathered her wits and opened her office door to see Caroline and Ginger bent over something on Ginger’s desk. She joined them and saw they were examining catalogues from office furniture stores and a brochure from a local computer company.

Ginger looked up and gathered the catalogues. “Let’s takes this stuff to the conference room
so we can spread it out and decide what we need.”

Harrie felt gratitude for the reprieve but knew she would have to deal with her strange behavior and smooth things over with Ginger. They
picked out the furniture for Caroline then turned their attention to the computer brochure.

“Do you
both have PCs in your offices?” Caroline asked.

Ginger sighed. “Well, I guess you could call it that. It’s a laptop I got from one of my sons when he needed a new one. He said it was too slow, and it couldn’t remember stuff, whatever that means.”

Harrie couldn’t stifle her giggle. “Memory, Ginger. The computer’s memory needs to be upgraded.”

“Whatever. I just know that about half the time t
he screen turns this blue color and everything stops.”

Caroline handed the brochure to Ginger
. “This is the computer company we used at the law firm. They’re local, reasonable and dependable. If you’d like, I’ll call them and ask for a quote.”

Caroline looked at Harrie. “What about you? Are you in the market for a new computer?”

“Heavens, no. I just bought myself a new laptop. It has all the latest bells and whistles, and it’ll do me fine for the next few years.”

“
I’d like to have our computers networked,” said Caroline.

Harrie and Ginger nodded uncertainly.

“Good,” said Caroline, “I’ll make an appointment with Duane, their PC Manager. He’ll see what needs to be done.”

Ginger looked at Harrie blankly.

Harrie said, “We’ve been talking about upgrading our Internet connection. If we network, it will be more cost effective, and it will make our lives so much easier. You’ll love it.”

“Does this mean I have to learn how to email?”

Caroline’s eyes widened. “You mean you don’t already use email? How do you manage without it?”

“Well, see, I do this weird thing called ‘writing letters.’ You guys should try it sometime. It’s quite satisfying, and people actually keep them in boxes and take them out and reread them.”

Harrie laughed aloud. “Don’t pay any attention to her, Caroline. She’s used email for years. She just doesn’t like it.”

Caroline looked relieved. “You had me going. For a minute there, I thought I’d have to train you.
”

Then she said to Harrie, “I found a
message for you on the answering machine just before you arrived today. It came in sometime last night.”

Harrie took the note from her without looking at it and slipped it into her pocket. “Thanks. We’ll set up some kind of message box so you can get them off your desk, and we’ll be responsible for retrieving them.”

“I’ll add that to my list of supplies. In fact, I’ll run on over to the office supply store right now, if that’s okay with you.”

Harrie looked over at Ginger’s office and saw her on the phone in an animated conversation. Harrie decided she would return the phone call from the message in her pocket and give Ginger a chance to finish. There would still be time to discuss this morning’s episode.

She picked up the phone and reached into her pocket for the pink slip. The phone number didn’t look familiar. She looked at the name of the caller.
This can’t be right
. She looked again.

Harrie
was holding the pink slip in one hand and the telephone in the other when Ginger asked, “What’s up?”

Harrie handed her the phone message without speaking. Ginger looked at the paper and let out a squeak.

“Why the hell is Nick Constantine calling you?”

16

Harrie drank the last of the water and thought about switching to coffee, but her nerves were already jangled, and she didn’t need more stimulation. She walked over to look out the east window. Normally she loved to watch the way the morning sun lit up the cables of the Sandia Peak tram that draped in two wide swaths up the face of the mountain. When the light was just right, it looked like a gossamer spider web instead of the heavy steel cable it actually was.

But today she didn’t even notice. The muscles in the back of her neck felt tight. When the phone on Harrie’s desk rang, she jumped so violently her neck made a little popping sound. Ginger came back in the room just
as Harrie grabbed the receiver.

“Southwest Editorial Services,” she said in a strained voice.

“Hey Kiddo, it’s Steve.” Harrie nodded to Ginger and pressed the button to put the call on speakerphone.

“I’m putting you on speaker, Steve. Ginger’s here with me, and we both need to know what you found out.”

“Not much, I’m afraid. I called the number you gave me and got an answering service. I told them I needed to contact Nick Constantine, and they said he was out of town until tonight and couldn’t be reached. I left my name, cell and home numbers, and asked that he call me as soon as he gets back. They hung up before I could ask for more information, not that it would have done any good. I’m sorry, Harrie. I can’t think of anything else we can do until he calls me back.”

Harrie’s shoulders slumped. “That’s okay, Steve. You tried.
Thanks for agreeing to take this unpleasant task off my plate. I just hope he calls you back rather than calling me again. I’m not going to talk to him. Not without knowing what’s going on.”

“Look. If he’s out of town until tonight, and he can’t be reached by phone, it’s unlikely he’ll call back until then. Does he have your home number?”

“I can’t think of any way he could possibly know my home number.”

Steve thought a moment. “You know, there’s someone else I can contact to see if Nick’s been in touch. I’ll try to locate this guy and see if he knows anything. Let’s not
worry until we know what’s going on, okay? Just make sure someone else answers the phone the rest of the day. Then, tonight after work, why don’t you come to our house for dinner? I can pick up some hamburgers or something. If he calls me back, you’ll be right there, and we can make a plan. In fact you could stay with us tonight.”

“Thanks, Steve,” Harrie said. “I don’t think tonight will be a problem. I feel much better just knowing you’re dealing with this instead of me. And thanks for the dinner invitation. Next time maybe I’ll cook for you.”

They laughed, and Harrie ended the call. Ginger sat down and looked at Harrie.

“Okay, now that we have Nick under control for the time being, let’s discuss something else. Do you want to tell me why you went all Greta Garbo on us earlier?”

Harrie leaned back in her chair. How to explain the unexplainable? “I’ve been thinking about what Philip said to us yesterday. He gave you those keys and went on about us possibly being in danger. All this talk about black SUVs and watching out for strangers, and then I walked in this morning and the first thing I see is Sunglasses standing in our offices making himself right at home. It was freaky. Why was he here, and why did you and Caroline act like you knew him?”

“Well, it’s really funny when you think about it. I mean, what are the odds he would turn up again after the conversation we had about him and the possibility of you two going on a date.”

“Yeah, it’s hysterical. Is that why he was here?”

“No, he just happened to arrive, saw Caroline unloading the boxes from her car, and he offered to help a lady in need.”

“Yes, but why did he arrive
here
, at our office?”

“He never said. He just happened to park next to
Caroline and saw she needed help.”

“But it looked like both you and Caroline knew him. You were being pretty chummy with him.”

“It turns out that he’s the son of a friend of Caroline’s or something like that. So, naturally, when he recognized her in the parking lot struggling with those boxes, he offered to carry them. He seems very nice. I would have introduced you to him if you had joined us. But no, you ran away and hid.”

Harrie protested, “I wasn’t hiding
—exactly. It just threw me, seeing him standing there like that.”

“Well if you’re really nice to me, maybe I’ll introduce you to DJ next time.”

“DJ? What kind of name is DJ? And what do you mean ‘next time’?”

“That’s what they call him, DJ
– DJ Scott. He seems like a very respectable person. Anyway, Caroline has known him since he was a baby, so he must be okay.”

“If you don’t mind, I’ll wait before I pick out my silver pattern. Honestly, you really are the limit. You’re ready to set me up with this guy, and all you know about him is that he was once a baby, and he’s kind to his mother’s friends. I’ll bet Ted Bundy was occasionally
nice to his mom’s friends, too.”

They heard the front door open and close. Caroline stuck her head into Harrie’s office and said, “I’ve returned, and I’m happy to report success. The office
furniture and equipment will be delivered tomorrow and so will the computer. Duane from the computer company will come after the delivery to do the network installation.” She gave them a jaunty salute and went back to her temporary station.

Harrie spent the rest of the morning going over the senator’s manuscript and making editing suggestions. At four o’clock, Caroline gently tapped on Harrie’s open door. “Excuse me. If you would like me to open up in the mornings, I’m going to need a key. Do you have an extra one?”

Harrie marked her place in the document and thought for a moment. “You know, I’m not sure we do, but I can certainly run over to Lowe’s and have one made.”

After checking with Ginger to make sure she didn’t have a spare key, Harrie headed for Lowes, telling Ginger that she would be back before closing time.

As soon as she pulled into the afternoon traffic on Wyoming Boulevard, she knew her timetable might have been optimistic. She turned up her music on the CD player and resigned herself to a city dweller’s worst nightmare – rush hour traffic. Even so, she drove into the parking lot at Lowe’s only fifteen minutes later. Her luck held when she discovered the guy who made the keys wasn’t busy, and she was soon back in her car. She decided on what she thought might be a quicker route back and was congratulating herself on the good time she was making when she caught the red light at Eubank and Academy. She looked at her watch and saw she had only ten minutes to make it back to the office before five. She tapped her fingers impatiently on the steering wheel as she watched the red light, willing it to turn green. The driver of the car immediately in front of her caught her attention because he seemed to be watching her in his side mirror. As she averted her eyes, something stirred in her subconscious. She turned her head ever so slightly trying to get a better view of his face in his mirror, hoping her dark glasses hid the fact that she was staring. There was something unsettling about those eyes looking back at her, and they were definitely looking at her. She felt a rush of adrenaline.

When she returned her attention to the traffic light, the left arrow had just turned green, and the line of cars started up. The
peeping driver moved his vehicle through the intersection and maneuvered his way through the westbound traffic until he was several car lengths ahead of her. Was it someone she knew? Why did she feel so creepy about the driver? Then she realized he was in a black SUV.

17

Wednesday Evening, April 12, 2000

Philip leaned back in his leather chair, eyes closed, lost in Rachmaninov’s
Variation Eighteen
of
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.
The swelling music as the orchestra reached for the final burst before the gentle, calm climax was almost erotic. In the silence that followed the last note, he opened his eyes, feeling calm and relaxed.

I
t was time to get back to his dictation. In the kitchen, Ramona prepared dinner for him, but he knew it would take at least another hour. She always set it out in the dining room and tapped softly on the door to let him know she was leaving. He had grown accustomed to this routine over the years and looked forward to it each evening.

He went back to the hidden room and activated the monitors. He picked up the microphone and thought about his visit with the private investigator that morning. Philip had used him several times recently and was pleased with the result.
He wanted part of the story about Chipper Finn checked out, and he was concerned for Ginger and Harrie. It was possible they were mistaken about a mysterious stalker, but he didn’t think so. Philip described that situation to his visitor and asked him to find out if the women were being followed. Then he then asked him to check something at the New Mexico Department of Public Health. The detective had worked quickly, delivering his report that very afternoon.

Philip
switched on the recorder and dictated for the next forty-five minutes. When he was done, he unlocked the bottom drawer of his desk and placed the cassette in a box with others like it. He removed a large document folder from the drawer. He selected some documents from the folder and transferred them to a brown 9 by 12 envelope. He sealed it and stared at it, wondering again if this was the right thing to do.

He thought
about the people who had been involved and those who might still be affected by his decision. But only one course of action satisfied his conscience. He knew at least one person wanted to stop him. Maybe more than one, but he would not be swayed by fear. He picked up his pen and wrote across the sealed flap, “To Be Opened In The Event Of My Death.”

There were several photographs on the walls of his sanctuary, mostly
scenes of landmarks such as the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial and of the Senator shaking hands with well-known figures, including Presidents Nixon, Carter, Reagan and the first President Bush. He removed one picture and loosened its back. He slipped the brown envelope between the photo and its backing.

He e
xited the safe room, secured it and sat at his big walnut desk. As he wrote a note for Ginger, Ramona knocked softly on the library door. “I’m leaving now, Senator. Your dinner is on the table. Have a pleasant evening.”

He called back, “Come in, Ramona. I’d li
ke you to do something for me.”

He clipped the note
to another item, put them in a stamped envelope and handed it to Ramona. “Would you mind dropping this off at the post office for me on your way home?”

“Of course, Sir. No trouble at all. Will there be anything else?”

“No, thank you, Ramona. I’ll see you in the morning.”