Dead Hot Mama (17 page)

Osborne shook his head as he went up the stairs. Nothing so classy as a chain chewer. He could just imagine the condition of her teeth. At the top of the stairs, he paused. He recognized that odor now. Mitten’s basement smelled like St. Mary’s morgue.

“That
poor kid,” said Lew, after hearing what Lauren had witnessed in the ice house. “She seemed so calm …”

Osborne slowed the car to let two does and a large buck cross the road. Even though he knew everyone was anxious to get back to Loon Lake, he was keeping his speed at 55 mph: too many deer on the move.

“She was pretty upset at first,” said Nick, “but she felt a lot better after Dr. Osborne told her she should talk to you before saying anything to her dad.”

“Oh?” said Lew. She gave Osborne a sharp look. “I’m not sure I can help.”

“Let me talk to her,” said Mallory. “I know more than anyone needs to know about people having affairs.”

“Mallory,” said Osborne, shaking his head, “this isn’t funny.”

“I know it’s not funny, Dad. I’m serious. Chief Ferris,” said Mallory from the backseat, “I just found out my ex has been seeing one of my closest friends—since
before
our divorce. It really threw me for a loop at first. I had to go running off to see my shrink and, you know, she said something that really surprised me: She knows more people who have affairs not for the sex—but to be listened to.”

The car was silent for a few seconds.

“You think Mitten Theurian has a hard time being listened to?” asked Ray. “Her husband, maybe. But the blond torpedo? I don’t think so.”

“Lauren thinks the man she saw with her stepmom might be involved in her business whatever it is—” said Nick.

“Then
that’s
the party who would have a hard time being listened to,” said Ray. “Can you imagine working for that woman? If her
husband
can’t get a word in edgewise … jeez.”

“Ray,” Nick punched him in the arm, “will you let me finish?”

“Sorry.”

“Lauren wants me to help her out,” said Nick. “This pager fell out of the guy’s pocket when he was getting dressed. She thought I might be able to use it somehow to figure out, you know, who he is or something.” He held up a small black case.

“That is not a good idea,” said Lew, turning around to look at Nick. “Lauren needs to let her father handle the situation. It’s his marriage. I’ll talk to her, Nick. That kid should not be putting herself in the middle of what is likely to be an unpleasant situation.”

“Fine with me,” said Nick. He started to shove the pager back in his pocket.

“Wait—Nick, can I see that for a minute?” asked Lew.

“Sure.” the boy leaned sideways to pull it out of his jacket pocket and hand it over the back of the car seat. Osborne was relieved to see that it appeared to be the same object he had seen Lauren pushing into the boy’s pocket earlier. Not drugs after all.

“The way they were talking, Lauren said she’s pretty sure he has to be a computer tech or something like that,” said Nick as Lew examined the pager.

Osborne flicked on the dome light so she could see better.

“She found it on the floor after they left. She almost got caught, too. Right after she picked it up, she heard his boots in the snow—said she barely had time to hide before he rushed back in looking all around on the floor and under the sofa.”

“This isn’t a pager,” said Lew. “It’s a
case
for a pager all right, but …” She flipped open the top and gave it a shake. Out fell a metal unit about four inches long and an inch wide. Lew turned the metal object over in her hands, a funny smile on her face.

“Know what this is, people?” She held it up so everyone could see. “A skimmer. Used to steal credit card numbers. I have a picture of one of these up on the wall with all the Wanted posters.

“Very easy to use. It’s battery-operated and all you have to do is swipe a credit card through and the skimmer picks up all the account information. One of these buggers will hold anywhere from fifty to a hundred credit card numbers.

“All you do then is download the information into a computer connected to a card encoder and copy all the data onto a blank card. Now you have a counterfeit credit card that you can use for at least a couple days before anyone’s wiser.

“But this is the first one I’ve seen up here. They busted a ring down in Madison last summer that was working through waiters and bartenders who wore skimmers on their belts—right in plain sight—and were paid fifty bucks a number. Before it was shut down, that one ring had used counterfeit cards to buy over thirteen million dollars worth of goods.”

“Does this mean we should turn around and go back?” asked Osborne.

“Gosh, no,” said Lew. “I need to think this over. For one thing, we don’t know who the man is that dropped this—or even if he’s used it. He could be selling these for all we know.”

“You’d ruin a nice party if you went back now,” said Ray. “Be a little awkward to ask Mitten who she was boinking at two o’clock this afternoon. Talk about putting Lauren in the middle—how would you explain that?”

“And if there is a ring operating up here, then I sure as heck don’t want to alert anyone before I know what I’m dealing with. But at the same time, I need to find out if these are being used right now—and alert people. I can’t wait too long.” The relaxed look on Lew’s face was long gone.

“I’m more worried about Lauren,” said Osborne, pressing harder on the accelerator. “Credit card companies can survive.”

“Chief, remember the bartender out at Thunder Bay—the gal who told me she had customers complaining that someone had stolen their credit card numbers and were accusing her …”

“That’s right,” said Lew, sitting up straight in the passenger seat. “Didn’t you say they’re open tomorrow?”

“Open at noon.”

“Ray, Doc, we have got to stop by Thunder Bay once we’ve checked out those trail maps Gina downloaded. That okay with you guys?”

“You betcha,” said Ray. Doc nodded. Christmas was shaping up to be more memorable than usual. He hadn’t planned on spending it in a strip joint. Once again he was struck by how much life with Lew resembled a day of fishing: never predictable.

“Nick,” Lew was saying, “when we get to your grandmother’s, I’d like you to call Lauren, then put me on the line. I need to talk to that girl as soon as possible. Darn, I wish I had my cell phone with me.”

“Wouldn’t work out here, anyway,” said Osborne glancing out the car window.

“True,” said Lew. Cell phone service around Loon Lake was abysmal.

“First thing tomorrow,” said Lew, thinking out loud, “I’ll put out a notice to all the law enforcement in the surrounding areas. See if anyone knows anything, if they’re getting complaints. I think I’ll see if Gina can help us find out what Mrs. Theurian’s business is and who works for her.

“Once I know that I can probably get a police officer or a sheriff’s deputy in that jurisdiction to pretend they found this in a parking lot somewhere, drop by and ask a few questions. That would keep Lauren out of it.”

“Incidentally,” said Mallory from the backseat, “did anyone besides me notice Mitten Theurian’s hands?”

“Only when she was sticking another hunk of gum in her mouth,” said Osborne. “I didn’t see anything unusual. Why?”

“Her fingernails. She has the same holiday design painted on her nails that I saw on the fingernails of that young woman you found over by the Kobernots’ rink. Remember what hers looked like, Dad? Dark blue background with tiny silver Christmas trees painted in the center of each nail and outlined with glitter. Custom nail art—at least thirty dollars a hand.”

“That’s very interesting,” said Lew.

“I asked Mitten where she had hers done,” said Mallory, “but all she said was a manicurist out of town. I was trying to get more information, but another guest walked up right then and I couldn’t ask any more questions without seeming obnoxious.”

Osborne pulled into the circle drive in front of Nick’s grandmother’s house. The porch light was on, but all the interior lights were off.

“Looks like Grandma’s asleep,” said Nick. “There’s a phone in the guest room where I’m staying. I’ve got Lauren’s cell phone number on my dresser. Shall we call her on that? She keeps it in that little purse she’s always wearing.”

“Let’s hope she has it with her right now,” said Lew.

“Lauren,” said Lew, exhaling with relief when the girl picked up on the first ring. “This is Chief Ferris. We need to talk, but it has to be a private conversation—so where are you right now … are there people around? Good … how long do you think they’ll be out caroling? Fine, that’s more than enough time.”

As she spoke, Lew sat on the edge of the bed in the guest room. Osborne waited nearby, ready with a notepad and pen if she needed it. Nick sprawled in a chair across the room, his face averted as he listened. Ray and Mallory were in the kitchen, poised to divert Nick’s grandmother should she wake up.

Lew hunched forward over the phone as if that alone could hurry things along. “We need to get together as soon as possible, Lauren,” she said, then paused. “Yes, to talk about the situation with your father and your stepmother—but something else you need to be aware of.” Talking fast, Lew told her that the object she’d given Nick was not a pager, but a device used in credit card fraud.

When she had finished, she changed the subject: “Nick is under the impression that you overheard some of their conversation. Was there anything said that might help me figure out who that man is? Did she call her friend by name? ‘Darling?’ And that’s all, huh.”

Lew listened then said, “Okay, I want to ask you a couple questions about that. Also, I’m going to give you my home phone number in case anything comes to mind after we talk. Does anything you heard lead you to believe that your stepmother knows about the credit card operation? No. That’s good. I can’t imagine she would, but it helps to know nothing was said.

“Now, Lauren. I’m very concerned for your safety. I do not want that man to know that you found the skimmer and passed it along to me. This is critical, so listen hard: I know you’re upset about what you saw. I would be, too. But, please, do not confront your stepmother.
Under any circumstances
. Not until I know what we are dealing with here.

“The given is the man is a crook or is affiliated in some way with a crooked operation or he wouldn’t have that skimmer on him. But is he operating alone? Is he dangerous? Until I know for sure, I do not want to risk putting you and your family in jeopardy. Do you hear me, Lauren?

“I know … I know how it feels.” Lew tipped the phone away from her ear and Osborne could hear the girl crying. “I know, kiddo.” said Lew, her voice soothing.

“Now, Lauren, can you arrange to come down to Loon Lake tomorrow afternoon? Set it up so your folks think you’re seeing Nick? We could lend him a car to come pick you up. Oh … right, I forgot. Christmas. What about Monday? That’s better for me, too. So we’ll send Nick up to get you. And, Lauren, last question. You did see his face, right? Because I’ll have some photos for you to take a look at.

“No, don’t do
that
,” said Lew. “Don’t go poking around. You’ll only get yourself in trouble. Lauren … Lauren,
please
… look, kid, your stepmother is a human being and we all make mistakes. I sincerely doubt she knows the guy is a crook.

“So we’re agreed that you will not confront her, and that means you won’t say a word to your father about this until we know more. Right? Good. I agree with Ray and Dr. Osborne on waiting until Wednesday. That gives me time to find out what’s going on. When we know that, you’ll have a better idea what is the right thing to say to your dad. This won’t be easy for him, you know.

“And Lauren,” said Lew, her tone gentle, “your father loves you very much. When we were searching for you, he was so worried. We need to do our best to help your dad get through this, too. Okay?

“Do you want me to put Nick back on?” Lew handed over the phone.

“What a mess,” said Lew, back in Osborne’s car. “Keep your fingers crossed that Mitten woman doesn’t give Lauren a hard time. The last thing we need is for that kid to get mad and blurt out everything she knows.”

“What was she up to that made you say ‘no’ as hard as you did?” asked Osborne.

“Oh, dear,” said Lew. “She was planning to sneak into her stepmother’s office. Since she had heard them talking about microprocessor controls and drying cycles, she thought a search through the computer files might lead somewhere. No doubt it would, but if she got caught—ouch.”

“I wonder what line of business that woman is in,” said Mallory. “She sure doesn’t strike me as the corporate type.”

“Her husband is in cement, if that helps,” said Ray. “Theurian Resources Inc. Dave told me he’s got patents pending on a number of new cement products for construction companies. He moved his lab up here in order to test under tough weather conditions. Said he makes his money developing new products and selling the patents to major manufacturers. Apparently, he put six million into that laboratory and warehouse of his.

“In fact,” said Ray, leaning forward from the backseat, “he told me not to tell anyone—but I know you guys can keep a secret …” He paused for dramatic effect.