Death on a Silver Platter (12 page)

14

Alex spent most of the afternoon driving the back country roads around his parents’ property, trying to make sense of the conversation he’d had with his mother. Her revelations had caught him completely off guard. He felt numb, disconnected from reality, or from what he’d always assumed was real. His mother had tossed a hand grenade at him and then assumed he’d go away like a good little boy and deal with it. But he wasn’t dealing. Not at all. The longer he thought about it, the uglier the ramifications became.

When he’d entered her study this morning, he was certain that if he could present his case for taking the company public in just the right way, she’d see it for the incredible opportunity it was. But in one moment of truth-telling, she’d blown it all away. His hopes, his dreams, his life. Sure, he understood now why the company had to be sold, but that knowledge was little compensation.

The problem was, his mother had given him only a small piece of the puzzle. She was obviously embarrassed by her behavior. Alex should have asked more questions, should have demanded answers, but he’d always processed information slowly. When he’d walked out of her study, he was on information overload. He needed time to figure out what he really felt. It was during his afternoon drive that he’d come to an important realization. He’d never truly hated his mother before, but he did now—with an intensity that frightened him. He’d also formulated a plan. He would go home, shower and clean himself up, then return to the main house and demand that she tell him everything. He had no intention of harming the innocent, but the one person he knew for sure who
wasn’t
innocent in this whole mess was his mother. Good old Mad Dog Millie. He wanted names. Dates. All the sordid details. If she refused to talk, well, his plan hadn’t taken him that far. But when the time came, he’d know what to do. Of that he was certain.

As he trudged up the walk to his house, Roman met him at the front door.

“Why didn’t you answer any of my calls?” asked Roman.

“I had my cell phone turned off.” He didn’t want to get into an argument right now. He’d already had one dreadful conversation today. But by the look in Roman’s eyes, he could tell he was headed for another.

Roman was a mercurial man with a terrible temper. Alex never knew from one moment to the next what kind of mood he’d be in. By all rights, he should have been a business tycoon by now, but it hadn’t happened. His lack of success in his chosen field had left him bitter. And yet he was still trying, still reaching for the brass ring that had always eluded him. His kitchen company had burned up the business circles in Canada for years, becoming a major player, as well as a major moneymaker. But a downturn in the Canadian economy at the same time Roman was in the process of expanding had left him looking for cash just to keep going.

Roman and Alex had met at a building convention in Toronto in the summer of 1998. Over drinks that first night, they’d hit it off. During the next few days, they discussed Kitchen Visions’ financial predicament in some detail. Their physical relationship also began during that week in Toronto. Roman was up front about his marital status. He said he’d been married for many years, but had never been happy. For the past year, his wife had been experiencing some debilitating emotional problems. Anxiety and depression. Leaving her while she was ill wasn’t an option. Roman also told Alex that he’d had lots of affairs—with both men and women. He considered himself bisexual, although he was finding that, as he got older, he was drawn almost exclusively to men.

Four months later, when Roman came to Minnesota for a visit, Alex had begun to muse out loud about buying his company, bringing it under the wing of Veelund Industries. Alex saw it as a good business deal, and a way to continue his relationship with Roman.

Roman was initially skeptical. He didn’t want to sell, he wanted a loan. Alex understood his hesitance, but Roman’s financial problems were growing worse by the day. Over time, they were able to reach an agreement. Veelund Industries would buy the company, but Roman would retain the presidency and, in effect, control. In the bargain, Alex would get the chance to work with a businessman he’d grown to admire, and a man he’d grown to love.

Roman, who was nine years older than Alex, was a man full of ideas, constantly in motion. Where Alex tended to sit back and study an issue to death, Roman acted. Alex felt they made a good team, each tempering the other. In the beginning, they both needed to be discreet about their personal relationship, but Roman had left his wife at the beginning of the year. She’d returned to Canada, having recovered from the worst of her emotional illness, and seemed to be remarkably sanguine about their separation. Roman hadn’t pressed her for a divorce, and that was fine with Alex. The fact that he was married put people off the track, specifically Alex’s mother.

“Your sister stopped by with that friend of hers,” said Roman, lighting a cigarette and sucking in the smoke as if it were pure oxygen.

“You mean Sophie?”

He nodded.

Pulling off his polo shirt, Alex headed into the bedroom. He sat down on the bed and began to untie his shoes and remove his socks. “When?”

“Shortly after you left this morning.” Roman stood in the doorway.

“I thought you were leaving. How come you were still here?”

“I had some business calls to make.” He took a drag from the cigarette. A tiny bit of ash fell to the wood floor.

“What did Elaine want?”

“Alex, look at me.”

He stood up and unhooked his belt. “What?” “Elaine always calls when she is about to bring someone over, yes?”

“Always.”

“But she didn’t this morning. This Sophie wants to build a log home. Elaine demanded to bring her inside.”

“I don’t understand—”

“Elaine knows about us.”

Their eyes locked. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“The bed was unmade. My clothes were strewn around the room. She could tell I’d spent the night. Do I need to give you the blow by blow of her reaction?”

Alex couldn’t believe Roman had been so stupid as to let her in before he’d cleaned up. “You should have stopped her.”

“Do you think I want her to know about us? I just handed her the means to blackmail you into doing whatever she wants. If your mother finds out that we are lovers, who knows what she will do?”

“Elaine would never use my personal life to blackmail me.”

“You are blind, Alex. You do not see what is right before your eyes. Your sister has been jealous of my relationship with you from the very beginning. She hates me.”

“You’re not her favorite person, sure, but I think that’s way too strong.”

“She has much to lose when we take the company public.”

Alex sat back down on the bed. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he said, “I’m sorry, Roman, but . . . that’s not going to happen.”

Roman didn’t respond. “Meaning what?” he said after a few seconds. “That you could not convince your mother when you talked to her this morning?”

“Something like that.”

“Then we will figure out another approach.” He was smoking in quick jabs now, pacing in front of the bed.

“It’s over. The company will be sold as soon as possible.”

“I do not understand.”

“And I can’t explain it.”

“But”—he smashed the cigarette out in an ashtray— “you cannot do that to me.” He took a few steps closer to the bed. “We have made plans. Ever since I came on board, this was always our idea. How can you change your mind after such a short battle? You must not lose confidence, Alex. We are so close to realizing our dreams.”

“I can’t stop it.”

“You are weak! You are a
weak
man to let your mother tell you what to do.”

Roman’s French accent had grown so thick, Alex could barely understand him.

“You do not love me!”

“I do. But it’s out of my hands.”

“It is your mother. She commands and you jump.”

“It’s a family issue. But when the company is sold, I’ll be a very rich man. Richer than I am now. We can do whatever we want, Roman. Go abroad. Begin a new life together, one where we don’t have to hide our feelings. I’m so sick of all this sneaking around.”

Roman’s face was full of disgust. “You lie to me. You use me and my company and then you toss us away. I do not know how I could be so wrong about you, but you have failed me, Alex. And there is nothing more to say.” He stood waiting for Alex to respond. He’d played every card in his deck, but this time, it wouldn’t be enough.

Alex felt sorry for him. He wished that Roman would get off the dime, stop with the temper tantrums and see that there was a rich, full life waiting for them. Alex got up and walked into the bathroom. But when the front door slammed a few seconds later, he grabbed his shirt, pulled it back on, then rushed to catch up. Cracking the door, he heard Roman holler, “You do not understand me at all. All I get from you is sex and greeting card sentiments.”

Alex stepped out on the front porch. “Come back in and we’ll have a glass of wine, talk some more.”

“You are a pathetic mama’s boy,” spat Roman. He’d opened his car door and was ready to get in. But he waited. He was willing to be coaxed.

Picking his way barefoot though the white stones on the walk, Alex headed for the driveway. Before he got ten feet, he heard the report of a rifle. An instant later another shot rang out as the rear window of Roman’s car exploded.

“Get down,” screamed Alex. He sprinted toward the BMW and took a flying leap behind the car. Roman was on his hands and knees near the front tire.

“What the hell is going on?” said Roman, covering his head. “Who the hell is shooting at us?”

Alex wasn’t positive, but he thought the sniper was in the grove to the south of the tennis court. The grove was a thick woods about two blocks long and maybe a block wide, clustered around a section of Dog Tail Creek.

“Just stay down,” said Alex.

For the next few minutes, they waited. But as suddenly as the shooting had begun, it stopped.

“Do you think he’s gone?” asked Roman finally, uncovering his head.

“He’s probably waiting for us to show ourselves.”

“Do you have your cell phone?”

“It’s in my car.”

“Mine is out of juice.” He wiped the sweat from his eyes.

Alex was sweating, too. “Take off your shoe.”

“Why?”

Alex reached over and yanked a loafer off Roman’s right foot. He inched it upward until just the tip of it was showing. When nothing happened, he inched it up higher, moving it slowly back and forth. Either the guy was gone, or he saw the ruse for what it was.

“Maybe someone heard the shots and will call the police,” said Roman.

Alex took a look over his shoulder, back toward Elaine’s house. He couldn’t see a car in her drive. She was probably still up at Prairie Lodge. “We better sit tight.”

“What if the sniper moves, tries to shoot from a different angle?”

“If he wants to remain anonymous, he can’t leave the grove,” said Alex. His only way out was back toward the main house.

“What the hell does this guy want with us? What did we do?”

“Maybe he just wants to scare us.”

“This is your property. Do something!”

Alex thought about it. “I’m going to make a run back to the cabin.” They could wait until dark to make a break, but that was hours away. And darkness would provide cover not only for them, but also for the sniper.

“Good idea,” said Roman.

Alex thought Roman might try to talk him out of it, but instead, he offered encouragement. Swell.

“Just don’t run in a straight line.”

Crouching at the front of the car, Alex peered out from behind the bumper. He couldn’t see anyone in the woods, but that didn’t mean anything. With all the trees and the dense underbrush, it was a perfect place to hide.

Pushing away from the car, he zigzagged his way to the front door, glad that he’d left it open. Diving inside, he hit the floor with a grunt. It took him a few seconds to catch his breath and then he was on the phone. His heart was pounding. “This is Alexander Veelund,” he said when a man’s voice answered. “I need help. The Veelund property is at the crossroads of County Road Thirty-one and Highway Fifty-nine. Send a police car right away. Someone just tried to kill me!”

15

The sound of banging woke Elaine. Moving up slowly from the depths of her dream, it took a few moments to get her bearings. She blinked open her eyes and glanced at the clock on her nightstand. It was three-twenty in the morning.

She was at home in her own bed for the first time since her daughter’s suicide attempt. Nathan had left a few hours ago. After a swim in the pool at the main house, they’d walked back to her place and had dinner on the terrace. One thing led to another and they’d ended up in bed. The scent of his aftershave still lingered in the sheets.

The banging started up again. This time, Elaine realized someone was knocking on the front door. She could hear a male voice shouting her name. Switching on the light, she threw on a bathrobe and hurried to the top of the stairs. “I’m coming,” she called.

Her thoughts turned instantly to the shooting at Alex’s cabin on Saturday night. After a thorough search of the property, the police had found nothing but a few empty rifle casings to help them identify the sniper. When they finally left around seven, they promised to get to the bottom of it, but no one in the family had heard from them all day. Maybe they didn’t do investigations on Sunday.

Squinting through the peephole, Elaine saw that Mick was standing outside. She threw the door open and he rushed in.

“You’ve gotta help me,” he said. He looked like he’d run a mile through a swamp. His pants and shirt were soaking wet with leaves and twigs clinging to them.

“What is it?” she said, tying the robe more snugly at her waist. “Is it Tracy?”

He was so out of breath, he had to sit for a moment before he could continue. Sinking down on a bench by the front door, he said, “She’s gone.”

“Gone! Gone where?”

“I don’t know.” He coughed.

“She can’t be gone. The bodyguard I posted outside her door—”

“Tracy drugged her.”

“What?”

Now he looked terrified.

Elaine grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. “Tell me!”

“Look, it’s not my fault. It was all her idea. She wanted out, okay? She felt like she was in jail. I was supposed to tell everyone that I was going home for the night and then leave. That’s what I did. But in reality, I waited for her in my truck about a mile past the house—out on County Road Thirty-one. She was supposed to stay until everyone had gone to bed and the bodyguard had nodded off, then climb out the window and down the trellis. She said she’d done it a thousand times. It was a piece of cake.”

“Go on.”

“She never came. I waited, but she never came. She was supposed to meet me between one and one-thirty. I waited and waited, and finally I got scared. I thought maybe something had gone wrong. So I left my truck and ran back to the house. I couldn’t remember where the bridge over the creek was, so I had to wade through it. That slowed me down.” He took a deep breath. “When I finally got to the main house, I saw that her room was dark and the window was open. I called her name a couple of times, but I figured that if I kept on calling, I might wake someone inside, so I climbed up. She wasn’t there. The bodyguard was out like a light, so I knew that part had gone okay. I walked around the house, looking for her, but I couldn’t find her anywhere. That’s when I bumped into Zander.”

“Zander? Why was he up?”

“He said he couldn’t sleep. He’d gone downstairs to get himself a glass of milk. I ran into him in the pantry. I had to tell him what was up. I mean, I didn’t have a choice. He saw me leave around eleven. He told me to wait in the kitchen, that he’d go wake Danny.” Mick took another deep breath. “When Danny got downstairs, I explained everything to him. He told me to run to your place and get you up. He took the cart over to Alex’s house to get him. They should be here any second. Zander said there was no point in waking your mother until we knew what was really going on.”

Elaine’s head was spinning, but she could agree with his last statement. She didn’t want to upset her mother if this was just another one of Tracy’s pranks.

“You should have told me what Tracy was planning!”

“I couldn’t. I just . . . couldn’t.”

“For God’s sake, that’s what I’m paying you for! This could be a matter of life and death. What if she’s off—”

“She’s not. She promised. I love her! I’d never let anything bad happen to her.”

Elaine wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly. “You
love
her?”

He looked up at her defiantly. “Yes.”

Before she could ask another question, she heard a motor. She rushed outside just as Danny and Alex jumped out of the cart. Danny reached her first. Slipping his arm around her shoulders, he walked her back inside. Alex entered a few moments later and shut the door behind him.

“Let’s turn on some lights,” said Danny, moving into the living room.

Everyone followed, but no one seemed to want to sit down.

Elaine could see her brothers eyeing the dining room table. She hadn’t cleared the dishes yet. They could see that she’d had company.

“She’s for sure not at the main house,” said Mick, pushing his hands into the back pockets of his wet jeans. “I checked everywhere. Well, except Mrs. Veelund’s room. But I doubt Tracy would go in there. Besides, the light was off. Since Tracy’s window was open, my guess is she did what she’d planned. She left. Maybe something happened to her on the way to my truck. Maybe . . . I don’t know. Maybe she stepped in a hole and sprained her ankle.”

“Did you check the pool house?” asked Alex.

Mick nodded. “Zander said he’d call me on my cell phone if she turns up at the main house.”

A frightening thought struck Elaine. She backed up, then spun around. It was an involuntary response. She couldn’t help herself. She felt sick inside. Panicky.

“What is it?” asked Alex.

“The grove. Did anyone check that?”

“No,” said Mick, looking confused. “Why would she go there?”

“If you know something, tell us,” demanded Alex, looming over Mick.

Danny leaned against the back of the couch. “What are you thinking, Alex? That her disappearance has something to do with the shots that were fired at you and Roman?”

“We need to check the grove right away,” said Elaine. “There’s not a moment to lose.” Wearing nothing but her robe, she rushed outside. Everyone followed.

The early fall night was warm and windy. Sitting in the front seat of the cart as Danny drove over the moon-bleached land, Elaine felt a deep trembling take hold of her. In a matter of minutes, she could be facing a nightmare.

Glancing at Elaine, Danny said, “Is there something about the grove that we don’t know? Something besides the sniper?”

As if in a trance, Elaine said, “It’s where Tracy was molested when she was a child.”

Danny stopped the cart and turned to look at her.
“Molested?”

From the backseat, she could feel Alex’s hand take hold of her shoulder.

“I didn’t know,” whispered Mick. “She never told me.”

“She never told anyone,” said Elaine. “Not until she started seeing a therapist.”

“Who did it?” asked Alex. “I’ll kill him. I’ll kill him with my bare hands.”

“She wouldn’t tell me,” said Elaine.

“So . . . what are you saying?” said Danny. “That this person, whoever he is, is still around? That he’s still trying to hurt her?”

“I don’t know,” said Elaine. “Just keep going. I have an awful feeling.”

Mick jumped off the cart. “I can run faster than this damn thing can move.” He took off, disappearing into the darkness.

Danny pressed the pedal to the floor and the cart jerked forward.

“I wish we’d brought a flashlight,” said Elaine.

“I’ve got one,” said Alex.

“If she’s not there, what do we do?” asked Danny.

Elaine hoped beyond hope that they wouldn’t find her in the grove. But if they didn’t, Danny was right. What did they do next?

“I think we should call the police,” said Elaine.

“Tracy won’t be considered a missing person until she’s gone for twenty-four hours,” said Danny, veering to the right at the fork in the road.

“Maybe if they know she just tried to—” Alex stopped before he finished the sentence.

Elaine knew what he was going to say. The police might respond more quickly if they thought the young woman was suicidal.

“I’ve got a friend who works for the Ahern County Sheriff’s Office,” said Alex. “I’ll call him.”

“Call him now,” said Elaine.

“Might as well,” said Danny. “If we don’t find her, we’ll probably spend the rest of the night looking for her out here in the dark. If the police are willing, they could help.”

Alex made the call.

While he talked, Elaine tried to focus her thoughts. Both of her brothers seemed genuinely surprised and horrified by what had happened to Tracy. She desperately wanted to believe that their reaction meant that neither was the guilty party. They’d always been a team. The three of them against Mad Dog Millie. No matter what their problems had been over the years, what arguments they’d gotten into or what business frustrations they’d endured, deep down she believed they loved one another.

In the backseat Alex had just ended his conversation. “Andy says he’ll swing by the house in about fifteen minutes.”

“Good,” said Elaine, feeling relieved. They’d finally have someone official on the scene, a cop who would know what to do.

A few minutes later they pulled up to the edge of the tennis court. Danny turned off the motor and the three of them got out. Since Alex was the only one with a flashlight, they followed him.

Danny called Mick’s name a couple of times, but he didn’t want to shout. They were too close to the main house for that. Mick didn’t respond.

The grove was mostly elms and birch, with a number of paths cut through the brush. As a kid, Elaine used to play hide-and-seek in the grove with her brothers, sometimes late into the night. Once upon a time, she knew the paths like the back of her hand, but that was long ago.

They found Mick crouched on the bank of the creek, gazing up at the moon.

“I’ve looked everywhere,” he said, breathing hard. “If she could hear me, she would have answered. She could see I was alone and she’s got nothing to fear from me. That’s why I don’t think she’s here.”

“Then where is she?” demanded Elaine, her eyes searching the darkness. She was growing more frantic by the second.

He shook his head. “I think she ditched me. I’ll bet she took one of the bicycles from the garage and rode out to the main highway.”

“Then what?” said Alex.

Mick slapped a mosquito on his arm. “I can’t believe she ditched me.”

Danny checked his watch. “It’s nearly four. It’ll be light soon.”

“Not soon enough,” said Elaine.

“I’ll take the cart back to the garage,” said Alex, handing the flashlight to Elaine. “It’ll just take a couple of minutes. There are three bikes hanging up on hooks in the back. If one’s gone, we’ll have that much of an answer.”

“I’ll go with you,” said Danny.

As the two of them sprinted off, guided only by the light of the moon, Elaine began to pace. Glancing down at Mick, who seemed more concerned with being ditched than he was with the notion that Tracy could be in grave danger, she said, “You’re fired.”

“Huh?” He looked up at her.

“I don’t want you around my daughter. I’ll write you one last check and then you’re out of her life. For good.”

He scrambled to his feet, but before he could protest, Elaine turned around. “Quiet.” She listened. “Did you hear something?”

“Yes, you giving me my walking papers. Look, I—”

“Shut up!” Off in the distance she could hear Alex calling her name. “They must have found her!” Feeling her heart leap into her throat, Elaine pointed the flashlight at the path through the trees and rushed off in the direction of the sound.