Final Call (6 page)

Chapter Ten

Bradley glanced at the clock before he
sat down with Rodney and Benjamin and silently groaned; it was one o’clock in
the morning. He sat down and looked across at the two gentlemen; he had to
admit the lawyer looked pretty well put together for someone who had been
pulled out of bed in the middle of the night.

“Thank you for coming in,” he said
cordially.

“I’ve instructed my client not to say
anything until we know what charges are pending against him,” Benjamin said.

Bradley sat back in his chair again and
said nothing, he simply studied the lawyer. Greying temples, bushy eyebrows and
a set of jowls that made him look like an angry bulldog stared back across the
desk at him.

The moment stretched to a minute and
Bradley could see Rodney twitch in his chair. The lawyer merely stared back.
Bradley leaned forward on his chair, placed his elbows on his desk and
templed
his hands. “Why would you assume there are charges
pending against Mr. McMullen?” he finally asked. “Your client came into the
station of his own accord and burst into my office demanding my time.”

Benjamin turned to Rodney who tried to
melt into his chair. “Is this true, Rodney?”

Rodney bobbed his head up and down. “I
thought, you know, I should come down because,” his voice lowered
slightly,
“I’m in charge now.”

“You told me that the Chief wanted to
question you about the murder of your aunt,” he said sternly.

“Once he insisted on coming in and
telling me that he was the heir, I felt it would be judicious on my part to
talk to him about his whereabouts during the past few days,” Bradley explained,
“especially since he had the most to gain by her death.”

Benjamin closed his eyes for a moment.
He stood and put his arm around his client. “Rodney, let’s you and I have a private
conversation.”

He pulled him away from Bradley’s desk to
the furthest corner of the room. “Rodney, how long have I been your attorney?”

Shrugging, Rodney looked upwards for a
moment. “I don’t know,” he said. “Since I was a teenager and Auntie Faye
brought me to see you.”

“That’s right,” he said. “And have I
ever been wrong when I guided you?”

“No. No, you’ve always been right,
Benjamin,” he said.

“So, Rodney, right now I’m asking you
to let me handle this, okay?”

Rodney leaned closer to his attorney, nodding
towards Bradley, he whispered, “But I told him I was in charge.”

“Yes, you can be in charge when I tell
you, okay?”

Confused, Rodney shook his head. “But
how can I be in charge if you’re telling me what to do?”

“Because, Rodney, I am your advisor and
advisors always help people who are in charge,” he said.

“Okay, that seems to make sense,” he
agreed.

“Now, Rodney, I want you to be very
truthful with me,” Benjamin said, turning his client so he was facing him. “Did
you kill your aunt?”

Rodney’s eyes opened wide and he shook
his head. “No, no I didn’t kill Auntie Faye,” he said.

Benjamin patted him on the shoulder.
“Good boy, now you keep quiet and I’ll settle this up,” he said.

He left Rodney in the corner and walked
over to Bradley. He smiled at him. “I really appreciate your hard work, Chief,”
he said, “and your thoroughness. But we both know that my client does not have
the fortitude to commit murder.”

Bradley stood up and smiled back at
him. “I’ve learned that murderers can surprise you every time,” he said. “And,
as a representative of the law, you do understand I have to follow up on every
possible angle.”

“Of course, of course,” he agreed smoothly,
“but it’s late and I’m sure you’re tired and would like to get home.”

Bradley nodded. “No, really, I’m used
to late nights. And I’d rather get this done tonight and continue my
investigation tomorrow.”

The smile disappeared. “Fine,” he said.
“But you will find yourself in a bad position if you decide to pick a fight
with me, Chief.”

Bradley smiled down at him. “Funny, it
almost sounded like you were threatening a law enforcement official,” he said.
“You do realize you could be thrown into jail for that, right?”

“I’m sure you misunderstood me,”
Benjamin growled.

“I’m sure,” Bradley grinned. “Now, I’d
really like to speak with your client.”

“Rodney, come over here,” Benjamin
requested. “You need to answer some questions.”

Rodney swaggered over. “I don’t have to
tell you anything,” he boasted, “because I’m in charge now.”

Bradley sighed and looked at the clock.
It was nearly two o’clock in the morning and, quite frankly, he was getting
tired of the puffed-up spoiled brat. “You’re right,” he said, pressing an
intercom button.

“Yes,
Chief?”
Dorothy’s voice came over the speaker.

“Is Ashley Deutsch still around?” he
asked.

“Yes, she’s at her desk, shall I send
her in?”

“That would be nice, thanks.”

Rodney looked at the intercom and then
at Bradley. “What are you doing?” he asked. “What’s going on?”

Ashley Deutsch, a bright female
officer, came into the room. “You needed me, Chief?”

“Yes, Ashley,” Bradley said. “This is
Rodney McMullen. He is a suspect in the murder of his aunt, but he has decided
that he doesn’t need to answer any questions. Rodney, this is Officer Deutsch. She’s
one of my top officers and she knows the law really well.”

Ashley walked over to Rodney, took his
arm in her hand and clapped handcuffs over his wrist. She pulled his arm behind
his back and handcuffed the other wrist. “Rodney McMullen, you have the right
to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be held against you in
the court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot
afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these
rights as they have been read to you?”

“What are you doing?” Rodney asked.

“We are arresting you,” Bradley said, “on
suspicion of murder.”

“But...but I didn’t do it,” he yelled.
“I want to answer the questions now. I’ll answer any questions.”

Bradley shook his head and turned to
the clock. “Sorry, the last chance for answering questions was three minutes
ago,” he said. “You are going to spend the night in jail and tomorrow morning,
after I’ve had a couple of hours sleep, we can talk. That is, unless you want
to be in charge again and you decide not to speak with me.”

“Benjamin, help me,” Rodney said as
Ashley led him out of the room.

“I’ll arrange for your bail,” he said.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get you out.”

Benjamin turned on Bradley. “If
anything happens to that young man while he’s in custody, I’ll hold you
responsible.”

Bradley smiled and pushed the intercom
button again. “Dorothy, tell Ashley to put Mr. McMullen in solitary for the
night. Thanks.”

He walked across the room and opened
his door. “Good night, Mr. Middlebury,” he said. “I look forward to seeing you
in the morning.”

“You don’t know...”

Bradley held his hand up. “Once again,
it sounds like you are starting to threaten me. You wouldn’t perhaps want to
spend the night with your client, would you?”

Benjamin stormed past him. “Good night,
Chief Alden.”

“Sweet dreams,” Bradley called after
him.

Chapter Eleven

Mary woke just before her alarm clock
went off. Usually she hated missing those last few minutes, but today she was
excited. She had a plan.

Quickly showering and dressing, she
grabbed a protein bar and diet cola on the way out the door. “Delicious and nutritious,”
she commented as she stuffed them in her oversized purse.

Her
black 1965 MGB Roadster sat in the driveway with a thick
coating of frost on the windows. She opened the car, stored her purse on the
passenger’s seat, started the ignition and pulled the scraper out of the back.

“Hey, Ms. O’Reilly, where
ya
going?”

Mary recognized the voice as her ten-year-old neighbor, Andy
Brennan. She turned and saw he was dressed in several layers against the cold
morning, giving him a multi-colored abominable snowman look. From his stiff
movements and arms extended in 45 degree angles, she knew the layers continued
underneath his coat. She wondered in amazement how his mother managed to get
his book bag on his back.

“I’ve got a little business trip today,” she said. “Where
are you going?”

His freckled face fell. “I’m going to school,” he moaned. “We
should have Holiday Break last until all the snow is gone.”

Shaking her head, she sympathized. “I’m so sorry,” she said.
“They should have at least given you an extra two weeks to let you adjust
slowly.”

He nodded. “Or a month,” he suggested with a grin.

“At least a month,” Mary agreed.

“You’re not going far, are you?” he asked, concern in his
voice.

“A couple of hours away.
Why?”

“Mom says there a big storm coming our way,” he explained.
“Gonna dump up to ten inches on Freeport. She’s sure we’re gonna have a snow
day tomorrow. So, I
kinda
don’t feel too bad about
going to school today.”

“Is your mom pretty good at picking out snow days?”

He nodded. “Yeah, my whole family knows my mom is better
than the Weather Channel,” he said. “If Mom says there’s a snow day, there’s a
snow day.”

She looked up at the bright blue sky. “Is she sure?”

“Yeah, it’s gonna start just before school lets out,” he
said. “Less of course the ‘berry-merry’ pressure falls and it speeds up. Then
it will be here by about two o’clock. That’s what Mom told Dad at breakfast.”

Mary bit back the grin. “You’ve got to watch that
‘berry-merry’ pressure,” she said. “So, two o’clock?”

He nodded seriously. “Yes. Mom’s going out to get bread and
milk, so you know it’s gonna be real bad. And know what?”

“What?”

“She’s getting stuff to make oatmeal cookies too,” he added.

“Can I come to your house and be snowed in?” Mary asked.

Grinning, he nodded. “Yeah, that’d be cool. If there’s too
much snow, I can bring my sled and we can pull you to my house. My mom always
says we have to watch out for our ‘
olderly
’
neighbors.”

Mary looked down at him and saw the glint in his eyes.
“Yeah, well this ‘
olderly
neighbor’ is about ready to
give her ‘
youngerly
neighbor’ a face wash in the
snow.”

Delighted with his giggle, Mary darted towards him. She
couldn’t contain her laughter as she watched his layered rotund body waddle
down her driveway. She easily caught up with him and wrapped her arms around
his shoulders, her head hanging over his shoulder. His face was red and his
breath was coming out in steamy gasps of laughter.

“No fair,” he laughed. “I can’t run in my warm stuff.”

“You should have thought about that before you called me
olderly
.”

He giggled again. “I take it back,” he said. “You’re
youngerly
. I promise.”

Mary leaned forward and placed a smacking kiss on his cheek.
“And don’t you forget it,” she said.

The redness in his cheeks expanded to the rest of his face
and he looked around quickly. “Did anyone see that?” he asked.

Can my self-esteem take any more
of this?
she
wondered
.

“No, no one saw it,” she said.

“Then no one will ever believe me,” he said, his face
downcast. “My brothers would be so jealous. They think you’re hot.”

She grinned. “You better get going or you’re going to miss
your bus.”

He nodded. “Remember the berry-merry pressure,” he said as
he continued down the street.

“I will, thanks, Andy,” she called, as she tossed the
scraper into the back of the car, hopped in and watched him through her
rearview mirror. A small ache settled near her heart. She wanted children of
her own. She was ready for the joys, the worries, the long nights and the long
days. She allowed herself to be melancholy for a moment, then flipped a CD into
the player and let the determined strains of “It’s My Life” by Bon Jovi pump up
her attitude.

She pulled out of the driveway, humming along with the music
and by the time she was on Highway 20 she was drumming on the steering wheel
and singing at the top of her lungs, “
Better
stand tall when they’re calling you out, don’t bend, don’t break, baby, don’t
back down. It’s my life...”
 

A pickup truck passed her on the left and the passenger
looked down at her. It was so obvious that Mary was singing in the car, the
passenger waved and grinned. Mary grinned back.
Yeah, today is going to be a great day.