NAILED (2 page)

“It’s okay, Alex. I know what this is all about.” Sam turned to John. “Okay,
Detective Van der Burg
, so I didn’t come to a complete stop at the intersection in front of the school this morning, but I had a lot on my mind. You have no idea. Do you know what your nephew did last night? And besides, Mary McCarthy
never
comes to a complete stop, so I better see her at the station, too. And you know what? There shouldn’t even be a stop sign there. What they need is a traffic light, because I’m telling you, people are in such a hurry to drop off their kids and get to work. And then heaven forbid old Mr. Carver is on crossing guard duty.” Sam shook her head and laughed. “God love him, but he’s as slow as the line for the women’s restroom at the movie theater on a Saturday night. You put a light there, you’d be doing this town a service. So let’s get this over with because you’re embarrassing me in front of my colleagues.”

I looked at John. Somehow I didn’t think this had anything at all to do with my sister running a stop sign.

“John, just tell us what this is all about. You have to tell us something. You can’t just barge in here like this. Please.”

John glanced at me and then turned to Sam. “Mrs. Daniels, Sam, where were you about nine last night?”

“I was home early in the evening. I fed the kids and then I left to run a couple of errands. I had my neighbor’s daughter come over and watch Kendall and Henry.”

“And what errands did you have to take care of?” John asked.

“Just some stuff.” Sam shrugged, but she looked nervous.

“Can you be more specific?”

“Well, I’d, well…I would rather not say if it’s okay with you.”

“Sam, just tell them what you were doing,” I pleaded.

Sam hung her head and John looked like he was out of patience.

“Mrs. Daniels, we’re taking you to the police station for questioning regarding the murder of Victor Sanjari, who was found dead this morning.”

My sister’s head snapped up. “Vic is dead? You think I killed him? Are you crazy? Why would I kill Vic Sanjari?”

“A witness heard you yesterday morning making threatening remarks to the man,” Detective Maroni said.

Sam started to open her mouth.

“Stop! Don’t say another word,” I told my sister. “Just keep quiet.”

Sam looked at me. Her eyes were wide and her skin had taken on a white hue.

“Alex, just make sure to pick up the kids and take them over to mom and dad’s, and call Michael and tell him to meet me at the police station with bail money or a lawyer or both. And Moshi? Who’s going to pick up Moshi?” Tears filled Sam’s eyes and threatened to run down her face.

The two detectives, Jim Maroni and the other one whom I didn’t even recognize though he vaguely looked like some guy I used to be in love with, led my sister out of the office. I watched while they put her in the back seat of their police car just like they did on TV. Millie and Marla stood in the front office, holding on to each other.

“Alex, you need to call Michael. Do you want me to pick up the kids?” Marla asked.

“Yes. No. Sorry, the school will only let me take them. Let me call Michael first then I’ll go get them.”

Millie and Marla followed me to my office. I picked up the phone on my desk and called Michael’s office. It rang five times before someone picked up.

“This is Alex Harris, Dr. Daniels’ sister-in-law. May I speak with him, please? It’s very important. Oh, I see. Are you expecting him back today? Did he say where he was going? Okay. If he calls, please have him contact me immediately. Thank you.” I put the phone down.

“What’s wrong, Alex?” Millie asked.

“I don’t know. He left early this morning and no one’s seen him all day. They said I could try his cell, but they’ve already tried a couple of times and it just goes to voice mail. I have to go get the kids. Can you call my mom and tell her I’m coming by to drop them off? Don’t tell her anything else. Thanks, Millie.”

Marla and Millie gave me a big hug.

“It’s going to be okay, Alex. It’s all a big mistake. We all know that.” Marla was always the voice of reason in our little office.

I thanked them and promised to let them know what was going on as soon as I could. I picked up my purse and left the office with two thoughts racing through my head: where the hell was Michael, and where could I find a good divorce lawyer.

Okay, so maybe I was being a bit extreme, but my
husband
just arrested my
sister
. For
murder
. What was the man thinking? And what was this stuff about witnesses? If that wasn’t grounds for divorce, or at least a few weeks sleeping on the sofa, I don’t know what was. Plus, like I said before, it was really hot and muggy. Those two things together are enough to make me want to kill. But I couldn’t think about John Van der Burg or the weather right now.

I pulled in front of the school and saw Kendall and Henry waiting under a tree. This was their last week before summer vacation. I watched them as they made their way to my car. What was I going to tell them? Your mother’s in jail for killing the father of one of your friends, and your father is off doing God knows what with God knows who. No. That wouldn’t do. I put a big smile on my face just as Henry opened the door and climbed in back.

“Where’s Mom?” Henry asked.

“Your mother had some stuff to do and she said I could come and pick you guys up, and you know how much I like to do that. And now we’re going over to Grandma and Papa’s house and I’ll bet there are some pretty good snacks over there.”

“Does it have something to do with Moshi?” Kendall asked.

I turned around and looked at the two of them strapped into my back seat. “Why would you ask that?”

“Moshi’s aunt came and got her earlier and I saw her crying when I looked out the window. Mrs. Monahan said not to worry, but I think she was trying not to cry.”

“Your mom just had some stuff to do,” I said again. “But she’ll be home soon. So. Are you guys excited about summer?” I asked, quickly changing the subject.

“We have summer camp during the day and then Grandma will pick us up. And in July we’re going to the beach in Maine and the amusement park in New York. I’m tall enough for the fast rides.”

I smiled at Henry in the rearview mirror while I maneuvered my little car away from the school. Is this where Mr. Sanjari was killed? I didn’t know and I wasn’t about to ask the kids. I got them to my parents without further inquiry about either their mother or Moshi Sanjari.

My parents, having been alerted by Millie, were at the front door with open arms. They like nothing better than having Kendall and Henry visit.

“Something told me I was going to have company, and I’ve got cookie dough almost ready to go into the oven. Who wants to help?” my mother asked.

The kids took off into the kitchen with my father trailing behind them. My mother watched them go and then turned to me.

“Alex, what’s going on? Millie sounded odd when she called. Where’s your sister?”

I gave a furtive look down the hall to make sure the kids were out of earshot, and then took my mother into the living room.

“Alex, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”

“Sam’s okay. Physically, anyway.”

“What the hell does that mean? Allessandra Harris Van der Burg, tell me right now what happened to Sam.”

My mother’s face was pale and her hands, which I had just taken in my own, were ice cold. Plus, she just used my given name, which she hadn’t done in about twenty years. Not a good sign.

“Detective Van der Burg took Sam to the police station. The father of a girl in Kendall’s class was killed, murdered, actually, and the police seem to think that, well, that maybe Sam had something to do with it.”

“What? Why? Why would John think such a thing? And why are you calling him Detective Van der Burg?”

“Because I’m not sure I can be married to a man who arrested my sister.” I shook my head in disgust.

“Alex, stop. I’m sure he had—”

“What, Mom, a good reason to arrest my sister? Your daughter. I don’t think so.”

“But why Sam? And where’s Michael?” my mother asked.

I took a deep breath. Did I really want to lay the Michael-might-be-having-an-affair scenario on her at this point? “All good questions,” I said instead. “Hopefully this will all be cleared up soon.”

“Of course it will be. John’s just probably having a bad day. This will all get sorted out the minute Michael shows up. This crazy humidity makes people do stupid things.”

If
Michael ever showed up, and why the hell hadn’t he called me back by now?

“Well, there’s something else. The detective said there was a witness.”

“Alex, stop calling your husband detective. What witness? What could they possibly have seen? I didn’t raise murderers.”

“It seems Sam had words with the victim yesterday morning when she dropped the kids off. And there’s more. He’s the inspector on their sunroom, and he told Sam he wasn’t signing off on the construction. Sam said he’s mad over something to do with his daughter and Kendall, and the fact that Sam has been rebuking his advances.”

My mother’s eyes filled with tears. “This is a nightmare. What are we going to tell Henry and Kendall?”

But I didn’t have time to think up an answer because just then the front door opened and my sister walked into the living room.

“Did you escape or did the detective let you go?” I asked, hoping for a bit of levity before my mother totally collapsed.

“Your husband told me I could go but not to leave town,” Sam said as she dropped her purse on the floor and fell onto the sofa.

“He didn’t really tell you not to leave town, did he?”

My sister gave me the evil eye. “Oh yes. Said he might have some more questions for me.”

“Mom! You’re back. Grandpa is helping us make cookies and Henry’s eating the dough.”

Sam gave Kendall a hug and told to her to make sure her brother didn’t eat any more until it came out of the oven. Kendall ran back to the kitchen and Sam leaned against my mother.

“What a day.”

“Samantha, what on earth happened?”

“Victor Sanjari was killed some time last night. They found him at a construction site for a new home in the bluffs above Pirate’s Beach. He was nailed.”

“Nailed?” I asked. “What does that mean?” My mother and I exchanged curious glances.

“He was nailed. Literally. Someone shot him full of nails from a nail gun and then nailed each hand to one of the pieces of wood. They found him sitting on the floor of the site, with his back to the wall and his hands up and nailed, like someone said ‘get your hands up.’”

“Dear God! Who would do something like that?” I asked.

“Well, the police think yours truly might be a viable suspect.” My sister shook her head. “My own brother-in-law.”

“Yeah, well, not for long.”

My mother pursed her lips into a tight thin line. “Alex, stop that. John was just doing his job. You said someone saw something and they reported it so of course John has to do his job and follow up.” My mother then turned her attention to my sister. “So what did the witness see or hear, dear, that caused you to be taken in to the station?”

“Can I have something to drink? Maybe some tea and hot cookies. For some reason the people at the police station didn’t offer me anything.”

I followed my mother into the kitchen and got the tea ready while she checked on a batch of cookies in the oven. She quietly told my dad to keep the kids in the kitchen and she would tell him everything later. My dad, Harry Harris, is a good guy, and he just said
sure
and kissed my mom’s cheek.

“Here you go, dear, just the way you like it.” My mother placed a steaming cup of mint tea in front of my sister.

Despite the heat of the day, we were all having hot tea. It just seemed to be a comfort drink and that’s definitely what was needed now. And cookies.

Sam reached for an oatmeal coconut chocolate chip cookie, still warm from the oven. She savored a bite, took a sip of tea, and leaned back into the sofa’s thick cushions.

“Okay. So a bit of background first. Victor Sanjari is a home inspector. He and his late wife, a high school math teacher, moved to this area about ten years ago from Hartford, I think. Their daughter, Moshi, goes to school with Kendall. They’re friendly, but there’s always been a bit of competition between them. They both seem to like the same sports and activities and try out for a lot of the same things.”

“But the wife is dead, correct?” I asked.

“That’s right. In April or maybe the end of March, Vic and his wife, Jenna, took a long weekend trip to Maine for their wedding anniversary. They were out hiking. There was still some snow on the ground and ice and she supposedly slipped and fell down an embankment. She died instantly.”

“How terrible and now the father is dead. That poor little girl.”

My mother is a kind woman and has a soft spot for anything or anyone in trouble. Of course her immediate reaction would be to think about Moshi. I felt very sad about Moshi as well, and hoped she had lots of family to take care of her and try to give her a good life, but while my mother’s first thoughts were of sympathy for another human, my mind went straight to the word
supposedly
while listening to my sister’s story.

“What do you mean by
supposedly
slipped and fell? Was there some question as to how the wife died?”

Sam raised her eyebrows. “There was talk. You know how things get out of hand. I guess Vic and Jenna were having some problems. I don’t know exactly, but some people said it had something to do with Moshi. Vic and Jenna had different ideas on how to raise her, and I guess Vic wanted his mother to move in with them and Jenna said no way. I don’t think she got along with Victor’s family. I’ve met the mother and Victor’s sister a couple of times. Very odd people.”

“So what are you saying? That he pushed her over the cliff?” I asked.

Samantha shrugged. “I don’t know. A few people thought it was very convenient that he goes away a married man and comes back a widower and has his mother move right in. And I gotta tell you,” my sister said as she leaned forward and took another cookie, “the man was a bit creepy. Always touching me in an innocent way, but not, if you know what I mean. Even before Jenna died.”