Take a Dive for Murder (22 page)

“Why not here?” retorted Charles.

“Customers will be arriving shortly, and murder is not on the menu. This place also provides another little side income for me. I don’t want it shut down during a subsequent police investigation into your disappearance.”

“Carrie, did you drive here?” Charles asked.

“What? Oh, no. Ben and I walked the couple of blocks from the Admiral’s Saloon.” Then it dawned on Carrie why Charles whispered the question. He really didn’t know where they were. “How did you get here?” she asked in return.

“
Jonathan met me at the office, and the guys were waiting in the parking lot with the van. Petrovich and I sat in the back, where there wasn’t much of a view.”

“Oh Charles, that means you missed the sign out front. It reminds me of the pubs in London, where the pictures on the sign have such cute names. This sign has a British sailor doing a jig.
Which makes sense, since the name of the pub is the Dancing Sailor.” Upon saying the name, Carrie could see Charles relax.

Then
Jonathan chimed in. “The picture really does help identify the place. Many times I’ve had deliveries brought by foreign sailors who don’t speak much English, and the sign makes it easy for them to find the pub. But enough of this chatter, we really must go.”

Petrovich helped Carrie out of the booth. Then Charles slid across the seat. As he went to stand, he slipped toward the floor. “Sorry, my leg seems to have gone asleep.”

“Really, Charles, this is no time for you to try to delay.” Jonathan no sooner finished the words than they heard pounding on the front door. Jonathan nodded for Petrovich and Genello to check out the sound.

Before Petrovich and Genello reached the front of the pub, there was a cracking sound and the front door burst open. As the police entered the front, there was pounding on the back door.

Petrovich and Genello took cover
behind the bar and exchanged gunfire with the police. Charles knocked over a table and pulled Carrie behind it for cover. Out of the corner of his eye, Charles saw Jonathan run to the flight of stairs the bartender used earlier. The battle seemed endless to the couple crouched behind the wooden table. Then they heard a loud pop and saw a cloud of smoke rising. This was followed by the sounds of coughing and choking, as Petrovich and Genello emerged from their hiding place behind the bar with their hands raised.

“Tear gas,” said Charles. “Try to avoid breathing deeply.”

“Did you know the police were coming?” asked Carrie. “Is that why you wanted me to say the name of the pub?”

“
Jonathan wasn’t the only one with a listening device. I’m wearing a police wire,” Charles responded. “The only problem was I didn’t know where we were since Stone brought me in through the back door.” Carrie started to ask more questions, but Charles said, “I’ll tell you more about it later. Right now I’m going after Jonathan.”

“Charles, be careful. You can’t be sure
Jonathan doesn’t have a gun or isn’t going to get one.”

“My foremost thought is to return to you. As soon as the police get back here, send them after me.” With those words
, Charles left Carrie and went after Stone.

Carrie decided not to wait for the police to reach her. The gas was beginning to drift toward the back of the room. She got up from her position behind the table and went to the back door to let the rest of the police enter. When she arrived in the back room, she saw Ben bound and gagged, lying in a heap in a corner. She didn’t stop to help
him since the pounding on the door continued.

“Wait a minute. It’s Carrie Kingsford. I’m trying to get the door unlocked.”

Carrie struggled with several bolts and locks before she was finally able to free the door. The police rushed in, led by Captain Becker.

“Are you all right, Ms. Kingsford?”

“Yes, I’m fine, but this young man will need some medical attention,” she said, pointing to Ben.

“Call the paramedics,” Becker ordered the officer behind him. “What’s the situation out front?”

“When the tear gas exploded, Jonathan’s two men surrendered. However, as you broke through the front door, Jonathan headed for the upstairs. And a bartender went upstairs about twenty minutes ago.”

“Where is Mr. Faraday?”

“He went after Jonathan,” responded Carrie. “He wants you to follow.”

“He shouldn’t have done that!” Becker was clearly annoyed with this news.

“This way,” Carrie said. She led Becker and two officers into the main pub.

Becker yelled to an officer approaching from the front, “Everything under control up there?”

“All set, Captain. Bad guys in custody,” the officer answered as she lifted her gas mask.

Becker motioned for Carrie to lead on.
She quickly took Becker and his officers to the bottom of the steps leading to the second floor. Carrie started to follow Becker up the steps, but he turned and stopped her. “No, you wait here! Officer Reynolds, please make sure Ms. Kingsford stays put.”

Carrie had no chance to protest. Becker and the officer went up the steps as Officer Reynolds took hold of Carrie’s arm.

“Ah, Ms. Kingsford, we meet again,” said Officer Reynolds with a broad grin. “In case the tear gas drifts back, perhaps it would be better if we sit at a table closer to the back door so we get some fresh air.” Officer Reynolds led her to a table closest to the back room and pulled out a chair for her.

Carrie sat, as directed. She was helpless and frustrated, not knowing what was happening to Charles. She said a silent prayer asking that Charles be kept safe
.

Charles followed Stone up the back steps of the pub
.
He approached the second floor slowly, hugging the railing of the steps. Charles reminded himself not to be a hero. He only wanted to follow Stone so he could tell the police where he went.

As he neared the top of the steps and his head became visible through the spokes of the banister, he watched for any signs of Stone or the bartender. There was no movement. Instead, he discovered four closed doors along a hallway that ran the length of the building.

He approached the first room. He stood to the side of the door, using the wall as protection. He turned the knob and flung the door inward. It hit the back wall and snapped back toward him. He looked in and saw a storage room. Lining the walls of the room were gray shelving units holding various supplies for the pub. He saw no place for anyone to hide. He left the door open to this room and slid along the hallway to the next one.

He listened. All he heard was the continuing commotion from downstairs. He repeated his method for opening the door and this time gazed into a lavish office. There was no sign of Stone, but Charles knew he had been
there. The wall safe was open, a desk drawer had been dumped, and several file drawers were ajar. A fire in the fireplace was still burning the remains of several folders. Charles dropped to the floor and scanned the area to see if Stone might be hiding under the desk or behind the sofa. Once Charles was convinced Stone was gone, he went directly to the fireplace. He took the poker, moved the burning files onto the slate grate, and stomped on them to extinguish the fire. Hopefully, some of the information could be saved. He then moved to the desk and looked at the remaining contents in the drawer. There was only one item of interest: an empty cartridge box. Charles knew that Stone was now armed.

Charles reentered the hallway. He could no longer hear gunfire, but he continued to hear banging. The police must be at the back door.
Carrie will tell the police I’m upstairs and help will follow
, he assured himself.
Two more doors to go
, he thought as he listened at the third door. He thought he heard a sound. Charles repeated the process of throwing the door open, only this time it didn’t hit the wall. Someone was behind the door. Charles quickly pushed against the door with his full weight. He heard the sound of a groan. At the same time, a bullet skimmed across the wood of a banquet table located in the center of the room. From behind the door, a hand holding a gun appeared. Charles kept pressure on the door as he wrestled the gun away. Once Charles had control of the gun, he pulled the person from behind the door. It was the bartender, and although his nose was bleeding, he came out swinging. Charles ducked, then hit him with all his might and was surprised when he knocked him out. He didn’t have time to tie him up. He hoped his punch would keep him out of the way until the police got there. Charles took the bartender’s gun and went back into the hallway.

The last door was straight ahead. Charles could feel an
adrenaline rush. This was the only place Stone could be. He approached the door cautiously. He listened. He heard only silence. However, unlike the other doors on the floor, this one opened out into the hallway. Charles steadied his gun and then swung the door out toward him. As he glanced into the blackness, he saw a set of steps going up to the roof. At the top was another closed door. Charles quickly took the steps and found the door at the top locked. He looked at the gun in his hand.
They do this in the movies. Let’s see if it works in real life.

He retreated back a couple of steps to avoid a ricochet and fired directly at the lock. The door swung open to reveal the roof of the building.

Charles flattened himself against the top step for cover. He was blinded as to what was to the left, right, and behind the door of the roof. He could only see a small section of open space in front of him. Charles decided there was only one way to find out where Stone was hiding and that was to go out on the roof. He exited the door and leaned his back against the wall of the roof entrance. No signs of Stone. He slowly moved to the edge of his cover and cast his eyes to the left. There was a large ventilation unit, which would be a perfect hiding place. Charles was debating what to do next when he felt something poke him in the side.

“Bad mistake, Charles. You should have stayed downstairs.” Jonathan Stone leveled a gun at Charles. “Raise your hands, please.” Charles complied and Stone took his gun. “Charles, having a gun is so out of character for you. Where did you get it?”

“I took it from the bartender you left downstairs. It’s over, Jonathan. The police are right behind me.”

“I think Petrovich and Genello will keep the police busy long enough for me to escape.”

“You’re wrong, Jonathan. The gunfire has stopped. That means Petrovich and Genello are in custody. You’re a smart businessman. It’s time to cut your losses.”

Jonathan cocked his head and listened. “Cut my losses and do what? Go to jail for the rest of my life? Even though Petrovich was responsible for Jamie’s murder and shooting Suzanne, I’m still an accessory. There is also the matter of the illegal caviar.”

“What’s the alternative?” Charles asked.

“For right now, we are going to move to the other side of the roof.” Stone gave Charles a couple of pokes in the back
.

Charles moved as slowly as he dared to the other side. Stone walked to the edge of the roof and looked over. He seemed pleased. He then directed Charles to move backward.

“Jonathan, what are you planning?”

“Did I ever tell you I was quite an athlete in my younger days? In college I was on the track
-and-field team and quite good at the long jump.”

“College was a long time ago,” Charles responded.

“True, but I’ve always kept in good shape. Keeping in shape is something you should consider, Charles. I never see you doing any exercise.”

Charles ignored his comment and said, “Jonathan, this is crazy. Suppose you make it to the other roof. Then what? You think the police aren’t surrounding the entire area? You’re just prolonging the inevitable, and you may get hurt. Get a good lawyer instead.”

“I have a good lawyer. He helped me buy the building next door. That’s my escape route. Since the police are here, they obviously know more than what you admitted. But that’s okay, regardless of what I said downstairs, I wasn’t going to kill you and Carrie. I was going to detain you while I finished my arrangements to leave TriCity. And Charles, I never meant to hurt Jamie. Please believe me.”

With these words, Stone started to run across the roof. Charles was amazed at the speed Stone generated in such a short distance. There was a gap in the roof edging, which allowed
him a straight shot. He went through the gap effortlessly.

Charles was so focused on Stone he never heard the noises behind him. Stone was airborne when the first police shot was fired.

Charles yelled, “No, don’t shoot him. Quickly! Send someone to the house next door!”

Stone was hit by that first bullet. He grabbed his upper arm. Charles was close enough to see the blood seeping through Stone’s fingers. As the next police shot was fired, Stone hit the roof of the building next door and rolled several times.

Charles ran to the edge of the roof. He could no longer see Stone. He must have made it to the staircase leading down into the building. It was the last time Charles would see Jonathan Stone.

A week had passed since the events at the Dancing Sailor pub. Genello and Petrovich were behind bars, without bail. Suzanne’s parents arrived and were making arrangements to take her home for a long convalescence. Jonathan Stone was still at large and it was believed he was no longer in TriCity.

On Saturday night, Captain Becker joined the Faradays and Carrie for dinner. After a quiet meal, they were sitting in the study having coffee and Becker was finally sharing information with the family about the case. Christopher would normally avoid coffee in the study, but that night he wanted to hear all the details from Becker.

Mrs. Faraday, who was looking and feeling much better, took a sip from her mint aperitif and let out a small sigh. “I know we have all the answers to this horrible nightmare, but I still can’t believe that Jonathan Stone was the person responsible for all of this mayhem. Do you think he will ever be captured?”

“I personally think we’ll never hear from Jonathan again,” Charles answered. “With his connections from his importing business, he could be hiding in any number of places.”

“Maybe he went back to Poland” suggested Christopher.

“Perhaps, but I’d bet on a Latin American country,” answered Becker.

“Really!” responded Mrs. Faraday. “Somehow, I can’t see Jonathan Stone with his sophisticated sense of style in some Latin American country.”

“Ah, but there are several Latin American countries—Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay for example—with communities very much like Europe,” offered Carrie.

“Captain Becker, do you have a way of searching these countries for Mr. Stone?” Christopher asked. “Can you bring him back for trial?”

Christopher finished his soda and was concentrating his energies on cracking pieces of ice in his mouth.

“We really can’t do anything until we have a lead as to where he’s hiding. Then we can request the help of the local police and start a long process to bring him back. But, Christopher, I wouldn’t hold out much hope of ever finding Stone, unless he makes another mistake.”

“Surely the local police would know if a wealthy American suddenly appears in their community?” asked Mrs. Faraday. Then she turned to Christopher. “Please, either put the glass down or pour yourself more soda, but stop cracking that ice.” Christopher looked embarrassed, but jumped up and poured himself another glass of soda.

“Here’s what I think,” Becker said. “First, I don’t think Stone is in a small town. I’ll bet he’s living in one of the larger cities in South America so his arrival wouldn’t alert the police. Second, Stone was a man of great intelligence who planned everything down to the smallest detail. He’s probably been to this city before and established another identity for himself.” Becker drank his coffee and continued. “He has a place to live, financial relationships, and friends. He simply tells his friends he’s retired from business in the United States. And, finally, he has probably altered his appearance, perhaps a mustache or beard, dyed hair, or even shaved his head, different glasses, casual clothing, et cetera. These changes are all designed to make him different from any police photo we might send.”

“So Mr. Stone is gone forever,” said a dejected Christopher.

“I believe so. If it’s any help to you, Christopher, it doesn’t appear that Stone was actually responsible for your father’s death.”

“Can we be sure of that?” asked Charles.

Becker leaned forward. “Once Genello found out that Stone wasn’t around to help him, he started spilling his guts. He turned state’s evidence against Petrovich in exchange for a lesser charge. Genello claims Stone scheduled a meeting to cut a deal with Jamie not to write the story. I think Stone wanted the deal with your brother to buy some time until he could he could finalize everything and clear out of TriCity. Anyway, according to Genello, Petrovich didn’t like Jamie’s deal and pushed him. Jamie fell backward, hit his head on the piling and went into the water. Genello had already knocked the light out on the pier, so in the dark and with the fog, they couldn’t find Jamie. When they finally spotted him and pulled him out of the water, it was too late. They left the area by faking that drunken routine that Officer Reynolds saw.”

“What about Suzanne?” asked Mrs. Faraday. “Did this Petrovich also shoot her?”

“According to Genello, he and Stone were listening in the van and Petrovich was outside the window. When Stone heard Suzanne start to crack he asked Petrovich to provide a diversion so they could get Suzanne out of the house. However, Petrovich decided on a different outcome for Suzanne.”

Mrs. Faraday shook her head as she heard the details. “So this one man with no regard for human life is responsible for all this tragedy.”

Becker nodded in agreement. “Mr. Faraday, we went along with your plan to catch Stone, but I’m not sure I understand all the clues that led you to
him.”

Christopher jumped in. “My dad left clues in his journal. I mean, he wrote clues in a poem. I kept searching for it. He hid the journal in the floor of the studio, and I found it the night of the fire!”

Becker looked astonished as the information rolled out of Christopher. “There was a journal? Why wasn’t I shown this journal?” demanded Becker.

“It was just a book my dad kept notes in.” Christopher was trying to provide an explanation to please Becker.

“Christopher, perhaps you should let your uncle explain to Captain Becker,” offered Mrs. Faraday.

Christopher looked dejected, but Charles came to his rescue. “I think Christopher can handle this, Mother. After all, it was his relentless search for the journal that gave us the final clue. Go ahead, Christopher, but talk slowly, using complete sentences.”

Christopher placed his soda glass on the coaster, sat up straight, and folded his hands. “You see, my dad used a small notebook for jotting down story ideas. I knew if there was any place we would find a clue, it would be in his notebook.” Christopher then explained how he kept searching for the journal and finally discovered it under the studio floorboards. “We didn’t give you the book because it didn’t seem to have any real clues in it. But there was this poem, and we finally figured out the line about the photo in the poem pointed to Mr. Stone. That’s when Uncle Charles contacted you, and Carrie followed Uncle Charles.”

Becker looked at Christopher and then turned to Charles with a raised eyebrow. “Christopher is right,” Charles validated. “I was searching for a group picture in the Faraday photo archives that matched the one described in the poem. I discovered the same photo that Carrie and Christopher found hanging in Jamie’s bedroom. We all came to the same conclusion at pretty much the same moment. The poem referenced the fifth person, and that was Stone. That’s when I contacted you, and, well…you all know the rest.”

Becker smiled at the group and finished the last of his coffee. “Well, I guess that’s all. Anything else I can answer for you?” offered Becker.

“I’m still a little vague about what happened between Charles leaving here and everyone ending up in the pub,” Mrs. Faraday said.

“When Charles left here, he was going to meet Jonathan at the Admiral’s Saloon. When I got to the saloon, no one was around, except for two men who requested Ben’s tables. Did those men work for you?” asked Carrie.

“Yes, they’re detectives in my unit. Our original plan called for Charles and Stone to go to the Admiral’s Saloon and get seated in Ben’s area. We knew if Stone was meeting with Mr. Faraday in the saloon, he would leave Petrovich and Genello behind. The hope was Ben would reveal something that would allow Charles to confront Stone with Jamie’s murder. We wired Charles in order to capture Stone’s confession.”

“What went wrong?”

“We assumed Stone would go with Charles because he would think he was helping to solve the case,” said Becker. “Instead, Stone either smelled the trap or realized he couldn’t walk into the Admiral’s Saloon since Ben knew him.”

“My mistake was allowing Jonathan to talk me into picking him up at the office,” Charles reflected. “Petrovich and Genello overpowered me and threw me in the back of the van, where there was virtually no conversation and no windows. Becker knew I was with Jonathan, but had no idea where we were going.”

“You can imagine how I felt,” Becker said. “I involved a civilian in a dangerous situation and had no way to find him. We took a chance that Stone had a location near the
Admiral’s Saloon
.
So we drove to the harbor and waited. Then Officer Reynolds told us he saw you, and we moved our surveillance to that spot, but there are lots of bars and businesses on that street. That’s how once you said the name of the pub, Ms. Kingsford, we arrived so quickly.”

“Speaking of the Dancing Sailor, what’s the status of Jonathan’s holdings?” asked Mrs. Faraday.

“As I mentioned, even before Jamie was killed, Stone was in the process of liquidating everything he owned. Ownership of the pub and the building next door was already transferred to his sister, who lives in New York. Of course, we are trying to trace his other holdings and businesses, but it’s very hard. We’ve asked your friend Mr. Wheeler for assistance. He’s been a great help since he knows about importing.”

Charles and Carrie exchanged a brief glance, but said nothing.

Becker continued. “As you know he does legal work for several importing businesses in TriCity and provided us with valuable information about how he thinks Stone’s import business worked. With the exception of those couple of folders you saved from the fireplace at the pub, we retrieved nothing of value from the office.”

“Did those folders provide any leads?” asked Charles.

“The folders contained a list of arrival dates for his caviar shipments, along with some limited information about the ships and the producers of the caviar. It may provide the international authorities with some leads about the smuggling operation, but nothing to help us track Stone.”

Becker waited, but there were no additional questions.

“Well, folks, I guess that’s about it.” Becker stood to leave.

Mrs. Faraday stood and shook Becker’s hand. “Thank you, Captain Becker, for keeping the case open and pursuing it to the end.”

“You’re welcome, ma’am. I don’t like unsolved cases. Of course, I prefer not to have cases to solve in the first place.” Becker then turned to Christopher. “Goodnight, Christopher. Your father would be proud of the way you solved this case.”

Christopher beamed with the compliment and shook his hand. “Thank you, Captain Becker.”

Carrie and Charles walked Captain Becker out to his car. They held hands as they watched Becker slowly navigate the driveway to the street.

“What do you think about Joel being such a good little helper to the police?” Carrie asked.

“I’m glad he’s helping,” Charles replied. “It’s good for cleansing his guilt, and maybe he also realizes how close he came to being on the wrong side of the law.”

“You know what’s really interesting? I don’t think Jamie knew anything about Joel’s side business. I really think Jamie contacted Joel looking for some help, but Joel had a guilty conscience. Jamie was a good reporter and probably sensed Joel was into something. Jamie pushed and Joel spilled his guts. Of course, Jamie took the opportunity to make a deal with Joel to get him to stop his illegal activities. Because of his success with Joel, Jamie probably thought a similar offer to Jonathan would work, too.”

“Well, if Genello’s confession to Becker is correct, it sounds like Jamie’s negotiations with Stone would have been equally successful. It’s a shame Petrovich has such a quick temper,” Charles added.

“It makes you wonder why things turn out the way they do. If it weren’t for Petrovich, Jamie would be here. Suzanne wouldn’t be facing months of recovery. Jonathan would have quietly started a new life with no one the wiser. And then there’s Joel. The last thing he said to me was that he hoped when all this was over, we could all still be friends.”

“There’s another good thing that happened in all this turmoil. It brought Carrie Kingsford back to TriCity and back to the Faradays.” Charles squeezed her hand.

“What a sweet compliment. But with everything all wrapped up on the case, I need to get back to my life.” Carrie turned back toward the house.

“I don’t think things are wrapped up,” said Charles, as he placed his arm around her shoulders.

“What do you mean?” Carrie asked. “We have answers to all our questions.”

“No, I think one question still needs an answer. I would like to know if you would be willing to stay here with me.” Charles bent down and kissed her.

Carrie rested her head on his shoulder. “Perhaps I could stay a little longer.”