by Alan Cook
Chapter 10
It was still dark when I drove the Toyota to the airport Friday
morning. I picked up Arrow at her condominium in Redondo
Beach. I parked on the street and wondered how she had
been able to raise the down payment to buy into a new
development. It was undoubtedly a good investment,
especially since the tax laws greatly favored homeowners
over renters.
It was too bad Esther couldn't buy a house or a condo.
Unfortunately, I knew she lived from month to month and
had almost no money saved at all.
Arrow came along the sidewalk of the complex, wearing a
tailored pantsuit some shade of dark green and carrying a
new-looking overnight bag. I got out of the car and opened
the trunk. We said hello, stashed the bag and I opened the
passenger-side door for her.
As I drove north toward the airport I could feel Arrow glancing
at me out of the corner of her eye. I realized I hadn't spoken
much so I said, "Thank you for calling me about the cocaine.
It helped to level the playing field between me and Detective
Washington. And I was relieved to get your second message."
Arrow had left another message while I was at the library
saying that the search by the police had not turned up anything.
"Elma was magnificent," Arrow said. "When I met her I wondered
whether she would be able to cope with Ned's death, but the
way she acted yesterday dispelled my doubts. She handled the
police as if she was born to rule. She did more than the attorney
to keep them from completely ransacking the house. But they
did check it thoroughly."
"And they came up empty."
"Completely. They had a sniffer dog and everything."
"Of course, they could take the position that if Ned had
anything hidden Elma might have been able to get rid of it."
"From my own point of view, I know that Elma has been
struggling just to keep herself going, and dealing with the
overwhelming reality of Ned's death, and hasn't had time to
do anything else. In addition, that point of view assumes
that if Ned were into drugs that Elma was part of it."
"Yeah, you're right."
"Karl?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"You didn't want me to go on this trip, did you?"
"I know I've been a little quiet, but you have to understand
that I missed my run this morning for the second time this
week. That run is for me what coffee is to some people."
"No...it's more than that." Arrow seemed to be searching for
words for the first time since I'd met her. "When I talked to
John, for example, he told me that you wanted me to fly back
this afternoon after your meeting with the police and not to
stay overnight."
"I want to try to talk to James Buchanan again, but I don't know
how successful I'll be. It might just be a waste of your time."
"You didn't bother to tell Richard that, did you? I don't think he
wants you messing around in company business."
"Only if an employee is getting murdered."
"I'm sorry...that came out wrong. But still, we...you shouldn't
be negotiating without his knowledge."
"No negotiating. This is strictly fact-finding."
"My charter from Richard is to be involved with anything you do
that affects Dionysus. And if Buchanan is really trying to take
over Dionysus, that certainly qualifies."
"Yes," I admitted. I hadn't previously seen a role for Arrow in
the Buchanan situation, but there might be one. "But if we do
get to see him we can't introduce you as an employee of
Dionysus."
"All right, then, I'll just be a girl. Do you think I can pass for a
girl?"
"Are you fishing for a compliment?"
"Yes."
"Don't you get enough adoration from John?"
We both laughed, which broke the tension that had been
in the air.
Arrow continued, "If I'm going to play the part of a girl, I
want to do it right. What do the women wear at Buchanan's?"
"Dresses."
"Party dresses?"
"Yes, I would say so."
"Okay, that's probably all I'm going to get out of you since
you're a man. Incidentally, if you were really gay, you
would be a lot more descriptive. But I brought a little
number with me that might work."
Why was I not surprised? We were on Sepulveda Boulevard,
heading into the tunnel that goes under one of the Los
Angeles airport runways, so I closed the car windows to
keep the noise level down. I had walked through that tunnel
several times and had learned two things: the decibel level
is extreme and always walk on the side of the tunnel in which
traffic is moving in the same direction as you are because the
cars generate a strong wind stream that moves with them.
However, the tunnel was now closed to pedestrians.
I maneuvered into the airport exit lane and my attention was
taken up with getting into the airport and finding a spot in the
overnight lot. We took a parking shuttle to the United terminal
and after passing through security, checked in at the gate.
Once we were on the plane we were able to resume our
conversation. I spent some of the flight telling Arrow what I
had learned about James Buchanan. She already knew that
Ned had been his partner at one time. Of course my father
knew it too, but hadn't bothered to tell me. Arrow and I
agreed that Buchanan was a wily and sometimes ruthless
businessman, and if he wanted something he usually got it.
# # # #
"I represent Dionysus Corporation," Arrow told Detective
Washington, "and I would like to be present when you
question Karl."
"Are you an attorney, Ms....Andrews?" Detective Washington
asked, glancing at the business card Arrow had given her.
"No, I am executive assistant to the chief executive officer
of Dionysus Corporation."
"Well, that's a mighty high-falutin' title, but it won't buy you
anything. And even if you were an attorney, the answer
would be no. Mr. Patterson is not a suspect; we are merely
asking him some questions. There is no need for him to have
anybody else present." Detective Washington wrote in her
notebook.
Arrow looked as if she was going to argue, but she changed
her mind and said, "I notice that you wrote 'black' beside
my name. I am of mixed race."
"Do you have any black blood in you?"
"Yes, but..."
"Then you are black as far as I am concerned, Honey. I am
told that I have a white man somewhere in my past,
probably a slave owner, but I am black, do you hear me?"
Arrow was smart enough to shut up at that point and
Detective Washington escorted me from the waiting room to
an interrogation room. I knew from reading books that the
mirror in one wall was a window on the other side. She was
also openly recording the session, but it was all in vain
because I had nothing to add to what I had already told her.
She asked me to go over what I had done from the time I
had left the hotel until I had been admitted to the
Buchanan house--a period of over an hour. I had no
witnesses, of course, but at least I told a consistent
story. I figured that if I remained cool she would not try
to link me to the drugs in the car.
I also made sure to emphasize that I didn't believe Ned
was a drug dealer. When we had arrived at the Hertz
office we had placed our bags in the back seat of the car
and hadn't opened the trunk, although I had to admit it
was unlikely the cocaine was already there. After a half
hour of repeating myself, I asked, "Isn't it a little ridiculous
to try to foist a drug charge on Mr. Mackay when there
was nothing in his house?"
Detective Washington said, emphasizing her words, "The
fact remains that there was cocaine in his rental car."
"But that could have been planted by the murderer."
"The car was locked and the keys were in Mr. Mackay's
pocket. The trunk of the car had not been forced open."
"If the murder was drug-related, why didn't the murderers
take the cocaine?"
"Any number of reasons."
Which were? She didn't elaborate. I tried again. "Do you
think he was buying or selling?"
"With the amount he had, he must have been dealing."
"Did he test positive for drugs?"
"No," Detective Washington admitted.
"Aren't most dealers users?"
"There's a definite correlation. But before you turn into
the interrogator and me into the interrogatee, I have
some more questions for you. Did you know Mr. Mackay
was carrying a gun?"
"No! You didn't say anything about that before." It had
not been in the news, either.
"After we found the cocaine in the car, we went back and
did a thorough search of the area where Mr. Mackay's
body was found. The gun was in the dumpster where we
found him. A nine-millimeter Beretta. It is registered to
Mr. Mackay."
"And it's...it's the murder weapon?"
"No. Mr. Mackay's gun had not been fired."
"But...but how could he have gotten it through airport
security?"
"Guns have been known to slip through security," Detective
Washington said, dryly. "They disguise themselves as
underwear. Did you check any bags before you got on
the plane?"
"No, we only had one bag apiece. We carried them on."
Detective Washington tried to jog my memory concerning
the gun, but the attempt failed. If her plan was to shake
me up it succeeded, but you can't get milk out of a bull.
Finally, she gave up and let me go--for the moment.
I guess my face gives away my feelings, for just as Esther
could tell when I was upset, Arrow spotted it as soon as I
returned to the waiting room. When we went outside she
asked me what had happened. I told her.
When we got in the rental car she pulled out her cell phone
and said, "I have to keep our attorney informed of everything
I find out. He has requested a copy of the autopsy report
but he needs to know about the gun."
When she hung up I said, "That pretty much clinches the
case against poor Ned. If he wasn't involved in something
shady, why would he be carrying a gun? I don't know what
an attorney can do to help him now."
"Elma believes Ned is innocent and I believe Elma," Arrow said,
defiantly. "And I know Ned. He isn't the type to get mixed up
in drugs. But the job of the attorney is to protect the
reputation of Dionysus, too."
"It can't get any lower than it is now." Which is why I had
bought the company's stock. Buy when blood is running in
the streets. And it was--literally.
We drove to the hotel and checked in. It was the same one
Ned had stayed at. I was moving up in the world. We ate a
light lunch in a cafe down the street and discussed what to
do next. We eliminated the possibility of going to Buchanan's
office and trying to get in to see him. Not only was that highly
unlikely without an appointment, I also didn't want to talk to
him in the atmosphere of a business meeting, even though he
knew I was Richard's son.
I had brought shorts and running shoes in vain hope of getting a
run in, but I couldn't think of a decent way to ditch Arrow. After
we had decided we couldn't do anything productive for Dionysus
until evening I asked Arrow what she wanted to do, hoping she
would say go shopping.
"I feel guilty not working during a work day," Arrow said, "and I'm
not just saying that because you're the boss' son. But if we're
going to work tonight I feel better about taking off now. Since I
spent two years at Stanford I've seen most of the tourist
attractions. Can we rent bicycles somewhere? I ride on the beach
bike path at home all the time. The sun is out and I'd love to get
some exercise."
Cross-training on a bike was a good alternative to running. Arrow
produced shorts and a tank top. She was as prepared as I was. We
rented bicycles near Golden Gate Park and rode the Bay Bike Trail
for miles. It follows the shoreline through some of the most scenic
parts of the city. Arrow was in good shape and we worked up a
sweat in the warm summer air.
By the time we got back to the hotel I had almost forgotten why we
had come to San Francisco.
Aces and Knaves copyright ©2002 Alan L. Cook
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