Chapter 11

Sterling - Chapter 11

"I don't understand." Marty looked over at the lawyer for the estate of Rose Baldwin, previous owner of the desk that she'd opened a few weeks ago. "This is her family's. They should...I don't know, but they should at least want the cash if nothing else."

"They cannot." The attorney, a stiff sort of man, sat there staring at them like he thought them beneath him. "If there is nothing else, I'll be on my way."

"There is plenty else, and you're going to sit right there until we get this figured out." She felt her face heat up when she spoke, and looked at Noelle when she laughed. "This desk was left at our shop, with money and other personal items in it that belong to this woman's family. What the hell are we supposed to do with it?"

"Frankly, I don't care. Mrs. Baldwin was a...I would call her stern. However, she wasn't the person that she's being made to look like. I can tell you that she tried, but things happened. And over the years they drifted apart. Mrs. Baldwin left instructions in her will that her children were not to get any form of a settlement from the estate, and once they went through the household and picked out one item each, the rest would be given away or destroyed. By the way, I have other pieces, a great many of them, that should you want them, they can be yours as well. You'll just have to come to the house and pick them up before next Friday, when the house is being torn down."

"I still don't understand how the desk got to our shop." That's what Marty wanted to know as well, and was glad that Noelle asked. "I came into work one day and it was sitting on the loading dock. I'm assuming, from what you're telling me, that the family would have been the only ones to have been able to take this thing out of the house. Why pick that and not take it?"

"I couldn't tell you, and even if I had an idea why, I wouldn't tell you. They were to take one thing. This person took that, did so with the understanding that they'd get nothing else. What he did with it after that was entirely up to him. That is all they're to receive from the estate, and perhaps he decided that he didn't want it after all. Then with that, he took it to your shop to be resold." He stood up. "I really must be going. If you would be so kind as to have your attorney look this agreement over and send it to my office, then the matter will be closed. Good day to you, ladies."

Marty looked over at Noelle and laughed. This was insane. Not only were they a good deal richer for this thing, but they were going to be able to take whatever else from the estate they wanted as well. Noelle cleared her throat and stood up.

"Okay, we know who they are. The Baldwins, correct?" Marty nodded. "We'll take all the furniture, call them up, and see if they want it before we sell it. There has to be something there that they want."

"We can't do that." Noelle asked her why not. "It's in the contract here. Once we sign off on this, we can pick up the furniture but we cannot contact any member of the Baldwin family. She must have been one hell of a mother to do this to her own kids."

"Or the kids were little shits and deserved it." There was that, Marty thought. "I don't know, Marty. I hate to think that these people won't have anything of their mother's. Not even a picture or anything."

"I don't like it either, but we did all we could. I mean, the money will be nice to buy up more things to sell. And the other things in the stupid desk will be a nice addition to the shop as well. I think that we should get what we can from the house and sell it. The money could go to something else, like supplies for the nursing home or shelter. We could even have a wing put on the library if there's enough of it. Anything is possible."

They planned what they were going to do, and they prearranged to go to the house with an officer so that there would be no trouble. Also, they'd called Tanner to come and read over the paperwork to get it approved. She was still sort of upset about the way things were working out for the family, but when Tanner arrived, he had Noah with him. He explained to them what he'd been able to find out while Tanner read things over.

"Not a nice family. There are four children, all adults now, and they have children of their own. Apparently when Mark Baldwin, their father, passed away, the children thought that they'd have their mother put in a nursing home and they'd take over the company and house. As you can tell, that didn't sit well with Rose. She was only in her late fifties at the time and of sound mind. Still was, as far as I thought, even well into her eighties." Marty asked why they'd do that. "Money hungry? Brats? Who knows the way of children nowadays? But she did turn the company into one of the richest in the world. Doubled the growth of it after the first five years, and went on to do more than most in her position would have done for the community as well. She was a good person."

"So, she had enough of them because of that. Seems sort of harsh, don't you think?" Noah said there was more. "They didn't give up, I'm taking it."

"No, they did not. The oldest, his name was Mark as well, decided that he'd try and buy up all the shares he could and force his mother out. He mortgaged his house a couple of times through different banks. Sold all his stocks in other companies to make it work, and even did some things that were far from legal to do it. The problem was, there were no stock holders to buy from. Rose owned it all." Marty laughed. "Yes, you think it's funny, but he did not. A few days after his house was taken, as well as his wife leaving him, he tried to kill his mother. He was arrested and died recently in prison. But that didn't stop the rest of them from continuing. Rose began to finally see her children for what they were. Horrible people that were only out for the money and nothing more. They broke ties when she told them that she'd taken them out of the will. She sent them copies so that they'd know she meant business. They were, in a word, fucked."

"I see. She tried to make amends too, didn't she?" Noah nodded. "What makes people think that what is yours should be theirs as well? I mean, she was smart as well as brave enough to run a company and make it work. Why did her children think that they needed it all?"

"According to Rose—and yes, I did know her for a time—no matter what she did, they'd want more. And when her grandchildren came along, she would have to pay to see them. Thousands of dollars too, just for a few minutes of their time. It got to the point where they were just as bad as their parents, and she washed her hands of them all." Noelle said that was sad. "It is. And what she's done, she did so because it was all they wanted from her, money. And in the end, they got nothing."

"I hope that she did something good with the money." Noah said that she had and smiled. "Good. I'm so glad. And now we're going to use the money we make off the sale of the furniture to make something good come out of it too. Like a wing on the library. Perhaps we'll call it, The Rose Baldwin Wing."

"She'd like that. She was an avid reader." Noah stood up and started for the door before turning back to her. "I would check each piece before you put it out on your floor. There might be other treasures there as well."

For some reason, Marty thought there was going to be a great deal more. And memories too, she thought. Some good ones that would have been from when Rose's husband was alive.

"This is all right." Tanner sat down with her and Noelle a few minutes later. "There is a clause in this that states should you find anything else in the furniture or anything else you were to take from the house, it is yours. I'm not sure how much more you'll find, but I'd be careful with whatever you remove from there."

"Noah said the same thing." He nodded but looked perplexed. "What is it? You seem worried. Should we not sign this?"

"No, you should. I was just wondering how Mrs. Baldwin knew you were going to take the furniture. I mean, her attorney brought this with him, right? You had no idea the offer was going to be on the table?" Marty and Noelle both said they'd had no idea. "Yes, but this paperwork, it's like the both of you and she discussed what was going to happen, and it's filled out like you had a prior agreement. I'm sure he was hoping you would, but you should notice the date at the top. Anyway, sign it and I'll take it to him on my way home. He's still at the hotel."

After Tanner left them, Noelle sat down. Their copy of the paperwork had been given to them, and Marty stared at hers without really seeing it. It wasn't until Noelle said her name that she realized she'd not even considered how late it was getting.

"It was dated a month ago." She asked Noelle what she meant. "The paperwork. It's dated a month ago. A few days before I got the desk at the back of the shop. She knew. Or someone did."

"Are you sure?" Noelle showed her the date. "This was before I even came to town. I mean, I wasn't even in the shop until after you found it. Yet here is my name right alongside of yours. What's going on?"

"I don't know, but I'm not going to look into it. I think, and this is just me, we should just let it go. For now, anyway." Marty started to argue, but Noelle put up her hand. "You're new to this family, but I have to tell you, some strange shit is always going on, and I've learned just to let it go. Otherwise, you go nuts trying to figure it out. Like your house. That is some crazy shit there too."

Yes, it was, and Marty thought the other woman was right. Time to let it go and move on. Whatever they found? Well, she wasn't going to stress about that either.

~*~

Sterl finished the canvas and stood back to look at it. He'd never stretched his own canvas before and was quite proud of it. There were a few places he knew he could have done better, but all in all, he liked it. Setting it aside, he pulled the next frame to the table just as the door opened. He was glad to see Randal as he'd not seen him much lately.

"Classes were dismissed early because of weather." Sterl asked him if it was bad out. "Yes. I guess we're to get about six or seven inches of snow today. I went to the house and Alta said you were out here. This is amazing."

"Thanks. I love it. It's so nice to be able to just have space. What are you up to?" He told him nothing, but that didn't sound right. "Would you like to go into town with us later? We have to go to the bank for Marty to sign off on a few things there. Then we were going to have some dinner out. You should join us."

"I don't want to intrude." Sterl told him he wouldn't be intruding. "Okay, then. If you won't mind, I'd love it. I came by to talk to you about a couple of things you might know the answer to, at least I'm hoping so."

Sterl sat down too when Randal pulled out a chair. After giving him a bottle of water, Sterl waited. One thing about Randal, he'd speak when he had something to say, and not before. Sterl was thinking about the canvas again when he finally spoke.

"There is this little girl in my class. Her name is Heather. Just about the cutest little thing you've ever seen, and polite, like Mom taught us to be." Sterl nodded. "Anyway, as you know, I have this area in my room for food and such. They can have what they want out of it, some even take some of the things home over the weekend to have so they won't starve, I think. Even a couple of them take things for younger siblings."

"I think that's about the best idea that I've heard for a teacher to do. You're a good man, Randal." He only nodded, staring at his water bottle. "I'd like to donate to it if you'll allow me to. Perhaps some gloves and hats too. Some of my students rarely had those to use."

"Doug donated a great deal of money to it. I have more should I need it. Lately, I've taken to packing up weekend bags for those that I think could use it. It's not much, but I think it keeps food in their bellies until they come back to class on Monday. I'm sort of concerned about the holidays. They'll be without those subsidies for a couple of weeks." Sterl said they'd think of something to help. "Thanks. Back to Heather. I think she's living alone."

"Alone? You mean, you think her parents have left her here?" Randal didn't say anything but got up to pace. "Randal, what makes you think she's alone?"

"When the New Year started, she was forever bruised. I mean, even her little face and arms. Then as the year went on, I noticed that she started to lose weight. A great deal of it for one so small. And there were the dark circles under her eyes." Randal got himself another bottle of water and sat down and looked at him. "Then over the last few weeks I've noticed that, while not heavier, she isn't hurt anymore. Her clothing is cleaner as well. I know you're going to say that she's finally getting help, but I don't think that's it. I think she's doing it for herself. There is also an improvement in her grades."

"So, you think they left her to do whatever people do when they leave children. What about her running away? Maybe she's living on the streets or something." Then he thought of what Randal had said. "No, that'd not be right either. She's cleaner, so that rules out living on the streets. Not to mention, someone might have seen her around."

"I need to do something." Sterl nodded. "Okay, here is what I needed to ask you about. What sort of trouble would I be in if I just showed up there? I mean, like a welfare check? I don't want to intrude, and I certainly don't what to get her into trouble."

"I'd say quite a bit if her parents are there, but none if you're sure that they're gone." Randal said he wasn't one hundred percent sold on his idea yet. "Yeah, me either. I think you're right, but not enough to get Heather in trouble. Also, if they are there, you might make them hurt her again."

"That's what I thought as well, but it's flipping cold out and I'm worried about her. I worry about all the kids, but this one, she has a part of my heart." Sterl asked him if there were any contact names on her paperwork. "I can't get any more than her address. And if I tell them why I want it, then that's not going to go over too well either."

"Did you talk to Joe or Trent?" He said that he didn't want to bother them with it. "But you want to bother me?"

"It's not that, but—" He told him he was only kidding. He was glad to help him. "Thanks. But I'm no closer than I was before."

They both looked at Marty when she entered the building. He loved the look on her face, as if she were caught with her hand in the cookie jar. When she asked them what she'd done, they both laughed. Randal told her what was going on.

"I can help you. If you want, that is." Randal thanked her and asked what she could do. "Well, I'm new to the area. I was thinking of getting a babysitting job, and could go there with that query. You know, ask if they'd be interested in letting me sit for a few days for free. Then when I figure out if there aren't any parents or whatever, I can be gone and they'd be none the wiser. I saw it on a movie once."

"That might work." Randal got up to pace again. This time it was full of energy, like he was excited. "She lives in one of the worst parts of town. I mean, it's bad. But we'll be there should you have any trouble. Just.... I can't thank you enough for doing this for me."

As they got into the new SUV he'd picked up yesterday, Sterl watched Marty. She was excited to be doing this for his brother. And when they pulled up in front of the house, she didn't hesitate at all but went to the door like the plan had called for.

The little girl was so tiny next to Marty, and Sterl knew that Marty wasn't all that big. Tall, yes, but thin. When she went down on her knees to talk to her, Sterl wanted to go and help her out, but knew that he'd only frighten the child. Marty was apparently invited into the house and shut the door behind her.

"Do you think she's all right?" Sterl told Randal that he hoped so. "Me too. I never thought she'd just go in. I really don't know what I expected to happen, but it was not for her to be invited in."

A few minutes later, the little girl and Marty came out of the house. The child had a blanket wrapped around her and Marty was carrying a bag. Before they took a few steps, Marty bent and picked her up and brought her to the car. Once she was seated in the back seat with her and buckled in, Marty asked if they could go to Trent's house.

Do I want to know? She shook her head and told him to wait. Are you all right? Do you...did you see them?

Yes, they're there. Don't. Please. Not yet. He nodded and she looked at Heather. "We thought we'd have some lunch too, if you guys will buy."

Heather smiled but it was stiff. The blanket was tucked tighter around her by Marty, and Sterl looked at Randal. When he shrugged, Sterl started the SUV up and headed to the local diner for lunch.

I've contacted Trent. He told her good, still not sure what was going on. They're dead. And I'd say they have been for a few days…maybe longer, I just don't know. Heather told me that she's not allowed to go into their bedroom… the only one in the house, by the way. I just looked in on them and the smell is bad. They have heat in there, but I don't think its anywhere else in the house.

Food? When was the last time she ate? Marty told him she thought it had been a few days. So Randal was right, there wasn't anyone there to help her out.

No. I don't think, from looking around, that they were looking after her in the first place. Her little area was nice. There was clean clothing on the couch laid out, like she was ready to go to school, I'm betting. No food anywhere, but a few little snack bar wrappers. I don't know what killed them, but I can guess. The house smells of drugs and death.

They made sure lunch was a fun affair. Trent joined them with Joe a few minutes after they were served. The police arrived as well, but kept their distance. Sterl thought that Trent had asked them to do so. When Chloe showed up, dressed in her jeans and jacket, she sat with them.

"I love french fries, don't you?" She took one off Heather's plate when she offered. "Thank you so much. Now, I want to talk to you about a couple of things, Heather. And if you don't want to tell me, you can tell your teacher, Mr. Calhoun."

"My mommy and daddy won't wake up. I think they're dead." The last part had been whispered, but they all heard it well enough. "I didn't go in their room. I just let them rest in there. I get into trouble when I wake them up. But I don't think they're going to wake up this time."

"No. They aren't. Do you know what happened to them?" Heather told them about a good buy her daddy had made. "Do you remember when that was?"

"Yes. It was spelling test day. Tuesday." It was Saturday now, so that had been four days. "Not this one, but the one where we had to spell America."

"Christ." They all turned to Randal. "That was over a month ago…about five weeks now, I think. No, six. It's been six weeks since that test."

"I spelled it right too. Didn't I, Mr. Randal?" He told her that she'd done very well. "My daddy said that I wasn't to bother them. They were going to get it on. I don't know what that means, but they sure get noisy when it's going on. Then the next day, they never came out of their room. I never bothered them once. Not even when the man from upstairs asked me to go get them."

"What did he want?" Chloe asked again when she didn't answer. "It's all right. Just tell me what he wanted and I'll make sure that they don't bother you again."

"He wanted them to take a bath." Sterl felt his heart break for the child. To have lived for an entire month and a half with dead parents was more than even he could comprehend. "I didn't bother them."

She kept saying that. But before he could question it, Chloe did. "But you did go see to them, didn't you, love? You went in there and saw them."

Heather put her glass down and looked at her lap. He wanted to tell Chloe to back off, but she only shook her head at him and then spoke to them through their link.

There was a blanket pulled over them sometime after they were dead. Also, Mr. Zenick's wallet was pulled from the pocket of his pants, and there was a handwritten note from Heather as to what she'd taken. Not much, seemingly, but we found what was left of whatever cash she'd found in the house with a note of what she'd spent. And receipts. A child saving receipts for dead parents so she could buy peanut butter and bread to eat.

"They never let me have things. I know that we can't have expensive things, but I needed to eat. I was so hungry that I could hear it in class, and the other kids made fun of me." Sterl looked at Randal. He looked as if someone had hit him right between the eyes. "I didn't buy the good stuff. Just the cheap peanut butter and the day-old bread. It was good, but got moldy really fast."

"I tell you what. You go on home with Mr. and Mrs. Calhoun. Trent and his lovely wife, Joe, will take care of you for a couple of days while we sort this out for you." Sterl looked over at Trent and he nodded. "Then when we're all finished, we'll see about getting you a warm place to stay. Do you have any grandparents? Maybe an aunt?"

"Aunt Laney, but I haven't seen her since I was little. She lives where people poop all the time, Daddy said." Sterl had no idea where that might have been until Heather laughed a little and corrected herself. "Not poop, craps. She plays craps for money."

"Vegas?" Heather nodded and smiled at him. "Your aunt is a craps dealer in Vegas? That's what you mean?"

"I think so. She does a card thing. Daddy didn't like her, but she's Mommy's sister. She would...sometimes she'd send me money for my birthday, but I never got to use it. It was for the household." Heather yawned and looked at Randal. "Mr. Randal, can I go home now? I'm tired, and I need to wash my underwear for school Monday."

"We'll get you set up, honey." Trent took her into his arms and stood there staring at them before he spoke. "Make this work out, will you?"

"Yes. I had no idea it was.... I knew there was something wrong, but I had no idea it was this bad." Trent put his hand on Randal's shoulder and told him he did the right thing. After they left, Randal looked at Sterl. "Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you."

"Anytime. Now we have to find a woman by the name of Laney in Vegas." He laughed. "Should be a piece of cake, I'm thinking."