Chapter 28

Saturday Afternoon …

D oreen smiled, picked up the phone, and quickly phoned Callaghan Griffin.

When a man answered the phone, she identified herself, and he said, “Oh, I think I’ve heard about you.” There was curiosity in his tone but nothing problematic.

“Yeah, I’m starting to get a bit of a name,” she shared, with a heavy sigh, “and definitely not the kind of name I was hoping to make.”

He laughed at that. “What can I do for you?” he asked. “I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong.”

“I don’t think you have either,” she replied. “I’m wondering about a certain house that I understand you own,” she began, then went on to provide the address.

“It belongs to my parents, but, yes, how can I help you?”

“Ah, is it for sale?”

“Oh, are you looking to buy a house?”

“Oh no, not so much,” she said. “I have one in the same area, just around the corner.”

“It’s not for sale at the moment, but my parents are getting on, and it’s certainly something under discussion on a regular basis,” he shared. “It’s rented at the moment.”

“Oh nice. And that was what, maybe a month ago?”

“Yeah, about that,” he said. “Why do you ask?”

“I hate to say it, but some of the neighbors are complaining about an awful lot of nighttime foot traffic and a lot of noise coming from that area, and not coincidentally in the last month.”

“Really?” he asked.

Honestly all she heard was sincerity in his tone.

“I don’t know why that would be. Alison lives there. She’s a friend.”

A boyish charm filled his tone. “A friend, huh ?” she teased.

“Yeah,” he said, with a bright laugh. “A friend, and I would hate to have to do anything to change the status quo.”

“Right. It’s hard enough to find somebody in this world without messing it up when something works.”

“Precisely my point,” he agreed. “If something is working, I really don’t want to chastise her or something.”

“And yet people are upset.”

“What people?” he asked suspiciously, and then he snorted, “Oh no, don’t tell me that you’re talking about old Jethro. He complains about almost everything.”

“Ah, so has he complained to you about this personally?”

“No, but I lived in that house maybe ten years ago, and he was always getting on my parents about it.”

“Were they noisy?”

He hesitated for a moment, then grudgingly admitted, “They did fight a lot. Jethro used to tell them to find ways to get along and to not fight so much.”

“I’m sure that went over like a ton of bricks.”

He burst out laughing at that. “Not so much, particularly since they’d been arguing for a very long time and had yet to find a way to stop doing it.”

“Of course. So, do you think Alison would be open to my knocking on the door and just asking her to keep some of the traffic and noise down after dark, to not be quite so disruptive to the neighborhood?”

He hesitated.

Doreen added. “That would keep you out of it at least. And then she could complain to you about the nosy neighbors giving her a hard time, instead of you getting after her.”

“ Huh . I am tempted to handle it that way, for that very reason,” he noted. “I really, really like her.”

She winced at that. “How long have you known her?” she asked.

“Not very long at all,” he replied. “It came together really fast, and I fell hard,… head over heels, really.”

“Of course, and that’s also why you’re a little worried about anything changing the status quo, because you don’t really have a history yet that you can draw on, when things get tough.”

“Exactly. I really don’t want things to get tough with her. I would just like to keep things going as nicely as they have been, you know?”

“Well then, let me have a quick chat with her, and maybe she’ll be open to some suggestions.”

“Maybe,” he muttered. “You mentioned noise?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so.”

“What kind of noise? And what kind of traffic?”

“People coming and going at odd hours of the night, and the noises are voices, sometimes sounds, like people are carrying heavy things, a lot of it coming from the river way.”

“Really? That doesn’t sound like Alison at all. Are you sure it isn’t one of the other houses?”

“I don’t think so. Richard lives in the neighborhood too, and he’s heard the extra noise as well. He wasn’t sure what to think. This nighttime activity makes everybody a little uneasy, thinking maybe break-ins are happening or prowlers are casing the neighborhood. The concerns are understandable, if you look at it that way.”

“Yes, of course,” he agreed.

She heard the genuine puzzlement in his tone. She was afraid that this Alison had rendered him completely gullible to what she was doing. “But then again, if you could vouch for Alison and confirm that she doesn’t have any criminal activity happening there, that might be enough reassurance to keep the neighbors from calling the police or something. You know how older folks can get when they hear things going bump in the night.”

“Oh gosh, hopefully we can avoid getting the police involved,” he stated in shock. “It does need to be sorted out, and for good hopefully.”

“What does she do for a living?” she asked him.

“Oh.” There was a moment’s hesitation before he went on. “She’s in between jobs at the moment.”

Doreen slowly nodded. “I know from experience how that is… a rather tough place to be in. I’m sure she was more than grateful when you could help her out with a place to live.”

“That’s just it, and it’s one of the reasons I am helping.”

“Yes, yes, of course. And we never really know how bad a situation is until we get close enough, then hear and see some of the problems firsthand.”

“As it turns out, she didn’t have any place to go. She had a very abusive partner before, and they broke up. She was staying at the same house still, his house, but that didn’t work out for very long. She was always afraid of getting beaten.”

“Oh no, that’s terrible,” Doreen cried out. “Where did she used to live?”

“Downtown,” he replied. “From the sounds of things, it was a shared or joint house, with several people living there.”

“Oh, the poor thing. That’s awful,” Doreen muttered.

After an awkward hesitation, he whispered, “I think she may be in really big trouble.… She told me how somebody close to her had been killed and that she needed a place to hide.”

At that, Doreen’s ears picked up. “Oh my, that does sound bad.”

“Exactly. So, I’m sure that this problem in the neighborhood has nothing to do with her. She’s trying to keep a low profile and rebuild her life, you know? Now, I wouldn’t put it past Jethro to be the one responsible for all that traffic, then trying to put the blame on her, you know?”

“I don’t know about that. He seems very susceptible to noise and is missing out on sleep, which is making him react badly,” she said, “but I’ll pop over and talk with her and welcome a new neighbor.”

“Oh, that would be lovely, and please let me know how it goes. It’s not that I’m trying to get off the phone, but I do have work to do.”

“That’s fine. I’ll let you go.” Then she ended the call. With the animals in tow, she got up immediately and walked toward Alison’s place. She knocked on the door, but there was no answer. She knocked again and again, with still no answer. Frowning, she stepped back out of the way, and, just as she did, she saw the curtains twitch.

She immediately called out, “Hi, Alison. Callaghan told me that you had moved into the neighborhood.” The door opened, and the woman stared at her suspiciously. Doreen tried her best to beam with neighborly sunshine. “I know you don’t want any problems with the neighbors, but honestly there have been a few complaints,” she began cautiously, “about all kinds of carrying-on overnight.”

At that, the woman sneered. “What do you know about carrying on?”

“I didn’t mean that kind of carrying-on,” she corrected, with a wave of her hand and a chuckle. “Obviously you’re entitled to a private life,” she murmured, with a gentle smile. “It’s more a case of potentially criminal carrying-on.”

At that, the woman stared at her, and a hard glint came into her gaze. “Who are you, and what do you know about anything?” she snapped.

“I’m just a neighbor,” she murmured, “and I wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood and offer a warning that the neighbors are starting to complain about the visitors at odd hours of the night and the voices and the noise of moving items, particularly from the river pathway.”

Alison stared at her and shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Doreen replied. “So it doesn’t have anything to do with you, does it?”

“Of course not,” she declared, still glaring. “But, even if it did, it certainly has nothing to do with you.”

“Maybe not,” Doreen conceded, as she nodded with a smile. “That’s quite possible, and I’m not trying to upset you.”

“Good,” she snapped. “Then, in that case, you can leave anytime now.”

Doreen took a deep breath. “I can definitely leave, but I really was trying to make things a little easier on you, since some of the neighbors are really quite upset.”

“I don’t really care about some of the neighbors,” she declared, narrowing her gaze. “You have absolutely no reason to be here at all.”

Doreen stared at her and then shrugged. “Okay, if that’s the way you feel,” she replied, then turned to walk away. “Welcome to the neighborhood!”

Alison waited until Doreen was at the end of the driveway, and then the door slammed hard behind her.

Doreen winced and quickly phoned Callaghan back. “Hey, I’m really sorry to tell you, but she didn’t take it very well at all.”

“Oh dear,” he muttered.

“Go ahead and blame me, as she is certain to anyway,” Doreen said, with a smile. “It’s obvious she’s not very happy with anybody intruding in her life.”

“I did warn you,” he noted.

“Yes, I understand that she’s had some tough times, but she certainly didn’t seem to be frail, scared of life, or hiding away. She’s definitely not a shrinking violet.”

“No, no, she isn’t like that, but she is very delicate,” he added.

Doreen raised an eyebrow at that. “There was nothing delicate about the way she told me to get lost,” Doreen shared. “I don’t want to sound like a broken record here, but credible people are definitely upset, and it’s only a matter of time before the police get called over it all.”

“Oh no, I really don’t want my parents to find out about that.”

“As the homeowners, the police wouldn’t have any choice but to contact them, right?”

“Right,” he whispered, but now he sounded worried. “But there can’t be anything going on that would interest the police, right? I mean, I trust her.”

“Sure you do.… If you’ve known her for a long time, then obviously you have a good idea of what she would and wouldn’t do.”

He hesitated but corrected her. “I haven’t known her all that long.”

“Oh, in that case, maybe you don’t really know what she could be doing after all,” she asked softly.

“I would hope she wouldn’t do anything wrong, but obviously I can’t be sure about it.”

“I’m not trying to cause you any trouble or strife,” she explained. “I’m just trying to warn you that these complaints aren’t likely to go away.” After a few moments of silence, she spoke again. “When she was living downtown, she wasn’t anywhere close to where that guy was murdered, was she?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “She did mention something about wanting to get out because things had gotten really violent and ugly.”

“Oh dear, that would be enough to send anybody running.”

“That’s what I mean. She’s such a sweetheart that I can’t imagine her being mixed up in any trouble.”

Doreen took a moment and tried to mentally shift from the rude and cranky woman she’d met at the door to this guy’s version of such a sweetheart, and the two just did not compute. “It is quite possible that maybe she knows something too.”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” he argued. “She was just afraid somebody had gotten killed, and she wanted to get out of there before she was next. So, what else could I do?”

“If she had money to pay the rent, that would be one thing, but are you charging her rent?”

“Well, no, not really. I’m just trying to help her out.”

“Of course you are, and trying to help people is very important.”

“It sure is. Sometimes I don’t think we really do enough for our fellow man.”

“Exactly, I couldn’t agree with you more.”

“Oh, good. It’s hard to always know just what to do, and I really do like her,” he repeated.

“I’m sure you do,” she noted gently. “However, that’s no guarantee that this will turn out to be good though.”

“Oh, I certainly hope it does,” he said, and his tone got a little bit belligerent. “After all, I only have your word for it that there is actually a problem.”

“That’s true enough, and of course you don’t want to just listen to anybody.”

“Nope, I don’t, so I’m not sure if maybe you aren’t the one who’s trying to cause trouble.”

Finding it interesting how quickly the conversation had turned, she added, “In that case, it’s probably a really good time to put a stop to this conversation then, isn’t it?” And, with that, she disconnected. She stared down at the phone and shook her head. “Good Lord,” she muttered. She phoned Mack and filled him in on the call.

“That’s interesting,” he noted.

“There’s a good chance this woman is the same person who was living in the house where Tammy was. I sent her a couple texts, but I haven’t heard back yet.” Just then, her phone started to buzz. “Actually her response is coming in now.” She quickly read it while Mack waited.

“She gave a description of her other roommate that I feel matches the Alison woman I talked to today,” Doreen added, and then a grainy photo came through. “Tammy’s sending a photo. Wait just a minute. Oh my, that’s definitely her.”

“This is getting interesting,” Mack muttered.

“Tammy said that this woman lived in the house with them and would periodically move out whenever she could get another place to live. However, when things fell through, she would move back in again. When she was there, she ruled the place like a queen bee, and, when she was gone, she ruled with a more distant hand but ruled just the same. Jed was under her thumb the whole time.”

“So, we’re thinking she’s behind all this? We think she’s the madam?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she had Jed do the killing, although I still don’t know why.”

“The motive in the Taser death is definitely an unanswered question, but we have identified the body. He’s got a lengthy criminal record, and he’s been involved in a lot of B&E crimes over the years.”

“ Huh , well that fits then, doesn’t it?”

“It fits to your way of thinking,” he admitted, with a note of humor, “but not necessarily anybody else’s.”

“If she’s acting as a part-time fence, and the dead guy’s out stealing, then he’s probably connected to her.”

“Yeah, but you’re lacking one piece of the puzzle. Remember that little thing called proof?”

“Yeah, you’re a bit of a stickler for that, aren’t you?” she asked, with a laugh.

“Yeah, I am, so what we need to do is catch her being involved in this mess.”

“The most logical way is if you were to talk to her, and, while we don’t have the proof needed to solve the case, we have Tammy’s confirmation of Julie aka Alison’s identity. So you could question her about this Taser death.”

“Exactly. I’ll go talk with her. Then I’ll see you in a little bit.” With that, he ended the call.