Chapter 22 Dredging Up The Past
DREDGING UP THE PAST
At the end of the day on Friday, Gale walked into her condo building to see Rocco with another tenant. Town board member, Cindy Fryer. She wondered if that was who Rocco was told to contact two days ago. Cindy’s husband, Bill, was next to his wife.
Both men looked frazzled, Cindy’s face red, her arms crossed, and her stance combative.
Normally she’d hightail it past them because Cindy was nothing more than a pain in her butt always preaching about how much the McGregors do for this town. Cindy was the one pushing through projects as fast as she could.
Wonder if that was someone on the take or not? Wouldn’t surprise her.
“Hi, everyone,” she said. Everything in her body told her to be that nosy neighbor everyone was to her.
“Gale,” Cindy said. “Perfect timing. Have you been hearing noises in the building?”
“Nothing more than normal,” she said. She leaned closer to Cindy. “You know, like people getting closer to conversation than they should be.”
Cindy let out a huff and nodded. “Tell me about it. But I told Rocco that there are scratching noises in the building. As if animals are in the walls. I heard it first in the hallways and now it’s in our place.”
“That sounds annoying,” she said. She turned to Rocco. His face was flush as if he had a million other more important things he could deal with right now than these petty complaints.
“I told Cindy that it’s possible there are mice in the walls. Mice are everywhere. I can set some traps, but we’ve got exterminators coming to spray around the grounds. It will help.”
“We’ve got woods and trees all around us,” Bill said. “My wife seems to forget that.”
“It happens,” Gale said. “Maybe get a cat if you’re afraid of mice?”
“I’m not afraid of them,” Cindy said. “I find the noises annoying just like you said and slightly creepy. Especially at night when I’m trying to sleep.”
“Oh, I know a thing or two about creepy things,” she said, tongue in cheek. Might as well.
“I’ll go check in the basement,” Rocco said, turning to leave. “And set some traps. The exterminator will be here on Monday. Is there anything else you need, Cindy?”
“No,” Cindy snapped, then waved the back of her hand at Rocco. “Just get it taken care of. I paid a lot of money for this condo. I let Kane talk me into it when I would have rather stayed in my house.”
“That’s on you,” Bill said. “You wanted to sell.”
Rocco walked away and she moved toward the elevator. “Gale,” Cindy said. “What’s this I hear about that boy is back in town asking questions?”
So much for making a fast exit. Might as well talk and see what she could get. “What boy is that? You’d have to be more specific.”
“The girl who was murdered. Her brother. He’s in town and asking questions and dredging up the past. It’s not good for that to happen.”
She crossed her arms. “Why isn’t it good?”
“Because it’s a distraction when there are a lot of things in the works and if old news floats to the top again, people will be more concerned with that than expansion. We rely on these things for the community. You should know that as well with your practice and your brother’s business.”
“Expansion?” she asked, barely able to control her rage. If there were a stage for her to get on and start lecturing she would. “How about the young girl who was murdered? I didn’t think you’d be that cold.”
Bill snorted next to her. “My wife is all about protecting this area. She’s paying the price for her greed now.”
“Greed?” Gale asked, her radar lifting some more. “Anything to do with the noises in the building?”
Cindy obviously had an ear with the McGregors.
Could they have asked her to put a note under her door?
Cindy had come into the building shortly after Gale had left on Sunday, then no signs of her leaving again.
Anything was possible especially if Cindy thought it’d affect any effort or her part in boasting about the economy.
“My wife took Daniel up on the sale of our house years ago for these condos. In return she got her pick of places. Rather than go for the water view, she went cheap.”
“We can see the water just fine,” Cindy snapped. “And you weren’t caring for the house anyway. We made more on the sale for these condos than if we hadn’t done it and you know it.”
“Sounds like you got a deal,” she said. And anyone the McGregors did a favor for would expect their palm greased right back.
She’d have to file that information away.
“We are getting up there in age,” Cindy said. “And it helps for our retirement. You’d do well to remember that. Some people in this area have helped many others and they should be thankful rather than whispering and dredging up the past.”
“Yeah,” Bill said, “when I can convince my wife to move south it will help us. She’s too busy getting involved with things that don’t concern her anymore.”
“Enough,” Cindy said, giving Bill an icy glare. “Just because you don’t care what happens to the area anymore doesn’t mean everyone feels that way. My father was on the town board and I’m just following in his footsteps. Gale understands the importance of community, don’t you?”
“Oh, I do. I also understand that sometimes you’ve got to step back and watch rather than get immersed in things that might come back to you.”
Cindy flushed some and Bill laughed. “Which is why you should stay away from Rory,” Cindy said.
Which meant she knew his name and was playing dumb until now. “He’s only here gathering information for his book and a potential documentary.”
“What?” Cindy asked, clearly startled over that bit of news. People just wanted to believe without the facts too much. “I didn’t know that. I thought he wanted to find her killer.”
Gale shrugged her shoulders. It was genuine shock on Cindy’s face. The same that Rory said Daniel had when he’d brought up the documentary.
You couldn’t always fake that shit.
“That is my understanding. He’s interviewing locals and then will take the next step. I’m sure you’re aware that those documentaries can end up catching killers or having it lead to more clues. Not sure if that is his intent or he just wants to keep his sister’s memory alive.”
“It could bring more press to our area,” Cindy said, frowning as if she was deep in thought.
“That’s right. Could bring in a lot of tourism too. Not everyone is afraid or scared of one unsolved murder that is fifteen years old. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d love to get out of these heels.”
She moved toward the elevator while Cindy and her husband were bickering in hushed tones toward the door to their condo. She was positive she’d heard Bill tell Cindy that he’d told her to stay out of it.
She wouldn’t jump the gun, but would let Rory know that that could have been the source of her note.
“Thanks, Gale.”
She jumped when she heard Rocco’s voice and turned. She’d been waiting for the elevator to come down from the fifth floor. Probably could have gotten there faster by the stairs and then she might have heard the noises that Cindy was complaining about.
“For what?” she asked.
“Just interrupting Cindy. She has some complaints every other week. She thinks because she offered her house for sale to Daniel before he could ask and then got a deal for one condo years ago, that it gives her some right to bitch.”
“She got a discount here too, huh?”
Sounded like paying off some officials in her mind. Cindy had been on the town board for close to two decades that she could remember. One of those, “I’ll give you a deal if you push my shit through” deals.
Rocco flushed. “Sorry, shouldn’t have said that. I’m speaking out of turn.”
She put her hand on his arm. Poor guy always looked to have someone shitting on him. Even in school people were talking about him.
“Don’t worry about it. If it helps any, I don’t hear any noises, and if I did, I wouldn’t care too much. Mice will leave you alone if you leave them alone. Such is life. Everyone should just stay in their lane.”
“That’s what I say,” Rocco said.
The elevator doors opened and she moved in. “Have a good night.”
The minute she was in her condo, she sent her lovely text to her brothers and Rory.
This time she got a reply back, but it wasn’t in the chat, just Rory alone asking if she could talk.
She hit his name, dialing his number. “Hi,” he said.
“What’s going on?”
“I wondered if you wanted some company tonight?”
“I’m always up for company. But you know, if I leave on a Friday night, I’ve got to let my brothers know.”
He laughed. “Which is why I was thinking to come see you.”
“I’d love it,” she said. “Then I can tell you about the run-in I had with someone in the building. More humorous than dramatic, but any bit of information could lead to something.”
“Can’t wait. Want me to get some food?”
“Nope. I’ll cook. I planned on it anyway. Give me five minutes to shower and change.”
“I’ll leave then,” he said.
She hung up and ran to her room, pulling her shirt off as she went, then turned the shower on.
She was naked and under the spray, then out five minutes later, pulling on leggings and a cotton shirt, and back in the kitchen, her shrimp out of the fridge along with cherry tomatoes and a bag of spinach.
The hot water filled a pot and was on the stovetop turned on while she cleaned the shrimp.
When there was a knock at her door, she dried her hands, saw it was Rory and opened it.
He leaned in and grabbed her quickly, his mouth landing on hers.
It’d been five days since they’d seen each other though they communicated daily.
“I guess you missed me,” she said.
“I have. You smell like fish.”
She held her hands up. “I’m cleaning shrimp. That’s it, I promise. Dinner will be ready fairly quickly.”
“Good,” he said. “I’m hungry. Very hungry.”
The way his eyes were drilling into her, she knew it wasn’t food that he wanted.
“You should have said this before I started dinner. Now you’ll have to wait.”
“I’ve been waiting all week, thirty more minutes won’t matter.”