CHAPTER 14 #2
Jake didn’t answer right away. Robert waited in silence. He wasn’t about to break. Then Jake sighed, “This is privileged info. I trust with your intelligence background you know this doesn’t leave this conversation?”
“Affirmative,” he assured him.
“There’s this woman who is the niece of Professor Bingman...”
“Yeah, who’s looking for some missing coins. Lainey filled me in on that.”
“Yes, rare San Francisco-minted Eisenhower Silver Dollars. But what Lainey doesn’t know, and YOU can’t tell her, is that we have a teenager who’s come forward stating he witnessed a fireman hand Geoff Wickham three boxes of coins from the back window of the house.
Then he saw Wickham drive off in his personal truck with them. ”
“How’d the witness know they were the coins?”
“He dropped one of the boxes, and they spilled out. Plus, last week one of these rare coins was dug up in the backyard of where Wickham dropped them.”
“Seriously? Any truth to it?”
“Too soon to tell. I know it’s strange, but we’re looking into it. The niece is a real ball buster, let me tell you.”
Robert didn’t have the heart to tell Jake that Lainey hadn’t returned his calls or text messages since Sunday morning’s incident. “Do you know a guy named Mac, a close friend of Lainey’s husband?”
“I know of him. He’s at the same station house Wickham was at. Why?”
Robert wasn’t sure he should tell him about their altercation or not. “He hangs around Lainey’s house as her little handyman. He seems shady to me, but Lainey seems to trust him.”
Jake chuckled, “You really do like her, don’t you? Getting a whiff of some competition or something?”
“No, I could take the guy if need be,” and he did lay him out already, “I’m interested in the people she has close to her.”
“I’ll ask around about him if you want me to.”
“Nah. It’s fine.” It wasn’t fine, but Robert wasn’t ready to admit it.
“Since I have you. Can I get Lainey’s number? I’m throwing a little surprise party for Emma this coming weekend. Her birthday’s Friday. I need to invite her work colleagues, and I need Lainey’s help with that. You’re invited too, if you have the night off?”
“Thanks. I don’t think I’ll be able to make it, but send me the details anyway. I’ll text you Lainey’s digits.”
“Thanks buddy. Talk to you later.”
* * *
Detective Moore and Jake couldn’t break away until well after one-pm for lunch. When they walked in, the staff was cleaning a mob of dirty tables left after the lunch rush. “Two?” the hostess greeted them and led them to a booth.
When the hostess handed the menus over, Moore started inquiring right away, “Hon, how long have you worked here?”
“Almost six-months, why?”
“Anyone around here who’s worked here for three, maybe four years now?”
Moore watched the hostess’s face scrunch in thought. “Um, I think Joy has been here a long time, but I’m not sure how long exactly. I’ll send her over to take your orders.” She smiled and walked away.
An older woman with a pixie haircut and long dangling earrings approached the table with chips and salsa.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen. What are we drinkin’?”
After they ordered sodas, Moore stopped her before she sped off. “How long have you worked here?”
“Let’s see,” Joy leaned on one hip, “I guess a little over five years. Time sure flies,” she smiled.
“The reason I’m asking is I’m looking for anyone who remembers working the night this guy came in.” Moore pulled a picture up on his phone screen of Geoff Wickham.
Jake peeked over to see the photo he was showing her.
“Oh, the firefighter who died,” she instantly knew who he was, and Jake looked at her surprised.
“How’d you recognize his photo?” Moore asked, knowing it was common knowledge in the small city, yet he wanted to hear her answer.
“He used to be a regular of Sam’s, at the bar. Nice guy. Came in two or three times a week...back before he died,” her peppy tone turned somber.
“Sam?”
“She was a bartender at the time, but now she owns the place,” she motioned.
“Really?” Moore wasn’t expecting anyone to remember Wickham, let alone him being an old regular of the joint.
“Yeah,” Joy looked around, then leaned closer to the table.
Lowering her voice, “There were rumors amongst the staff back then that Sam had something going on with him. We’d call him her fireman on account he’d only come during her shifts and sit at the bar.
But then he died, and we found out he was married from the news.
So that was that.” She shrugged and shook her head. “So sad.”
“When did Sam become owner?” Moore was putting together a timeline in his head now.
“Hmm. Almost three years now.” Joy tilted her head. “What’s going on? Are there suspicious circumstances surrounding the fireman’s death? Was he really murdered or something?”
Moore leaned back and chuckled. “No, nothing like that. True crime fan, Joy?”
“Yes, don’t get me started on the podcasts I’m hooked on,” she rolled her eyes.
There was a quick moment of silence, and Moore wasn’t about to answer her initial question. She must have sensed it. “The special today is the Burrito Platter,” she said. “I’ll be back with your drinks,” and she trotted off, earrings swinging with every step.
Jake put the menu down. “That was way more info than I thought you’d ever get coming here. What’s your take?”
Moore scratched his chin. “Sometimes it’s luck finding the right person. We just got some good info to go on.” He admitted, “I’m surprised too. I thought it was a long shot asking if anyone remembered the poor bastard. But I’d like to talk to this Sam next.”
* * *
Lainey had ignored Robert’s phone calls Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights. But on Wednesday, she picked up. He obviously was going to keep calling every night until she did. “Hello.”
There was a pause on his end, probably because he thought she’d planned on letting it go to voicemail again. “Hey, I caught you,” he said somewhat cheerfully. She could tell he was trying to be casual.
“I’m going to cut to the chase,” she said harshly. She took a quick breath and felt a pang in her chest. “I don’t think this is going to work.”
“Okay?” He sounded restrained, but calm.
Feeling a wave of guilt, she questioned why everyone feels sorry for the one being broken up with, but not the one who makes the decision and deals with the anxiety of pulling the trigger.
Initiating the conversation, trying to do it with finesse was challenging, and the planning which went into having this conversation deserves some sympathy too, she thought.
“I’ve rushed into this, I’m sorry, but I ...” she paused, trying to find the right words.
She heard an exhale on the other end, as if he could predict accurately what she was trying to say.
Lainey felt bad, but she’d thought long and hard about it for the last three days. Her mind was made up. It had to be done.
“I’m sorry about Mac. I’ll apologize to him.” His voice was a little hoarse, which wasn’t unusual for him at this time of night. But there was definitely a hint of remorse.
“No, I’ll talk to him,” she said sternly, gaining some momentum back. She didn’t need to prolong the dreadful occurrence of Mac and Robert ever interacting again.
“I thought..” he sighed again, “I thought we really connected. I really like you, Lainey.”
“We did but...” trying to find the right words again. She couldn’t lie. The unforgettable, magical sex they’d shared, a guilty pleasure of a night, would be stored in her memory bank for years to come. BUT it couldn’t happen again. Never.
The regret and shame she’d experienced after Mac knew exactly why a strange man was in his best friend’s house couldn’t happen again. The penitence she’d felt for what occurred the next morning far outweighed the pleasure she’d experienced the night before. It wasn’t worth it.
They HAD connected. Not only physically, but she’d be hurt even more in the long run when he left in four months. She was pulling the dagger out now, before the wound grew deeper. “I just can’t. You’re leaving at the end of the year, and it’s not fair to either of us.”
“I understand.” He didn’t deny the expiration date set on this venture.
“I’m sorry.” Her voice cracked. This felt far worse than she’d imagined. Her chest actually burned. She was about to cry, and SHE was the one calling it quits. In a perfect world, with no outside influences, they probably could have worked.
“I’ll let you go.” He hung up, not allowing her to say goodbye. Maybe he’d heard the pain in her voice and didn’t want to prolong it by hearing her cry.
She placed her phone on her nightstand and slid into her bed. This was awful. Why had she let herself get this deep? She really did like him, but it wasn’t logical. Her head had to take charge over her heart.
Thoughts of Geoff suddenly dying, leaving her all alone washed over her. Her loyalty to him would never allow her to move on. The thought of being alone the rest of her life made her miserable.
The tears came and stung her skin. Her pillow soaked up the wetness until she fell asleep, escaping the gut-wrenching decision she’d made to end it with Robert.