Chapter 3 #2
“You’re helping in an investigation,” Shelly said. She ate a bite of her fish. “And this is delicious.”
“This place is always good,” Grant said.
“Oh! You come here often?” Shelly asked.
“I do. I’m from the area,” Grant told her.
“Me, too!” Ainsley said, pleased.
“And that would mean me, three,” Miranda added dryly.
“Well, not me. But it is beautiful. I love it. And all the cool history here,” Shelly said, offering them all a big smile.
“Where are you from?” Miranda asked her.
Shelly told them all that she was originally from San Diego. Jackson returned to the table and ate quickly, rising toward the end of the meal and telling them, “I need to get to the airport.” He looked at Ainsley and Miranda. “I leave you in good hands, I promise.”
“I believe you,” Ainsley said softly.
“I’ll walk you out,” Grant told him.
Jackson nodded. Shelly looked at Jackson, nodding as well. It was her goodbye to him, and her acknowledgment that she knew he didn’t want them leaving Ainsley and Miranda alone at the table.
When they were gone, Ainsley looked at Shelly. “I … I know I’ve been a mess. But I’m sincerely thankful for the effort I know you intend to put into this,” she told her.
Shelly hesitated. She didn’t want to give the young woman false hope. She didn’t want her to have to deal with the loss of someone she loved so much more than once.
But she also felt that the truth was necessary then.
“Ainsley, it’s most logical, but …” Shelly began.
“I told her,” Miranda said, interrupting.
She looked at Shelly. “Perry told us there isn’t solid proof the ashes belonged to George.
You’re not giving anything away here or creating false hope.
Perry told us. He said it’s unlikely that the remains belonged to someone else, but there is that possibility. ”
“A very slim possibility,” Shelly said.
“Which would mean that George had been—kidnapped?” Ainsley said. “I can’t begin to understand why anyone would take him. I mean, to what end?”
Grant returned to the table then, looking at Shelly. “How are we doing?”
“Um, all set!” Shelly said. “Ainsley, Miranda, thank you. Sincerely, thank you. Please take care of yourselves, be careful, keep doors locked—”
“You don’t think we’re in any danger, do you? Perry said he’s going to have a car going by Ainsley’s place, just to be on the safe side,” Miranda said.
“It’s always best to be safe,” Grant said, smiling.
“FDLE will be watching out for you, along with the local police, and the feds will be looking out for you, too. But we’re not enforcing any kind of protective custody.
You are free to live your life; they’ll just be watching out for you.
George went after major corporations and individuals who were hurting people, accruing enemies. Ainsley, well …”
“I’m a good teacher,” Ainsley said. She managed to smile. “I sincerely doubt that any of my special-needs children are out to get me!”
“Right,” Grant said.
They all smiled. Then he told her, “We’re going to leave you now. And get busy trying to get to the truth of what’s behind this. Just take care and please, please—call us immediately if anything disturbs you or if you think of anything.”
Shelly reached into her purse and produced a card. She looked at Grant; he dug into his wallet and produced one of his. “Call either of us, and both of us if you don’t get one of us on the first try!” he said.
Ainsley took the cards, still smiling. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“Of course!” Shelly said.
Grant had a hand on her shoulder. She knew that it was time to go. They had people to see.
A murder to solve.
“Anything else from Jackson?” she asked as they left the restaurant.
“He just reminded me that Angela is almost a magician when discovering what she can about people, places, history, and incidents when it comes to computer investigations,” Grant told her.
“I didn’t mean to drag you out, but we’re supposed to get to Perry’s headquarters.
Logically, the first person everyone wants to look at is Cecil Cartwright.
But no one had to get him and bring him in.
He arrived at headquarters himself. The media has gotten word regarding the remains found at George Maynard’s house.
Presumably, the remains of George Maynard. ”
“The media must be in a frenzy,” Shelly said.
“Yep. Perry has asked Cartwright to wait until we arrive. He’s doing so. We need to drive, but it’s not that bad. Aviles is pedestrian only, but we can reach a street through the back of the place where we’re being housed.”
“That’s good.”
“That’s logical,” he told her, giving her a grin. “Wouldn’t be much good to have a place where tourism thrives, and you can watch lots of humanity—but not get anywhere else except by walking!”
“Good point,” Shelly agreed.
They were both quiet as they walked the distance back to the house. They didn’t need to go in; Grant spoke up then to tell her they just needed to walk around to reach the back street.
She followed him. She smiled as she saw the car.
“What?” he asked, seeing her look. “Too typical?”
“A dark SUV. Pretty typical.”
“Yep. Company car,” he told her.
“I have one just like it,” she assured him, causing him to give her a smile.
But after they’d gotten into the car and he’d moved out onto the street, she asked, “I know that it’s most logical to think the remains discovered on the site were those of George Maynard.
Of course, the curse stone or tablet—as you said, the original curses were on lead tablets, sometimes folded with nails through them—indicated that George was the one being cursed, but … ”
“You don’t think the remains are those of George Maynard?” he asked.
“We all know most souls move on right away when the physical body perishes,” she said. “Well, I mean, in our particular circles, we all know that to be true,” she amended, wincing. “But in George’s case … I just don’t think he would have done so!”
“You could be right, of course. But why curse George, kidnap him—and burn someone else’s body to ash?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Not to us, but maybe to someone,” he said.
She glanced his way. He wasn’t disbelieving her. He was giving her words real consideration.
Well, at least honesty was going to be a nice thing in this partnership.
She found herself staring out the window as they drove. She was fascinated by the city. She had been in grade school when she had visited with her parents, and that had been a while ago now.
“Too bad you’re not here just visiting—and I’m not still a kid starting out at Flagler College,” he told her. “There are amazing things to do here. Besides the Fountain of Youth, since, as you said, it doesn’t always take!”
She grinned. “Well, who knows. Maybe I won’t need to rush back when this is over.”
He was quiet.
“What do you know that I don’t know?” she asked him.
He shrugged. “I think we both may wind up reassigned somewhere neither of us knows about right now. But that’s the future; nothing to worry about now.” He glanced her way with a rueful face. “Then again, this could all go to hell and …”
“We may be out of jobs?” she asked.
“Not that bad. And we won’t let it all go to hell.”
“Tell me more about what happened in Rome,” she said.
“There’s really no more to tell you. I tried my best with everyone I know in our European division, and then Europol, Interpol, you name it.
They had a confession—from a man who was then dead, too.
Case closed. I just … I can’t help it; I really think I’m right, that he didn’t do it.
Someone else out there is guilty. The problem is, I have absolutely no way to prove it; I just know it. ”
“I believe you. But it’s strange. There was a curse tablet in Rome—and in St. Augustine. There’s some major distance there.”
He nodded. “That’s why I’m afraid it isn’t over.”
“Do you think it’s possible they’re not related at all?”
“That across the globe people are suddenly into sending other people curse tablets—before murdering them?” he asked.
“I know I need to do a lot of research on curse tablets, but I do think I saw at least bits of a documentary on them once,” Shelly told him.
“Sometimes, they had to do with jealousy, with someone asking the gods to help them with a love affair. The thing was to center on a person and ask the gods for help, right?”
He let out a soft sigh. “They were used in many ways, buried in many ways. But, yes, with a wish for love, for vengeance … hey, who knows? They even used them hoping for political gain. But George Maynard is either dead or missing. A man was killed in Rome, and a man who didn’t kill him confessed to the crime.
I don’t think this is being perpetrated by someone who saw a documentary and thought creating curse tablets would be fun. ”
“You’re probably right—just trying to throw all possibilities out there,” Shelly said.
“We’re here,” he said, sliding into a parking space and looking out the window. “Perry’s headquarters, lots of nice people, hardworking law enforcement,” he told her.
“You work with them often?” she asked.
He looked at her with a trace of amusement.
“I’ve been working out of the Jacksonville office; the cities are forty-two miles apart.
Yeah, we wind up working several of the same cases.
Very, very seldom do any of our superiors want to use any jurisdictional authority; they just want a problem solved. ”
“Yeah, no, sorry! We work with other agencies, too, in the western arena of the country!” she assured him.
He smiled. “C’mon in!”
He was right. They were greeted pleasantly at the entrance and by the state agents they passed by; then they were led to an office where they found Perry Banyan studying reports while apparently waiting for them.
“Cecil Cartwright is in an interrogation room. I wanted one of you to go in and one to watch the questioning, if that’s agreeable,” he told them, closing the folder he’d been studying and standing to greet them. “If you need anything—”