The House on Timber Lane by Robert F. Clifton (top business books of all time .txt) đ
- Author: Robert F. Clifton
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âHello?â
âHello yourselfâ, he responded. âWally?⊠You son of a bitch, you must want something.â
âWell, I was just sitting here listening to some beautiful music and it made me think of youâ, he replied.
âKnock it off WallyâŠThe last time I saw you we made a dinner date and you stood me up.â
âThey called me in on a shooting in the Inlet.â âAnd, you couldnât call me?â
âNo, seriously Mary I couldnât at the time. Tonight I said to myself I think Iâll give Mary Higgins a call and apologize. Long time no see.â
âAlright, what is it you want to know?â
âWell, now that you mentioned it and you being the head nurse of the ICU at the hospital, what can you tell me about a patient named Lillian Gray?â
âSheâs in a coma.â
âI know that, what else?â
âSheâs married to Doctor Grayâ
âYeah, yeah, what caused it.â
âNo one knows and even if I had that information I wouldnât give it to you. I could get fired and the hospital sued. Youâre known for your professional ethics, well I have mine.â
âCan you tell me how she is doing?â
âLetâs just say that the patient is comfortableâ âThatâs it?â
âThatâs all youâll get from me, Wallyâ
He heard the sound of the receiver being placed on the telephone base as she hung up the phone. After getting up out of the chair and walking to his desk Wallace pushed the record button on his tape recorder. âSend Mary Higgins Flowersâ, he said.
Saturday morning Wallace sat again at his kitchen table reading the morning newspaper. The donut he was having for breakfast was stale so he dunked it in the cup of coffee in front of him. As usual, he read the sports page first, local news next and national along with world news last.
With breakfast finished he showered, shaved, got dressed and gathered up his dirty clothes placing them in a large laundry bag. Most residents in the condo complex used the laundry room in the basement. Although convenient, Wallace found that he is the only bachelor living in the building it meant smiling while fending off dinner invitations from women who wanted him to meet their daughters or their friend's daughters. He found it easier to take his dirty clothes to a woman who took in washing for a living. It was a little expensive, but considering that Esmerelda Jenkins ironed his shirts, to him it was worth it.
After delivering his laundry he next headed for the supermarket. He tapped his shirt pocket making sure the grocery list he had prepared the night before was there. He felt it, then pulled into the large parking lot. Seeing a cart that someone had left after placing their groceries in a car he took it and pushed across the tarmac and into the store. When he entered he saw the
usual amount of female shoppers, young mothers, old women and a few men of various ages. He also spotted Wayne Hopkins a petty thief and shoplifter who was wearing a heavy overcoat on a nice day where the temperature was in the sixties. Wallace walked up behind Hopkins and pushed the shopping cart into the young man, who when being hit turned and said. âHEY!â
âHey, your ass Wayne. Now, hereâs what I want you to do. Whatever youâve got in those overcoat pockets I want you to put in your cart. Then, youâre going to get your ass out of here. Do you understand?â
âI didnât take anything Wallyâ, said Hopkins
âWayne, donât ruin my day. Do as I say because If I have to go into your pockets and find anything in there, large or small Iâll toss your ass in jail and that means Iâve got to go to headquarters and book you and that will piss me off Now, do as I say.â
Hopkins slowly placed a wrapped slice of ham, a can of tuna fish and a bag of gumdrops in the shopping cart. âThatâs all Wally.â
âBull shitâ, Wallace replied.
Hopkins then dropped a tube of Ben Gay and a bottle of aspirin in with the other items.
âAlright, now get out of here and keep you hands where I can see them. Donât even think about grabbing something on the way outâ, said Wallace.
After Hopkins left the store Wallace did his shopping. He bought six frozen meals, meatloaf, chicken, lasagna, pepper steak, and fish. At the fish counter, he ordered a half a pound of scallops. To those, he added fresh vegetables, potatoes, cabbage for coleslaw, fennel and fresh yellow beans. In the bakery, he placed a loaf of French bread and a lemon pie in his cart then headed for the checkout line.
Back at his condo after putting away his groceries Wallace checked his answering machine. He saw that he had one message. He pushed the play button and heard Elaine Bentonâs voice. âWally, please call me. Lillian died in the hospital at ten Oâclock this morning.â
He dialed the telephone number listed for the realty office but received no answer. âDamn it!... She has my number but I never got her home telephone listingâ, he thought to himself. After dialing the number for police headquarters he waited for someone at the Sergeant's Desk to answer the telephone. Then he heard, âNautilus Beach Police Department, Sergeant Nolan.â
âSergeant?âŠCaptain Wallace⊠Give me the home telephone number listed for Elaine Benson of Benson Reality. It should be listed with the ADT system there at the desk.â
âYes sirâŠIâll get it for youâ, said Sergeant Nolan. Wallace waited patiently while the Desk Sergeant looked for the information. Finally, Nolan picked up the receiver and said, âCaptainâŠThe number is 734 0829. Do you need anything else?â
âNoâŠThank you.â
After dialing the number Elaine answered. âHello.â âRobert Wallaceâ, he said.
âRobert, I need to talk to you. I know I told you that Lillian has passed away, but something strange is going on and I donât know what to do. Could you come here to my home?â
âCertainly, however, I donât know where you live.â
âItâs three sixty Timber Lane.â
âIs that in the Bungalow Park area?â
âYes.â
âAlright, Iâm on the way.â
Twenty minutes later Wallace pulled up into the concrete driveway of Elaine Bensonâs home. He got out of the car and as he was walking to the front door Elaine opened it. âRobert, helloâŠPlease come in.â
Wallace wiped his feet on the welcome mat and entered the home. âWhat seems to be the problem?â, he asked.
âPlease have a seatâŠSomething strange is about to happenâ, she said.
âSuch as?â
âI called Vernon shortly after I learned of Lillianâs death. I offered my condolences and asked about the funeral arrangements. It was then that he informed me that Lillian is to be cremated tomorrow.â
âWallace remained silent for a moment, then spoke. Quick, but not unusual. Many people are turning to cremation rather than the traditional burial.â
âLillian was a devout Catholic. Neither she or her church would condone a cremationâ, offered Elaine.
âThe church looks upon cremation with disdain because of the early Christians, those they refer to as the martyrs were burned to death in the arena and their ashes scattered by the ancient Romans. I can see Lillian and her churchâs viewpoint. What bothers me is why no viewing for her family or friends and why so quick?.â Wallace replied.
âThatâs why I called you. Can you stop him?â âElaineâŠIâve got to have a reason. A husband has the right to handle his dead wifeâs funeral anyway he wants, just as long as itâs legal. Right now all I have is your suspicions and I canât get a court order on that.â
âI know that he killed her Robert. He murdered her just as sure as you are sitting here.â
âYou might be right. If you are, eventually heâll make a mistake. For now, let me ask you a few questions. Was Lillian diabetic?"
âNo.â
âHow about high blood pressure, heart disease?â
âNoâŠI told you she was healthy.â
âWas she starting menopause?â
âWe are too young.â
âI had to ask.â
âYou indicated that her husband killed her for the insurance money. Did Lillian have any assets of her own?"
âJust the house across the street. It was left to her by her mother. Vernon wanted her to sell it, but she refused. She grew up in that house. Her living across the street from my family caused us to become best friendsâŠNow, sheâs gone.â
Wallace removed a pen from his shirt pocket. âDo you have a piece of paper or something I can write on?â, he asked.
Elaine got up left the room, then returned with a notepad.
âThank you..What is the address of Lillianâs house?â
âItâs three fifty-seven Timber LaneâŠMy number is three sixty.â
âAlright, like I said, thereâs not too much I can do at this point. I will promise to look into the good doctor, such as his practice, his background etcâŠMeanwhile, will you be alright?â
âIâll be fine...Thank you, Robert.â
Chapter Two
Spring turned into summer and Wallace was kept busy investigating crime and criminals that came into the city. He had learned a long time ago that if he needed to know what was happening in the city he had to have people who would give him information.
Since Nautilus Beach was a resort town with many hotels and motels Wallace had secured the trust of some of the hotelâs head housekeepers and the occasional front desk clerk. The housekeepers would tell him what they observed in the rented rooms. The desk clerks would provide him with the names of those who checked in as they registered, who they were with, what room they rented along with a list of telephone numbers they called from the room.
Near the end of July, Captain Wallace received a telephone call from the housekeeper of the Emerald Hotel, located one block from the beach. Marie Headly told him that while checking the condition of room 409 she noticed that different items, such as portable televisions, tape recorders, radios, golf clubs and silver bowls and goblets were placed on the floor next to the walls of the room. She also stated that as the room was rented by two men, two mink coats were hanging in the closet.
âWhat do these guys look like?â, asked Wallace.
âBoth of them are white, average height, maybe five foot eight or nine. Each one of them is about twenty-five years old, dark hair. They told one of the maids that they deal in sales of merchandise they purchase from estates, but none of us has seen anyone arrive to make any purchases. At the same time, there has been a lot of race track tickets in their trash. I talked to Harry Williams the night Desk Clerk. He told me that both men always leave together and they wear sunglasses at night.â
âAnything else?", asked Wallace.
âNot that I can think of at the momentâ
âAlright, Iâll take care of it. Thanks, Marie.â
Wallace lit a cigarette, reached for the telephone on his desk and dialed three numbers. He waited a moment then heard, âMajor Crime, Sergeant, OâNeilâ.
âBill, come to my office. I think weâve got somethingâ, said Wallace.
âOn the wayâ, OâNeil replied.
Three minutes later Bill OâNeil walked into the office of Robert Wallace. âWhat do you have?â, he asked.
âI got information that two guys staying at the Emerald Hotel might have a stash of stolen property. I want you to go there. Iâll have the housekeeper open the door to the room. Take a look inside. I want you to see if we have enough probable cause for a search warrant. At the same time, if theyâre dirty, we might want to bug the room, just to see where theyâve been or where theyâre going. I want this to be legal Bill. Take Stiles with you, heâs level-headed.â
âYep, no problem.â
âGo there about two-thirty or three oâclock. Seems these guys hit the track every day. The first race has a two pm post time.â
âGot it.â
âGood, have you heard anything from Civil Service on the lieutenant's test?â
âNot yet.â
âWell, good luck. You deserve to be promoted.â
âThanks, Cap.â
When OâNeil left the office Wallace dialed the telephone number of the Emerald
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