Worse Than Being Alone (29 page)

The strip mall featured a Jimmie Johns and that’s
where Herb Kohl had indicated he would be willing to meet with us.
He wasn’t hard to spot because he was the only patron actually
sitting in a booth. I guessed his age at mid fifties, bald, with
dark black lenses that didn’t quite work with his pale skin color.
He looked perpetually anxious with deep frown lines near his mouth
and eyes. We approached him, completed introductions, and slipped
into the opposite side of the booth.

“
You said you’re not cops?” he
asked.

“
No, I’m a private investigator
who was looking at Thomas for comp fraud,” I said. “This is my
friend, Lionel, who works in security. There’s nothing official
about this. Frankly, Mr. Kohl, we’re just fascinated by what Thomas
pulled off here. We were just looking to get more
insight.”

“
I tried to be a mentor for
Thomas,” he said. “He never knew his dad and his mother wasn’t very
attentive. She told me he’s always been good with his hands. He was
always taking things apart to figure how they worked. He was in my
shop class and the first day he took an old air conditioner apart
in about 20 minutes. He was obsessed with security. Cameras, locks,
surveillance equipment. Anything related to that. I told him he
should design security equipment or show security companies the
flaws in their systems.”

“
He didn’t like that idea?” I
asked when Kohl stopped talking.

“
I think he considered it,” he
said sadly. ”Mostly I think he just felt compelled to see if he
could beat the security measures.”

“
What about the comp fraud and
identity theft?” Lionel asked.

“
That’s a whole other problem
isn’t it?” he asked. “I guess I’m not really surprised, just sad,
because I think he could have gone the other way. I’m afraid this
is just the beginning.”

“
What do you mean?” I
asked.

“
There’s nothing holding him back
anymore,” he said. “No mother or school authorities to deal with.
There’s no telling where he’ll strike next or what he’ll
do.”

Chapter Fifty-Four

Sikeston is about half the size of Cape Girardeau
and located in an area struck by a series of New Madrid Earthquakes
in late 1811 and early 1812. It is estimated that in those few
months, there were 2,000 documented quakes and aftershocks. They
began at 2 a.m. December 12, 1811. Residents as far away as
Pittsburgh and Norfolk were awakened, church bells were rung as far
away as Boston, and the Mississippi River ran backwards for a
time.

Roni thought about what earthquakes of that
magnitude might have felt like as she drove down Sikeston’s Main
Street, Marian’s last stop before settling in Alton and landing
Billy. She also recalled the 1990 prediction by a climatologist,
Iben Browning, that a massive earthquake would strike the region on
December Tenth.

The press went wild with the news and ran multiple
stories about stockpiling food and in depth instructions about how
to add support to the gas meter attached to your house. Roni
remembered her daughter sobbing that morning because Roni was going
into town. The day passed uneventfully as everyone in the area
breathed a sigh of relief.

Rows of maple trees lined the Main Street and Roni
marveled at the display of glorious fall foliage highlighted by the
bright sunshine peeking through the leaves. Marian had survived two
husbands in Sikeston. A clerk at the records office advised Roni to
contact Arnie Feldman, the attorney for husband number four.

Roni pulled in front of Feldman’s office, which was
located near the end of Main Street, with a rather garish Attorney
flashing light above the door.

Old crone would have been a kind description of the
tiny, ancient woman behind the desk Roni encountered when she
walked in the office. The woman didn’t move a muscle and Roni
wasn’t sure if she was sleeping or had suffered something
worse.

Roni stood there for a minute, about to clear her
throat or say something when the door to the inner office opened
and a short, compact little man appeared. He wore a dated suit with
a vest and pocket watch and motioned Roni into his office,
obviously trying to avoid waking the old woman.

“
I’m sorry,” he whispered as they
entered the office and he closed the door. “Have a seat. I’m Arnie
Feldman. That’s my mother out there. I’m mostly retired at this
point. I still have a few clients and Mom insists on coming in as
my secretary. As you can see, keeping her awake is a
struggle.”

“
That’s OK,” Roni said as they
settled in their chairs. “I wasn’t sure what to do. I was worried
maybe she wasn’t sleeping.”

“
Should we check again?” he asked
and then laughed. “Just kidding. She’s fine. I humor her because I
love her. From what you told me on the phone, you’re having some
issues with your father.”

“
Recently, my father married a
woman named Marian Cirillo. Have you ever just had a bad feeling
about somebody, Mr. Feldman?”

“
Like a devil on your shoulder
warning you?” he asked. “Yeah, I’ve got one of those, too. It’s not
always a hundred percent accurate. At the same time, I’ve always
been sorry when I ignored it. You have a bad feeling about
Marian?”

“
At first, I ignored it but it
just got worse with time. My father is Marian’s sixth husband.
Sikeston is my last stop. It’s my understanding you represented
Walter Forbes. Is that right?”

“
I heard Marian moved to Alton,”
he said. “Is that where she met your Dad?”

“
Yes, they met about a year ago.
She moved there about two years ago. According to my information,
Marian lived here a long time, right?”

“
I’ll tell you what I know since
privilege no longer applies,” he said. “I’m not sure it’s going to
silence your devil. I think Marian moved here sometime in 1985. Her
kids were just getting out of college. Marian married Walter in
1995. A year or so later Walter got sick. He died in
1997.”

“
Did Walter have any
children?”

“
No, he didn’t really have any
other relatives,” he said.

“
Did Walter have life
insurance?”

“
Yeah, Marian got that payout, of
course,” he said. “I guess when all was said and done, Marian ended
up with about a million dollars.”

“
Was Walter cremated?”

“
Yes, he was,” Arnie said. “I
guess that’s part of a pattern?”

“
Well, yeah it is.”

“
So, are you suggesting Marian
killed all those guys?” he asked.

“
I guess that’s one
scenario.”

“
In your scenario, how did she do
it?” he asked.

“
Poison would be the most likely
method. None of what you’ve told me sounds particularly
ominous.”

“
I have to admit I wasn’t
suspicious when Walter died,” he said. “I admit I never liked
Marian. Walter was my friend so we socialized some. I just never
really thought she cared that much for Walter. You know, what
happened later might interest you, too.”

“
What happened?”

“
I didn’t hear much about Marian
for eight or nine years,” he said. “After Walter died, Marian went
through Walter’s money like it was nothing. She bought a big house
and took incredible trips. Fancied herself part of big society such
as it is here. Eventually, she married Ben Wright. His parents own
a car dealership here in Sikeston. Ben was kind of the black sheep
of the family. He was the proverbial spoiled, rich kid. Dropped out
of college, smoked dope, and ended up working in the family
business. He married Marian in 2006. He was killed in a car
accident a few months later.”

“
So that’s husband number
five?”

“
That’s right,” he said. “Marian
had an absolute meltdown. She refused an autopsy and wanted Ben
cremated right away. This is a small town. Marian had only been
here 20 years so she was still considered an outsider. Ben’s
parents stepped in, and it got really ugly after that. Marian hired
a lawyer. A young couple Ben hit were also killed. The coroner took
over and did an autopsy despite Marian and her attorney. They found
drugs in Ben’s tox report. Relatives of the couple that were killed
sued Marian and won a big judgment.”

“
I’m guessing she didn’t get any
life insurance payout either.”

“
You got that right. Marian must
have thought Ben had money because of his parents and the car
dealership. Ben was a world-class liar with the ladies. His parents
supported him and he flashed some cash around, but the reality was
that he was on an allowance from his parents.”

“
So Marian ended up on the short
end of that relationship?”

“
Without a doubt,” he said. “You
know, I thought Marian wanted Ben cremated because she knew he was
on drugs, but maybe she had another reason.”

“
She was worried they would find
poison or maybe she was scared for both reasons. They probably just
did a tox screen. I don’t think they would routinely be checking
for poisons. So, what happened Mr. Feldman? Was Ben cremated or is
there a body we could exhume?”

Chapter Fifty-Five

Cindy and I were sitting in Lionel’s black Pilot,
which was parked down the street from the King’s Wok. We were
waiting for Ho to make an appearance. I had dropped Lionel off and
stopped by the office to change clothes and pick up Cindy. She
seemed excited about being in the hunt again.

“
I got a call from Harley this
morning,” Cindy said. “He’s really upset with you.”

“
I’m not surprised. Payback is a
bitch.”

“
He wanted to know if I knew
anything,” she said. “He seemed especially interested in how you
did it.”

“
That’s why I didn’t tell anybody
about it and I’m not going to start now. How’s my aura
today?”

“
Looking more blue all the time,”
she said. “Any news on Thomas Sloan?”

“
I talked to Dave. They found his
storage space. He used one of the comp aliases. What was left from
the Radio Shack robbery was there. Dave thinks he probably had more
identities and some cash hidden there. He had also hung up a big
blowup of a picture of a middle finger, as a parting gesture, I
guess. Thomas Sloan would be a target-rich environment for a
shrink.”

“
I think we’re all target
rich-environments,” Cindy said as the black Mustang pulled in front
of the restaurant and Ho jumped out.

“
Ah, show time. What’s your
plan?”

“
I’m going to place a takeout
order like the last time,” she said. “Then I’m going to ask her for
a glass of water and switch glasses.”

“
Sounds good. Maybe after that we
can figure out who she really is. She seems to have her fingers in
a lot of different pies.”

“
OK, I’m going in,” she said.
“Wish me luck.”

“
You got it. Just take deep
breaths and take your time. It doesn’t have to happen today. If Ho
isn’t taking orders we can come back.”

“
Thanks, Kitty,” she said. “For
the chance and the encouragement.”

I nodded and smiled at Cindy as
she climbed out of the vehicle. She seemed more self-confident than
I had ever seen her. I was doing my best silent go Cindy cheer as I
watched her walk into the restaurant.

Chapter Fifty-Six

Cindy felt wonderful and confident as she approached
the carry out window. There was no hesitation or sudden escape to
the bathroom needed to bolster her courage. Though struggling with
her illness, she felt for the first time that maybe she could
control it, instead of the other way around. She could feel the
shift in Kitty’s attitude toward her, from toleration to something
almost approaching friendship.

The restaurant wasn’t particularly crowded, probably
due to the relatively late lunch hour. Cindy suspected the
restaurant did a much better dinner business given its midtown
location. There was one customer ahead of her and Cindy was
relieved when Ho appeared to take his order. He must have been
ordering for a bunch of office mates because it seemed to take
forever for Ho to get it all written down.

“
How can I help you?” Ho asked
when the other customer stepped aside and Cindy approached the
counter.

“
I’d like an eggroll and cashew
chicken to go,” Cindy said. “I was hoping I could get a glass of
water while I’m waiting?”

“
Sure, why don’t you have a seat
and I’ll bring it out to you.”

“
Thanks,” Cindy said as she walked
to a nearby table and sat down.

Cindy had checked out the type of glasses the King’s
Wok used on her last visit and had found a match at a local Target
store. So far so good, Cindy thought. This was the first time Cindy
had been able to keep a job for more than a few months.

Inevitably, her compulsive behavior would interfere
with her performance and she would be terminated. While her
children were small, she quit trying but now that both daughters
were in college, she needed something to fill her time. Ho’s sudden
appearance with a glass of water interrupted her thoughts.

“
Here’s your water,” Ho said as
she put the glass on the table.

Cindy realized she must have had strange look on her
face when Ho approached the table. That was the only reason she
could come up with that could account for Ho’s sudden scrutiny.
Every move Cindy made caught Ho’s attention as Cindy’s Humpty
Dumpty wall started to crumble. A familiar rush of panic
overwhelmed Cindy as she made her way to the restroom.