Wolves of Manchester (part 5)

Shopping expeditions
I was going over the photos I had taken of Scott´s home and was more than pleased to see the ones of him playing with my daughter had turned out so well. I was trying to decide which one was the best when my editor came in with coffee. He looked at the pile of photos and picked one of them up and said.” Bill these are exceptional, where did you take them?”
It is not often that Ralph gives me compliments and brings me coffee at the same time, but it is nice when he does.
When I told him that I took them at Little Lake Sunapee and they were of the Scott Pinkerton home to be possibly used for a real-estate ads. He picked up the whole pile and went through it one by one, when he finished he said. “This is exactly the kind of a place I want to live in when I retire, when you know for sure he is going to put it on the market let me know. By the way how is he doing?” I said he was better and was not sure if he would sell, but I would let him know.
Sergeant Callahan called me at three P.M. When I answered his call the first thing he said was. “Today is Tuesday and I always deliver on Tuesday. How did thing go With Rosalie Gustavo?”
I explained that she was not there, and that her husband was now recovering at home and the twins had told my daughter Rosebuds was closing until October.
“Well, Bill as I said it was just a hunch. Thanks, and tell Scott to be patience and not to lose faith.”
Later that week when we arrived at Scott´s home, he and Pamela were in the front yard stacking fire wood. Sylvia ran to him and said.” I have another reason for you to stay here. Last night I had a dream, and my Name Sister told me that she was now an angel and she needs you to have this home so she can visit you always.”
Then she began picking up wood and putting on the neatly stacked pile. He took off his gloves, picked her up, kissed her on both cheeks and said. “And anytime you come here to visit there will be two angels in my house. The next time you dream of her, tell her that I love her, and I am never going to sell this house. Why don’t you go inside now and leave us men do the hard work, then if the sunshine warms the water we will practice more diving.”
He handed me a pair of gloves, returned to the wood pile and picked up the axe as he said,” I split and you stack. Pamela is going to fix lunch Biloxi style, you better be hungry when it is ready.”
I am not a very physically active man and was sweating and out of energy, when Sylvia finally came to tell us that lunch was ready to eat.
As Pamela set the plates on the table she said there is a saying in Mississippi.
“Every good wife knows that a well fed dog never strays far from his kennel, and always returns home when it is time to eat.”
I believe it to be true, as proof, I have fixed a lunch of fried Maine oysters with melted Brie, Corn bread biscuits, Spinach greens with carrots, and for dessert Mississippi mud pie with chicory coffee.”
As we ate Scott told us that he was taking Pamela on a two weeks tour of northern New England.
“I want her to see how beautiful the fall colors are. Walk in snow, feel cold, go snowmobiling, ice skating and skiing and hike in the mountains. Then I will ask her to marry me.”
I wish I had a photo of the shocked look on Scotts face when Pamela said. “But I can’t Scott; I don’t have any warm clothing to wear.”
Beverly and Sylvia in unison laughed and declared. “We need to go Kittery; it is only forty mile away, and they have over thirty clothing outlets. We women will go shopping while the men stack fire wood and wash dishes.”
It took fifteen minutes before they were on the way. Scott shrugged his shoulders and said. “Do want to do dishes or split wood?”
By the time I had washed, dried and put them away the air was colder, and the sun was gone, hidden in a mass of grey arctic clouds. When I started stacking wood I said to Scott. “The Old Farmer’s Almanac was right, winter is on the way.” He looked up at the sky and said. “ Perfect timing, in ten days the lake will be frozen over and ready for me to teach Pamela how to ice-skate.”
It was late; Scott and I had finished the wood pile, when the women returned from Kittery with high spirits and the trunk full of bags and boxes of winter wear, soaps, candles and perfume that had no doubt been debited to our credit cards. As we said goodnight, I had never seen Scott as pleased when he said; “Thank you Bill, you, your wife and daughter have saved my life. I will see you in a couple of weeks.”
The women were not the only ones who had been shopping. So were the Gustavo twins and their father;
When Clarence Callahan answered the phone, Kenny Nelson introduced himself and asked if he remembered him... “Of course I do Kenny, don’t tell me you need a speeding ticket fixed?”
“No sir, I am calling about the twins. I thought you would like to know that they were here this morning target practicing with their father, and they weren’t shooting 22 rifles. They said that they were going out to Massabesic and look for a deer. They bought two boxes of ammo, some targets, and they had two brand new stainless steel 357 magnum Blackhawk revolvers in shoulder holsters. I tell you sir, those twins are spooky, but they know how to shoot; i never seen anything like it. I saved the targets for you, if you want them you need to come out here today. This weather is getting too damned nasty and I am closing the club tonight.”
Callahan said, “Thank you Kenny, I will be out to see you as soon as I can get there.” Then he called his cousin Chris.
When he answered he said. “Chris, Bud Gustavo has recovered, and the twins are now armed with 357 magnum revolvers. Something is about to happen. I want you to be very careful if you should stop them. I am going out to the Chester Rod and Gun Club, meet me there at noon.”
Chris was already in the clubhouse looking at the targets and talking to Kenny Nelson when Clarence stepped out of his car. The targets he was looking at were of two human silhouette figures with the word Marsha written in pencil across them.
There were six holes in each. Five placed where the heart would be, and one in the center of the forehead.
To be continued

Question and Answers

I was watching the local weather report when my phone rang. Expecting it was Ralph Shoemaker, I said. Sorry Ralph the weather is too cold and I feel terrible; I am not coming to the office today. Then a woman laughed and said. “At least it is sunny and not snowing.”
It was one of those rare embarrassing moment when I make a fool of myself, and to make matters worse I had no idea who I was talking to. Then Rosalie Gustavo introduced herself and asked to speak with Sylvia. I told her that she was in the kitchen trying out a new recipe and asked her to please wait and I will tell her you want to speak with her.
Sylvia had the Kitchen Aid on, busily whipping egg whites. I had to shout for her to hear me.
“Rosalie Gustavo is on the phone and wants to talk to you; do you want to call her back?”
“No Daddy, you talk to her and I will be finished soon.”
Making small talk to women I hardly know is not my favorite thing to do. I returned to the phone and said that the master pastry chef would be with her as soon as she was done whipping up eggs.
I asked how her husband was feeling. It must have been the right question. She proceeded to tell me about the heart attack, the operation, Bud´s convalescence and how wonderful her boys had been in taking care of their father. By the time Sylvia came to the phone I knew that Bud was going back to work at the Highway Department, he was taking a desk job. Rosebuds were going to open in a week, and her boys had gone target shooting and hunting with their father to Massabesic Lake.
I said, Goodbye, it was nice talking to you misses Gustavo,” and gave the phone to my daughter.
Misses Gustavo and my daughter had been talking for several minutes. Sylvia promised to deliver three dozen cookies to her just before Rosebuds opened, and she would bring her a sample of Rye Happy cookies to try.
I was very surprised to hear her say.
“Misses Gustavo, I have sad news. There is a girl at school who wants me to give her the barrette because it belongs to her. When she asked me about it, I told her that your son found it, and you had given it to me as a present for the first day of summer. She and her friend say that they were playing together when she lost it earlier that week. They want me to give it back .I do not want to keep something that belongs to her. What do you think i should I do?”
Not knowing what her answer was, I waited until Sylvia said, “Thank you Misses Gustavo, I will tell them exactly that”, and then she hung up the phone. As soon as she did, I said. “Sylvia, please tell me what was her answer?”
“Daddy, she told me that the girls were lying. That her son Kevin found the barrette on the fourth of April and I should tell them they could go to hell for trying to cheat me.”
“Daughter dearest, you just confirmed what I have known all along, my genius has been passed on to you”.
Detective Callahan was saying goodbye to Kenny and Chris was still looking at the targets when I called.
I could hardly contain my excitement as I told him that Rosalie Gustavo had just told my daughter that her son gave her the barrette on May 4th.