Condo, p.6
Condo, page 6
“That’s tough,” said Frankie.
“Sure was, particularly as he emptied their bank savings account in the process. They’d been saving for a deposit on a house and he took the lot, over $35,000. Anyway, as you might imagine Ava didn’t take it well, she was inconsolable for weeks. But being Ava, she recovered, got angry and decided to go on a crusade, get her own back on men.”
“She chased after married men and seduced them, then told their wives. I tried to reason with her after she’d broken up the first two marriages, but as far as Ava was concerned, she wasn’t the one to blame. It was all the men’s fault and they had to pay. Eventually, things got so bad that she had to leave the area. She moved around but never got into any long-term relationship that I knew about. When I asked her why, she said she wasn’t interested. All men were the same as far as she was concerned.”
“When she moved to Naples, she seemed to change. She certainly stayed here longer than she’d stayed anywhere previously. We always kept in touch, emails, phone calls and sometimes she’d visit me, and vice versa. On a recent visit, I remarked on her lifestyle. You probably know she had a top of the range Cadillac for instance, and when she took me out for a meal, it had to be the most expensive restaurant, with a wine cellar to match.”
“She also wore expensive jewelry, Rolex watch, took vacations to health spas, trips to the Caribbean staying in top class hotels, the works. You get the picture? I asked how she could afford such things, teaching the piano. I mean I know that apart from giving piano lessons, she also sold pianos at the music shop she worked at. But that couldn’t explain where the money came from. She got quite annoyed with me for asking about how she could afford expensive things, so I let it slide.”
“Then one night on my last visit here, the night before I left, I asked her if she had a secret sugar daddy, a rich married guy or something?” She laughed and said, ‘Why rely on one guy for money when you can play the numbers game?’ I’m no prude, but that comment shocked me. I said, ‘you’re not telling me you’re a call girl?’ She laughed and said no she wasn’t, at least not in the way I meant. She also said she would never be subservient to any man again, ever.”
“On the way home, I kept thinking about what she’d said in that last conversation, and I wondered if she was still playing the same game she played back home, but instead of telling their wives...?” She looked at Frankie and raised her eyebrows.
“You mean blackmail? She used sex to blackmail men for money?”
Chapter 9
Day 2 Wednesday
Frankie
After Lisa Ledinski left, Frankie made himself another coffee and sat on the lanai, pondering the conversation he’d just had with her. As he looked over the bay, an osprey flew from one of the nearby buildings. Frankie never tired of seeing these magnificent birds in action. He stood and watched the bird as it flew over the bay, then swooped down. It was near enough for Frankie to clearly see the colors of its grey, blue and white plumage.
It neared the water’s surface closing in on its unsuspecting prey. Leaning back in the air with talons extended, it hit the surface of the bay and grabbed the fish, causing a huge explosion of water, then flapped its powerful wings and simultaneously fighting the resistance of struggling fish, gravity and the clinging water, leaned forward and rose majestically into the air, its prize firmly clasped in its talons.
Frankie shook his head in wonderment and remained standing as he watched the bird fly to a nearby rooftop where it began to methodically tear the fish to pieces and devour its catch. His UK mobile phone rang and roused him out of his reverie. He looked at the screen, Penny. They hadn’t spoken since he told her he was going to Naples. He hesitated.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi yourself,” she replied. “Am I talking to the local British hero?”
“Oh”, said Frankie, “you know?”
“Well it would be difficult not to know, you’re all over the UK news. Brit Dives Into Crocodile Infested Waters to Save Drowning Woman.”
“That’s just not true, and they’re alligators in Florida, not crocodiles.”
“So, you didn’t dive in to save someone?”
“Sort of, but it wasn’t that dramatic. I actually saved a piece of red material floating on the surface of the bay. I think the woman was long gone. Anyway, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Frankie could have bitten his tongue as soon as he’d said the words. “Sorry Penny that sounded a bit trite.”
“No problem,” she said, “I, well, I don’t know why I’m calling you really. We both said a lot of things before you went away and I suppose I didn’t want to leave things as they were left.”
“Look Penny, I thought we’d agreed to give it six months and then talk again, maybe.”
“Oh, well that doesn’t sound too hopeful.”
“That’s because I’m not hopeful. Have you forgotten last year, when you left me for your friend Jill? Made a big mistake you said, asked me to forgive you and then we got back together, and I thought we were getting along fine, better than fine. Then for some unfathomable reason, which I still don’t understand, you went cold on me again. When I asked why, said you thought getting back together had been a mistake, you needed to be on your own for a while. Well you got your wish, and being honest, I’m getting used to being on my own now, and it isn’t that bad.”
“No nasty surprises waiting around the corner, so ...” There was silence at the other end of the line. “Penny? Look I’m sorry but...”
“I’m still here Frankie. Listen, sorry I called, it was a mistake.” And with that the phone went dead.
“Great, just call me anytime you want to and try to fuck my day up why don’t you?” Frankie said to the empty room. Charlie trotted up to him alerted by his raised voice “It’s okay Charlie, nothing to do with you. Come on, I think a walk would be in order, clear my head.” As he walked along, he replayed the last encounter he’d had with Penny, the one where the camel’s back got broken.
“So, what’s the problem Penny?
“No problem.”
“Bollocks, you’ve been moody for nearly a week now, I didn’t say anything hoping it would pass, but there’s something, so out with it.”
“Well I have been feeling...I don’t know a bit unfulfilled.”
“Unfulfilled? You know what your trouble is?” as soon as the words were out of Frankie’s mouth, he knew this conversation was going to end very badly.
“No, I don’t Frankie, care to tell me?”
“Naval gazing. Thinking about how you feel all the time, how unfulfilled you are. Last time it was worrying about your sexuality, were you straight or were you gay? So, you had to go and break up a perfectly happy marriage, at least that’s what I thought we had, but you, you had to go and find out.”
“Yes, I did have to find out!” Penny replied, her voice rising in anger.
“And how did that work out? And no, you didn’t have ‘to find out’, he said “I could have told you if you’d simply asked me. You were no more a lesbian than I am, was” (oops that came out wrong). He was shouting now, “I meant gay,” he added limply.
“Oh, go fuck yourself,” replied Penny, slamming the door as she stormed out of the room. He stood there and listened as she ran up the stairs and slammed the bedroom door hard enough to make the house shake. He slept in the spare bedroom and the next morning when Penny went to work, he sat down and wrote her a long letter. He called his business partner and told him he was taking a long vacation to Florida, and then made reservations for the first flight he could get on, packed and left.
Frankie came back from his walk and went straight to the coffee table where Lisa had left a scribbled note with her name and number on it. He took his cell out of his pocket, and then hesitated. Charlie had jumped up and now lay on the sofa looking at him.
“What?” he said to Charlie, “well, I’m single now, certainly feels like I’m single.” He looked at the number and dialed.
Frankie arranged for an Uber to collect them at 7:00 p.m., took a long shower then got dressed and went downstairs and knocked on Meg Tweenie’s condo door. Meg answered the door.
“Hi Frankie, come in, Lisa won’t be a moment.” He and Meg briefly exchanged small talk until Lisa was ready.
They arrived at Cibao.
“Nice place, very busy. How did you get a table at such short notice?” she asked when they walked in. He winked and pulled up two bar stools for them.
“Eating at the bar okay for you?”
“Perfect,” she replied, “so you come here a lot?”
“Yes, I eat here at least once a week, great food, and wonderful staff. What’ll you have?”
“What are you having?”
“Martini, straight up, or neat gin if you like.”
“I’ll have one of those please.”
“He shouted over to the barman, “Hey, can a guy get a drink around here?” he asked in a mock bad-tempered tone.
“Yeah, when you pay your last bar bill,” said the large barman who came to serve them, the smile on his face belied his words as he offered his hand. They shook.
“Rommel, meet Lisa, Lisa, Rommel.”
“Hey,” said the barman, “you know who you’re drinking with Lisa? Florida’s answer to Crocodile Dundee.”
“I know,” she said, smiling.
“Heard what you did Frankie, pretty awesome,” continued the barman, “first drinks on the house for a hero,” he added, “now let me take your order.”
They both ordered walleye pike and after the initial chit chat, the conversation inevitably turned back to Ava and the investigation.
“The cops say I can move into Lisa’s condo tomorrow if I want to.”
“You’re planning on staying then?” asked Frankie.
“Yep, I’m staying. I’m gonna stick around and try to find out what happened to my sister, keep the pressure on that Randazzo guy, the detective. I might not have approved of some of her lifestyle choices, but family is family when all is said and done.” Frankie noted the steely look on her face as she said it. He couldn’t help feeling pleased she was staying.
“You don’t have a problem getting the time off, I mean, come to think of it, I don’t know what you do for a living.”
“Time off isn’t a problem, Got a house cleaning franchise, great manager. The business can do without me for a couple of weeks, more if necessary.”
“Okay, so you don’t have much faith in Detective Randazzo?”
“No, not on present performance. Anyway, I think me being here will put more pressure on him and I’m going to have a poke around myself, see if I can turn anything up. I have the advantage of knowing the victim intimately, so maybe I can find something out, poke around, I don’t know, but I can’t just do nothing”
“Fair enough,” said Frankie, “so where are you going to start, I mean how are you going to approach this? Seems to me, if she was doing what you think she was, there are just so many potential suspects. I mean how would you find out who her clients were for a start, and I don’t mean those that were having genuine piano lessons?”
“Haven’t got a clue at the moment, but I’ll work something out. Every journey starts with one small step and all that.”
“It does,” said Frankie, thinking the idea of Lisa her finding the killer seemed a bit fanciful, but he understood her need to try. He decided to change the subject. “Enjoying the food?” he asked subtlety...
“This fish is delicious,” Lisa said, taking another sip of her martini, “as is this,” she continued, raising her glass.
“And the company?” asked Frankie.
“Hmm... so so,” she replied wiggling her hand to emphasize the point, while trying to keep a straight face. Frankie laughed. “So, are you in?” she continued.
“In?” said Frankie.
“Yes, in, as in cahoots with me? Finding the vicious bastard who killed my sister.”
“Oh, well... err, yes. Yes, sure, absolutely, love to be in cahoots with you.” Lisa looked over the rim of her martini glass as she took another sip of her drink. She paused.
“Okay partner, it’s a deal,” she said.
“It’s a deal,” replied Frankie, wondering what he was getting into and what the parameters of being in a cahoots relationship were. He could only hope...
The Uber driver didn’t speak much English and didn’t seem to understand his GPS either, so the journey back to Acadiana took a little longer than Frankie expected.
“Do you think the guy was an illegal, or had a driving license even?” Lisa asked as they strolled through the parking lot towards Meg Tweenie’s condo.
“Probably yes and probably no,” Frankie replied. “Here we are, delivered back home safe and sound,” he said as they reached Meg’s door. Lisa turned to him.
“Thanks for a really lovely evening Frankie.” There was a brief awkward moment, and then Lisa leaned forward and planted a kiss on his lips. He savored the taste of her moist lips.
“Maybe we can do this again?” said Frankie in response.
“I look forward to it Frankie. I move into Ava’s condo tomorrow but give me a couple of days to get stuff done. I need time to get some family things sorted out. I have to talk to the bank, the insurance company and all that kind of stuff. I also need to establish if Ava had a mortgage or owned her condo outright. Depending, I then need to discuss with the other members of my family about keeping it or selling up. Then there’s a funeral to arrange, or at least make some preparations for when they release Ava’s..., well remains I suppose. How the hell do you bury an arm Frankie? Sure as hell it won’t be an open casket affair.” Lisa struggled as she spoke the last few words, making a noise somewhere between laughing and crying. Frankie took a step forward and held her.
“And I still have to talk to my brother about how we break this to mom,” she said with her head resting on Frankie’s shoulder. “She’s in a nursing home, dementia. Depending on the day, she might not even remember who Ava is,” her voice faltered again. Frankie hugged her tight, but she broke away and managed a smile,
“I’m okay Frankie, got to be strong, can’t afford to grieve properly, not yet anyway, too much to do.”
“What about your father?”
“Passed a few years ago, which was when mom started to disintegrate.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Frankie.”
“Happens to us all in the end. Come on, let’s stop talking about morbid subjects. I’ll call you the day after tomorrow, or you call me if you like.”
“Okay” said Frankie, “so detective Randazzo had no issues with you moving in?”
“No, they’ve finished with it for now. They think someone must have had a key because some of Ava’s things were missing. They couldn’t find her laptop or her iPad, so as a precaution, they had the locks changed. They gave me a set of new keys, so I’ll move in tomorrow. Listen Frankie, I’ve really enjoyed tonight so thanks again.”
“The pleasure was all mine Lisa.” She put her key in the lock and Frankie turned to walk away.
“Hey Frankie, maybe you get invited in for coffee next time?” He turned around. She winked and smiled before disappearing into Meg’s condo. Frankie grinned, then made for the stairs which he took two at a time.
Chapter 10
Day 3 Thursday
The Perp
He’d had a bad night, couldn’t sleep thinking about all the loose ends. I hate that woman and I’m glad she’s dead, but maybe I should have just found the money she demanded, taken my time to plan things better.... still too late now. He made himself some breakfast then thought about his next move. I need to check out the music shop she worked at. Maybe she kept records there, maybe a backup? I need to know.
He wasn’t sure which music shop it was, but the online Naples Daily News helped out with that, providing the information in its lead story of the day. ‘Gobbled up by a Gator?’ was the headline. He skimmed the article then stopped when it mentioned Redwood music.
There was a photograph of the shop, located in the upscale Waterside Shopping Centre in North Naples. A plan formed in his mind.
He drove along the 41, entered the shopping center complex and parked. Redwood Music was located in a small retail unit towards the rear of the mall. Before he entered the shop, he peered through the windows to try and establish the location of any security cameras. There didn’t appear to be any surveillance cameras in the shop, so he entered and approached the young lady on the counter.
“May I help you?”
“Yes, my name’s... he coughed as he realized he was about to blurt out his real name. Shit, I’m so busy bothering about cameras I nearly blew it. “Sorry, bit of a tickly cough,” he said quickly. “My name’s Kenneth Parkinson. I booked some piano lessons with, erm, Ava is it?”
“Oh dear,” she said, “haven’t you heard the news?”
“Sorry, what news?”
“I’m afraid there’s been an accident, well sort of, and Ava has,” she drew a deep breath before speaking the next words, “well she passed, yesterday,” she hesitated, then added, “well, technically I suppose it was the day before that.” Her eyes filled up.
He feigned shock.
“Oh dear, that’s terrible, and such a lovely looking young woman.” There was an uncomfortable silence, then he spoke again. “Look, I don’t want to appear insensitive, but will there be alternative arrangements for the lessons? You see I was going to treat myself to a piano. I used to play quite well when I was younger, but Ava suggested I have some lessons to brush up before going ahead and buying one. I’d set my heart on that one over there.” He pointed at what looked like a very expensive white Baby Grand.
