Tough Cookie

Eileen snorted. “Goldy! For heaven’s sake!” She raised her voice a notch. “Listen to me. Here’s how nice Jack is.” On the screen, the Broncos punted, and the illuminated billboard at Mile-High exploded with the words Defense! Defense! “Jack doesn’t have any money. He wants Fiona’s money to go to charity. Even Doug Portman was convinced of Jack’s goodness, that’s why he let him out of prison. Jack is a good man. That’s what petty, greedy, deceptive Arthur Wakefield really can’t stand.”

“Okay, I just wanted to hear what you were thinking about this…. You know, we always talk about everything—”

“I’m sorry, Goldy. I don’t want to fight with you. I just … was so unhappy until Jack came along. At least you didn’t say that Jack’s with me because of my money, and that if I didn’t have any, he’d find somebody half my age.”

“You are smart, funny, and beautiful. What more could a man want?”

“Yeah, yeah. Look, if Jack were after my money, don’t you think he would have asked me to marry him by now? And if he really intended to harm Fiona for her money, don’t you think he would have taken out a fat insurance policy on her or something?” She sighed. “Not to worry, my dear friend. How’s the planning going for your last show?”

I laughed and admitted the planning so far was zilch. We decided on times this week when our sons could work together to finish up their science projects before Christmas break. Hopefully, neither would burn the house down in the process. We hung up smiling. Thank God. Old friendships are too important to lose … especially over vague rumors and unsubstantiated suspicions. Speaking of old friendships—

I called Information, got Rorry Bullock’s number, and punched buttons. Rorry sounded very surprised to hear from me.

I said, “We prayed for you in church today. You’re having trouble with your pregnancy?”

“Still in Med Wives one-oh-one, eh, Goldy?” she shot back. “It’s just a little separation of the placenta. I’ll be fine.”

“And they said something had happened to your car?”

“Borrowed and trashed. This trailer park is the worst place for security in all of Killdeer, and we don’t have anything like what’s in the rich folks’ houses!”

I murmured my sympathy, and offered to bring her some casseroles the next day. Once again, food worked its magic. Rorry softened instantly and said she’d love them. After I left the dinners, she added, would I mind driving her to work at the Killdeer warehouse? I’d passed the warehouse, one of the dark-painted service barns owned by the Killdeer Corporation, when I’d been looking for Arthur’s condo. No problem, I’d be glad to take her to work. When I got off the phone, I realized I’d forgotten to ask her what precisely had happened to her car. I did not call her back because at that moment, Tom walked through the door.

It was the end of the third quarter; the Broncos were leading ten to zip. To my surprise, Tom shuffled heavily into the room and glanced at the score without much interest.

“Tom?”

He sat on the couch and set three sheets of paper on the coffee table. Then he turned and took my hands.

“Tom? What is it?” His expression frightened me.

“Someone broke into Portman’s condo the day he died. He’d lived alone since Elva divorced him, so it was definitely his stuff somebody was after.” Tom sighed. “If anything’s missing, we have no way of knowing. We seized all the files that were there, and we’ve ordered his bank records. We’re trying to fit up a series of deposits with his parole recommendations, but so far we haven’t figured out if he was up to anything.”

“Do you think he might have been taking bribes, then?”

Tom nodded. “Portman was under investigation. A number of prisoners in Cañon City and at the Furman County Jail have told investigators how he asked them for money. He always did it when the stenographer wasn’t there. He always wanted the money to be brought to him personally by a relative or friend. And judging by the stuff in that condo, the guy was loaded. Even with his side business of dealing in military collectibles, and the bit he got from being a critic, there’s little chance you could live the way he did on sixty thou a year from the parole board.”

“So he didn’t get a big divorce settlement from Elva?”

“Not according to our court records. They didn’t have a prenuptial agreement. She sold her gallery and kept the proceeds. She’s on record as saying she hoped he’d have to go digging ditches. Plus, he gave up the forensic accounting when he got the parole board job.”

“What about Jack Gilkey?” I asked. “Did you find any connection between Doug and Jack?”