Murder On The Mind

Murder On The Mind - Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

Brenda had scheduled another clinic visit, so the two of them were gone before ten o'clock. Meanwhile, I started the day by checking the newspaper to see if Sam Nielsen had made good his threat to write about me. He hadn't. Yet.

Next I got on the phone, checking with the library, the ever-handy City Directory, a patient library assistant, and the local phone book to find the Walker employee who'd been prosecuted for theft. I found four Theodore Schmidts. I narrowed the field to two. On the last call I hit pay dirt. The woman who answered said Schmidt was her boyfriend and I could find him at his job any time during the day.

After that, I called Rob Sumner's house. No answer. I'd have to try again later.

I retrieved the piece of paper Charlie Nowak had given me days before, and dialed Big Jim Walker's secretary's home number. It rang several times before an older woman answered. "Lucy Kaminski?"

"Yes."

"My name's Jeffrey Resnick. I'm investigating Matt Sumner's death. Charles Nowak gave me your name and thought you might be able to tell me—"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know the man."

"But you did work for Sharon Walker."

"Oh, yes. Sharon was engaged to Mr. Sumner's son. But that was years ago."

"Could I come out and talk to you about—?"

"Oh, I don't think so," she interrupted once again.

"Would you speak to me over the phone?"

I pictured her pursing her lips, trying to decide if she should continue the conversation. "I really don't like discussing such personal matters with strangers."

"Of course, you're right," I admitted, backpedaling. "Mr. Nowak said you worked for Jim Walker for over twenty years."

"Twenty-five years," she said with pride.

"Did you retire when the company went under?"

"Yes. It was very sad," she admitted, and launched into a detailed remembrance—just as I'd hoped she would. I made the appropriate oohs and ahs when necessary, and waited patiently until she was ready to talk about what I wanted to hear.

"Everything must've changed when Mr. Walker died."

"Yes. The company went downhill fast. Sharon just didn't have the feel for the business end of things."

"It must've been hard for her—caring for her son and all."

"I know I'm old-fashioned, but if she'd just left running the company to the men, we'd all still be employed. And that poor child. She left him with a babysitter from early morning until quite late in the evening. A mother really needs to be with her baby when he's that small. Once or twice she brought him to the office when the babysitter was sick."

"Did she neglect the boy?"

"Who am I to judge?"

I took that as a definite yes. "Did she ever speak about his father?"

"Never." Her tone changed. "It was very strange. There were four women in the office. We wanted to give her a baby shower, but she refused. She got very angry about it. I think she was embarrassed because she wasn't married. She knew Big Jim would've been disappointed."

"I take it they were very close."

"Yes." She paused. "Oh, dear. I've said much more than I intended. And I don't see what all this has to do with Mr. Sumner's death."