Chapter 14


The rain had stopped so it was an opportune time to open up the doors in the study and have some tea on the back patio. That was what Misses Kingsley thought at any rate. She never bothered to ask her husband what his opinion on the matter was. It did not matter. Hyrum found himself sitting at the table with her anyway. He did what he always had too in such situations. He waited for the servants patiently and smiled at his wife. He was even smiling when she pointed across the back lawn and asked him, "is that the new gardener dear?"

At first, Hyrum had no idea what she was talking about but, then, his eyes caught the man in the blue jean jacket and sloppy shirt. The guy was just casually strolling across the lawn like he belonged here even if Hyrum knew better. What was even more important was that Hyrum's security man, Baxter, saw the guy too. His hand slipped into his jacket but Hyrum gave the man a nervous shake of the head and the body guard eased off. Hyrum, subtly, checked to make sure that his wife had not seen Baxter overreact. Fortunately she seemed none the wiser.

Norm stopped just shy of the table and was all smiles, "been a long time Hyrum."

No matter how civil Hyrum could act he could not bring himself to smile at this man. He did give yet another nod to Baxter just to make sure the guy knew to back off. Security types were never known for thinking beyond the moment.

Myra Kingsley became excited, "oh you know Hyrum!" She graciously looked to her husband, "why you didn't tell us we were having guests. It's such an opportune time."

"Why so it is," Hyrum Kingsley almost had to bite his tongue when he said that. He invited Norman to sit down, "next time you must call."

"Yeah," Norman replied, "I know what a busy schedule you have." Norman shot a glance at Baxter who was behind Misses Kingsley and hence, showed no effort to display civility. Norm went on, "but I always somehow manage to drop by when I get the chance."

Hyrum's eyes narrowed, "and here I was thinking you were stuck up on the north shore. Bad weather today Norm. You might have a little difficulty getting back."

Myra was even more excited, "oh do you work with Hyrum? He never talks about his work and I find it just so delightful to hear stories."

Norm chuckled and told the man's wife, "we travel in the same circles Misses Kingsley. Oh, I'd say me and your husband go way back." Then he looked right at Hyrum and said, "and as for getting back. Well lets just say we all get rained on. That storm I got caught up in is just as liable to come your way."

Hyrum chuckled and replied, "a smart man has got sense enough to come in out of the rain."

"My last house had some leaks," Norm shot back.

Misses Kingsley told him, "oh we know a very good contractor."

Norm nodded to the woman who seemed to be very good at remaining gracious. Norm could never figure out how she managed it so well after being married to this ass hole for so long. He told the lady, "it's funny you should mention that Misses Kingsley. It's that very thing that's brought me by here today. I am told that Hyrum knows people that can get all kinds of things fixed."

Hyrum was not as giddy as his wife when he said, "so are you trying to tell me that your house sprung a leak?"

"Actually," Norm replied, "I think it's one of those properties that we have a mutual interest in." Norm managed another polite chuckle as his eyes wandered back up to the security guard. The guy had reached inside his coat and, for a moment, Norm was really concerned that the guy might just draw. It was only a servant walking by that seemed to stop him.

The strange thing was that it was not so much the presence of the servant that seemed to stop the guy. It was the phone that he handed Hyrum who, after a moment of listening, got right up and said, "I have to take this call." The body guard wanted to follow but, Hyrum made it very clear, "you keep the lady company, Mister Baxter." Of course Norman heard it as, "watch that son of a bitch and kill him if he moves." There was little doubt that was what the old man meant. The body guard was not happy but he obeyed and Norm made sure he never let his sight off the man for more than a second.

Misses Kingsley seemed oblivious to all of it. She was sitting at a very bad angle if one wanted to see what was going on around them. It made Norm wonder if that was how she handled her entire life. Unlike her husband, the lady seemed genuine, "you know I must apologize. When I first saw you I thought you were the new gardener.  We've had such a terrible time with my roses that I just had to hire on a new man. In my defense he was supposed to be here today."

Norm had seen a pattern now. This Baxter guy wanted to be in two places at once and he was having a hard time making up his mind which one it should be. He got very nervous when Hyrum walked back into his study. Baxter kept looking back, even stepping closer to the open door, while trying to keep as much of his attention focused on Norm as he could. Norm decided to divide the guys attention even more.

"You know Misses Kingsley," he told her. "My father had quite a green thumb. He taught me all kinds of things about flower beds. You know we have such poor soil around here and, the really important thing, is making sure you have the right mulch in the ground."

"Oh," she was excited, "I do wish you would take a look at mine."

That got Baxter's undivided attention, "Misses Kingsley, maybe we should wait until your husband gets back before…"

She was already on her feet when she paid her first attention to the bodyguard, "oh
poo, Hyrum's in their hours, sometimes." She looked to Norm, "I would be more than honored if you would look at my roses." As they walked off towards the garden, and the back wall that Norm had crawled over to get in here, Norm made sure he put his hand behind his back and extended a proper middle finger for Baxter. Now that the guy was torn between two impossible tasks he did what most guys like him always do in such circumstances, nothing at all.

When Hyrum finally did get back he was furious, "where is my wife?!"

"Um, Sir," Baxter stumbled over his words, "she insisted!"

"Those damn roses," Hyrum knew exactly what this was all about. He looked back towards the garden and a few minutes later his wife came out, alone. She waved at him, was happy with a smile on her face, and was getting down on her knees to play in the mud. Now that he knew she was safe, Hyrum growled at his security man, "find out how that son of a bitch got in here."

"Um," Baxter pulled at his collar and asked, "don't you want us to go after him?"

"He's half way to downtown by now," Hyrum replied in a biting tone. After a moment he noticed that Baxter was still standing there. Hyrum barked this time, "well go do what you're told boy!"

When the guard was gone, Hyrum pulled his phone back out of his pocket. As he watched his wife play in the garden he hit a speed dial number and then told the person that answered, "where the hell is my son?"

Hyrum was not sure which was worse. The constant and never ending flow of gracious optimism from his wife or the never ending sobs from the girl on the phone. She was so bad she started coughing before she answered him, "I don't know. I was on the phone with him this morning and we were cut off. He never called me back."

With no ceremony, not even so much as a goodbye, Hyrum disconnected and then tried calling Roy Kingsley one more time. All he got was the same recording that he did the first time around. The feminine sounding electronic voice told him that the party could not be reached. This time Hyrum hung up with a curse on his lips.

It was not unheard of for Roy to miss an appointment. It was certainly not unlike of him to ignore his phone. Roy was even prone to fits of not calling his old man days at a time. What was disturbing was that Roy was doing it now. Hyrum had to think long and hard before he finally figured out what to do. It was not what he wanted to do but, as of right now, he saw where there was little choice.

This time when a voice sounded on the other end of the phone, Hyrum Kingsley was hard and authoritative when he said, "I want to speak to Chief Summers, please, and don't pawn me off on one of his flunkies. This is Hyrum Kingsley calling."