Chain of Fools (donald strachey mystery) Page 10

  “So, on the one hand, Don’s pursuing that line of inquiry is entirely understandable. While on the other hand, however, there’s the indisputable fact that no evidence exists tying these violent acts to the Osborne family’s disagreements over the Herald’s disposition. There’s been a lot of emotion, and that’s led to certain fears, but a professional investigator like Don here, Chettie, is not about to be swayed by fear and emotion.” Torkildson looked me in the eye and smiled and said, “For a pro like yourself, it always has to be, ‘Just the facts, if you please, ma’am.’ Have I got it right, Don?”

  It was like listening to the Okefenokee Swamp talk. I was surprised Torkildson had never run successfully for national office. Nor could I

  Chain of Fools

  Chain of Fools respond to Torkildson’s verbal miasma with crisp candor. Bringing up Chester’s ominous and suggestive threat to his mother-in order to prevent the Herald’s sale to the good chain, “somebody else might have to get hurt”-would only have provoked a furious denial from Chester. And Captain Bill Stankie’s report on Chester’s two prison visits to the son he had supposedly disowned-and who had hinted to another Attica inmate that an Osborne family member had been involved in Eric’s murder-was confidential. My repeating the report would both betray Stankie’s trust and trigger who knew what kind of unwanted-at-this-point hysterical reaction on the part of Chester Osborne.

  So I said to Torkildson: “Stu, you make an excellent case for open-mindedness, and open-minded is what I plan to be. But tell me, besides the conflict over the Herald, can you think of any other reason why anyone would try to kill Janet? There is evidence that the Jet Ski attacks were not accidental. The skier came at her on two separate occasions. He made repeated runs at her the first time-last week-and two runs yesterday, which I witnessed myself. Why might anybody do that, do you think?”

  Osborne shifted in his seat and muttered, “Jealous dykes, if you ask me.”

  “I’m wondering what Stu thinks,” I said. “He knows Janet wellworks with her every day.”

  Torkildson screwed up his face. “Of course, I don’t keep an eye on Janet’s private life at all, you have to understand. And at the Herald the business and editorial sides of the paper are separate, so days will go by when we don’t even see one another. But my impression is that Janet and Dale are a devoted couple. So it seems unlikely that these attacks-and I’ll take your word that that’s what you think they were-were the work of some type of crazed lesbian. Otherwise-what? A disgruntled former employee? I suppose the Herald has a few of those out there… every business does. Janet herself would be the one to ask about that, I would guess. Or Bob Comongore, our director of human resources. Perhaps it was an outraged reader.” Torkildson chuckled and said, “I know we’ve got one or two of those. Although generally a testy letter to the editor lances any boil growing on the average incensed reader’s butt. Attempted murder by an irate reader would be a first, in my experience.”

  I said, “What about Eric’s murder?”

  “It broke our hearts,” Torkildson said without hesitation. “Eric Osborne was one of the finest human beings it has ever been my honor to know.”

  “Why is he bringing that up?” Chester whined. “Do you see what I mean, Stu? Let’s put this all in the hands of a good attorney before this guy runs roughshod.”

  “Don, why are you bringing Eric into this?” Torkildson said coolly. “In his case, there couldn’t have been any connection to the Herald situation. Eric was murdered, according to the State Police, by a serial killer who went on to attack other outdoors people in Pennsylvania. Are you suggesting there’s even the possibility that this Gordon Grubb character was an agent of one of the parties in the disagreement over the Herald’s disposition?”

  “No,” I said, “that sounds farfetched. But the evidence against Grubb is sketchy and circumstantial. He was actually last spotted near the murder scene a full two days before Eric was killed. The police say that Grubb admits to nothing, and the case is still open. I met with the investigating officer, Bill Stankie, earlier this morning, and while he considers Grubb his prime suspect, that’s all Grubb is. Stankie is open to following any actual evidence that turns up, wherever it might lead.”

  I watched Chester Osborne when I mentioned Stankie’s name; his face tightened and his mouth formed a hard little button.

  “Don, now that’s exactly my point,” Torkildson said. “Legally the case against Grubb is circumstantial, yes-as are most murder cases that result in convictions. But the police suspect Grubb because there is no evidence whatsoever, circumstantial or otherwise, linking anyone else to the crime. I wouldn’t go so far as to term any linkage between Eric’s death and the Herald’s situation a paranoid fantasy-or, as Chester seems to regard it, a malicious and actionable accusation. But the idea does necessitate a quite severe stretch of the imagination, considering that not a shred of evidence exists to support such an egregious criminal linkage.

  “In journalism, as you may have heard, Don, we take immense care to check our facts before we send them out into the world. At the Herald, we have a three-independent-sources rule on matters as important as-conspiracy to commit murder is what we’re talking about here, and that’s a capital crime in the state of New York. Now, you’re going here and there spreading this idea of members of the Osborne family involved in a conspiracy to murder without-correct me if I’m wrong-even a single source to support your speculation? That’s thin, mighty thin, and it would not pass muster even at newspapers with ethical standards one heck of a lot lower than the Herald’s. This I can tell you without fear of contradiction by the Pulitzer board. It’s an awfully slender limb you’ve climbed out onto, ethically speaking, and I think the question you’ve got to be asking yourself, Don, is this: ‘What dire result might accrue, to the Osbornes, to the Herald, or to myself?’

  “You know, Don, an awful lot is at stake in the outcome of the disposition of the Herald. On that point, you’re right on the money. And as you may know, I favor the paper’s sale to Crewes-InfoCom. Harry Griscomb’s is a fine organization, but with newspaper publishing costs escalating the way they are, Griscomb won’t survive for long in this climate. So why shouldn’t the Osbornes come out of this unhappy situation with a few dollars to the family name? I’d say, after more than a hundred years’ dedicated effort and high-minded community stewardship, they’ve earned it. Both InfoCom and Griscomb, I should also point out, are sensitive about their public images-Griscomb maybe even more so than InfoCom-and either buyer could become suddenly skittish if word got back to them that a business deal they were attempting to complete involved-or suddenly was reported to have involved-a conspiracy to commit murder. Neither bid is binding, and I personally wouldn’t want to wake up one day to discover that all bids had been withdrawn and that Griscomb and InfoCom had stopped taking my calls. The tragic upshot of that would be the Herald company’s creditors would seize the paper in September and sell it to the highest bidder-probably InfoCom-and the paper would be gone and the family would end up with zip.

  “Now, do you want that to happen, Don? Does Janet? Talk to her, is my best advice. Explain the situation, and see if Janet doesn’t agree that the best course for both the Herald and all the Osbornes at this point is for you to drop your well-intentioned but potentially explosively disruptive investigation, and for you to pack your bags and head on back down to Albany. If Janet is afraid for her safety or her mother’s or Dan’s, a good private security firm can be brought on board to allay their fears until the Herald directors meet on September eighth. But as for this Oliver Stone-style conspiracy-to-murder scenario that’s boiling away and threatening to blow up in everybody’s face, I’d put a lid on that real fast if I were you. This may not be what you want to hear from me, Don. I realize that. But it’s my best advice, and I’d be an s.o.b. if I didn’t give it to you straight. That’s what I do. It’s what I’m paid for. It’s how I’ve made my way in Edensburg, and I think Janet will tell you, what I h
ave to say is as worth listening to today as it was back when Tom Osborne was winning Pulitzers and the Herald was the envy of American journalism Do you hear what I’m saying, Don? Do you catch my drift? Do you comprehend the extraordinarily high risks here for so many good people, and for yourself?”

  The swamp thing ceased burbling and sat watching me with an unctuous grin Chester sat there looking sly, as if finally I had been boxed up and sealed for delivery out of Edensburg I thought, Why had Torkildson rattled on and on about a conspiracy to commit murder? I hadn’t mentioned anything about a plot involving more than one person. I’d thought it, but I hadn’t mentioned it.

  I did not speak my thoughts aloud. Instead, I said to Torkildson, “If your advice is so wise and farseemg, Stu, how come your advice in 1988 resulted in the Herald sliding into the ugly fix it’s in now’ You’re the last man in the world I’d come to for advice about the Herald, or about anything else-except, maybe, where to shop for a bow tie. But thanks, anyway.”

  Chester sat twitching with rage. But Torkildson gazed at me thoughtfully as I bade them so long until we met again, which I knew beyond a reasonable doubt that we would.

  13

  Before I left the Herald Building, I stopped in Janet’s office and gave her a rundown on my meeting with Chester and Stu Torkildson. She asked if Torkildson had either sold me a souvenir dinner plate from Spruce Haven or picked my pocket. I held out both hands and said, “No plate.” My wallet was still in my pocket too.

  “Did Chester say anything else about having Mom locked up?” Janet asked.

  “It didn’t come up. Chester was in with Torkildson when I arrived, so Torkildson might have told him to shut up about that. Or, Chester’s threats last night could have been empty bluster. Or, Chester’s threats could have been part of a calculated attempt to spook you and your mother into some precipitous action that could be used against you legally, and Torkildson knew all about it but didn’t want to be associated with it and if I’d brought it up he’d have acted surprised. But they didn’t bring it up, and I wanted to avoid discussion of it until I heard what your lawyer advised.”

  “I spoke with Slim Finn fifteen minutes ago,” Janet said, looking anxious, “and he said that as long as Mom isn’t a danger to herself or others, nobody can haul her off against her will or mine. However, they might conceivably get a judge to entertain the idea that she’s incapable of carrying out her legal duties as a director of the Herald Corporation. A judge might issue an order blocking Mom’s vote, or even forcing her removal from the board. The result, of course, could be Tidy coming onto the board and voting for InfoCom, and the paper would be sunk.”

  “Couldn’t Finn stall a court order until after September eighth? Surely there’s some legal cloud of ink he could spew out, leaving the other side thrashing around uselessly for a month or so. There are even those who claim that this is what lawyers are for.”

  “Maybe it could be done or maybe not,” Janet said. “There’s so much at stake in this board vote, Slim says, that a judge might be obliged to act immediately. Otherwise, the vote on the sale of the paper would have to be postponed, and if that happened, the bank holding the mortgage might refuse to wait and simply seize the Herald. And nobody involved wants that.”

  I said, “Who’s in line for the board seat if a vacancy opens up-your mother’s seat or yours or Dan’s-and Tidy for some reason can’t serve? I’m not offering to knock off Tidy or have him kidnapped to Bishkek. I’m just interested to know what the line of succession is, in case there’s another pro-Griscomb vote somewhere down the line that you might now be maneuvering into position as plan B.”

  Janet shook her head. “Chester’s son, Craig, is next in line after Tidy, but he’s in prison and the company by-laws stipulate that board members must be present in order to vote Which is too bad, because Craig hates Chester so much he’d probably vote for Griscomb just to get back at his father.”

  “Get back at him for what?”

  Janet hesitated. She looked almost flustered, which was out of character for her. She said, “You’ve met Chester.” She gazed at me sorrowfully.

  “I have. He’s not ideal parent material.”

  She said, “It’s worse than that.”

  “Oh.”

  “I think he beat Craig.”

  “You think so?”

  “Eric and Dan and I always suspected it. But we never felt we had enough evidence to confront Chester or to bring in an outsider to investigate. The injuries were never that serious-no broken bones or internal injuries that we knew of. But that kid had more bruises than any child I ever saw, and he acted like an abused kid: uncommunicative, withdrawn, listless.

  “And then, of course, there’s the circumstantial evidence of the way Craig turned out. From adolescence on, he was a liar, a thief, and a fighter-a dirty fighter too, according to word around town. In hindsight, somebody in the family should have stepped in, and maybe we could have saved Craig from wrecking his life. Twenty-five years ago, of course, child abuse wasn’t as recognizable as it is today, or taken as seriously by the law or society. Back then, a parent could get away with treating his child in a way that, if he treated anybody else’s kid that way, he’d be convicted of assault and sent to prison for years. Still, some of us did suspect what was going on, and now I wish we’d tried to intervene.”

  I said, “Physical abusers were usually abused themselves when they were young. Was that true of Chester?”

  Janet blushed and said, “Uhn-uhn. No.”

  “You’re sure?”

  She shuddered. “I’m sure. Your suggesting it is disconcerting, though. Neither Mom nor Dad was particularly affectionate toward-or effusive in their expressions of approval of-any of us. And Dad was particularly hard on-even cold with-Chester. Chettie was the oldest, and when it turned out he had no interest in the journalism profession-acquisitiveness was Chester’s main interest in life from about the age of three-Dad had no more use for Chester. I think I can safely say he didn’t like him. And it showed. Dad’s characteristic way with Chester was either to ignore him-that’s the way it was most of the time-or to snap at Chettie over niggling matters.

  “Was there physical abuse? No. Can you term what I just described as psychological abuse? Maybe. Although, if it is, the legislatures had better not make it a felony without first spending billions of dollars on more prison cells. From what I’ve observed, as a style of parenting it comes dangerously close to being the norm in this country. Not that the current Congress is about to outlaw it, of course. Among the traditional family values cherished by the religious right, emotional abuse is surely high up in their pantheon, if their own biographies are any guide.”

  I said, “Your overall assessment of family life in America, Janet, seems to me unduly bleak. Anyway, you and Eric both turned out emotionally healthy. That must have come from somewhere in the Osborne family.”

  A wistful smile. “I guess so. They say every child experiences the same family differently. Eric’s and my peculiarities-and our interests-were much more in tune with Mom’s and Dad’s than Chester’s were, or June’s. Even our both turning out gay seemed to fit in with the Osborne tradition of defiant rugged individualism. On the other hand, June, the social-climbing ditz, was never appreciated for who she was. And of course as Chester’s tendencies toward violence surfaced, that didn’t particularly endear him or add to his opportunities in the family dynamic.”

  “And you think it’s possible that what Chester experienced as psychological abuse in your parents’ home was so traumatic that he passed it on in his own home as physical abuse?”

  She said, “I’m afraid so.”

  I asked Janet if I’d heard correctly the day before when I thought she said that Chester had “disowned” Craig-meaning presumably that their disaffection was so complete that they no longer had any contact with each other at all.

  “That’s the impression I have,” she said. “It’s certainly the impression Chester leaves on those
rare occasions when anybody dares mention Craig’s name in Chester’s presence.”

  I said, “Then why would Chester have visited Craig at Attica twice in the last twelve weeks?”

  She stared hard. “He did? Chester visited Craig in prison?”

  I nodded. “It’s important to my source, a good guy who wants to keep his job, that you don’t repeat this.”

  “All right.” I could all but hear the wheels whirring inside her head.

  To protect the Attica warden’s informant, I did not repeat the-possibly unreliable-hearsay evidence of Craig telling the prison snitch that there was more to Eric Osborne’s death than the investigators knew and that at least one homicide had been commited by a member of the family other than Craig. But I did say: “With his criminal history and criminal connections-and now with these unexplained visits from his suddenly not-so-alienated father-Craig at least bears looking into. I may drive out there and interview him myself.”

  She still looked dumbfounded. “Well… I just don’t know what to think.”

  “If somehow Tidy is unable to serve on the Herald board of directors,” I said, “and Craig can’t do it on account of being locked up, who’s next in line to move on to the board? Anybody helpful to the good-chain cause?”

  “It would be Tidy’s brother, Tacker Puderbaugh. But he’s no factor, believe me, Don. Tacker has no interest whatever in the Herald He’s could have saved Craig from wrecking his life. Twenty-five years ago, of course, child abuse wasn’t as recognizable as it is today, or taken as seriously by the law or society. Back then, a parent could get away with treating his child in a way that, if he treated anybody else’s kid that way, he’d be convicted of assault and sent to prison for years. Still, some of us did suspect what was going on, and now I wish we’d tried to intervene.”