Coulson's Crucible Read online

  “I imagine my sons would feel the same way—but I’d rather not have people dying or getting murdered at my motel.” Wally laughed.

  After Charley left, Wally sat at his desk and dialed the Carracci’s phone number. It rang and rang, and Wally was about to hang up, when a man answered.

  “Clement Falls Boarding House.” There was a faint Italian accent.

  “Is this Mr. Carracci?”

  “Yes, how can I help you?”

  “I’m calling about Anthony Marino.”

  Silence.

  “Hello, Mr. Carracci, are you still there?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you hear what I said?”

  “I know nothing about Anthony Marino. Don’t call me again.” The man abruptly hung up.

  Wally stared dumbly at the phone.

  “Wow, some people really hate wrong numbers,” Wally said aloud to the empty office.

  He redialed the number. Mr. Carracci answered the call, but this time his voice was less friendly.

  “Mr. Carracci please don’t hang up—please hear me out!” Wally said in a rush. Not waiting for a reply, he continued. “I’m looking for a boarding house in Clement Falls, and I understood there was only one—yours. But apparently, there must be more. My name is Wally Keller, I own the Cliffwood Motel in Coulson. I had a guest who told me his sister and brother-in-law had a boarding house in Clement Falls, and I assumed it was yours. I’m sorry to be bothering you, but I wonder, can you direct me to any other boarding houses up there?”

  “Why do you need to contact these people?” Mr. Carracci asked.

  “Mr. Marino seems to be missing. He paid for the month of November, and he told me he wasn’t going anywhere. But he hasn’t been here for a week, and I just wondered if perhaps he was at his sister’s, or if she might know where he went.”

  “If you’re lucky, he won’t come back,” Mr. Carracci said in a dull tone.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Anthony Marino is my brother-in-law. Consider yourself lucky if he never comes back.”

  “I don’t understand?”

  “If he does come back, be careful around him. Do you understand?”

  “No Mr. Carracci, I don’t understand.”

  “I wish I could say more, but I have a family to think about. My wife loves her brother. God knows why, but she does. I would prefer not to say or do anything that might get back to him, because he’s like that bad penny; he’ll be back. Just be careful, Mr. Keller, my brother-in-law is a very bad man. And please, I would appreciate it if you don’t call again. I don’t want to upset my wife.”

  After Wally hung up the phone, he considered his dilemma. Now he had an entirely different problem to consider. If Anthony Marino were really a bad man, what would Wally do if he did return? He had his sons to consider. Marino had always been friendly with the boys, but after the phone conversation with Mr. Carracci, Wally Keller was worried about his family.

  Briefly, he considered calling the police station. But they would probably send over some random officer to talk to him, and Wally didn’t want to waste his time. He wanted to talk directly to the police chief.

  Making a decision, Wally grabbed his keys.

  “So you say he’s gone?” Police Chief Peterson asked. Leaning back in his swivel office chair, the overweight lawman chewed on the end of his unlit cigar as he listened to what Wally Keller had to say.

  “Initially, I wondered if this was some missing person situation, but then after I talked to his brother-in-law, I’m a little worried if he does show up. I’m not really sure what Carracci meant when he said he was a really bad man.” Wally sat in the Coulson police chief’s office.

  “Marino is a nasty character. Been keeping an eye on him,” Peterson said.

  “You knew about him?”

  “Of course. This is a small town, Keller. Wasn’t much I could do, but keep an eye on him. Man hasn’t broken any laws here. No outstanding warrants. Hopefully, he won’t come back and he can be someone else’s problem. Now, is there anything else?”

  “I don’t understand. What has he done?” Keller asked, getting frustrated.

  “Like I said, nothing here.”

  “So why were you keeping an eye on him?”

  “Ah… that… organized crime from back east. Possible contract killer. But only rumors.”

  “And you didn’t think it prudent to tell me? Let me know what my newest renter might be involved in?” Wally fought to keep his composure. He desperately wanted to hit the lackadaisical lawman over the head.

  “I can’t be spreading unfounded rumors, Keller. Like I said, I was keeping an eye on him. But seems he’s moved on so not your problem anymore.”

  “And what do I do if he shows up again?” Keller asked.

  “I suppose you have the right to deny him service. Of course, if he already paid for the room, you might have a problem there.”

  Frustrated, Wally stood up abruptly and stormed out of the police chief’s office. Peterson watched the angry innkeeper depart. After a moment, Peterson removed the unlit cigar from his mouth and tossed it on his desk. He picked up his phone and dialed a number. A moment later, the party he was calling answered the phone.

  “Keller was just here. Apparently, he just noticed his tenant is missing.”

  Chapter 18

  “Dad, when is Mr. Marino coming back?” Jimmy asked his father. “I thought you said he was staying for November.” Jimmy missed the candy bars the man had left in the mailbox each morning.

  “I don’t think he is coming back,” Wally told his son. Muttering to himself he added, “I sure as hell hope not.”

  “Can we order pizza tonight?” Ryan asked as he dipped his cookie in a glass of cold milk. He and his brother had just gotten home from school and were having their afternoon snack. Wally stood in the kitchen, washing the dishes left over from breakfast.

  “I suppose, it is Friday night.” Wally said.

  Abruptly, Jimmy dropped his cookie, rushed to the window, and looked out. “Hey dad, a cop car just pulled up in front of the motel, and they’re getting out! Oh, there’s another car behind them, men in suits!”

  Wally dropped the dishtowel on the counter and looked out the window.

  “That’s a sheriff’s car, not the local police.” Wally said.

  “What’s the difference?” Jimmy asked.

  Ryan shoved the second cookie in his mouth and rushed to the window to see. Four men walked toward the office door, two wore uniforms. Wally Keller moved from his kitchen to the office, just as the office door opened and the men entered.

  “Can I help you?” Wally greeted the men, curious to see what was going on.

  “I’m Agent Carmichael and this is Agent Stephens,” he showed Wally his identification. They were from the FBI.

  “We’re looking for this man,” Stephens said. He handed Wally a black and white photograph. It was a picture of Anthony Marino.

  “That’s Mr. Marino. He rented a room here,” Wally told them.

  Ryan and Jimmy quietly listened from behind the counter. Standing on tiptoes, they tried to see what was going on, but their father waved them back, silently telling the boys that he did not want them in the office.

  “Is he here now?” Stephens asked.

  “No, he hasn’t been here, well, for close to two weeks now.” Wally told them.

  “When was the last time you saw him?”

  “Let’s see…when he got back the first time.” Wally glanced at his calendar. “That would have been Saturday morning, November fifth.”

  “You say he had just got back, when did he leave?” Carmichael asked.

  “He came in here the Saturday before Halloween. Told me he was leaving for a week and paid November’s rent. Not sure when he left exactly, but I didn’t see his car on Sunday. He showed up again the next Saturday, said he wasn’t planning to go anywhere. That was the last time I saw him.”

  “Do you have any idea where he may have gone
?” Stephens asked.

  “No. I already spoke to Police Chief Peterson about this,” Keller told them.

  “Really?” Stephens said as he glanced to his partner.

  “I was concerned my renter was missing. And then I spoke to his brother-in-law.” Wally paused and then looked down at his sons, who were still listening behind the counter.

  “Boys,” Wally said to his sons. “I would like you to go to your bedroom so I can talk privately with these gentlemen.”

  “Ah, gee, Dad,” both boys whined in unison. Wally gave them a stern look. They did as they were told.

  “We would like to talk to the boys, later,” Agent Carmichael told him.

  “I suppose that would be okay, but I really didn’t want them to hear what I was about to say. I spoke to Mr. Marino’s brother-in-law, and from what he said, I got the impression Marino wasn’t the type of man I wanted around my boys. So I went to have a talk with the police chief. He said they knew about Marino’s reputation, and they were keeping an eye on him.”

  “Right now we’re more interested in Marino’s whereabouts during the first week of November,” Agent Carmichael said.

  “I’m afraid I can’t help you there. He never said anything about where he was going; just that it was for business.”

  “Have you cleaned his room?” Agent Carmichael asked.

  “No. But I did go in to check things. He’s paid through November, so I felt funny doing anything with the room until the end of the month.”

  “We’d like to see it,” Stephens said.

  “Certainly.” Wally took out his keys.

  Wally waited outside room ten while the officers looked through the room. When they finally came back outside, the questions resumed.

  “Did Marino ever bring anyone to his room? Did you see him with anyone?” Stephens asked.

  “No. Never. But, I think he may have brought a woman to the room.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “When I looked at the room the other day, I found an unopened condom package on the floor by the bed. I know that wasn’t there when he rented the room.”

  “Can I see it?” Stephens asked.

  “I…I’m afraid I threw it away,” Wally confessed. They looked annoyed.

  “There wasn’t any trash in the can; did you dump the trash too?” one of the uniformed officers asked.

  “No, I didn’t touch the trash. That’s right; there wasn’t any trash in the can when I looked the other day. I didn’t give it much thought at the time.”

  “I’d like to speak to the boys now,” Carmichael told him.

  “Boys, this is Agent Carmichael. He has a few questions for you. I want you to tell him everything you know about Mr. Marino and answer his questions truthfully.”

  Agent Carmichael sat at the kitchen table while the rest of his entourage waited outside. Wearing a dark suit, Carmichael was a clean-shaven man in his early thirties, with shortly cropped dark hair.

  “Are you a real G-man?” Ryan asked in awe after his father left the room.

  Carmichael chuckled. “I suppose so. Now…you’re Ryan…and you’re Jimmy?” Both boys nodded the affirmative. “Okay, Jimmy first. Why don’t you tell me everything you know about Mr. Marino.”

  Jimmy looked nervously in the direction his father had gone. “Will you tell my dad?”

  “Your dad? Is there something that happened with Mr. Marino that you don’t want your dad to know?”

  Jimmy nodded.

  “Why don’t you just tell me, Jimmy, I’m certain we can work things out.”

  “Well,” Jimmy said as he shuffled his feet guiltily, “Mr. Marino gave us candy. He told us if we stayed away from his door and never bothered him, he would leave us candy each morning in the mailbox. And he did. Until, well, until he went away.”

  “And did you boys stay away from his room? Did you ever get tempted and peek? Maybe saw something you never told anyone?”

  “No way!” Jimmy exclaimed. “It was really cool getting candy. I didn’t want to mess things up.”

  Carmichael turned to Ryan. “What about you? What do you remember about him?”

  “Pretty much what Jimmy said. It was cool to get the candy, and I think dad would be pretty mad at us if he found out. But Mr. Marino was always nice to us. He’d ask us if we had fun playing ball, stuff like that.”

  “Did you ever see him with anyone?”

  “No. Only saw him around here. Never saw him talking with anyone,” Ryan said.

  “Okay boys. I appreciate you talking to me. But in the future, it’s not a good idea to keep secrets from your father. If you see Mr. Marino again, tell your father immediately. I’m not going to say anything to your dad about the candy, but I wish you would.”

  “He was a real G-man!” Ryan told Tommy that evening on the telephone.

  “So what did they want Mr. Marino for? Did he rob a bank or something?” Tommy asked.

  “Must have, but they didn’t say. We had to tell Dad about the candy.”

  “Did Jimmy rat you out?” Tommy asked.

  “Dad told us we had to tell the G-man everything. And it’s hard to keep something from a G-man when you’re six. So, I’m not really mad at Jimmy. Doesn’t matter anyway, Mr. Marino left, so there’s no more candy.”

  “So the G-man told your dad?”

  “No, but he told us we should. Before I could stop Jimmy he spilled the beans when we were eating pizza.”

  “So, are you grounded?” Tommy asked.

  “That might have been better. Dad got really upset about the candy. Then he started giving us this big old lecture about how he has to be mom and dad to us and how he wants to keep us safe. For a minute there, I thought he was going to cry. I tell you what, I wish he would have just smacked us for the candy instead of giving us that big ol’ lecture.”

  “Hey, did you tell the G-Man about the note Mr. Marino gave Russell?”

  “What note?”

  “Oh, that’s right. I forgot you weren’t there. One day when Russell and me were on our way home, Mr. Marino asked Russell if he would give Mrs. Coulson a note for him. Said he knew Russell’s parents.”

  “I forgot Mr. Marino told Russell he knew his parents. But I didn’t know about a note.”

  “He gave a note to Russell for Mrs. Coulson. Something about a surprise for Russell’s dad.” Tommy explained.

  “Did Russell give it to her?”

  “I guess. I asked him later what was in the note, but he said he didn’t know. Said it was some surprise for his dad, and he had to keep it a secret.”

  “Do you think the G-Man would want to know about the note?”

  “I don’t know. Do you think it would get Russell’s parents in trouble?”

  “They’re big shots so I don’t think they could get in trouble.”

  “Maybe you should ask your dad,” Tommy suggested.

  “Yeah, I probably should. Maybe if I do, he won’t be as mad about the candy.

  Chapter 19

  “Excuse me Mr. Harrison. There are two gentlemen here to see you.” Gladys, the head of the household staff, stood at the door to the library looking in. Harrison glanced up from the couch where he was reading the morning paper. Randall sat at the desk in the library, going through papers.

  “Who is it, Gladys?” Harrison asked.

  “They say they’re from the FBI.”

  “Did they show you some identification?” Harrison asked.

  “Yes. But I don’t know if it’s real.”

  “Where are they?” Randall asked.

  “Waiting on the front porch.”

  Randall smiled, finding it amusing that Gladys would not let them in the house.

  “Show them in. We’ll meet with them in the library,” Harrison told her. When she left the room, he folded the newspaper and set it on his lap. He looked over to his father.

  “What do you suppose this is about?” Harrison asked.

  “I guess we’ll have to wait and see.�
�

  A few minutes later, Gladys showed the two men into the library. Both Randall and Harrison stood up.

  “I’m Agent Carmichael, and this is Agent Stephens,” one of the two men said before he handed Harrison identification. Harrison looked briefly at the identification and then handed it to Randall.

  “I’m Harrison Coulson.” Harrison extended his right hand to the man closest to him after Randall returned the identification. The men shook hands.

  “This is my father, Randall Coulson.”

  Randall stepped forward and shook each man’s hand.

  “What is this about?” Randall asked.

  Carmichael looked at Harrison. “We’d like to speak to your son.”

  “Garret?” Harrison frowned.

  “No, Russell,” Carmichael clarified.

  “Russell? The boy is six years old. Would you please tell me what this is about?” Harrison asked.

  “We’re looking for this man.” Carmichael pulled a small photograph out of his coat pocket and handed it to Harrison. “His name is Anthony Marino. He was staying at the Cliffwood motel, and apparently he had a conversation with your son.”

  Harrison took the photo and looked at it for a moment. He said nothing but handed it to his father. Randall glanced at the photograph for a moment, then handed it back to Carmichael.

  “Yes, we know who Mr. Marino is,” Randall said.

  “Can you tell me what your relationship was with Marino?” Stephens asked.

  “I said we know who he is, young man. Not that we have a relationship with him,” Randall said coolly.

  Harrison stepped out of the library for a moment and called out to Gladys who was nearby.

  “Gladys, please have Russell come to the library.”

  “Perhaps there’s someplace we could talk to your son, alone?” Stephens asked.

  “No,” Harrison told him. “If you want to talk to him, you can do it here, in my presence. The boy is just six years old.”

  Stephens and Carmichael exchanged glances. A few minutes later, Russell walked into the library. He looked curiously at the two strange men but walked straight to his father. Standing by Harrison, he looked up at the men. Harrison placed his hands on Russell’s shoulders.