Murder on Rye

Contents

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 25

CHAPTER 26

CHAPTER 27

CHAPTER 28

CHAPTER 29

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dedicated to Alan and Matthew Cadman in England

And Eric, Kim, Laura and Lisa

And my granddaughters Chris and Lindsey

I wish to acknowledge the help I received from Alan Cadman and his nephew Constable Matthew Cadman with the Fulham Metropolitan Police of London, England

CHAPTER 1

The silver bird dipped into the wind and lifted straight up into the clouds like an eagle on wing. The golden globe was sinking over the horizon. The plane flew into what was left of the sunlight and all of a sudden she felt very alone. She watched the sunset disappear behind the clouds. As her head rested against the seat again, the PA system came on:

Welcome aboard British Airways Flight 611. We will arrive at Heathrow Airport at 9:12am tomorrow morning. We expect the weather to be about 45 degrees when we land. We will be serving a snack shortly since we expect most of you have already had your dinner. Six nights and Seven Days will be showing for your enjoyment after the trays are collected. Harrison Ford stars in this film, which we hope will please both the ladies and the gents. We do hope you will enjoy it. A demonstration of your oxygen device and emergency procedures will be shown shortly from the front of your cabin. Please keep your seat belts fastened until the indicator lights go off. The captain will be welcoming you aboard as soon as we are at cruising altitude. And, above all, thank you for flying British Airways we hope your stay with us will be an enjoyable one, she said with a well-bred English accent.

The flight attendant was an attractive young woman, not beautiful. But, her accent gave her a touch of class beyond her looks. The other two attendants were quite attractive also, even though one was almost middle aged. The young male steward was obviously gay, making no effort to conceal it.

Lindsay rested her dark head back against her seat and stretched her long, thin legs under the seat in front of her. With her dark hair, fair complexion and Caribbean blue eyes she could pass for British too. Actually her heritage was British on both sides. She bunched her lithe body down and tilted her seat back in an effort to relax and get comfortable for the long flight ahead. That was London time the stewardess was quoting. It would actually be 4:12am Eastern time. There was a 5 hours difference. She would be very tired on arrival and hoped for few demands on her beyond getting settled into a hotel room and making a few phone calls.

Just think, two months ago she had been a bartender. And today, she was a lawyer employed as a liaison for LTM a plastics auto supplier based in Brentwood, England to negotiate sales and contracts between the LTM engineers and Ford Motor. Her first real job. What a fortuitous chain of events occurred to put her in this enviable position.

What would she do without Greg, her old boss? He certainly did open doors for her and gave her the fatherly, moral support she needed, all the while knowing that she would be leaving his employ. Unfortunately, there were not many men like him. He protected her and her sister like they were his own. Even though Greg had remarried with 5 stepchildren in tow and three children of his own from a previous marriage, Greg remained a father figure to Lindsay and her sister too.

Lindsay and Liz’s parents had been divorced when they were ten years old. Although both parents tried to make things as easy for them as they could, the fact that their father had gone to live with his new wife and her children gave the girls a sense of abandonment that nothing seemed to alleviate. And then Greg began to fill that space for them and they were very grateful.

Greg was a lawyer who stopped practicing law in order to open up one of the most successful restaurants in the developing downtown Detroit area. In such a tenuous environment, he had managed to make a successful turnaround of a rundown building in a rundown neighborhood and able to attract an upscale clientele. No mean fete in downtown Detroit.

Lindsay had gone to work for Greg while she was in law school, which was just a few blocks away from the restaurant. She had a subsidized apartment just across the street from Murphy’s, Greg’s Irish pub, so it seemed convenient to work there. Greg one day had met her sister, Elizabeth, or Liz, who was taking management training with one of the largest restaurant/bar corporations in the area and he was very impressed with her. He told her she had a job with him when she finished her training. So when Liz finished school she went to work for Greg too. So Liz was the day manager at Murphy’s and Lindsay was the night manager and tended bar. And, because they were identical twins, it gave them the unique situation where the clientele sometimes thought that the same person was working all the time. Which, of course, the girls played to the hilt the way they had done since they were youngsters, just for the fun of it. Anyway, that gave Lindsay time for law school and homework. For the three years she was in law school this situation had worked well for both of them and Greg too.

When Lindsay graduated from law school she was offered a position with a Family Law firm. She quit Murphy’s and went to work with this firm handling divorce and child custody cases while Liz stayed on with Greg. But, after 3 months of working with these cases she found the work so depressing that it was beginning to affect her health. She felt so stressed and unhappy and really dejected that she had chosen a career that she was beginning to see she really did not want to be a part of. She was beginning to think that law school had been a very expensive mistake. So, she went back to Greg and confessed to him how she felt about practicing law and how unhappy she was with the kind of work she was doing. Greg told her that she probably needed to get into a different type of law; that she probably would be happier in any field besides Family Law. Lindsay considered very seriously what Greg had suggested but at the same time she asked if she could come back to work for him. Greg welcomed her with open arms. So here she was with a law degree and still a bartender and still no real job. So then Greg went to work.

Greg knew a lot of people. He had friends from his practice, his golf club and now his clientele. He knew most of the lawyers, judges and other movers and shakers in the Detroit area that came into his place. He also knew the President of LTM, another non-practicing lawyer, who was looking for a new salesperson. Greg, knowing Lindsay was not happy practicing law, decided to talk her up to his friend, Nick, of LTM. Greg’s recommendation was so glowing, that Lindsay found she had the job even before she went in for the interview. What she didn’t know was the part of the plan Nick had for the new employee which was to set up an office for LTM near Brentwood, Essex, England to cater to Ford, Jaguar and the other Western European auto makers such as Audi and Opel.

Now she was frightened. What had she done? She had never had a real job and now she was being sent to open up an International office for a Global enterprise and she had only worked for them for six weeks. She must be crazy and so must Nick. The only saving grace was that Nick would be over in the next few days to help her get an apartment/office; equipment, car and whatever was needed to set up shop. He then would go with her to the Ford and Jaguar offices to introduce her and lay out the plan of operation for her. There already were engineers working for LTM in England. Her job was to negotiate contracts and customer relations.

She was on her way now. There was no turning back. It seemed the last two weeks had been nothing but planning for this trip and yet she was excited, afraid maybe, apprehensive, for sure. To leave your family and friends and to go off to a strange country by herself was probably nuts. But when you are given an opportunity like this, could you turn it down? Probably most people would, she thought. But, she was a risk taker and always had been. Normal life was too dull for her. She needed change and challenge all the time to keep from becoming bored. Well, this was a challenge, all right.

Gradually Lindsay began to relax and get comfortable. The movie began and she soon became engrossed in it and some of her apprehensions began to melt away. The movie was enjoyable. She always did enjoy Harrison Ford. The girl who played opposite him, Anne Hache, she had heard was a Lesbian. She wondered how Harrison liked kissing a Lesbian. He did seem to enjoy it. It took about 2 hours for the film showing. When it was over the lights stayed dimmed and those passengers who could sleep gave it a try. Lindsay closed her eyes and rested for a couple of hours and probably dropped off for an hour or two.

She felt like she had just gone to sleep when the Captain came onto the PA announcing they would be serving breakfast shortly and landing at Heathrow in about an hour and a half. It was still dark out and in the cabin. How could they be arriving in Heathrow, it was still dark! She had just dropped off to a fairly sound sleep and they were waking her up. It was too soon. They must be wrong. She was so tired. And when she finally mustered her wits about her she realized; oh my goodness, it must be the time change. So now she had to gather her flagging energy and get ready to land.

No one seemed in a very good mood. A breakfast of scones, juice and coffee was served. Activity became apparent all over the plane. Coats and items stored were checked and rearranged for landing.

Lindsay made sure all of her carry-on items were safely stowed away and items she had removed were packed away. She took her blazer down from the overhead rack and put it on. Standing in the aisle she could see out the window. Light was just peaking over the horizon. She could feel the plane slowly losing altitude. And then lights began to glow on the surface below. This must be Ireland, she thought, and smiled to herself. How green it was, just like everyone said it was. Water then appeared.

This must be the Irish Sea, she thought to herself. Slowly the light developed into dawn. And the sun came up over London. In the distance she could see the Thames and all the lights and bridges along the river. She had a strange feeling of being home.

The plane circled the airport twice and then dipped into the runway. The pilot brought the plane in for a perfect landing.

Heathrow Airport was an experience. It was crowded and all the languages Lindsay had ever heard were being spoken. It seemed like every country in the world was represented in this one place. She hung around the carousel until her bags came round. She managed a cart to get through customs with no problem. With all the luggage she had, she looked like all the other immigrants. Finally she managed to arrive outside the terminal and hailed a cab for the Palace on the Strand Hotel.

The taxi ride was harrowing. The driver was a Pakistani who spoke beautiful English with an Eastern lilt. He asked if she were an American. It seems she was pegged right off as American by everyone. By the time she got to the Palace she was confused and exhausted. The doorman, seeing this laden young woman with so much luggage, took pity on her and helped her to the registration desk. The desk manager smiled and was very helpful. He called for a porter with a luggage rack and had her luggage sent up to her room when he gave her the key. She found the elevators, and then her room.

The room was very comfortable. There were two double beds. There was a very large bathroom, with a shower and several, thick white towels and a heavy terry robe. There was a phone and a television. She was impressed. She was afraid she wouldn’t have a shower because so many people told her that showers were rare in Britain. Well, what did they know, where did they stay?

In the shower she began to relax as the hot water ran down her tired body. She took her time soaking herself in all the oils and lathers the hotel supplied. Finished she wrapped up in one of the thick, terry robes with a thick, terry towel over her hair. And then she sat down and called home. She talked to her Mom and told her she had arrived safely and everything was just fine. She called her sister, Liz. And she called Nick to tell him she had arrived with no problem. And then she fell into bed and slept.

CHAPTER 2

It was about 4 o’clock London time when Lindsay began to stir. She felt very heavy from being so tired. Her eyes began to focus slowly. Surveying the room nothing was familiar. At first, she wondered where she was. And then reality slowly began to set in. She was in a downtown London hotel room all by herself.

The clock said 5:00. Nick would be there to meet her at six. Slowly she began to function, shower and do her long, dark hair. She put on her black sheath with a silver Marcasite necklace and earrings. She put on the ring that matched, which her Mom had given her and her black suede pumps. At exactly 6:00 the phone rang.

Hi there. I’m downstairs. How about going across the road to ‘Verrick’s’ on the Strand?

Sure, Nick, wherever. It is probably best to stay close to the hotel until I get my bearings. I’m running a little slow but, I’ll be right down.

Verrick’s was a popular bistro. It was a few doors from Simpson’s, not as expensive or prestigious but very in. It, also, was just across and down the street from the Savoy and the Palace where Lindsay was staying.

Descending the mahogany-paneled staircase down into Verrick’s lower level was impressive. The staircase