Page 59 of Serial Love

“What’d you find out?” Jack queried.

“Well, I found out she terminated a pregnancy a month before she was murdered,” he replied. “Something that was never in the medical examiner’s report.”

Chad said, “That never came up in talking to her former friends who are still in the area either. In fact, once again, the common phrase I heard over and over was what a good girl she was. How sweet she was. Same thing as now.”

Blaise jumped in, “Except for Todd Cramer.” The others looked at him, so he continued. “I talked to a Todd Cramer, a former classmate of hers, who said the same thing at first. Nice girl. But then he said he noticed a change in her senior year. She was working for her dad down at the docks and seemed to get really chummy with a few of the fishermen.”

“Yeah?” Jack prompted.

“He said she was a real looker and started wearing new clothes that were a lot more revealing. He also said he overheard someone mention she had a sugar daddy who would give her things.”

“And he never mentioned this to the police?” Bart growled.

“Didn’t you notice?” Blaise asked. “This community gets most of its money from the docks. You think they’re going to turn on each other?”

“What else did he say? Did he have any idea who she might have been seeing?”

“No, but he did imply perhaps that was because no one ever saw her around town with anyone.”

The four men looked at each other before all saying, “Married,” at the same time.

Jack, eager for the pieces of the puzzle to begin falling into place, said, “Okay, let’s surmise Charlene started working for her dad’s gas business on the docks and that brought her into daily contact with a bunch of the fishermen. We know she was pretty and had a figure that would make men look. She catches the eye of someone who’s married and begins an affair. She’s just eighteen so that’s another reason for keeping it a secret. She gets pregnant but has to get rid of it.”

“Think that’s who we’re looking for? Her old lover?” Chad asked, but then quickly worked out the ages. “That’d make the man in the mustache not fit the age.”

Jack agreed, “Unless he was real young. But then, he probably wouldn’t be able to buy her things at that age. The wife may have found out but then again, she doesn’t fit the profile, and the age isn’t right, either.”

“What about her family members? Younger brothers? A jilted high school boyfriend?” Blaise added.

Rubbing his hand over his face, Jack said, “Tomorrow, keep digging. I’ll talk to her family, and you divide up the friends some more. Look into anyone who was male, probably teen years, and probably had experience with a fishing filet knife.”

Jack sat the next day in a tiny office cluttered with papers, receipts, an old computer in one corner with a newer laptop balancing precariously on a sheaf of filesin another. He studied the man in front of him who seemed agitated and defensive. Charlene’s brother, Isaac Polaski, now the owner of his father’s dock gasoline business, sat behind his desk, glowering.

“What I don’t understand is why after all this time the police are draggin’ up Charlene again. Hell, didn’t seem like we could get anyone interested when it happened.”

“Do you know why that was, Mr. Polaski?” Jack asked.

Shaking his head derisively, he replied, “Charlene was a good girl, hard worker, real sweet to everyone. But no one in this community wanted to believe that it could have been someone from here. The sheriff developed a quick theory that she must have been at the wrong place at the wrong time and some outside drifter got hold of her.” The silence hung for a moment as he continued his thoughts. “Fuckin’ moron. Jesus, I was glad to see him get booted out of office several years afterwards and don’t mind tellin’ you, I spat on his grave about five years ago when the old coot finally died.”

Jack sat quietly, knowing people usually kept talking to fill the silence and he wanted Charlene’s brother to talk.

Isaac continued, “Sweet girl. God, I swear she’d believe anything that anyone told her.” He chuckled at the memory. “I used to say she was the most gullible girl around.”

“Anyone in particular she was interested in?”

Isaac made a face, “Not from here, I don’t think, buthell, you couldn’t keep the men away. I thought dad was an idiot for letting her work down here.” He looked at Jack, an embarrassed expression on his face. “My sister was…um…well, bluntly put, Mr. Bryant, my sister had rather large breasts. My dad was an okay guy, but he wasn’t against using her to get what he wanted.”

Jack continued to sit, waiting for the explanation.

“There was another man who worked the docks who also sold gasoline. There was plenty of business for both, but dad wanted to have the edge. He had Charlene work once she turned eighteen and, well, he encouraged her to wear low cut shirts. It had the desired effect. Our business grew and the other man’s didn’t. I was sixteen and hated how he exploited her, but she seemed to like the attention.”

“Any of the fishermen pay close notice to her? Ask her out? Spend money on her?”

Isaac shook his head. “I don’t know. I was still in high school so I wouldn’t have seen anything during the day.”

“Do you remember any of the names of the fishermen who worked around here from that time? Any records?”

Isaac said, “I only took over about ten years ago and just finally got the business online.” He glanced around the office and said ruefully, “My wife’s been trying to get a lot of the old stuff organized. That’s why it looks like this.” His eyes lit up, “But she did at least get a bunch of old receipts in files by year. You can look at that if you want.”

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