Justice For Lindsey-Chapter One

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS LATER

“A lie would have no sense unless the truth were felt as dangerous.” ~ Alfred Adler

1

          It was well after 7:30 p.m. when twenty-nine-year-old Carron Maitland finally walked through the door of her condo.  With mail in hand, she threw her keys onto the long narrow antique marble-topped table in the foyer, walked down the short hallway into her living room and kicked off her shoes. She let out a sigh and looked around her.  The living room was one of her favorite places in her home.  She had fallen in love with its wall of windows and fabulous views of the Chicago skyline. Because it was open to both the kitchen and dining area, it also had a spacious feel. She knew her family felt she had far more space in this condo than a single young woman needed, but in the end, the view had won out. 

         

Carron found the light moss green color on the walls very relaxing.  Today, more than ever, she needed relaxing.  She was exhausted.  It had been a long day at the store. Sales and orders had been brisk and she had lined up several new clients.  However, the day had not started out so well.  When she had arrived at 7:30 a.m., the first thing she noticed was the back door had been jimmied.  She was hesitant about entering the store in case some uninvited guests were still there.  So, she had called the police and then sat in her car until they arrived.  She was glad she had taken the car today instead of her normal routine of walking the few blocks, but had errands to run later so decided to drive.  It had taken them over two hours to check out the entire store.  There wasn’t anyone there but it did look like they had done some damage in her office, probably looking for money or any other valuables they might find.  Luckily, they had not damaged any of the merchandise.  The police had carefully taken fingerprints of the back door and her office.  Once her employees had arrived, the police had taken fingerprints of everyone, including her, to separate their prints from any others they might have found.  They left about 10:00 a.m. 

It took her employees and her another hour to get the store ready for the day.  They finally were able to hang the OPEN sign on the door at 11:00 a.m.  Many customers had been hanging around outside for some time and were curious as to the delay.  Once explanations were made, the day went on as usual.

          After the police had left, Carron put her cell on silent and went about her business.  Now that she was home, she set it to ring and noticed she had several texts and voice messages.  She needed to go through the day’s mail and wondered if she should do that and check her texts and messages or wait until she had a bite to eat?  She hadn’t had time for much of a lunch, so decided to fix herself a salad and then read the texts, listen to her messages and go over the mail. 

          Ten minutes later found Carron seated at her large marble-top kitchen island.  She held her fork in her right hand and looked at the addresses on each envelope with her left. She categorized the mail into three piles: mail that would go directly to the shredder, mail that held interest and mail that needed her immediate attention.  She finished her salad, rinsed her dishes and put them in the dishwasher.

          She returned to the living area and quickly looked at the texts on her phone. There were only a couple and they could wait until later.  Then she checked her voice mail.  There was a message from her private accountant and a wrong number. There was also a message from Phillip.  

          “Carron, Phillip here.  Just wondering if we can have dinner Thursday night?  We haven’t really seen much of each other the past two weeks.  Give me a call tomorrow and we can set something up. “ 

          Carron knew she would have to think about whether to accept Phillip‘s invite.  He was getting way too serious. She knew he wanted more from their relationship than she was able to give.

          It was the last message that caught her attention.  It was from her best friend in college, Sarah Jamison.  It had been several months since she had last spoken with her.   Sarah was a seventh-grade teacher in the South Bend, Indiana schools but for some reason, as close as they were, they didn’t  get together as much as they would like.  It was probably due to the fact that Carron spent so much time working.

          “Carron, this is Sarah.  Call me back as soon as possible. Nothing serious. I just have a big favor to ask you.” 

          I wonder what Sarah’s favor is, thought Carron? 

          Carron was not sure she should return Sarah’s call tonight. She looked at her watch.  It was almost ten o’clock in South Bend but she was sure Sarah would still be up.  She settled herself onto the couch with her cell, pulled Sarah’s number up and called.  She only heard two rings when Sarah’s familiar voice came on the line.

          “Hi, Sarah, Carron here.  It is really good to hear from you”.

          “It’s good to hear your voice too,” Sarah said, “but you didn’t need to call back tonight.”

“I know you said it wasn’t urgent but I was curious to inquire as to what the favor was,” Carron answered.

“Well, thank you for calling. I do have a huge favor to ask of you.  My parents will be celebrating their 35^th wedding anniversary in a month.  I have been racking my brain as to what to get them.  I know they both like to work in the yard.  My dad has his vegetable garden and Mom loves her flowers. Then it came to me. Remember a year ago when Mom and I took the train to Chicago?”

          “I sure do,” said Carron.  “I was so excited to see you and couldn’t wait to give you the grand tour of my store.”

          “Well,” said Sarah, “later in the day, we stopped to have a late lunch.  We got to talking about your store.  I asked Mom what she thought.  She said she loved everything about it.  Then she made the comment that maybe she should have bought one of your garden angels.  I said we could always go back and get one but she said it could wait.  I thought it would be great to give them one for their anniversary.   What do you think?  Can you do this for me?”

          Carron didn’t even have to think about the request.  “I would be honored to make them a garden angel.  I’ll tell you what, are you free this Saturday?  I happen to know they have a few small but good flea markets in your area.  I could use some new supplies for the store and we should be able to find what I need for the angel there as well.  Plus, I will get to see you and get your input on the angel.”

          “Ooh, that sounds like fun,” Sarah said. “What time should I expect you?

          “I’ll get an early start so I should be there by 9:00.  That will give us time for a quick breakfast and then hit the markets.”

          “Thanks a lot,” Carron.  “This means a lot to me. Besides, I will get to see you. We haven’t chatted in a long time.  How have you been?”

“Busy as usual,” Carron said.  “However, today did begin with quite a bit of excitement.”

          “What do you mean?” Sarah asked.

          “When I got to the store at 7:30 this morning, I noticed someone had jimmied the back door to the store,” Carron told her.

          “Oh, no!” Sarah said.  “Did they take anything or do much damage?”

          “No, they just made a mess of my office,” Carron said.  “The police figured they were looking for money but I don’t keep any there overnight.  However, we all had to have our fingerprints taken so they could separate our fingerprints from any others they found.”

          “That must have been interesting,” said Sarah.

          “It wasn’t only interesting but I had this nagging feeling that I had them taken before but I know that has never happened,” Carron told Sarah.

          “Ah, another one of your déjà vu moments that you were always getting,” Sarah replied.

          “Right you are, Sarah.  Remember the first time we went to the park when we were in college?  You wanted to use the restroom but didn’t know where it was.  I took you right to it.  We never did figure out how I knew where it was.  I seem to get those feelings now and then but never know why.  Any ways, how about you?  What have you been doing now that you are on summer break?” Carron asked.

          Carron and Sarah chatted for another hour.  It was good catching up.  Once her phone call was over Carron sat down and finally looked at the two piles of mail she had made.  She hadn’t given any further thought to the break-in at the store last night.  The police had said it was probably just a druggie looking for funds. As she turned out the lights and headed for her bedroom, she had no idea that break-in would trigger a chain of events that would change her life forever.   It was long after 11:00 by the time she finally settled into bed. Within minutes she was in a deep and peaceful sleep.

Next week you will be able to read the third installment of, Justice for Lindsey.

Until then, “Stay Safe and Stay Healthy.”