Roger walked into his father’s office of Massey Truck Brokers. He picked up his mail at the assigned box and went through it while standing there. He started walking down the hallway, still looking at the mail, when he stopped at Jenna’s door. She was one of the secretary’s the ten brokers shared.
“How are you doing, Jenna?”
“I’m fine Roger, and how are you?”
“Good. Can you get me a list of all shippers who are 45 days or more late in paying us?”
“Sure thing. I’ll have it on your desk in twenty or thirty minutes.”
Roger walked down the hall to the end. To his left was his father’s office. He glanced inside to see if his father was there, but he wasn’t. At the end of the hallway was the boiler room where all the broker’s worked, trying to get some business.
“Gentlemen,”
A couple of people who were not on the phone said hello while the brokers who were just nodded. Roger walked to his desk and glanced through some papers. He made a couple of calls.
After about fifteen minutes Jenna came back with the list of past due accounts. He took the list to the side office where he planned on making some calls to get these shippers to pay up. When a shipper is thirty days past due the secretary calls them. After forty five days it was he or his father.
After two calls he figured it out. He walked all through the office and realized that all the naked pictures were off the walls. He didn’t understand it. When he walked back into the boiler room he asked a broker, “What happened to the pictures?”
No one knew. A few round of jokes occurred saying his father had more playboy magazines than Hugh Heffner.
As he was trying to figure it out Jenna appeared with detectives Mangino and Chanello. “Sir there are a couple of detectives here to see your father. Since he is not here would you like to talk to them?”
"Yes. I’m Roger Massey.” He reached out his hand to shake theirs in turn.
“I’m detective Chanello and this is my partner detective Mangino. Can we talk somewhere?”
“Sure. Let’s go into my father’s office.” As they were walking out, one of the younger more playful brokers jokingly said, “Have you come to arrest us for taking the pictures down?”
The brokers laughed while the detectives ignored it.
“We really wanted to talk to your father, but I guess we’ll ask you a few questions,” detective Mangino said.
“Did you know Melanie sir?”
“No.”
“You didn’t know her?”
“I never met her. I only know what I read in the papers and saw on television.”
“So you weren’t at the party the other night?”
“No.”
“You never met her through your sister or your father? That seems odd. It seems like you might have met her at least once since she was friends with your sister.”
The detectives obviously didn’t believe him.
“We’re not exactly a tight, happy family. We are all step brothers and sisters. I didn’t even meet my sister until I was 19 and she was 17. Even today we barely talk.”
Detective Chanello was leaning close to the desk when he saw what appeared to be cp5 written on a piece of paper on the desk. They questioned Roger for about twenty minutes and realized they were getting nowhere. According to Roger, Mr. Massey was a saint. He never did anything wrong. On the street though Mr. Massey’s reputation was nothing like the portrait Roger was painting. He was the head of the "Brotherhood Labor Union.” It was the labor union for the trucking industry. He was suspected in many RICO violations and murder, and rumor abounded that he is the one that disposed of Jimmy Hoffa. Some altar boy?
As the detectives got up Jim Chanello asked, “I noticed cp5 written on that paper. Would have any idea what that means?”
Roger shook his head. “I don’t have any idea.”
”The same thing was written on a piece of paper next to your father’s name at Melanie’s house. Why would he have them written down?”
“I don’t know. If you have asked him about it before, he might be trying to help you figure it out. Why don’t you asked him"” Roger said, annoyed.
“You don’t have to get an attitude,” responded Chanello.
Detective Mangino looked at detective Chanello. “We did ask him about it.”
Detective Chanello sighed. “Yes. I remember.”
Detective Mangino asked Chanello if they should leave? He said yes.
“Thank you for your time. We’ll show ourselves out. Here is my card. If you can think of anything please call us,” said Mangino.
When he heard the detectives shut the door, he walked over to the window air conditioner and turned it on as high as it would go. There was sweat all over his body. First his wife thinks his father is a murderer and now the police obviously do too. “What kind of crap have I gotten myself into?”
His father would undoubtedly be under unbearable stress. This was no time to tell him he wanted to take his wife back to Virginia, yet Kay would not wait if his father became the main suspect. He couldn’t blame her either. Maybe he should just pack them up and go. Would his own father hunt him down? And even kill them? His chest was tightening up and he felt like he couldn’t breath. He walked back over to the air conditioner and made sure it was turned up all the way. He thought he was having an anxiety attack or a heart attack, but he was too young for that. When he didn’t think things could get worse his father walked in the door and he had a stern look on his face.
“I just had a talk with that wife of yours. I want you to sit down and tell me what the hell is going on!?!”
Roger was wrong. It could get worse and just did.