Episode #15

Friday, 5/11/07

Same Day, Afternoon

Beaver Ridge Complex, Lobby

“But, Mr. Paulson, I assure you…” Andy Marriott found himself cut off mid-sentence by his angry business associate on the other end of the telephone line. “Yes, sir, I know how it looks, but I promise you those numbers and those plans that I showed you personally are correct.” During another long pause, Andy discovered that the only thing he could do was stand in silence as Mr. Paulson ranted at him. “I don’t care what those files said! They’re wrong! But… but… you can’t do that! You’re vital to this project. Without you…”

Click

Andy stood in stunned silence, the telephone receiver still pressed to his ear, but now with no one on the other end of the line. Mr. Paulson had hung up on him – after informing him, in not the nicest of words, that he was completely out of the Beaver Ridge project thanks to a clause in his business contract that had carried over from when Meg had been involved in the business.

As Andy shakily hung up the phone, his shock quickly began to turn to rage.

“Damn her!” he shouted out, his blood boiling and his temper rising. In his anger, he grabbed the edge of his makeshift desk and flipped it over, sending papers flying across the room and his coffee mug crashing to the floor. “Damn her!”

Bella Rose

“This was such a nice idea,” Vanessa Sterling smiled as she sat in the large booth surrounded by family. “A girls’ day out. It’ll give us all more of a chance to get caught up with each other. We never seem to find the time, anymore. I just wish Megan were here.”

“She’s in one of her moods,” Betsy Harper sighed while she carefully looked over the menu. “Megan’s not exactly happy with either me or her father at the moment.”

Van looked up from her own menu. “Oh?”

“Yeah, Dad cut her off,” Suzanne Prentiss explained bluntly. “He finally got tired of her running through money and acting like a spoiled brat.”

“That’s not exactly how I would’ve put it.” Betsy shot her eldest daughter a look of displeasure. “But that is the gist of it. Ben simply thinks that it’s time Megan settled down a little bit and learned some responsibility – how to actually take care of herself without having to have any of us run to her rescue when she makes a mistake.”

“From what I’ve heard, this is probably a good thing for her.” Cal Latimer paused to take a sip of her iced tea. “Betsy, between you and Ben I’ve heard plenty of Megan stories. It’s probably time she got reigned in a little.”

“A little?” Suzanne couldn’t hide the sarcasm in her voice. It was well known that she and her little sister hadn’t exactly gotten along over the years – even when they were children. “The girls at Rosehill High didn’t exactly dub her Hurricane Megan for nothing.”

“Be that as it may,” Van nodded, “she needs to understand that her family is always there for her, no matter what mistakes she makes.”

“I think she knows that, Aunt Van,” Vanessa Harper sighed as she thought of her twin. “You all may disagree with me, but I really think she’s going to be fine with this in the long run. Megan’s a lot smarter than I think even she gives herself credit for.”

“Well, enough talking about Megan.” Betsy turned to her longtime best friend Cal. “How long are you and Rick going to be in town? Really, it’s been too long since we’ve been able to get together like this. The last time was… when? When Ben and I went up to spend that week with you two?”

“My – I guess it really has been that long. We stay so busy with the business neither one of us ever seems to know where the time goes.” Cal paused for a moment, her mind drifting to other obligations remaining in Rosehill. “I honestly don’t know how long we’ll be here in town. I’ve got to decide what I’m going to do with the house, for one.”

“You and Rick could always move into it,” Van pointed out with a sly smile.

“Aunt Van, please…”

“Oh, you know how much I’d love having you around all the time again.” Van reached over and patted her niece’s hand. “But I’m sure you’ll decide in your own time what’s best for you. Anyway, speaking of Rick, how’s he occupying his time today since you’re here with us?”

“He drove out to Beaver Ridge to take a look around again,” Cal groaned. “It’s like he’s drawn to that place.”

“Can we please not talk about Beaver Ridge today?” Suzanne sunk back into her seat. It was a sore subject with her. “All I ever hear about anymore is Beaver Ridge. Every other word out of John’s mouth these days is about Beaver Ridge. I know he’s doing it for me and Tess, but it’s getting to the point where I hardly ever see him anymore, he spends so much time out there. He does his best to make time for us, but some crisis always seems to come up.”

“Honey, you know this is only a temporary situation until they can get it finished and up and running.” Betsy put a gentle hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “The condition that place was in, I’m surprised they’ve made as much progress as they have so fast.”

“Have you thought about going back to work at the newspaper?” Vanessa asked. “I know you wanted to take the time off to spend with Tess while she was still a baby, but I’m sure you could manage to do a little work for the paper and still be a fulltime mother. Besides, it’ll give you something else to occupy your time while John’s busy with Beaver Ridge.”

“Sure, I’ve thought about it,” Suzanne confessed. “After all, A.J. did tell me I had a standing offer to come back whenever I wanted to. It’s just that… I really want to be a good mother. I want to get it right and I want to be there for my baby. This is the most important formative time in her life and I don’t want to miss anything.”

“Honey, you can have a career and still be a good mother.” Van tilted her head slightly and looked straight at Suzanne in that direct way that only Van could do. “Your mother did it with you and your sisters. Your Aunt Cal did it with both Will and Sarah. Look how well you all turned out. It’s not impossible.”

“But what about Megan?” Suzanne asked pointedly. “I’m not one to point fingers, but she’s not exactly a precious little angel, is she? I don’t have any desire to raise another Megan.”

“I think Aunt Van’s right,” Vanessa nodded. “You have to do what you think is best for you – restart your career or stay home forever with Tess – but I don’t think it’s impossible to have a career and still be a good mother. One day, when I have kids of my own, I want to be able to do both.”

“Well, I don’t know.” Suzanne strummed her fingers along the table as she considered her options. “I just don’t know.”

Beaver Ridge Complex, Lobby

“What the devil happened in here?” Rick Latimer asked as he walked into the lobby and immediately noticed the overturned tables and randomly thrown about construction equipment.

“Oh, let’s just say we had a little accident.” Andy was sitting across the room on a barrel, his legs propped up on the one table in the room left upright. He’d spent the last hour or so simply staring at the place that had become both his dream and his nightmare. “So, what brings you out, Rick? Can’t stay away from your old haunts?”

“You could say that.” Rick began to walk around the room, taking in his full environment while remembering a time long ago. “I didn’t realize exactly how much I missed this old place until I saw it again. I put a lot of myself into Beaver Ridge.”

“I can relate – too well.”

“So, how’s the work coming along? It looks like you and John have made a lot of progress.” Rick walked over to the front desk and ran his fingers along its edge. “I saw pictures of the place after that fire and from the way it looked I didn’t think any of it was salvageable.”

“It’s taken a lot of work – a lot of work.” Andy climbed off the barrel and slowly began to walk around the room with the look on his face of a man who’d just lost a dream. “But I guess all of that’s over, now.”

“Hmm?” Rick turned to look at Andy. He’d been half lost in thought remembering the good ol’ days. “What did you say?”

“It’s… it’s nothing,” Andy sighed. He stood silently for moment, watching Rick walk around the room, moving from area to area. He watched closely and clearly saw the look on Rick’s face – the look of a man who still felt a deep, emotional attachment to Beaver Ridge. And then an idea hit him. “You know, Rick, John and I just had a business partner in Albany have to pull out because of…” Think fast, Andy. Think fast. “Because of personal reasons. That opens up a slot for another investor. I’m sure that I can talk to John and he’d be more than willing to take you on as a full partner.”

“I don’t know…”

“I mean, no one knows Beaver Ridge as well as you do. You’ve said it yourself – you know it like you know the back of your hand. And you’ve got the background for a business like this. John and I are really only newcomers to all this. Both your experience and knowledge would be invaluable.”

“But I’ve already got my own business in Quebec,” Rick reminded as he rubbed his chin. “A damn successful one, too. Our home is in Quebec.”

“But didn’t John tell me that Meg left your wife her house in her will?” Andy moved closer to Rick. He could see the glint in Rick’s eye. He was definitely mulling over the possibilities. Andy almost had him. “Sounds like you’ve got a home here, too. And just think about the excitement of the challenge of bringing this place back to life, better than it ever was. You were the man responsible for its birth and now you could be a part of its rebirth.”

“Andy, I don’t know.” Rick again began to walk around the room, carefully examining every tiniest aspect, his mind awhirl with all the possibilities. “It would be a challenge, but Cal’s pretty happy and content with our place in Canada. She’s not even sure what she’s gonna do with Meg’s house.”

“But, like I said, you’ve already got a home here and you could have a business, too. All you’d have to do is say the word.”

Rick nodded as he listened to Andy’s spiel. He’d made a lot of good points and he’d by lying if he’d said he wasn’t intrigued by the possibilities. But Cal would never go for it. She’d never agree to give up the resort and move back to Rosehill – or would she?

Rosehill Police Department, Interrogation Room

“You wanted to see me, Lieutenant?” Dr. Tom Crawford said as he knocked on the door. “I came down as soon as I could. I had to wrap a few things up at the hospital, first. The desk sergeant said you’d be in here.”

“Ah, Dr. Crawford, you’re right on time, sir,” Lt. Alfonso said, rising from his chair and motioning him into the room. “Please come in and close the door behind you. Take a seat.”

“May I ask what this is all about?” Tom sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the table from the lieutenant, an uneasy knot forming in his stomach. “I’m assuming this has to do with Meg Marriott’s murder, but I don’t know why you’d want to talk to me.”

“Dr. Crawford, we’re interviewing everyone who had any sort of relationship with Mrs. Marriott.” The lieutenant turned to a new page in his legal pad and scribbled down a few notes that Tom couldn’t see. “You know, to get more of an accurate picture of who she was, who she dealt with…”

“Who might have had a motive to kill her?”

“We just want to know all that we can, Dr. Crawford.” There was a long pause as Lt. Alphonso visually examined Tom’s posture and demeanor, making sure to note every facial gesture and reaction. “I understand that you and Mrs. Marriott were married at one time.”

“We were.”

“And that it ended badly.”

“My marriage to Meg started badly,” Tom acknowledged, a very accurate depiction. “We got married for the wrong reasons.”

“And yet you two remained friendly after the divorce?”

“It took some time to get to that point, but, yes, we did.” Tom moved his hands from his lap onto the table. He prayed that his nervousness didn’t show. “Meg and I had a very… well… complicated friendship. A lot of people didn’t exactly understand it. Truthfully, there were times even I didn’t understand it. We did grow to understand each other and care about each other a great deal, but we were much better off as friends than as romantic partners.”

“She was quite a bit older than you, wasn’t she?”

“A bit, yes.”

There was another long pause as Lt. Alphonso hurriedly wrote down something else, making Tom even more anxious.

“Mrs. Marriott was funding a research grant for you at the hospital, is that correct?”

“Yes, it is.” Tom eyed the lieutenant curiously. “I don’t understand what that has to do with anything.”

“And she recently pulled the funding for that grant, as well?” Lt. Alphonso continued on, ignoring Tom’s question.

“Yes.”

“Could you tell me why Mrs. Marriott pulled her funding.”

Tom paused for several moments as he tried to think of the best way to formulate his answer. “Meg wanted me to fire Alex Marriott from the project. To be honest, I don’t know what her reasons were for sure, but I do know that she didn’t get along very well with Alex’s father Andy. They’d been business partners in Beaver Ridge before Meg pulled out and sold him her interest. I don’t know her reasons for doing that, though.”

“So, you’re saying Mrs. Marriott asked you to remove Dr. Marriott from the project simply because she didn’t get along with his father?” Now it the lieutenant’s turn to eye Tom curiously.

“Lieutenant, Meg could be a very spiteful woman and a lot of the times, she did a lot of things that didn’t make much sense to a lot of people. It was very much in her nature to do something like that.”

“I see.” Lt. Alphonso jotted down some more notes and then reached under a large envelope, pulling out a plastic baggie wrapped gun.

“Do you recognize this gun, Dr. Crawford?”

Tom felt a large knot form in his throat. He most definitely did recognize it.

“I… I’m not sure,” Tom muttered.

“We’ve had the lab going over this gun with a fine tooth comb, Dr. Crawford.” Lt. Alphonso pushed it closer to Tom. “We’ve determined that this is, in fact, the gun that was used to kill Mrs. Marriott.”

“It… is?” Tom was beginning to feel more anxious and uncomfortable by the second.

“Even more interestingly is the fact that we now know exactly who this gun is registered to.”

“You… do?”

“Yes, Dr. Crawford.” The lieutenant paused, ever so briefly. “It’s registered to you. This is your gun, Dr. Crawford.”