“Yeah, I guess he is. He’ll never admit it, though. Every time I try to talk about it, he shuts me down. But I think he feels that Steph was the one for him, and for a long time it looked as if they’d end up together. So the fact that she went and married Jeff must have stung. See, the thing is that my wife handled this kind of stuff a lot better than I ever could. Wendy died ten years ago, and we both took it hard. Robbie is a great kid, but he doesn’t exactly wear his heart on his sleeve. And neither do I. His mom, she could get him to open up. But I never could.”
We watched through the window as Robbie furiously walked away, crunching gravel underfoot. His dad sighed. His heart was clearly bleeding for his son.
CHAPTER 12
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It didn’t take long for Chase to find out where Edmundo Crowley could be found. As it happens the aspiring fashion designer was staying at the Star Hotel, which is located in the heart of Hampton Cove. He admitted as much to Chase, when he called him on the number Odelia had for him. And so the detecting duo decided to pay a visit to the young man, accompanied by yours truly and Dooley.
When Chase knocked on the door of his hotel room, it was opened by a very nervous-looking Edmundo. He was also a lot paler than the last time we saw him in his Brooklyn apartment.“Hello, officer,” he said. “Mrs. Kingsley.” He gave Dooley and me a sort of blank look, but awarded us no greeting, kindly or otherwise. Instead he turned around, expecting us to follow him into the room.
“You probably know why we’re here,” said Chase.
“Actually I don’t,” said Edmundo as he stood around awkwardly. It’s never enjoyable when the police come knocking on your door, and since they don’t teach the social niceties to be observed in such a contingency at school, it’s always interesting to see how different people react in quite different ways.
Edmundo clearly didn’t know what to do with himself. He folded his arms across his chest first, then clasped them behind his back, and finally decided to take a seat at a table near the window, offering the accompanying chairs to his present company.
And while Odelia accepted the offered seat, Chase remained standing, and towering over the distinctly ill-at-ease designer.
“Yesterday at eleven hundred hours you very nearly caused a collision on I-495 through the negligent operation of your vehicle,” Chase began, switching to the lingo of his trade. “thereby endangering the safety of a fellow driver. This is called reckless driving and is illegal, Mr. Crowley.”
“But I didn’t—I never—I mean I wasn’t…”
“You were filmed by the dashcam of the driver who was a victim of your illegal maneuver, Mr. Crowley. Your license plate is KDP-2022?”
“Y-yes, it is,” said Crowley, breaking out into a sweat.
“Can I ask what you are doing in Hampton Cove, sir?”
“I-I’m here as a tourist. Just-just for the beach.”
“Is that so?” said Chase, directing a stern look at the man, who was wilting before our eyes.
“S-swimming,” he stammered weakly. “I like swimming.”
“Isn’t it so that for whatever reason you have decided to start a personal vendetta against Stephanie Felfan and her husband Jeff? A personal vendetta that has resulted in a campaign of slanderous photographs and messages sent to Mrs. Felfan’s potential employers, dissuading them from offering her employment? And isn’t it so, Mr. Crowley,” said Chase, raising his voice when Crowley tried to voice a meek protest, “that destroying Mrs. Felfan’s career opportunities wasn’t enough for you, so you decided to follow her to Hampton Cove and try to drive the car she was traveling in off the road? And I put it to you, sir!” Chase said, his voice reverberating through the room like a carnival barker. “That last night at oh two hundred hours you threw no less than two rocks through a window at the Stewart residence, where Mrs. Felfan and her family are currently staying!”
“I didn’t throw no stones!” said the man, who looked more miserable than ever. Guilt was clearly written across his features, and denial was futile, but he wasn’t giving up without a fight. “Okay, so I may have cut off her car, but I didn’t even know she was in it—you have to believe me. Just my rotten luck, I guess. And I definitely did not throw any stones or send any photographs or messages. I already told Mrs. Kingsley I had nothing to do with any of that. I wouldn’t even know how to doctor pictures. And besides, why would I? I’m not that kind of guy—you have to believe me. I’m simply not!”
“All right, all right, settle down,” said Chase, holding out a big slab of a hand.
“Chase would have made a great traffic cop,” said Dooley admiringly. “With big strong hands like that he could stop any car or truck dead in its tracks.”
He was certainly stopping Edmundo dead in his tracks, for the young man swallowed whatever else he had planned to say and closed his mouth. He was staring up at the burly cop with a scared look, as if afraid he was going to hit him.