Free Castle Cay by Lee Hanson

wake,
Julie. She was there with the older children. We said ‘hi’, but we
didn’t actually talk.”
    Those were the nieces and nephews Milton
Solomon referred to, thought Julie.
    Finally, they arrived at the gravesite and
took their places around the casket. The service was more difficult
to bear than Julie had expected. She tried hard not to cry, but, in
the end, she couldn’t help herself.
    Only two other people were crying
unabashedly, she noticed. One was David Harris. Julie didn’t
recognize the other person, an older man. The same man had appeared
stricken at the wake the day before. She recalled that the Castle
family had seemed to surround him. Now that she thought about
it…they seemed to be comforting him.
    He looks a lot like Marc.
    She glanced from the man to Pete, a
questioning look on her face.
    Pete leaned over and whispered. “Tom Connor,
Matt Castle’s law partner.”
    * * * * *

Chapter 23
    J oan had prepared a light and easy
Italian dinner, and now the three of them sat in the living room
before the fireplace, finishing their wine while the boys played a
video game in the den.
    Julie was mulling over Joan’s earlier account
of her job as payroll manager at Solomon Chrysler, especially
Avram’s nasty, unwarranted rebuke to a perfectly sensible
suggestion. Not that Pete didn’t deserve it, but the timing of his
promotion to GM in Lynn was bothering Julie, because it had also
removed Joan from the payroll department.
    “Joannie, I was wondering…while you were
there, was anything else going on at the Boston dealership that
struck you as odd?”
    “No, not that I can think of,” said Joan.
“Avram was just so arrogant, you know?”
    “I can think of somethin’,” said Pete.
“Milton Solomon was a sharp car dealer. He was a negotiator. He
came up from sales , you know? Avram, on the other hand,
doesn’t know his ass from his elbow when it comes to this business.
He’s a friggin’ bean counter, and a lousy one!”
    “Pete, quiet down…the boys will hear you,”
said Joan.
    “Okay. Sorry,” said Pete, lowering his voice.
“It just burns me that Avram makes all the decisions.”
    “What happened to Milton Solomon?” asked
Julie.
    “He comes in every once in a while, but
Avram’s in charge. The ol’ man thinks Avram’s a genius. What a
joke! Avram does the stupidest things I’ve ever seen! I don’t know
about the other two stores, but there’s barely any profit in mine
because of that…jerk. Our costs for advertising, uniforms, wiper
rags, floor mats, parts, paint…you name it…is sky high! And I can’t
do a thing about it; it’s all handled by Avram in the Boston
store.”
    “How long has that been going on?”
    “For years,” said Pete. “Not that he isn’t rollin’ in dough. And he likes to throw it around, too.
Women, gamblin’, a goddamn Jaguar! That’s right. He doesn’t even
drive one of our cars.
    “He isn’t foolin’ me with all his society
connections and charity shit. We’ve expanded from one store to
three, and I can’t see where the money came from to do it. I
wouldn’t be surprised if we were washin’ more than cars.”
    Pete leaned forward, pinching the bridge of
his nose, while Joan unconsciously rubbed the back of her neck.
    Julie knew at once that they’d had this
conversation many times. Pete was clearly conflicted about his job,
and Joan was stressed to the max, afraid he might quit.
    “Well, I’ve got some thoughts on all of this
that I want to look into,” said Julie. “As much as I appreciate the
hospitality, you guys, it’s probably best if I leave here in the
morning and spend tomorrow night in Boston. I’m planning to call
Conner, Castle & Mann and make an appointment to see Marc’s
uncle. And, believe me, I’ve got some questions for Avram, too,
before I leave.”
    •
    Julie arose early the next morning, so she
could say goodbye to the boys and Pete before they left for the
day. She had expected to have breakfast with