Daddy's Gone a Hunting

75

Mark Sloane left the Marea restaurant, his dinner untouched, after telling Nick Greco that he needed to go home and call his mother. From the description of the necklace, he had no doubt that the remains found in Long Island City were those of his sister.

In one of the last pictures she had sent home, Tracey had been wearing the blue medallion with her name on it. She had written, “Dear Mom and Mark. How do you like my sapphire necklace? A bargain for eight dollars, don’t you think? When my name is in lights on Broadway, maybe I can buy the real thing. Wouldn’t that be great!”

Why and how did Tracey’s body end up in Long Island City? It might never have been discovered if the Connelly complex had not exploded. It was also totally bizarre that one of the young women he happened to run into in the lobby of his new apartment building was the daughter of the owner of the complex where Tracey’s body was found.

Mark looked at his watch. It was only eight o’clock. He knew that he also wanted very much to talk to Hannah Connelly. Maybe she could help him find out quickly if Harry Simon had ever worked at Connelly’s, or maybe had a relative who had worked there. By now the records of nearly thirty years ago are probably gone, he tried to warn himself. The IRS doesn’t require you to keep them for more than seven years.

He found himself reaching for his cell phone. This is crazy, he thought. It’s just that I want an answer. Maybe all these years, I still thought that one day Tracey would come back into our lives. I’ll be thirty-eight in a couple of months. She was only twenty-two when she vanished. I have to call Mom tonight to tell her that Tracey’s been found. I want to be able to also tell her that, maybe very soon, we’ll be sure that the creep who worked in the kitchen is the one who did it and that he’ll never walk the streets again.

Tracey. Big sister. Mark, you’ve got a good pitching arm. Come on, make me miss this pitch…

Tracey taking him to the movies on Friday night. They’d have a hamburger and french fries and a soda first at McDonald’s and when they got to the movies she’d ask, Popcorn or a Hershey bar, Mark? Or both?

Mark realized that he had his cell phone in his hand and was dialing 411 for information. He was relieved that Hannah Connelly’s apartment phone number was listed. As he was connected to her number, he thought that if she doesn’t want to see me, she can just say so.

The phone was answered on the second ring. Hannah Connelly’s “Hello” was breathless, almost as though she were frightened to answer the call.

“Hannah, I’m Mark Sloane. I live one floor below you in apartment 5C. We met in the lobby last Thursday night.”

“Yes, I remember.” Now her voice was cordial. “You rode up in the elevator with Jessie and me. I’m afraid I was pretty upset.”

“Have they told you yet that skeletal remains were found on your family’s property in Long Island City?”

“How do you know that?” Now her tone was wary.

“Tracey Sloane was my sister.” Mark did not wait for a response. “I just heard about it. I’m on my way home. I’ll be there soon. May I come up and see you?”

“Yes, of course. Mark, I am so sorry.”

Fifteen minutes later, Hannah was opening the door of her apartment for Mark Sloane. When she had met him last Thursday evening, she had been so conscious of the fact that she was openly crying and embarrassed to be seen that she had hardly noticed the tall, attractive man who was standing in front of her. But now what she noticed first was the expression of pain in his eyes so visible that it hurt to witness it.

“Come in, Mark,” she said. “Please, come in.”

He followed her into the apartment, noticing that the floor plan seemed to be an exact duplicate of his own, one floor below. Unlike in his apartment, though, there were no pictures set out on the floor and waiting to be hung. This apartment had the comfortable feeling of a lived-in home.

Even as he observed that, Mark realized how absolutely irrelevant it was to be thinking about wall decorations.

He had somehow expected that Hannah Connelly might be alone, but there were two other people in the room. One was Jessie, the tall redhead lawyer he had met the other night. The other was a guy who was probably a few years younger than he, but who was obviously aware of what was going on. His handshake was firm. “I’m Justin. You must be going through a lot,” Justin Kramer said quietly.

Mark didn’t want to become emotional in front of these people who were strangers. His knees suddenly felt weak and he sat down on the couch.

His voice sounding hollow to his own ears, Mark heard himself saying, “I was with the detective who investigated my sister’s disappearance nearly twenty-eight years ago. He’s retired now but has always kept a copy of the case file. We were at dinner when he got the call that Tracey’s remains may have been found.

“Or, almost certainly, have been found,” Mark corrected himself.

“I guess the reason I’m here is that I need to have answers. When Tracey disappeared, someone who worked with her in the restaurant was questioned but his alibi was too good. It checked out. But maybe he had an accomplice, I mean maybe someone who worked at the Connelly complex.”

Mark could feel the burning in his throat. “I know the detectives will be asking the same questions, but I have to call my mother now, to let her know Tracey has been found. She already knows that the guy who worked with Tracey and who was slobbering about how wonderful Tracey was has been arrested for allegedly killing another young actress. I know that no matter what she’s ever said, my mother still hoped Tracey would come home someday. I know how I feel. I need to have answers. If there are any records of employees from around that time available somewhere, could I possibly get my hands on them? I need answers. My mother needs answers…”

Mark’s troubled voice trailed off. He stood up. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m not usually like this.”

It was Jessie who answered him. “Mark, we’re all stunned at the discovery of your sister’s remains. Maybe there will be an answer. The plant manager who has worked for Hannah’s family for thirty years, and who gave Tracey the necklace, is being questioned by the police right now. He was also questioned when Tracey first disappeared.”

Then, studying Mark’s drawn expression and knowing he was about to break down, Jessie said, “I think you should call your mother before she hears it from someone else.”

Jessie had not intended to say anything more than that but then added, “Why don’t I go downstairs with you? I think you could use a cup of tea or coffee. I’ll make it while you call your mother.”