The Original Alibi

Chapter 11

Charles picked me up in front of my condo building at noon. He looked more relaxed away from the Whittaker house, his smile easier. I took him to Mackie’s where we chose a quiet corner booth. Axel was sitting at the end of the bar, around the curve, from where he could watch Charles. I hadn’t planned that, but apparently Axel had, which was okay. He had a good feel for people so a second opinion might be helpful.

“Thank you for meeting me, Charles. I trust you won’t be uncomfortable with my asking questions about the general and the family.”

“The general’s instruction were that I should answer your questions and that we would trust your integrity, Mr. Kile, so you may ask whatever you wish.”

I first asked a series of questions that confirmed his recollections matched what the general had told me about his trip to the bank, and the cell call he had received before tossing the bag with the two million over the side of the road. Charles also confirmed the general had walked the rest of the way to the house, and that he, Charles, had found Cliff working out in his gym over the garage and sent him back to get the general’s car out of the ditch.

“Did the general look over the edge where he had dropped the satchel with the money?”

“No, but I did. I walked back to the car with Cliff.”

“Did you see anything?”

“No. It’s really dark in that section. That spot’s about a hundred yards back from where the car had been driven into the ditch. The light from the road is shaded by the edge; erosion has torn hunks out of the sandstone cliff face all along that section of the beach. The general had to have it reinforced in a few places to secure the road. But, no, I saw no one. I couldn’t even see the satchel. By then I doubt it was still there. I’m sure whoever had called the general to drop it, had picked it up right away and left before the general got back to house, let alone before Cliff and I got back there. Later, after I got back to the house, I got a large flashlight, went down the stairs and walked back there in the sand. I saw no satchel and there were too many tracks in the sand to learn anything.”

“Why didn’t the general call for you and Cliff?”

“He said he just wanted to walk some. The ordeal had ended. The car wasn’t going anywhere. It was one of the few times I’ve ever seen the general out of sorts, if I can say so, sir. He had just been ordered to throw two million dollars over a cliff.” Charles grinned and shook his head. “I suspect that would rattle anyone.”

“Did he say the call was from a man or woman?”

“Woman.”

“A woman’s voice, okay, but what I’m asking is whether the caller was a man or a woman?”

“Women’s voices come from women, Mr. Kile. I don’t understand.”

“For legitimate or personal reasons as well as illegitimate reasons people can learn to speak as a member of the opposite sex. With a modest amount of practice, a woman can learn to speak in a masculine tone from lower in her throat, below the Adam’s apple. Conversely, a man can speak like a woman by projecting his voice from above the Adam’s apple. By keeping your finger on your throat you get feedback as to the level on which your voice begins. The doing isn’t all that hard, but it takes practice to make it sound easy and natural.”

“That’s beyond me, Mr. Kile. The general said a woman. That’s all I know.”

“Yes. That’s what the general told me when I asked him the same thing.”

We took time to look at the menus and ordered beef dips and a draft beer; Charles ordered a side of horseradish sauce. Then I asked Charles how long he had known General Whittaker.

“When he first made general, I was assigned to his staff as his driver. Other than a few years when I was otherwise assigned, I’ve been with him ever since.”

“You know you can call me Matt.”

“I’m comfortable sir, if you are.”

“Why have you stayed with him all these years?”

“In the beginning, in the army, he was a father figure I suppose. I had joined the army after growing up in foster homes. I enlisted at the youngest age I could. Since getting out, well, a man must work. The general pays well and with room and board included it provides a healthy income that allows me to make modest investments. I should also say that over the years a deep friendship evolved. I understand my place, of course, at my insistence more than the general’s.”

“And then there’s the inheritance. You being provided for in his will.”

“Yes, Mr. Kile, if you’re angling to learn if I know about that. I do. However, I have no doubts that if I were to leave, the general would not change my place in his will. I believe he sees providing for me therein as for services rendered, not to be rendered. No, sir, I stay because it is my home. I have no other family and I am devoted to the general, also for services rendered, to reuse the phrase.”

“I guess you know the general better than anyone. What are his strengths and weaknesses? I’m not needlessly prying, Charles, I need to know how he will handle himself depending on where my investigation takes me. Please speak candidly.”

Our meals came before Charles began to answer. I glanced up at Axel who had taken a position to far away to hear, but sufficient to study the face of my lunch guest.

“The general has so many high qualities I don’t know where to begin or how to summarize, but I shall try. He is an old-fashioned man. He believes in honor, duty, and integrity. If he gives you his word, you may safely rest your life upon it. He demands loyalty from those near him and gives a full measure in return. If he has a fault it could be his intense commitment to those qualities. At times it keeps him rigid. But in the end, I’ll take his kind every time.”

“His greatest trial? Most trying, I mean.”

“Certainly the death of his first wife, Grace, in 1970, she died of breast cancer. Then there was his failed marriage to Karen’s mother, Mary. With those exceptions, the general rarely achieved less than he set out to achieve. Mary, his second wife, was a smart woman and beautiful. Frankly Karen is much like her mother in looks and style. Mary could not countenance the military life. She demanded the general choose between her and his army. He did. But he always loved her. And he always provided for her and Karen. He saw them a few times each year and always attended special events in Karen’s life as she grew into a woman. I had the pleasure of accompanying the general to many, probably most, of those events. Karen and Mary squabbled like many mothers and daughters. That’s what led Karen to come live with us while still in college.”

“So you like him, don’t you, Charles?”

“Above all others, Mr. Kile. General Whittaker is my employer and, as I said, we maintain that relationship. We are also friends for life and he has never wavered in that commitment.”

“How is he doing? His health I mean. Is he able to keep up some of his favorite activities and hobbies?”

Mackie came out from around the bar and started toward our table. I held up my hand, palm out. He did an about face and headed back behind the bar. I also noticed he had been staying away from Axel. In prison you learn to be aware of who is watching who, before deciding whether or not to approach. Mackie knew Axel was watching Charles and me, so he stayed at the end of the bar away from Axel.

“The general’s condition is deteriorating rather quickly now. The last six months he has been forced to curtail pretty much all his activities. The last to go was his target rifle shooting. He loved that and used to shoot regularly with Karen and Eddie and Cliff. Sometimes I would participate as well.”

“Who is the best shot?”

“In the old days, before Cliff joined us, the general. Cliff had been a Marine sniper so he shot rings around the rest of us. Karen nearly always finished next, although she preferred handguns, followed by Eddie. Well, except for when I joined in, then I would come in behind Karen and ahead of Eddie. Along that time, Eddie lost interest and no longer tried all that much. In my five years of service away from the general I became quite a marksman, but that’s one of those skills you use or you lose. We haven’t had a family shooting competition in nearly a year, but just the other day the general mentioned we needed to do it again. However, I doubt he will try to do so.”

“Your thoughts on Karen?”

“What specifically do you wish to know, Mr. Kile?”

“Whatever comes to mind. Again, please be candid.”

“Conventions don’t control her actions. In that way she is like her mother. I see a pleasure in the general whenever she is near. I should add that Karen got straight A’s in college and is quite disciplined in her intellectual pursuits. My comments were more on her personal side.”

“Do they spend much time together, she and the general?”

“Karen dines with the general, whatever he is eating, most nights. Eddie joins them perhaps once a week. She spends in the aggregate about a day a week with him on his investments. They play chess a couple times a week. She swims with him whenever he wishes, which has been seldom these past months.” Charles smiled and I asked what brought it on. “When she beats him at chess, the general is conflicted. He remains very competitive and fancies himself an excellent chess player. Yet, at the same time, he is tickled and proud of her for having beaten him. He will talk about it to me off and on for days.”

I dunked my last bite of my beef dip and asked, “What about Eddie? Is he capable of having killed Ileana Corrigan? I know this is not easy, but no one knows the characters in this drama as well as you. I value your opinion.”

“The characters in this drama, a little of your novelist side, Mr. Kile?” We shared a chuckle before Charles began to answer. “Eddie has lived a soft life. Everything paid by the general, including a liberal spending allowance. He was a strong young man, good high school athlete. The general did not want him to go into the military, not after he lost Eddie’s father in Desert Storm. Eddie has never really worked. In my day, we would call him a playboy, a womanizer. Then he met Ileana. It would seem she tamed him. They became engaged. She turned up pregnant. Then, well, you know.”

I motioned to Mackie to bring us two more drafts before asking, “I don’t see the general as the kind of man who would raise a boy soft. Why did he?”

“The general raised his son, Eddie’s father, Ben, quite differently. He required Ben take a part time job in high school. Ben was raised around military people and talk, and wanted nothing more than to follow in his father’s footsteps. Ben joined the army and had reached the rank of captain when he was killed in Desert Storm. The general anguished over whether he contributed to his son dying in ‘91 by bringing up the boy to be rugged and encouraging him toward the military. My guess is that doubt led to his handling Eddie exactly the opposite. The general has never said that to me in so many words, but I believe it to be correct.”

“You spoke earlier of your great fondness for the general. Do you like Eddie?”

“Not particularly. He’s spoiled, of course. And he does not speak to or of the general in the manner he should. He has so far squandered the advantages of his life. I suppose his life is what men often say would be the ideal: enough money, no work, lots of liquor and women. Truth is most of us would not want that life. Eddie has it and seems to like it. I find life without an absolute dedication or clear purpose shallow and superficial. Men should be committed to something above all else.”

Mackie brought our fresh beers and took our plates and empty glasses.

“I ask again, could Eddie have killed Ileana?”

“I don’t think so, Mr. Kile. He seems never to be out of control, never to be angry. Everyone likes him, not much respect, but he has polished his social graces. Until Ileana’s death and his arrest, Eddie had never dealt with anything tough or hard or demanding in his life. I have to think killing someone would be all of that. No. I don’t think so. The general has never believed Eddie guilty, and I know no better judge of men.”

“Does the general like Eddie?”

“Ah. That’s a hard one. The general is disappointed in the choices Eddie has made. He has waited for Eddie to take his life in some direction. When he was a boy, we hoped he might become a doctor, an engineer, whatever. In college, he drifted, took quite a few legal classes and psychology. Whatever happened to interest him without concern for a degree or career. For years, the general has encouraged Eddie to contribute his time to some worthy cause, but none of that has taken hold. Eddie is happy being Eddie. Things have always gone as Eddie wanted them to go. Well, except for the devastation of losing his fiancee. He loved Ileana and needed treatment for depression for nearly a year.”

“When did Cliff join the staff?”

“About thirteen years ago, something like that. Karen came to live with us first. Her coming was part of the general’s reason for increasing the size of the staff. My duties also expanded to helping the general with some of his non-investment business matters. This made me less available as a driver and the general had become less capable of driving himself.”

“I’ve only seen Cliff once from a distance. He looks around fifty. How was he chosen?”

“That requires a bit of back story. First, Cliff is forty-five, but you’re correct, in the face he looks older. He’s a hard drinker but exercises vigorously. His focus is on his legs and gut and stamina, like a boxer trains. For years, the general had covered the costs of keeping five old soldiers, badly disabled men from his command, in a home. When the last one died, the general assigned me to find Cliff, the last soldier’s son. He had gotten into drugs and started running with a motorcycle gang. The general put him in rehab, with Cliff’s consent of course. After that Cliff continued weekly therapy for some time. He’s the general’s driver and takes care of the five vehicles used by the family and myself. He also cares for the pool and spa and oversees the work done by the landscaping service.”

Charles also told me the best time to catch Cliff at the house without his expecting me would be tomorrow midday. That Cliff had to take one of the cars into the dealer in the morning, but should be back by around noon. As for Eddie, he was a wisp of smoke that drifted in and out, but Charles agreed to call me when Eddie was home and looking like he wasn’t headed out.

“So,” I asked, “what’s your opinion? Who killed Ileana Corrigan?”

“The wisest thing I can say is that the general has a good man on that job, so I expect we shall finally find out.”