The Labyrinth of Blue Towers:
The Disappearance of Jack Arneson
(A Sewing Box Mystery)
Chapter 1: Friday, June 10, 2011, 7:21 pm
Chapter 2: Saturday, June 11, 2011, 8:38 am
Chapter 3: Thursday, June 28, 1984, 10:10 am
Staring at the screen of her laptop. Missy felt glassy-eyed and weary. So far, the week at work had felt endless. She'd been kept constantly busy with no time to do any research about St. Petersburg on the side. In the evenings, once at home, she’d slip into the comfortable arms of her couch and zombie-out in front of the television, fixing something easy-to-prepare to eat during the commercials. It was now late Thursday afternoon and, after having spent another whole day staring at spreadsheets, the last thing she wanted to do was spend more time on the computer. Yet, if she wanted to make any progress in her quest to find an additional link between her grandmother’s dreams, the Arneson case, and St Petersburg, MN, before the weekend, it was now or never.
Leaving the relative anonymity of her office cubical, she grabbed her laptop and headed toward an empty conference room. Sequestered inside, she knew she ran a much smaller chance of being interrupted than if seated in her cube; if someone needed something faxed, typed, entered, submitted, or copied, they would just have to do it themselves. She felt a little guilty about using work time and resources for personal use, but not much. She'd been with the company now for two and a half years and in that time had witnessed numerous employees doing personal business on company time. She even knew a woman who was taking college courses on-line during the workday in order to finish her masters and a man running a personal business out of his office. Upon discovering such trespasses, she, like everyone else, simply looked the other way, figuring it was better to be a silent co conspirator than a snitch. Besides, you never knew when you would find yourself in a bind and need to do the same thing. In Missy’s case, that time was now.
She'd been at it for about twenty minutes when there came a knock at the door. Peering through the rectangular window in the door was the face of Kim Yu, a mid-level manager in the department Missy helped support. He was a rather non-descript, ineffectual man who also tended to be a pain in Missy’s ass. Missy rose and opened the door a crack.
“You have this conference room booked?” he asked, desperately trying to look past her to see who else might be in the room.
Missy decided to lie. “Yes. I’m working on something and need to concentrate. Did you need something?”
“I have this document and need it scanned.”
The office was equipped with state of the art printers which also faxed and scanned. The scanned documents were configured to save directly to the individual user’s hard drive. It was a simple process and one the entire staff had been trained to do, yet people, like Kim Yu, still clung to the mistaken belief that scanning was a job someone else did for them. Missy weighed the value of reiterating all this to Kim or simply giving in and doing as he asked.
Glancing at the slim document he held in his hands, she decided that the most efficient thing to do was submit to his demands and scan the document for him. That way she’d be able to get back to her research as soon as possible. Granted, sparing Kim the standard D.I.Y. lecture wasn’t teaching him anything, but Missy figured sometimes you have to hand someone a fish, so you, yourself, can go fishing.
Taking the document from Kim, Missy made her way to a nearby copier. As she punched in her code, Kim stood over her shoulder watching her every move. Missy was pretty sure this was because he didn't trust her to complete the task and not out of any desire on his part to learn how to do it himself, so she didn’t bother with a step by step explanation of what she was doing. Apparently, in Kim’s mind, watching her do this simple task constituted a good use of his time - but then, considering what Missy was attempting to do in the conference room, she was hardly in a position to criticize how others spent their time at work. The task completed, she handed the set of papers back to Kim. He took them, and without so much as a courtesy ’thank you', turned on his heels, and headed toward his cube.
"You'll find it on your ‘C drive under ’Scanned Documents',” Missy yelled after him, in the vain hope of circumventing yet another interruption.
Once back in the conference room, Missy tried to not let her frustration with work get the best of her. This was exactly the type of bullshit she had to deal with every day - taking care of well-educated people who knew better, but lacked enough common sense to connect the dots. Then again, she reminded herself, connecting those dots was her job, and she should be grateful to have one. Right?
Missy glanced at the open laptop before her. In her absence the automatic security lock had come on. She entered her log-in ID and password and the web search she had been in the middle of popped up. It was a website sponsored by the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce promoting the various companies currently doing business in the town while trumpeting the various positive attributes of the community in order to attract new businesses. Her eye immediately zeroed in on a small link under the list of existing businesses for ‘B&T Bread’. Clicking on it, she was taken to a website belonging to an industrial bakery. After examining their list of products, all mouth-wateringly tempting, she clicked on a link that promised to shed light on the company’s history.
The page, populated with historic photos and a brief amount of text, was less comprehensive than Missy had hoped, but nicely done. The text read: “Founded in 1?931, The Tollefson Bake Shop operated in a small storefront on the main street of St. Petersburg under the ownership of Lars Tollefson. Lars was eventually joined in business by his son, David, who took over the family business in 1963, shortly after the birth of his son, Larry. Under David’s guidance, the company grew significantly. In 1987, Tollefson Bakery, as it was known at the time, acquired a number of local competitors, significantly increasing the number and type of products available, including the introduction of their now world famous line of Artisan Breads. With the acquisition of the additional companies, Tollefson Bakery underwent a name change, becoming B&T Baked Goods, Inc. The company, which went public in 1992 as B&T Baked Goods, is currently under the leadership of Larry Tollefson, CEO.”
Maybe there was an outside chance that this would help explain the smell of bread that Terri had said Jean frequently spoke of and satisfy her Aunt Jeanette's need for an additional link to St Petersburg. She was about to send the website address to her aunt when she noticed a small link in the upper right hand corner that said 'Contact Us’. Missy pondered doing exactly that for all of a moment before doing just that. On the contact page there was an email form, a mailing address and a phone number. A conference phone sat right in front of her. Why not, she thought.
Dialing the number, it occurred to her that it might be best to rehearse exactly what she wanted to say, or at least think about it a bit more, but before she changed her mind a woman’s voice answered.
“B&T Baked Goods, this is Cassandra, how may I help you?”
“Hi,” said Missy, a little too brightly. “I was... I was looking at your website and was wondering if it might be possible to get more information about the company’s history?”
“Sure, may I ask who’s calling and what this is in regards to?”
“Ummm.... Well, my name is Missy and this is about... ehh... human interest, I guess.” Hoping that would satisfy Cassandra whoever-she-was. Missy awaited the verdict. After a slight pause came a response, “Sure thing, let me transfer you to our marketing department. One moment, please.” Following a click, an annoying Kenny G song loomed forth.
Fortunately, all the conference rooms were soundproof so Missy didn’t feel too conspicuous. After a moment, another voice came on the line and Kenny G, thankfully, ceased.
“Hello? This is Dale Beecham. How may I help you?” This man was a smooth operator. Missy recognized that immediately. Again she inquired about the company’s history. “Hmmm Unfortunately,” he said, “I’m rather new to the company. So I’m not sure I would be much help But you know what? I do know someone who knows exactly what you’re looking for. Can you hang on for a second while I transfer you?”
“No problem,” Missy gratefully replied Again, Kenny G filled the void, causing Missy to grimace Within a minute another voice picked up and the shrill sax was silenced once more
“Hi. This is Adam. I support Kathleen. She’s just getting out of a meeting. Can you hang on a second?”
Figuring she was already half way down the slide, Missy decided to ride it out. “Sure thing. Thank you.”
"One moment, please.” Adam sounded nice. Kenny G? Not so much. Missy thought about hitting the mute button, but then realized she wouldn’t be able to tell when this Kathleen woman picked up the line. While waiting Missy began to wonder what kind of monster chooses the music used when people are put on hold. Whoever it was. Missy was pretty sure they were going to hell. Adam came back on the line briefly to announce that he would be transferring her call to Kathleen. The woman came on the line almost immediately.
“This is Kathleen. What can I do for you?”
Kathleen sounded nice, too, a bit crisp, but nice nonetheless. Hopefully nice translated to understanding, for it was at that moment that Missy realized she had no idea what she was doing.
“Ummm... Hi,” she floundered, “My... my name is Missy and ummm... I was wondering if I could get a little more information about your... company’s history.” She paused, and then quickly added, “And maybe some information about other bakeries in St. Petersburg.”
“Well,” said Kathleen, sounding a bit coy, “St. Petersburg is a B&T Baked Goods town.” She was good; very slick and polished. “There are no other bakeries in town, except for the one at the local Hy-Vee - and that doesn’t really count. Our stuff is so much better,” she confided.
Missy wasn’t deterred “Yes, well, what about in the past? I mean, currently there aren't any other bakeries, but at one time there were. Your website makes reference to having acquired a couple of them.”
“Truuuuue,” trilled Kathleen. “But that happened quite some time ago. Did you have a specific question?”
A slight edge had crept into Kathleen’s tone, but Missy felt she had no choice but to soldier on; in for a penny, in for a pound. “What were the names of the other bakeries? The ones you bought out?”
"Hmmm. Good question. I’d have to look that up.” From the way she said this, Missy got the impression that Kathleen had no intention doing any such thing. “Now, is there anything else I can do for you?”
That’s when Missy decided to just go for broke. “Actually, yes... I’m interested in one particular bakery. Have you ever heard of a company called Brother’s Bread?”
The phone went silent, followed by a pause so pregnant it was carrying triplets. When Kathleen spoke again she sounded more than a tad guarded.
"Who is this? Are you a reporter?”
Missy was flattered. Maybe she sounded more together than she felt. “No, ma'am. I’m an administrative assistant.” Missy knew she could have lied, but she was what she was. No point hiding it.
Suspicious. Kathleen pointedly asked, “For whom?”
This caught Missy off guard What exactly was this woman's problem? “Uh, no one you'd know ”
Kathleen's voice now became steely and harsh “Look, you need to tell me what this is about, or this interview is over ”
This also surprised Missy. She hadn’t realized she'd been interviewing the woman, but based on Kathleen’s response, Missy must have been really grilling her hard. Perhaps she’d hit a sore spot with this woman? But that made no sense. All Missy was doing was looking for information about a bread company that probably went out of business way back when she was still in third grade. “Look, I’m sorry. I guess I’ve gone about this the wrong way or something. This is really very simple... and kind of complicated, but mostly simple.” She realized she was waffling, which only made her sound more foolish. In an attempt to get the conversation back on solid ground she said, “I’m merely looking for information about a bakery called Brother's Bread.” She was about to launch into an abbreviated explanation regarding her grandmother’s dreams, the map and the list, but she never got the chance, because Kathleen... exploded!.
“This is... this is nonsense!” spit the woman. “I don’t have time for this. Do you have any idea who I am? Do you have any idea the amount of responsibility I carry on my shoulders? If you’re looking for information for a book report or something, try your local library. You want to go digging in the dirt?” And with this, her voice dropped to what seemed a threatening level, “Then you better bring a shovel big enough to back it up.”
With that the phone went dead. No 'thank-you-for-calling, thank-you-for-your-interest’ type closing... just slam, bam, you’re dead to me. What the hell? Missy was still trying to comprehend what had happened when the conference room phone on the table in front of her began to ring. Who could it be? Missy’s mind raced. Should she answer it? Who knew she was in this conference room? And that’s when a possible caller dawned on her - fairly confident that it was Kim Yu with another document to scan, she picked up the call. “Yes?” she asked, with a touch of scorn in her voice - scorn, for either Kim Yu and his inability to be more self-sufficient or an echo of the tone she'd picked up from her recent encounter with a woman named Kathleen.
"Missy?” It was a male voice, but not Kim Yu’s. "Hello?” It sounded somewhat familiar but Missy couldn't place it exactly “Missy, this is Adam, Kathleen’s assistant.”
Oh, God, now what? “Oh, hi...” Unsure what this was about, Missy allowed the silence to linger long enough for Adam to pick up the ball and run, which, thankfully, he did.
“I’m calling about your recent phone conversation with Kathleen. I’m really sorry about that. I think she’s just having a bad day. As a fellow admin, I think you know how that can be, am I right?”
True, thought Missy, but that doesn’t prompt me to listen in on my boss's calls, ever. This was getting downright weird. What was this about? As if reading her mind, Adam continued, “I thought I’d give you a call back to address your questions. B&T is actually a very friendly company, and we'd hate for you to walk away with the wrong impression.”
Ahh, damage control. Something told Missy that Kathleen must have her fair share of ‘bad days’. Feeling a bit cheeky, and in light of the fact that she was speaking with a fellow admin, she decided to brave it and ask, “So I take it Kathleen goes postal on people on a regular basis?”
A beat went by. Adam seemed a bit taken aback by her question, although his reply was rather sly and knowing. “Why, whatever would make you think that?” he laughed. Then, dropping the professional pretense, he added, “Eh, you’re an admin, right? You know how it goes.”
Indeed, Missy did “Yes, but I doubt that monitoring your boss's calls is part of your job description, am I right?” Of course she was.
“Let’s just say...” he said, cagily “I’m doing somebody a favor here. And now, how can I be of help? You're doing a book report?”
“Not exactly. But I was hoping to find out about Brother's Bread.”
“Yeaaah”, drawled Adam. “That’s kind of a touchy subject around here, well, at least for Kathleen." Then, in a confidential tone he added, “If I remember right, last time a student called looking for information about that particular company she went apocalyptic, too.”
This surprised Missy. “Somebody else was asking about Brother’s Bread? How recently?”
“Maybe a year ago or so. I can’t remember exactly,” Adam said, nonchalantly. “Kathleen said it was some kid doing a book report or something. She seemed really wigged out about it.”
That struck Missy as quite odd. She wanted to know more. “Really? Wigged out? Why?”
Adam exhaled through his nose loudly. “Not sure. I don't have the whole story. All I know is it involved some kind of scandal. It was kept very hush-hush and the family doesn’t like to talk about it.”
The family? This was beginning to sound more and more like something straight out of a gothic novel. “What exactly do you mean ‘the family’? Missy asked.
“The Tollefsons. Kathleen’s family?” Again, Adam laughed, but this time a bit more uncomfortably. He explained, “The company may have gone public, but the Tollefsons still rule this place with an iron fist. They’re all kind of... real button-down types, if you know what I mean.” Missy didn't and her silence was enough for Adam to realize this. “They’re very conservative,” he explained. “Terrified of anything negatively impacting the company’s image. They even make employees sign a moral agreement - which is such a joke, especially in this town Oh, trust me, you have no idea, but they don’t want to risk even a hint of impropriety tarnishing the good name of B&T.”
By this point. Missy had a pretty good idea of who Adam was - and that was the type of admin who enjoyed stirring the pot a little. Feeling more comfortable, she asked. “Do you know anything more about the scandal?”
Adam grew apprehensive, but then, as Missy knew he would, he spilled what beans. “No. The whole Brother's Bread thing is very hush-hush, here, and by 'here', I mean St. Petersburg. It’s a very small town. A lot of people in this town rely on B&T for their livelihood, so, they tend to keep their secrets like their enemies; very close. Gosh, I hope nobody’s monitoring this call; otherwise I could be in trouble too. That’s why I’m calling from one of our conference rooms and not my desk .”
Missy laughed, “Oh that is too funny. Same here.” Their camaraderie established, Missy pressed on. “So, if I can be so bold, admin to admin - why are you monitoring her calls?”
Without hesitation, Adam confessed, “Her brother Larry, the CEO of the company, asked me to. And when one of the big guns asks a favor, you do as you’re told.” Missy knew that only too well. He continued, “You are hardly the first person Kathleen’s gone off on. She’s the head of marketing, and really good at what she does, she’s just... well, not much of a people person. Can I ask? Who transferred your call to Kathleen?”
This struck Missy as an odd request, but seeing as she’d gained Adam’s trust, she felt she owed him. “Oh. Let me think a second... Beaton? Beacham?”
“Oooohhh... Dale,” cooed Adam, savoring the words like a true gossip. “Yeah, that figures. He’s been gunning for Kathleen ever since he came on board a few months ago. The newbies always make that mistake. He senses weakness, but doesn’t realize he doesn’t have a chance in hell. Kathleen is family and nothing trumps family here. Besides...” Adam confided, “He's kind of a prick. Something Kathleen is not, by the way. I mean, I know she went off on you, but she’s really a very sweet woman. Normally.” He paused a moment before quietly adding, “I guess I'm just a little protective of her.”
That was natural for any admin. Missy thought. She watched her boss's back, too. “Sure, I understand completely.”
“Good Hey, I gotta get back to my desk, before Kathleen notices I'm gone. I just wanted to call and apologize for everything. I'm sorry I don’t have more info. If you need anything else just give me a call, okay?”
Certain that Adam had supplied her with more than enough inside information, Missy was ready to wrap it up as well. “Adam? Thank you. I really appreciate your help.”
“Sure thing” he chimed. “Isn’t that what we’re here for?”
After they said their good-byes, Missy had a feeling she'd be seeing Adam in the flesh soon enough. She could not believe her luck. A scandal! Isn’t that just the sort of thing that would justify a road trip? And a scandal that’s hush-hush? Too juicy to contemplate. Just wait until Aunt Jeanette gets a load of this. Missy gathered her things up and was heading out of the conference room when she walked right into Kim Yu, causing her to almost drop her laptop.
Without even the slightest of apologies or showing a bit of concern, Kim Yu got right to the point -his point. “Missy... you scan these documents for me?”
Missy looked at the pile of papers he held. That would require a full twenty minutes of her time She glanced at the clock on the wall above the mail center and saw that it was about three minutes before she was officially done for the day. With Kim Yu following hot on her heels, she went straight to her cubicle, dropped off her laptop, and grabbed her purse. Deftly sidestepping Kim, Missy moved toward the exit. Looking over her shoulder, she said, "I'd love to help you out right now, Kim, but I'm on my way out. I tell you what...” she turned in the doorway to face him, “You’re an engineer, right. With a master's degree, if I remember correctly.”
Kim nodded.
She continued. “And you stood over my shoulder and watched me as I scanned that last document for you, now didn’t you?”
Again, Kim nodded.
Missy smiled. “Then I’m sure you can figure it out for yourself. Thanks, now. See you tomorrow.”
And with that, Missy was out the door and headed home.
--- ---
Next week: Chapter 12
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1 comment:
Oh this was delicious.
Family scandal? check
Dissing Kenny G? check
Office Gay stirring the pot? check
Telling the Engineer to kindly fuck off? check
XOXO
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