Beverly Screwowski wore her hair severely pulled back and rolled up on the top of her head; pretty much in the same fashion that Mildred wore hers. She wore no makeup, no lipstick, no jewelry and rimless glasses that made her look like a librarian. Her cotton dress was a dark blue with a white flower pattern. It reached to her ankles, which she had demurely crossed as she sat with her hands in her lap. She was nervously twisting a facial tissue between her fingers as she looked down.
“Can you tell us what you know about Sally and the men she dated?” Marcello asked.
It flowed out of her as if we had turned on a faucet. It gushed forth without any coaxing from either John or myself.
“Sally was so beautiful and so nice. We used to have our lunch together every day at work. She would talk about all the important people that she was meeting through her new boyfriend. Sometimes she would call me at home after one of her dates and tell me where she had gone that evening and what they had done. Sometimes she would say how embarrassed she was. She didn’t call me to fill me in on the date she was going on last Saturday night. She said he told her it was going to be something really special. Sally said she would tell me what it was the next day. She never did. That’s why I knew something was wrong and why I eventually went to her house because she always kept her promises.”
I asked her, “Do you know the name of her boyfriend?”
“Only his first name; it’s Barry.”
“Barry?” Marcello and I both blurted out at the same time.
One of the names that John and I both thought about when we discussed the initials B. M. was Barry Meier, the police chief’s son. Could it be?
“Yes; he promised to get her a new apartment and set her up where she wouldn’t have to work no more. She already had a new mink coat and a new dress and shoes he bought her. She was so happy.”
“Did you give this information to the police?” Marcello asked.
“I did,” she said demurely. “That big detective asked me if I was sure and I said ‘Of course I’m sure, I wouldn’t lie about something like that. That woman detective just stared at me as if I had something on my teeth. She made me real nervous.”
I didn’t tell her that Detective Williams made me real nervous too; especially after pulling her gun on me the other night at Mader’s. Now it made sense why Harry wouldn’t give me any information on Beverly. This grisly murder could be getting very political.
Marcello and I glanced at each other. I pulled out Sally’s diary and put it on the table in front of Beverly and opened it to one of the pages I had marked that had most of the initials we had come across.
“Do any of these initials make any sense to you? Do you know anyone with those initials or did Sally mention anyone with those initials?” I asked.
She lowered her head and a scowl fell across her face. “Well, you know these could belong to anybody, but B.M. just might be Barry, but I can’t say for sure. I know she mentioned someone named Paul a couple of times and a Robert and Bobby. I would have to think.”
“Take your time, Beverly,” Marcello said kindly. “As you know, this could be very important.”
“You don’t think Barry had anything to do with her murder, do you?”
“We don’t know. We just want to verify a few things before we turn this over to the police. I have to tell you that you can expect Detective Sergeant Marshall and Detective Williams to be back here asking you some more questions after we turn this over to them. We all want to find who did this and I want you to know we really appreciate your help.”
“I figured as much. They said they would be getting back to me soon. I suppose with this diary they will think I know about everything that Sally wrote in there. Well, I don’t.”
“Did you ever hear Sally mention the name Meier?” John asked.
“Meyer?”
“M-e-i-e-r.” John replied spelling it out.
“Oh, I’m not sure. She might have. I just can’t remember. Is that Barry’s last name?”
“We’re not sure. We are just asking. Did she ever talk to you about any of the dates she went on with Barry that was special?”
“Let me think.” Beverly put her right index finger to her chin and lifted her eyes to the ceiling. After a moment she said, “She did mention a formal dance she went to awhile back.
Barry went with her to buy her a dress she said. She said it was very revealing, the dress.” She looked at me to make sure I understood what was revealing. I nodded at her.
“Showing cleavage you know.” She lowered her eyes to her lap and her face turned a deep red.
“Yeah, we know. John said quickly, probably worried about what my response would be.
“When was this dance, do you know?”
“February, I think.”
“Did she say what the occasion was for the dance?” I asked.
“No, just that there were a lot of police and important people there. She said she felt out of place and didn’t have much fun. Barry was nice to her but she said he spent a lot of time talking to some men. She said they left early and went to Barry’s place. That’s all I know” John and I exchanged glances.
“Okay, thank you Beverly. Please give us a call if you can think of anything; especially regarding the initials in Sally’s diary.”
John replied as he stood up.
Beverly stood and said, “I will.” She turned and opened the door and walked out.
John looked at me and said, “An odd friend for someone like Sally to confide in, don’t you think?”
“Not really. I replied. Sally probably considered her safe. Someone she could confide in and trust. She is really mousey and I doubt she has many friends. Sally was probably someone special to her. She probably considered Sally her best friend. What do you think about that dance with cops and important people? Do you know of any big banquet or celebration or anything with the mayor and the police department?”
“Not off hand, but I’ll find out. Harry probably knows. You can ask him.”
“That’s a good idea. Let’s go before Diane comes back.” I said.
“Why?” It was Diane. She was standing in the doorway and was listening to the end of our conversation.
Something unusual happened. A dark red crept up from my shirt collar and covered my face. Trying to be suave, I merely said “Because I don’t want to waste any more of your valuable time.”
“Max, I haven’t wasted any time, valuable or otherwise, on you for years.” Turning to John, she added. “I hope it was beneficial. Beverly is a sweet girl and she is really having a difficult time dealing with this. I know I would if I walked into a bloody scene like that and the fact that she was a close friend of Sally’s makes it that much worse.”
“You’re right Diane. She is dealing with a lot right now. She was very helpful. We’ll be turning this stuff over to Harry Marshall and Emily Williams later today. More than likely they will be here to speak with her in more detail. This is looking like it could be a big mess. I’m glad I don’t have to deal with politicos any longer. They make everyone’s life miserable and this is looking like it will explode big time and I really feel sorry for Marshall and Williams for catching this case. We’ve taken up enough of your time” He said, as he bent over and kissed her on the cheek.
“Bye John. Max,” she said flatly as she walked behind her desk.
As John and I walked back to the car I said. “Did you see the way she looked at me?”
“I think she wanted to step on you Max.”
“Really? Think she wears stilettos?”
“You’re an idiot Max.”
“Nah, that’s just my cover.” I replied.
“Get in the car.” John said as he slammed the door and started the big engine of his new Cadillac. We headed back to the office wondering if the police chief’s son could be involved in what could very well be one of Wisconsin’s most horrifying mass murders.