Elizabeth Lombardo
4 March 1947
After a moment of silence, Herbie spoke again.
HERBIE: I'm very tired. I think that we are still able to go and visit Elizabeth Lombardo, though. You know what? Let's go to the Black Dragon restaurant, which is just two blocks away from here. I'm starving! Who's supposed to make it through the entire day without food?
ALBERT: All right, mister Fox. I'm quite hungry myself.
Albert drove to the restaurant. They both entered and sat at the table. After a few seconds, a waiter came to their table and asked.
WAITER: What would you like to order, gentlemen?
Herbie replied in a dry manner with a menu in his hands.
HERBIE: This steak looks decent. I think I'll have it. What about you, mister Fringe?
ALBERT: I'm a vegetarian. I'll have a salad.
The waiter wrote down the order and left with a statement.
WAITER: All right, gentlemen.
Herbie looked at Albert with a smile and noted.
HERBIE: You're a youngster, mister Fringe. You need to eat meat. In this modern world, you won't even survive without it. What made you decide to be a vegetarian?
ALBERT: I just don't think that animals deserve to die for food.
Herbie gave a surprised look and said.
HERBIE: That's very interesting, mister Fringe! Even though you chose to be a detective and explore deceased human bodies, you pity dead animals. Let me tell you something, mister Fringe. In order to be a successful detective, you need to have a colder attitude!
Twenty minutes had passed. Herbie became slightly nervous and was starting to be impatient. It changed when he saw the waiter with plates in his hands going in their direction.
WAITER: Here you are, gentlemen. Enjoy your meal.
Herbie thanked the waiter. A few more minutes passed and a mysterious man entered the restaurant. He wore a hat and a brown suit. He had a round face shape with a dense moustache above his lips. When he sat at the table, Herbie couldn't take his eyes off him. He told Albert.
HERBIE: Do you see that man? The one wearing a brown suit, I think I sent him to jail once for robbing houses. It was in 1927. I'm not that sure, though.
Albert got curious and looked at him. When the man noticed that he caught the attention of both of them, he got stressed. Herbie asked the waiter for a glass of water and stated.
HERBIE: I don't like this, mister Fringe. He's behaving quite strangely.
ALBERT: He probably remembers you, mister Fox.
HERBIE: Either that or he's onto something again.
Herbie continued eating and when he finished his steak, he decided to go and speak to the man. As he was approaching him, the man stood up in horror and started to run. He quickly got into his car and fled in high speed. Herbie shouted.
HERBIE: Fringe! Fringe! Quickly! Get in the car and step on it!
Albert stood up and they both ran to the car. Herbie got very nervous.
HERBIE: Step on it! He's running away, mister Fringe!
Albert accelerated quickly and chased after the man. Herbie took the transmitter and announced.
HERBIE: Detective Fox, badge number 107, do you copy?
A few seconds later, a voice of a man spoke.
ASSISTANT: Yes, copy!
Herbie continued.
HERBIE: We need backup on Lincoln Avenue! There is a reckless driver heading to the highway!
ASSISTANT: Roger that! Sending backup to Lincoln Avenue!
After a half a minute, the man hit a tree and tried to get out of the car. Herbie quickly opened the door and ran to the vehicle with a gun. He shouted.
HERBIE: Get out of your vehicle! Put your hands up!
The man got out of his car and obeyed Herbie. Herbie shouted with anger.
HERBIE: Who the hell are you?”
The man didn't say a word and he had a determined look on his face. Herbie was trying to persuade him to speak.
HERBIE: Why did you run away from us? Are you involved in a crime?
The man remained silent. Herbie chose to appear even tougher.
HERBIE: If you choose to remain silent, we will arrest you and bring you in for questioning! The choice is yours!
The man resisted and looked at Herbie. He started speaking with a calm voice.
CHARLIE: I'm... My name is Charlie.
HERBIE: Charlie who?
CHARLIE: Charlie Crown.
Herbie experienced a flashback. He recognized his name because he wrote it down once into his notebook. He couldn't remember the reason, though. Charlie continued.
CHARLIE: When I saw you in the restaurant, I recognized you. I was near the Lopez Hills Bar when you were investigating the crime scene. I got scared and I ran away.
Herbie thought of his words but he couldn't clearly understand Charlie Crown's point.
HERBIE: But why did you get so terrified? Your reaction was inadequate!
Charlie tried to explain his behavior further but he still didn't make a clear point to Herbie.
CHARLIE: You need to understand. I have social disorders and I can get panic attacks very easily when there is something going on, which involves me at least a little bit. I'm also going to therapy for this.
Herbie got angry again.
HERBIE: That doesn't give you any reason to run away from the police! Tell me, how much are you involved in the murder of Frank Lombardo?
Charlie got terrified once again and replied.
CHARLIE: I'm not! I'm just a caretaker in the apartment in which he lived in! Nothing else! I swear!
Herbie remembered the letter, which contained Charlie Crown's signature. Meanwhile, the police backup arrived. Herbie commanded to them.
HERBIE: Bring him to the station! I want to question him more.
The police took Charlie. He was showing horror throughout the entire process. Albert got out of the car and came to Herbie.
ALBERT: Who was that, mister Fox?
HERBIE: The caretaker from Frank Lombardo's apartment.
ALBERT: Why did he run away from us?
HERBIE: He told me he had some a social disorder. There's something wrong here. I don't think he told the truth. There must be something more.
ALBERT: What are we going to do now?
HERBIE: We're going to visit Frank Lombardo's mother first. Then we'll go interrogate him.
They both got to the car and headed to Elizabeth Lombardo’s house. When they arrived, a short, old woman opened the door. She could be around seventy-six. She had hearing problems and couldn't walk properly. She had tears in her eyes.
ELIZABETH: Can I help you, gentlemen?
HERBIE: Detective Herbie Fox. This is my detective partner, Albert Fringe. We would like to ask you a few questions about your son.
ELIZABETH: Come in.
Elizabeth let them in. It was a small house with a narrow corridor at the entrance, which led to the living room. When they entered the living room, Elizabeth fetched a jar of tea and three mugs.
ELIZABETH: Have yourself a treat, gentlemen.
Herbie took a cup and slowly started to drink. He thanked Elizabeth when he drank about half of it. Elizabeth sat down, too. Afterwards, as always, Herbie lead the conversation and Albert was listening. Elizabeth stated at first.
ELIZABETH: I hope you'll catch that monster. He deserves to be hanged!
HERBIE: We are not too far from it, missis Lombardo. We have three suspects already.
Elizabeth gazed at Herbie and said.
ELIZABETH: Tell me who those people are.
HERBIE: I shouldn't say that, missis Lombardo. There are no clear conclusions yet.
Elizabeth replied with anger.
ELIZABETH: My poor son is dead! I think I deserve to be informed who might have caused his death! “What a spoiled world we're living in these days!
HERBIE: Believe me, missis Lombardo. I would have told you those names. If someone deserves to hear them, it's you. But we may blame someone who has nothing to do with your son's murder eventually.
ELIZABETH: Tell me anyway, detective.
Herbie hesitated at first but he started to give hints to missis Lombardo about the suspects.
HERBIE: Does the name Daniel Greg say anything to you, missis Lombardo?
Elizabeth gave a surprised look.
ELIZABETH: Of course I do. He's the brother of my son's girlfriend. Well, ex-girlfriend already, unfortunately. Are you saying he might be the murderer?
HERBIE: Actually, I'm suspicious about him primarily because he was with Frank that night.
Herbie knew he was lying. He just wanted Elizabeth to remain calm and not do anything reckless. That's why he kept the fact of Daniel being the biggest suspect a secret.
ELIZABETH: Don't you have any evidence against him? Oh my, even detectives can't do their job properly these days!
Although Herbie got a little angry after hearing these words, he tried to remain gentle. He calmed himself down with a thought that those words had come from a senile old woman.
HERBIE: Don't be so cynical, missis Lombardo. You don't even know how mentally and physically difficult our work is.
ELIZABETH: What have I done that I ended up in this dishonest town of America?
HERBIE: Let's get to the point, missis Lombardo. Mister Fringe, pay close attention.
Herbie put his mug on the table and started the interrogation. Albert took the notebook and wrote down notes.
HERBIE: What can you tell us about your son?
ELIZABETH: What do you want to know? It's not clear to me.
HERBIE: Describe him in detail. Tell me everything you can about his personality.
Elizabeth's eyes started to get moist again.
ELIZABETH: My son... He was a good man. He was a loving son and he was honest.
Elizabeth took a handkerchief and wiped her tears. After a little while, she continued.
ELIZABETH: His personality was unique. He wasn't the same as the other men. He was a great student in school and he liked to help people. And yes, even he had some issues. Who doesn't, mister Fox?
Herbie continued with a bit more sensitive voice from this point.
HERBIE: Of course, missis Lombardo. Could you define what you mean by saying that his personality was unique?
ELIZABETH: I can't describe it clearly. He was just different. He saw the world in a very particular way of his.
HERBIE: Could you tell me about your son's past?
ELIZABETH: He was a very good boy and son, but sometimes he easily got in trouble. He had some mood swings in which he made his temper apparent. I remember that he fought a boy because of a girl once. He was just strange. He also hung out with the wrong people.
HERBIE: What people?
ELIZABETH: All kinds of bad people. It was either someone who didn't have his mind in the right place or someone even worse, a criminal. I remember that when he was a teenager, I found a small bag of marijuana in his pants. I immediately forbad him to see those people who gave it to him.
Herbie got surprised and asked.
HERBIE: Do you want to tell me that Frank had some bad connections?
ELIZABETH: It was a long time ago. I doubt that he had some connections like that before his death.
HERBIE: Did your son ever have some problems with law?
ELIZABETH: He sometimes hung out with those wrong people and did some silly things. When he got into some trouble, I really think it wasn't because of his own will. There wasn't a single day when the police didn't knock on our door. I can only hope that he didn't have any problems that I didn't know about. He kept everything bad to himself and never told me about the things he wasn't proud of.
HERBIE: I think I know what you mean by that, missis Lombardo. Can you tell us something about the diamonds?
Elizabeth thought for a moment and replied.
ELIZABETH: Wait for a moment, detective. Something's coming up in my mind. I think he mentioned it. It was about how he had an argument with his girlfriend's brother.
HERBIE: That's all right, missis Lombardo. You don't have to tell us about that. We have enough information from the previous witnesses. What can you tell us about the relationship between Frank and Marge?
ELIZABETH: Assuming from what I saw, they looked happy. I would pick someone else for him, though. I don't really like her type of women. She's just too easy-going. But I was glad that he could find someone after his divorce.
HERBIE: He was married?
ELIZABETH: Yes, he was. Bernadette Moon was his wife.
HERBIE: What was the reason of their divorce?
ELIZABETH: To tell the truth, I don't even know myself. I think they didn't get along with each other anymore. I'm even wondering how they fell in love at that time. They were quite opposite to each other.
HERBIE: Do you have grandchildren, missis Lombardo?
ELIZABETH: That's a good question, detective! Do you see any pictures of children in my house? No, I don't. Bernadette even wanted to have children, but Frank didn't. Look at me now! My one and only son is dead and I don't have any grandchildren! Not to mention that I'm a widow. I'm about to die soon, too. This is not how I thought it would be.
Elizabeth got into even deeper sadness.
HERBIE: How long has it been since your son's divorce?
ELIZABETH: It's been a few years.
Herbie saw that Elizabeth couldn't handle the conversation anymore. He decided to end the interrogation.
HERBIE: All right, missis Lombardo. I don't want to make you suffer any longer. If you think of anything else, call me. This is my card. You're the only person who hasn't told me a single lie and who won't throw the card into the trash.
Herbie put his card on the table and quietly left with Albert. When he was at the door, he added.
HERBIE: Take care of yourself, missis Lombardo. You're a very strong woman. I believe that things can be good in your life.
Herbie and Albert left. Herbie was slightly depressed after the conversation with Elizabeth and asked.
HERBIE: What's the time, mister Fringe?
Albert looked at his watch.
ALBERT: It's quarter past four, mister Fox.
Herbie thought for a while and said.
HERBIE: I'm not sure, mister Fringe. I think we should continue tomorrow. We've been through a lot today. I bet that you agree with me.
ALBERT: You're right, mister Fox. My family is waiting for me at home.
HERBIE: You're a father, mister Fringe? That's impressive! How old are your children?
ALBERT: I have a five-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter.
HERBIE: That's wonderful, mister Fringe. You're a true man!
ALBERT: What about you, mister Fox? Do you have children?
HERBIE: I have three. They're all adults now. Two sons and a daughter. My firstborn son went to Europe and I haven't seen him for years now. How I wish we would get along better. My second son is now studying law. I think he wants to follow my footsteps. He deserves an easier job than I have, I would say. My daughter got married a few months ago. I'm so proud of her. She's a surgeon.
ALBERT: How old are they, mister Fox?
Herbie smiled.
HERBIE: I don't want to appear witty, mister Fringe. They're not much younger than you are. Back in the day, it was quite different with the youngsters.
Albert laughed and continued.
ALBERT: And what about your wife, mister Fox?
HERBIE: Well, unfortunately, she passed away. She died of a lung cancer. I'll never forget her. Sometimes, I can still see her and hear her.
Herbie's mood got lower again. After a while, he added.
HERBIE: All right, mister Fringe. See you at the station tomorrow. Remember, a terrified racy caretaker is awaiting us. We also need to investigate Frank Lombardo's flat. I'll research all of our investigations and evidence tonight. You can do the same if you want to, mister Fringe.
After these words, they both said goodbye to each other. Herbie came home and changed his clothes. Wearing only a flat top afterwards, he put a piece of sausage on the table. After a while, he cut slices of bread and started eating. He was glad that he was finally home. Interrogations were very exhausting for him. Three hours passed and Herbie was still thinking about the case. He went by his plan and put all the evidence on the table. The night was increasing and the storm appeared. Herbie sat down and started analyzing the clues. He grabbed the piece of daisy and thought to himself.
HERBIE: Why did the murderer place this daisy next to the body? Was he trying to say something? Does it symbolize something? Or is it just a sick custom of his? Also, it's artificial. It may have something hidden on it somewhere.
Herbie observed the piece of daisy in detail. He couldn't find anything until he saw something peculiar on one of the petals. He looked for a magnifying glass and tried to concentrate on it. He saw a small-embossed number one.
HERBIE: Number one? What's that supposed to mean? Is it his first victim? Does it mean that we can expect him to strike again?
He didn't see anything else on the piece of daisy. He carried on to the next evidence. It was the letter from the caretaker. He observed the envelope. He found it to be strange that the caretaker wrote the address of the apartment twice. It looked like he sent the letter through the post office, but there wasn't any stamp. Herbie couldn't see the reason why the caretaker felt the need to write down the address twice. He opened up the envelope and started to read the letter. It was written with a blue inked pen.
Waena Apartments
1320 Aala Street Honolulu, HI 96817
(866) 423-9317
Dear mister Lombardo.
I went through the rent payments for the month of February and I have some news for you. Yes, once again, with regret and anger, I inform you that you're the only person in this apartment who hasn't paid the rent. The deadline of the payment was set for the 28 February 1947. It's been almost a week since this date has passed. Could you explain to me, why didn't you pay the rent again? I gave you a clear warning that I can throw you out of your apartment after three late payments. This is, as you may know, the fourth time. Do you realize this fact, mister Lombardo? You can be glad that I'm so generous towards you. I moved your deadline to the end of this week. If I don't receive your payment, you can pack your bags and move out. I'm not willing to tolerate your manners anymore! Not only that, but I have also received complaints about you from the neighbors. This is your last warning! I repeat, one last warning!
With regards,
Charlie Crown (the caretaker).
Herbie put down the letter and noticed a small piece of folded paper in the envelope. He unfolded it and number one was written on it with thick large-sized writing. Herbie thought with the piece of paper in his hands.
HERBIE: Number one again? Why does it appear on the piece of daisy AND in his envelope to Lombardo? Is Charlie Crown the murderer? I wonder how he'll explain not only this fact but also how he was able to almost blackmail Lombardo when he has social problems. It doesn't make sense to me. Would a caretaker murder someone because of late payments? I would have to work overtime if each caretaker thought like that! But also, why would Daniel murder his good friend? Because of some pieces of diamonds? Does Charlie Crown know anything about the diamonds? Maybe he has some intentions with them and he's trying to cover up himself with telling everyone he has disorders. And what about Marge? I can't think of any reason why she would do that but... And generally, what the hell does Frank Lombardo has to do with those diamonds? It's simply a thing of the Greg family. There's not much left after Frank, obviously.
Herbie thought of the card of Malfred Ash, which he had in his coat pocket.
HERBIE: I almost forgot. I need to take a look whether I still have that card of the guy named Ash. He thought, I think I wrote it down to my notebook.
Herbie opened his notebook and saw Malfred Ash's address on one page.
HERBIE: I have an idea. I'll try to find Malfred Ash in the yellow pages and call it. Just to see what comes up when you call his number.
Herbie looked for the yellow pages. He found it on a shelf after a while. He searched for Malfred Ash and after a few minutes, he found his number. He dialed the number. When he dialed it for the first time, noone answered. When he dialed it for the second time, voice of a woman spoke.
WOMAN: Hello?
HERBIE: Good evening, miss. Is this the number of Malfred Ash?
After a moment of silence, the woman replied with insecurity.
WOMAN: Who's calling?
HERBIE: Herbie Fox. Could I speak to him, please?
Another moment of silence occurred. This time, Herbie could hear a whispering. A short while later, Herbie asked.
HERBIE: Are you there, miss?
The whispering went on and Herbie raised his voice.
HERBIE: I advise you to answer me, miss! I'm starting to lose my patience!
Herbie could hear a conversation between some man and the woman from the telephone, but he didn't get any answer. The woman hung up. Herbie thought to himself.
HERBIE: Something's wrong here! I'll try to call it once again twenty minutes later. I won't go easy on them!
Twenty minutes had passed and Herbie tried to call the number again. This time, a deep man voice spoke. There was a loud music playing in the background and many other voices. Herbie didn't want to say that he was a detective.
MAN: Hello?
HERBIE: Good evening. Is this the number of Malfred Ash?
MAN: Who's asking?
HERBIE: Herbie Fox.
MAN: Who?
HERBIE: Never mind. Listen, I found your card somewhere and I wanted to ask whether you offer some services.
MAN: Well, yes. I'm an electrician. I repair household appliances.
HERBIE: Are you treating all of your customers like this?
MAN: Look, I'm busy. Do you want something from me or not?
Herbie hung up. He found it unnecessary to argue with some arrogant stranger.
HERBIE: An electrician? Huh... I don't believe that for some reason! Why would Frank Lombardo have a card of an electrician in his pocket? He was an electrician, too! Were they co-workers? But still, why would Lombardo need his card? That's a question that Malfred Ash needs to answer tomorrow. Should I even go as a detective? It would maybe be better if I dressed as a civilian. What can this guy have to do with the case? Electrician? I doubt so!
Herbie yawned and thought to himself.
HERBIE: I'm really tired. I've had enough. I should go to bed. Who knows if I might solve this weird murder?
He brushed his teeth, put on his pajamas, and went to bed. After a little while, he fell asleep.