Chapter 9: Farewell, friend

EVERYONE SHOWED UP. Lars and Jordan, of course. Everyone I’d ever met at the Swedish American Center and dozens more. Teri came to be with me and I wasn’t surprised to find Angel and Cinnamon there, too. The four of us—blondes in black dresses—must have looked unusual to many who were there, based on the number of stares we go. There were so many blondes among the Swedish contingent, I don’t think we were at all out of place. Maybe it was just the way our dresses fit.

In memoriam

I saw the obituary and funeral announcement in the paper last night but I had no idea how many people Dag touched. There were people there he must not have seen in years—certainly not in the past six months. Reverend Olson gave a kind eulogy that didn’t come across as too religious. It was really about Dag.

People at the Center had put together a display board with pictures from various events over the years that showed Dag playing cards with the older men and sitting on the floor amidst a huge pile of Legos with the children. I thought he would have made a great dad. There were pictures of him teaching computer classes filled with older people at the Center and a beautiful picture of Dag at the top of Mount Rainier taken by one of his climbing buddies twenty years ago. It was so incredible to see him as a young man, so full of vitality and so ... sexy. There was really no other way to put it. Dag as I knew him was kindly, sophisticated, and distinguished. The young Dag was nothing short of a hunk.

I made my own contribution to the display. I had the picture of the two of us, taken in a photo booth on Pier 57, blown up and framed. I also brought the seascape painting from Dag’s wall and set it in front of the memorial urn that held his ashes.

It was all about remembering the wonderful things Dag was to so many people.

And then it was over.

Lars pulled me to the doorway of the chapel and there, flanked by my blonde posse, people stopped to offer me condolences as they left. He explained people needed a focus for their condolences. They treated me like I was his widow. Sometimes it was embarrassing to imagine what they must have thought but everyone was polite. Rhonda stopped and held my hand for a long moment while tears streamed down her cheeks. Eventually, she pointed at the picture she’d painted and just mouthed, “Thank you,” and then left.

Another blonde in black stood before me. I was a little in awe. Cali Marx had come to Dag’s funeral.

“You must be Deb Riley,” she said softly. I nodded. “I know I’m probably no older than you, but you remind me of my mother. That’s not fair but Dag was going to be my father before Mom died. I hope you don’t mind that I hope they’re together now.” Dag was going to marry Cali Marx’s mother? Damn!

“Of course, Miss Marx. Uh ... If you’ll forgive me, Dag had an envelope in his vault with your name on it but it doesn’t have an address. If you’re staying in town, I could have it couriered to you.”

“I’m still not ready. Are you continuing his ... business?”

“Yes. I was his partner and inherited the bulk of his estate.”

“I paid Dag a retainer to keep that envelope until I need it. Can I trust you to do the same?”

“I will always honor all Dag’s commitments,” I said. She handed me a personal card with an address and phone number.

“Dag told me about you when he came to the premiere of Donovan in August.” The movie hadn’t been a big success but Cali Marx was sensational. So, that’s where Dag went when he said he had business in LA. “He told me about his brilliant new assistant. It was obvious that he was in love, even then. Please update my file and continue to hold the envelope for me.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Come on. I’m not that old. I’s love to stay and chat, but I practically had to commandeer an airplane in order to get here. I don’t dare keep them waiting to fly me back. Please let me know when you plan to scatter his ashes. If it’s possible, I’d like to be there.” She lifted her veil. Despite the tear tracks on her cheeks and the smeared mascara, she was incredibly beautiful. “I loved him, too” She kissed me on the cheek and then left. I saw a limo waiting outside the doors of the funeral home. She stepped in and was gone.

It was obvious my buddies weren’t intending to leave me alone for a while but Jordan managed to cut me out of the crowd when I went to retrieve the urn.

“I’ve brought you something,” he said. “I don’t think I should be giving this to you but I’m going to file a statement that this is official business.” He handed me a manila folder filled with the dossier on Brenda. “She’s gone,” he said flatly. “We don’t know where or when but we haven’t seen her come out of the house in two days. I got a warrant and we went in this morning on the grounds of being concerned for her well-being. She was gone. The entire house was immaculate save the bedroom. It had been ransacked. We determined she had packed one suitcase and left. The other matching pieces were on the bed.”

“Can I say I told you so?” I asked. I suppose it wasn’t kind but I had told him Monday morning she would run. He’d lost her that very day.

“I’d rather you said you’ll help find her. I can bring you the laptop and backup disks if you need them but I’m betting you either know where she is or could find her.”

“And then what?” I asked. “Are you telling me there is enough evidence to get an extradition from an unfriendly country?”