Chapter 22

The circumstance of our leaving early put a damper on the weekend but I think I made the point that I was committed to her and if a relationship with her family sealed that commitment in her mind, it was well worth it. Plus if her parents thought she might be a lesbian, or even if they thought she had been a lesbian, or at least lived in that relationship, she wasn't now.

Cynthia had been sketchy on the condition of Mary after her attack, but she had been told her life was in no danger. I realized that left a lot of room for bad things, but I was glad she was in no danger in that regard. Once we got to Scranton and the airport I realized Cynthia had booked a private jet, what's called a net jet, where you share total flight costs with other businessmen sharing similar destinations. Unfortunately there was only one other person sharing this 15 seater so it was going to be expensive, but at this point money did not matter.

Once we landed at Logan I was able to get hold of a Worcester Police Officer, whom I had a business relationship with as far as continued support of their projects, so I had a little inside pull. I spoke with a friend of mine, an Officer Jack Harvey, who was an investigator and crime scene specialist, who was able to read to me, off the record, the report he had prepared so far.

It looks as though the two men had wind of there being a safe at Maribel, no inside alarm system outside of the front door and entrance to Maribel, (which was off since Mary was working) and (normally) no persons on the premises for the weekend. They had somehow gotten past the guard on the first floor and avoided the alarm system at Maribel by breaking in my place. They used sheet rock knives to cut away sheet rock and once they cleared an opening between the studs, cut a doorway inside only to find a stunned Mary Belanger, who had already called 911. It was hot in the building, since the A/C was off for the weekend, so she had been working in her bra and panties since she was alone. Even when I worked on a Saturday or Sunday without notifying the building super ahead of time (who would have scheduled the A/C to be on), I only wore a t-shirt and light sweat shorts, or boxers. (With fans it was bearable).

Mary had panicked and froze for a moment and she was chased down and pressured to tell where the safe was. The safe had been built into a closet, but it was empty. Mary only bought it when it came as part of an estate auction of art she bought. She didn't even have the combination in the building.

When she couldn't open the safe they threatened her, then punched her repeatedly in the face and then grabbed her bra off and manhandled her and threatened to rape her. They dragged her to the safe "closet" and held her head in the door frame and slammed it a couple times in hopes of getting the combination. They ripped her underwear off and that's about the time the Police broke in. One ran back through the hole in the wall and the other into the utility closet and attempted to cut himself into another office, but he just cut himself into the back room of our office where he met police who already captured his accomplice as well.

Mary had black eyes and a concussion as well as having many body bruises and contusions. Upon hearing of her plight and condition I realized how much I loved her. Not in the way I loved Allie, but I considered Mary one of the most important people in my life. I knew I would spend as much time as I could with her to help her recover. As Jack Harvey read the report he was preparing over the speaker phone Allison wept hard for her friend and mentor. Jack asked us to meet him at the office before going to the hospital to answer a few questions and against my wishes I agreed to do that for him. It was then he told me that Mary was in an induced coma until swelling around her brain resolved itself.

At this point I was anguished and full of bile for the perpetrators wishing I could spend a few minutes alone with them. I began to ask questions aloud, to myself.

"Why did she have to have that fucking safe brought in there and why was it made public? Why didn't she sell the safe when she had offers for it? She didn't need a safe, especially an old vintage one like that! It was worth so much more than the entire lot it was included in. Why a safe? She kept no money on premises, no artwork other than the original properties on her computers!" I shouted to myself, aloud for Allie to hear.

"JESS, you have to calm down! There is nothing we can do now for her but give the police information and pray for Mary." She said as we got closer to downtown hoping I might calm down so Jack Harvey wouldn't see me in this mood.

Her words did calm me as we pulled into the lot and I saw Jack get out of his unmarked cruiser. I introduced him to Alison and explained that she worked for Mary and was on target to become her business partner. There was no reason to withhold information from her.

"First, let me tell you that once again I've been told that Mary is going to be fine and could be allowed to come around as early as this afternoon. The coma was simply for her own safety since her head had been so swollen, but they just told me a few minutes ago that she is battling it quite well and they have assured me that I can tell you there is no clotting to worry about. She is in no danger of a stroke. Did you know she lists you as her only family member?" Jack asked.

"Really? I'm not listed as spouse am I?"

"No. Under health care proxy and Advanced Health Care Directive on her health insurance and from an operation she had last year you are listed as "step-brother" on both forms." He told me.

"That's weird, I think she has a sister, or maybe step sister. She's never really spoken much other than a mention. Was she speaking when she got to the hospital?"

"Yes, she asked for both of you and stated you were her proxy and to notify you as soon as possible. A little thereafter the swelling got dangerous and we were shooed away." Officer Harvey explained as he took us up the elevator and my office.

Once inside I saw my front door had been jimmied, but nothing else rifled in the office. Only there were big cut aways of sheet rock to show where they could enter Maribel. It looked like they cut along the studs on one side and then just burst in right near Mary's draft table. There were blood spatters on the table and the floor there and back in a read room where easels of work still stood. There was the broken door open to where the vintage safe stood. On the floor was a lot, an alarming LOT of blood where they slammed the door on Mary's head. Both Allie and I cried at the sight and I wanted to get to the hospital as soon as possible.

"Is it possible that there is something in that safe neither of you know about?" Jack asked.

"There was a safety stud that prevented the door from being closed when it arrived. Do you remember seeing that Jess?" Allie asked

"Yes. She showed me, well, BOTH of us, the safe and told us how much it was appraised at. Then she pulled the stud off the inside of the door and fit it into a corresponding hole on the inner wall of the safe and closed it. She spun the lock and showed us it was locked. Saying that someday she might have something to hold in it." I remembered.

"When I asked her if she had committed the combination to memory, she laughed. She said the combo was put in her safety deposit box that morning. She said she didn't have room at home for it and wasn't going to pay to store it somewhere. We once kept easels in here, but she had the doorway widened to fit the safe in. She kept the old door to make an entrance to next door when we expanded." Allie said as she recalled the morning.

"Do either of you have any reason to think that she really may have had something of value in here?" He asked.