Chapter 56
DeeAnn always looked forward to Halloween. She loved baking Halloween goodies—maybe even more than Christmas goodies.
Some years, she planned themes for Halloween. Last year’s Harry Potter was probably the best, and it was so successful that they were offering it again this year—butter beer cookies, wizard hat cupcakes, mini-treacle tarts, Hedwig cookies, peppermint humbugs, and so on. According to Jill, who called her with an update every day, things were going smoothly at the bakery.
DeeAnn was grateful that she was up and about, even if it was just for short periods of time. She still couldn’t drive and she still couldn’t work. It was difficult to be patient with herself.
She flipped off the TV and sighed. It was the day before Halloween and she was bored. Karen was at work and Tracy was still asleep upstairs.
DeeAnn was certain that Tracy had come home to make sure she didn’t become a painkiller addict. The thought of that made DeeAnn giggle. Her, an addict! Women like her did not become drug addicts. Her daughters were being overprotective.
Her doorbell rang and it startled her. She wasn’t expecting anybody.
She opened the door and there stood Christopher Hathaway from Hathaway Transatlantic.
“Can I come in?” he asked.
Her first thought was to say no, but she shrugged off her instinct. “Of course. I’m just a little surprised to see you, but please do come in.”
“I’m sorry to barge in like this,” he said, following her to the living room. “It’s very rare that I’m in the area so I thought I’d take the chance to talk with you a bit.”
DeeAnn sat down, not waiting until he sat, as her back was feeling prickly.
Finally he also sat down. “I was just over at your bakery. It’s lovely. And you have a bustling business.” His voice had a patronizing tone.
She smiled. “It’s because it’s Halloween.”
“I think I can help you out. Help you earn more money.”
“Really? How?”
“By helping you hire some very hard working Mexicans.”
DeeAnn took a deep breath. She was going to have to lay it on the line with him. It was no good trying to be polite with some people—they just didn’t get it. “I don’t think I’m interested in your services. I’m very happy with the people I have working for me now.”
“All of them?”
“Absolutely, even the vegan baker. She’s done a great job.”
“You’re overpaying them. You should be keeping more of your profit.”
“I do okay. I don’t see any reason to not pay them well.”
He leaned in closer to her, which made her very uncomfortable. “I’m trying to get you to see the big picture.”
“Mr. Hathaway, how do you know that I don’t see the big picture? I’ve had this business for years and have always paid my employees well. It’s about respect. If it doesn’t work out, then I let them go. It’s that simple. But I have good folks working for me and I treat them well. Sounds like a sound business principle to me.”
Mr. Hathaway rolled his eyes.
“Did you just roll your eyes at me?” DeeAnn said, trying not to raise her voice. “Please leave my home.”
“Mom?” Tracy came down the stairs. “Everything okay?”
“I’m sorry. I was just trying to help,” Mr. Hathaway said, looking deflated.
“It’s fine,” DeeAnn said to Tracy. “I was just showing Mr. Hathaway to the door.”
But he remained seated. “I’m not a very good salesperson, am I?”
“How do I know?” DeeAnn said. “I’m simply not interested in your services. You can’t get blood from a turnip.”
He smiled. “True enough. Well, I think I need to start thinking about a new job. My daddy is going to fire me over this.”
“Over this?” DeeAnn said, surprised.
“You’re not the only person to reject me. I haven’t gotten any new clients in years and well”—he shrugged—“I think Hathaway Transatlantic might be on its last legs.” Suddenly all of his swagger was gone. He looked bereft.
“Can I get you a cup of coffee? Water?” DeeAnn asked, feeling sorry for him.
He nodded. “I’d love a cup of coffee.”
“I’ll get it, Mom. Stay where you are,” Tracy ordered.
While Tracy was in the kitchen Mr. Hathaway continued. “It’s kind of sad. My dad started the business with the best of intentions. But things have changed so much and gotten out of hand in some cases.”
“What do you mean?” DeeAnn asked, finally showing some interest.
“Well, it’s getting harder and harder to police all of our business. The people on the ground, the sponsors and so on. So many of them . . . well, we caught one running drugs. Another had a prostitution ring. That’s not what my daddy had in mind.”
“Maybe you need to pull back,” DeeAnn offered.
Tracy came into the room with two steaming cups of coffee. “Cream or sugar?” she asked as she set the cups down on the table.
“Nothing for me,” Mr. Hathaway said to Tracy. Then to DeeAnn he asked, “What do you mean, pull back?”
“Get back to the company’s original mission. Close some of your offices. Gather your forces, your good guys, get rid of everybody else. Clean house.”
His eyes widened. “DeeAnn Fields, you are brilliant.”
“Well, now. Thanks for that.”
“I guess I knew it already. I just needed to hear someone else say it.”
DeeAnn sipped from her coffee. “What do you know about the Martelino sisters? Do you think their deaths had anything to do with the company?”
Mr. Hathaway shook his head. “At first, I thought they might, given the trouble we’ve been having. But, no, the operations here are clean. Those girls were good people. Their friends and employers all check out.”
“Except their parents are in prison,” DeeAnn said.
“I maintain they were set up,” he said. “It happens. We’re trying to help. We’ve hired a very good lawyer. Maybe they’ll be out soon.”
“Humph. So if none of Hathaway’s folks had anything to do with the Martelino murders, who did?”
Mr. Hathaway was silent for a moment before speaking. “What we’ve found in terms of crime and our immigrant workers is that most of the time—not all of the time—it’s their intermediaries or sponsors that are taking advantage of them and getting them involved in illegal activities.”
“Who would that be in the Martelino case? I know they weren’t involved in anything shady—or at least not as far as we’ve been able to find. Who was their sponsor?”
“Pamela Kraft and the Kraft Corporation.”