The Melody Lingers On by Mary Higgins Clark Read Free Book Online Page A

think she
was in on the money disappearing, did they? No, of course not. All they have to do is take a look at my bank account, she thought.
    I’m going to miss Mrs. Bennett and Eric, she thought. They were always so nice to me. Mr. Bennett was too, she added defensively, but I was kind of scared of him. When he got mad,
wow
! His rages came on suddenly. Like the morning his new Bentley had a stain on the cushion of the front seat because the chauffeur had spilled coffee when he was waiting for him in front
of the house. He had fired the chauffeur on the spot but then came into the house and started shouting at Roger, the butler, who had found him.
    “The next time I hire one of your slob friends and have a problem it’s your neck too,” he had said.
    When Mrs. Bennett said, “Parker, all Roger did was call the agency and they recommended the driver,” he had turned on her too. “Anne, can you ever get over treating the help as
your dear friends?” he had snapped. “It’s too bad you never could understand that you’re not helping out in your father’s delicatessen anymore.”
    But that was only one part of him. The next day he rehired the chauffeur, apologized to the butler, and bought Mrs. Bennett a gorgeous diamond pin. I saw the note he had put on it. It read,
“To my long-suffering darling.”
    “Mrs. O’Brian, Mr. Schell will see you now.”
    With lagging steps Marge followed the man into Rudy Schell’s austere office. But the moment she walked in the door it was a relief when the man behind the desk stood up and with a
welcoming smile greeted her and invited her to sit down. He can’t be going to arrest me or something, she thought.
    She quickly found out that that was the last thing on Agent Schell’s mind. “Mrs. O’Brian, it’s been almost two years since you spoke to one of our agents. Now that Mrs.
Bennett is moving to New Jersey, are you planning to continue to work for her?”
    “I’m sorry to say that I’m not,” Marge said. “I always went home at night. There’s no way I can make the trip from Connecticut to New Jersey five days a week,
and even if she wanted me to live in, there’s no way I’d want to be that far from my grandkids. They’re always over at my house.”
    Rudy Schell nodded. “I can understand that. Please don’t think I’m asking you to be disloyal, but as you must know Parker Bennett has ruined many lives. People who trusted in
him have lost their homes, their retirement funds, and their ability to help their families. But I am asking you to think. Was there ever a time when you overheard either Mrs. Bennett or her son
indicate that they knew whether or not Parker Bennett is alive?”
    Marge sat quietly. There was one time. Only two weeks ago. It was the night Mrs. Bennett shouted at Eric. But it wouldn’t be fair to repeat that. Unless it was just the stress of her life
causing it, Mrs. Bennett was slipping into early dementia. She repeated herself a lot. Anyhow, what she said sounded crazy.
    “Mrs. O’Brian”—Rudy Schell’s voice was encouraging—“just looking at your expression, I have a feeling that you are trying to decide whether or not to
tell me something. Please remember that if Eric Bennett and his mother are innocent of any knowledge of Parker Bennett’s crime, we stand ready to publicly clear their names. As it is there is
plenty of suspicion that both of them were in on it. But if you heard anything that might help us to recover that money you really must share it with us.”
    Hesitantly Marge began, “Less than a week ago after dinner I couldn’t help but hear Mrs. Bennett scream at Eric.”
    Rudy Schell did not let a flicker of emotion show in his eyes or manner. “What was she saying when she screamed at him?”
    “I can’t give you her exact words but it was something like this: ‘Eric, I know your father is alive and you know it too. Tell him to call me. Tell him I don’t care what
he’s done. Tell him to call