“What have you been doing with yourself?” Tess asked.
I told her. When I mentioned I had solved the oddball puzzle, she said, “Well, at least you don't have Alzheimer's.”
“That's comforting to know.”
“By the way, you left Silver Acres just in time. All us inmates received notices in our mailboxes today saying that our monthly fees need to be raised by two percent.”
“They just raised the monthly fees in January. And there's only supposed to be one increase a year.”
“Right. Which is why we have to vote on this one. There's going to be a general meeting tonight to acquaint us with the reasons for it. But you should be proud of me. I'm not taking this lying down. I've already called Wesley, our gallant leader, and complained to him.”
“And what did Wesley say?”
“He said that Carol advised him of the necessity for the increase on Friday. Like the good accountant that he is, he asked to see the books. Carol said fine and put him in touch with her bookkeeper. So he is in the process of looking them over.”
It wasn't a bad idea to have a CPA as president of the residents' association. After I said goodbye to Tess, I called Wesley on a hunch.
After our hellos, he said, “I was shocked when Tess told me you have been evicted from Silver Acres. I'm looking into it. I suspect it was unjustified, in which case I'm going to get you back in. In fact, I wish you had come to me before you agreed to leave.”
I'd never thought of that. I guess I had been in a state of shock, myself, especially since Albert had a part in the plot. I thanked Wesley for his help but mentioned that my apartment was probably already taken.
“No, it isn't,” Wesley said. “I made Carol promise to hold it open until I have a chance to investigate. I may take this to the board.”
Good old Wesley. After thanking him again I said, “I understand that you're also looking at the books of Silver Acres because of the proposed increase in fees.” When he acknowledged that he was, I said, “I just may have some information pertinent to that. I can't talk about it on the phone. Are you available tomorrow morning?”
“I'll make myself available because this is important. And I'll know more in the morning because we're having a residents' meeting tonight and I'll hear the official version of why we need the increase.”
After I hung up I smiled at myself in the mirror. I told my image that I wasn't trying to get back at Carol, but if she was doing something that wasn't completely legitimate, it should be brought out in the open.
CHAPTER 24
I thought I was good with numbers, but Wesley had over 40 years of practical experience in dealing with columns of figures, and I was immediately awed by his wizardry.
When I showed him Carol's code I told him it had been copied from her notebook, but I didn't provide any details as to how it had come into my possession. Thankfully, he didn't. I briefly went over the thought process I had gone through to determine that the letters must represent numbers.
He agreed with me and said, “In fact, this has a familiar look to it. I was just examining the check register for Silver Acres. The check numbers are four digits; the first column in your code could be check numbers.”
While he sorted through some papers, looking for the check register, he said, “Last night, Carol told the assembled multitudes the reason we need a fee increase is because of a temporary cash flow problem. She gave a reason for it but her explanation was too tortuous and I couldn't follow it. And anything I can't follow I won't buy. She emphasized the temporary nature of the problem and promised there wouldn't be another fee increase next January.”
“So you voted against it?” I said, wondering how I would have voted.
“The vote is going to be taken by mail to ensure that everybody gets a chance to vote. It has to be favored by a majority of all residents. Ah, here we are.” Wesley pulled out a number of pages of computer printout.
“The current check numbers are in the 6,000 range,” he said. He compared it to the code. “The S can't be a six because there are too many different second digits. It's probably a five. Which makes P equal to four. Here's an SS or 55, which confirms it because they haven't reached 6600 yet.”
“If these are check numbers,” I said, they cover a range of 1600 to 1800 checks. They must write a lot of checks here.”
“Yes. Several hundred a month, I believe. Now let's see if we can plug in all the digits.”
Using the assumption that the first column of characters consisted of check numbers in sequential order we were able to narrow down the possible translations into digits for all the letters in the code. We started looking at the check numbers on the register to see if we could locate the actual checks being referred to. After some trial and error, Wesley hit upon it.
“All the checks in the code appear to have been written to the same place, a company called Superior Grocers. I believe it's a wholesale food company. If we assume that, I think we can make all the numbers fit.”
We could. We were able to fill in not only the check numbers but the other two columns as well. When we finished we took a look at what we had. We compared each of our rows of three figures, presumably representing a check number and two dollar amounts, to the check register. Since all the checks had been written for whole dollar amounts, it appeared that the cents had been dropped from the numbers in the code.
“If these two columns are dollar amounts,” I said, they don't relate to the actual amounts of the checks.
“But look,” Wesley said, “the amount of each check is between the amounts in the two columns.”
We looked at each other. “Subtract the smaller number from the larger,” we said, together. He grabbed his calculator, but I did the calculations in my head before he could key in the numbers. “The amount of each check is equal to the second column minus the third column!” I exclaimed. What do you think that means?”
Wesley's wheelchair-bound wife, Angie, wheeled herself into the room at that moment. Wesley put his finger to his lips. He didn't want to upset her with the implications of what we were finding, because of the precarious state of her health.
She offered us refreshments in the living room. I was bursting to talk more with Wesley, but for the next 20 minutes I played lady, sipping coffee and eating delicious little cookies. I remembered the allegation about Wesley, that he was having an affair with Ida, and wondered if it was true. Angie seemed so happy, so content, considering her reduced physical circumstances, that I for one would never say anything to her. Whatever else Wesley did, he took good care of her.
I also noticed several framed examples of calligraphy for the first time. Complete with fancy capital letters and colored flower designs. I admired them out loud and Wesley acknowledged that he had produced them.
Just when I couldn't sit still any longer, Wesley suggested that we return to the study and finish our “work,” as he called it in front of Angie. As soon as we were out of earshot of Angie I asked, “Who is the woman in the bridge club whose name sounds like a nut?”
“You mean Hazel?”
“Hazel, that's it. Do you know her very well?” Well enough to have her accuse you of sleeping with Ida?
He laughed, shortly, and said, “She doesn't like me. She thinks I cheated her at a bridge session one time because I wouldn't let her add her honors to her score. It would have given her and her partner high-point total for the session. Why, has she been badmouthing me? It wouldn't be the first time.”
I stumbled around for words and finally said, “I-I…she told me she walks around Silver Acres every morning, but I've never seen her.”
“I doubt that. Most of the time she uses a walker.”
Come to think of it, hadn't there been a walker standing near the bench where Hazel and I had our clandestine meeting? She was sitting when I arrived and sitting when I left. She hadn't been to bridge club, recently, and I didn't have a mental picture of her either with or without a walker. Wesley's words had been spontaneous and unrehearsed. I felt like a juror, hearing conflicting testimony. Who should I believe, him or Hazel? I chose Wesley.
Wesley started talking about Carol. His usually florid face became even redder as he spoke. “Carol fired her accountant about a year ago. Within a few weeks she hired a bookkeeper, at a lower level than the accountant.
