Mrs. James was the first one called into the meeting room to speak with the police. She’d never done this sort of thing before. A detective asked her to sit down. It occurred to her that she should be quite weary of sitting by now but was relieved to be asked all the same; she missed the protection that the dog, now once again in the hands of Gervase, had briefly given.
The detective began. Although she had heard him say it, she had forgotten to remember his name. “Mrs. James, you were the first to find and report the incident?” As she nodded, he continued, “And can you tell me when you did, and what you saw?”
“I was in the lobby with the Mendel girls—they live here part-time, I’m their sitter—waiting with them to be picked up, for school. It was a little after seven.”
“Early. Had you collected them this morning or were you with them last night?”
“The whole night, yes. On Mondays, I usually come down prepared to swim as soon as they leave. Gervase was just coming in with a dog he’d been walking, the girls left, and we chatted for a few moments. He said he was going to take the dog back upstairs and get started on his morning rounds. We said goodbye, then I went through the Ladies room entrance to the pool…”
“Why that way? Why not down the hallway?”
“I had to make a little stop in there first, and to leave my sweatsuit in a locker before going on into the pool area. As soon as I walked in and saw…well, I threw my towel over my swimsuit and called out down the hallway, hoping to catch Gervase. Luckily, he was still there, waiting for the elevator. We went back to the pool, I went to dress, we returned to the lobby and he phoned.”
“And was there anyone else in the lobby area, or the Ladies? Or anything unusual?”
“Not that I was aware of. I suppose many people going out often bypass the lobby and go straight down on the elevator to the garage. I’ve noticed that on Mondays the garbage truck usually leaves at about the same time as the girls and I get to the lobby. That was the same.”
“When did you first see the TV cord along the floor?”
“I suppose when Gervase and I were in the hallway.”
“Have you ever seen the TV in the pool area before?”
“Never. Though the TV does get moved around on this floor.”
“Describe what you saw in the pool area. Did you touch anything?”
“I touched nothing, except the doors, of course. At first, all I saw was the man, evidently drowned, or dead anyway. I couldn’t have done anything on my own to try and help him. My first thought was to find Gervase.”
“Was this man anyone you knew?”
Martin and Martinelli, police detectives investigating events at the POPS
“I couldn’t see who it was…I didn’t take the time. I thought it must be a resident. There were other things in the pool that aren’t normally in it. I remember the rescue pole, some cans, what looked like money, coins I mean. And what looked like the flotation bottles I use for exercising, only the rope was still attached and it was tangled up over him.”
“You say those weren’t normally left in the pool, or in the pool area?”
“After I’m done with them, I re-tie each handle to a rope end to hang them up on a hook, in the storage cupboard on the pool deck.”
“You remove the rope to use them?”
“Yes, to hold one in each hand.”
“Did you check to see if yours were in the cupboard?”
“No, as far as I know I’m the only one who uses them. I just assumed those were mine, but with the caps missing, because they’d sunk. Though that’s odd..”
“Odd?”
“Well, I mean, no caps would defeat the object. They wouldn’t float, so neither would you.” The police did not interrupt her as she thought out loud. “But because those were sinking wouldn’t necessarily mean that you’d go down with the ship. You should be able to let go of them.”
“You mean you’d instinctively let go?”
“If you were paying attention, certainly.”
“I see. Were you and Gervase together the whole time you were in the pool area?”
“Until I went to get dressed.”
“Did you touch the TV?”
“No. I think it may have crossed my mind to turn it off. It was a hymn sing or some such, dreadful, but no.”
“Is there anyone else who regularly swims on Monday mornings?”
“I am usually there alone. Gervase knows how long I usually stay. He keeps his eye on me so I’ve never worried about…well…drowning. That poor man. I do wonder why he was all alone.”
“Can you tell me which other residents typically use the pool?”
“Only who I’d seen or who told me they did. It wouldn’t necessarily be all of them.”
“It would be a start, so please continue.”
“I bring down the girls sometimes, on the weekends. Their dad comes down too, they say, though I’ve never seen him. There’s Gertie Steinhardt, when she’s here staying with her dad. Guy Karon, and his sister and daughter. Kitty Doyle was a lifeguard, she says, and I’ve seen her here, too. The Cabots used to come every day, but they both recently died, in that plane crash overseas. And the Pardoes, they tell me they swim, on occasion. That’s about it, I think, though I’m sure there must be others. I’m a morning swimmer. Others use the pool at different times.”
“Have you ever seen or heard of anyone letting a non-resident use the pool?”
“Well yes, occasionally there are guests.”
“Thank you, Mrs. James. We ask you not to discuss this with anyone until we’ve done our interviews. Could you please ask the concierge to come in here now?” Relieved to be done, at least temporarily, with the police, she returned to the lobby. Pocano was behaving like a champ, leashed but not tethered, laying quietly by Gervase’s desk, amid all the hubbub.
“They want you next, Gervase. Shall I mind the dog again while you are in there? I can’t very well let myself into the Steinhardt’s without their permission and Mullins would take exception to my bringing a dog home. But I can sit here awhile longer with him, especially as he’s such a good dog.” Pocano wagged his tail, appreciative and hoping for yet another reprieve.
“Thanks, if you’re sure you’re OK?” He turned towards the meeting room.
As Mrs. James coaxed Pocano over to her customary chair, she began once again to try and comprehend the events of the morning. It was the first time she had really had a single thought about the security of the building. Of course, in all her time spent in the lobby, she’d seen various people denied access for one reason or another. She reasoned that if it turned out this wasn’t a resident or a guest, not only an apparently unaccompanied guest but also one using the pool, then he must be an intruder. The police would soon know who he was, even if there was no ID. There were now photographs of the dead man, that Georgia Mendel had taken. Residents would be asked if they recognized him and the matter of guest or intruder would soon be resolved.