Clouds over the Finger Lakes

By Joan Confrancesco

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• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jan 21, 2008
• ISBN: 9781467877244

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AuthorHouse™

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2008 Joan Cofrancesco. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 1/10/2008

ISBN: 978-1-4343-5963-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4678-7724-4 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2007910376

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

Cover Design by Janine Bartolotti

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CAST OF CHARACTERS:

ANNE: Julie Swanson’s friend.

TOMMY BARDO: Went to prison for the murder of Julie Swanson.

OFFICER BERTO: Officer in charge of Julie Swanson’s murder.

CHIEF BIRD: Chief of Greenville police department.

D.A. BONER: Crooked District Attorney.

TOMMY CALO: Also known as MUSTANG. Turned in his friend Tommy Bardo for the murder of Julie Swanson.

CATS: Joni Cayce’s three cats named Alice Bailey, Edgar Cayce, and Aleister Crowley.

JONI CAYCE: Journalist writing story about the Swanson case.

JOHN CORNEY: Judge. His son supposedly had a party on the night of Julie Swanson’s death.

CROWS: Taking over Greenville.

VENUS DURHAM: Psychic.

DR. MARK FLESHMAN: Botanist.

JOHN GRISSLEY: Ex-con who attended Greenville Community College at the same time as Julie Swanson.

KEN HOLBROOK: County clerk.

KOMANE: Witness.

PHALEY: Tom Bardo’s appeals lawyer.

JANET ROSS: Pathologist who works at Greenville Memorial Hospital.

JOHN SMITH: Also known as MOUNTAINGOAT. Journalist who works at the Greenville Times. Friend of Joni Cayce.

BOB SOCO: Boyfriend of Julie Swanson who dated her the summer before her murder.

JIM SOCO: Bob Soco’s brother.

JOE STEIN: Tommy Calo’s lawyer.

JOHN TAINEY: Boyfriend of Julie Swanson who raped Julie the night before she was killed. She was avoiding him the night of the murder.

JAMES VERMEER: Killed himself before the trial.

MIKE VITALE: Uncle of Bob Soco who was working on the Greenville police force when Julie disappeared.

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Julie was hanging around her parent’s house watching television when the phone rang. It was her friend Carol Smith.

Hi. How have you been? Long time no see.

Great. How’s school going?

It’s a lot of work.

So is Greenville Community College. Julie said.

Anne and I are going out tonight. You should come. We need to catch up on things.

Where are you guys going?

To check out some of the bars…see if any of the old gang is around but there’s a problem.

What?

My car is in the garage.

Damn.

Well why don’t we use your mom’s car?

No way…my mom is so mad at me.

What did you do?

I stayed out all last night with her car.

You should ask her anyways. Tell her you’re just going out with me and Anne. She likes us.

I’ll try but I don’t think she will let me. She is really pissed off.

Well call me back later and let me know what happened.

Okay.

Julie sashayed into the kitchen and grabbed a cookie off the table. Her mother was doing the dishes.

Mom.

What?

Can I borrow the car?

No…absolutely not. After what you pulled last night…you had your father and I worried to death Missey.

Please mom…everybody’s home from school and we all want to go out.

Who?

Anne and Carol.

No, I said.

Why not? You know them. Come on, please….I promise I will be back early. They’ve been away at school and I’ve missed them. Please.

Her mother was silent for a moment.

You had me worried sick last night.

I’m sorry mom. I promise I won’t let it happen again. Please.

Her mother stared at her quietly for a moment.

Okay but this is the last time. If you pull a late night tonight I will never let you borrow my car again. Mrs. Swanson took the keys out of her purse and handed them to her daughter.

Thank you mom. I love you. She kissed her on the cheek and walked into the dining room. She called call Carol back.

I’ll pick you up at 9:00.

Great. See you then. I knew you could do it. We have a lot of catching up to do.

Julie went into the bathroom and took a shower. She wore her new sweater and jeans she just bought from the mall. She enhanced the outfit with a black belt. She put on her makeup and then ran out the door to her mother’s red Volkswagen Rabbit.

Remember not late. She heard her mother yell out to her. She ran out the door before her mother could change her mind.

First she drove to Anne’s house and then to Carol’s. They all hugged each other.

Well let’s get some beer at Wegmans, Anne suggested. And then we can drive to our old spot on Dunning Avenue and drink before we hit the bars. It’s still early yet.

Good idea.

What kind of beer do you guys want?

Miller.

Carol ran out from the store with a six pack and then got back into the car. They drove to their favorite spot—the spot they always drove to last summer in order to talk and share their secrets.

So what’s going on? How come you couldn’t get the car Julie? Carol asked.

I was out until 5:00 a.m. last night.

Who were you with?

Well I was at Dinker’s last night and John Tainey needed a ride home.

He’s so cute.

Yea….he’s got something about him.

They all laughed.

Well he asked me if I wanted another drink and I said ‘sure.’ He said he had a friend who had a summer camp on Cayuga Lake and he said he had use of it.

Yea he was trying to get you alone, Anne said.

Well he succeeded. We got to his friend’s camp and he started to take off my clothes. When I realized he wanted to have sex, I tried to stop him.

Did you?

No. He continued on and forced himself on me.

Did you call the cops? Anne asked.

No.

Did you tell your parents? Carol asked.

No way…they would have shot him.

Well are you okay?

Yes, but I don’t want to run into him tonight.

I don’t blame you.

They finished their beers.

So now what? Carol asked.

Today is Jimmy Soco’s birthday and he’s having a party at his house, Julie said. We should go.

They all agreed.

Bob, his brother, might be there. Julie added.

He’s so gorgeous! Carol said.

And he drives a Corvette! Ann added.

Julie was smirking.

What’s wrong?

I’ve been dating him, Julie said.

No way…..boy you have been getting a lot of action in this town. At college all I’ve been doing is studying.

I’m sure that’s not true.

She blushed. Well not completely.

They pulled up at Soco’s house.

I hope John Tainey isn’t here.

So do we have to check out every bar we go in to make sure he’s not around?

Well, I’m kind of afraid of him.

Don’t worry we will protect you…come on. Carol grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the door.

Jimmy Soco answered the door. He hugged the three girls.

What a surprise! Come in. What are you girls drinking?

Tequilla, they all said simultaneously and then giggled.

Three sunrises coming up. He went to a massive bar and mixed the drinks. The house was huge. An elegant staircase winded up to the bedrooms. The Socos had a lot of money.

Julie was looking around. Bobby Soco and John Tainey were not there. She felt relieved.

The girls mingled with all the guests. Most of the people there had known each other since high school. Julie’s father worked at Singer Sewing Factory and her mother was a housewife. Julie always wanted to be an airline hostess. When she was a child, her parents took her to Disneyworld and she liked flying in the plane better than meeting Mickey Mouse. She knew then what she wanted to do. She was in her first year at Greenville Community College. Everybody liked her. She was both popular and attractive.

Julie opened her purse.

Hey guys I got photos from my birthday party. I picked them up today.

Let’s see them.

Julie passed them around. 19 years old….can you believe it? Time passes so quickly.

Jimmy fixed them another round of drinks. They stayed for another hour and then excused themselves.

We have to go to Dinkers.

Are you girls going to hit all the bars tonight?

Yes. We are ready to party, Carol said. I missed everybody.

When they arrived at Dinkers, it was apparent to both Carol and Anne that Julie was looking for Bob or avoiding John Tainey. They proceeded to two other bars and then they returned to Dinkers. They ran into Corney, the Judge’s son.

Hey, I hear The Snakes are playing at the Stampede tonight.

The girls looked at each other.

We should go. The Snakes are a great band. Julie suggested.

It was 11:40 p.m.

Yea nothing is happening here.

Julie parked the red Rabbit in The Stampede parking lot and the three girls headed for the main entrance of the bar.

Five dollars, the man at the door said.

Anne motioned the other two girls to the side.

I don’t have $5.00. I should go home anyways. It’s getting late and I’m tired.

They drove to Anne’s house and dropped her off and then they went to Julie’s house.

Julie’s mother walked into the kitchen.

Home so early? I am shocked. Hi Carol, how is school?

Great.

Where’s Anne?

We dropped her off home. Mom we just stopped here. We are going back out.

I knew it was too good to be true.

Mom, do you have anything for nausea?

Her mother disappeared into the bathroom and returned with Tums.

You better lay off that booze honey. You are going to get ulcers by the time you are 30. I told you before that you shouldn’t mix drinks.

Anne looked at the front page of the newspaper that was on the kitchen table.

Crow shooting tomorrow. She read aloud. What’s that?

Oh there are crows taking over Greenville. They tried everything to get rid of them and nothing worked. Now they are going to shoot them. I guess a bunch of the locals and guys from neighboring towns are going to shoot them. The Humane Society is up in arms.

Poor crows.

Julie went upstairs to the bathroom.

Anne have a cookie. I made them this morning. Mrs. Swanson said.

Thank-you. She grabbed one out of the dish.

These are good.

They’re Julie’s favorite—chocolate chip.

Did you sing in the choir with Julie in high school?

No, that was Carol. I can’t carry a tune.

Julie has music on in her room all day and all night. Her father always yells to her to turn it down.

Yes, Julie has always loved music. She loves to fly too and I’m scared to death to get on a plane.

Oh me too Anne. I take the train if I have to go somewhere. That girl is fearless. She always loved those amusement park rides too. I couldn’t get her or her brother off of them when she was a kid. She especially loved the roller coasters.

Oh I know. I went with her one summer and I said never again. She’s fun to camp with but I won’t go on rides with her.

They heard the toilet flush.

I think she fell in.

I think you are right.

They both laughed.

She takes forever to get her make-up just right.

Oh, I know. When we go in the bars, she has to go in the bathroom about five times to straighten herself up.

I told her if she doesn’t become a stewardess, she should become a model.

She’s pretty enough.

Yes. That can be a bad thing too. All the guys are always after her. They are always calling the house for her—even in high school she was popular.

Everybody likes Julie.

Yes. My husband and I are fortunate that we have two good kids. Have you been out to Geneseo to see Julie’s brother?

Yes…a couple of times. That’s a nice campus. I almost went there but I changed my mind at the last minute.

Anne, have another cookie. I made a lot of them.

Oh no thank-you Mrs. Swanson.

Well take some with you.

Mrs. Swanson put them in a baggie and handed them to her.

You can eat them later.

Thank-you. She put them in her purse.

What is your major at college?

Teaching.

That is a good field.

A dog came running into the kitchen and sniffed Anne.

Spike leave Anne alone.

Oh, he’s okay. Anne petted him.

A cat came running in behind him.

Here comes the menagerie. I told Julie when she gets an apartment, she’s taking all of her animals with her.

She loves her animals.

Even as a kid, she had guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits…you name it.

I like cats and dogs but I was never into rodents.

I never thought I would like them either but they grow on you.

Julie came running down the stairs.

Well here comes the princess. Julie are you feeling okay?

Yes. I just had a little stomach ache but I feel much better now. Come on Anne. Let’s go.

Bye Mrs. Swanson, Anne said. Thanks again for the cookies.