A Little More of the Same

I never made any money working for Gary, but I got first choice on any jewelry or Native American artifacts or any artwork that came into the shop.

Now Dagney had come over to help with the Hinckley shop because of Gary’s drinking and because she had heard some rumors that he was “whoring around”. She left her daughter Mona (the oldest daughter) to run the Mora shop…big mistake. Mona took off for Alaska with about $35,000 of the shop’s money. She was in such a drunken state that the authorities in Alaska called Dagney and told her that she was probably going to die. Dagney flew to Alaska and nursed her back to health, and brought her back to Hinckley. It wasn’t too long before she was working in the Hinckley shop…so I sort of retired.

It was about three in the morning on a day in late May when Dagney called me pretty much hysterical. She asked me if I would drive her to the small lake near Mora because the sheriff had called with a report that Gary might have drowned. He has bought a fifty foot boat and was testing her for the first time he had planned on taking her all the way down the Mississippi later that summer. He was on the boat with a friend he drank with and they had both proceeded to get as “drunk as skunks” and started having trouble with the engine. Gary was on the bow when the boat lurched forward and threw him overboard. He was a very powerful swimmer but it was still pretty cold and he had on a leather Vikings jacket and boots…he didn’t have a chance. His friend stripped down and swam to shore, ran to the nearest house and reported the accident.

Dagney, Amy (her granddaughter) and I got there about a quarter to four and the boat was still making circles with Hooch (Gary’s Doberman) barking and whining on board. The sheriff had tried to coax Hooch off the boat so he could take it into shore but the dog wouldn’t let him on board. Amy went over and got Hooch, and they brought the boat in.

They sent out divers when it became light and they started searching for Gary. Because of Gary’s reputation of “being connected” and the fact that he always carried such a roll of money with him…the rumor mill was in full gear. He was in Costa Rica, he had been robbed and killed, he had been hit by the mob for something he had done. But most people thought that he was alive and in hiding. This went on for almost a week…and then they found the body. It had been snagged by some large branches and it took the divers about a half an hour to free him. I was glad they found him because it put the rumors to rest and gave Dagney some closure.

I helped her with the shop for awhile, but putting up with Mona was more and more of a chore. She was drunk most of the time, stealing and generally being obnoxious. Now you have to understand that when Mona was sober she was very sweet and pleasant, but when she was drunk she was a nightmare.

This is the absolute truth…give or take a lie or two.

Until next time…