Murder in Palm Springs

by Dianne Harman

  At the word “dinner” both of the dogs stood up from their beds and trotted into the kitchen. It was pretty much a nightly occurrence – they got their dinner before Marty joined the others, and tonight was no exception.

  After she finished feeding the dogs, she walked into the courtyard where Laura and Les were sitting, sharing the day’s events. Sometimes Les came to the table with paint smudges on both himself and his clothes, but tonight he was spot free, and from the dampness of his hair, Marty assumed two things. One, that he’d just stepped out of his shower, and two, because he was free from paint smudges, he’d finished whatever painting he’d been working on.

  “Hi, guys. How is my favorite sister and my favorite artist?”

  “Your favorite sister is great and wants to hear what happened at the Joseph house today,” Laura said as she poured Marty a glass of wine.

  “And your favorite painter just finished what I consider my best one yet. I’m kind of sorry it’s already promised to someone, because I’d like to see what it would bring in a gallery. And I’m also just as interested as Laura in finding out what happened to you today.”

  “I’ll fill you in when everyone is here, then I won’t have to repeat myself. Jeff texted me that he’ll be home for dinner. Where’s John?”

  “He was here, but he said he wanted to take care of a few things before dinner. Max is with him. Evidently we’re having a skillet cooked cod fish with a lemon caper sauce tonight.”

  “Yum, that sounds great. I haven’t had cod all that much. I never saw it on a menu when I lived in the Midwest,” Marty said.

  “Haven’t seen it around here all that much either, but I’m looking forward to it. Always liked it when I had it,” Les said.

  They heard a car pull into the driveway and immediately Patron and Duke hurried over to the gate.

  “Between the sound of the car and the actions of Patron and Duke, I think we can safely assume that your husband will be here imminently,” Les said.

  A moment later Jeff walked in with a large briefcase. He stopped just inside the courtyard to greet Duke and Patron, who were beside themselves with joy.

  “Be there in a minute, guys. I want to change clothes and get rid of this gun. I think you’ll all feel better sitting there with me if it isn’t in sight. I’ve noticed it has a dampening effect on social situations.”

  Just then John and Max walked into the courtyard with a platter containing different kinds of cheese, salami, and crackers, along with some small serving plates. “I wanted to hear what Jeff had to say about everything as well as your day, Marty, so I thought we could have some appetizers before I start the cod. It’s one of those things that cooks fast and needs to be watched. Mangia, mangia,” he said as he set the platter down on the big table.

  “Thanks, John. I just realized I never had time for lunch, so stop me if I monopolize the appetizers. I’ll try to leave a few for all of you,” Jeff said, loading up one of the small plates with items from the platter. With his mouth full, he said, “Marty, why don’t you tell everyone what you found out? Pretty much the things you texted to me, and then I’ll tell them what I found out.”

  Marty spent the next half hour recounting her meeting with Ruby and Horace regarding the identity of possible suspects. Then she told them about her conversation with Carla McIntyre. She ended by saying, “Jeff, before you begin, I’d like to get Laura’s opinion on something that happened with Patron while I was with Horace and Ruby.”

  “Have at it. I’m happy just chowing down on this stuff. By the way, John, the cheese samples are really unique.”

  “Thanks. A new cheese shop just opened in La Quinta. They’ve got a lot of Wisconsin types of cheese. Think they’re appealing to the snowbirders who come to the Palm Springs area from the northern part of the country and Canada.”

  “My turn,” Marty said. “While I was at the Joseph home today, I was talking to Horace and Ruby and Patron was lying by my feet. Whenever Horace would talk, the hackles on Patron’s back would stand up. He was alert, looking at Horace, but he never once barked or growled. Considering that Horace is the last person in the world who would have done anything to harm Jimmy, I’m totally baffled by his behavior. What do you think, Laura?”

  Laura was quiet for several moments, seemingly in a world of her own. Her eyes were closed as if she didn’t want any distractions. Finally, she began to speak. “I think something is going on in that house and Patron senses it. I’m not getting anything about you being in danger, and the fact that he didn’t growl or bark tells me he agrees, that you weren’t in any danger.”

  “So why do you think his hackles were up?” Marty asked.

  “First, answer this for me. You kind of indicated that he was focused on Horace. What about Ruby? Did you notice his hackles going up when she was speaking or interacting with you?”

  Marty thought for a moment and then said, “No, now that I think about it, it was only when Horace was talking. Do you think Horace is somehow involved in all of this? But how could that be? He loved Jimmy like a brother.”

  “I don’t know, but if Patron thinks something is off with Horace, you can pretty much take it to the bank that something is going on.”

  John stopped the conversation by saying, “I think I better get dinner ready. Jeff has done such a number on the appetizers, the rest of you barely had a chance for any, and I’m sure you’re starving. Give Max and me a few minutes and dinner will be served. Jeff, we all want to hear what you found out, but don’t start until Max and I get back.”

  CHAPTER 17

  Fifteen minutes later Max and John returned with the cod, Brussel sprouts in a sauce, a fruit salad, and a loaf of warm sourdough bread.

  Everyone was quiet while they ate, with Jeff being the first to speak. “John, I don’t know how you do it. If my mother had ever told me she was serving cod and Brussel sprouts for dinner, I would have told her I couldn’t eat, because the coach had scheduled a late practice, and I’d grab something later on. Seriously, this was excellent. Max, John, my compliments.”

  Everyone agreed with Jeff’s assessment of dinner and then John said, “Okay, I think we have sufficient sustenance in us to continue the discussion about the death of Jimmy Joseph. Marty left off with one of the suspects having a pretty rock-solid alibi. Jeff, what did you find out?”

  “I wish I could say I spent the whole day working on it. Unfortunately, the reality is that one of the murdered young people at the music festival is the son of the mayor of Palm Springs. Trust me, I spent most of the day placating my police chief who’s getting all kinds of flak from the mayor and other elected officials to find the murderer. The mayor also had the senator, the assemblyman, and the Congressman who represent Palm Springs call me and tell me they expected me to find the killer.”

  “That’s tough, man,” Les said. “Do you have any leads in the case?”

  “Not a darned one. I know the Joseph case is important because of his status. Yet, one of the victims at the music festival is the mayor’s son, and trust me, it’s kind of like a gnat on an elephant, the music festival murders being the elephant. I did assign one of my men to run checks on the other suspects to see what would come up and here’s what he found.

  “I’ll start with Jimmy’s sister, Eva. She’s squeaky clean, not even a parking ticket. Her son, however, is another matter. He’s had a number of brushes with the law. Nothing really big, but there’s definitely a pattern of breaking the law such as hit and runs, although no one was hurt, just the cars, petty theft, and domestic violence. He’s never done any time, but he’s no choir boy.”

  “Do you think Jimmy knew that and that’s why he wouldn’t give his sister the money,” Les asked.

  “Have no idea, and I probably never will, but I’m guessing Jimmy knew what a bad apple his nephew was. The next one on the list is his manager, Randy. Just as Marty’s been told, he’s been a marrying fool, and paid dearly for each one. The check my guy ran showed he was seriously in deb
t, so that certainly could be a motive. He lives in Vegas, as does Jimmy’s nephew. The first thing I need to do is find out where both of them were yesterday.”

  He turned towards Marty. “I haven’t had a chance to thank you for talking to Jimmy’s people and the neighbor today. The house is still off-limits for an appraisal, so I was kind of hoping you could spend tomorrow doing a little investigative work for me. I was able to get phone numbers and addresses for the other four suspects, that is, if you’re game.”

  “Sure, happy to help. I’ll see what I can find out,” Marty said.

  “Tell you what. I’ll make time tomorrow morning to call a friend of mine who’s on the police force in Las Vegas. I did a big favor for him a little while back, and I can call in that chit. He could probably have one of his men check out the whereabouts of Jimmy’s nephew and his manager and see if they have alibis that will stick.”

  “Okay, that’s three of the five people on the suspect list,” Marty said. “What about the other two, the rejected fan, and the performer who’s no longer at the Red Velvet Lounge?”

  “I have addresses and telephone numbers for them. They both live in Palm Springs and have clean records. Other than that, I don’t have anything more, but I do have a request for you.”

  “What’s the request?”

  “I’d like Patron to be with you if you decide to go to anyone’s home or office. I have a lot of faith in that dog, and we both know, as attached as he is to you, he’d do whatever is needed to protect you.”

  “Yes, I can do that. Matter of fact, I think he likes going places with me.” She turned to Laura. “Speaking of Patron, any last thoughts on his behavior earlier today?”

  “No, nothing is coming to me, but I do agree with Jeff. Keep him with you. I know this is going to sound silly, but I’ve found if I put a problem in my mind right before I go to sleep, when I wake up the next morning the answer is there. It’s as if something visited my mind in the middle of the night and solved whatever problem I was having. I’ll put Patron and his behavior in there tonight and see what I come up with.”

  “Thanks, Laura. I’ll be waiting with bated breath,” she said with a grin. “No seriously, I really am curious, and even though I kid you about this, there is no doubt in my mind that you have powers or some kind of something or other that the rest of us don’t have.”

  Marty turned towards the others sitting at the table, “Since it looks like I have to do some serious sleuthing tomorrow, think I’ll call it a night. Jeff, are you about ready?”

  “Yes, it’s going to be a very early morning for me. You go on in, and I’ll take the dogs out one last time. Duke, Patron, let’s go.” He stood up from the table and headed for the gate, the dogs in step behind him.

  Laura and Les helped Max and John clear the table and within minutes the courtyard was dark and silent. The only sound was that of the gate opening as Jeff returned with the dogs.

  CHAPTER 18

  Marty rolled over the following morning and found that Jeff’s side of the bed was empty. She listened for a moment, but the house was quiet. She looked at the clock on the nightstand which read 6:30 a.m.

  I guess he wasn’t kidding when he said he was going into work early, she thought as she stretched and yawned. That means he had to get up about 5:30. Hope he had some breakfast. From what he said last night, today was going to be a difficult one for him. Poor guy. Hope I’ll be able to help him.

  She got out of bed and walked into the kitchen where she was met by two very friendly dogs who were more than ready to have their breakfast.

  Well, at least he ate. I can tell from the dishes in the sink and the coffee’s still on, so he must have taken a little time for himself. And here’s the paper spread out on the kitchen table. Hope he had time to read the comics and the sports page, his favorites.

  As she looked at the paper, she recoiled when she saw the headline on the front page. In large letters on the upper right, above the fold, it read “Mayor’s Son Murdered Police Dragging Their Feet.” The article ran two columns down the length of the front page and continued on page three, where it took up a full page.

  Poor Jeff, she thought. From the looks of this, he is definitely not going to have a good day. I need to do everything I can to help him with the Joseph case.

  She fed the dogs, showered, dressed, and then sat down at the kitchen table with a toasted bagel while she read the newspaper article. Jeff’s name appeared in it several times and not always in a complimentary way.

  When she’d finished reading the paper, she went into her office and got a notebook out of her desk. For the next hour she wrote down everything she knew about the murder of Jimmy Joseph. She even wrote down the name of Carla McIntyre, only so she’d have something to cross off. It made her feel better.

  She hadn’t touched base with Carl since she’d taken him back to his shop on the day of the murder. Since he was helping her with the appraisal, it was only fair that she let him know what was going on. The store opened at 9:00, so he should be in by now, she reasoned. She punched in his number on her cell phone.

  “Palm Springs Antique Shoppe, this is Carl, may I help you?” the voice on the other end of the phone said.

  “Good morning, Carl. It’s Marty. I thought I’d bring you up to date on the appraisal and Jimmy Joseph.”

  “I heard he died, if that’s why you’re calling. You kind of promised me that this appraisal wouldn’t have any murders attached to it, so I was glad when the newscaster I was watching just said he’d died, not that he’d been murdered. If he’d said that I don’t know what I would have done,” Carl said.

  “Uh, Carl, I hate to be the one to burst your balloon, but the coroner has determined that he was murdered, evidently by a poison called ricin.”

  It was very quiet on the other end of the phone, then Carl said, “Swell, that’s just swell, Marty. Can’t we have at least one appraisal where someone hasn’t been murdered or is murdered while we’re doing the appraisal? Marty, not only is this getting really old, I’m getting way too old for these murders. I really think this may be the last appraisal I ever agree to do with you.”

  “Carl, I understand how you feel, but you know that I never would knowingly take on an appraisal where someone was going to be murdered. Honestly, this was completely out of my control. Carl, I value your knowledge. Please reconsider and tell me you’ll work with me again. There have just been a few occurrences which defy the laws of probability.”

  “Tell me one thing. What did that psycho sister of yours have to say about all of this?”

  “She’s psychic, not a psycho. Anyway, she had absolutely nothing to say. Here’s what I’ve learned so far and Laura’s only thought was about Patron and how he didn’t think I was in any danger.”

  Marty told him about her meeting with Ruby and Horace and the list of five possible suspects that had been identified. Then she told him about how she’d talked to the neighbor next door to the Joseph property and how much she hated Jimmy’s Mexican Fan Palms.

  “Well, there you go, Marty. She’d have a perfect opportunity to murder him. All she had to do was wait outside her property, hide a little gun in a coat pocket, and shoot him with the ricin when he turned around to go back to his house after he’d gotten his mail. Case solved. Maybe I should give up antiques and become a detective.”

  “Carl, I wouldn’t quit your day job quite yet if I were you. As a matter of fact, she has a rock-solid alibi for where she was when Jimmy was murdered. She was trying out for a role in a movie in Los Angeles. She said she can easily come up with a number of people who will vouch for her. I believed her. She said her agent was on his way to her home with the contract for her to sign. I don’t think she’d make something up like that.”

  “That’s easy enough to find out. I’m kind of a closet celebrity worshipper and there’s this website that gives out all the information on who gets what roles in what movies. All that kind of stuff. Matter of fact it’s kind of a 24/7 thi
ng. I pay a subscription fee for it and they have someone available to answer any of your questions. Give me her name, and I’ll see what I can find out for you.”

  “That would be great. I’m sure it’s legit, but a backup would be nice. Her name is Carla McIntyre. Ring a bell?”

  “As a matter of fact, it does. She was quite the darling of the movie crowd about twenty years ago, although I don’t recall seeing her in any movies for a long time. Nobody’s in the shop right now, so I’ll do a little research on her and get right back to you.”

  “That would be great, Carl, I owe you one.”

  “Think you’ve got that wrong. You owe me a lot more than one for what I’ve been through with you. You’re probably responsible for taking at least ten years off of my life.”

  “Carl, that’s a little harsh, don’t you think?”

  “Well, maybe. I will give you one thing, no two. First, the appraisals I do with you are never dull and secondly, you provide me with some great stories when I’m at a cocktail party.”

  “I just try to be of help, Carl.”

  “I’m sure you do. I’ll get right back to you.”

  CHAPTER 19

  Later that morning, there was a knock on Marty’s door and she heard Laura say, “Marty, it’s me. Can I come in?”

  “Of course. You know you’re always welcome,” Marty said as she opened the screen door. “Isn’t it about time for you to leave for work?”

  “Yes, but I wanted to talk to you before I left.”

  “Uh-oh, whenever you want to talk to me, it worries me. Am I to assume you had some night visitation regarding Patron’s behavior yesterday?”

  “As a matter of fact, I did,” she said as she walked over to where the coffee pot was and poured herself a cup. She leaned back against the kitchen counter and said, “I don’t have much to tell you. All I got were three words.” She paused as she took a sip of her coffee.