Dune House Cozy Mystery Boxed Set 2

by Cindy Bell

  “Then why did you pretend to be someone else when you stayed at Dune House?” Suzie demanded. “The very same place that Warren Blasser stayed at the same time and where he was killed.”

  “Please no,” Gerald shook his head and looked pleadingly at Louis. “Let me explain,” he said quickly. “I didn't even know that man was staying there. When Louis told me that Warren was coming out to value the book, I freaked out. I knew that he would be able to tell that it was a fake. I called Larry, the guy I got to forge a copy. He told me that I better take care of the problem, that he had just been released from jail and he didn’t want to go back there. He said all I needed to do was switch the books if I didn't want to end up in jail. So, I stayed at Dune House and planned to break in to Louis' house that night. I was just going to switch the books, so that he would have the real one, and that would be the end of it. But I chickened out when I realized Warren was staying there as well. I called Larry again to tell him that it was too late, he said not to worry, and that he would take care of it. I thought that meant he would steal the book,” his eyes filled with tears as he shook his head. “You have to understand, I don't think like a criminal. When I found out that Warren was dead, I was really scared. I knew that it could all come back on me, especially if the book was found to be a fake. I tried to call Larry but he wouldn't answer. So, I broke into Louis' house to swap the books over.”

  “Likely story,” Suzie said as she crossed her arms. “I almost believe you. Except for the fact that you have both books.”

  “I didn't mean to,” Gerald gasped out. “I was going to switch them, but I heard a noise, and I panicked. I had put both books down on a table, and I couldn't tell which was real and which wasn't. My mind was spinning. So, I just grabbed both of them and took off.”

  “Oh, Gerald,” Louis said and ran his fingertips across his forehead. “This is insane.”

  “But it sounds true,” Suzie admitted as she shook her head. “So, you didn't kill Warren?”

  “No!” Gerald nearly shouted. “I would never kill anyone! Here,” he said and walked over to a painting on the wall. He lifted the painting to reveal a safe. He opened the safe and took out the book.

  “How do we know that it's the right one?” Louis asked skeptically.

  “Check the stitching,” Suzie said. “Warren had it circled on the pictures that you sent him. Maybe he had already figured out it was a fake.”

  Louis ran his fingertips along the spine of the book and then nodded. “You're right it is different. This is the real copy.”

  “See?” Gerald said helplessly. “I screwed up, Louis, I'm not going to lie. I was expecting to inherit everything from my father. But I tried to fix things in the end.”

  “So, that you wouldn't go to jail,” Louis accused.

  “And with the help of a criminal, a good man ended up dead,” Suzie said.

  “I know, I know,” Gerald said and hung his head. “When I saw you two knocking on the door earlier I was afraid you had figured out everything, that's why I pretended that I wasn't home. Are you going to call the police?”

  Louis met Suzie's eyes.

  “We should,” Suzie said.

  “He recently lost his father,” Louis pointed out. “He didn't kill Warren.”

  “But he still stole from you, and broke into your house…”

  “Just like we just did,” Louis reminded her. “I think we should try to keep Gerald's name out of this as much as possible. It's what Richard would have wanted.”

  “All right,” Suzie frowned. “But only if you give us all of the information that you have about this forger you used.”

  “All I know is his name and cell phone number,” he said and shook his head.

  “What about places you met?” Suzie suggested. “Was there anywhere that you exchanged money or met to talk?”

  “Yes,” Gerald nodded. “A dive bar, Smokies, on 5th and Terrace in Parish. We met there a few times,” he nodded. “The bartender seemed to know him fairly well, always got out some nuts for him when we arrived.”

  “Okay good,” Suzie nodded. “We can keep your name out of this for now, Gerald, but I suggest you hire yourself a good lawyer.”

  “Here's Larry’s number,” Gerald said and jotted down the phone number. “Please, please, believe me. I would never kill anyone.”

  “I do believe you,” Louis said and shook his head. “Gerald, I know that your father taught you better than this.”

  “I know he did,” Gerald nodded. “I know it. I'm going to try to do better by him.”

  As they left Gerald's house it was hard for Suzie to resist calling Jason. She wanted him to know what had happened, and that there was even more reason to believe that Warren had indeed been murdered. But she had made an agreement with Louis about trying to keep Gerald out of it, and she wasn't going to back out on it.

  “Let's find this bar,” Suzie said. “Do you have any idea how to get there?”

  “Yes, it's not too far,” Louis said. “But do you really think he'll be there?”

  “He thinks he's gotten away with murder, he has no reason to hide out,” Suzie frowned.

  Chapter 12

  Suzie and Louis drove towards Smokies. She took the directions that Louis gave her. Within twenty minutes they were outside of Smokies. As Suzie parked, something caught her eye. There was a dusty mustard colored car in the parking lot.

  “Louis! That's the car I saw outside Dune House the night that Warren Blasser checked in,” Suzie said with excitement in her voice. “It must be Larry's car!”

  “I don't think that there could be two cars that ugly,” Louis said as he frowned. They stepped inside the bar, which lived up to its name. It was filled with billowing smoke. Suzie scrunched up her nose. She was fairly certain that smoking was banned in most bars now, but that didn't seem to matter to the patrons at Smokies. Suzie walked up to the bar and glanced at the few customers that were seated on bar stools. She spotted one man steadily shelling nuts and popping them into his mouth.

  “Larry?” Suzie asked as she locked eyes on him. Larry started to jump up off the bar stool but before he could, Louis was standing on the other side of him.

  “Relax Larry, we just want to talk,” Louis said with a slight frown.

  “I've got nothing to talk about,” Larry said with a slow shake of his head.

  “Maybe you would like to talk about Warren Blasser?” Suzie suggested. Larry popped another nut into his mouth.

  “I have no idea who that is,” he shrugged.

  “I don't believe you,” Suzie said.

  “And?” Larry sneered. “I don't have to prove myself to you.”

  “You will have to prove yourself to the police,” Suzie shot back.

  “Police?” Larry said with a deep laugh. “I don't see any police here. Do you?”

  Suzie grimaced. She knew that Larry was right. She did not have enough proof to get Jason to arrest this man.

  “You're not going to get away with this, Larry,” Suzie said firmly.

  “I have no idea what you're talking about,” Larry scowled. “You're crazy.”

  “So, you didn't forge a copy of a very rare and expensive book?” Louis asked.

  “Oh, fans of my artwork,” Larry nodded a little. “Well, I can't say if I did or I didn't, but I can say, you've got nothing on me. If you don't mind, I'm trying to enjoy my beer.”

  “You listen to me, Larry,” Suzie said and leaned towards him.

  The bar tender wiped a rag across the bar top in front of her.

  “Lady, if you and your boyfriend ain't buying, you need to get out,” he said sharply. Suzie sighed and backed away from Larry. The last thing she wanted to do was support a bar that harbored criminals and cigarette smoke and in addition she didn’t think she was going to get anywhere with Larry.

  Just as Suzie was turning to leave she heard a familiar voice. Her gaze shifted to a booth. There, to her surprise sat Detective Brown. Her voice caught in her throat. She
was tempted to alert him that she had seen him, to question him, or to demand that he help with the investigation, but she remembered what Mary had said. She didn't have a right to interfere. Detective Brown leaned forward to talk to the person in a trench coat across from him. Suzie couldn't hear what he was saying.

  “Out, now,” the bartender said again and pointed towards the door.

  “We better go, Suzie,” Louis said gravely.

  “Fine,” Suzie nodded. As they left the bar, she wrote down the license plate number from the back of Larry's car. She was silent as she drove Louis back to his house.

  “Do you want to come in for a minute?” Louis offered. “We could talk about what we’ve found out so far.”

  Suzie nodded a little. She wasn't ready to face Mary yet after what she had seen.

  Once she was settled in Louis' living room he handed her a bottle of water.

  “So, what did you think of Larry?” he asked.

  Suzie sighed. “I think he must have murdered Warren, but how are we going to prove it?” she shook her head. “I just feel like we’re getting nowhere with this,” Suzie admitted.

  Louis had opened his laptop and was tapping lightly on his keyboard.

  “We did get the book back,” he pointed out.

  “I know,” Suzie admitted. “Which is a good thing. But can we really let Warren be buried with people believing that his death was an accident?”

  “Unfortunately, we don't have any proof of Larry's involvement, if it was even Larry,” Louis pointed out. “Just because you saw a car similar to his at Dune House, that doesn't make him a murderer. We still have no idea how he did it, or why he would have done it.”

  “Well, we know that he's a forger, that he may have been trying to protect himself from getting caught,” Suzie pointed out.

  “But he didn't need to go to the extreme of killing Warren,” Louis stated. “Besides that, he didn't have the book. It was at my house. So, even if he killed Warren that wouldn't solve the problem of him not getting caught. Some other valuer would have detected the fraud.”

  “You may be right about that,” Suzie said softly. “There doesn't seem to be a motive for Larry to kill Warren.”

  “So, there you go,” Louis shrugged.

  “No,” Suzie shook her head. “That's not what I meant. What I meant was there must have been a reason. Maybe that's what we're missing. Maybe there was some kind of personal connection between Warren and Larry. Something that would make Larry more prone to commit murder than just the fact that there was a fraudulent book.”

  “Hmm, but what?” Louis shook his head. “I can't see their paths crossing for any reason.”

  “Wait,” Suzie snapped her fingers. “Larry had just gotten out of jail right?”

  “Yes,” Louis nodded. “I believe that is what Gerald mentioned.”

  “What was he in jail for?” Suzie asked. “Can you look it up on the computer and find out?”

  “Sure,” Louis nodded. He spent a few minutes typing things into the computer. Suzie's mind was slowly churning. She was beginning to formulate a theory.

  “Looks like he did five years for fraud,” Louis said quietly. “It doesn't say what type of fraud.”

  “Okay,” Suzie said. “That makes sense, as we know that he is a forger. But we also know that he's very good. So, how did he get caught? Does it list the witnesses who testified against him?”

  Louis typed some more information into the computer. Suzie leaned forward so that she could see the results as well when they came up. “Anything?” she asked.

  “Absolutely,” Louis said. “One of the star witnesses was Warren Blasser. He proved that the antique that Larry had been trying to pass off as a priceless object was in fact a very well designed copy.”

  “There you go,” Suzie said and smiled as she sat back in her chair. “A personal connection. So, like Gerald said, he hired him to forge a copy of the book that his father intended to pass down to you. Once that was done he switched the books, which his father was not aware of in his ill state. So, I think that the book that you received was always the copy,” Suzie explained.

  “That makes sense,” Louis grimaced. “Though, I hate to admit that I didn't realize it wasn't the original.”

  “You would have no reason to suspect it, Louis,” Suzie pointed out. “You trusted Richard. You knew he would never give you a copy. It was really the perfect crime, until you told Gerald that Warren Blasser was coming to town to value the book. Then he called Larry in a panic. Larry gave him the plan to steal the copy and replace it with the genuine book. Then Larry found out it was Warren Blasser that was coming to town. He knew that Gerald might not follow through. He knew that Warren would see through his work, as he had in the past, and send him back to prison. So, rather than risk it, and perhaps to get a little revenge, he attacked Warren before he could ever even see the book.”

  “Wow,” Louis shook his head. “If that's all true, then how did he kill Warren?”

  “That is still a mystery,” Suzie admitted. “I don't know how he could have done it. Maybe Gerald helped him?”

  “I still don't think he was involved,” Louis said. “He's a weasel, there's no question about that, but a murderer?”

  “You may be right,” Suzie said. “I think the key here is Larry. He obviously had the most to lose if Warren had lived. Maybe he didn't care if another valuer looked at the book, as long as it wasn't Warren.”

  “But we still have no proof,” Louis pointed out. “We can't prove that it was Larry's car at Dune House. We can't prove that he was ever even there. We can't even prove that he was involved in the forgery unless we can get Gerald to admit to the police that he hired him.”

  “Which I doubt he will do,” Suzie agreed. “I think the only thing that we can do is go to Larry's house. Maybe there will be proof there. Or maybe if we talk to him, he will slip up about what he has done.”

  “Maybe, but I still don't think it's a good idea to confront him,” Louis said grimly. “We're talking about a hardened criminal here, Suzie, a killer.”

  “I know that,” Suzie said in return. “But if we don't find something to implicate him, he's going to get away with it. That's not something I can stand happening. If you don't want to be involved, Louis, I understand.”

  “There is no way you're going anywhere without me,” Louis said sternly. “I may not be the bravest man in the world, I may not be the most muscular, but I'm not about to run away from a dangerous situation. I just think we should go to the police with what we have, just so they know what we're up to.”

  “We can't,” Suzie said gravely. “If Jason finds out that I still have my nose in all of this, he is not going to be happy. Trust me.”

  “All right,” Louis nodded. “Then we'll go on our own.”

  “Can you find his address?” Suzie asked.

  “I already have it,” Louis said as he hit the button on his keyboard to print the document on his screen.

  “Great,” Suzie nodded. “Then we should go as soon as possible, before he has the chance to skip town.”

  “I'm ready when you're ready,” Louis said and snatched the paper out of the printer.

  “In the morning,” Suzie said. “I'm exhausted, you're exhausted, and I feel better about doing this in daylight.”

  “Okay,” Louis agreed. “Are you okay to get home?”

  “Yes,” Suzie nodded. “Louis, will you pick me up at Dune House at seven tomorrow morning, that way Mary can have the car if she needs it. We’ll head straight out to Larry's house.”

  “You got it,” Louis nodded.

  On her drive home Suzie had a hard time staying focused on the road. She glanced in her rearview mirror and realized all of the party decorations she had bought were still in the backseat. She sighed and parked in the parking lot of Dune House. Everything looked dark, so she assumed that Mary was sleeping. She grabbed the bags from the back seat and headed inside. She was walking down the hallway when Mary flicked
the hall light on.

  “Where have you been, young lady?” she asked.

  “Shopping,” Suzie said and hid the bags behind her back.

  “Oh, I see,” Mary said with a sly smile. “Keeping secrets?”

  “Only good ones,” Suzie replied. “Now off to bed with you, before you ruin the surprise.”

  “All right, just remember, I'm not that fond of surprises,” Mary warned her. Suzie tried not to grimace. She wondered for a moment if the party was a bad idea altogether. Once Mary had headed back to her room, Suzie hurried into her room and tucked the bags into her closet. Then she collapsed onto her bed. All of the running around really had left her exhausted. But as she tried to sleep her mind kept filling with Larry's laughter. They might not have any proof, but she was sure that he was the killer. When she finally fell asleep she dreamed about pistachios.

  Chapter 13

  First thing in the morning Suzie slipped out of Dune House. She didn't wait to see if Mary was awake. Mary might ask too many questions, and Suzie might not be able to lie well enough to her. She didn't want to risk Mary finding out that she intended to confront a murder suspect, or risk the possibility that Mary would follow after her. Louis was waiting in the driveway.

  “Suzie?” she heard Mary call out as she reached his car. She was standing on the front porch still in her nightgown.

  “I'm just going into town for a little bit with Louis,” Suzie waved to Mary.

  “Okay,” Mary called back. She narrowed her eyes and then hurried back into Dune House. Suzie hoped that she wasn't upset with her. When she got in the car, Louis had already stopped for coffee and muffins.

  “Thank you so much,” she said as he handed her a coffee. He settled into the passenger seat.

  “Hey, we can't confront a killer on an empty stomach,” Louis said grimly. “Hopefully we can get him to confess something incriminating,” he added quietly.