“I am.” A voice said.
“Yes?” Bluebell turned around to see the severe looking woman who had been talking to Brandon a little time ago.
“I’m Detective Leona Hardcastle,” she said. “I’m in charge of the case. In fact, Tiffany herself requested that I be put in charge of the case.”
“Why would she do that?” Bluebell asked.
“Because outside of this, Tiffany and I were also friends. So were Xander and I, for that matter.”
“Leona…” Xander stared at her. “I haven’t seen you since childhood. What a coincidence!”
“It is, isn’t it?” Leona said. “A rather unfortunate coincidence for you, Xander. If I hadn’t recognized you, perhaps nobody would have known that Tiffany was in fact your girlfriend once upon a time.”
“Xander?” Everyone gasped.
Xander’s shoulders were shaking, and his face was pale. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’ve been on edge since you learned Tiffany died,” Bluebell said, suddenly putting the pieces together. “Then, when you read the letter, your face turned pale, and your entire demeanor changed. If that wasn’t enough, the X on the letter was the biggest clue - you and Tiffany were seeing each other, weren’t you? You were having an affair.”
Xander shook his head, but then halfway through, under Bluebell and Detective Hardcastle’s steely gaze, changed it to a yes. “It’s not what you think, though,” he said.
“Isn’t it?” Nolan asked. “Is that why you took a job with me even at half the pay you’d have gotten elsewhere? I always found that unusual. I thought you did it for the stock options.”
“I did it to be close to her,” Xander admitted. His eyes were red. “I loved her so much!”
“Shameful,” Wendy said. “An affair with a married woman. Don’t you lads these days have any honor left in you?”
Megan, Bluebell saw, rolled her eyes at this proclamation from her mother, who was known for her many marriages. Seeing her look, Wendy angrily added, “I might have fallen in and out of love, but I never dishonored my vows.”
“Well, except the vow that said, till death do us part,” Megan said.
“Don’t you go talking back to me!” Wendy exclaimed. “You might control the purse strings of this family, but you’re still my daughter and I demand—”
“You know, this is really not the time,” Megan said. “If you could stop being so self-centered for once, you’d see that it’s Xander who needs to talk.”
“Rude!” Wendy exclaimed, and stalked away.
Xander wiped his eyes on his sleeve, and said, “I’d like to explain, to you, Nolan, if no one else.”
Nolan had recoiled from Xander at the very thought of his being the murderer. He said, “Did you kill her, Xander?”
“Do you really think I’m capable of murder?” Xander asked. “No, I never touched Tiffany. I told you I loved her! I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her! Until this horrible tragedy.”
“Then you think it was a suicide?”
“If that note was addressed to me, then there is no way she committed suicide,” Xander said. “She knew I loved her. I had told her I’d wait for her forever.”
“When did the two of you first meet?” Bluebell asked.
Detective Hardcastle interrupted. “High school. Tiffany and I were friends. I was very sorry to hear about her death, and asked to be transferred onto the case. Imagine my surprise when I saw Xander pretending to be just another chauffeur.”
“It isn’t like that. It’s a lot more complicated,” Xander said. “We dated in high school, then broke up when I was deployed. I was too young and immature to hold on to a long term relationship, and the internet wasn’t what it is now. We both agreed we’d get together if it was meant to be, but that it was better to split up.”
“That doesn’t sound quite as romantic as you made it seem,” Nolan said. “Sounds as if it was a practical sort of relationship, in fact.”
“We met again years later,” Xander said, “But Tiffany was already married to Kurt. I didn’t understand it. She wasn’t that kind of girl, or so I’d thought. But I realized that money changes everyone. We met for coffee as old friends. I thought it was all over. Tiffany seemed so different. She was looking stunning, more stunning than I remembered. But she was also cold and formal. It was all very proper between us, until we began reminiscing about old times.” Xander smiled. “I fell into an old habit. I kept all the olives on my plate for her because I knew she loved them… and that’s when it happened.”
“What happened?” Bluebell asked.
“She cracked,” Xander said. “You have to understand, we might have taken the mature decision to break up after high school, but we really did love each other. I knew every single expression of hers, I knew all the ways she could pretend everything was fine even when she was breaking inside. And she was breaking inside!”
“Sure,” Wendy scoffed. “She realized money doesn’t buy happiness. Cry me a river. She got what she—”
Xander’s face was a sudden mask of rage. He made a single movement toward Wendy, and Wendy shrank away at the violence in his eyes. Breathing heavily, Xander calmed himself, and stepped back. “I’m sorry,” he said heavily. “I thought I could control myself, but I can’t hear a word against Tiffany. She and I never even kissed. We had a chaste relationship. Despite the fact that her marriage was a sham, Tiffany wasn’t ready to cheat on Kurt.”
Megan hurriedly led Wendy away, while Nolan, Detective Hardcastle and Bluebell escorted Xander out into the sunshine. He made it to the curb before sitting down and burying his head in his hands. His shoulders shook as he sobbed with grief.
“Nobody else understands, but it was Tiffany who was doing Kurt a favor when she married him, not the other way around,” Xander said. “I’m telling you, Nolan, it wasn’t supposed to work this way. I know what those horrible people inside think of Tiffany, but that isn’t who she was.”
“I know.” Bluebell sat down next to him and put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. “I talked to her only once, but I could tell she was sincerely sad about Kurt’s death. I think there was more to their marriage than met the eye.”
“It wasn’t a real marriage at all,” Xander said. “It was all a sham!”
“What do you mean?” Nolan asked.
“I mean that it was a marriage of convenience,” Xander said. “Tiffany had promised Kurt she wouldn’t tell anyone, but, I suppose I might as well tell you both.”
Nolan and Bluebell exchanged glances, then nodded.
“Remember how they met?” Xander asked.
“Yes.” Bluebell nodded.
“Kurt didn’t quite fall in love with Tiffany while working undercover in that reality show, but he recognized that she was a genuinely good person with a lot of potential,” Xander said. “She was very kind to him, and I think he wanted to do something to help her out.”
“There’s a difference between helping someone out and handing them the key to your house!” Nolan exclaimed.
“A few million dollars were only pocket change to Kurt. So he made Tiffany an offer - she would spend time with him as a companion, and he would make sure that she was compensated for the rest of her life. He was too proud, however, to hire a nurse. What he wanted was a woman that he could parade around as his wife, while also enjoying her emotional support,” Xander said. “Like I said before, Kurt knew how to make a deal. He had all the money in the world, but the one thing he couldn’t find was a person he could genuinely trust. He knew he could trust Tiffany because she’d been kind to him even when she thought he was a nobody. Everyone, even his children, viewed him through a lens tinted by money and power.”
“Tiffany said something of the sort to me.” Bluebell nodded. “That she didn’t think money could ever buy love.”
“But it bought Kurt Tiffany’s time.” Xander sighed. “Kurt told Tiffany that he was afflicted with cancer, and would die very soon.”
“What!”
“He was terminal. He looked healthy enough, because he’d refused to take any chemotherapy, but he had maybe a month or two more to live,” Xander said.
Detective Hardcastle nodded. “Xander’s telling the truth. The police found out about the cancer as soon as they did the post mortem. The detectives who were then on the case assumed that Kurt either committed suicide by deliberately ingesting the peanuts, or that it was accidental. So they closed the case, calling it an accident so as not to create controversy. Besides, without a note, suicide was hard to prove.”
“But then…” Bluebell gasped. “So that’s what Tiffany meant! She said that it would be “stupid” to kill Kurt.”
Xander nodded. “I kept suspecting foul play, but Tiffany insisted that no one could want to kill Kurt when he had only a month left to live. She didn’t know whether he committed suicide or not, and she didn’t really want to think about it either.”
“Do you realize what this means?” Bluebell asked, looking at Nolan, wondering if he did.
Nolan shook his head. “What?”
“Nolan, Kurt died after he threatened to change his will,” Bluebell said. “Tiffany thought it was pointless for Kurt to be murdered since he was going to die anyway. But perhaps, perhaps it was essential for him to die when he did, because the murderer didn’t want the will changed.”
“But, who would…”
“We’ll find out,” Bluebell said. “I’ve a feeling the truth will soon come to light.” Turning to Detective Hardcastle, Bluebell said, “Detective, you said she was the last person she spoke to. What did you mean?”
“Like I said, Tiffany and I were high school friends. I hadn’t seen her much, but after I was assigned to the case at her request, she did drop me a text,” Detective Hardcastle said. “Just before her murder, in fact.”
“What was it?” Bluebell asked.
“I wish I knew,” Detective Hardcastle said. “She asked me about fingerprints.”
“What did she ask you?” Bluebell probed.
“Nothing.” Detective Hardcastle showed Bluebell her phone. On it was a message…
Hey Leona, It’s been a long time, but do you mind if I ask you a question? It’s about fingerprints.
“By the time I replied, Tiffany was dead,” Detective Hardcastle said. “You see the time stamp? 2.15 pm today. She died at 2.35.”
A shiver went down Bluebell’s spine. The murderer was getting more daring each day. Something told Bluebell that if only Tiffany had survived, they would have known who killed Kurt by now.
“We were trying to make the family believe that Tiffany’s death was suicide, hoping that it would draw the murderer out, or that the killer would make a careless mistake,” Detective Hardcastle said. “As it stands, I believe it is obvious to everyone that the police is now investigating the case carefully. The murderer will be more guarded.”
“On the contrary.” Bluebell sighed. “I worry that the murderer will be more reckless.”
*****
Chapter 9
Two Theories, One Arrest
Bluebell felt like a fog had been placed on her brain. Try as she might, she couldn’t think her way out of this. Who had killed Tiffany? Who had killed Kurt? And would the murderer strike a third time, if he felt threatened enough?
Nolan insisted that they take a break and eat some food - in all the excitement, they’d completely forgotten about lunch, and he was starving. Before they could, however, Bluebell insisted on stopping by Nolan’s home first, where she had a shower to clear her mind.
When she was younger, Bluebell had once complained to her mother that she was feeling tired, bored and restless all at once. “Like my mind has a pile of clutter in it, that needs to be swept aside before I can concentrate,” Bluebell had complained.
“Wash your hair,” Bluebell’s mother had replied. “It works like a miracle for me. When I shampoo the gunk out of my hair, my mind seems to clear on its own.”
Using some of Nolan’s mint scented shampoo now, Bluebell thought back to those words. She wondered if it was the shampooing itself, or the mini-head massage she gave herself that caused her mind to relax. In any case, her mother’s words were very true, shampooing her hair always helped her think more clearly. As the thin layer of dust that covered her body was washed away, Bluebell’s mind wandered back to the murders and the people involved.
At the centre of it all was Kurt himself. In death, as in life, he demanded everyone’s attention. Could it be that he had committed suicide rather than resign himself to awaiting an imminent death? Bluebell didn’t think so. If the tales she’d heard of him were true, Kurt wasn’t a man to give up - he fought to the very end. He had grit, and would have dared death to take him, not accepted his fate meekly.
If that wasn’t proof enough, there was the very real fact that Tiffany was dead too. She had been pushed out of a window and killed just before she could reveal a vital clue to Detective Hardcastle.
So who could it be?
There was Roy, who was so unhappy at his inheritance being stolen from him.
There was Brandon, always overlooked, even though he worked so hard.
There was Wendy - arrogant and self-centred. Wendy would think nothing of killing Kurt if it meant she could inherit the money that would help her create a new film.
There was Xander, who had not-so-secretly loved Tiffany, yet been unable to have a relationship with her because Kurt was in the way.
Then, there was Megan.
Bluebell took a deep breath. Megan.
All the proof seemed to line up against Megan, at least in Bluebell’s mind. There was the fact that she stood to inherit a huge chunk of money - that itself would be motive enough for anyone. If it was her on the phone when Kurt threatened to change the will, she would have been alarmed, and she would have gone to any length to make sure that Kurt died before he could change the will. The very next day, in fact.
What was it that Kurt had said? He had never been duped in his life, and he never would be. That’s why he was so angry. But who had duped him? How?
How could Megan possibly have duped him?
Bluebell gasped.
Had Kurt felt duped by Megan because she was working with Nolan on technology that would probably create a rival to Kurt’s own stores? Nolan himself had said that they were likely to put competitors out of business. Had Kurt felt hurt that his own grand daughter was trying to compete against his stores?
It was possible, wasn’t it?
And if he felt that way, perhaps he had expressed his disapproval to Megan. Perhaps he had told her she would be cut off from his wealth. If he felt this way, perhaps Megan had decided he needed to be killed.
As much as she liked Nolan, Bluebell had to wonder if he wasn’t blind to Megan’s faults. The little she’d seen of Megan hadn’t left her very impressed. Towelling off her hair, Bluebell put on a new pair of jeans and a plain black T-shirt. She walked out barefoot, to see Nolan staring out of the window at the Manhattan skyline, with his hands crossed behind his back.
“Deep in thought?” she asked.
Nolan started, and turned around. He gave her a weary smile. His tie was stuffed in his pocket now, and the first two buttons of his white linen shirt were open. He ran a hand through his hair and sank down on an armchair.
“I don’t know what to think,” he said. “It seems to me that there’s one obvious person to arrest.”
Bluebell raised an eyebrow.
“Xander,” Nolan said. “He must have killed Tiffany, mustn’t he? A lover’s spat?”
A sudden memory sprang into Bluebell’s mind, and she jumped. “Nolan! At the will reading, and this is very important, did you give Xander access to the elevator?”
“Me?” Nolan looked astonished. “Of course not.”
“I met him in the corridor as I was heading to the bathroom,” Bluebell said. “I remember being surprised at how he was on the 100th floor. I thought he was wa
iting by the limo. Xander seemed shocked to see me. But he excused himself, saying that you’d given him access to come upstairs.”
“It’s obvious I didn’t,” Nolan said. “Tiffany must have invited him up. She must have wanted to see him.”
“Yes,” Bluebell agreed. “She must have wanted to see him… which meant… which meant…” Bluebell sat bolt upright. “I think I’ve been an absolute fool, Nolan!”
“What?” Nolan looked at her, confused.
“Don’t you think it’s odd that Tiffany met Xander after the will was read?” Bluebell said. Her eyes were bright and wide.
“No. They were lovers, after all.” Nolan raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”
Bluebell remembered what Tiffany had told her when Bluebell had given her one of her little magical “nudges”.
“It’s stupid of you to even think that Kurt’s family murdered him. So stupid. You see—“
“You see, he had only a month left to live,” Nolan completed, when Bluebell said the words out loud. “Right?”
“We have to find out more about how Tiffany was killed,” Bluebell said. “We have to go see Detective Hardcastle now!”
Before they could, Nolan’s phone began to buzz. “Hello?”
Immediately, Bluebell could hear a desperate cry from the other end. “Nolan! You have to help me! Please Nolan, help!”
“Xander?” Nolan gripped the phone tighter. “Xander are you all right? Where are you?”
“They’ve arrested me!” Xander cried. “You have to help me, Nolan, please! I didn’t kill Tiffany or Kurt.”
*****
Chapter 10
True Proof
“We have video proof showing Xander entering the elevator when he had no reason to,” Detective Hardcastle said. “He’s done it, no doubt about it. Once I saw that, I knew it had to be him.”
“Do you really think so?” Bluebell asked.
As with any police station in New York, there was a crowd of officers busily doing their jobs, and a host of criminals protesting their innocence as they waited in the reception. Detective Hardcastle led Nolan and Bluebell past these, and escorted them to a conference room where they were greeted by the Donnerstag family. Brandon, Ray, Wendy and Megan all sat nervously across the table, and each of the looked up excitedly as Detective Hardcastle entered.
Murder In New York: A Paranormal Witch Cozy Mystery (A Bluebell Knopps Witch Cozy Mystery Book 6) Page 5
