Soft Case (Book 1 of the John Keegan Mystery Series)

by John Misak

you know about his political aspirations. He had been thinking about that a lot, as well as other things.” She took another drag of her cigarette, looking right into my eyes as she did so.

  I looked at Rick. It was always good to get confirmation of a rumor. “Those rumors were true? He was considering running for Senate in the upcoming election?”

  “Yes. He probably would have won, too. Everyone liked him. The public, the press, politicians. He knew how to talk to people, knew how to make them feel comfortable. That’s why I married him. He made me feel secure.”

  “Okay. What other things were you talking about?” I asked.

  She looked around the room, as if she would tell me something she shouldn’t. It seemed like an act, far as I could tell. “He planned on ending his partnership with Harold Chapman. He was done with the software business. Harold would take full control of the corporation. He was going to buy Ron out,” Sondra said.

  Interesting. “Was that his idea?”

  “I believe so,” Sondra shifted in her seat. Normally, that signaled discomfort. For her, nothing came across that way. Honestly, I only hoped I’d get a peek at her butt. Hey, I am who I am.

  “Do you have any idea how Harold felt about it?”

  “He didn’t like it at first. You know, Harold is a shrewd man, but he can’t run certain aspects of the business the way Ron could. I think he was worried. No doubt the stock price would tumble when people found out Ron was no longer involved,” Sondra said. Everything that came out of her mouth had an intonation added to it, seemingly on purpose. This woman had made a life out of appearances. She knew how to doctor things, make things go her way.

  “So, he had a lot of money at stake,” Rick said.

  “Ron told him not to worry about that, that if Harold wanted, he would consider staying on for a while as a consultant or something. Just enough to keep the public comforted, until someone with his technical expertise could be found to replace him.”

  “Do you know for sure what led your husband to such a decision, leaving the company his father started?” I asked,

  “Politics, mainly. That was what he originally wanted to go to college for. Even though he made a ton of money with Techdata, he always considered it his father’s company. He wanted to do something on his own.” Sondra flicked the cigarette into the ashtray with her thumb ever so carefully.

  I could understand what she said. Mullins had a label on him, probably put there himself, that he was successful only because of his father. It must have been difficult, although I have to admit my jealousy trumped my understanding.

  “That was a major decision to make. When did this come about?”

  “About three months ago. He told Harold at a convention in California.”

  “Were you there?”

  “Yes,” Sondra said, finishing her cigarette, “I was. I always go to the conventions in the United States. I don’t bother with the ones out of the country. Not much I can do there. If I want to go to a foreign country, I go for vacation, not to hang around with a bunch of boring computer people.”

  Computer people certainly weren’t her type. She was a glamour person. I could see that. It oozed out of her.

  “Any idea where your husband was going yesterday, before the accident?” Rick asked, taking a break from his notes.

  “You mean the day he killed himself?” She said this flatly. “I’m not sure. He didn’t tell me anything, if that’s what you are asking.”

  “So, you’re certain it was a suicide?” I asked.

  “Isn’t that what you think?” Good flip, Sondra.

  “We’re not sure. Do you think your husband was suicidal?” I asked.

  “Ron was an extremely emotional person. He had been acting strange lately, depressed. Lord knows he shouldn’t have been. The money he would get from the buyout would have been more than enough to live comfortably on. He would have been able to fund his own campaign, if he wanted to, and the Governor was about to announce that he supported Ron for the Senate position. Everything he wanted came together, but he wasn’t happy with it. I think he felt he betrayed his father by getting out of the business.”

  That would explain Mullins’ comment on the answer machine tape about his father. At least, it could explain that. I thought about mentioning the tape to Sondra, but that would have to wait for when we officially took her down to the station and questioned her. I didn’t want her lawyer finding out about that. I needed to cover my bases.

  “Do you know what his mother thought about the whole thing? Did she approve of the decision to sell her late husband’s business?”

  “Jackie? She could have cared less about Techdata. She hated the company from its inception. From what I know, she never wanted Ron to get involved. She liked the idea that he wanted to get into politics in high school, and I think his father’s urging to get him into computers led to their divorce.”

  So, that’s why the mother kept her maiden name.

  “Speaking of divorce,” I said, knowing I was treading dangerous ground, “there have been rumors about marital trouble with you and your husband. Were they true?”

  “I don’t see how that is pertinent,” Sondra said. We finally found something to make her uncomfortable.

  “Everything is pertinent.”

  “Are you considering me a suspect?”

  “With a rock solid alibi? Don’t think so,” I said. “Anything’s possible, of course.”

  She looked around the room again, then met my eyes in a way women do at a bar when they want to talk to you. Sort of seductive, and very inquisitive. I knew the look, even if I didn’t get it all that often.

  “We had our troubles. All married couples do, I suppose. Especially when you are in the public eye the way we were. It just goes along with the territory.”

  “I guess it does. How would you describe your relationship up until now?” I asked. I wanted to ask if she had any bedroom photos, or if she had a position preference, or, plainly, if she wanted to get it on right there.

  “We got along fine. I was happy to see him get away from the company. It brought him down. He really had nothing else to contribute. He was done with it, had been for a few years. If you know the business, then you know that Techdata really hasn’t come up with anything groundbreaking in a long time. They have just been rehashing old technology. I guess that’s what most companies are doing now. I can’t say I was really happy about him getting into politics, but at least that would be more exciting than software. I knew he was good for it. I knew he would succeed.”

  All throughout this, I watched Sondra closely. Partly because I wanted to try and see what she was feeling, and whether or not she was hiding. I also watched her because, when in her presence, you have to watch her. You really have no choice. The woman had charisma, a certain chemistry.

  “Back to your husband’s state, can you think of anything that could be interpreted as suicidal behavior?”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, suicidal people tend to give things away, things that at one time were important to them. They also can be angry, apologetic. Can you think of anything?” I asked. For once, I actually ran an investigation, even if Rick contributed.

  “Well, in a sense, he was giving away his company, if that counts. As far as the other stuff, I just don’t know. He seemed to want more time to spend with his kids. He seemed upset that he couldn’t go with us to the Bahamas.”

  “Did you press him for why he wasn’t going?”

  “I never pressed him on things like that. That was his business; he had to do what he had to do. No sense in making him more miserable. He had enough on his hands.”

  “So,” Rick said, “you’re saying that your husband could have conceivably killed himself. You think he was capable.”

  This statement drew a look of discomfort from Sondra.

  “Oh my God, I don’t know.” Her eyes began to water. I watched closely, to see if she put on an act. I couldn’t tell, either because she truly
had a hard time with this, or could really act.

  “I’m sorry if this is difficult, ma’am, we just need to know.”

  “I understand,” she said. “This is just so difficult. And it has been very hard on his children.”

  “Of course,” Rick said. “Do you know of anyone who might want to kill your husband?”

  “Kill him? Everyone liked him,” Sondra said. She made it sound completely believable, and from what I could tell early on, most people felt this way about Mullins.

  “Could there have been someone who had something to gain from his death?” Rick asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Was there anyone who would have benefited from his passing?” I asked, wanting to get back into the conversation.

  “Well, his insurance policy obviously won’t pay if his death is deemed a suicide,” Sondra said, obviously feeling like a suspect.

  “I know,” Rick said. “What about his will?”

  “To be honest, I am not that familiar with it. I am sure that his half of the company went to the kids and I. He probably gave something to charity; he was a very charitable person. Other than that, I don’t know.” Hmm, I thought. I found it unlikely she had no idea what her husband’s will contained. Mrs. Keegan didn’t raise a fool.

  “What about the sale? Will it go through even though he has passed away?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “I haven’t even thought about that. I want to see what our children think. I want to know if either of them would be interested in working there. I think his son might.”

  That struck me, the part about the sale. It made me doubt that the partner had any ulterior motives. He obviously would have benefited more if Mullins sold him the company outright, instead of having the wife and the heirs to deal with. If what Sondra said was true, then she had the power to stop the sale. No reason why Chapman would want to deal with that on purpose. At least, there was no reason I could think of. And I had my mind in the most suspicious mode possible.

  That’s what I thought.

  “Well, if you could, I would like you to try and think over the next day or two, who might want your husband dead,” I said.

  “You think he was murdered?” she said, her voice raising in tone. “This wasn’t a suicide?” I wondered what made it harder on her, thinking her husband killed himself, thereby indicating he felt unhappy, something she could be to blame for, or thinking someone killed him. I couldn’t come up with an answer.

  “We don’t know, Mrs. Mullins. We have to consider every possibility. Suicides, especially those of prominent figures, are investigated as murders until the suicide is proven,” Rick said.

  She nodded. She was done. Maybe because she couldn’t handle anymore, or maybe her pre-made script had ended. Either way, she stood up.

  “If you don’t mind, I have many things to handle,” she said.

  “Of course,” I said, standing up. Rick looked like he wanted to stay, ask more questions. It would have been of no use. I handed Sondra a business card. “Please contact us if you think of anything else.”

  She looked up at me, that seductive look coming back. I figured she just couldn’t turn that off, ever. No wonder they had some problems in the past. The woman was a five-alarm fire. “I will.”

  We got up and left the sitting room. Sondra made her way up the stairs to the left of the room. Standing in the foyer was the security guard. I really wondered why the Mullins family needed so much security. I decided to ask the guy a few questions. Partly because I wanted to break his balls, and partly because it might help the investigation. In that order.

  “Thanks for the help, um,” I said.

  “Steve.”

  “Yes, Steve. And being that you’ve been such a big help today, I figured you wouldn’t mind answering a few questions.”

  Stevie wasn’t too happy about it, but I think he realized it was best to give me what I wanted, to get rid of me. Maybe he porked the missus, and wanted to get back to business. I couldn’t blame him for that. As a matter of fact, I developed a new respect for him because it was possible.

  “What do you want to know?” he asked.

  “Well, did you see Mr. Mullins leave yesterday?”

  “I did.” He kept a blank look on his face.

  “Did he say where he was going?”

  “He had to meet someone.”

  “Who?”

  “Don’t know,” Steve said.

  “Of course you don’t.”

  He clearly didn’t like my line of questioning. “I don’t.”

  I kept at it. “What time did he leave?”

  “Around 3pm.”

  “Cameras pick him up as he was leaving?”

  He hesitated. “Yes.”

  “Might we see those tapes?” I asked.

  “No,” Steve said quickly, then came back with, “I mean, I am not in charge of that.”

  “You are in charge of security, aren’t you?” I asked.

  “Yes, but it’s up to the Mullins’ as far as those tapes are concerned. They decide who gets to see what. That’s the way Mr. Mullins insisted it be. I have no control over it.” I wanted to mention that Mr. Mullins was dead, but perhaps old Stevie was hit hard by his boss’ death. Didn’t want to throw salt in that wound. Yet.

  “I guess we’ll need a warrant, then,” I said.

  “I guess so. Sorry.” He didn’t sound sincere. Something was up with the tapes, I thought. Either he didn’t have the tape, he never recorded it, or something was on it. All of those possibilities led to different scenarios. If he didn’t have it, then someone else did. If he didn’t record it, that was either a decision he or someone above him made, and I would have loved to know why. If there was something on the tape, something that hinted toward foul play, well, then, that’s self-explanatory. Or, perhaps it was nothing. Perhaps I got ahead of myself again.

  I didn’t think so either.

  “How long you been working here?” I asked.

  “Four years.”

  “As head of security?” I asked.

  “It’s not really called that.”

  “How many men they have working here?”

  “Two,” Steve said.

  “Where’s the other guy?”

  “Been sick for a week now.”

  “Interesting,” I said.

  “You think so.” He stated that. Yeah, he didn’t like me or my questions. I didn’t necessarily think he had any guilt in this case. He may just have been the type who didn’t like to

  “Yes, I do. Got his phone number?”

  “Yes.”

  “Convenient that he got sick, don’t you think? That might have something to do with the tapes, huh? Couldn’t record that day?” Yeah, I can be real annoying when I want.

  “I never said that. What the hell is your problem?”

  “No problem,” Rick said, interjecting. He saw what I was up to. I wouldn’t say that he disagreed with what I did, just how I went about it. I shouldn’t have brought so much attention to the tape. If gave him too much warning. I realized that right when I looked at Rick’s face. Dipshit I am. “Anything strange happen yesterday?”

  “Other than my boss killing himself?”

  “You know what I mean,” Rick said, holding back a bit of anger. I really wanted to see Rick go off. He needed it, and I knew it would be nothing short of hilarious. I needed a good laugh.

  “Nothing that I can think of.”

  “What was Mr. Mullins’ mood like?”

  “He seemed distracted,” Steve said. “Not like himself.”

  “Just distracted? Nothing else out of the ordinary?”

  “Yeah.”

  “He didn’t seem suicidal?”

  “What does suicidal seem like?”

  This guy was a real wiseass.

  “Did he seem different?”

  “He’d been different for weeks. Always bitching about one thing or another, if you want to know the truth. I think the stress got to h
im. He seemed like he cracked. I’ve seen guys in positions like his do that all the time. It’s a shame to see it, too.”

  “I’m sure it is,” Rick said.

  “He had a lot of pressure on him. He was getting out of the only business he knew, that was weighing heavily on his mind. He told me about it a few times, when I drove him places. On top of that, he had the Senate thing. He wanted to do that, but was unsure of his chances. I thought he would have been great at it. Not that I know much about politics. Hell, I don’t even vote.”

  Man, this guy got chatty fast. Very chatty. Was there something going on here. Should I have been worried? I kept thinking about it. I kept paying attention to everything he said. I watched every facial expression he made. Just in case. I preferred to watch Roseanna, or Sondra, but hey, not all of my job was glamorous.

  “Okay. So he spoke to you often.”

  “Not often. But he did speak to me.”

  “And you think he was suicidal. You think it was possible,” I said as a statement instead of a question.

  He thought about that. “Possible. I’m not sure about it, but definitely possible. Unbelievable.”

  “What?”

  “That a man who had all he did would kill himself. It really doesn’t make sense, when you think about it.”

  “Money isn’t everything,” I said.

  “Obviously not.”

  “Thank you for the help,” Rick said. “We’ll see you soon.” Nice one, Rick. Let him think about that one for a while. Actually, I didn’t know what to think of Steve. He might have been alright. Then again, he might not have been. Too soon to tell. I decided to go with my initial impression, one which I made of just about everyone I met. I didn’t like him.

  “Nice going,” Rick said, getting back into the car.

  “Relax. We’ll get the tape.” I hoped we would, because if we didn’t, I knew for damn sure that my pal Rick would throw me right under the bus with Geiger. No question about that. It felt nice to be able to trust a partner so superficially. Real nice.

  “You gave the whole thing away. If we do get a hold of the tape which I don’t think we will, they’ll have done something to it.”

  “You really need to work on your Conspiracy Theory problems. First off, we’re still working on a suicide case, if you look at the evidence. We have two people who were close to the victim who say he was capable of suicide. I just think I ruffled that guy’s feathers a little bit. And you should be happy I did, because if I didn’t, we might not have gotten anything that made us suspicious of him. I helped him point his own finger at himself. At least it gives us something to work on.”

  “Okay, you’re right. But you could have been a little slicker when it came to the tape. All I have heard is how good you are when it comes to questioning, and so far I have seen nothing.”

  “Maybe you just aren’t looking in the right places.”

  “I’d have to be looking at a woman’s ass to see what you are seeing.”

  “Again with that. Maybe you should get a good look at an ass or two. Might make you feel like a man again.”

  Rick’s face turned red. Target hit.

  He opened the passenger door, and sat in the seat. Unusual tactic, to not respond at all. Maybe I destroyed the target. I never could tell. I got into the car myself, started the engine, and looked at Rick, who seethed.

  “You really have a one track mind.”

  “No,