by Parnell Hall
“Why do you care?”
“Huh?”
“If Minami gets convicted, what’s it to you? I thought she was your rival.”
“She is my rival. That’s the trouble. If I didn’t know her at all, it would be fine. But she came here to pick a fight with me. If I let her take the fall for murder because it’s none of my business, I’m gonna have this nagging doubt that I did it to get rid of a competitor.”
“That’s silly.”
“Tell me about it. And the stupid thing is the woman’s so obviously innocent. The whole thing’s absurd. So, if you want me to help you, if you want me to help your client, for God’s sake, tell me what’s going on.”
Becky flopped down on the couch, sighing. “Okay.”
“Okay? Well, that wasn’t so hard now, was it?” Cora cocked her head. “I’m listening.”
“Thelma Wilson was blackmailing Minami.”
Cora nodded. “With a crossword puzzle and a sudoku.”
“You knew that?”
“Yesterday’s news. Go on.”
Becky blinked. “Go on? What do you mean, go on? That’s the story. That’s her motive. She was being blackmailed.” Her eyes widened. “Good God. Did you tell Chief Harper?”
“None of his business.”
“You’re kidding.”
“You want me to tell Chief Harper?”
“Of course not.”
“Well, I didn’t. So what are you griping about?”
“How did you know?”
Cora smiled. “I’m sorry. That’s puzzle maker-client privilege. I’m afraid I can’t say.”
Becky frowned. “Damn it. You are trying to get back at me.”
“Just kidding. Come on, I know about Minami’s involvement in the Thelma Wilson murder. What’s the deal with Sheila Preston?”
“You know the deal with Sheila Preston. It’s the gospel according to Thelma Wilson. Which is what got Minami in jail in the first place. Which is what makes the whole thing so stupid. How could Thelma Wilson be blackmailing Minami by threatening to tell what she already told?”
“‘Sit in jail for a spell. Never fear, I won’t tell.’ Along with Sheila’s address. I actually like it. It’s a clever move on Thelma Wilson’s part. It reveals no new information. But the implied threat is there: I know this, what else do I know? If the police were to intercept it and solve it, it wouldn’t tell them a thing. Except to point the finger at Minami. Which has already been done. But anything that enforces the idea is gravy. On the other hand, there is nothing specific to point to Thelma Wilson. The police may know she sent it, but they can’t prove it. ‘Crossword puzzle? What crossword puzzle? I’m not the one who does crossword puzzles. You must be thinking of that Puzzle Lady person.’”
“You mean she wanted people to think you sent it?”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
Becky’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You didn’t send it, did you?”
“Give me a break. Do you think I’m the type of person to plant evidence on your client?”
“No, of course not.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Now, before we went off on a tangent, you were telling me what was going on. Thelma Wilson was blackmailing Minami. And … ?”
“Someone else killed Thelma Wilson, framed Minami with a sudoku, and she wound up in jail.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it. Thelma Wilson figured Minami for the murder of Sheila Preston. Because Minami came to see her twice. She went to the house, ran away, got her niece, and came back. Thelma Wilson told the police, that’s what got Minami on the hook. I can’t believe Minami killed Sheila Preston, though stranger things have happened. If she didn’t kill her, what did she do? She came to the house, ran away, came back with her niece. Why?”
“The motivation doesn’t matter. What’s important is what she did.”
“The motivation doesn’t matter?” Cora said incredulously.
“You’re an attorney and you claim her motivation doesn’t matter?”
“Not in this case. Not when it’s incidental. Not when it has nothing to do with the crime. Suppose she forgot her purse? Suppose she remembered she had a doctor’s appointment? Suppose Sheila said, ‘I’m really busy, could you come back in half an hour?’”
“You’re claiming that when Minami called on her, Sheila was alive?”
“I’m claiming nothing of the sort. I’m giving you examples.”
“They’re bad examples. They have nothing to do with real life.”
“I can’t help that. I came here in the spirt of cooperation.”
“Cooperation, hell. You came here to gripe. You got too many clients, and they’re giving you a hard time, and you’re blaming me. Maybe I got it coming, but let’s not pretend that’s why you’re here. You’re in a sticky situation and you need my help. Hell, you need anybody’s help. And you’re willing to do whatever you have to do to get it. Except level with me. On issues you claim are extraneous.” Cora took a breath. “So. Dennis told you Chief Harper was hassling him?”
“That’s right. Because of you.”
“And because he got a blackmail note.”
Becky blinked. “What?”
“Dennis didn’t tell you that?” Cora grinned. “Glad I could be of help.”
Chapter 44
Aaron Grant held up a bone from his rack of lamb.
“Let me be sure I got this straight. Dennis got a blackmail note from Thelma Wilson?”
“That’s right.”
“But it wasn’t a crossword puzzle.”
“He’s not a puzzle person. Thelma Wilson knew that. She was a good judge of character.”
“What’s the point of blackmailing Dennis?”
Cora shrugged. “What’s the point of blackmailing Minami? It wasn’t the money. The woman got off on power. She loved to play “I got a secret” and make people jump through hoops. She played it on Minami. She played it on Dennis. She played it on me. She didn’t really know anything, but she wanted people to think she did.”
“How could she play it on Dennis? What made her think blackmailing Dennis might work?”
“He’s that type of guy.”
“No, I mean what did she have on Dennis? She didn’t send him the note on a whim. She had to have reason to believe he’d done something he could be blackmailed about.”
“Naturally.”
“So, what was it?”
“She probably saw him go into the house.”
“What makes you think that?”
“It’s a logical inference.”
“Come on, Cora. What makes you think that?”
“Because Dennis went into the house.”
“You know that for a fact?”
“You can take it to the bank.”
“You saw him go into the house?”
“I refuse to answer on the grounds an answer might wind up in the morning paper.”
“Is it true?”
“Relax. Eat your rack of lamb. You worked hard enough on it.”
“It took five minutes.”
“It took five minutes in the frying pan. You had to prepare the bread crumbs and spices, you had to put it in the oven, take it out at the right time, and God knows what else. And it’s absolutely perfect. I mean, just taste that rack of lamb.”
“Uh oh. You never babble like that unless you’re guilty. That’s the most you’ve said about cooking in three years. What did you do now? More to the point, what did you do then?”
“If I saw Dennis go into Shelia Preston’s house right before I went into Sheila Preston’s house, that would be a hell of a thing to admit in front of a newspaper reporter, wouldn’t it?”
“You’re talking about me as if I weren’t here,” Aaron said.
“Not really,” Cora corrected. “We’re talking about you as if you were here but were rendered impotent by your current marriage.” She frowned. “Seems to me I had a husband like that. Can’t remember his name. The point is
, Dennis was vulnerable, Thelma Wilson ran a bluff on him. Thelma Wilson had no idea who killed Sheila Preston, but she had a whole bunch of suspects. So she ran a bluff on all of them to see if she’d get a bite. Unfortunately, she did.”
The case came on.
Cora snatched up the remote and clicked the TV off MUTE.
Rick Reed stood in front of the Bakerhaven Police Station. “The murder of Thelma Wilson took a bizarre turn this afternoon with the arrest of Dennis Pride. A somewhat unusual move on the part of Bakerhaven Police Chief Dale Harper, seeing as how he already has a suspect in jail for the crime. There is no suggestion that the two suspects were acting together as part of a criminal conspiracy. The police have what would seem to be an embarrassment of riches. It is usually hard enough to find one guilty-looking suspect, let alone two.
“Mr. Pride’s attorney, Rebecca Baldwin, declined comment, partly due to the fact that she is also the attorney for the other suspect, Minami, the Sudoku Lady. But Minami’s agent, Irving Swartzman, mocked the situation.”
Swartzman, clad in a pin-striped zoot suit, smiled and scoffed. “The second arrest merely shows to what ridiculous lengths the police will go in an attempt to clear this crime. They have no idea what really happened, in light of which, keeping the Sudoku Lady in jail is a blatant miscarriage of justice. The Sudoku Lady did not come all the way from Japan to kill a stranger but merely to promote her book.”
Once again, Swartzman held it up.
“I’m going to kill him,” Cora said.
“Can I quote you on that if he winds up dead?” Aaron asked.
“It’s ridiculous. The woman’s doing almost as well as I am, and she’s in jail and her book isn’t even out yet.”
Sherry looked up from the computer. “Actually …”
“What, actually?” Cora said.
“Her book is forty-two.”
“On the puzzle books list?”
“On the Amazon.com list.”
Cora’s mouth fell open. “On the whole damn list?”
“Don’t get excited.”
“Wait till she gets convicted of this crime.” Cora fumed. “We’ll see what comfort her book sales are to her then.”
“Cora, this is unlike you.”
“Of course it is. Don’t quote me in the paper.”
“I haven’t heard a quote yet I can use,” Aaron said.
“Was that the doorbell?” Cora said.
It was. Buddy gave up his rack-of-lamb vigil to greet the intruder, perhaps in the hope of a reward.
“Who comes at dinnertime?” Cora said, as Sherry went to the door.
“The police,” Aaron said.
“Bite your tongue.”
Sherry ushered in Michiko.
Cora smiled. “Ah, déjà vu! Minami’s agent appears on televison, Minami’s niece appears at our door. What is it this time, another sudoku?”
“I must talk to you alone.”
“I like it! Smacks of intrigue.” Cora jerked her thumb in a take-a-hike gesture. “Okay, the rest of you guys, beat it.”
“What?” Aaron said.
“She’s joking,” Sherry said. “Come on, Aaron, lighten up.”
“Let’s see, where can I take her? How about out back at the picnic table. No one can hear us, and I can smoke. Come on, kid. Let’s leave this stodgy old married couple alone.”
Cora ushered Michiko through the kitchen and out the back door. It was still light out, but there was a chill in the air. Cora pulled her sweater around her shoulders and asked, “Are you okay?” Michiko gave her a blank look. “What am I talking about? You’re a teenager. Of course you’re okay.”
“Why do you talk like that?”
“Like what?”
“You are—what is the word?—you are not polite. You say whatever you want to say.”
“Well, isn’t that more convenient?”
“It is not respectful.”
Cora laughed. “That’s funny. You’re scolding me for behaving like a bratty teenager.” She added quickly, “No, of course not, of course not, you’re not doing that. It would not be respectful. You only act that way toward your own relatives.”
Cora flopped her drawstring purse down on the wooden picnic table, pulled out her cigarettes, and lit one. “Don’t smoke. It’s a bad habit and you don’t want to get into it.”
“Of course not.”
Cora shook her head. “Of course not. Different generation. I wish we’d known enough to say ‘of course not.’ Now it’s my one remaining vice. That and the occasional predatory male.”
“I am Japanese. It is hard to understand you.”
“You get the gist.” Cora took a deep drag, blew it out. “So, what’d you want to tell me?”
“Minami is very proud.”
“This may surprise you, but that isn’t much of a revelation.”
“It is important to consider.”
“Why?”
“It is why she is in jail.”
“Forgive me, but that’s not entirely clear.”
“I’m sorry. This is difficult for me. I am not sure how to say this. I feel I am betraying my aunt.”
“Your aunt is in jail on a murder rap. Unless you’re telling me she did it, you’re not betraying her—you’re trying to get her out.”
“Yes, but—”
“There’s always a but.” Cora laughed. “At least there always was with Melvin. Big fan of Sir Mix-a-Lot.”
“What?”
“Sorry. I keep forgetting how young you are. You probably weren’t born yet. Go on.”
“What I am about to say is for your ears only.”
“Ah! American idiom! I love it!”
“I do not wish it to be known. If you cannot agree to that, I will not tell you. Do you agree to that?”
“You trust my word?”
“Your word is not good?”
“My word is good as gold. You can take it to the bank. But you don’t know that. You’re taking me on faith.”
“I know, but I must do something.” Michiko frowned and squinted at Cora sideways. “You do not wish me to tell you?”
“I wish you to tell me everything. And I want to go about getting your aunt out of jail. But I don’t want you to tell me your aunt’s broken the law and expect me to cover it up. I am not an attorney. I have no professional privileges. I would be guilty of conspiring to conceal a crime.”
“It is not that.”
“What is it then?”
Michiko took a breath. She looked down, set her jaw, then looked back up. “Minami cannot do sudoku.”
Cora gasped. “What?”
“She is no good at it. She has no ability. She cannot construct them. She cannot solve them. She is no good at math. I construct all the puzzles. I do all the math. That is why I am on the trip. Not to be an interpreter but to solve the sudoku for her so no one will find out.”
“Oh. My. God.”
“You will not tell?”
“I will not tell.” Cora shook her head. “Believe me, I’m just trying to adjust to the situation. So. The Sudoku Lady is a big fat fraud.”
“That is not nice.”
“And she was pissed my book sold better? I wrote my book.”
“You are angry.”
“I am not angry. I am shocked, shocked to find she doesn’t construct her own sudoku. But I am not angry. I am broadminded, I am generous. I am forgiving. I am willing to live and let live. Just because your aunt is a fraud is no reason she should go to jail for murder.” Cora’s eyes opened wider. “Unless she killed someone who was going to expose her as a fraud.”
“That is not true!”
“No?”
“It is ridiculous. My aunt would never do such a thing.”
“Oh? You said she was very proud. She might kill to save her reputation.”
“Stop! Stop! That is so stupid! You will not listen! You do not understand!”
There were tears in the girl’s eyes. Cora took pity on her and
stopped the harangue. “Okay, you tell me what happened.”
“I do not know what happened. I mean, I do not know who killed those people. I just know it was not my aunt. She is in jail because she will not explain, and she will not explain because she can’t do sudoku and she doesn’t want anyone to know.”
“Can’t explain what?”
“Coming back to the house. That is what got her in trouble. That awful woman saw her come back to the house. Do you not see what happened? Minami came to the house. She found a woman dead. She found a sudoku. She could not do the sudoku. She knew the police would ask her to solve it. She could not solve it. She ran to get me.”
“Oh, for goodness’ sake.”
“So, she cannot explain, and she must stay in jail.” Michiko heaved a sigh. “It is not fair. It is just not fair. She is not good at puzzles. But she is good at crime. If she were not in jail, she would solve the murder and clear her name.”
“Oh, dear.”
“It is so frustrating. Then the police let her go, and what happens? That awful woman is killed. With a sudoku. It is so stupid. The sudoku proves she didn’t do it. But no one knows it, and she will not tell. So she sits in jail. All because of a stupid sudoku she cannot solve.”
“That is certainly ironic.”
Michiko’s head snapped up. Her eyes flashed. “Are you mocking me?”
“No, not at all. It really is ironic.”
“So you must help. It is up to you. Only you can save her now. You are very smart, and you solve crime in your country as my aunt does in mine. You must solve this one. You must prove my aunt is innocent. Without betraying her secret.”
“How am I going to do that?”
“You must find the killer.”
“Oh, is that all?”
“You are mocking again?”
“Not you. Just your ideas. You act like it’s easy to find a killer. It’s damn hard. Even when your chief suspects are cooperating with the police.”
“Yes, but you are very smart, and you know things that they do not know. Valuable clues.”
“Yeah? Like what?”
“The sudoku.”
“What sudoku?”
“The one in the awful woman’s house.”
“Oh.”
“Have you noticed anything about it?”
