Murder By Duplicity

by B. T. Lord

  “And unless she’s had breast reduction surgery, this woman is amply built.”

  “Who do you think she is?”

  “That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? Not only who is she, but why did George feel the need to unstitch his wallet, slide this photo inside and then have it re-stitched?”

  “Looks like our victim may have been tomcatting around behind Margo’s back.”

  “He wasn’t tomcatting. Whoever this woman is or was seems to have meant a great deal to him. Look at the effort he made to hide her photo in his wallet. It’s as if he wanted her near him, but he couldn’t be obvious about it.” She sat back in her chair with a thoughtful look on her face. “I wonder if Margo found out, and that’s the real reason Bill told him to get out of town by sundown.”

  “Kinda hypocritical of him. I mean, if the rumors were true, he was already reaching nirvana with Margo.”

  “Don’t you ever just call it making love?” she asked in an exasperated voice.

  He thought about it. “Nope,” he replied.

  She sighed, then continued. “You know Bill. He can find justification for everything he does.” They looked through the rest of the photos, but there was nothing more to see. “Aidan said the lab is going to try their best to see what they could do to enhance these photos. They found bits of the original photograph stuck to the inside of the flap.”

  “Those guys can perform magic these days,” Rick said. “If anybody can make those faces appear, it will be them.”

  Cammie leaned over her computer screen once again and stared at the photo. “I sure hope so.”

  The next morning she stopped by Bill’s house, hoping once more to see him. To her surprise, she saw his driveway filled with cars. It was so packed, she had no choice but to park on the street and walk up towards his home. At first terrified they were there to accuse him of George’s murder, she was astonished to discover they were there instead to show their support and concern for their mayor.

  Bombarded with questions and demands that she immediately arrest whoever was responsible for attacking Bill, she prayed that Margo would let her in the front door. Despite her assurances that all was being done to discover and apprehend the persons who assaulted Bill, she had a feeling they didn’t quite believe her. Thankfully Margo already had the door open and she was able to slip inside.

  “Oh my God!” she exclaimed when she saw the foyer completely filled with flowers and balloons.

  “I can’t get over the outpouring of love for Bill,” Margo said. “His refrigerator is overflowing with food and, as you can see, we are up to our ears in flowers and get well cards.”

  “Is he awake? I really need to get a description of the people who attacked him.”

  “His back injury has been so painful, he’s still heavily sedated. I’ll call you as soon as he’s able to see you.”

  “As I’m sure you heard from the crowd outside, townspeople are clamoring to have his attackers arrested. I can’t do anything until I speak with him.”

  “I understand, Sheriff. Really, I do. But my hands are tied.”

  Cammie felt she was being stonewalled, which made no sense. Unless…

  She took out her phone and flipped to the photo sent by the lab. “This photo was found in the wallet we recovered near the crime scene. We think the wallet belonged to George. I was hoping you could identify the people in the photo.”

  She showed Margo the picture.

  “The faces are gone,” she said.

  “Well, ten years of rain, snow and sun will do that. However, I was hoping you might recognize the clothing the couple are wearing. Did George own a suit like that?”

  Margo studied the photo. “I’m not sure. I think he did.”

  “And you have no idea who the woman in the photo might be?”

  She gave it a cursory look. “I’m sorry, I have no idea.”

  “Take a good look at it. Maybe it was a family friend?”

  She shook her head. “No one I know would wear clothing like that. I’m sorry, Sheriff.”

  When Cammie stepped outside, she was once again besieged by the townspeople.

  “How is he?”

  “I hope you catch the bastards who did this!”

  “What is this town coming to?”

  “When are you going to do your job and arrest someone?”

  Cammie held her hands up. “Margo says Bill is doing fine. He injured his back and is taking muscle relaxants. As soon as he is coherent, we’ll get to the bottom of what happened.”

  “Do you know who did this?”

  She didn’t dare tell them that she didn’t have a clue. Instead she plastered a smile on her face. “This is an ongoing investigation. But you can all rest assured we are doing everything in our power to capture the perpetrators and to ensure this never happens again, not only to Bill, but to all Twin Ponders.”

  Jeez, she was now sounding like the consummate politician.

  After stopping to answer more questions, Cammie finally made it back to the Explorer. As she drove off, she thought about Margo’s demeanor. She’d been willing to study the man in the photo. But she’d barely glanced at the woman. Did that mean she knew exactly who the woman was? Did she know George was having an affair? Is that why Bill told him to leave town?

  Or was there a darker reason?

  For the next few days, Cammie tried to see Bill, but she was thwarted each time by The Rottweiler as she was beginning to call Margo. She tried to enlist Doc’s help, but there wasn’t much he could do.

  “Sometimes it takes up to a week for a patient’s back to begin to heal. Just bide your time. It’s not as if he’s going anywhere.”

  “People are demanding I make an arrest. The longer I do nothing, the worse it’s going to get.”

  Doc shrugged. “I’m sorry they’re being unreasonable, but there’s nothing that can be done. As long as he’s in extreme pain, I must do all I can to make him comfortable.”

  Cammie knew he was right. But with two murders and an assault hanging over her head, she had to do something and fast.

  “Say Rick, did Margo ever come in to identify the clothing found at the crime scene?” she asked the next morning.

  “You know, I don’t think she did.”

  “The lab sent photos. Why don’t you call and ask her to come down to HQ and identify them?”

  He gave her a suspicious look. “We already ID’ed the skeleton as George Peabody.”

  “But we still don’t know who the man in the photo is. And the suit found in the forest looks a lot like the suit in the picture.”

  “You know she’s going to use Bill as an excuse why she can’t come down.”

  “That’s where your charm will come in. That and the threat that if she can’t drive down here, that must mean Bill is awake. And if Bill is awake, I can finally interview him.”

  He chuckled. “Good thinking. I’ll call her right now.”

  While Rick went to make the phone call, she slipped out of HQ. For the first time in weeks, the weather had turned, and it was now raining. Unfortunately, instead of cooling down the temperatures, it was so humid she felt her hair turning into one huge frizz ball. She normally didn’t wear her police hat, but this was an emergency. She shoved it down over her unruly hair and hurried to the Explorer.

  She slowly made her way towards Bill’s. Just as she’d hoped, she saw Margo pull out of the driveway, and head off to HQ in the opposite direction. Rather than park in the driveway, she instead parked down the street. Thankfully the rain had slowed to a light drizzle as she cut through a patch of woods that brought her around his property and into his backyard.

  The wet weather had kept the landscapers away, so she was able to cut across the yard and come up onto his expansive back porch. Just as she’d hoped, the back slider was unlocked and she was able to slip inside.

  Shaking off the rain from her hat and uniform, she headed towards the stairs where she quietly made her way up the carpeted steps
. She didn’t know which was Bill’s bedroom, but she guessed it had to be at the end of the hallway. There were two doors there; each room giving him a stunning view of Waban Pond.

  As she drew closer, she heard the sound of his voice coming from the door on the right.

  “I told you, I’m doing my best to move construction along, but the sheriff won’t allow it just yet. No, there is nothing I can do. She’s very stubborn and too conscientious about her job for her own good. Sometimes I wonder if I made a mistake encouraging her to run for sheriff. Life would have been a helluva lot easier with a more compliant police officer in charge.”

  Cammie almost snickered out loud as she heard these words. He was more correct than even he knew.

  She slowly opened the door a crack and watched as Bill, still dressed in a bathrobe and pajamas, paced back and forth in front of the French doors that opened out to a large balcony overlooking the pond. Although the day was grey and rainy, the view was still breathtaking.

  Preoccupied with his phone call, he didn’t notice Cammie slip into the bedroom, close the door behind her and lean up against the doorjamb with her arms crossed against her chest.

  “My hands are tied.” There was a pause. “Believe me, if I thought it would work, I would have tried it already. But Farnsworth is oblivious to threats. It makes her dig her heels in deeper. She is one hard headed, uncooperative bitch--”

  Bill turned and saw her standing there. She raised her hand and waved. His face turned a deep crimson. “I’ve got to go. I’ll call you back.” He shoved his cell into his robe pocket.

  “Looks like you’ve made a miraculous recovery,” she said in mock seriousness. “One more feather in Doctor Westerfield’s cap.”

  “Now Cammie, I can explain.”

  “No need. Last November, I was in your position, remember? Everybody hated my guts when Eli Kelley was murdered.” Bill physically relaxed. “I have to hand it to you though. It never occurred to me to pretend I was attacked so people would feel sorry for me. Nor did I ever think to play it up even more by faking a back injury. Next time, think of something else. You almost broke my back when I had to help hoist your ass up onto the couch.”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t know what to do. I was actually being called a murderer.”

  “Are you?”

  He gave her a dark look. “Of course I’m not.”

  “I have a witness statement that puts you in those woods, meeting up with George a day or two before he left town.”

  Bill’s jaw dropped. “That—that’s impossible! I was not there! It’s another one of our townspeople trying to pin this on me!”

  “This witness overheard your conversation in which you warned him to get out of town.”

  “I’ll sue the bastard who told you such a lie!”

  Cammie decided to improvise to see if she could shake him. “They also saw you hand over a bundle of money in exchange for George leaving.” At this piece of information, Bill fell back onto the edge of the bed. “We know you’ve been making monthly deposits to Margo’s bank account, starting almost a year before George even left town.”

  “I knew I should have convinced Eliot Hamilton to run for sheriff instead of you.”

  She snorted. “Eliot is 75 years old. And partly deaf. And has to use a walker to get around.”

  “So what?”

  “Sorry, but you’re stuck with me for another 2-1/2 years.”

  “Kill me now,” he muttered under his breath.

  “You’re going to have to talk to me at some point. Or to a grand jury. Imagine what the townspeople will think of you then.”

  “You’re despicable,” he snapped.

  “I’m just doing my job – the job you talked me into running for.”

  “Don’t remind me.”

  “I’m not leaving here until you answer my questions, starting with the meeting you had with George that night in the forest.”

  Bill remained silent for several minutes. Cammie patiently waited. While she did, she looked about the bedroom, noticing the huge king sized bed and expensively carved oak furniture. Even though Margo shared this room with him, it was still very masculine. Very much a reflection of the type of man Bill believed – or wanted to believe – he was. Rich, powerful, authoritative.

  “Alright,” he finally spat out. “I did meet George that night in the woods.”

  “Do you remember the date of that meeting?”

  “April 14, 2007. It was the day I handed out awards at the high school for scholastic achievement.”

  “Did you ask him for the meeting or vice versa?”

  “He asked me to meet him out there.” This surprised Cammie, but she remained silent. “He called my office and told me he had a proposition. If I paid him $50,000, he would never return to Twin Ponds. Nor would he tell everyone about my relationship with Margo. I had to be there by 10 pm or he’d spill the beans.”

  “So you drove out there and paid him the money in cash?”

  Bill nodded. “Although his marriage with Margo had long been over, I couldn’t have him telling people about our affair. It would have ruined me. And her. It was worth $50,000 to get him out of Twin Ponds once and for all.”

  “Why were you paying Margo an allowance?”

  “Because George was addicted to gambling. He’d already wiped out the inheritance she’d gotten from her parents, and was spending money as soon as he earned it. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s why he married her – to get his filthy mitts on her money. She tried her best to keep a good face on about the state of her finances. I want you to know she’s a very proud woman and never asked for one penny. It was my decision alone to help her out.”

  “How much was that inheritance from her parents?”

  “I believe it was $750,000.”

  “She tell you that?” He nodded. “Did you ever see George again after that night?”

  “Thankfully, no. It was Margo who informed me he’d left.”

  “Did you know about the IRS trouble Lars Landry and Lucy Perez were having because of George?”

  “Margo told me.”

  “What was your reaction?”

  “I was horrified for Lucy and Lars. But I was glad too. I thought, finally the people of Twin Ponds will discover what a swindler and cheat George Peabody really is.”

  “You know, he paid Lars and Lucy back every penny they owed the government.” She shared the stories the two had told her about how and when they’d received the money.

  Bill frowned. “Impossible. George cared only about George. Besides, where would he have gotten the money?”

  “We’re still trying to track that down. Did Margo know of your meeting?”

  “No. I didn’t want her to know that her marriage was worth a paltry $50,000.”

  “Do you know where she was that night?”

  “Home, I suppose.”

  “When did your relationship with Margo begin? And don’t tell me it was after George left town.”

  He hesitated. “Neither she or I are responsible for George’s death.”

  “That’s not what I asked you.”

  He hemmed and hawed, but seeing the determined look on her face, he saw that no amount of bluster was going to keep her from getting a response. “It was about a year before the election.”

  “Did George know about the affair?”

  “We were very discreet, at least in the beginning, so I doubt he did.”

  “You don’t think that’s what prompted him to run for mayor?”

  He looked up at her in astonishment, and she knew the thought had never occurred to him. She pushed off from the doorjamb where she’d been leaning and said, “As you can see Bill, we usually end up uncovering what we need. You lying and obfuscating this investigation isn’t helping you any.”

  He opened his mouth to bluster, then quickly shut it. Instead, he asked, “You’re not going to tell people what you found here today, are you?”

  “Only if you can
figure out a way to let people know you weren’t attacked. They’re ready to tear me apart for not making an arrest yet.”

  He grimaced. “I didn’t think of that.”

  “Put out a statement saying you were on heavy medication for a back injury and hallucinated about being attacked. Or make up whatever you need to. Just make sure that whatever you write calms people down and gets them off my back.”

  “I’ll start work on a statement right now.” She opened the door and was about to step out when Bill asked, “What’s with the hat? It makes you look like you’re wearing a Halloween costume.”

  The drizzle had turned back to downpours when Cammie left the house. By the time she reached the Explorer, she was sopping wet. Rather than be upset, she was thankful for the rain. She was certain no one had seen her leaving Bill’s house. She wanted to keep it that way. There was no telling what conclusions people would reach if she was seen leaving his house just before he released a statement saying he hadn’t been attacked. The townspeople would probably think she’d threatened him in some way to retract his accusation because she was unable to find the perpetrator.

  She started the Explorer and drove on to Doc’s to change into a dry uniform.

  When she walked into HQ an hour later, she saw Emmy was alone.

  “Where’s Rick?”

  “He went out to Janey Ferguson’s.”

  “Don’t tell me Dottie Hanson’s dog got into her yard again.” Emmy nodded. “Well, if there’s anybody who can charm Janey into not going ballistic, it’s Rick.”

  “It’s not really Mrs. Hanson’s fault, you know,” she said as Cammie poured herself a cup of coffee.

  “Why not? It is her dog.”

  “I know. But Mom says that Mrs. Hanson has been – well – she’s been forgetting a lot of stuff lately. She thinks she may be showing early signs of dementia. I bet she doesn’t even know Augustus is going over to Mrs. Ferguson’s house.”

  Cammie grinned. “Augustus?”

  Emmy laughed. “She’s always loved anything that has to do with Ancient Rome and its emperors. I guess she gave the dog a powerful name to make up for the fact that he’s so tiny.”

  “When he returns, could you tell him to stop by my office? I want to know how the clothing ID with Margo went.”