“She knew about you getting divorced? How?”
“I have no idea. It’s that psychic thing she has. Anyway, she told me there was going to be an opening here in the compound, and she wanted me to come out here to live. She also told me she was sure I could get some appraisal referrals from the insurance company where she works. I shipped my books and some clothes to her and drove out here a few days later. I’ve never regretted it, and I’ve grown to love this funky little town of High Desert and this compound where I live with the others.”
They were both quiet for a few moments and then Marty spoke. “Jeff, I’m glad you ended your relationship with Nikki. I’d like to get to know you better.”
He put his hand on hers and said, “Marty, at our age I really don’t want to spend a lot of time doing some requisite ‘get to know you’ dance. Pure and simple, I want to see where this goes, because I think it’s definitely going to go places. That doesn’t mean I’ll go caveman and drag you into your house and throw you on the bed, but it does mean I’m not going to wait a couple of years for permission to really kiss you. By the way, has Laura said anything about us? She probably knows more about our relationship than we do,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.
“No, but might be worth asking. Okay, let’s get back to business. Here’s what Nikki had to say.” She told Jeff about George Ellis and the Monkey Band that Jill had seen in his office earlier that afternoon. “I haven’t wanted to think this, but if Pam Jensen told George she wasn’t going to marry him, and it totally shocked and angered him because he’d been counting on it, do you think he could be the one who murdered her and stole the Monkey Band set?”
“I don’t know, but I think based on what you just told me I might be able to get a search warrant for his office. Even though I’m the detective on the case, it’s obviously a police investigation. I’ll go to my sergeant and ask him to request a warrant from the judge who issues warrants for cases like this. I’ll call him when we finish,” Jeff said.
“I remember Laura telling me she had a feeling or a vision that while the Monkey Band would play an integral part in Pam Jensen’s death, it wasn’t the reason for her death. If she’s right, George might have killed her because she wouldn’t marry him, and in order to make the killing look like a burglary gone bad, he stole the Monkey Band to try and cover up the murder he’d committed.”
“That’s a strong possibility considering she was right about Rosa.”
“What do you mean?”
“Remember, Laura said she sensed guilt coming off of Rosa. Well, let me tell you about the conversation that Rosa and I had.” He spent the next twenty minutes telling her.
When he’d finished, Marty said, “This is so sad. No wonder people sometimes engage in some sort of criminal conduct that you wouldn’t normally expect of them. Often it’s not because they’re bad people, but circumstances force them to take actions they normally would never do. Rosa’s taking money to not turn on the security system is sure a case in point. I hope her granddaughter is going to be okay. This revelation by Rosa certainly gives another angle to the case. Maybe it wasn’t George, and instead it was the guy Rosa told you about, this man named Lou. The murder did happen the night Rosa left without turning the security system on. Maybe Pam Jensen surprised him while he was trying to steal the Monkey Band, and he had to kill her. Are you going to arrest Rosa?”
“In answer to your question about Rosa, I won’t know until we find out who did it. She may have left without turning the security system on, but it might not have been Lou who committed the murder. Both Lou and George seem like viable suspects. And don’t forget about Pam’s son, Jim, and Henry Siegelman. Her son stood to gain a lot with her death, and while I don’t for a minute think Henry would ever dirty his hands by personally committing a theft or a murder, he certainly could have hired Lou or even someone else. As things stand now, we don’t know who Lou was working for.”
“Are all your cases this convoluted?” Marty asked.
“No, and this really is one of the more challenging ones. You’ve got a great deal of money at stake in the form of a large inheritance, a love affair that went bad, at least on one side, a housekeeper who took a $50,000 bribe to arrange for the security system to be off, and several people desperate to possess a very expensive and rare antique set. Yes, it’s a very challenging case. I really don’t want to leave, but tomorrow is going to be a busy day for me, particularly if I can get a judge to issue the search warrant I’ll be requesting. Maybe I can put this case to bed tomorrow, so I can concentrate on a certain woman I met yesterday.”
“You know, I think I’d like that,” Marty said as they walked to the gate. She reached her arms around his neck and kissed him gently at first, and then passionately. Jeff returned the kiss with force and pressed his body against hers. After a moment, she pushed him away. “You’ve got a murder and a theft to solve, and I have an appraisal I have to finish, but rather than Laura asking, I’ll ask. Any chance you can come to dinner tomorrow night?”
“Actually, I was already planning on it. Sleep well.” He grinned and gave her a half salute as he got into his car.
Marty walked into her house, shaking her head in disbelief at the way her life had changed in the last year, especially in the last two days.
Wasn’t planning on meeting a man and having feelings like this. It’s crazy, but I’m liking it.
CHAPTER 26
“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” Marty said the next morning, as she and Laura walked out the front doors of their respective homes at the same time.
“Don’t know about you, but I’ll be glad when this is over. It’s been quite fascinating, but Dick called last night wanting to know how much longer it was going to be before the appraisal was completed. He told me my desk was overflowing with work which is exactly what I did not want to hear. At least I’m getting paid while I’m accompanying you and holding up the tape measure. Somehow, I think this is a waste of my intelligence.”
“We’ll finish up today. May be a waste of your intelligence, but you sure were a help when it came to that diamond ring. I’m not sure poor Carl will ever get over that experience. Please don’t do it again. Sometimes your powers scare even me.”
“Don’t think I’ll need to use any more of my powers on the appraisal. I didn’t see anything that looked like it needed my help. Glad you feel we’ll finish up today. Let’s do it.”
It was particularly hot for October. The weatherman had predicted a high temperature of 107 degrees for the day. The heat shimmered on the desert floor as Marty and Laura drove down the hill from High Desert to the Jensen residence.
The antique book appraiser was waiting for them by the gate. Marty rang the buzzer on the gate, and Rosa immediately unlocked it and opened the front door for them. Marty introduced him to Rosa. “I heard you say yesterday you would be able to wrap up the appraisal today. Do you think that’s possible?” Rosa asked.
“Yes, unless something happens that’s totally unforeseen. By the way Rosa, I don’t know the terms of the Will, but I’m wondering what you’re going to do when the house is closed up?”
“I was planning to look for work when you finished the appraisal, but I received a phone call from Mrs. Jensen’s stepdaughter, Amy, this morning. She told me she was going to give some of the money from her share of the estate to her stepbrother, Jim, and his sister Marilyn, and in return they will give her their share of the house and the antiques. She asked me to stay on and work for her. She’s even giving me a raise in salary. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me!
“Amy thought the house should be kept in the family, so she’s going to keep it and not sell it. I’ve met her many times, and I like her. She’s very involved with a lot of charity causes. She’s kind of like Mrs. Jensen in that respect. Mrs. Jensen was a large donor to a number of them. I’m so glad I can stay here, because I love working here.”
“So her stepbrother, Jim, didn’t want the house?�
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“No. She said he was so distraught after hearing about the terms of the Will his mother had drawn up reducing his inheritance to one-fourth instead of the one-half he was expecting, that he’s decided to move out of Palm Springs and go to San Francisco. It’s kind of funny because Amy lives in San Francisco, and she’s going to move to Palm Springs. She told me she’s always wanted to write a book and that as peaceful and quiet as it is here in the desert, she might finally be able to do it.”
“I’m glad for you. Well, enough talking. We need to get started if we’re ever going to finish the appraisal today. Our main focus will be on the living room. Between the Meissen collection and a number of other good pieces of furniture and decorative items, we’ll be there until at least mid-afternoon.”
After the antique book appraiser had finished, Rosa served them lunch in the breakfast nook. It was the time in an appraisal that Marty always loved, the downhill side. They’d finished the Meissen collection and most of the other decorative items in the living room when Marty’s phone rang. Jeff’s name came up on the phone monitor. “Good afternoon. How is your day?” she asked.
“It’s fine, but I’m in a hurry. We’ll talk tonight. I was able to get a search warrant and went to George’s restaurant. The hostess let me into his office. I found the Monkey Band set as well as a .9mm gun…”
Marty interrupted him. “Wasn’t that the type of gun that was used to kill Pam Jensen?”
“Yes, and please don’t interrupt again. Just listen to me. I took the gun to our ballistics lab and told them I had to have a test run on it ASAP to see if it there was a match with the gun involved in the murder. I got the results a few minutes ago. It’s a match. Why I’m calling is this. You told me the other night that Carl, the antique dealer, had been called by someone wanting to know the value of a Monkey Band set. From what you told me, he was unable to get the man’s name. You must have mentioned to Carl that I was the detective working on the case. Anyway, he called me a little while ago and said a man had brought one of the pieces from the Monkey Band set, the conductor, into his shop. The man told Carl he’d inherited the set from his recently deceased mother and wanted to know what it was worth.”
“Did Carl find out who he was?”
“No, but the security camera in the store was able to photograph the man. When Carl called me, I immediately went over and looked at it. I’ve seen a number of photographs of George Ellis, and it was him. Here’s why I’m calling. Carl told George that he would have to do some research on it, and he would get back to him in a few days. George told him he couldn’t wait that long and wanted to know if he could recommend anyone else who could quickly tell him the value of a Monkey Band set. He recommended you.”
“Oh, no! Well, at least he doesn’t know where to find me.”
“Fraid he does, sweetheart. George said he was familiar with your name because he’d talked to Pam’s son, Jim Warren, yesterday, and Jim had mentioned you were the one who was appraising his mother’s estate.”
“Jeff, what does this mean?”
“It means I don’t want Rosa, you, or Laura to open the gate or the front door. I’m on my way over there. You might ask Laura what she thinks.”
“Jeff, Laura wants to tell me something. Just a moment.”
“Tell him he better hurry because George Ellis just pulled into the driveway, and tell him I’m having a vision he has a gun on him,” Laura said.
“I heard that,” Jeff said. “Have Rosa make sure the doors are locked and stand away from the front door and any windows. I’ll be there in a few minutes with backup.”
Rosa checked the remote lock on the front door and the gate and made sure they were locked. The three of them stood on the far side of the living room, Rosa with the remote control for the gate and front door in her hand, ready to open it for Jeff.
They heard the front door open and looked at each other in astonishment. A voice cried out, “Marty Morgan, I want to talk to you. Where are you?” George Ellis burst into the living room with a gun in his hand, just as Laura had predicted. “Which one of you is Marty Morgan?” he yelled.
Marty took a deep breath and stepped forward. “I’m Marty Morgan. Who are you?”
“Rosa knows who I am, don’t you Rosa? That’s probably why I’ll have to kill all three of you just like I killed Pam, but first I want you to tell me how much the Monkey Band is worth, the whole set. Here’s one of the pieces. I put it in my pocket, so you could see what I’m talking about.”
He retrieved the piece and handed it to Marty. She knew how valuable it was and couldn’t believe George was carrying it around in his pocket. “Pam always said the Monkey Band set was the most expensive thing in the house, and a lot of collectors would kill for it. I’ve been on the Internet and found a couple of collectors who very badly want a set like the one Pam owned. Matter of fact one of them lives just a few miles from here in La Quinta. My problem is I don’t know what to ask for it, so tell me what it’s worth and be quick about it. After I take it to this guy in La Quinta and get the money from him, I’m leaving. Probably go to Brazil where there’s no extradition treaty with the U.S. So, how much is it worth?”
“Give me a minute. I need to examine it for nicks to see what condition it’s in,” she said, trying to buy some time until Jeff showed up. She looked over at Laura, who gave her a small wink. Marty didn’t know what it meant, but she assumed Laura knew something that was good.
“Hurry up, I don’t have all day,” George said, waving the gun at her in a threatening manner.
“How did you know I was here?” Marty asked, deliberately stalling.
“I talked to Jim yesterday, and he said you were the one he’d hired to do the appraisal. Talked to an antique dealer earlier today, and he mentioned your name. Seemed like it was kismet, you know, you doing the appraisal here and the antique dealer mentioning that you knew what Meissen things were worth. So, quit stalling and tell me what it’s worth.”
From behind George a voice shouted, “Police! Drop the gun, or I’ll shoot. I’m a crack shot, and it will only take one shot to kill you.”
George’s shoulders sagged and a look of resignation came over his face as he dropped his gun on the floor. “Put your hands up in the air,” Jeff commanded. He turned to where his two men were standing, guns drawn. “Get his gun and handcuff him.” He looked at the three women. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, but I’m shaking so badly I think I better set the Monkey Band conductor down. I’m afraid I’ll drop it” Marty said.
“Rosa, I told Marty to have you make sure the front door and the gate were locked. Why didn’t you lock it?”
“I did. See, I have the remote control right here. I wanted to be able to open it when you came. They were both locked.”
Jeff turned to George. “You knew the security code to get in, didn’t you? But of course you would as close as you were to Pam Jensen.”
“I told her not to use her birthday as the code,” George said. “I told her everyone used their birthday or their pet’s name as their code. She laughed and called me silly. It was easy for me to get in.”
“So you punched in the code for the security system the night of the murder, is that right?”
“It was a piece of cake. Sure I did.”
Without drawing attention to himself Jeff shifted his eye contact to Rosa, and the two of them exchanged looks. Jeff smiled ever so slightly at her. Rosa realized that her not arming the security system the night of the murder had nothing to do with the murder. George knew the code and punched it into the security system, not knowing that it was already unarmed because she hadn’t turned it on. She took a deep breath and felt relief for the first time in several days. At the same time Jeff thought there was no reason to disclose to anyone what Rosa had done. In the long run it hadn’t mattered.
“Jeff,” Marty said, “George admitted he murdered Pam Jensen. The three of us heard him say it.”
“I did not. They’re lyi
ng. I never said anything like that. I just said I knew her security code and came into her house. While I was here I discovered her body. Someone had killed her. I was afraid they’d come back for the Monkey Band set, so I took it with me for safekeeping.”
“George, you better remember that story, so you can tell it to the judge and jury, but between the ballistic matches on your gun, threatening to kill these three ladies, admitting you murdered Pam Jensen, and having a stolen piece of the Monkey Band set on you, I think your version of what happened just isn’t going to fly when you tell your story.”
Jeff turned to the two police officers. “Take him in and book him for murder, attempted murder, and grand theft.” He turned to the women. “In California, grand theft is when anything over $950.00 in value is stolen, and if what I’ve been hearing is true, the Monkey Band will come in way over that.” The two policemen escorted George out of the house while he ranted and raved that he was entitled to an attorney.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Jeff asked them a second time. They nodded. “Well, if you’re certain, I’d like to record a statement from each of you about what took place today. After that you’re free to go.”
Marty said, “I still need to finish up a little more on the appraisal.” “Shouldn’t take me more than an hour. What are you going to do about the Monkey Band set in George’s office?”
“I have one of the officers getting it now. He’s going to take it to the station for safekeeping. It’s too valuable to be left in George’s office. I want you to come to the station tomorrow and appraise it. After all, it is part of the estate. I’ll take the piece George had with him to the station so the set is intact. It’s gone through so much, I’d hate for anything to happen to it now.”
“If you hadn’t shown up when you did, I don’t think any of us would be talking to you, and you’d probably be taking photos of us for the crime lab,” Laura said.
Marty turned to Laura, “You winked at me when George was talking. What was that all about?”
Murder & The Monkey Band: High Desert Cozy Mystery Series Page 11
