by Cindy Bell
“Technically, it's not your property.” Samantha looked over towards the voice and saw Walt standing a few feet from them. “No one owns their homes here. They all belong to Sage Gardens. So, you can't really claim it as your property.”
“Oh, stay out of it, Walt.” Tommy waved his hand in Walt's direction and then stalked off into his villa.
Samantha shrugged Eddy's hand off her shoulder. “Why did you let him talk to you that way?” she asked more out of confusion than anger.
“Listen, Samantha it's not going to do anybody any good if Tommy and I come to blows, now is it?” Eddy shook his head. He looked towards the window of Tommy's villa just in time to see him snap the shade shut. “He certainly is acting suspicious. He seems so angry with us, he’s never spoken to me that way before. Maybe he is just upset by the murder, but I think our first step should be to look into where he was last night.”
“First step?” Walt looked interested. “What have I missed? Are you looking into Joel's death?”
“I think we should.” Samantha glared in the direction of Tommy's villa. “If only to make sure Tommy doesn't get away with it.”
“So, you think Tommy is good for it?” Walt asked. “That's a pretty big accusation.”
Samantha crossed her arms. “The last time I played cards with the Westons they had a problem with Tommy. He didn't like the way they had parked their car, and claimed it was blocking his view of the water. So, he pounded on the door until Joel came out. They squabbled a bit and then Joel just did what he asked. Apparently, that wasn't the first issue that they've had with him. It appears that Tommy is not the nicest neighbor around.”
“Maybe not, but that doesn't make him a murderer.” Eddy frowned. “Still, he does seem very unaffected by the whole thing.”
“We should check and see if his alibi holds water,” Walt suggested. “Can you get any information out of the officers, Eddy?”
“I can try,” Eddy said. Samantha and Walt lingered near the street as Eddy walked back towards the crime scene.
“What can you tell me about the neighbor?” Eddy asked. The young officer continued to roll up the yellow tape.
“Nothing.”
“Oh really? Not even his alibi?” Eddy's tone became harder. “Do you think you could just let me know where he was claiming to be last night?”
“You could ask him.” The officer finished rolling up the tape. “I'm not going to get in trouble over this.”
“You don't have to worry about that. I'm just asking a question.” Eddy met his eyes. “It's not going to do any harm to let me know where he was.”
The officer frowned. He looked as if he really didn't want to share the information. Eddy raised an eyebrow.
“At the movies, okay? That's all I can tell you.” He turned and walked away from Eddy with swift strides. Eddy watched him for a moment. He was a little sketchy in Eddy's opinion. It was one thing to willingly share information, and another to flat out refuse to give it. The officer that Eddy had just spoken to did neither of those things. Instead, he allowed his mind to be swayed by Eddy. That could be dangerous when wearing a uniform. As Eddy walked back towards Walt and Samantha his mind pushed and pulled at Tommy's alibi.
Samantha watched Eddy interact with the young officer. She could see that he was trying to intimidate the officer with the way he straightened his shoulders and leaned close. She had seen him do this a few times before. Walt's voice drew her from her observations.
“What do you think, Samantha?” Walt asked.
“I'm not sure. Joel always seemed like a nice guy to me. He and his wife certainly never had trouble with money.” She looked over at Anna again. “Poor Anna. I don't know how she's going to handle all of this.”
“It must be difficult when you prefer to be part of a couple. My wife and I always had our own space during our marriage. I've never really enjoyed living with other people.” He straightened the lapel of his suit jacket.
Samantha glanced over at him quizzically. “That's not surprising.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Walt asked.
“I just mean that you seem very particular so it would be difficult for you to tolerate someone always moving things around and getting things dirty.” She shook her head. “I can't see you enjoying that.”
“Well, I do have my ways.” Walt frowned. “Maybe I'm a little too set in them. Once in a while I wonder what it would be like to shake things up a bit.”
“Really?” Samantha looked at him with genuine surprise. Before she could ask him more about that, Eddy interrupted their conversation.
“So, it turns out that Tommy's alibi is that he was at the movies. That's a pretty thin alibi. Even if he actually went to the movies, he could have slipped out once it started.”
“Hmm, I don't know.” Walt tapped his chin lightly. “The movie theater is at least thirty minutes away. By the time he slipped out of the theater, and drove back here, committed the murder, and then drove back, the movie would have likely been over. That would be a tight schedule to keep.”
“That doesn't even take traffic into account.” Samantha seemed to be doing calculations in her mind. “It would add at least ten minutes on to travel time if there was traffic. Maybe we could question someone at the theater to see if they can confirm Tommy's presence there last night.”
“We could,” Eddy agreed. “But I'm not sure they would remember. Hundreds of people go in and out of that movie theater every day.”
“It's worth a shot.” Samantha glanced over her shoulder at Tommy's house. “I doubt he's going to be willing to tell us whether he has a ticket stub or not.”
“I can check,” Walt offered with a slight smile. “I'd like to get a glimpse of the inside of his villa anyway.”
“Good idea.” Eddy nodded. “He's going to bristle at Samantha or me asking questions.”
Samantha looked over at Anna. She clutched the blanket tightly around her shoulders. She certainly looked traumatized to Samantha, but what struck her was the lack of tears. She knew that sometimes the sight of something tragic could be so shocking that a person was rendered emotionless, but she still wondered.
“I'm going to go speak to Anna.”
“Are you sure?” Eddy asked. “She might be a little too raw right now.”
“Let her go,” Walt advised. “If anyone can handle a delicate situation, it's Sam.”
“Thanks, Walt.” Samantha smiled briefly at him. Eddy scowled as if he might have more to say, but he kept it to himself. Samantha walked towards Anna who was still near the ambulance. It appeared that the medics had cleared her, however she still seemed shaken.
“Anna.” Samantha reached a hand out to her. “I'm so sorry for your loss.” Anna stared at her for a moment, as if she didn't quite recognize her, then slowly it registered in her expression.
“Thank you, Samantha,” she spoke quietly, but her voice did not tremble. Samantha took Anna's hand in her own. She noticed that the woman's hands were not shaking, but they were a little sweaty. In her years of trying to gather as much information as possible she had learned a trick or two to know whether someone was telling the truth or not. Sweaty hands almost always indicated deceit. However, in this situation they didn't really reveal much. With the stress of what Anna had seen, and the sudden loss of her husband there could have been numerous reasons for her sweaty palms.
“Is there anything you need? Anyone I can call for you?” Samantha offered.
“No, I don't need anything.” Anna pressed a balled up tissue against her nose.
“I'm sorry again, Anna. I hope you know that I'm here to help if you need it.” Samantha gave her hand a slight squeeze, then let go of it.
“Thank you, Samantha. I don't even know what to think right now. I went to bed last night happy, and woke up this morning a widow. It's such a hard thing to wrap my head around.” She sighed. “Joel is gone.”
Her words sounded mournful, but her expression was still rather indifferent.
Samantha noticed that Anna didn't even cringe when she spoke of her husband being dead, or her being a widow.
“Do you have any idea who might have done this?” Samantha asked. Anna looked over at her with narrowed eyes.
“Of course not. How would I know? Joel barely spoke to me anymore. I didn't know what he was doing when I wasn't home, and I didn't care to. We had let things get pretty distant between us.” She tightened the blanket around her shoulders. “I guess that makes this easier.”
Samantha nodded. She wasn't sure how it could make anything easier, but she wasn't going to argue with Anna. “Are you sure there isn't someone I could call? One of your children maybe?”
“We didn't have any. I had a son with my first husband, but he has nothing to do with me. Joel and I never wanted to have kids.” She pressed her lips together briefly as if trying to suppress a rising emotion. “I guess that was for the best.”
Samantha couldn't imagine love becoming so unemotional. But then she had witnessed plenty of marriages that didn't involve love. Sometimes marriage just seemed like the right thing to do at the time, or perhaps it was a matter of settling. Her own marriage, though very brief, had been passionate and overwhelming. She still thought about her ex-husband at times, even though it had been so many years. She couldn't imagine feeling nothing at all for him.
“Anna, if you think of any way that I can help, please feel free to call me.” Samantha looked into the woman's eyes. “No one should be alone at a time like this.”
“Maybe not.” Anna looked solemnly towards the house. “But that's where I am. Thanks Samantha, but I have some things to take care of now.”
“Of course.” Samantha watched as Anna trudged slowly back towards the house.
Chapter 3
Eddy continued to observe the police officers and their processing of the crime scene as Walt walked up to Tommy's villa. He knocked on the door with three firm knocks. It was the same knock he had been using for many years. He felt it got the job done well, with getting the attention of the person inside, making it clear that it was important, and that he was not going to go away. After a moment the door jerked open. Tommy stuck his face out with a grim frown. “What do you want?”
“I just wanted to ask you a quick question.” Walt studied the man intently. He immediately noticed how uneven his hair was cut. It was short, but it was not cut to one length. To Walt it looked more like someone had taken a lawnmower to the man's head.
“Why would I answer any question from you?” Tommy glowered at him.
“Oh, it's not about all of that.” Walt waved his hand dismissively in the direction of the crime scene. “I saw you last night at the movie theater. I have this deal with a friend of mine that if I have more movie ticket stubs than him, he has to pay for dinner the next time our film club gets together. Now, I know that I'll have more than him, or rather I would have if I hadn't thrown out my ticket stub accidentally with my popcorn. I was wondering if you had yours? I could even give you a dollar or two for it.” Walt began to reach into his pocket for his wallet.
“You didn't see me last night,” Tommy's voice was gruff.
“Weren't you at the movies?” Walt feigned innocence. “Maybe I had you mixed up with someone else?”
“I was at the movies. But you didn't see me.” Tommy glared at him.
“Okay, if you say so. Either way, do you happen to have your ticket stub?” Walt smiled.
“No, I don't. I threw it out. No one keeps those except for teenage girls and weirdos. Is that what you are? A weirdo?” Tommy raised an eyebrow and offered a menacing expression. Walt was more than a little intimidated. He wasn't expecting Tommy to be so aggressive. His anxiety began rising very quickly.
“No, I am not that at all. I just asked a simple question.” Walt cleared his throat. “I'm not sure where you've learned your manners from, but you are quite rude.”
“I've had a rough morning.” Tommy forced a smile and then snapped the door closed. Walt was a little dazed by Tommy's abruptness. He didn't often attempt to socialize with others, as he preferred a book to company most of the time. As he walked back towards Eddy he felt as if he had just had that habit reinforced. Samantha was walking back towards Eddy at the same time. Eddy noticed her troubled expression.
“Are you okay?” Eddy studied her.
“I just think it's so sad.” Samantha shook her head. No matter how many stories she had worked on in the past she had never mastered the ability to be emotionally distant from the tragedies and crimes she learned about. “She doesn't even seem like she is going to miss him.”
Eddy raised an eyebrow. “Trust me, my ex-wife wouldn't have missed me.”
Samantha looked at him with some sympathy. “That must hurt.”
“Not at all. I wouldn't miss her either.” Eddy chuckled. “Some people are better off having never known each other. Don't you think? Your marriage wasn't exactly stellar either, was it?” He looked at her curiously.
Samantha narrowed her eyes. “No, I guess it wasn’t, but I would absolutely miss my ex-husband if he were to die. I would even attend his funeral if someone thought to inform me.”
“That's very tender of you, Sam.” Walt smiled warmly at her.
“Just because things didn't work out doesn't mean that I stopped loving him.” Samantha glanced wistfully away, but then pulled her thoughts back to the moment. “But that has nothing to do with any of this. We need to be focused on this crime, because I have a feeling it's not going to be very simple to solve. At this time I'm not even willing to rule out Anna as a suspect.”
“Good point. How could she have slept through her husband being killed in that way? I'm not buying it.” Eddy looked sternly in the direction of the house.
“Really? You think Anna is a suspect?” Walt looked between them incredulously. “Did either of you notice her size?”
“She is quite petite.” Samantha considered the difference in Joel's size and Anna's. “But Joel wasn't a big man either. Besides, he was hit from behind. Anyone can overpower someone if they're not expecting an attack.”
“That's true,” Eddy agreed. “She doesn't exactly have an alibi for the time of the murder. Still, what motivation could she have had for killing him?”
“Money, it's always money,” Walt stated with conviction.
“Not always.” Samantha looked back towards the villa. “Sometimes it can be about passion.”
“Wait just a minute. Don't you think if Anna had been the one to strike him that hard, she would have gotten blood on her face, clothing, even her hair?” Walt shuddered at the thought. “Do you really think she could have hidden all of that?”
Eddy's eyes grew wide.
“What is it?” Samantha asked when she noticed his expression.
“Tommy had a haircut.” Eddy stared at Tommy's villa. “A very short haircut.”
“You're right,” Samantha replied slowly. “If he was the one who attacked Joel, maybe he panicked and got his hair cut to hide the evidence.”
“Wouldn't a barber notice that though?” Eddy queried.
“A barber didn't cut that man's hair.” Walt pursed his lips. “I've never seen a more uneven haircut. I am pretty sure that he did that to himself.”
“That makes more sense.” Samantha noticed a few of the officers leaving Joel's villa. One carried an evidence bag. “I wonder what evidence they found. Hopefully there's something that will point to the killer.”
“Maybe,” Eddy said hesitantly. “Since Joel was hit from behind, it's possible that the killer never even touched him, but they will probably be able to get some evidence from the murder weapon.”
“Let's hope that Joel didn't see it coming, and that he passed quickly.” Samantha shuddered at the thought of the murder.
“We can hope,” Eddy replied, though his voice contained a little less sympathy.
“We need to think this through.” Walt frowned. “All of this guessing isn't going to get us anywhere.”
&
nbsp; “Let's go sit for a minute.” Samantha gestured to the picnic table not far off. “We can still see anything that Tommy or the investigators are up to.”
Samantha led Walt and Eddy over to the picnic table. When she reached it, she sat down and turned to face the villa. What she saw made her freeze for a moment.
“Samantha, did you hear what I said?” Walt asked. “Samantha?”
Samantha stared right into the side window of Joel's villa. “There is a perfect view of the window from here.”
“What window?” Eddy leaned his head close to hers in an attempt to see what she was seeing.
“Can you see what I see?” Samantha asked. “I can see straight into Joel’s villa. I am looking straight at the mantle where there is a candlestick. I bet it’s the other part of the pair that was used as the murder weapon.” Samantha cringed at the thought.
Eddy tilted his head a little more. “I see it now. So, the killer might have sat here and been able to plan what he would use as a murder weapon.”
“If he was sitting right in that exact spot.” Walt followed the same path with his gaze. “All I see are bushes.”
“Maybe he left something behind while he was watching?” Samantha asked with excitement. She stood up from the bench and peered underneath and beside the bench. All she saw was trampled grass and a few strange tracks in the dirt next to the bench.
“Anything?” Eddy asked.
“I don't think so.” Samantha shook her head. “I don't know what I was expecting to find anyway. It's pretty clear that whoever sat here could see what was happening inside of Joel's house, but that doesn't mean that the person who killed him sat here.”
“I don't know, it would be a pretty good lookout spot.” Eddy peered in both directions along the side walk. “There's not much traffic around here, car or foot.”
“Good point.” Walt looked up suddenly. “Look who's coming.” He smiled.
Jo slowly made her way up the hill towards the group. She looked immaculate as always with her long, black hair flowing over her shoulders. Her slender body seemed to effortlessly glide towards them. She eyed the three of them with suspicion.
