by B A Trimmer
“Looks like a nice way to spend the evening,” he said. “From what I can tell, they have a party here every night. Honestly, it’s been a while since I’ve done anything just for fun. Let’s go open the vault. Maybe we can get the jewelry and be back before the party’s over.”
~~~~
We drove down Scottsdale Road and traffic was light. As we passed Lincoln, I saw there was the same dark blue rental car was following us at a distance. When we turned west onto Camelback, the blue sedan turned with us, now about three cars behind.”
“Your friends are back,” I said.
“What friends?” he asked. He seemed to catch on once he turned around.
“They’re a few cars back but they’ve been with us for at least four or five miles. Are you sure you don’t know who they are?”
“No idea. Are you sure they’re following me and not you? I do a lot of business deals and I’m always pissing off someone but I don’t think I’ve pissed off anyone enough to have them follow me around in Arizona.”
“You came into town to look for several million dollars’ worth of jewelry. Who else knows you’d be here and what you’re looking for?”
“Only the lawyers and Elizabeth.”
Again, I picked up something in his voice. Maybe the guys in the car were making him nervous or maybe it was something else. I hate it when a client hides something. It makes my job harder. I hoped whatever he was hiding wouldn’t get me into too much trouble.
It always does.
As we pulled into the empty courtyard of the house, I saw the two guys in the car had pulled off of the road. Apparently, they already knew where we were going and they didn’t want to confront us directly. I hope it stayed that way.
We entered the house and made our way back to the master bedroom. Les hit the light switch and the large room was once again in bright light. I noticed he didn’t hit the sunset program switch and I was surprised when I had a brief pang of regret.
I really need to spend more time with Reno.
We walked to the bookshelf next to the big mirror where Les pulled on the book releasing the door to the vault room. I heard the faint click and the door silently swung open.
As we walked in, I saw one of the two chairs had been overturned, which seemed odd. As far as I knew, Elizabeth was the only other person to go into the room after we had left.
Les sat the list down on the table. I noticed the small Greek statue that had been on the table was now gone.
“There was a statue on the table and now it’s gone,” I said.
“What did it look like?”
“It was about a foot tall and made of white ivory or plastic. It was sitting on a small granite base. It looked like a Greek goddess of some type. Like the one on the bedroom door.”
We both started to think the same thing at the same time.
Damn.
“I hope this doesn’t mean Elizabeth’s already been here,” Les said.
“Well, there’s one way to find out. Let’s open the door.”
Les walked to the vault and tried the handle. It was still locked.
“Tell me,” I said. “If the chest with all the jewelry was in the safe and Elizabeth did get it out, would she tell you she had it, or would she just take off?
“Oh, I’m sure she’d call me,” Les said. “She couldn’t help but gloat. She’d want to rub my face in it.”
“Oh, would I?”
We both turned and saw Elizabeth standing in the doorway leading back to the bedroom.
“Hello Elizabeth,” Les said. “Did you come back to say you have the jewelry?”
“If I had the jewelry why would I be here? I’d have it locked up tight and I’d be calling Christie's auction house to have them start the sale.”
“Have you been here since we left this afternoon?” I asked.
“I took off right after you did. I got back a few minutes ago. I saw your car in the parking lot and came straight to the bedroom. Is that important?”
“Well, if you haven’t been here since this afternoon, how did the chair get knocked over and where did the statue go?” I asked.
Elizabeth took a few seconds to look around. “Well, it wasn’t me. Have you opened the vault yet?”
“We’re about to,” Les said. “The combination is an important date in Granddad’s life. I have a list of several possibilities and have narrowed it down to the most likely three. Since you’re here, you might as well help us.”
Les glanced at the list, went to the vault, and started spinning the combination into the dial. Elizabeth picked up the list and started reading it.
When Les had entered the date of his granddad’s birthday, he tried the lever to open the door. He yanked on it a couple of times, but it was still locked tight. He gave a small sniff of frustration, turning back toward Elizabeth, who was still holding his list.
“It’s this one,” she said, pointing to a date near the bottom of the list. “It’s the one you put stars next to. May 15, 1955, that’s the day he had his patent lawsuit settled. It was in his favor and it meant he was entitled to the millions of dollars that had been sitting in escrow for years.”
“How do you know that’s the right date?” I asked.
“One day, back when I was eight or ten, I was with Granddad while he was opening the vault. As he was dialing the combination, he told me the day he won his lawsuit was the day that changed his life. I’ve always assumed that date was the combination to the vault.”
“So, if you knew, why didn’t you open it sooner? Les asked.
“Well, I would have opened it as soon as you left this afternoon but I didn’t know the exact date. I had to call around to the relatives, the same as you did. You had already talked to most of them first so it took me longer to go through the list. I had to explain to everybody why we were both were calling and asking about dates. I was hoping to get back here and open the vault before you two showed up again. But, since you’re already here, let’s see if my hunch about the lawsuit date opens the door. Besides, the date’s already on your list and I imagine you’re going to try them all anyway. Who knows? Maybe we’ll end up splitting the jewelry after all.”
“I told you at the lawyer’s office that’s what I wanted,” Les said. “Let’s hope it’s in here.”
Les went to the vault door and we called out the numbers five, fifteen, fifty-five, as he spun them into the dial.
When he finished entering the combination, he was about to pull the lever to unlock the vault. Instead, he turned toward Elizabeth, swept his hand, and bent at the waist in a grand bow.
“Would you like to have the honors?” he asked his sister.
“Cross your fingers,” she said.
She pulled down on the lever and it smoothly rotated without a sound.
“OK,” Les said. “Let’s take a look.
He pulled on the handle and the massive door swung open. The accompanying creaking and popping noises showed just how heavy the door was.
We saw the door to the vault opened onto a short and narrow hallway, maybe 20 feet long. Beyond loomed a large dark room. Next to the door was a light switch. When I flipped the switch, both the hallway and the vault beyond lit up so brightly it made me squint.
Again, Les offered to let his sister go in first. She took a deep breath and went in with Les close behind. Elizabeth walked down the hallway and took two steps into the vault room. I then saw her body go rigid.
“Oh my god!” she squeaked out. She didn’t sound excited, it was more as if she was startled or frightened.
Les and I hurried behind her. The vault was bigger than I expected, it was probably twelve feet by fifteen. It was ringed with wooden drawers and shelves covered in red velvet. The first thing I noticed was there was no chest full of jewelry. The second thing I noticed was a man lying face down and motionless on the floor.
Shit.
Four
Elizabeth was still staring down at the body. The shock of the sight cau
sing her to shake uncontrollably.
Les walked over to the man on the floor and bent down. He grabbed him by the shoulder and rolled him over. As he did, we could see that the top of the man’s forehead had a massive and bloody wound. The man was in his mid-forties and big. Even without the blunt force trauma, no one but his mother would have ever accused him of being handsome. He was dressed in a dark blue suit with a white shirt and a red tie. His black shoes looked like Italian leather.
The blood on his face was still partially wet and it looked like he hadn’t been dead for very long, a couple of hours at the most. He had been lying on top of the missing statue from the outer room. Les walked around the body and moved the statue to one side so he could bend down and listen for a heartbeat. I knew there wouldn’t be one, but watching him go through the motions seemed like the right thing to do.
Les pressed his head against the man’s chest for several seconds, followed by pressing his fingers against the man’s neck. He looked up at us and shook his head.
Why is it always me? Why can’t somebody else find the dead body?
“What do we do now?” Les asked.
I sighed deeply, hoping to convey to everyone I wasn’t happy about finding another dead body.
“We need to call the police,” I said. “Don’t touch anything else.”
Les stood up and started to walk out. I looked over at Elizabeth. She was still rigid and shaking. Her eyes hadn’t left the body since she had entered the vault.
“Go on out,” I said to Les. “We’ll be out in a second.”
He didn’t waste any time arguing. He almost ran out of the vault. I was glad he left. Elizabeth was letting all of her emotions come to the surface. Les was seemingly trying to remain above the whole thing, but I could see there was deep fear and maybe even some panic in his eyes. I didn’t want them both to lose it at once.
“Hey,” I said as I walked over to her. “Are you going to be OK?”
She looked up at me, her eyes were red, and tears were sliding down her face. She then reached out her arms to me, like a toddler. I instinctively held out my arms and hugged her. She held me in a tight grip for almost a minute while her body shook. Finally, she started to relax. Her breathing was still fast but she was no longer quite so terrified. She let go and took a step back.
“I’m sorry,” she said, shaking her head and sniffing back the tears. “I’ve never seen a dead person, well, not one like this.”
“I understand,” I said. “It’s not an easy thing to see. Are you ready to go into the other room? It will help not being next to him.”
“Yeah, but give me a second. My whole body’s numb. If I try to walk now, I’ll probably fall over.”
I saw Elizabeth had turned her face away from the body and was taking slow deep breaths. I took the opportunity to look around the vault. Lining the walls were several rows of wooden drawers, their faces exposing only glimpses of their contents. Not wanting to leave any fingerprints, I used a pen from my purse to pull open a few of them. Unfortunately, they were all empty. The red-velvet lined shelves also didn’t have a lot on them. There were two small Greek statues and three vases. There were also several unadorned mannequin busts, similar to those used in high-end jewelry stores to sell their high-end wares. It felt a little creepy having all of the blank faces looking down at the body.
A card was propped up on a small stand, centered on one of the shelves. I walked over to the card, elaborately inscribed with small neat cursive writing.
Congratulations for making it into the vault.
OK, that’s weird.
I didn’t take the time to read the rest of the card. I pulled my phone out of the back pocket of my shorts and quickly snapped four or five pictures of the vault. I made sure to take two good pictures of the card with the writing on it before I helped Elizabeth out of the vault and into the bedroom. Les was sitting on the bed, the same bed where we had been watching the sunset just a few hours before.
“Let’s go out to the front courtyard,” I said. “The police will appreciate it if we don’t touch anything else. And there is the possibility whoever killed the guy is still somewhere in the house.”
At that, Elizabeth’s eyes opened wide with fresh terror and she hurried out the door. Les and I followed close behind. We quickly walked through the house and made it to the courtyard without incident.
Next to the front doors was an ornate wooden bench under a vine-covered ramada. Elizabeth sat on the bench while Les stood next her. I pulled out my cell phone and called in the murder.
“The police will be here in a few minutes,” I said, starting a speech I had made so many times I knew it by heart.
“I know we just found a murder victim and that’s terrible enough. But, now we’ll need to go through the formal police process and that’s almost as bad. Realize from the start that this will take most of the night. Try not to get upset. The police don’t arrive all at once. Different people will come and go throughout the night. Whenever a new detective or technician shows up they’ll want to ask us the same questions over and over again. They’ll want to talk to us separately so what one person says doesn’t influence the others. Some of the questions may sound harsh or accusatory but that’s only to see how you’ll react. Try not to get angry or defensive with them. Always remember this is what they do for a living and it’s nothing personal. Also, remember that some of the detectives have already worked a day shift and we’ve prevented them from getting any sleep tonight. Answer whatever they ask you as truthfully and completely as you can. I know this will sound stupid but if there’s something you feel could put you in a bad light, tell them right away. If you answer completely the first time they ask a question, you won’t have to change your answer or keep adding to it whenever they ask it again. It will make their jobs easier and it will show you are cooperating. They’ll also ask a lot of questions that have nothing at all to do with the murder. They may even ask random personal questions designed to upset you or to see how you react, but that’s the way they do this. If they ask you something that you really don’t want to answer, tell them you would like to discuss your answer with council first. Then we’ll call in Lenny.”
“Lenny also handles criminal matters?” Les asked.
“Yes,” I said, “but remember innocent people typically don’t have anything to hide. Get everything out right away. The Will, the jewelry, the treasure hunt, any personal issues or history between you two, everything.”
As I spoke, I saw Elizabeth was nodding with understanding. She had stopped crying and she seemed to be finding her equilibrium. Les was staring into the courtyard as if in deep thought. Within three minutes, the first patrol car pulled in to the courtyard.
I was halfway expecting my friend Chugger McIntyre to step out of the car but since we were over the city line and into Phoenix, it was an officer I didn’t know. I told him there was a body in the upstairs vault. He collected an ID from each of us and told us to wait where we were.
While he was talking to us, the second patrol car had arrived. Again, I didn’t know the patrol officer but she said she’d watch over Les and Elizabeth while I showed the first officer the location of victim.
I went in with the patrolman and led him up to the bedroom. As we went through the hallways and up the stairs both of us were keeping a sharp eye out. He was looking for signs that the murderer was still on the premises. I was looking for signs of a chest full of treasure.
We went into the master bedroom and I showed him the vault. I stood outside in the small room with the vault door. Why the chair had been knocked over was still a mystery but the statue could now be accounted for. I didn’t see anything else amiss.
After the officer verified that the dead guy really was dead, he led me back down to the courtyard. The officer then went back into the house, presumably to search for additional victims and to begin the process of securing the scene.
The officer in the courtyard started off the formal process by g
iving each of us a clipboard with several standard forms on it. I sat next to Elizabeth on the bench and we started writing. Les used the hood of a patrol car as a writing desk as he began to fill out the forms.
I filled out the first form then looked over at Elizabeth. She seemed OK for the moment but I could hear that her breathing was still very fast. Her hands shook as she wrote.
It made me think back to the first dead body I had found. That was almost three years ago. I was with Gina while we were working on one of my first cheating spouse assignments. Unfortunately, in that assignment the husband had ultimately decided killing his wife would be quicker than a divorce. After Gina called in the murder, she sat me down, and gave me the talk about what to do when the police showed up for a murder investigation. Since Gina had spent several years as a detective in the Scottsdale police department, she knew the drill. I’ve used the same speech for others several times since then, including tonight with Elizabeth and Les.
“We’ll spend most of the night going through this,” I said to Elizabeth. “I’ll be here the whole time. If it ever starts to overwhelm you, let me know and I’ll talk to them. Like I said, this is routine to them and sometimes they don’t see what it’s doing to the witnesses.”
Elizabeth nodded her head and we continued filling out our forms.
~~~~
Over the next five hours, there was a stream of patrol cars, unmarked detective’s cars, supervisor’s cars, and the forensics van. The Maricopa County Coroner showed up about midnight but had to wait another hour before forensics released the body. Since the house was so big, the detectives had called in more help to go over the property. It looked like they were going to be at it for some time.
The detectives were efficient, but they didn’t let us go until almost two-thirty in the morning. They asked us to keep them apprised of our movements in case they had additional questions. So far, they didn’t seem to look at us as anything but the unfortunate witnesses who had found the body. I took that as a good sign.
