EQMM, September-October 2009

by Dell Magazine Authors

  I had been searching the Internet, and so far no details had been reported on any of the Boston newspapers’ Web sites, and neither was there anything of interest on the police radio frequencies that I was scanning. I told her Julius would be in touch sometime the next day and hung up. I filled Julius in quickly. He was in the process of changing into one of his dining suits. After slipping on a pair of Italian calfskin loafers, he hurried down the stairs and to the front door. He asked me whether I was able to detect any police car radios broadcasting in the area, and I told him there weren't any and that nothing was showing on the outdoor Web cam feed. Still, he opened the front door only enough so he could peer out of it. Satisfied that the police weren't lying in wait for him, he stepped outside and hurried down the street, his pace nearly a run. Once he was two blocks away from his townhouse, he slowed.

  "Do you want me to call the brother?” I asked. “Maybe see if you can get an early read on him?"

  "Not now, Archie. I'm sure he's with the police presently, and it would be best to wait until tomorrow to call him."

  I remained silent while Julius briskly walked the five blocks down Pinckney Street to Charles Street. After hearing about Norma Brewer's murder I started building simulations that modeled different scenarios that would explain Julius's behavior since accepting the case. There was one scenario that stood out as having the highest probability. I asked him about it. Whether he was lying low waiting for the brother to kill Norma Brewer, knowing that if that were to happen it would make it easy for him to earn his fee, since all he'd have to do is wait for the police to arrest the brother and then have the courts vacate his guardianship.

  "Are you asking whether I expected Lawrence Brewer to murder my client?"

  "Yes, that's what I'm asking."

  "No, that's not what I was expecting.” A young couple were passing us on the sidewalk, and Julius took out his cell phone so he wouldn't appear to be an insane person talking to himself. Somewhat amused, Julius asked, “Archie, what would be Lawrence Brewer's purpose in doing that?"

  "Because she engaged you. Maybe he was afraid you'd find some leverage that you'd be able to use against him. Maybe he thought if his sister were out of the way, you'd be also."

  "It's possible, Archie, but he'd have to be a dolt to think that. Then again, the way he was acting at the dog track, as well as his behavior regarding his mother's well-being, he could very well be a dolt."

  "So you think he murdered his sister?"

  Julius made a face. “It's a possibility, Archie. But it's just one of many and there's no point engaging in idle speculation now. The next few days are going to be hectic enough and this could be my last decent meal before this matter has been put to bed. So please, Archie, no more discussion of this, at least not tonight."

  I wanted to ask him the obvious question, which was, if he hadn't been waiting for Lawrence Brewer to murder his sister, then what had he been waiting for? What stopped me was detecting a hint of a threat in his voice that if I continued this line of conversation he would turn me off. That would be twice in three days, and I didn't want to set that type of precedent. I remained quiet while he walked to Le Che Cruand took a seat at the bar. The maitre d’ came over with a complimentary bottle of a Chardonnay that he knew Julius favored, and apologized profusely that he wasn't able to arrange for an earlier table for his favorite patron. Before leaving, he told Julius that he would have an order of seared sweetbreads in chestnut flour brought over immediately, on the house, of course. Julius graciously accepted all this. The sweetbreads were brought over within minutes and, while Julius was having his second glass of wine, a Detective Mark Cramer from the Cambridge Police Department called. I connected the call to Julius's earpiece so he could listen in. Rather gruffly, the detective asked to speak to Julius.

  "I'm afraid Mr. Katz isn't available,” I said.

  "Yeah, well, get him available!"

  "I would if I had any idea where he is, but I don't, so I can't."

  The detective used some choice invective on his end of the line, ending with the phrase “son of a bitch."

  "Is that all, Detective?” I asked, to Julius's obvious amusement.

  "No, that's not all,” he said, his voice growing more exasperated. “Your boss is a material witness in a murder case—"

  "There's been a murder?"

  "Shut up,” he ordered, his exasperation growing. “I know damn well you called the victim's sister within the hour, just as I know your boss is probably with you right now getting a good laugh over all this. The Boston PD filled me in on what to expect, so don't think you're fooling anyone with this, okay? You better just tell Katz to come in to Central Square station within the next fifteen minutes or I'll be getting a bench warrant for his arrest. Ask him how he'd like a few days in lockup for contempt of court!"

  Detective Cramer hung up on me. Julius shook his head, a thin wisp of a smile showing. “The man's a fool,” he said.

  "Dolts and fools, huh?"

  "Precisely, Archie. That's what you've gotten me mired in.” He took a sip of his wine and sighed heavily. “They probably have a squad car waiting in front of my townhouse."

  "Probably a fleet of them."

  Julius was going to say something else, but instead another long, heavy sigh escaped from him. He sat almost comatose for several minutes, not moving as much as a muscle, not even blinking. When he finally came out of it he appeared relaxed. Shortly afterward he started chatting with two women sitting nearby. One of them was a redhead with a smooth, cream-colored complexion who gave her name as Lily Rosten. She closely resembled the actress Lauren Ambrose. The other woman gave her name as Sarah Chase. She was a brunette and I was able to match her physical characteristics to actresses who were considered extraordinarily beautiful according to online surveys. Both women, according to their DMV records, were twenty-nine. While Julius was charming and polite with both of them, his attention was primarily focused on Lily, which surprised me since I had rated Sarah as the more attractive of the two. When Julius's table became available, he invited them to join him for dinner. They both accepted, but Lily indicated that she needed to use the ladies’ room and dragged her friend with her. When they returned, Sarah Chase reluctantly informed Julius that something had come up and she wouldn't be able to join them. Julius didn't seem to mind, and neither did Lily.

  Dinner was a long, leisurely three-hour affair, and Julius was in rare form; maybe somewhat subdued at times, but even more charming than usual. It was an odd effect the way Lily's eyes appeared to glisten when she laughed, and even when she simply smiled. I also noted how they maintained eye contact almost continuously. When dinner ended, Lily announced to Julius that she lived in the Back Bay section of Boston off Marlborough Street, and Julius suggested that they take advantage of the pleasant weather, and that he walk her back to her apartment instead of calling a cab. I had already looked up her address and mapped it out to seven-tenths of a mile distant from where we were. Earlier, when I had tried filling Julius in on what I was able to find out about her—the amount in her bank account, the fact that she was single and never married, where she grew up and went to college, as well as her present job as an administrator for a local nonprofit organization—he stopped me with a hand signal.

  Just as dinner had been leisurely, so was their walk to her apartment building, maybe even more so. Somewhere along the way, they started holding hands. When they reached her address, they were still holding hands. I recognized the pattern—the way she looked at him and blushed and how Julius responded. It was clear that she was going to invite Julius for the night, and this would allow him to bypass the police, which I figured was what he'd been after all along. I was astounded when he gave her a quick and somewhat chaste kiss on the mouth and told her he'd like to call her in a few days. She looked equally astounded for a few seconds, but smiled and blushed even brighter than before and told Julius she would like that. Julius stood on the sidewalk and watched as she disappeared inside t
he building's vestibule. Only then did he turn back towards Beacon Hill and his townhouse.

  As I said, I was astounded. His actions didn't make sense. They didn't fit his past patterns.

  "I don't get it,” I said.

  "What, Archie?"

  "Why didn't you go up to her apartment with her?"

  He didn't answer me.

  "Wasn't that the point?” I asked. “So that you could elude the police until morning?"

  He shrugged. “If that were the case, couldn't I simply check into a hotel for the night?"

  "You could, but the police might have a watch on your credit cards."

  "That's true,” he acknowledged. “Very true, Archie. It would be best for you to call Henry and have him waiting for us at the townhouse."

  Henry Zack was Julius's attorney, and Julius had him on twenty-four hour call for just such emergencies. I knew Henry would moan about the late hour, which he did when I reached him, but he understood the emergency of the situation and agreed to meet Julius. I filled Julius in, and asked him again about Lily.

  "I don't get it,” I said. “She's extraordinarily attractive, and it was clear from her behavior that she wanted you to join her. It was equally clear from yours that you wanted to, and you had your additional motive. This is a departure from your normal behavior patterns. An anomaly. It doesn't fit."

  He remained silent as he continued along Beacon Street. After several blocks an odd, almost melancholy smile showed.

  "There's still a lot for you to learn, Archie,” he said softly.

  That was all he was going to say on the matter. Along with Norma Brewer's murder, I now had another mystery to solve.

  * * * *

  It wasn't exactly a fleet of police cars waiting at Julius's townhouse, but there were more than I would've expected. Three in total, with a small congregation of officers milling around by the front door. Henry Zack was among them, and he was red-faced as he talked on his cell phone, his eyes bulging slightly. I spotted all this when we were two blocks away by tying in to the outdoor Web cam feed that covered the front exterior of Julius's townhouse. I reported all this to Julius, and his lips compressed into a grim expression. He asked me to get Henry on the line.

  I heard the unmistakable call-waiting tone as Henry put his other call on hold to take mine, and then I patched Julius in. “This is outrageous, Julius,” he said, his voice rising. “They have absolutely no grounds to hold you as a material witness, and I'm on the phone now with the chief clerk of the district court to have their warrant vacated. If they arrest you I'll be suing the hell out of them—both the police department and each of the officers personally. Start looking for that retirement villa in Florence that you're always talking about!"

  Henry's rant was more for the officers’ benefit than Julius's. Julius informed him that he was three minutes away, and asked if it was safe for him to appear.

  "It's safe. It will be as good as winning the lottery if they so much as put a hand on you."

  Julius signaled for me to disconnect the call, and his pace accelerated as his expression grew grimmer. Within three minutes, as he had promised Henry, he approached his building and bedlam broke out. Henry was on the lookout for Julius and so he spotted him first. He attempted to distract the cops by bellowing more threats at them. It wasn't until Julius was halfway up the path to his front door that the first cop noticed him, and then they swarmed toward him with Henry Zack in pursuit. A plainclothes detective with a large ruddy face and wearing a cheap, badly wrinkled suit reached Julius first. Having already accessed his departmental records, I informed Julius that this was Detective Mark Cramer. Cramer tried to shove a court warrant into Julius's hands.

  "My lawyer is standing right behind you, Detective Cramer,” Julius said. “Anything you have for me you should give to him."

  Cramer seemed taken aback that Julius knew who he was and reluctantly handed the warrant to Henry Zack, then turned back to Julius. According to Cramer's records he was fifty-four, six foot two, and two hundred and twenty pounds. He appeared heavier than that, my estimate being closer to two hundred and forty-six pounds. He also had less hair than the photo in his file. He appeared both tired and cranky, and he tried to give Julius a hard, intimidating stare.

  "You're under arrest for obstruction of justice,” Cramer said.

  "Nonsense."

  That brought a wicked grin to Cramer's lips. “Is that so? I have a court warrant that says otherwise, smart guy."

  "I couldn't care less,” Julius said. “This isn't a police state. You have no justification for this harassment—"

  "No justification?” Cramer sputtered, almost choking on his words. He lifted a thick index finger as if he were going to poke Julius in the chest with it, which would've been a mistake unless he wanted to be wearing a cast on his hand for the next two months. Somehow he controlled himself.

  "Norma Brewer, who was a client of yours, was murdered this afternoon. So far you've refused to cooperate with an ongoing police investigation and, as far as I'm concerned, you have been withholding evidence dealing with the crime."

  "That is utter rubbish,” Julius said. “I have no knowledge of Miss Brewer's murder other than what was reported on the six o'clock news and you have no legitimate reason to think otherwise. I spent the evening at Le Che Cru entertaining a date, and am just arriving home now. Until my assistant tracked me down a short while ago, I had no idea you or any other police official wished to talk to me."

  Cramer was beside himself. “No idea, huh?” He jerked a thumb towards Henry Zack. “That's why you dragged your lawyer down here at this hour. I've heard all about you, Katz, and I'm not about to put up with your nonsense!"

  Henry started to object, but Julius put up a hand to stop him.

  "Once Archie tracked me down and relayed your message, I decided to take the proper precautions.” Julius smiled thinly at the detective. “Now this is very simple. If you arrest me, you won't get a single word out of me. Not now, not ever. I can't reward your belligerence by inviting you into my home, but this was a client of mine who was murdered. If you remove your mob scene from my door and agree to act in a civil fashion, I will give you two minutes of my time. And sir, that is the best you will get from me tonight."

  "Of all the unmitigated gall! Katz, if you think you're calling the shots here—"

  "Sir, that is exactly what I think.” Julius's voice was soft, but it cut through Cramer's all the same. I knew Julius well enough to know the anger that that softness masked. “I am an expert poker player and know a bluff when I see one. Your puerile attempts to bully me show that you're stumped, and further, that you have no expectation of that changing. If you want my help, it will be on my terms."

  I could tell Cramer wanted nothing more than to cuff Julius and drag him into a police cruiser. He wanted to do that—that much was evident, but the steam had already gone out of him. Almost embarrassed, he turned to the other officers and asked them to step back to the curb. Once they did this, Julius addressed Cramer, telling him he had some questions for him. Cramer's face went from cherry red to bone white, but he nodded and told Julius to go ahead.

  "I am assuming you have already talked with the sister, Helen Arden, and know what I was hired for. Have you talked yet to the brother?"

  "Not yet. He's agreed to come in tomorrow morning for questioning."

  "If you don't end up arresting him, escort him here afterwards."

  "I can't do that against his wishes."

  "He'll agree. I'll be calling him before then. Tell me about the murder."

  "She was hit on the back of the head and knocked unconscious,” Cramer said, his voice resigned but at the same time indicating how much he hated giving Julius this information. “After that she was strangled. Whoever did this wore cloth gloves. There was no sign of forced entry. So far, that's all we've got."

  "What was she hit with?"

  "A polished agate stone that was probably kept as a paperweight. About the size of
a softball."

  "Could this have been a robbery turned murder?"

  "Not likely. We had the sister walk through the house and she didn't see anything obvious that was missing."

  Julius offered Cramer a grim smile. “As I mentioned before, I have no knowledge of this murder, at least nothing beyond what you already have. I do have suggestions, though. Miss Brewer mentioned a business she sold several years ago. I would strongly suggest you look into that to see if there were any hard feelings concerning the sale. Another avenue of investigation involves Miss Brewer's brother-in-law, a Mr. Thomas Arden. I was told that he abandoned his family twelve years ago. It's possible he's back in the picture. That should be looked into too. That is all the help I can offer at this time."

  Cramer nodded, reluctantly accepting this. After he walked away, Henry Zack chuckled softly, and noted, “If nothing else, Julius, I can always count on you for an eventful evening.” Julius somberly bid him goodnight.

  Once inside the house, Julius asked me to order a dozen roses for Lily Rosten and arrange for them to be delivered so that they'd be waiting for her when she arrived at work the next morning. “Have them add a note that I'll be calling her soon,” he added.

  I did as he asked, placing the order through a twenty-four hour florist that Julius had used in the past. “You don't believe Norma Brewer's murder had anything to do with the sale of her business?” I asked.

  Julius thought about this before shaking his head. “Not exactly, Archie, but it's something to look into, and the police, with all their manpower and resources, are better equipped to do so than I. Besides, a general rule to follow is the more clutter that can be eliminated, the clearer the picture will become."

  From the moment Julius suggested to Detective Cramer that he investigate Thomas Arden, I began building a dossier on the elusive brother-in-law. I filled Julius in on the salient points. That Arden graduated with a degree in finance from Haverford College in 1983, married Helen Brewer shortly after graduation, later earned an M.B.A. from Harvard, and was working as the chief financial officer for what was at the time a small computer start-up company when he appeared to vanish from the face of the planet on August 7th, 1997. There was not a single trace of Thomas Arden after that date, at least not in any of the databases I was able to access.