Murder, Mayhem and Bliss

by Loulou Harrington

  “But nobody,” Leo added, “saw anybody in the last week. They only saw Ginny Spurber a couple of times, and they didn’t see anyone else go in or out of her apartment.”

  “When he comes back from fishing and starts answering his phone again, I’ll get Arnie to take another look at Ginny Spurber’s suicide. But at the moment, it would appear this one’s not going to go anywhere.” Joe glanced around the room, making contact with all eyes. “Anything else?”

  “We’ve got a mess of footprint casts from the back trail into the pool area,” Frank Haney said. “And one or two sets have something like a walking stick or cane keeping pace with them.”

  “If a shovel or hoe, or say maybe a rake, were turned upside down with the rounded end of the handle used as a staff, would that look pretty much the same way?” the sheriff asked.

  Frank ducked his head and grinned sheepishly. “Guess I’ll have to go back out there and check that one out. Wasn’t thinking about that garden shed back there.”

  “How about Bill Marshall? Have you had a chance to talk to him yet?”

  Drawing himself up and apparently feeling more confident again, Frank nodded. “Caught them on the way to church this morning. His wife was positive he was home all night Friday night. And he swears that his bitterness over the partnership breakup is water under the bridge. He’s moved on and is doing well enough on his own.”

  “And do we believe them?” Joe asked.

  “This is officially a murder investigation now, right?” Frank countered.

  The sheriff nodded.

  “Well, then, I wouldn’t believe my own mother if she gave me an alibi that weak in a murder investigation.” Frank rocked back in his chair, a sure sign that he was just warming up. “There’s been talk for years that Bill Marshall is a lot fonder of Bliss Kerr than he is of his own wife, who appears to be heading downhill fast. And a used car lot doesn’t begin to compare with a big-money dealership like Kerr’s Lake Country Autos. So while I’m sure Bill Marshall is a fine man, he’s no angel, and he has plenty of reason to wish Harry Kerr in hell.”

  “So, who wants to check into the finances of the Marshalls?” Joe offered, looking around the room.

  Leo, whose computer skills made up for his lack of field experience, leaned forward and raised his hand. “I could take that on.”

  Joe smiled in approval. “Sounds tailor made for you, Leo. Would you also take a look at their medical expenses? I don’t know what that would have to do with Harry Kerr’s death, but if Mrs. Marshall is seriously ill, it might be good to know if that’s taking a toll on their pocketbook.”

  “I’m on it, boss,” the young deputy assured him.

  Joe indicated Marla Murphy. “Will you be following up with Maria Ortiz today about that suit?”

  A self-satisfied grin met his gaze. “Already have. I called her this morning to make an appointment for her to look at the suits in Harry Kerr’s closet. And…” Marla paused for effect, then continued, “She was able to identify the suit he wore Friday without looking. Mrs. Ortiz said it was a gray pinstripe, and that somebody had leaned too close with a red pen and left an ink stain on the left lapel. Kerr was planning to have his wife take it to the dry cleaners, so Maria was fairly certain that he would have left it separated from the others in the closet.”

  Marla swept her hands like a magician’s flourish at the end of a trick. “So all we have to do is have Mrs. Kerr point out the suit jacket she found the note in, and it should be simple to identify if it’s the same one.”

  “So I guess Maria Ortiz won’t be joining us at the Kerr’s today. Do you have a time set up with Bliss Kerr to go back over there with you?”

  Marla shook her head. “With it being Sunday, I thought I would at least give them some peace and quiet this morning.”

  Joe heaved a reluctant sigh. “I guess that’s the wise thing to do. If we push too hard, I’m afraid Vivian Windsor’s going to call in her attorneys to circle the wagons. After that happens, good luck trying to have a conversation with any of them.”

  “I hadn’t actually thought it through that far,” Marla confessed. “I just thought it would be the polite thing to do. The average widow probably wouldn’t even be getting out of bed today.”

  Joe let out another heavy sigh. Bereaved widow or not, he was going to get that note pinned down today. So far the only known fingerprints identified on it belonged to Harry and Bliss Kerr. Everything else was partial and smudged and probably came from the manufacturing and distribution process. In short, one more piece of information pointing to the grieving widow and no one else.

  “Before we adjourn this meeting, I have someone else we need to find and check out. A, uh…” Joe referred to the notes on his pad. “A Darren Carver, former brother-in-law and business partner to Harry Kerr. The ex-wife’s name is… Marilyn. Harry Kerr’s sister. Carver may have left town and never come back, but we need to know for sure. Probable military background after the divorce, so we should be able to run him down, wherever he is.”

  “I can start working on that,” Todd volunteered. As a veteran himself, and a former skip tracer, he was a logical choice, in addition to being the closest to Leo in computer skills.

  “Thank you,” Joe said. He was a fan of computer savvy in others, since he had none himself and no desire to learn. He rubbed his hands together and lifted them in benediction.

  “And that concludes our business for this morning. The longer we can put off having to arrest Bliss Kerr on nothing but circumstantial evidence, the happier all our lives will be. Find me something concrete that ties her to this, something more than marriage and the dearly departed heartily deserving it. Or find me somebody else with clear motive and opportunity. Now let’s get out there and catch a killer, ladies and gentlemen. We’re at 24 hours and counting.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Good morning, everybody,” Bliss’s cheerful, chipper voice called out as she sailed through the doorway and into the sunroom.

  Jesse checked her watch. She had come by prepared to wait patiently in the cozy bosom of luxury, making herself at home and sampling the array of pastries she had brought with her, until Vivian emerged into the morning sun hoping for confirmation that the previous day had all been a bad dream. Bliss, Jesse had never thought to see at all.

  Instead, Vivian had already been up and waiting for Jesse’s arrival, ready to plunge once again into plotting and intrigue. And here was Bliss, who should have been spending the day in the fetal position, at least. Instead, she looked refreshed and recharged, while Jesse herself was still up too early and functioning on too little sleep.

  “Well,” Bliss said, pouring herself a cup of coffee from the breakfast items on the sideboard just inside the sunroom doorway. “I’ve called Marcus, and he’ll be here as soon as he finishes breakfast. I’ve also called Bill and Maria, and they’ll be here by the time Marcus arrives. He’ll have to go by his office first, so we’ll all have time to get settled in before he gets here.”

  Jesse spent the duration of this speech looking from Vivian to Bliss and back, hoping that Vivian would reflect some of the complete bafflement that Jesse herself was feeling. Such as, who the heck was Marcus, and where did he fit into this?

  Vivian clasped her hands in front of her in what looked like a quiet celebration. “Wonderful, dear. What are you planning?”

  Bliss selected a turnover that looked suspiciously like one Sophia had let SueAnn help her make. Jesse consoled herself that its lack of symmetry shouldn’t affect the flavor, and it was better for them to eat the fruits of SueAnn’s training session than to serve them to customers. She headed for the sideboard to get one for herself.

  “I’m getting on with my life,” Bliss announced. “I woke up this morning and realized that other people’s lives are dependent on me now, and on a business that can’t just sit there and wait while Harry’s death is investigated. So, I need to quit wallowing in the cruelty of life and the woes that have befallen me and move
on.”

  Jesse stopped with a turnover halfway to her lips and turned to stare at the creature who had taken possession of Bliss during the night. It was definitely an improvement over the creature who had taken possession of her the previous day. But, still, it was a shock.

  “It’s been a day,” Jesse pointed out. “One day. I believe at least two full days of wallowing are acceptable in an instance like this. And who’s Marcus?”

  “My attorney.” Bliss took a seat on one of the sofas in the center of the room, the one facing a wall of windows overlooking the backyard. “The dealership’s business attorney,” she clarified, “Marcus Rutherford. And our personal attorney. He also has Harry’s will, as well as the paperwork for the disposition of the business.”

  “And how is that, dear?” Vivian asked, as if they were discussing recipes.

  “Oh, Aunt Viv,” Bliss said, with the same casualness. “You know nothing has changed from the way Uncle Malcolm set it up.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t have thought so.” Vivian settled more deeply into the sofa at right angles to the one Bliss occupied. This second sofa faced the sideboard flanked on either side by a set of French doors leading into the main body of the house. “Malcolm was always so careful about those things.”

  “And how is that?” Jesse asked. “The business, I mean.” She felt seriously out of the loop and more than a little nosey. However, right now, anything could be a motive. She hadn’t even thought about inheritance. With Bliss being a Windsor by birth, that shouldn’t have mattered.

  “Everything is Bliss’s,” Vivian answered.

  Jesse’s eyes widened and a worried frown creased her brow. Damn, more motive.

  “It always has been,” Vivian explained before Jesse could become too alarmed. “Harry ran the dealership and, to the public, he was the owner. But, in reality, he was only the co-owner, and then only so long as he and Bliss remained married.”

  Jesse’s mouth dropped, and her fatigue suddenly felt like a weight on her shoulders while her brain seemed to be moving at the speed of sludge. “Okay,” she said slowly, “let me get this straight.” She almost understood what Vivian was saying, but… “So, Malcolm set up the business the same way Harry did his brother-in-law’s dealership? If they divorced, everything went to Bliss, and Harry got nothing?”

  Vivian smiled and nodded, clearly pleased with Malcolm’s foresight.

  Jesse felt a soaring of triumph, knowing that this new fact would have far reaching effects. Even though she couldn’t for the life of her think of any of them right now. Except for one. And that one pretty much trumped everything else.

  “Which means Bliss never had any financial motive for killing Harry.” She tried not to sound too happy, since that would be a dead giveaway for the doubt she had been trying to ignore.

  Bliss gasped, and Jesse realized she might have been just a tiny bit too blunt.

  “No,” Vivian agreed. “Of course, there’s a life-insurance policy, but compared to the trust fund Bliss inherited when her parents died, the insurance is a pittance.”

  Bliss gasped again and raised a shaky coffee cup to her lips.

  “Sorry, dear,” Vivian said gently. “But this is reality. And you are the prime suspect. Any motive we can get rid of is a step forward.”

  “This is probably something that we need to make sure the sheriff knows,” Jesse added.

  “Could we talk about something else for awhile?” Bliss asked in a squeakier-than-normal voice. “If they are going to arrest me, I need to make sure I get things straightened out with the business first. So this morning’s meeting is just that much more important. And I need to focus.”

  “And what is today’s meeting for, dear?” Vivian asked in a kindly tone she reserved for a select few.

  “I’m promoting Maria to General Manager of the dealership. And I’m asking Bill to come back to his old position as partner and Business Manager. I haven’t got the vaguest idea of how to run a dealership, and I don’t really want to learn. But it’s a good, established business, and I don’t want it to suffer from the loss of Harry’s leadership. I’m hoping that together, Maria and Bill can fill that gap.”

  “Wow,” Jesse said, surprised that she was once again surprised. “You woke up with a bang this morning, didn’t you? That’s all kind of sudden and sweeping.” What she had no intention of saying aloud was that this would also provide several other people with more motive for killing Harry.

  “Do you think they’ll be able to handle it, dear?” Vivian asked with no real indication of doubt.

  “Well, Bill’s done it before, quite successfully. And with his help, I think Maria will be able to learn what she needs to know. She’s always done an excellent job, and she has a college degree in business. I never really understood why she settled for being a glorified secretary in the first place.”

  “Do you think they’ll agree to it?” Jesse asked. “And do you think that the other people at the dealership will accept them?”

  Bliss smiled, a small, rueful smile. “At the moment, the other people at the dealership are probably wondering what they’re going to do for a job come Monday morning. So, considering the alternative, yes, I think they’ll accept whatever I decide. As for Maria, I think she’ll be happy for the chance once she has time to think about it.”

  “And Bill Marshall?” Jesse asked.

  Bliss shrugged. “I can only hope he will. I need his experience, and it would be righting a wrong that should never have happened in the first place. Harry only got rid of him out of spite, because Uncle Malcolm had always thought so highly of Bill.”

  Vivian nodded. “True. Malcolm always had a high regard for Bill Marshall. Harold wouldn’t have dared shove Bill aside while Malcolm was alive.” She frowned. “I never understood how the dealership survived that, if you want to know the truth. I guess there was more to Harold’s business acumen than I gave him credit for.”

  “I don’t know,” Bliss said doubtfully. “I always thought there was some sort of backdoor deal going on. I just never knew what it was. I mean, Harry was a salesman, not a businessman. I don’t know how he kept the dealership from suffering after Bill left. I never understood it. Oh, well.” With a shake of her head, she stood and went back to the sideboard for another round of coffee and pastry.

  Jesse looked to Vivian. “Really?”

  Vivian shrugged. “It was always a mystery to me, too.”

  Moving closer, Jesse whispered, “Maybe we have more mysteries going on here than we realized. Maybe Bliss should hire an outside auditor to go over the dealership’s books, just in case there were other fingers in the pie that she didn’t know about. This would be the perfect time.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that, but you’re right. And I know a good person if Bliss is willing.”

  “If Bliss is willing to what?” Bliss had wandered back from the sideboard with a full cup of coffee and a refilled dessert plate.

  “What if Harry had hired someone outside the dealership to take over some of the accounting that Bill had been doing?” Jesse suggested. “Maybe that’s how he got along without Bill. We were thinking this would be the perfect time to bring in an outside auditor to go over the financial records of the dealership and find out what discrepancies show up.”

  “Wow.” Bliss sat down carefully, then looked at Jesse with appreciation shining in her eyes. “You are devious. I should have spent more time with you years ago.”

  “Thank you, I think.” The idea had seemed more logical than otherwise to Jesse, but she wasn’t going to argue.

  “No, thank you. That’s a wonderful idea. For a lot of reasons. And I’m sure Marcus will agree.” Bliss clasped her hands in front of her and smiled like a child at a circus. “I am so eager to get started. Yesterday I was so overwhelmed, and today I’m actually starting to see a future again.”

  Outside, the crunching of gravel alerted them to the arrival of the black Cadillac Bill Marshall had been driving the previous day. It sl
id by the sunroom windows on the front of the house and came to a halt a few feet beyond the front door.

  “Oh, my goodness.” Bliss hurriedly downed the fresh cup of coffee in front of her. Rising, she smoothed her black, tailored skirt, paired with a simple white blouse and pearls, then patted her hair, which today was neatly and expertly coifed.

  A second car rounded the curve in the driveway, and an older, red mustang with the convertible top down braked into position a few yards behind the Caddy. Maria Ortiz pulled a scarf from her head and fluffed her hair before exiting the car and disappearing from view at the side of Bill Marshall.

  “I’ll take them into the study, if that’s all right,” Bliss said, nervously glancing in the direction of the front door. “You can join us if you want.”

  “The study’s fine, dear,” Vivian answered with a warm, reassuring smile. “And I think you’re ready to do this on your own. We’ll be here if you need us.”

  “Okay.” Bliss nodded, grinned and headed toward the front door where the sound of knocking had begun. “Showtime,” she called over her shoulder, then disappeared into the interior of the house.

  Jesse stared after her, not knowing if she should be relieved or worried.

  “What is it?” Vivian asked.

  “Can you read everyone’s mind, or just mine?” Jesse turned her frowning gaze to her companion.

  “Let’s just say you should never play poker. At least, not with me.” Vivian smiled and patted the sofa cushion next to her. “How do you think the sheriff’s going to like this?” She cut her eyes toward the meeting commencing in the study.

  “That…” Jesse pointed toward the direction Bliss had taken. “Is quite a change from yesterday.” She could hear the misgiving in her own voice to match the frown clinging to her brow. “I think he’s probably going to take note of that.”