Dead Man's Puzzle

by Parnell Hall

  Cora waited for the Geezer to subside.

  “The key to the whole thing was Overmeyer’s partner. Rudy Clemson. Overmeyer was responsible for his safety. He was, in fact, the one thing standing between Rudy and prison. Nothing had ever connected either of them in any way with this convenience store robbery. And after such a long time, there was no reason to believe that anything ever would.

  “Unless Overmeyer confessed.

  “If Overmeyer confessed, it would be a simple job for the police to figure out who his accomplice was. Just as Chief Harper had no problem figuring it out once Overmeyer’s connection to the crime was known. A confession by Overmeyer would essentially doom Rudy Clemson.

  “Which is why he kept quiet until his partner died. Rudy Clemson died last year in Georgia. Why did Overmeyer wait so long to act? It probably took a while before he found out. The death of a derelict would not be front-page news. But once Overmeyer did find out, he immediately resolved to come clean. To go public with the secret that had been burning inside of him all these years. That would not let him rest or lead a normal life. That probably was the reason he lived alone, a virtual hermit in a run-down shack.

  “Now, at last, he can tell his tale.

  “And yet, he is killed before he can.

  “How can that be?

  “Who would know that he was going to confess? And who could possibly care? His accomplice is dead. His confession will close a fifty-year-old crime. He will live out the rest of his life in a solitary cell instead of a solitary cabin. No big deal for Mr. Overmeyer.

  “Why is it a big deal for someone else?”

  Cora picked up a paper. “Late last night Harvey Beerbaum and I solved another puzzle left by the late Mr. Overmeyer. Listen to this: ‘By this gun I am cursed. But I never came first.’ ”

  Cora looked up from the puzzle, grimaced. “Yeah, I know. Why couldn’t the guy just say what he meant? Listen, everyone. While I have your attention. I am asking as a personal favor. If you ever find yourself in the position where someone is trying to kill you, if you want to let the authorities in on what’s happening, mention his name! That’s the type of clue the cops can really sink their teeth into. The name of the killer. Vastly underrated in situations of this sort. But, trust me, it’s invaluable. If the police know who the killer is, they may not let him kill again. They’re fussy that way.”

  Cora paused in her rant. Considered. “Where was I? Oh, yes. Interpreting the less than explicit message left by the late Mr. Overmeyer. ‘By this gun I am cursed. But I never came first.’ Is he blaming the whole thing on his accomplice? ‘I didn’t kill anybody, it was that nut job I was traveling with. Thank God he’s finally dead, and I can tell you about it.’ Was that how it was?”

  Cora looked around at the baffled faces. “No. Obviously not. Why not? Because dead men don’t bring poison. Sounds like a 1940s crime movie. Okay, if his accomplice didn’t kill him, who did?

  “There were four men at the convenience store that day. The two perpetrators, Overmeyer and Clemson. And the two witnesses Overmeyer shot, Claude Barnes and Mickey Dare. The one who lived, Mickey Dare, crawled across the parking lot to help his buddy, who was dead. The police found the two of them lying on a sewer drain. They revived one, and not the other.

  “Early this morning, the Mobile, Alabama, police, acting on a tip from Chief Dale Harper, pulled up the grating, searched the drain, and discovered a three fifty-seven Magnum. We are still waiting on ballistics, but there is every reason to believe it will prove to be the gun that killed the convenience store owner. ‘By this gun I am cursed. But I never came first.’ ”

  Cora cocked her head. “Say you are robbing a convenience store. In the parking lot you encounter two men. They have heard the shots. They know you robbed the store. They are witnesses. So, what do you do? You shoot them. Simple enough.”

  Cora held up one finger. “Or it would be, if the witnesses are patsies. But say they’re GIs. Soldiers home from the war who don’t turn to jelly at the sight of a gun. Say one of them pulls a gun and fires back. Bad news for the robbers. One is shot dead. The other wounded, crippled, unable to escape. The jig is up. End of the road. Nothing can save him.

  “And then, miracle of miracles! Instead of calling the cops, the two witnesses take off! Hop in their car and hightail it out of there!

  “The robber can’t believe it. It’s like winning the lottery. He’s been given one last chance.

  “He crawls to his buddy. He pries the gun out of his fingers. The three fifty-seven Magnum with which he shot the store owner. He shoves it through the grating, drops it into the drain.

  “The police find Mickey Dare collapsed and bleeding on top of his dead buddy. He tells a story of stumbling in on a robbery and getting shot for his trouble.

  “Of course, Overmeyer knew he was lying. But Overmeyer couldn’t come forward. Until his partner died.

  “That’s when Overmeyer contacted him. Offered to give him a chance to come clean before blowing the whistle. Well, Mickey Dare couldn’t have that. Murder never outlaws. If Overmeyer talked, the guy was dead meat.

  “So Overmeyer had to go.

  “The killer called on Overmeyer at his cabin under the guise of preparing to make a joint confession. Only the killer had no such intention. He slipped him a dose of poison and proceeded to ransack the cabin. Doubtless Overmeyer told him he had arranged for evidence to fall into the hands of the police if anything ever happened to him. He searched for it, never realizing it was in the crossword puzzle on the coffee table in front of him.

  “Mrs. Brooks caught him at it and scared him off.

  “She had seen his face. When it became clear Overmeyer had been killed, Juliet Brooks had to go.

  “So did Preston Samuels, the actor hired to tell the stock-pooling story to attract the heirs. He’d also seen the killer’s face, so he had to go.

  “And who is the killer?” Cora looked out over the audience. “Jimmy Potter, stand up.”

  The librarian’s son rose to his feet. Young, gawky, blinking. He was greeted by shocked gasps and a rumble of voices.

  Cora banged the gavel. “Relax. I’m not accusing Jimmy. Jimmy Potter helped me solve the crime. At my request, he took pictures of George Brooks and all the heirs. Or almost all the heirs. Mr. Goldman declined to be photographed. Camera shy?”

  The Geezer glared with contempt.

  “I took these pictures to the bar where Preston Samuels worked. Showed them to one of the bartenders who worked his shift. Mr. Austin, would you stand up?”

  The bartender rose from his seat.

  “Would you remove your hat?”

  The bartender took off his hat. His green Mohawk caused a murmur from the crowd.

  “Mr. Austin, did you recognize any of the people in the pictures?”

  “No, I did not.”

  “Of course not. If you had, solving this crime would have been easy. The killer would be someone who met Preston Samuels and arranged for him to tell his tale. But you didn’t recognize any of them?”

  “No.”

  “Now that you’re here, I’d like you to take a look at the one man who refused to have his picture taken, the one man who is the right age to be Mickey Dare, and tell me if he is the man you saw talking to Preston Samuels shortly before his death.”

  The bartender nodded. “That’s him all right.”

  The Geezer sprang from his chair, darted for the side door.

  Sam Brogan rose to stop him.

  The Geezer jerked a gun from his jacket, aimed at the startled officer.

  People screamed and scattered.

  Dennis Pride nearly knocked Brenda down in his panic to get away.

  A shot rang out.

  The Geezer spun around, dropped to the floor.

  Cora lowered her revolver. She resisted the urge to blow smoke from the muzzle.

  She smiled wryly.

  “ ‘By this gun I am cursed.’ ”

  Chapter 63

 
Chief Harper didn’t look all that happy.

  “What’s the matter, Chief?”

  “The media is out there.”

  “So?”

  “What am I going to tell them?”

  “Well, for one thing, I shot the Geezer in self-defense and you’re not pressing charges.”

  “I think we have enough witnesses you don’t have to worry.”

  “Aside from that, tell ’em anything you like.”

  “I’d like to tell them something that made sense,” Chief Harper said dryly.

  “Well, you know about the robbery. Mickey Dare told a story, hoping it would hold up long enough for him to recover from his wounds and get away. He was surprised it not only did, but no one ever came forward to contradict it. Mickey Dare never knew who Overmeyer was. Figured the guy who shot him was long gone.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know all that. Just give me a thumbnail sketch of what happened.”

  “Mickey Dare poisons Overmeyer, searches the cabin, is scared off by Mrs. Brooks. When Dennis Pride blabs that she’s seen the killer’s face, she has to go.”

  “Wait a minute. That TV interview was after she was killed.”

  “It aired after she was killed. That was Rick Reed, live on tape. You check up, you’ll find the Geezer was there when it was filmed. Just before Mrs. Brooks was killed.”

  “Was he?”

  “How the hell should I know? Just say he was. The guy’s in no position to contradict you.”

  “Barney thinks he’ll probably live.”

  “That’s good. I’d hate to have to carve another notch on my six-gun.”

  “Come on, give me the rest of it.”

  “What else is there? Overmeyer told Micky Dare he’d left something that would implicate him. As insurance, so Mickey wouldn’t kill him.” Cora snorted. “And look how well that worked. Mickey just figured he’d find it. Only he’s scared off by Mrs. Brooks. He has to come back. So he posts an obit on the Internet guaranteed to attract professional heirs.

  “He also wants to create the illusion that Overmeyer had money and there was a motive for him to be killed. So he has an actor come see me about a stock-pooling agreement. Which is all well and good until he murders Mrs. Brooks. At which point the actor is a huge liability and has to go.”

  “Can the bartender identify him?”

  “I doubt it. I told him to say, ‘That’s him all right,’ whether he recognized the guy or not. It doesn’t matter. It had the desired effect.”

  “How could it, if he was never in the bar?”

  “You ever commit three murders, Chief? You’re probably wound pretty tight. A guy points his finger at you, says, ‘That’s him all right,’ you might not think too clearly.”

  “That may be hard to sell.”

  “Chief, it worked. You don’t have to convince anyone. The Geezer’s in the unhappy position of having to prove he wasn’t there.”

  “And the crossword puzzle. ‘By this gun I am cursed.’ How the hell’d you find that?”

  Cora knew the question was coming and was ready for it. “Once I knew the first puzzle said ‘atone’ I figured there must be another puzzle. When we searched the cabin, you commented on some newly installed heating duct. For Overmeyer, that seemed out of place. I pulled it apart, and there it was.”

  Harper frowned, thought that over. “I suppose.”

  “Cheer up, Chief. The case is solved. The TV people are going to love you.”

  “I’m still being sued for everything I own.”

  “Don’t be silly. I had a little talk with Becky Baldwin. It seems her client violated probation by going to New York while under a police directive to stay put. I heard him say so, and I would be forced to testify to that effect in the event of a legal proceeding against you. In which case he would go to jail.” Cora shrugged. “I think you’ll find he’s dropped the suit.”

  “Is that right?” Harper perked up. “Interesting.” He cocked his head. “Is there anything else you’re not telling me?”

  Cora smiled. “God, I hope so.”

  Chapter 64

  Sherry and Aaron cleared customs to find Cora waiting for them. They looked exhausted, but tanned and happy.

  “Hi, kids. Still married?”

  “Cora,” Sherry said. “You didn’t have to do this.”

  “Yes, I did. I should have gotten one of those little signs the drivers hold up: MR. AND MRS. GRANT.”

  “Oh, I’m taking his name now?” Sherry said.

  “Don’t worry,” Aaron said. “Your professional name’s still Carter.”

  “I don’t have a professional name,” Sherry protested. “She’s my professional name.”

  “Good,” Cora said. “If you’re bickering like that, you must be still married. Not that I had any doubts. My marriages usually survived the honeymoon. If you don’t count that annulment. And the case of mistaken identity.”

  “Mistaken identity?” Aaron said.

  “She’s trying to kid us out of it,” Sherry said. “Don’t fall for it.”

  “Fine. Let’s keep bickering. What are we arguing about?”

  “I don’t remember.”

  “Damn. She’s done it.”

  “How was Africa?”

  “You wouldn’t believe,” Aaron said. “So many elephants you stop noticing them after a while. They’re like wallpaper. And giraffes. And zebras. And some crocodiles. And all kinds of deer and antelope.”

  “Did they play?”

  “Huh?”

  “The deer and the antelope.”

  “Don’t let her distract you,” Sherry said.

  “Did you take any pictures?”

  “Loads of them.”

  “Yeah,” Aaron said. “They’re digital. We can show ’em on the TV.”

  “How the hell do you do that?”

  Aaron launched into an explanation as they dragged their suitcases toward the short-term parking lot.

  “So, how are things with you?” Sherry asked. “That hint I give you help any?”

  “I’ll say. You should have heard me explaining it in court.”

  “Court?” Aaron said.

  “Actually, it was a probate hearing, but we did it in the courthouse.”

  “Of course.”

  “You’d have been proud of me. I Googled a bunch of poets and found some sonnets that didn’t rhyme. I actually sounded like I knew what I was saying.”

  “Did you?”

  “Are you kidding me? But I talked fast and no one noticed.”

  “Did the second puzzle help at all?” Sherry asked.

  “What second puzzle?”

  “The one I solved for you.”

  “I didn’t tell anyone about the second puzzle. It was just too complicated, and it involved breaking and entering. After the chief told me not to do it again.”

  “Again?”

  “I got caught with Becky Baldwin. Not her fault, but I claimed she was inventorying the estate for the heirs, which didn’t fly too well when it turned out none of them hired her.”

  “Oops.”

  “No kidding. I didn’t want to admit to going back. So I never told the chief about finding the second puzzle. Not to mention the sudoku.”

  “The sudoku?” Aaron said.

  “I told you not to mention that. There was a sudoku on the back of the second puzzle, and all together it led me to the third puzzle, yada, yada. No one has to know how I got there. Chief Harper thinks there’s only two puzzles and Harvey Beerbaum solved ’em both. Because I gave Harvey the first puzzle when it didn’t matter, and I was too nice a guy not to give him the third one when it did.”

  “Huh?”

  “Oh. And Harvey Beerbaum thinks I can’t solve puzzles, I can only construct them.”

  “He’s half-right.”

  “Yeah. Anyway, I’ll show you the puzzles when we get home. They are the diabolic devising of a devious mind. If the guy weren’t dead, I’d kill him.”

  “Never mind the puzzles,”
Aaron said. “What happened with the case?”

  “It got a little complicated.”

  “I can imagine. So, what did you do?”

  “Oh. I solved three murders, a fifty-year-old convenience store robbery, and shot a nonagenarian.” Cora shrugged. “The usual.”