Jeb was already there when they got home. Kristy and Matt arrived within minutes, with Detective Brugnick following in his car. Grace’s chili and home-baked cornbread were the perfect complement for a cold night and she’d made apple cobbler for dessert from the last of the farmer’s market apples.
“Grace, between your cooking and Kristy’s, I’m gonna have to join a gym,” said Matt, rubbing his belly and pushing back in his chair.
Grace glowed under Matt’s praise and shooed the team into the living room while she insisted on clearing the table. Jake reported what he and Emma had learned from Valerie and the concerns they had with her story.
“Matt, did the police find Trudy’s diary?” asked Emma, when Jake had finished speaking.
“Morty?”
The young detective was consulting his notes. “I don’t see it here. I’ll check the full inventory tomorrow.”
“I hate to admit it,” said Jake, “but I forgot all about Valerie’s car being stolen until after we left. I didn’t even think to ask her about it.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. She’s probably feeling pretty safe right now and that means she’ll stay put. Morty, did the lab finish with that car?”
“No blood, no gun powder.”
“That’s disappointing,” said Matt. “Did they get a hit on the prints?”
“No, but they did confirm the car was stolen in California so they sent the prints to them and asked them to start with LA County.”
“California sorts prints by county?” asked Jeb.
“You have to give a thumbprint to get a driver’s license,” explained Emma.
“And people stand for that?”
Emma smiled. “People stand for a lot of things in California that people in Wyoming would consider government overstep.”
“Like smoking in restaurants,” added Grace, joining them from the kitchen. “Though even I’m getting tired of people fighting about it.”
“Am I the only one who thinks it’s suspicious that Maddie Hill left town?” asked Brugnick.
“Yes. I thought Winters was your man.”
“He’s dead, though Valerie looks good for it.”
“Except for the no blood in her car thing.”
“There’s that.”
“Boys,” said Grace, and both men grinned at her, unfazed.
“My money’s on Pam Young,” said Matt, pulling a bound report from his briefcase. “Auditor’s final report. Pam authorized the fund fifteen years ago and has been drawing a substantial living from it ever since. Auditor says it’s legal, but if Steven found out about it, no way he wouldn’t have cut her off.”
“Why would Pam kill over that?” asked Kristy. “The Hills have tons of money.”
“Steven was a wealthy man, according to his banker, but Pam wasn’t, at least not until Roger died. Her husband’s a teacher and they have a big family to support. The house they live in was deeded to them by Roger and Della, but without the management fee she draws from the fund, they’d be hurting.”
“So she does have a motive,” said Emma.
“Especially when you consider she hated Steven and that his death changed everything for her financially.
“She couldn’t have known that her father was going to die before he could alter the will,” argued Grace.
“True,” admitted Matt, “but she also had opportunity, since she could have come and gone through the alley without anyone seeing her.”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” said Brugnick. “Turns out, Pam’s a crack shot. She’s even won awards for her marksmanship.”
“That doesn’t make her a killer,” observed Grace.
“No,” agreed Jake, “but I think it’s time we talked to Pam.”
“First, we talk to her son. What’s his name again?”
“Ryan.”
“Morty, you and Jake go see Ryan. I want to know what he says about being at his grandparents’ house. Pam accused Steven of stealing, but maybe she was deflecting attention away from her son.”
“Will do,” said Morty.
“You still have no proof that Steven knew about the fund,” said Grace. “Even if he did, there’s no proof he knew of Pamela’s involvement or confronted her about it.”
“Which is why I’m not bringing her in, but I agree with Jake. It’s time to ask her some questions.”
“I think our time would be better spent talking to Steven’s neighbors again. It just doesn’t seem possible that no one would hear or see anything.”
“I know you don’t think Pam’s our killer, Grace, but the evidence is piling up against her.”
“Circumstantial evidence.”
“Maybe, but sometimes circumstantial is all we ever get. I don’t want to waste police time going over the same ground they’ve already covered.”
“I can go,” offered Emma. “Cecily refused to talk to the police, but she talked to us.”
“I think we should speak to Roger and Della’s neighbors as well. If someone did see Ryan there, they might not have thought anything of it. After all, the police probably asked if they noticed anyone who shouldn’t have been there.”
“Good idea, Grace,” admitted Matt.
“I want to help,” said Kristy. “It’ll go faster with three of us.”
“Four of us,” added Jeb. “I finished my book and until my editor sends it back to me for changes, my time is yours.”
“Perfect. We’ll take one side of the street and you and Grace can take the other.”
“I’ll call Della,” offered Jake. “She didn’t mention Valerie being there, but maybe she just didn’t think it mattered.”
“I’ll get Arty working on Valerie’s background,” said Matt, referring to Arty Thomes, a technician who worked for the Casper PD. “I’ll run everything by the Captain. I’m guessing he’ll want to pull her in so she can’t skip town.”
***
Valerie Smith was arrested the next morning and Cecily called Jake in a panic, asking him to represent her. Jake had to turn her down, but recommended two other attorneys she could call. Because she could not pay the bail, she remained in jail, giving Jake and Brugnick time to pay a call on Ryan Young. They found him alone, in the apartment he shared with his pregnant girlfriend, who was away at work.
“Ryan, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Jake Rand. I was your grandfather’s personal attorney.”
“I’ve seen you around.”
“Before he died, Roger asked me to assist the police in finding your uncle’s killer. That’s why I’m here with Detective Brugnick today.”
“I didn’t kill nobody,” Ryan licked his lips, looking from one man to the other.
“No one said you did. We’re here because someone saw you at your grandparents’ home the day it was broken into.”
“Who says?”
“What were you were doing there?” asked Brugnick.
“I gotta right to be there.”
“I agree,” said Jake. “No reason why you shouldn’t have stopped by to check on it while your uncle was out of town.”
Ryan slumped against the counter. “That’s right.”
“I didn’t know you had a key.”
“Mom made one for me.”
“Why didn’t she just loan you hers?”
“That woulda been a pain. I was always goin’ over there and borrowing stuff for her.”
Jake and Brugnick exchanged looks. “She gave you her alarm code?”
“Nah, she couldn’t remember hers. I got a buddy at the alarm company. He said it was the one they give people when they’re havin’ work done, only he set it so it wouldn’t shut off.”
“A buddy?” asked Jake.
Ryan nodded. “He’s installing cable TV now. Says it pays a lot better. He’s gonna get me in, once he’s worked there awhile.”
“That’ll be good, since you have a family to support. I imagine it’s pretty tight right now.”
“Yeah. Mom says I get Grandpa’s stock, but with oil
prices in the tank, it ain’t worth nothin’. She said she’d give me money for it.”
“What kind of things did your mom have you pick up for her?”
“All kindsa things.”
“And she had you take them back for her?”
“Nah. She said she might need ‘em again and it would just be easier to hold onto them, then give ‘em all back at once.”
“What were you borrowing that day?” asked Brugnick.
“She wanted some necklace out of the safe, only she didn’t know which one she wanted to wear. Mom just said take everything and she’d put back what she decided she didn’t want.”
“So you took everything? Paperwork and all?”
“I just grabbed whatever was in the safe and stuffed it into a bag. I didn’t wanna be hangin’ around.”
“Why did you wash off the door?”
Ryan held up his hands and wiggled his fingers. “Nacho cheese corn chips. Mom’s always on my case about getting it on everything.”
“Who did you open the door to while you were there?” asked Brugnick.
“Some girl. She wanted to talk to Grandpa. Got all upset when I told her they were gone so I palmed her off on Uncle Steven.”
“Why not your mom?”
“She was a pain, whining at me like I had anything to do with them going on a cruise. I figured Uncle Steven could have her.”
“Did you tell her where to find him?”
“Wrote it down for her.”
“Then what?”
Ryan shrugged. “Then she left and I got outta there.”
“Were you parked in the driveway, Ryan?” asked Jake.
“Nah, I have a junker and Mom always said the neighbors would probably call the cops if they saw it in the driveway. She always made me park around the block.”
Jake and Brugnick thanked him and walked back out to Jake’s truck. “He seemed to be telling the truth,” said the detective.
“He did,” agreed Jake. “Which means Pam accused Steven, not to cover up for her son, but to cover her own tracks.”
“When you look at how much money Steven had and how little Pam had, it makes a lot more sense that she’d be the one stealing things from her parents. Unless you believe Ryan when he says she was borrowing them.”
“It also means she could have seen Roger’s will the day before Steven was killed.”
“Let’s go ask her.”
***
Emma stopped in front of Kristy’s building in the loading zone and waited while her friend hurried out and climbed into the SUV. “Where’s Grace?” asked Kristy, when she saw Emma was alone.
Emma pulled out before the parking enforcement officer headed down the street could lecture her about the purpose of a loading zone. “She had a rough night and woke up with a fever this morning. I hated to leave her, but Jeb offered to stay with her. It’s just us today.”
“That’s too bad. She’s been doing so well.”
“I know. I hate to think of losing her.”
“I know. She’s quite a lady.”
“I wish I could persuade her to see the doctor here in town, but she says her oncologist in San Francisco says there’s nothing more that can be done. We had a long talk about it when Jake was out hunting. She says she’s ready to go when the good Lord calls her.”
“When my mother was dying, she wanted to talk. I’m ashamed to say, I just couldn’t bear to hear it.”
“Nothing shameful in that Kristy. It was really hard for me and I’m a lot older than you were and Grace is my friend, not my mother. I don’t know what I’m gonna do when my mother dies.”
Emma pulled up in front of Maddie’s house. It looked bleak and empty, with the rest of the neighborhood decorated, some for Halloween and others with a harvest theme. “Shall we split up? I’ll take this side, you take that side?”
“Sounds good. Then we need to talk to the neighbors on the next street over. Maybe someone saw Pam in the alley.”
“Or someone else. I think we need to be careful not to project what we think might have happened. It’s too easy for people to pick up on it and tell you what they think you want to hear.”
“Good point. We’ll meet at the end of the block and tackle Pam’s side of the street together. After that, we can go see if Della’s neighbors saw anything.”
Emma was relieved that she was better received when she knocked on doors in Maddie’s neighborhood than she had been when she and Grace had done the same at Matt’s apartment complex. The first door she knocked on was answered by a woman her own age, with a ten-year-old girl standing by her side.
“Good morning. I hate to bother you but Maddie Hill asked me to do a favor for her. She’s staying with Melody, you know, in Denver?” Emma was surprised how easily the cover story she’d worked up with Kristy and Grace the night before tumbled out of her lips. She hoped she wasn’t developing a talent for lying.
“Yes of course. Poor Maddie. How can I help?”
“Someone stopped by to see Steven the morning he was killed. They dropped something quite valuable and Maggie would like to return it, but she doesn’t know who it was.” Emma held her breath, wondering if the woman would accept the story.
“Goodness! You don’t think it was dropped by the killer, do you?”
“Oh no. The police have ruled that out.” Emma felt she was on thin ice here, but she plunged ahead. “Maddie would just like to return it and she figures the person who lost it doesn’t realize where they dropped it. That’s why she asked if I’d check with her neighbors to see if anyone saw who came to the house.”
“I wish I could help you, but like I told the police, I was in the back of the house, making lemon bars with Jenny.” She put a hand on her daughter’s shoulder and the child smiled up at her.
“It was my turn to bring snacks,” the girl said.
“You didn’t happen to see anyone in the alley? We don’t know whether the person came in the front or the back door.”
“I never thought of that. I don’t remember anyone back there, but I couldn’t say for sure. I wasn’t paying attention.”
“What about you, Jenny?” Emma smiled at the girl. “Did you see anyone?”
“Uh-uh.” The child shook her head.
“Well, I appreciate you taking time to talk to me.”
“I’m sorry we couldn’t be any help to you. You tell Maddie we’re praying for her.”
“I will, thank you.” Emma walked to the next house and repeated her story. The man who answered the door was friendly enough, and even called his wife to the door so Emma could question her too, but neither of them had noticed anything.
“It’s so hard to say,” explained the wife. “There’s always some traffic up and down the road. You just don’t notice unless it’s like when the police cars and the ambulance came.”
No one answered at the next house and Mr. Wilson, who lived next door to Steven, told Emma he didn’t want to talk about it. “I may never get that image out of my mind.” Emma remembered he had gone into the house, then had chosen to wait outside.
“I’m sorry.” She gave him her card. “Please call me if I can help. There are therapies that do wonders for people who’ve witnessed a traumatic scene. I can refer you to someone if you’d rather not talk to me.”
Wilson thanked Emma and she moved to the house on the far side of Maddie’s. Here, she had much better luck when an older man came to the door. She asked him the same question and he scratched his head in thought.
“Now that you mention it, I did see someone come to the house after Maddie left. It had to be after, because she waved at me as she pulled out. I was cutting back my roses, getting them ready for winter.”
Emma’s heart beat a little faster. “Did you know the person? What did they look like?”
“I don’t know her, but she was here the day before too, knocking on the door. I guess nobody must’ve been home. Young woman, maybe twenty, twenty-five. Tell the truth, I was more interested in h
er car. Always wanted a Camaro. Hers was white with black stripes.”
“Was she there long?”
“I finished the bush I was working on as she drove up and was almost done with the next one when she came running out.”
“Did she seem upset?”
“Crying her eyes out. I had a mind to ask her if she was okay, but she took off before I could.”
“Did you hear anything inside the house while she was there?”
“Like shots? Nah, I would have told the police about her if I’d heard anything like that. I don’t put my hearing aid in when I’m gardening.”
“Did anyone else stop by that day?”
“I couldn’t tell you. I finished the roses and went inside. Didn’t notice anything until I heard Maddie screaming. Heard that even without my hearing aid.”
Emma thanked him and moved on to the next house. She had no more luck until she arrived at the last house on the block. Here, she found an old woman sitting on a porch swing, bundled up against the chill. She had also seen the young woman in the Camaro and his story matched her neighbor’s.
“Did anyone else stop by before Maddie came home?”
She narrowed her eyes, peering suspiciously at Emma. “You sure you ain’t no police woman?”
Emma smiled. “I’m sure. I’m just a friend, trying to do Maddie a favor.”
“You ask a lotta questions for a friend. Why ain’t I ever seen you stopping by that house?”
“I was just here the other day, with my friend Grace. We came to see if there was anything we could do for Maddie.”
“This friend an older woman?”
“Yes. Older than I am, at least.”
The woman nodded. “Her I remember. There was a younger woman with her, but up close, you don’t look so young.”
Emma struggled to keep a straight face. “Now that you remember me, did you notice anyone stop by after the young woman in the Camaro?”
“There was a car pulled into the driveway. Piece of junk. You can see for yourself. I can’t see anything once they pull past the house.”
Emma turned and looked where the woman was pointing. “Do you remember what kind of car it was?”
“Black, four-door, piece of junk, like I said. Natrona plates. I thought maybe they were family, pulling into the driveway like they owned the place.”
Death Changes Everything Page 18
