Death by Deceit

by Abigail Keam

  “You are always running toward danger. Policemen, firemen, and secret agents do so because it is their job, but you run toward murderers as though it is your vocation.”

  “June, if you’re trying to make a point, I’d wish you’d spit it out.”

  “Jo, I think you are suffering from battle fatigue.”

  “You mean PTSD.”

  “Call it what you will, but a professional should have a look inside your noodle. You’ve got to take better care of yourself. I would hate to outlive you.”

  “You can’t deny that I have solved cases the police couldn’t crack.”

  “I said you were smart.”

  “And I’ve saved lives.”

  “Point well taken, but look at what happened with Sandy Sloan—one of your best friends threatened to kill you with a shotgun. Who knows what would have happened if Darius hadn’t come along, and she’s not the only one to point a gun in your direction.”

  “In my defense, I came upon Sandy unexpectedly before realizing what she was doing. I didn’t know she had already killed two people.”

  “You’re not trained to see such things.”

  “The police didn’t have a clue either.”

  “I’m not saying to stop sleuthing. You seem to have a knack for it.”

  “Then what are you grumbling about?”

  “I just want you to be more careful. There—I’ve said my piece.” June leaned back on the settee and took a sip of her tea.

  “Slice me another piece of the pound cake, please.”

  “Are you going to think upon what I’ve said?”

  “I’ll study on it.”

  “Then you may have another slice of pound cake.”

  “Are you finished scolding me?” I asked.

  “For the time being.”

  “Good. I would like to ask you a question then.”

  “Go ahead,” June said, breaking the crust on a raspberry tart.

  “You said your girlfriend married King Landau while you were in England.”

  “That’s right.”

  “How did she die?”

  “She’s not dead. She’s living in Miami with her daughter.”

  “Would you have her telephone number?” I looked at June with puppy dog eyes and whimpered.

  “You are the living end. Will you go see someone if I do?”

  “Yep.”

  June rang for Amelia who came into the library a few minutes later. “Amelia, get me my address book from my nightstand please.”

  Amelia scurried out of the room to retrieve the precious red leather-bound address book with names, phone numbers, and addresses from common laborers to duchesses.

  When Amelia returned with the tome, June pointed to me. Amelia dropped the three pound book in my lap and returned to her afternoon tea with Bess in the kitchen.

  “I have over sixty years of friends and acquaintances in that book. My life’s experiences you might say.”

  “Whom do I look up?”

  “Rockie Landau. You’ll find her in the R’s. Let me know what she says.”

  “I thought you didn’t like my snooping.”

  “Yes, but I like gossip, and I’m a beast you must feed.” June pointed a finger gnarled with arthritis at me. “Remember your promise. A phone number exchanged for a head doctor’s visit.”

  I grimaced at the thought of seeing a shrink but a deal was a deal.

  I wrote down Rockie Landau’s number and hoped she was still alive.

  Rockie Landau could break the case for me.

  26

  A woman answered on the third ring.

  I asked, “Hello. Is this residence of Rockie Landau?”

  “I go by the last name of Lancaster now. Who’s calling, please?”

  “My name is Josiah Reynolds. I’m a friend of Lady Elsmere.”

  “How is June? I haven’t seen her in years.”

  “She’s doing quite well for her age.”

  “I’m a few years younger but the last time I saw June, she looked fantastic.”

  “She still does, but she’s now in a wheelchair occasionally.”

  “Ah, that’s too bad.”

  “Miss Rockie, I was wondering if you could shed light on an issue for me.”

  “If I can.”

  “I hate to be impolite but this is a matter of importance. Do you know if King Landau was married before you?”

  “That’s odd. You are the second person to ask me that in a month.”

  “Who was the first person?”

  “Oh, some man. Let me think. I think his name was Carter or Cartwright.”

  “Could his name have been Shelby Carpenter?”

  “That’s right. Said he was a reporter.”

  “What did you tell him, Miss Rockie?”

  “I always assumed I was the first Mrs. Landau, but to be honest I don’t rightly know. King never mentioned another wife to me. He talked about his childhood and high school, but he never said a word about his years from twenty to thirty. It’s like they didn’t exist.”

  “Wouldn’t his relatives or neighbors have mentioned that he was married before? After all, people would have to have known of his wife’s existence.”

  “King’s people were dead by the time I married him, and he didn’t have friends per se. He was a very private man.”

  “Did you ask about the missing years?”

  “He would say there was nothing interesting to tell. Now that you ask about another wife, I once found a picture of a young woman in one of his shoeboxes. When I questioned him about it, he said it was his cousin and not to go through his things again. King divorced me shortly after I found the photo.”

  “You didn’t ask for the divorce?”

  “No, I told people that I did, but at this stage of life, why lie about it? King wanted out and badly. He went to Mexico and got a quickie. I never saw King again.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It was a long time ago. I wasn’t madly in love with the man, so I wasn’t devastated. I received a nice settlement, but the whole thing was odd. He said we weren’t compatible, and he had met someone else, but he hadn’t. It was just an excuse. All our friends said he wasn’t seeing anyone as far as they could tell. Like I said—it was the strangest thing. He didn’t remarry for a long time.”

  “Can you think of anything else, Miss Rockie?”

  “Like I said before, King was a very private man. He would go off to his family farm and stay for days in a rundown house with no phone.”

  “You mean the horse farm he lives on now?”

  “No. No. His family farm which lies in the knobs south of Berea. When we were married, King would put on airs that he came from early Lexington pioneer stock, but the truth is, his people are mountain folk, born and bred.”

  “I thought he was Bluegrass aristocracy.”

  “It’s all a lie, pure and simple. The man had brains and guts, but no lineage.”

  “How do you know this? You said he didn’t talk about his past.”

  “When I found the woman’s picture, I also found King’s high school yearbook. It told me all I needed to know.”

  “Did you ask him about the yearbook?”

  “Not after he got so upset with me finding the photograph. I didn’t have the courage. I had struck a tender nerve for sure.”

  I paused trying to think.

  “Why are you and Mr. Carpenter asking these questions?”

  “I believe Mr. Carpenter was murdered for asking questions.”

  Rockie said, “Then you better be careful, my dear, if you are making the same inquiries as the departed Mr. Carpenter.”

  Having the last word, Rockie Landau hung up.

  27

  I had to run into the library to pay some late fees, so my plan was to duck in quickly and get out before Diane Voss spotted me. I didn’t want any trouble, but who should turn around and wait on me at the counter?

  Diane Voss.

  Oh, snap!

&nb
sp; “I need to pay fees for these books. Keep the change,” I said, throwing a ten-dollar bill down on the counter and scurrying out the door.

  “Mrs. Reynolds. Mrs. Reynolds!”

  I kept heading for my car.

  “Please don’t make me run after you.”

  I stopped and turned. It was okay by me if Diane wanted to cause an unpleasant scene in the parking lot. “Ms. Voss.”

  She broke off her pursuit in front of me, breathing heavily. “Let me catch my breath.”

  “I didn’t mean to upset you, Ms. Voss. I didn’t know you were working at the counter.”

  “May I speak with you for a moment, Mrs. Reynolds? I am sorry I was so freaked out when we talked before. I should have realized you were sleuthing. That’s what you do, right?”

  “In a manner of speaking.”

  Diane surveyed the parking lot of onlookers. “Can we talk in your car?”

  “About what?”

  “I think there is something you should know.”

  “I’m game.” I showed Diane to my Prius and we both got in.

  “What do you want to tell me, Ms. Voss?”

  “This stays between us.”

  “I can’t make any promises.”

  Diane paused for a moment.

  I urged her to speak. “Obviously, there is something on your mind, Ms. Voss. I’m not an attorney or a priest, but I’ll be as discreet as I can.”

  “You are the second person to question me about the Landaus. The first one was Shelby Carpenter, so you can see how asking questions about me dating Chase freaked me out. I mean the Carpenter man was murdered. At first, I thought you might be working for the Landaus.”

  “Working how?”

  “I didn’t drop Chase. I was paid off by his mother to end the relationship.”

  My eyebrows rose and my stomach got that wonderful tingly feeling when I’m on to a good clue.

  “Chase and I were serious. I genuinely cared for him. We even talked about marriage after we both graduated, but when Ferrina got wind of our plans, she would have none of it. She came to me and offered me fifty thousand dollars if I would leave Chase.”

  “Which you took.”

  “I was drowning in debt with student loans, and my mother had been diagnosed with cancer. I needed the money.”

  “Does Chase know?”

  “I told him why I couldn’t see him for a while, but I never thought our separation would be forever. The Landaus have money coming out their whazoos. I was desperate, but Chase didn’t understand. He has no conception of what it is like to be poor.”

  “Is that why he flunked out of school?”

  “Yes. He did it because he was angry with Ferrina.”

  “Ferrina’s emerald necklace has some of the smaller gems replaced with paste. Almost looks like the real thing. Was Chase flinching emeralds from his mother’s necklace to pay his gambling debts?”

  “He intended to make an engagement ring for me.”

  I flinched a bit. It didn’t make sense to me that a bride would want an engagement ring made from stolen gems, especially if they belonged to her mother-in-law. Her story didn’t ring quite true, but I assumed she was trying to make Chase sound noble. Chase was probably using the money from the sale of the gems on drugs and gambling. “Do you know where those stones are now?”

  Diane shook her head.

  “Do you stay in contact with Chase?”

  Diane shook her head. “I’ve tried calling and texting, but he won’t respond.”

  “What was Carpenter asking you about?”

  “General questions. Were the Landaus a happy family? Why did I break up with Chase? Did old man Landau have any violent tendencies? Had I ever met his former wives? There wasn’t much I could tell him.”

  “Wait a minute. Carpenter asked you about Landau’s former wife?”

  “He asked about wives. He was very emphatic about it.”

  “In the plural?”

  “Yes.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  Diane pursed her lips. “I didn’t even know Mr. Landau had been married before Ferrina.”

  I patted Diane’s arm and said sympathetically. “Okay. Okay. Anything else?”

  “This may sound awful, but I don’t regret taking the money. My family is debt free for the first time in twenty years, and my mother got the medical help she needed. She’s in remission now. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the greater good. I lost Chase but my mother got a few more years. That’s a good trade, isn’t it?”

  I wanted to kiss Diane’s forehead. “It’s a very good trade. Now that King Landau is very ill, I’m sure Chase understands your decision.”

  Diane’s eyes brightened, and she gave me a smile before heading back to the library.

  I watched Diane until she disappeared through the doors of the library.

  I would not trouble that dear girl again.

  28

  “I think I found a motive for murder,” Asa told me in a late night phone call.

  I sat up in bed and asked breathlessly, “What?” I could feel a tingle running up my spine.

  “King Landau was married at the age of eighteen to a woman named Dixie Orr, who was twenty-two at the time.”

  “A May-December match for mountain folk,” I said sarcastically.

  “Not only that,” Asa said, “but Dixie was King’s Sunday school teacher.”

  “You sound disapproving, Asa. People married young back then, and couples often met at church. The dating pool in the mountains was small because getting around was difficult. Midwives from the Frontier Nursing Service were still going into the mountains on horseback and mules in the late sixties.”

  “If you say so.”

  “Gosh, you’re spoiled. What else did you find out?”

  “The trail ends after a year.”

  “What do you mean the trail ends?”

  “No more Dixie.”

  “Huh?”

  “There is no record of Dixie Orr Landau after the first year of her marriage. Poof. She’s doesn’t exist anymore. No bank records, driver’s license, employment records, Social Security payouts, medical records—nothing. The woman disappeared off the face of the earth.”

  “That fits in with the story King told me about his wife dying in a car crash.”

  “There is no paper trail for King or his wife even owning a car at the time.”

  “She could have been a passenger in another person’s car. Another explanation is that people in the mountains often barter. Maybe someone gave them a car for a wedding gift?”

  “There are no tax records or registration for a car under the Landau name, and I mean any Landau until long after King Landau had left the area.”

  “Now how would you know that? Those old records wouldn’t be on the computer.”

  “Because I sent someone down to Kentucky to search the records by hand.”

  “I wish you hadn’t done that. I just wanted a quick look-see.”

  “You’re welcome, Mom.”

  “It’s not that I’m not grateful. I don’t have the money to pay you back.”

  “Call it a pre-Christmas gift. Franklin called me and said you and Hunter had a huge dust-up.”

  “The little snitch.”

  “Mother!”

  “I said ‘snitch.’”

  “Well?” Asa pressed.

  “Hunter’s mad at me for involving Franklin in my investigation.”

  “Is that what we’re calling your snooping now? I’m surprised the police haven’t knocked on your door and warned you off. I understand Detective Drake is very territorial.”

  “I am, too.”

  “Have you and Hunter made up?”

  “We haven’t spoken since the argument.”

  “That’s going to make Thanksgiving awkward since we’re going to Wickliffe Manor.”

  “I’m not going. I can’t leave Matt and Emmeline alone on Thanksgiving.”

  “It’s all arranged
. Franklin and I have been texting each other. Matt and Emmeline are going, but you have to pick up Lady Elsmere and bring her.”

  “What about you?”

  “I’ll be flying in on Thursday morning. I’ll meet you at Wickliffe Manor.”

  “Has this been okayed by Hunter?”

  “Don’t know. Don’t care. Hunter will get with the plan once he sees he’s outnumbered.”

  Not wanting to discuss Hunter anymore, I segued back to King Landau. “Anything else about King and his first wife? You said you found a motive for murder. I haven’t heard it yet.”

  “Oh, yeah. The most important tidbits. My guy found their marriage certificate but no death certificate for Dixie Orr, and we checked every state surrounding Kentucky. Now get this. We dug up a newspaper article in a county newspaper about a family complaining about a missing family member and posting a reward regarding her whereabouts. Guess who it was.”

  “Dixie Orr Landau,” I said.

  “Correctomundo. In the article, King stated Dixie had run off with a fancy man.”

  “Heard that excuse before.”

  “I’ve sent you a copy of the article along with Dixie’s birth and marriage certificate. That’s all I can do at this point.”

  “Do you know what happened to King after the newspaper article was published?”

  “He went out west to make his fortune just like Horace Greeley recommended, only to come back to Kentucky in his late thirties.”

  “Thanks, Asa. I’ll take it from here.”

  “Mom. You and I both know what happened. I’ve read the reports on Shelby Carpenter’s murder. Be careful. Even as an old, sick man, King Landau has sharp teeth. I wish you would let this matter drop.”

  But I couldn’t.

  I don’t know why, but I couldn’t.

  29

  After Asa’s call, I went to check on the animals. An early snow threatened, which was strange because we usually didn’t have much snow until January and February. “What do you think, Baby? Are we going to get a white Thanksgiving?”

  Ignoring me, Baby ran ahead to the horse barn. Most of the horses were still out in the pastures, but I had put my horse, Morning Glory, up in a stall because I wanted to wash and groom her again. I didn’t like her dirty. “Hey, Glory. I have some peppermints for you,” I called out, but when I got to her stall, she was gone.