“No, I’m sorry. They said he called in sick to work.”
“I know, and he wasn’t there today.” Her voice cracked as she spoke. “I—I just left the tire shop. I’m too upset to work. I need help. Do you think you could meet me?”
Deena hesitated. Could this be a trap? Maybe Clay and Kitty were scheming something together. But why would it involve her?
When Deena hesitated, Kitty pleaded. “Please? I don’t know who else to turn to. It’s about my grandfather.”
Deena sighed. “Okay. Can you meet at the doughnut shop across from the thrift store?” She wanted to keep the spot neutral, just in case her instincts about Kitty were wrong.
“Sure. I’ll be there in five minutes.”
“Wait,” Deena said, still feeling a little vulnerable. “How did you get my number?”
“It was in the phonebook. I called your landline.”
“Oh.” Deena hung up, but not before she heard Kitty moan something about old people.
Deena hadn’t really expected to have a free day, but at least this way she could still pop in and see Sandra. Maybe Ian had shared something with her about the case, although she knew Sandra didn’t usually reveal anything her husband had told her in confidence.
And, well . . . doughnuts.
When Deena got to the parking lot, she saw Kitty’s red car with Kitty still inside. The girl followed Deena into the shop. They both ordered and Deena picked up the tab.
Once they were seated with hot coffee and warm pastry, Kitty began to open up. “This has been the worst week of my life. I lost my grandfather, my boyfriend, and even my freedom for a few hours, although if Detective Guttman has his way, it may be forever. I can’t believe he thinks I would kill Granddad.” Tears spilled from her face like raindrops from a dark cloud. “And he says he’s looking for Clay too.”
Deena felt sorry for the girl. “Did Clay leave any signs about where he might have gone? I thought you only had one car between you. How far could he have gone?”
“If he hitched a ride with a trucker, he could be halfway across the country by now.” Kitty dabbed a paper napkin at her eyes.
“Hmm.” Deena thought about it. “But did he pack a bag or just disappear?”
“He packed a bag. It didn’t have everything in it, but it had the essentials.” She shook her head. “I don’t think he’s planning on coming back.”
“But why would he up and leave like that? Did he know you had been arrested?”
Kitty looked around nervously at the other patrons. She and Deena were in a far booth, but she must have worried someone would overhear them. “I think so. He was at work and they took me away at the end of the day from Freddy’s. I didn’t get to talk to him, but I’m sure the other people at work told him what happened.”
“Okay,” Deena said, wiping doughnut crumbs from her blouse. “Let’s be logical about this. What are the reasons you can come up with for Clay to take off like that?” She had one big one in her mind but wanted to hear what Kitty would say.
“He doesn’t love me anymore.”
Deena made a sound like a buzzer indicating a wrong answer on a game show. “Ehh. Too sudden and definitely too coincidental, timing wise. What else?”
Kitty sighed. “Maybe he saw I got arrested and assumed it was for our bank scam and thought they’d be after him next.”
“Sounds like you’ve thought about that one already.”
“Yeah, but I’d be surprised that he’d just abandon me.” Kitty added two packets of sugar to her cup and stirred it like a tornado touching ground.
“Didn’t you say he had a police record already? Maybe he was more afraid because of that.”
“Maybe, but they were pretty minor arrests. Marijuana possession. Petty theft.”
Deena gave Kitty a hard look but bit her tongue. She wanted to lecture the woman about the company she kept but remembered that Kitty said she was no Girl Scout. For all Deena knew, Kitty might have had her own previous brushes with the law. “Any other reason he might have left?”
The question hung in the air like the Goodwill blimp. Deena let it float awhile as Kitty seemed to shut down.
“Kitty? Anything else you can think of?”
She grabbed another handful of napkins and hid her face in her hands. “He didn’t poison Granddad. I know it. He wasn’t that kind of person. Plus, it doesn’t make sense.”
“Explain.” Deena sat back and nursed her cup.
“If he killed Granddad, it would have to be for the money, right? But if he left, he wouldn’t get any. So why would he do it?”
Deena reached over and put a hand on Kitty’s. Love truly was blind. “Maybe he did it for you. To take care of you.”
Kitty shook her head and began whimpering like a wounded animal.
Deena knew the girl must have thought of this already on her own but didn’t want to face up to it. After the tears dried up, Deena said, “I have one other theory. Maybe Clay isn’t gone for good. Maybe he’s just hiding out until the coast is clear, and then he plans to find you and have you run off with him.”
Kitty nodded as though the thought made her feel better. “I guess that could be true.”
“Kitty!” Deena pounded her fist on the table. “Don’t even think about it. If he killed your grandfather, you can’t even consider the possibility of taking him back.”
She closed her eyes tight. “I know, I know.” Then, “Unless it was an accident.”
“Seriously?” Deena was at the end of her rope.
Kitty reached into her handbag and pulled out two white letter envelopes. “I have another problem I was hoping you could help me with. But before I tell you, you have to promise me you won’t tell anyone.”
Deena’s eyes were glued to the envelopes. “I can’t make that promise. If it’s anything illegal—”
“It’s not, at least I don’t think so.”
Deena was dying to know what secrets were hidden in the envelopes, but as curious as she was, she knew better than to make a promise she couldn’t keep. “Maybe you should confide in your attorney instead of me.”
Kitty rolled her eyes. “Are you kidding? She kept calling me Katherine and would barely make eye contact. The social worker told me it was my grandfather’s lawyer who convinced the judge to let me out. My lawyer just did the paperwork.”
“Ian Davis. He’s one of the good ones.”
“Yeah? Do you think he will help me?” Kitty’s eyes pleaded her case.
“I don’t know. He may still be your grandfather’s attorney even though he passed.” Deena thought about calling him but was pretty sure what he’d say. “Why don’t you give me a hint as to what this is about, and then maybe I can help you figure out what to do.”
Kitty glanced at the envelopes. “I told you I got stuff out of Granddad’s safe deposit box. Well, there were two wills in it and they’re different.”
“Oh,” Deena said, feeling a rush of relief, “I know the answer to that one. As long as they are both legitimate, the will with the most recent date is the valid one.”
Kitty blew out a sigh as she plopped the two documents onto the table. “That’s what I was afraid of.”
Deena leaned forward. “Are you saying the most recent will doesn’t name you as the beneficiary?”
Kitty nodded.
“But I even heard Edwin tell you everything he had would be yours.”
“I know, right? Apparently, he changed his mind and forgot or something.”
“Who is the other beneficiary?”
Kitty shoved the envelopes toward Deena and leaned back as though the effort took every last ounce of energy she had left in her body.
Deena opened the first envelope and pulled out three sheets of paper. She skimmed the first part about Edwin being of sound mind and body. Her eyes tracked down to the line with a name typed on it. There in black and white was the name Katherine “Kitty” Cooper. She turned to the last page where Edwin had signed and dated the document.
It was dated in September three years earlier. There was even a notary stamp. “I’m no expert by any means, but this one naming you looks real to me.”
“It is. I was with Granddad when he had it notarized.”
The second envelope shouted at Deena, “Open me!” She picked it up and realized her hands were trembling ever so slightly. She pulled out three sheets of paper that appeared identical to the first ones, and her eyes flashed right on the name of the benefactor. It was Marcie Anne Phillips. “Marcie?” She looked over at Kitty.
“I don’t even know who she is, unless she’s that lady who takes Granddad to bingo on Friday nights.” Her shoulders dropped even further. “Did you see the date?”
Deena turned to the last page. “January of this year. That was just two months ago.” She noticed the same signature and notary stamp as the first will. “I don’t know what to say.”
Kitty was apparently all cried out. “If Clay did kill my grandfather to help me, it was all for nothing.”
Deena had the last two pages of the will laid out side by side. They were both originals, as far as she could tell, and the signatures were identical. “That’s strange,” she said as she wondered aloud. “Who writes their name the exact same way every time?”
Kitty shrugged, obviously not getting Deena’s point. “I thought about just throwing the new one away. Maybe this was the only copy. But I was worried there might be another copy somewhere and they would arrest me.”
Deena couldn’t take her eyes off the documents. “Do you have anything else with your grandfather’s signature on it?”
Kitty thought a minute. “I have his checkbook in my purse.”
“Can I see it?” Kitty passed it to her, and she flipped through the carbon copies of checks with Edwin’s signature. They were all similar enough. It seemed to Deena that if Edwin had indeed changed his will, Marcie would have known about it and said something at the previous night’s meeting.
“What do you think? Is the second one real?”
“I don’t know, but I think we should assume it is. You can always challenge it in court and let a judge decide.”
“All this sounds expensive. I don’t even know exactly what an executor is supposed to do.” She sat up. “And won’t this make me look more guilty of murder if I am supposed to inherit the money? I can just see that detective’s face now.”
“Look, Kitty. We need to find out what your grandfather’s true intentions were regarding his estate. For all we know, Marcie could have tricked him into signing this will. You need a good lawyer, for sure. Some will work on contingency.”
“What’s that?”
“It means that they won’t charge you a fee but will take a portion of the money they recover for you.”
Kitty’s face brightened a bit. “That sounds good. Something is better than nothing.” She darted her eyes. “You know what I mean. Part of the reason I stayed behind in Maycroft when my parents moved to California was to take care of Granddad.”
“I get it,” Deena said. “I have an idea. Before we do anything else, I want to get someone’s opinion on these signatures. Do you mind if I take these and a couple of those carbons of the checks?”
“Help yourself. They aren’t doing me any good at this point.”
Deena put all the papers in her purse and pulled out her cell phone. “By the way, I have a picture of Marcie. Look at it and see if you recognize her.” She opened the picture she’d taken for Christy Ann at the neighborhood watch meeting and enlarged it on Marcie’s face.
Kitty studied it closely. “She looks a little familiar. I think she could be Granddad’s friend at the bank. Does she usually have chopsticks poking out of her head?”
“That’s her.”
Chapter 24
As soon as Kitty left, Deena called the high school and made an appointment with the art teacher during his conference period. That left her about an hour. The thrift store was right across the parking lot and Deena was tempted to go see Sandra, but she had a nagging feeling she couldn’t ignore.
She got in the car and drove toward the bank. If Clay had skipped town as Kitty suspected, it would be up to the police to find him. Her hands were tied there. But if he was just hiding out, Deena had an idea of where he might be.
Only a few cars were in the bank parking lot. Deena knew more would appear as soon as the lunchtime crowd arrived. She headed inside and straight to the teller window where Leslie sat on a tall stool looking at her phone.
Leslie must have sensed someone coming because she quickly stuck the phone under the counter before looking up. “Hi. How may I . . .” When Leslie realized it was Deena at the window, she hesitated, then added, “Help you today?”
“You can start by telling me where Clay is.” Deena smiled and put her purse on the counter as though she were conducting a bank transaction.
Leslie’s voice rose an octave higher and her face reddened. “I have no idea. I swear.”
Deena leaned in. “You’re lying and I’m not in the mood for games.”
Leslie opened her mouth, but no words came out.
“Look,” Deena said, “I can call the police to come question you here at the bank, or you can make this easy on yourself and tell me where he is. Scenario one probably gets you fired. Scenario two may save your job, unless it turns out you and Clay were in on it together all along. And while you’re considering your options, think about how bad you will look in orange.”
That’s all it took for her to spill her guts. “He’s at my apartment. I told him he could stay until they arrested whoever killed Kitty’s grandfather. He made me promise not to tell anyone. He didn’t want Kitty to know where he was so he could protect her.”
Deena dropped the Dirty Harry persona. “But what if Clay is the killer? Did you consider that? You and Kitty could both be in danger.”
Leslie’s eyes watered then. “He swore he didn’t.”
“Like you just swore you didn’t know where he was?”
Her shoulders slumped. “Are you going to tell the police where he is?”
“Yes. Write down your address and I am going to stand right over there and make the call. And I think I’ll hold on to your phone while I do it.”
Leslie handed over a slip of paper and her cell phone just as another customer walked up. “Hi. How can I help you today?”
Deena made the call and the dispatcher put her through to Officer Santos. He was grateful for the information, telling her they had an APB out on Clay Brooks. After ending the call, she slid the phone back to Kitty, feeling a sense of accomplishment. She had performed her civic duty and could breathe a sigh of relief.
But not so fast.
She spotted Marcie escorting a gentleman to the lobby and couldn’t help but wonder if she was aware of Edwin’s will naming her a beneficiary. She hesitated. Kitty had said she got stuff out of her grandfather’s safe deposit box, but she didn’t say she emptied it. Maybe there was a third will dated more recently that was made out to Kitty. It was worth a shot.
Deena caught the woman as she walked back to her office. “Hi, Marcie.”
“Oh, hi, Deena.” She was obviously caught by surprise. “Here for a loan to buy SWAT equipment for Christy Ann?”
“Good one, but no. Can I talk to you in private?”
The woman’s smile faded. She nodded and waved Deena into her office. Once they were seated, she said, “How can I help you today?”
Apparently, the bank employees were hardwired to say that. “I have a question about Edwin’s safe deposit box.”
“It’s sealed, as per state law when someone dies.”
“Sure, but I need to see what’s in it.” Deena smiled sweetly across the desk.
“Mrs. Sharpe, you know I can’t do that. Even if you were listed on the account—which you’re not—only a judge can order a box to be opened once it is sealed.”
She noticed Marcie had dropped “Deena” and now referred to her as “Mrs. Sharpe.”
&nbs
p; “Well, Marcie, I know that you have special authority when it comes to those boxes and could open it if you wanted to. Or, I could ask Mr. Rusk.”
Marcie leaned back in her chair. “Seriously? You are trying to blackmail me again?”
“I promise not to take anything. I just need a peek inside.”
The woman seemed to weigh her options, then grabbed a ring of keys from her desk drawer. “Okay, but this is the last time.”
They walked to the vault and went inside the small room of safe deposit boxes. Marcie stooped down to one near the bottom and ripped off a piece of duct tape.
Deena chuckled. “That’s how you seal a box?”
“It’s largely symbolic.” She inserted two keys and opened the drawer.
Deena crouched down and looked inside. She took out two letter envelopes that had been pushed to the rear.
Marcie let out a huff and stood up. “You said you wouldn’t take anything.”
“I won’t, but I’ve got to see what I’m not taking.” Deena opened the first envelope. It contained a life insurance policy for ten thousand dollars made out to Kitty. The second one was the same but from a different company. At least Kitty wouldn’t be left penniless. Deena returned the envelopes and traded places with Marcie so she could lock the box.
“Whose box is that?” Deena asked, pointing to another sealed box two rows over on the top.
“If you must know, that’s Edwin’s also.”
Deena waved her hand. “Come on, sista. Give it up.”
Obviously unamused, Marcie clenched her jaw and proceeded to open the second box.
This one was much more interesting. Inside were at least six bundles of one-hundred-dollar bills. Deena gasped at the sight.
Marcie put a hand on her hip. “It’s not unusual for some people to keep cash locked up so they can get their hands on it quickly if needed. Also, some people, especially older customers, don’t always trust the banking system.”
Deena slowly moved her hand forward to touch the beautiful bundles. She’d never seen that much cash in person. When she moved in closer, she saw another envelope lying at the bottom of the box. She reached under one of the stacks of bills and pulled it out. This could be the third will she was looking for. She quickly pulled out the papers and was thrilled to see it was indeed a will. But there on the dotted line was Marcie Phillips’s name. She turned to the back page and saw that the date matched the copy she’d gotten from Kitty. Her body slumped in disappointment.
Sharpe Wit Page 13
