SONGBIRD (JAX DIAMOND MYSTERIES Book 1)

by Gail Meath

  She smiled. “As long as you wear a different suit.”

  As she made her way back on stage, she couldn’t shake the remnants of the hot and cold sensations running through her, a tingling that sent goosebumps up and down her arms and made her light-headed without feeling faint. And it wasn’t until she and George began to rehearse their scene together that it dissipated. But as hard as she tried not to let her vision wander towards Jax standing backstage, it seemed her eyes had a mind of their own.

  By the time practice was finished, Jax had left, and she went back to her dressing room to change. Annie had laid her street clothes neatly over the screen. After she was finished dressing, she sat at the vanity to brush her hair.

  “I saw you talking with the detective,” Annie stated.

  “Annie, please don’t worry. He’s really very harmless.”

  “And charming, too,” she added with a giggle as she retrieved her sweater from the coat rack.

  Laura couldn’t believe her ears and stared at her.

  Annie was still smiling. “The Detective and I had a little private chat while you were on stage. I found him to be a very honest and bright young man. He reminds me of my youngest, Alberto.” She went over to hug Laura and told her that she would see her on Wednesday for the performance.

  Laura sat there, dazed. Annie was like a brick wall when she met someone new, and it took her forever to warm up to anyone. If she ever did. Only a few hours ago, she had called Jax a ragamuffin right before giving her fair warning that he was backstage. She wondered what on earth Jax could have possibly said to her to turn her around so quickly and completely.

  When she was leaving her dressing room, she glanced at the gardenia that Annie had moved to the far shelf, then she shut the door and made her way downstairs. She saw Charley and Jimmy on the stairwell. She called to them, and they waited for her to catch up.

  “It was a great practice today,” she told them. “I was surprised Mister Beacham didn’t show up today. Especially since we had four days off.”

  “He planned on being here,” Charley said. “Something must have come up. I got a phone call from the stage manager this morning asking me to come in. Like Jimmy, I only live a hop, skip, and a jump away, so we’re the ones who always get called in last minute.”

  “Mister Kratz didn’t mention why Mister Beacham couldn’t make it here today, did he?” But Charley shook his head. “Have you seen or heard from him, Jimmy?”

  “No, Miss Graystone. The stage crew had the weekend off, too. I love this place, but not enough to come here on my day off. I think the maintenance crew were the only ones working over the weekend.”

  They left the theater together. Laura said goodbye to them and headed down the street by herself. The fact that Mister Beacham didn’t show up weighed on her mind. They often worked closely together, sometimes after hours, so she knew a great deal about him. He had turned sixty-four last month, and he lived alone, ever since his wife had passed away from pneumonia last year. They never had any children, and sadly, he had no other family. She wished now that she knew where he lived or at least had thought to ask him for his number.

  As soon as she settled inside her apartment, she picked up the telephone and dialed zero. When the operator answered, she explained that she needed the number for a co-worker whose last name was Beacham. The operator asked her what city, and when she replied that he lived in New York City, she was told that it was too large of an area. The woman needed a specific county, town, or borough.

  Laura hung up the phone realizing that she didn’t even know Mister Beacham’s first name, let alone what borough he lived in. And she was embarrassed since she knew so many other things about him. She sat there for a moment, then she got up and snatched her handbag. She shuffled through it looking for the card Jax had given her with his telephone number on it.

  As she stared at it, she considered calling him, to see if he could find out where Mister Beacham lived. Then, she changed her mind. He couldn’t help her any more than the operator with so little information. Besides, she was undoubtedly getting herself worked up over nothing. There was probably a very good reason Mister Beacham wasn’t there today, and it really wasn’t any of her business.

  That’s when she blamed her panic on everything that had happened over the weekend. There were a lot of crazy things going on, between Jax’s car brakes and seeing Robert Ashworth with Mister Sanders’ wife together. Not to mention, someone might have been following them at the amusement park. No wonder she was wound up so tight. She decided what she needed was a nice steamy bubble bath to relax her, and she headed into the bathroom.

  Later that night, she relaxed in bed, feeling completely refreshed. All her worries had left her as she watched the brilliant moonlight streaming through her window. It reminded her of Jax, and their walk home last night. But the telephone rang, breaking those thoughts. She threw the covers off and hurried into the other room to answer it.

  “Hello?” She smiled when she heard Jax’s voice. “Yes, you woke me up.”

  He apologized. Then, he told her that Gus had fixed his car, and he would pick her up tomorrow night at six o’clock. Unless she couldn’t wait that long to see him again.

  She held back a chuckle. “It won’t be easy, but I’ll try. Good night, Jax.” She hung up the phone, went back into the bedroom, still grinning, and comfortably slid under the covers.

  13

  Hemlock

  Tuesday, June 5

  The following morning, Jax sat in the outer office, tapping his pencil rapidly on the wooden arm of the chair, with Ace sitting beside him. “Do you know how much longer it’ll be, Gertie? I’ve been waiting over an hour.”

  The grey-haired woman slowly glanced up at him. “You know Lieutenant Simmons is a busy man, Detective Diamond. He’ll be with you as soon as he is free. Would you mind refraining from strumming your pencil? I have a heavy workload, too, and it’s distracting.”

  “Sorry.” He stood up and started pacing the small room, humming to himself.

  Irritably, Gertie picked up the telephone, called the Lieutenant on the intercom, and reminded him that Jax was still waiting. “Yes, sir.” She expelled a loud sigh of relief, and announced, “He will see you now.”

  Jax thanked her, grabbed his hat on the chair, and he and Ace entered the adjoining room. “I appreciate you seeing me on such short notice, Lieutenant.”

  He greeted them both and offered Jax a seat. “I’m not sure how I can help you. Gertie said it had something to do with the Kitty Cooper investigation. We closed that case months ago.”

  “I wasn’t aware that you could close an unsolved murder.”

  The Lieutenant sat down behind his desk. “It depends upon the case. Now, why did you want to see me?”

  Jax pulled out his notepad and flipped through it. “I came upon some information recently that I’m hoping will convince you to reopen the investigation.”

  “Hearsay is a far cry from evidence, Jax. You know that as well as I do from your time on the force. Unless you have something more substantial, I’m afraid...”

  “Just hear me out, Lieutenant,” Jax insisted.

  Lieutenant Simmons leaned back in his chair and motioned for him to proceed.

  “I know you questioned and dismissed a couple of prime suspects. Did you know that during the months leading up to Kitty Cooper’s murder, she was secretly involved with a prominent gentleman in the city?”

  “From what I heard, there were a few of them. Who would you be referring to?”

  Jax noticed the irritation in the other man’s voice and stared down at his notepad, hesitant to answer. Lieutenant Simmons had been his superior when he worked on the force, and he had every respect for the man, on the job and off. He was also a stickler for dotting every i and crossing every t. So, Jax braced himself for the repercussion that was sure to follow. He took a deep breath, lifted his head, and looked at the man directly.

  “Robert Ashworth,” he said qui
etly. But surprisingly, the Lieutenant didn’t respond the way Jax thought he would. In fact, he didn’t seem very surprised or angry with the accusation. He simply sat there, contemplating it. Then, he stood up, walked around to the front of the desk, and leaned against it.

  “Did you read the file?” the Lieutenant asked.

  “Yes, sir. It stated that you questioned Mister Ashworth at the time, yet only about Miss Cooper’s work ethics, along with her comings and goings at the theater on the day of her death. Was that the extent of your inquiries?”

  “Not exactly. Robert never admitted knowing Miss Cooper personally, but I ran across some documents that proved the woman’s luxury apartment on West 57th Street was funded through Ashworth’s bank. The same with receipts for her jewelry and furs from Bloomingdale’s, and Lord and Taylor. Before I had time to pinpoint exactly which bank account the money was withdrawn from, the captain called off the investigation, collected all the evidence I’d gathered, and closed the case.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Between you and me, Jax. I think the Ashworths paid the captain or the mayor plenty to keep Robert’s involvement from going public. And there wasn’t anything I could do about it.”

  “Maybe you couldn’t back then. But I think Robert Ashworth had something to do with Samuel Sanders’ death. I know the medical examiner determined it was natural causes, but I don’t think so, sir.”

  “Going on one of your hunches again, Jax?”

  “It’s more than a hunch. I was the first person on the scene, and there are too many discrepancies for the man to have suddenly had a heart attack. I think Robert Ashworth and Sanders’ wife conspired to kill him because she couldn’t obtain a divorce. If Robert Ashworth was capable of murdering Kitty Cooper or paying someone else to do it, he is certainly capable of killing his current girlfriend’s husband. I know for a fact that he’s involved with Missus Sanders.”

  It took the Lieutenant a minute to respond. Finally, he reached over to pet Ace. “I didn’t want either of you leaving the force, Jax. You’ve been right more than you’ve been wrong. And Tim hasn’t been happy with any of his partners since you and Ace left. Are you sure you don’t want to re-enlist?”

  Jax laughed. “Not at the moment, sir, but thanks. So, what happens now?”

  “Off the record, keep investigating this. Discreetly, please. It won’t help my standing with Captain Ryan if word got out. I assume you shared your hunch with Tim. I’m fine with him helping you as long it stays between you. But keep me informed. I’ll see that the city pays you if you produce anything substantial. There’s nothing I’d like better than to see Robert Ashworth behind bars if he’s guilty.”

  “Thank you, sir.” He shook the Lieutenant’s hand and left.

  Tim was waiting for him in the office area. “Good morning, Jax.”

  “Speak of the devil.”

  “I probably don’t want to know what you were talking with the Lieutenant about, do I?” Tim asked.

  “Probably not. What are your plans for the day?”

  “I have a feeling you already know.”

  Jax laughed. “Let’s take my car, and I’ll fill you in.”

  “I’d rather drive my patrol car.”

  “You sound paranoid, Murph. Old Nellie is less conspicuous.”

  “And mine is a heck of a lot safer.”

  As Jax drove to Manhattan, he explained to Tim that he had every intention of asking Robert Ashworth a few indirect questions at the theater yesterday. He’d hoped to find out if Ashworth was present at the theater when Sanders’ meal was delivered last Tuesday. And hopefully, trick Ashworth into telling him about his relationship with Patricia Sanders. He wanted proof that the two of them had hooked up before Sander’s death. Otherwise, it merely looked like he was consoling the widow of his former employee after the fact.

  But now that he knew the murders were connected, and the captain had shut down the Kitty Cooper investigation, they had to be careful not to alert the Ashworths that they had unofficially reopened it. Which meant they couldn’t request any financial documentations from the Ashworths’ bank, Kitty Cooper’s apartment building, or receipts from the high-end department stores. Yet, they could easily and casually ask the store clerks, desk clerks, and bellhops a few questions.

  So, Jax and Tim spent the day at Bloomingdales, and Lord and Taylors, where they discovered that Robert Ashworth had been a frequent customer since last Christmas. He’d spent an exorbitant amount of money in both the women’s clothing and coat departments, as well as their jewelry departments. Finally, they ended up at the 57th Street Apartments. Curiously here, everyone seemed tight-lipped about any goings-on during Kitty Cooper’s stay in the penthouse.

  Except for one elevator operator who admitted receiving very generous tips from Robert Ashworth, asking him not to pick up any other passengers whenever he rode the elevator to the penthouse.

  “Well, we found out a lot about the man today,” Tim said as Jax drove them back to the station house just south of the Williamsburg Bridge. “But what good is it if Captain Ryan won’t reopen the investigation?”

  “We just keep digging and collecting evidence until we have enough to change his mind. You haven’t told me what you think of Laura yet, Murph. She’s quite a gal, isn’t she? When I was at the theater yesterday, I watched her on stage. Her singing is incredible with such rich tones and a wide pitch range. I’d bet my last buck that she reached at least four octaves perfectly. I’ve never heard anything so beautiful.”

  “You’re carrying a real torch for her already, aren’t you? Carla and I like her a lot, but no offense, Jax. We think she’s way out of your league.”

  Jax smiled. “I know. Isn’t that terrific?”

  “It is if you’re setting yourself up for a big fall. According to Carla, Laura is a rising star, and she’s going to make it big time. You and I know better than anyone that the Broadway scene is a far cry from our humble lives.”

  “You’re a real stick in the mud, Murph.”

  “Okay, then let’s talk about the person who followed you at Coney Island.”

  “Like I said, it was my imagination,” Jax returned flatly. He regretted saying anything to Tim about it in the first place since it had nothing at all to do with this case or any other.

  For a while, he’d just had a feeling of being followed as he and Laura walked to different rides at the park. An inexplicably weird feeling that seemed ridiculous given the massive crowd. Then, when his horse reached the finish line during the steeplechase, he saw a man standing behind Laura. Someone from his past. And it startled him since he’d heard the person had died eight years ago.

  When he noticed Ace chasing after the man, Jax still wondered if they’d been followed, but he realized that his eyes must have been playing tricks on him as to who the man was. Since he didn’t want to get into all of that with Tim, he decided to just drop the issue altogether. And he was glad Tim fell silent.

  Jax pulled his car up to the curb. “I have to go home and get all dolled-up now, Murph. I have a date with my rising star tonight.”

  Tim laughed and got out of the car. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jax.”

  Ace jumped into the front seat while Jax waited for a few cars to go by. Then, he pulled the car out into the road. But within seconds, Ace started barking. Jax slowed down to find out why, and he heard Tim shouting for him to stop. He slammed on the brakes, nearly getting hit from behind, and he held up traffic until Tim nudged Ace out of the way and jumped back into the car.

  “Stan just told me that Doctor Norris called. He wants me to stop by his office as soon as possible. I figured you’d want to come, too.”

  “You bet I do.”

  They headed north to First Avenue in Manhattan and entered the medical examiner’s building. Doctor Norris greeted them and introduced Doctor Gettler, the chief toxicologist. Doctor Gettler explained that he’d spent the past few weeks in Europe. Upon his return Sunday night, he and Doctor Norris
worked together to re-examine the specimens Joe had collected in Samuel Sanders’ apartment.

  “I told Doctor Gettler that you had questioned whether there were any poisonous substances that were still undetectable, Detective,” Doctor Norris said. “Unfortunately, there are too many, and I lost quite a bit of sleep thinking about it that night. Isolating and identifying toxic structures of chemical compounds have been challenging enough. Especially since Mayor Hylan openly ridicules our work and cut the funding necessary for us to continue. So much so, I have been contributing my own money to further our research.”

  “What did you find?” Jax asked anxiously.

  “Joe mentioned that cyanosis, a blueish tint to the skin, had already developed when he examined Mister Sanders,” the Doctor told him. “While that is an inevitable part of the decomposing process, it would in itself tell me that the man had died eight to twelve hours earlier. But Joe also mentioned the overheated temperature in the apartment, and that would greatly accelerate the process, which is why I was so firm in my initial diagnosis. Yet, cyanosis is also the first sign of poison ingestion. In hindsight, I should not have dismissed the concept so completely.”

  “Due to limited funds, we have only recently begun working on isolating plant compounds,” Doctor Gettler added. “And we did, indeed, come across a small trace of cicutoxin, a naturally-occurring poisonous compound produced by several plants from the Apiaceae family. The first isolation of pure cicutoxin was confirmed a few years ago after twenty-seven similar cases of illness had been reported, with twenty-one resulting in death.”

  “So, in laymen’s terms, there was poison in his food?”

  Doctor Norris nodded. “Cicutoxin has been found in a few species of hemlock plants, which grow wild and are often mistaken for edible roots such as wild parsnip, celery, turnips, and carrots. The toxin is present throughout the plant, but the root carries the highest concentration. Ingestion of a mere two-centimeter portion of the root could be fatal for an adult.”