Justice in Mystic Grove

by S F Bose

“No, they didn’t arrest her. They brought her in for questioning but released her,” Sam replied.

  Paulie shook his head. “Too bad. Larissa is a nervous wreck with the killer still out there.”

  “You talked to Larissa?” I asked.

  Paulie nodded. “Sure. I’ve been over to spend time with Larissa and her parents. We talked about what Steve would have liked for the service and I helped with the arrangements. We also tried to figure out who killed him.”

  “Did you come up with any ideas?” I asked.

  “No, not really,” Paulie replied. “Steve was a great guy and I loved him. But he had a knack for irritating people. He’d figure out a guy’s weak points and then push all the right buttons to annoy him. Steve felt he won if the guy lost his temper Maybe he did that to the wrong person and it got him killed. Or maybe it was someone he arrested. I don’t know.”

  “Did he push your buttons?” I asked with a smile.

  Paulie laughed. “He sure did. He’d harp about me still being a bachelor. Over and over again.”

  “But he never made you angry?” I pressed.

  “I didn’t say that. Sometimes Steve didn’t know when to stop and I’d get upset. But I knew he never meant to be hurtful. Usually, I laughed his comments off, which drove him crazy.”

  “So you and Steve were close?” Sam asked.

  Paulie smiled sadly. “Yeah, we were. Everyone in our family is gone, so we only had each other.” He paused for a moment. “Sometime we argued, but it always passed. Steve was there for me and I tried to be there for him.”

  “Can you tell us about the last time you saw your brother?” I asked.

  “Sure. I saw him the Sunday before he was killed. He dropped in and we ended up grilling burgers and drinking beer. Steve was in a good mood that day.”

  “Do you remember what you talked about?” asked Sam.

  Paulie sipped more orange juice and narrowed his eyes. “Nothing special. We talked sports. He said we should go fishing soon. I told him about some projects we hoped to get at work. Stuff like that.”

  Sam nodded. “He didn’t talk about anybody giving him trouble or threatening him?”

  “No, nothing like that. Steve didn’t talk about work at all. He was very upbeat. He and Larissa were getting along again. Everything was good,” Paulie replied.

  Again? “Were there problems in their marriage?” I asked.

  Paulie shrugged. “All couples have problems. But it seemed like Steve and Larissa had resolved whatever issues they had.”

  I nodded. “Do you know what their issues were?”

  “I’m not sure. Steve never said,” Paulie replied shortly.

  I smiled. “Then how did you know they were having problems?”

  Paulie sighed and looked uncomfortable.

  “Paulie, it would help us a lot if we knew what was going on in his life,” I said softly.

  “Okay,’ he replied. “When I visited at their house, sometimes they’d be angry with each other. It was so bad you could cut the tension with a knife. One of them would make a comment and suddenly they would be yelling and arguing. It was awful. Other times, they were so cold, it was like walking into a freezer. They wouldn’t say a word to each other. Total silence was worse than the arguing. However, lately they were much happier. They laughed more, held hands, and hugged. Stuff like that. It was nice to see them happy again.”

  “When did things improve?” Sam asked.

  Paulie thought for a minute. “Not sure. I think it was around a month or two ago.”

  “Did your brother ever mention that he thought Larissa was having an affair?” I asked.

  Paulie’s mouth dropped open. “What? No! He never said that! Larissa would never cheat on Steve.”

  Maybe Meagher didn’t realize Larissa had been cheating on him. “Did your brother ever cheat on her?” I pressed.

  Paulie shook his head vigorously. “No! Where are you getting this crap?”

  “We’re not making accusations, Paulie. These are just questions we have to ask,” Sam said firmly.

  Paulie nodded but there was a wary look in his eyes.

  “Going back to what you and your brother talked about. Can you remember anything else you discussed that day?” I asked.

  Paulie took a deep breath and ended up coughing. After a minute he said, “He did ask me if I’d ever considered living somewhere else. That surprised me. I asked if he meant like Chicago and he laughed. He said he meant a tropical island or South America or anywhere they didn’t have snow.”

  “What did you say?” I asked.

  “I told him I’d never thought about it. I like living here,” Paulie replied. “Then I asked him if he wanted to live somewhere else and he said he’d been seriously thinking about it. He hated Wisconsin winters. He said he dreamed about finding a tropical island where he could sit on the beach all day and play poker and drink at night.”

  “I wonder how Larissa reacted to that,” I said.

  Paulie clenched his jaw. “Steve didn’t say. It was different though. We didn’t usually talk about things like that.”

  “Anything else?” Sam asked.

  Paulie shook his head. “No, nothing else I can think of.”

  “Paulie, have you ever heard of Mac Goodman?” I asked.

  “Mac who now?” he asked and I smiled.

  “Mac Goodman,” I said.

  “No, doesn’t ring a bell,” Paulie replied.

  “Okay, did you know that your brother played high-stakes poker?” I asked.

  “Oh sure. Steve was an excellent poker player. He played at the casinos and also in private games,” Paulie replied.

  “Did you play poker too?” I asked.

  Paulie laughed. “No, I don’t gamble. I tried playing cards a few times when I was younger, but I don’t have a poker face.”

  “Did your brother ever mention not paying taxes on his winnings? Or anything about bitcoin?” I asked.

  Paulie’s eyebrows shot up. “Steve? Are you kidding? No way. He was a cop and believed in following the rules. I’m sure he paid his taxes and he never mentioned anything about bitcoin to me.”

  “But gambling at private games is illegal in this state,” I pointed out.

  Paulie made a face. “Come on. You can find a private poker game here every day of the week. It’s a stupid law that a lot of people ignore. Not everyone wants to go to a casino to play poker for money.”

  I glanced at Sam and decided to drop it. “Okay. Do you know Tommy Vann?” I asked.

  “I do. Tommy’s a good friend. He, Steve, and I used to get together on weekends sometimes,” Paulie replied.

  “How did you all become friends?” I asked.

  Paulie stretched and sat lower in the chair. “We met at the university our last year there. We hit it off and became friends. After we left school, we stayed in touch. He used to work in Madison, but started his own currency trading business. I told him how great Mystic Grove was and he bought a house here. After he moved, we hung out more.”

  “Did you know he’d been in prison?” I asked.

  Paulie waved a hand dismissively. “For a bar fight. That was before I knew him. Tommy did his time, got his degree, and made something of himself.”

  “When did your brother meet Tommy?” Sam asked.

  Paulie shrugged. “It was years ago, I can’t remember exactly when. I think Tommy was here watching a football game and Steve showed up. Steve and Tommy got along well and became friends too. So the three of us would play pool, go to ball games, and cook out at our houses. We had some good times.”

  “When’s the last time you all got together?” I asked.

  Paulie paused again. “About a month ago. We played pool and grilled some steaks here at my place.” Paulie looked down and exhaled. “One of the hardest calls I made was to Tommy to tell him Steve was gone.”

  “When did you call him?” Sam asked.

  Paulie looked up. “On the Friday after Steve was killed. Tommy was
shocked.”

  “So he hadn’t seen newspaper accounts?” I asked.

  “No,” Paulie replied and drained the last of his orange juice.

  I checked my notes. “Paulie, do you know anyone named Fontana?”

  “No, who’s that?”

  “Just a name that came up in our investigation,” I replied.

  “A suspect?” asked Paulie.

  I shook my head. “No, not at all.”

  Paulie grunted. “So you don’t have any suspects?”

  “We’re still working the case,” Sam replied. “It can take time.”

  “Paulie, I’m asking everyone this question, so don’t get upset. Where were you the day your brother was killed?” I asked.

  He smiled. “The police asked me that too. I was in an all-day training class in Madison. They have the details and confirmed I was there.”

  “One other question, Paulie,” said Sam. “Did your brother ever mention anything about blackmail?”

  Paulie frowned. “Steve was being blackmailed? For what?”

  “No, he was blackmailing some other people. Did he ever talk about that?” Sam replied.

  Paulie frowned and pushed up out of his chair. “That’s it. You’ll both have to leave now,” he said, red-faced.

  Sam and I glanced at each other and stood. I retrieved my phone.

  “Paulie, I’m sorry. We have statements from several people about the blackmail,” I said.

  “They’re lying!” he shouted. “My brother was an honest deputy. He never blackmailed anybody in his life! Somebody killed him and you’re trying to smear his reputation. I won’t have it. Come on, get out.”

  Sam held up his hands in a calming gesture. “We’re going,” he said.

  “Damn straight you are,” Paulie replied and turned on his heels. We followed him out of the living room. I turned off the voice recorder and pocketed my phone.

  Paulie opened the front door and glared at us as we passed him.

  I looked back. “Paulie, I’m sorry.”

  “I don’t want to hear it,” he replied and slammed the door.

  As we trudged back to the Jeep, I glanced at Sam.

  “So Steven Meagher was interested in leaving Mystic Grove,” I said.

  Sam nodded. “Yeah, that was new. I wonder if Larissa knew about Meagher’s tropical island dream.”

  “She never mentioned it in our interview,” I replied.

  “The other interesting information was Paulie’s description of a return to a loving relationship between Meagher and Larissa a month or two ago. After talking to Larissa and Dom Fontana, I had a darker image of her marriage,” Sam said.

  “Me too,” I agreed.

  When we got into the Jeep, Sam said, “I don’t think Paulie was connected to the murder. But to cover our bases, I’ll verify with Newmont whether Paulie’s alibi checked out.”

  “Okay. I’ll call Larissa about the move to a tropical island.”

  ***

  When we returned to the office, Neville was listening to an audio file. At the sound of the door chime, he looked up and smiled. Flip ran from Sam’s office to greet us. The dog jumped and ran in circles around us.

  “Hi Neville,” I said, bending to pat Flip.

  “Morning!” he replied. “I’m almost done with the Dom Fontana interview.”

  “You’re fast! Any calls?” I asked.

  Neville shook his head. “No, it’s been really quiet.”

  “I’m going to take Flip for a walk and burn off some of his energy,” Sam said. “Our interview with Tommy Vann is at 3:00 p.m.?” he asked.

  “Yes, 3:00 p.m. He’s coming here,” I replied.

  “Great,” Sam said. A few minutes later, he left with Flip on a leash.

  “How’d the interview with Paulie Meagher go?” Neville asked as I sat in the chair next to his desk.

  “It started out well. But when we asked about his brother’s tax evasion and blackmailing activities, he threw us out.”

  “Really?” Neville’s voice rose in surprise.

  “Yeah. Paulie loved his brother and now he’s alone. No more family members are left. So when we asked those questions, he saw it as smearing his brother’s reputation.”

  Neville nodded. “I get that.”

  “Yeah I do too,” I agreed. I stood and stretched. “I’ll upload the audio file and email you some notes I made.”

  “Okay,” Neville replied.

  I started toward my office but returned to Neville’s desk. “Hey how are things going with you and Chloe?”

  His face fell. “Some days are good and we get along. But mostly we fight. I looked at my list of subjects that caused an argument and it’s everything.”

  “Everything?” I asked.

  Neville nodded. “We’ve argued about whether blueberries or strawberries taste better. We’ve argued about whether tea is healthier than coffee. Chloe got upset when I put too much tartar sauce on my fried fish and I told her that was my choice. I complimented her on her hair and she was miffed. I said I liked my work here and she got snarky. I mentioned looking forward to graduate school and she said she was tired of hearing about it. It’s to the point that I’m, afraid to open my mouth anymore.”

  “And she still won’t talk about the relationship?” I asked.

  Neville made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a groan.

  “I’ve forced a conversation on the subject twice. Chloe either clammed up or got angry. So I stopped asking.”

  I shook my head. “You’re sure you don’t want me to talk to her?”

  Neville’s eyes widened. “I’m positive!” he replied. “Promise me that you won’t talk to her about this.”

  “Neville…”

  “Promise,” he said firmly.

  “Okay already, I promise I won’t talk to Chloe about this,” I replied.

  Neville nodded. “Liz, I know you don’t agree, but I think Chloe is interested in another guy. It’s the only thing that would explain her change of heart. I just have to wait for her to decide to tell me.”

  I shook my head. “We’ve been down this road. Chloe isn’t interested in anyone else,” I replied.

  “You said that before, but you can’t be sure,” he said evenly.

  I shrugged. “Neville, if Chloe was interested in someone else, Olivia, Katie, and I would all know about it. We’re pretty close. I don’t understand what’s going on with her, but another man is not the problem.”

  He shook his head but didn’t say anything.

  “Don’t give up, Neville,” I said. “Are you and Chloe still helping Olivia with the tea tasting?”

  Neville made a face. “Unfortunately, we are. Most of Olivia’s tea recipes are not very tasty.”

  I laughed. “Well at least if you two and Chloe are drinking tea, you can’t fight.”

  Neville smiled. “You’re underestimating Chloe’s ability to argue. Thanks for trying to help, Liz.”

  “You’re welcome. Hang in there.”

  I walked to my office feeling down. Neville and Chloe made a wonderful couple. I had no idea what Chloe’s problem was, but it was clear their relationship couldn’t last much longer with all of the fighting.

  After brewing a cup of coffee, I settled at my desk. I decided to focus on work. I typed up some brief notes about the Paulie Meagher interview. After I uploaded the audio file, I emailed the notes to Neville. Then I called Larissa Meagher.

  “Do you have news?” she asked immediately.

  “Not yet,” I replied. “But I do have a question. Did your husband want to move away from Mystic Grove?”

  “Move away?” she repeated.

  “Right. Did he ever talk about moving somewhere warmer? For example, a tropical island, or South America?”

  There was a pause and then Larissa laughed. “That’s ludicrous! No, he never talked about that. Steven would never have moved away from Mystic Grove. Why do you ask?”

  I ignored her question. “So he never suggested th
at you both move somewhere warmer?”

  “No, never. Why are you asking?”

  “Someone we interviewed heard your husband say that,” I replied.

  “Who?” she asked sharply. “They are definitely wrong.”

  “I can’t say, Larissa. It sounded off to me too. Thanks for clearing it up.”

  “Sure. Are you any closer to solving my husband’s murder?” she asked.

  “We’re working on it,” I replied.

  “Work faster,” she replied and hung up. I looked at my phone and snorted.

  Sitting back in my chair, I considered what Paulie had told us. I believed him when he said that Steven Meagher had brought up living on a tropical island or in South America. However, was it a fantasy or had Steven Meagher been serious? Was it connected to his murder in some way and why hadn’t he told Larissa?

  I shook my head. The puzzle pieces weren’t fitting together.

  Chapter 29

  Tommy Vann wasn’t what I expected. Because of his work as a bouncer and his felony conviction, I thought he’d be a big, burly guy. Instead, he was tall and lean. Tommy did have some upper body muscle mass, though. He also sported a buzz-cut and surly look. His voice was even more nasal in person. We showed him to the conference room for the interview.

  After starting the voice recorder on my phone, I leaned back to let Sam take the lead. Tommy sat stoically, his flat gray eyes focused on Sam.

  Sam flashed his boyish smile. “Is it all right if I call you Tommy? It will help speed up the interview.”

  “Sure.”

  “Okay, thanks. Tommy, we’ve been hired to find Steven Meagher’s killer. We’re talking to anyone who knew him. Larissa and Paulie Meagher said you were one of Steven’s friends.”

  Tommy glanced at me and back to Sam. “Like I told your associate on the phone, I did hang out with Paulie and Steve, but I didn’t consider Steve a friend.”

  Sam twirled a pen in his right hand. “What did you consider him?”

  Tommy took a deep breath and folded his hands. “Paulie is an old friend. I viewed Steve as more of an acquaintance.”

  “Can you elaborate?” Sam asked.

  “I met Paulie at the university years ago. We hit it off from the beginning. We’ve talked about everything, gone to football and baseball games, played video games, gone fishing, and hung out at our houses. He’s a good guy and we’re friends because we’ve shared a lot about our lives,” Tommy said. “When I met Steve at Paulie’s house, he seemed okay. However, over time I realized Steve never shared anything about himself. He asked questions that he expected you to answer, but he never reciprocated. So we never really connected.”