Dying Words (A Ghostwriter Mystery)

by C. A. Larmer

  He shook his head again as if it didn’t matter.

  “Forgive me, Sir Wolfgang, I’m no business expert like yourself, but I am an expert on the law and if nothing was put on paper to void this handwritten deed, then it must still stand. I have a hunch this paper document will trump your alleged verbal agreement in any court of law. In any case, the family has every right to challenge it.”

  “And let them try. The fact remains that Berny Tiles did not want that mine and he was going to sign it back to me. That is, until he showed up dead.” Wolfgang’s watery eyes swept across to Roxy. “I had every reason—twenty million dollars worth of reasons—to keep Berny Tiles alive until he’d signed it back to me. He was killed, sadly, before he got a chance. And that is why you are barking up the wrong tree.”

  They all stared at him mutely. “You need to ask yourselves, if what I say is true, then who might want to kill Berny before he got a chance to rip up the deed?”

  Two names flashed in front of Roxy’s eyes but she wasn’t prepared to go there, yet.

  “I’m sorry, Sir Wolfgang, but you’ve lied to me all along, so I am having big trouble believing you now.”

  Wolfgang looked genuinely hurt. “I have lied to you about nothing! I’ve refused to tell you things that are none of your Goddamn business, but lies? No, I think you’ll find I have not said a single one.”

  Roxy thought back over this and begrudgingly had to agree. She had never actually come out and asked Wolfgang about the bet or the mine, so he had not had the opportunity to lie about them. He’d simply evaded the questions.

  “You lied to me about Betty,” she said, grasping for straws. “You said she had an affair with Berny when it was you all along.”

  He scoffed. “No, Roxanne, you were the one who suggested the affair with Berny. What happened between Betty and me is, once again, none of your Goddamn business and has nothing to do with this.” His tone was brusque and impatient again.

  “It doesn’t change the fact that Sondra has every right to demand that you honour that bet with her dad,” Roxy told him. “Berny’s not around to refuse anything now, so it means diddly squat.”

  He smiled. “Exactly my point. Why would I kill Berny when he was more valuable to me alive than dead?”

  Gilda wasn’t buying it. “Tell me then, why didn’t Mr Tiles explain all of this to his daughter? Why keep her in the dark? And why send her on a hunt for this document if he was going to rip it up, as you allege?”

  “I can’t answer that, but I do know he was going to tell his daughter. He was waiting for just the right occasion to break the news. I asked him how she’d take it and he admitted she’d blow up, but he said he’d break it to her gently, over dinner one night.”

  “Dinner?”

  “Yeah, he had some new restaurant in mind, I don’t know the details.”

  Roxy thought then of the night Berny died, of the dinner he was supposed to attend with his daughter on Father’s Day and how he had cancelled at the last minute.

  “Well, isn’t it lucky for you that he never made that dinner?” she said. “That he never did get a chance to tell Sondra? After all, maybe if he had, she might have talked him out of it. Might have insisted he keep the mine.”

  Wolfgang’s watery eyes turned icy. “So now you think I ran him down to stop him from telling Sondra about our agreement?” She didn’t answer and he looked back to Gilda, his tone suddenly weary and even a little bored. “Just check out the security footage, Detective. You’ll find I have been nowhere near the wheel of a car in the past few weeks.” His eyes flickered across to Roxy. “But I wonder, can you say the same for Sondra?”

  Chapter 29

  As Roxy and the two detectives left a weary looking Wolfgang perched in his chair, and returned to the house, Gilda pulled Calhoun aside.

  “Eddie, follow up that security footage. Ginny will have the security company details. I want to see every single car, person, dog, rodent that has come and gone from this house over the past fourteen days. I also want you to take statements from Mrs Bergman regarding all that her husband has just said. Also, get in touch with Renata Tiles. I want her down at headquarters pronto to give her statement. I want to know what happened at that dinner he mentioned and I want to sort this mess out once and for all. We’re also going to need to check flights from Indonesia, check out the sons’ whereabouts, but we’ll do that at a later stage.”

  Eddie’s freckled brow furrowed considerably and he looked more than a little confused but didn’t say a word as he dashed off before she could throw anything else at him. Gilda then turned to Roxy who braced herself.

  “You are unbelievable,” she said.

  “I’m sorry—”

  “No, no, you did well. I couldn’t let it look like you were running the show, but you know more about it all than me, so I had to let you get a few in. He’s a slippery character, that Bergman.” They both looked back out to the garden where Wolfgang appeared to be asleep again, his head dropped precariously to one side.

  “You don’t believe him, surely?”

  “About Mr Tiles happily surrendering the mine? Sounds so ludicrous it could almost be true.”

  Roxy considered this. “Both Sondra and Betty have told me how devoted Berny was to Sir Wolfgang, but to give up a gold mine? I just can’t buy it.”

  “Well, I guess we’ll have to see what the new Mrs Tiles says about it all. Seems to me, she’s someone who stands to lose if the story’s true, so if she says it is, well, we might just have to believe it.”

  “Still, Sondra could challenge that.”

  “And she should!” They began walking back around the side of the house towards their vehicles. “Wolfgang seems to be suggesting that Sondra played a part in all this.” Gilda stopped and faced Roxy. “You don’t think she could have found out what her dad was up to and killed him before he ripped that deed up?”

  “No way! Sondra didn’t know anything about it.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes I’m sure. She didn’t even know there was a deed or a mine or anything. She’s just paid me to find out what all this is about. Why would she do that if she already knew? She’s been as clueless as me, I swear. If not, she’s a bloody good actress. Listen, Wolfman is playing us just like he played Berny. He’s a very dangerous, greedy slimeball who’s trying to deflect attention elsewhere. He might not have lied to me but he kept a lot of truths to himself.”

  “That story about the compensation is true, though. We did source that money back to Bergman and it could well have been compensation for the mine. And I guess he’s got a point. What does an old Sydney retiree want with a mine up in Indonesia? It might have been a romantic idea thirty-seven years ago, but he’d grown up a lot since then. He probably didn’t want the hassle. He’s newly married, maybe he just wanted the cash so he and Renata could be comfortable in his last few years.”

  “But two hundred grand? He could have asked for ten times that amount.”

  She shrugged. “I guess not everyone’s as greedy as Bergman.”

  “Or as business savvy,” said Roxy, feeling suddenly very sorry for Sondra.

  “Come on,” Gilda said, “we better get out of here. It’s time for me to have a chat with this mysterious new wife.”

  Chapter 30

  As Gilda returned to the police station, Roxy decided it was high time she got the original photo frame and its precious cargo back to Sondra. She no longer had the original deed—Gilda insisted on keeping that as evidence—but she had her copy and she knew that this time, the copy would suffice. Sondra would not only be over the moon, there might even be a bonus in it for her.

  After trying Sondra several times unsuccessfully over the phone, Roxy decided to head straight to Berny’s old house, just in case she was there, but as she drove up, she couldn’t see Sondra’s red hatchback anywhere.

  Instead, there was an unfamiliar, egg-shell yellow station wagon with rust marks parked out the front. Roxy strode up and
pressed the front doorbell. After a minute she pressed it again and was just about to give up when the door opened and a tall, Eurasian man with stunning black eyes and thick dreadlocks hanging down to his shoulders looked out.

  “Yes?”

  “Oh, hello, I’m looking for Sondra. I just need to drop something off.”

  “She’s not here.”

  “And Renata?”

  “Mum’s down at the station, eh? Coppers had some questions. About Berny.”

  “Oh, right,” she said and then, “Hi, I’m Roxy Parker, you must be Timothy?”

  He nodded, looking at her warily. “You wanna leave Sondra a message or what?” He glanced down at the frame in her hand then back up at her.

  She closed her arms around it and asked, “You don’t know where she is, do you?”

  He shrugged. “Wedding, I think.”

  “Still?” thought Roxy. She really was having a busy weekend.

  “Wanna leave that with me?” He stared pointedly at the frame now and she quickly shook her head.

  “I’ll just try her on her mobile again. Thanks.”

  Roxy returned to her car, putting yet another call through to Sondra on the way. At last, it picked up.

  “Huge apologies,” Sondra said with a rush at the other end. “I’ve been working on a wedding all day and we’ve had quite a few nightmares. The Singapore lilies have been a complete disaster. I told them it was the wrong time of the year.”

  “No worries, Sondra. I’ve been trying to tell you the good news.”

  “You found it?!”

  “Yes, I did.”

  There was a loud gasp. “How? Where?!”

  “It was in one of your dad’s old frames, as I suspected. He obviously just sent the entire package, frame and all, and my agent’s assistant didn’t notice it when she took the photo out to send on to the publisher. Luckily she kept the frame and put it in storage, otherwise it might have got lost forever.”

  “Oh, that is lucky! Hang on a minute ...” There was a muffled sound on the other end and then Sondra returned sounding even more breathless. “Oh God, I have to go. They’re about to descend on the reception room and I haven’t even finished the centrepiece.”

  “Listen, I’m at your dad’s house now, should I leave it here—”

  “God, no! Um, can you hold onto it for now? It’s going to be a late one, then another manic day tomorrow. Um ... I’ll try and get it off you in the afternoon. Are you around?”

  “Yes, absolutely. Just call me when you’re done. I’ll keep this safe.”

  “Great, and thanks so very much, Roxy.”

  “You’re welcome,” she said and let the harried florist go.

  Glancing back at the house, Roxy noticed that Renata’s son had remained by the door the whole time and was watching Roxy closely, so she gave him a quick wave and then got into her car. She wasn’t sure how much he overheard or even how much he would have understood. But she was working for Sondra and she was looking forward to handing the precious deed over in the morning, even if it was just a poor photocopy.

  As she started the engine and began to manoeuvre her vehicle back onto the main road, Roxy glanced in her rear vision mirror again and saw Timothy swing around and step inside the house, his dreadlocks flapping around his ears as he went.

  A sudden chill raced down her spine. Could they be the bunny ears she saw in her apartment last Friday night? She gulped a few times and thought about his light coloured station wagon. Could a blind, old neighbour mistake it for a white van on a dark night?

  She shivered a little and accelerated away.

  Chapter 31

  The screaming telephone broke through Roxy’s sleep and she awoke with a start and stared at it for several seconds trying to work out what it was and why the hell it didn’t just shut up and go away. Eventually she realised it was her phone, and she grappled for the receiver. The clock radio said it was 7:35 a.m. and she knew this meant only one of two people. It had better not be her mum.

  “Hello,” she groaned.

  “I’m really sorry, Rox, I keep doing this to you.”

  “Hey, Gilda.” She scrunched her eyes shut. “Please don’t tell me you’ve found another dead body.” Her eyes flew open. “Oh, God, Betty’s okay, isn’t she?”

  “Betty? Well, funny you should mention her ...”

  “Gilda, it’s way too early for riddles, what’s happened to Betty?”

  “Betty’s fine. We’ve got a burglary this time. You will never guess who we just busted attempting to break into Sir Wolfgang Bergman’s house early this morning.”

  “Renata’s son?”

  There was a pause. “Who? What? I don’t know what you’re on about there but no, we just nabbed the receptionist who works at Betty Reilly’s office. You know, the blond pit bull at the front desk.”

  Roxy swung her legs out of the bed and sat up. “Really?!”

  “Yep, bizarre, eh? Busted him at 3:45 this morning, or at least their security guy did. He’s been in lock up since then, refusing to say a word. It’s just lucky I recognised him from my visit to Betty’s office yesterday. I’m about to go in and have a little chat, but you don’t happen to know why Betty’s receptionist would be trying to break his way into Wolfgang’s abode, do you?”

  “No, I don’t.” She thought about it for a second. “I mean, he seemed very protective of his colleague, but what he’s got to do with any of this is beyond me.”

  “Didn’t you say Betty and Wolfgang had an affair?”

  “Yes, but that’s got nothing to do with him.”

  Or did it? Roxy had a sudden thought as a swirl of images came rushing through her brain—there seemed to be several overly protective, middle-aged men in Betty’s life. But maybe she had that wrong. Maybe there was just one.

  “Listen, before I go,” Gilda was saying, “I wanted to tell you something that Renata said last night.”

  “Renata?” Her head was in a whole different space suddenly.

  “Yes, we brought her in for questioning. Another woman of few words and I can’t decide whether it’s because she doesn’t speak English very well or she’s got something to hide. Anyhoo, it turns out she was at that dinner the night Mr Tiles allegedly rejected ownership of the mine, but she swears she didn’t hear anything. Says she presented dinner and returned to the kitchen to clean up. It wasn’t until later that evening, after Tiles left, that Bergman brought her into the library and asked if she was interested in marrying Tiles.”

  Roxy nearly dropped the phone. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Afraid not.”

  “Were they even going out?”

  “Don’t quite know, but she clamped right up on me when she realised what she’d said.”

  “Oh my God. You don’t think Wolfman exchanged his housekeeper for a gold mine? Was that all part of the deal? Two hundred grand and Renata? Sounds very unethical.”

  “Sounds like human trafficking to me but, well, I don’t know all the details. It may just be a scam to keep her in the country, something to do with visa issues. I’m still trying to get to the bottom of it all. ” She sighed again. “This has become a right royal mess. Anyway, the thing I wanted to tell you.”

  “Yes?”

  “Renata swears that Berny did catch up with his daughter on Father’s Day—the night he died.”

  Roxy had sat down again and was now shaking her head at the phone. “No, no, he was supposed to but Sondra says he cancelled at the last minute.”

  “Not according to Renata, he didn’t. She was out that night with her son at some Indonesian cultural thing, we’ve already checked her alibi and there’s a dozen witnesses to prove it. But Renata swears Berny called her on her mobile that night from dinner and said it wasn’t going so well and he would be home late.”

  Roxy could feel a headache coming on. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “So one of them’s lying.”

  “Yep. Or maybe Berny lied to his wif
e. Who knows? I’m not sure Renata can be trusted but I really can’t think why she’d lie about this.”

  “Unless she’s trying to put Sondra in the frame, throw the guilt her way. Like Wolfman did.”

  They considered this for a few seconds before Roxy asked, “Did Renata say where Berny and Sondra were supposedly having dinner that Father’s Day? I mean, can’t you just check that out?”

  “Tried that. Renata can’t recall which restaurant he’d booked. Just some newbie that he’d found.”

  “Can’t we ask Sondra?”

  “Tried that one, too. She’s not answering. You don’t happen to know how we can track her down, do you?”

  “Oh, she’s hard at it this weekend, a bunch of weddings apparently. I’m scheduled to see her this arvo so I’ll tell her to get in touch. In the meantime, just keep trying her. She’s a bit flustered but she’ll eventually pick up.”

  “Speaking of flustered, I’ve really got to go. Drop in later if you like and I’ll get you up to speed. Renata had a few other interesting things to say, especially about your friend Sondra.”

  “Will do,” Roxy said, not sure she wanted to hear any of it.

  Wide awake now and with a thumping headache, Roxy threw on a tracksuit and some trainers and headed outdoors for a speed walk. This time it wasn’t fitness she had on her mind, it was Betty and Wolfgang, Sondra and Berny, and the wary blond receptionist from Betty’s office. She now had a pretty good idea who that was and what his motives were, but it still didn’t make a great deal of sense, and she wanted to kick-start her brain as she walked, and maybe clear the headache at the same time.