Madison Johns - Agnes Barton 04 - Trouble in Tawas

by Madison Johns

  “Of all the nerve. We’re practically family.”

  “I know. Another reason you shouldn’t be here. This is the last thing I need right now.”

  “Well, go ahead and investigate all you want. El and I have all the information we need.”

  “It looks like this case might be wrapped up sooner than we had hoped,” Peterson said. “I appreciate all your help. Really.”

  Sales’ brow furrowed. “Help? How were they helping you?”

  “I hired them, if you need to know.”

  Trooper Sales face turned red. “For what?”

  “They were working on clearing my dad’s name.”

  “Clearing his name how?”

  “My dad never murdered Raul.”

  “Of course he didn’t. Raul’s death was ruled an accident.”

  “Harry Hunan is dead in the bedroom and his suicide note states he killed both Raul Perez and Maria Sanchez. So much for accidents,” I clarified.

  “We believe the suicide was a setup,” El added. “Isn’t that right, Aggie?”

  “Yes, and we’ll happily be leaving now to find the real killer.”

  Trooper Sales went into the bedroom and I merely shrugged as El and I went towards the door, until Peterson stopped us dead in our tracks. “Be careful, Agnes. The last thing I need to worry about is the two of you.”

  El and I were in the station wagon by the time more cops cars tore into the parking lot. I backed up and narrowed my eyes at the flashing lights. It was more than I cared to visualize. I drove to the beach house S.S. Murphy was staying at. I knew it wasn’t my place, but I felt it was my duty to tell the author about her husband’s demise. I’m sure I’d take the heat later, but at this point I didn’t care what Trooper Sales thought I should or shouldn’t do.

  “Who do you think set up Harry’s suicide?” El asked. “His wife?”

  “That’s a possibility I suppose, but I just don’t see her that way and we were with her last night, remember?”

  “Yes, but she made her husband sound like a total loser and she stood to lose a considerable sum if Harry divorced her.”

  “True, but that lady is no more a murderer than you are.”

  “We should be careful like the sheriff said,” El suggested.

  “We will. S.S. just has no reason to want Raul and Maria dead.”

  “The note said they were having an affair and Harry was involved with Maria.” Wham! She slammed a fist against the dash. “Plenty of motive.”

  “We’ll give her the news and keep our options open.”

  “What we really need to do is read her expressions. That should tell us all we need to know. If she overreacts she might be guilty.”

  “I thought you were one of her fans, El?”

  “I am, but that doesn’t mean I should turn a blind eye if she’s guilty.”

  ***

  Ten minutes later we rapped on the door of the beach house that S.S. Murphy was staying while she was in town. Her husband owned the house, she claimed, but we knew better. According to the deed, Raul Perez owned it with Maria Sanchez as a beneficiary.

  Sasha Murphy never answered the door and I peered through the windows, but didn’t see any movement within. “Maybe she’s not home,” I said.

  “Let’s go around back. She could be outside getting a suntan,” El suggested.

  “Or nursing a hangover.”

  We carefully walked around the house, playing on the side of caution. There were some ruts and holes in the lawn—and dog feces that were the last thing I needed on my shoes. Sasha Murphy was indeed on a lounge chair, dressed in a white bikini, soaking up the rays. On a table next to her was a glass with clear liquid, filled with ice. Is she drinking again this soon?

  “Hello there,” I called out.

  Sasha lifted her sunglasses and faintly smiled. “Oh, hello girls. Did we make plans for today?”

  “You mean you don’t remember?” I asked in a serious tone.

  “I-I don’t remember anything after I left the book signing. I might have had too much to drink.”

  “You definitely did,” El said. “You were slouched up by the time you met us at Hidden Cove.”

  “Sorry about that. I was in fit yesterday about my husband Harry. The sheriff called me earlier. Did he track Harry’s cell?”

  Whisking a stray hair from my face, I said, “Yes he did. That’s why we’re here.”

  “Let me guess. You found him at a motel room with another woman, right?”

  “We found him all right, but—”

  “Spit it out, old girl. I can take whatever you have to say. I know all about Harry’s dalliances.”

  I pursed my lips and then as gently as I could I told her, “We found your husband at one of the cabins at Northland cabins… he’s dead, dear. It appears to be a suicide.”

  Sasha’s sunglasses clattered to the ground and her mouth gaped open. “Oh my, that can’t be. My Harry would never take his life.”

  “So he’s never been depressed or talked about suicide?”

  “No. I need to call my agent. This won’t be good when the press gets ahold of this.” She picked up her cell and I took it from her hand. “We have more questions. I know this was a shock, but we really need to know if Harry was having an affair for sure?”

  She bit down on her fist. “He’s been preoccupied lately, but he told me it had something to do with a business deal.”

  “Who was he doing business with?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “So there wasn’t a woman you were aware of that he was seeing behind your back?”

  “Do you know something I don’t?”

  “Maybe, but if you can’t tell us the name of a woman he was seeing I’m not sure I should tell you.”

  “Tell her, Agnes.”

  “Maybe we should wait for the sheriff,” I said.

  Sasha took ahold of my shirt. “Please tell me.”

  “Do you know Maria Sanchez?”

  “The woman who drowned on the beach, the one they were talking about on the news?”

  “Yes.”

  “No. Was my husband having an affair with that woman? It might explain his suspicious behavior of late.”

  “Suspicious behavior?”

  “He has been quiet since Maria was found dead at the beach. If he was indeed having an affair with this woman it’s no wonder he started clamming up. He barely spoke to me and he seemed so distracted. I couldn’t get through to him.”

  I noted that Sasha had so far not shed a tear. “There was a suicide note left at the cabin. Harry wrote that he was having an affair with Maria Sanchez and that so was Raul Perez. And he killed both of them, making it look like an accident.”

  “How awful. I’m shocked that my husband would kill anyone.”

  El stepped up and grabbed a tissue, dotting her eyes. “It was so awful finding your husband like that. We don’t believe he killed himself at all.”

  I nodded. “It looks like a setup. Did you leave last night after we dropped you off?”

  She sat upright. “You saw me last night. I was a wreck. I wasn’t in any kind of condition to go anywhere and my car was left at Hidden Cove, remember?”

  That got my attention. “That’s the strange part. You just said a few minutes ago that you were too drunk to remember what you did last night. And now you want us to believe you never left the house last night, but how about the night before? At this point, we have no idea how long your husband was dead, but the sheriff recovered two glasses at the crime scene.”

  “Yes!” El shouted. “Were you there yesterday or the night before?”

  “No! I haven’t seen my husband for over t hree hree days. I told you that!”

  “No. You told us he just hadn’t come home the night before. For all we know you found out where he was shacked up and you decided to get rid of him. You’d look like the sympathetic widow who lost her husband to suicide. You might even get more book sales.”

  “Why on earth
would I do that?”

  “Because he made a fool of you. You might have known all about Maria Sanchez. You already told us he’d get a substantial amount if he divorced you.”

  “You are crazy,” her eyes shifted to Eleanor. “You’re both crazy. I’m looking at damage control no matter the outcome when the press finds out my husband is dead. Are you suggesting I killed Maria too, or Raul Perez? I’d have no reason to want Raul dead and is this how you see me, as a cold blooded killer capable of killing three people and staging the crimes to look like accidents, or a suicide in Harry’s case?”

  “She has a point, Aggie. Why kill Raul Perez?”

  “Because Raul owned this house and not your husband, with Maria Sanchez as the beneficiary.”

  “Harry owns this house! I’m sure he does.”

  “Why because he told you so? There has to be a reason he had Raul buy the house instead.”

  El patted Sasha’s hand. “Please tell us why Harry would have someone else buy the house and lie to you about it.”

  “I don’t know… unless—”

  “Unless what?”

  “He gambles, but he promised me he gave it all up. He assured me he had.”

  “You might want to check out his credit score before you make that kind of claim… once a gambler always a gambler, unless he got help. Well, did he?”

  “He told me he did, but do you have proof that this house was bought by Raul?”

  I pulled out the deed and handed it over to Sasha. “I c-can’t believe this. Harry lied to me again!” Sasha ran into the house with us in tow. She pulled out her laptop and clicked her way onto the credit check site. Harry’s credit score was displayed at 410. “That bastard! I don’t know about any of these credit cards.” She checked her own credit score and found it just as bad. “I-I can’t believe he’s done this to me! He’s gotten credit cards in my name and they are all maxed out. He’s ruined me!”

  “When is the last time you checked you bank account? Has he taken any money out of your accounts without your knowledge?”

  Sasha checked, and her head slumped to her laptop. “There’s over a hundred thousand missing!” Tears dripped from her eyes onto her desktop. “I’ve been misled, cheated on, and now, stolen from by my own husband. What else can happen?”

  I knew it’s never a good thing to say because in my opinion things can always get worse. “I’m sorry, dear and I emphasize with you. El and I will continue to investigate this case. I sure hope we can dig up something that will explain this. Who besides you would want Harry dead? You have no idea who he was doing business with?”

  “No, I swear,” she said as she threw herself into my arms. “Please believe me. I had nothing to do with this!”

  I pushed her back. “Don’t worry. We’ll find out what really happened.” I retrieved the deed and placed it back in my bag for safekeeping. “Please don’t tell the sheriff we told you about your husband before he had a chance to. We’ll do our best to find out the truth and if we are arrested, we’ll never be able to do it.” I frowned and asked one more question, “One more question though. Why was Harry prescribed Oxycodone?”

  “Harry has a bad back. He’s been on it awhile, why?”

  “An empty pill bottle was found on the bed next to him,” El said.

  Sasha nodded and we left in a roar with a trail of dust in our wake.

  Chapter Eighteen Nineteen

  When we rolled back into the campground, Andrew was waiting alongside Martha. Mr. Tinkles was on the chain and they were chatting about something. Their faces lit up at our approach. When we met them on the porch, Martha shouted, “Sophia and Bill Sales are getting married!”

  “What? When?”

  “Sophia called after you left this morning. Bill proposed last night. Isn’t it great?”

  “Yes, but he didn’t mention anything at the crime scene this morning.”

  Andrew’s eyes widened. “What crime scene?”

  “The author S.S. Murphy’s husband, Harry Hunan, was found dead at the Northland Cabins. It’s an apparent suicide, but I don’t believe Harry killed himself. I think the crime scene was set up.”

  “That’s what you always think, Aggie,” Andrew said. “You have to admit that you might be wrong this time around.”

  “No way,” El said. “Harry had a gambling problem and he had Raul Perez buy a beach house for him so his wife wouldn’t find out about it.”

  “Actually El, I wonder if Harry gave that money to Maria for safekeeping and she in turn gave it to Raul, her lover who then bought the beach house. ”

  “So you believe this Maria duped Harry? ” Andrew asked.

  “Yes, both Maria and Raul did. Of course Harry didn ’t find that out until later.”

  El nodded. “ Okay, so H arry had the keys to beach house and he never knew it wasn’t in Maria’s name? ”

  “ No and I don ’t believe this had anything to do with a gambling debt. Harry figured if Maria bought the beach house there was no way his wife could get any part of it. ”

  “If Raul bought the house then w hy did Harry even have the keys ?” Andrew asked.

  “Isn’t it obvious?” El said. “They were buying their time, but I guess they were the ones out of options. ”

  “Exactly. I don’t think Maria ever intended to stay with Harry. He was married after all.”

  Andrew rubbed the back of his neck. “So you’re saying that Harry stole money from his own wife and gave it to his mistress? ” “ How on earth would Raul Perez have enough money to buy a beach house when he was just a companion for Hal Peterson? It doesn’t make sense, Aggie.”

  “ Harry stole the money from his own wife is how.”

  “What does the writer have to say for herself?” Martha asked.

  “She thought her husband owned the house and that’s not all. Raul owned the house and Maria Sanchez was the beneficiary. Maybe someone offed them both to take the property.”

  “ Someone besides Harry? Like who? ” Andrew asked scratching his head. I handed the deed to Andrew and he took it inside to look it over. “Raul Perez and Maria Sanchez are the only names listed. The only person to benefit would have to be related to Maria Sanchez, a child if she had any or parents… or brothers and sisters if there are any. If not the estate would go to the state.”

  “This certainly puts a wrench in the plan. Harry’s suicide note said that he was having an affair with Maria Sanchez, but that she was also sleeping with Raul Perez. At first I thought S.S. Murphy might have set up her husband’s death, but now, it just makes no sense. She wouldn’t benefit from the house if it goes into probate. I’ve checked her online profile and she isn’t related to either Raul Perez or Maria Sanchez. I think whoever did this wanted both Raul’s and Maria’s deaths to look like they were murdered by Harry Hunan, who then supposedly committed suicide.”

  “To what end, Mother?” Martha asked.

  “Whoever did this knew we wouldn’t give up on this case. They wanted to put an end to our investigating for once and all.”

  “Fat chance that,” El said. “I think Maria has some family in town… relatives who found out about the deed for the property. We found it in the ceiling of Maria’s El Camino while it was in the impound yard.”

  “How did you do that?” Andrew asked.

  “You don’t want to know,” Martha said with a roll of her eyes.

  Andrew handed the deed back to me. “I agree with you there, but how do you plan to find out if Maria had any family in town, Aggie?”

  “We’re resourceful is how. We’ll ask Sheriff Peterson,” I said with a nod.

  ***

  Later in the day I was waiting in the parking lot of Fuzzy’s when the sheriff’s car pulled up. He rolled his window down and I approached the car, confident he’d help me. “Hello Sheriff. I had hoped you’d come.”

  His brow furrowed. “What is it this time, Agnes? I hope you know Trooper Sales chastised me for allowing you at the last crime scene.”

/>   “So you do agree it was a crime scene?”

  “We’re waiting for the toxicology reports, which will be a few weeks, but I think it looks fishy.”

  I handed the deed to the sheriff. “I found this in Maria’s El Camino at the impound yard.”

  “How? You’re too old to scale the fence.”

  “I’d rather not say.”

  “I think I’ll have to talk with Ralph. He should know better than to let anyone in that yard.”

  I sure didn’t want to get Ralph in trouble. “El’s Caddy was impounded, remember?”

  “Yes, but it was picked up before the El Camino ever hit that lot.”

  Peterson doesn’t miss anything! “I lied and told him I lost my wallet and searched the El Camino, if you need to know.”

  “So you interfered with police business again, and took what might be vital evidence to the Maria Sanchez case?”

  “I didn’t mean to, but you cops thought it was just a drowning.”

  “That’s not true. Someone down at the news is releasing the wrong information. We thought it was wrong from the start. There wasn’t any water in her lungs and the toxicology report came back that she had Oxycodone in her system, like enough to kill her.”

  “The same drug that was found at Harry Hunan’s suicide?”

  “Yes, and that’s not all. It was also found in Raul Perez’s bloodstream. It would have been enough to impair him… enough that he could be easily pushed to his death down a flight of steps, or so we suspect. All of this information came to light recently. See, us cops aren’t as dumb as you think. We’re doing our job.”

  “Can you run a check to find out if Maria Sanchez had any children in the area? They stand to inherit the house on Lake Huron.”

  “I’ll look into that and thanks for the deed, but as far as I’m concerned you two are off the case. We’ll wrap up the case from here on out. Relax and chill out on the beach like the rest of the old folks in town.”

  I sighed. “You won’t let us take a tiny peek? I swear I won’t tell anyone you did.”

  He shook his head. “Not happening, Agnes. Back away from the car so I can leave, and I hear congratulations are in order. Trooper Sales will be a great addition to your family. Maybe you can bug him in the future and leave me alone.”