by Cindy Bell
As Suzie watched the police officers begin to leave, and Warren's body was whisked away to the medical examiner's office, she wished she could force them to stay. She was certain that they were missing something important. Mary walked over to her as the last police car pulled out of the parking lot.
“Where is everyone going?” she asked with concern.
“They don't believe me,” Suzie said impatiently. “Not even Jason or Kirk.”
“It's okay, Suzie, try not to let it get to you,” Mary said soothingly.
“I'm not going to let it get to me,” Suzie said sternly. “I'm going to solve this murder myself if they won't do it.”
“No, you are not,” Mary shot back just as sternly.
“What are you saying, Mary?” Suzie asked incredulously. “Do you really just expect me to allow someone to be killed at Dune House without getting to the bottom of it?”
“Of course not,” Mary shook her head. “But you will not be solving this crime, we will be solving this crime,” she looked into her friend's eyes. “You're not alone in this, Suzie.”
Mary's words caused a warm smile to rise to Suzie's lips. “Thank you, Mary,” she said.
“Where do we start?” Mary asked as she swept her gaze over the towering form of Dune House. In the pale light of dawn it looked more like a ghost than a beautiful, old building.
“We need to inspect the balcony, and Warren's room,” Suzie said.
“Then let’s get started.”
Chapter Five
Suzie and Mary began walking towards Dune house. “If we believe that this wasn't an accident then we need to think about who would have done this to Warren and why,” Mary pointed out. “There's got to be a reason this happened. It seems to have been obviously orchestrated not just some random event.”
“You're right,” Suzie said as she held open the door for Mary. “I saw this car lingering around the house earlier this evening. I tried to tell Jason about it, but I don't think that he listened. It's possible that the car had something to do with Warren’s death, especially if he was murdered.”
“The important thing is that we know that it wasn't our fault,” Mary said as they walked up the stairs towards the room that Warren had been staying in.
“That won't make much of a difference when we get hit with a lawsuit,” Suzie pointed out gravely. “We need real evidence, real proof that this was not an accident. That's not even the worst part. The worst part is that there won't be any justice for Warren's death. I know that he was killed, and yet his death will be ruled an accident. His friends and loved ones will never get the proper closure that they deserve. I hate to think that all of this could happen under our roof.”
“I know,” Mary nodded when they reached the landing of the third floor. “All we can do is hope that the autopsy turns up some evidence. Maybe, we'll find something while we're looking around the room, but I doubt the police will have missed anything. You know that Jason usually does a very thorough job, and his new partner, Kirk, seems to pay keen attention to detail.”
“Don't be so sure,” Suzie said. “If they made the assumption that it was an accident then they could have very easily overlooked some important evidence. Assuming things can make you blind.”
“Not Jason though,” Mary pointed out. “He's very observant, and very good at his job and Kirk seems to be as well.”
“Maybe so, but as far as I'm concerned he jumped to the same incorrect conclusion that the rest of the police officers did, so we can't rely on him finding any evidence,” she frowned as she recalled the way that she had spoken to him. “I think I might have upset him,” she added quietly.
“You were upset, Suzie,” Mary said with a slight shake of her head. “In the heat of the moment we all say things that we don't really mean.”
“But I shouldn’t have said it,” Suzie sighed as they reached the room that Warren had been staying in. The police had sealed off the door so no one could get in. Suzie pushed the tape aside and opened the door with her key. “Sometimes I forget that Jason and I are just about the only family we both have. I'd hate to alienate him because of a little squabble.”
“I think Jason is sturdier than that,” Mary assured her. “Trust me, my kids and I had plenty of arguments, and each one made me worry. Would they ever speak to me again? Would they hold it against me forever? But life happens, people forgive, and we all move on. It's going to be fine, Suzie, I promise.”
Suzie felt a little better. Mary always had wisdom to share, especially when it came to dealing with the younger generation. Suzie was a little too impatient to try to look at things from their perspective, but Mary always took the time to look at things through the eyes of others. Hopefully that would help them find some real evidence about what had happened to Warren.
“Jason was right, not a thing is out of place,” Suzie said grimly as she looked around the room. She ducked her head into the bathroom. All of the towels were hanging perfectly. There was nothing missing. When she stepped back into the room, Mary was studying the bed.
“It looks like he might have just got up,” Mary said as she pointed to the way the blankets were shoved aside. “It looks as if he got up quickly. It doesn't look like he had been watching television. The remote for the television is over here,” she pointed to the bureau the television was sitting on. “Maybe he was sleeping and something woke him, something startled him.”
“Yes, so why did he get up and go onto the balcony?” Suzie asked thoughtfully as she looked around the room for an explanation.
“Maybe he had a nightmare,” Mary suggested and tapped her chin lightly. “Maybe he had a phone call that woke him.”
“I can check the call logs to the room,” Suzie said with a slow nod. “I'm sure Jason has taken his cell phone and wallet so that he can make next of kin notifications. We won't be able to tell if he had a call at that time. Hopefully, Jason will at least check that.”
“Well, he didn't take this,” Mary said as she slid something out from under the bed. It was a soft-sided leather briefcase.
“See what I mean?” Suzie said with annoyance. “If they had done a thorough search they would have found that underneath the bed. Instead it is here for us to find.”
“Maybe, but what matters is we found it,” Mary said with some excitement. “Maybe there's something in here that could tell us why someone would want to kill him. Maybe he had been involved in some criminal behavior, or he had recently made someone angry enough for them to want him dead.”
“Do you think the murder could have something to do with Louis' rare book?” Suzie suggested curiously.
“Maybe,” Mary shrugged. “But what could it have to do with it? Louis has the book at his house. Warren didn't even have it yet. So, why would he be killed over it?”
“Good point,” Suzie nodded and stepped up beside her.
“Let's see what is in here,” Mary said.
She set the briefcase down on the bed and popped it open. Inside were a few file folders, a deck of cards, and a few packs of gum.
“Looks like the folders are for different clients,” Mary said. “Here is Louis'.”
She set the folder down on the bed beside the briefcase. Suzie picked it up and flipped it open. Inside were the photographs of the book that Louis had sent to Warren before Warren had agreed to come out to value it. Warren had made a few notes on the white frame around the photographs.
“The book looks authentic. If it is it will be worth a lot. I have some concern about the binding,” Suzie read aloud as she turned the picture.
“What concern do you think he had about the binding?” Mary asked suspiciously.
“He seemed to have circled the thread,” Suzie said as she pointed to a mark on the picture.
“Hmm,” Mary said as she studied the picture. “I wonder why he circled it.”
“No idea,” Suzie sighed.
“Well, then I guess we're back to square one,” Mary said with a light cluck of her to
ngue.
“Okay, let's forget about the book for the moment,” Suzie said. “Let's walk through what his last moments were like,” she cringed at saying those words. It was still hard for her to believe that Warren was actually gone.
“Okay, well we know that he was likely asleep,” Mary said.
Suzie walked over to the bed and stood beside it. “Which means that it would have been dark,” she said and pointed to the light switch. “Turn off the light please, Mary,” she said. Mary walked over to the light switch and flipped it off. The room was plunged into darkness, but for the dawn's light that was beginning to filter in through the sliding glass doors that led out onto the balcony. “Okay, so he wakes up,” Suzie said with a frown. “We don't know what woke him, but let’s presume that it made him jump up out of bed,” she said and walked to the end of the bed. “It's dark. Does he go over and turn the light on?” Suzie asked.
“When I came up here the light was off,” Mary said. “I turned it on when I walked into the room.”
“Wait a minute,” Suzie said and narrowed her eyes. “Was the door locked?”
“Yes, I had the master key with me,” Mary said. “I grabbed it when I heard the scream. It sounded like it was coming from this room, so after knocking and calling out when I received no answer, I unlocked and opened the door and stepped inside. It was dark, I called out again and I still heard no answer. I flipped the light on,” she said.
“Okay, so when he got up out of bed, he didn't bother to turn the light on,” Suzie said with a grim frown. “If I hear something that startles me, one of the first things I do is switch on a light,” Suzie pointed out.
“Me, too,” Mary nodded.
“So, either he knew what the sound was, or he was so startled by it that he didn't feel he could take the time to turn the light on,” Suzie explained. “If the door was locked, then it's not likely someone was in the room with him. So, how could he have been shoved off the balcony?” she frowned and shook her head.
“Wait, you're getting ahead of yourself,” Mary warned as she stepped closer to Suzie. “He's up, he hears something, maybe sees something, but more than likely hears it since it is dark. He doesn't turn the light on, he wants to know what that noise is. No one is in the room with him. He must think it's coming from outside, right?” Mary said as she walked towards the sliding glass doors.
“Okay, so whatever he hears, is coming from outside,” Suzie said softly. “That would explain why he wouldn't turn the light on. Maybe he was frightened and didn't want to reveal that he was awake.”
“What could he hear from outside that would cause him to be frightened though?” Mary asked with a frown. “Remember, it couldn't have been too loud, or we would have heard it, too.”
Suzie and Mary stood in silence for a few minutes. Suzie kept thinking about what would cause her to be startled and even frightened if she woke up to the sound of it. Suddenly her heart dropped.
“Knocking,” she said in a whisper. “He must have heard knocking, on the sliding glass doors.”
“Oh yes!” Mary nodded. “That would have made him jump up out of bed. He would have been afraid to turn the light on, and he would have crept outside to see what the noise was.”
“Okay, so he decides he's going to look outside, which means that whatever was causing the sound was not something that he could see through the doors. He opens the door,” she said as she slid the glass door open. She gazed out at the dangling railing where there was more tape that the police had put there to warn people that it was unsafe. “He steps outside.”
“Be careful, Suzie!” Mary said as Suzie stepped out onto the balcony.
“I am,” Suzie promised her. “He's outside and, then what?” Suzie asked, puzzled.
“If there was someone knocking then they might have been waiting for him on the balcony,” Mary suggested. “Maybe when he stepped out, the person shoved him hard enough to break the railing.”
Suzie frowned. “That makes sense, but it can't be true,” she said.
“Why not?” Mary asked with confusion.
“Jason said there was no damage to the railing, no sign of it being broken. Instead it looks like it just came loose,” she shook her head. “But you and I both know that there is no way the balcony came loose.”
“Okay,” Mary murmured thoughtfully.
“Besides, even if the murderer was up here with Warren, where did he go?” Suzie asked. “Not to be morbid, but how long do you think it could have taken for Warren to fall from the balcony to the ground?”
“Not long,” Mary grimaced.
“About as long as the scream we heard,” Suzie pointed out. “You went upstairs, I went outside. How could the killer have had time to escape if we were covering both ways to exit?”
“Good point,” Mary nodded as she glanced around the balcony. “Even if he had a rope attached to the balcony, we would have found the rope.”
“It's too far to jump,” Suzie pointed out.
“Unbelievable,” Mary sighed. “It's no wonder Jason thought this was an accident. It's nearly impossible to prove otherwise.”
“But it wasn't an accident,” Suzie reminded her sternly. She just hoped that she was right. “So, there must be something here that we're overlooking. So, what is it?” Suzie mused as she stood in the middle of the balcony. It seemed very sturdy despite the railing being broken. It was still anchored to the side of the house. It was designed not to collapse even in the highest winds. Suzie felt secure standing on it. “If the killer was not on the balcony, what did Warren see when he stepped out here?” she frowned.
“From the way he landed I think it’s very likely that he was leaning on the railing,” Mary pointed out as she stepped out onto the balcony as well.
“So, he was too frightened to turn the light on,” Suzie said as she looked back into the dark room. “But something prompted him to step all the way out onto the balcony, and lean on the railing.”
Suzie walked towards the edge of the balcony where the railing and wooden slats swung free from the base of the balcony.
“Suzie, be careful!” Mary said gravely. “That is a long way down.”
“I know it is,” Suzie agreed and stopped about a foot away from the edge of the balcony. “So, Warren walked over to the railing after seeing that no one was on the balcony. Maybe he continued to hear something. Maybe he could tell that now it was coming from below him.”
“That would make him lean against the railing in order to look over the side,” Mary said with a slight nod. “So, whoever did this, was still trying to coax him out to the edge of the balcony even if they weren't on the balcony waiting for him.”
“And because they weren't on the balcony, there is no evidence left behind,” Suzie said with a deep sigh. “There's not going to be any physical evidence of the killer up here, because he might not have ever been up here.”
“He let the balcony do his work for him,” Mary said. She cringed. “Which also gives the killer a clear cover for the murder, because it sure does look like the only possibility is an accident due to a weak railing.”
“Who in the world would go to this much trouble?” Suzie asked with disbelief. “We still don't know how the killer lured Warren out here, or why.”
“No, we don't,” Mary agreed. “But we do suspect that he was lured. So, someone likely waited until he thought we would all be asleep. He wanted this done at a time that no one could possibly stop it, or catch him.”
“If I wasn't awake, it might have taken me even longer to get out there,” Suzie said grimly.
“What about our other guest?” Mary asked. “Do you think we should check on him?”
“I think if he slept through the sirens and the commotion then he deserves a good night’s sleep,” Suzie said with a sigh. “I'll explain everything to him in the morning.”
“It is the morning,” Mary pointed out as she looked out over the water. The colors of the sunrise were spilling out across the calm slate
of the water. It seemed as if the waves had hushed in reverence to the transition from night into day.
“It's beautiful,” Suzie said solemnly as Mary came to stand beside her. Even though something horrible had happened just a little while before, the view from Dune House was still too stunning for words.
“Maybe we should try to get a little rest,” Mary suggested.
“Not yet,” Suzie said. “I want to make sure that I've scoured every inch of this balcony first.”
“Okay,” Mary nodded and swept her gaze over the balcony. “There isn't much to see though.”
“We must be missing something,” Suzie said under her breath.
Suzie crouched down and studied the floorboards of the balcony. She could see where there was some scuffing from shoes, but there was no actual damage to the wood. She knew that the balcony was in very good shape. She wasn't sure what she was looking for. She was hoping that there might be some hint of what happened carved into the wood. As she neared the edge of the balcony the only thing she noticed were some pistachio shells. She narrowed her eyes at the sight of them.
“Well, that's a little odd,” Suzie said to herself.
“What is?” Mary asked when she overheard her comment.
“There are pistachio shells over here,” Suzie explained and picked one up. It looked fresh enough to have been tossed in the last few days, but Warren was the only one she had rented that room to, and that was only because of the antiques that she had decorated the room with.
“So, he was snacking?” Mary asked with a frown. “Maybe he had them earlier, but if he had them just before he fell off the balcony I guess that throws a wrench in our theory about him being frightened.”
“It doesn't make sense,” Suzie agreed and dropped the pistachio shell. “I don't know, Mary, maybe we're thinking about this all wrong. What if he knew that there would be someone outside?”
“Like a meeting he had planned with someone?” Mary suggested.