by C. M. Sutter
“Jeez, is this place beautiful or what?” I sighed as we climbed out of the car and approached the front porch.
Clayton smirked. “Yeah, and I’m sure that’s because of Marvin’s business smarts over the last forty years. It doesn’t look like Nancy is lacking in material possessions, that’s for sure.”
I imagined trading in my Prius for something a little more glamorous as we walked past a newer Infinity sedan parked in the driveway. In reality, I had a few more years of work ahead of me and fifty thousand more miles to put on my car before that could happen.
Clayton reached for the doorknocker and gave it a few clacks. Thirty seconds or so passed before the door opened. In front of us stood a slender, elegant looking woman who appeared to be in her late sixties to early seventies. Her makeup was applied to perfection, and not a silver hair on her head was out of place. I was dumbstruck by her appearance, and an image of my own mom passed through my mind. Ann Sommers wouldn’t be seen in public without raven-black dyed hair and dark-plum lipstick. Our mom was pretty but in an Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, sort of way. I was expecting Nancy, the apparent gold digger, to look more like a gold digger.
“May I help you?” Nancy held the door open, giving herself a ten-inch gap to speak through.
We already had our badges out.
“Ma’am, I’m Detective Clayton, and this is Detective Monroe from the county sheriff’s office. May we come in?”
“What on earth for?” She peered past us and looked at the cruiser.
“We have some news for you.”
“Has something happened to my kids? Are Megan and Shawn all right?”
I took over. “Yes, ma’am, to the best of our knowledge, they’re fine. It’s about Marvin.”
Her startled expression told me she probably didn’t know anything about the murder.
“Marvin? What has he done?”
“Ma’am, this won’t take too much of your time. May we?” Chad tipped his head toward the inside of the house.
“I suppose. Please, right this way.”
We followed Nancy to a cozy den, where a fire was lit and logs crackled. A warm glow cast shadows across the paneled walls.
“Lovely room, Mrs. Myers.” We waited for her invitation to sit.
She pointed at the couch as she took a seat in a matching wingback chair. “What is this about, Detectives?”
Clayton gave me the nod to go ahead.
“Ma’am, we’re sorry to tell you this, but Marvin is deceased.”
“What? Where? How? I don’t understand. He was just fine when I saw him last.”
“And when was that?” Chad asked.
“Just last week. I needed some mo—”
“Money?” Chad looked around. “You have a beautiful home here, Mrs. Myers. I’m sure Marvin provided whatever he was ordered to in your divorce settlement, but that was twelve years ago. Why would you be asking him for money now?”
“Living the lifestyle I’m accustomed to is very expensive, Detectives.” She gave us a pathetic once-over. “I’m sure you wouldn’t understand. Things are more expensive today than they were back then.”
I smiled. Her elegance had diminished, and the gold-digger image Marvin’s neighbor had described was coming to life.
“You receive maintenance from Marvin, don’t you?” I asked.
“It’s court ordered as long as I don’t remarry. The amount is minimal.”
“You do realize we have access to those court files, right? Who is named on Marvin’s will and life insurance policy?”
“I imagine the children are.”
“You don’t know that as fact?” Chad crossed his right leg over his left knee.
“Well, yes, Megan and Shawn are due to inherit all of his assets upon his death.”
“How about his life insurance policy?” I asked.
She fidgeted in her chair. “That would be me. He never took my name off of it to my knowledge.”
I pulled out my notepad and a pen from my blazer pocket. “We’re going to need copies of everything, ma’am. Who were Marvin’s attorney and accountant?”
“Bill Shoemaker is, or was, Marvin’s attorney. His office is downtown. His accountant is Bob Flores, in the Centrum building.”
I wrote down that information. “Do Shawn and Megan work?”
“Why is that relevant?”
“Because we asked,” Chad said.
“Shawn works at Mattish in Milwaukee. It’s a factory, and Megan is a homemaker.”
“So she ought to be at home?”
“I imagine so.”
“And what shift does Shawn work?” I asked.
“First shift, so he ought to be home by now too.”
“Ma’am, where were you yesterday, say between noon and five o’clock?”
“I was playing bingo with the ladies at Immanuel Church on Walnut Street.”
“And that can be verified?”
“Absolutely, and why are you asking?”
I let out a perturbed sigh. “It’s customary questioning, ma’am. You wouldn’t happen to have a key for Marvin’s house, would you?”
“No, but I know where he hides it.”
“That’s fine, but nobody is allowed inside since this is an ongoing investigation.”
Nancy raised a questioning brow. “What exactly are you investigating, Detectives?”
I responded. “We’re trying to find out who murdered Marvin.”
“Marvin was murdered? Oh my word, I’m beginning to feel faint.”
Chapter 12
Clayton grinned when we left Nancy’s house. “You were totally taunting her about that house key. She’s probably going to head there right now.”
“She won’t get far when she sees the key is gone. Anyway, as soon as she notices the front door is secured with police tape, she’ll probably back off.”
My phone rang as Clayton drove east on Washington Street. Jack was calling. “What’s your ETA?”
“We’re about to pull into the parking lot unless you want us to head to Milwaukee and interview Marvin’s son and daughter instead.”
“Nope. Come on in. Let’s compare notes.”
Clayton and I entered the bull pen minutes later. Everyone was as their desks and waiting for us.
Jack exited his office and nodded toward the door. “Let’s gather in the conference room and bring your notes.”
Once inside, we each took our usual seats and waited as Jack organized sheets of paper in front of him. “First off, Todd recovered a .45 slug wedged within the plaster and laths of the old wall. It won’t do much to help us without the murder weapon, but because nobody called 911 about hearing gunshots, we can assume the killer used a suppressor. Marvin had to be a targeted victim since his money and credit cards were still in his wallet. This wasn’t a random robbery. Somebody went there on purpose and confronted him.” He nodded at Kate and Billings. “You’re up. How many people did you interview, and what did they say?”
Billings began. “Besides the lady across the hall, we spoke with two more people, who didn’t see or hear anyone in the hallway or in Kate’s old apartment. One of the residents said they were in and out for part of the day, so they may have missed the perp altogether. The other resident said she works from home and wears headphones most of the time she’s on the computer. She didn’t hear anything.”
“You took notes of the conversation with Beth Kent, the woman across the hall. Did she recognize any words exchanged between Marvin and the killer?”
“She said she couldn’t make out the words, only that both voices belonged to men,” Kate said.
Jack turned toward us. “What did you guys find out from the ex-wife?”
I rolled my eyes. “First off, she lives very comfortably, courtesy of Marvin. She said she saw him as recently as last week and was asking for more money.”
Jack scratched his cheek. “That’s interesting, and she does get alimony, correct?”
“She sure does, and
by the looks of her house, she got a hefty divorce settlement too. The adult kids are the beneficiaries on Marvin’s will, and to the best of her knowledge, she was never removed from his life insurance policy.”
“So they all stand to gain financially from his death?”
“It appears that way,” Clayton said.
“Any bad blood between the family members from what you could tell?”
I spoke up. “Actually, Nancy Myers seemed truly shocked when we told her Marvin was dead. She may have been a pain in his rear end when it came to money, but I don’t think she had anything to do with the murder.”
Kate reminded us that both voices coming from her old apartment were male. “What about the son?”
“We haven’t interviewed him or checked his alibi yet. The mom said Shawn works first shift at Mattish Industries in Milwaukee. It’ll be easy enough to see if he was at work during the time of the murder.”
Jack raked his fingers through his hair. “We don’t have a definitive TOD yet, but Lena should have a range for us first thing in the morning. Somebody either had a beef with Marvin or they were motivated by money. Either way, a hit man could have been hired to do the deed. We can’t rule that out. Sanders and I will exchange information, and if the city boys gather any leads, we’ll be the first to know.”
I gritted my teeth since I was about to say something I didn’t want to bring up. It was necessary, though, and I wanted to make sure no angles were overlooked. “Boss?”
He turned toward me. “You have the floor, Amber. Go ahead.”
“What if this has nothing to do with Marvin at all and the perp showed up because he thought Kate lived there?” I could almost hear the wheels turning in every head. I gave Kate a quick glance. She stared at me, and it looked as if the color had drained from her face. I mouthed the words I’m sorry. I was about to stir up memories I knew she wanted to forget.
“What are you saying, Amber? That time in my life has passed. Robert is dead, and Tony is in prison.”
“But you thought your nightmare last night was about Robert until you realized the bad guy didn’t look like him even though he behaved the same way.”
Kate buried her face in her hands. “Amber, my dreams are personal.”
“Not if they’re premonitions instead of dreams.”
Jack looked concerned. “Kate, is there something you want to share with us?”
“No, there isn’t. It was a bad dream, nothing more.” She gave me a long stare, as if I had betrayed her trust. She finally turned her head and looked away.
Jack waited, but we both remained silent. “Okay, then let’s get back to the case. Let’s hold off on talking to Marvin’s son and daughter until we have a handle on the time of death.” Jack tipped his head toward me. “Tomorrow, I want you and Clayton to go to Milwaukee and interview Megan and Shawn. I’m sure Nancy Myers already alerted them of Marvin’s passing.” Jack tapped his pen on the table. “Billings, you and Kate will coordinate with the city boys to look through Marvin’s house, pull his bank statements, and check out his life insurance policy and the will.” Jack turned to me. “Give them the names of the lawyer and accountant Marvin used.”
“You bet, boss.” I tore that sheet of information from my notepad and slid it across the table to Kate. Billings picked it up and put it in his folder.
Jack closed his file. “Okay, people, go home, get a good night’s sleep, and we’ll start with fresh eyes first thing in the morning.”
I hoped Kate would sleep soundly that night.
Chapter 13
“Amber, how could you embarrass me like that in front of everyone?”
Kate was clearly angry with me for talking about her dream in front of our coworkers, and I wasn’t sure how to reply. Kate’s job title was psychic detective. It was her duty to discuss premonitions or dreams that could be related to a crime we were investigating. I didn’t know she would become defensive about my bringing it up.
“Kate, why are you so upset? One, your dream could be related to Marvin’s murder, and two, it might be about you. Either way, the nightmare you had was the first one since you moved in with us, and the very next day your old landlord is found murdered? Don’t you think that’s coincidental?”
“Neither Robert nor Marvin appeared in that nightmare, so no, I don’t think it’s coincidental, just embarrassing. I know how to do my job, Amber. This isn’t my first rodeo, and I don’t believe the murderer was at my apartment looking for me. The only people who wanted me dead are now in prison or dead themselves, plus I’d be the first person notified if Tony Lynch ever escaped. He’ll never be released since he’s serving life without the possibility of parole.”
“Okay, I get it and I’m sorry. I’ll never talk about your dreams again. That’s all on you.”
We drove the rest of the way home in silence. I was thankful we were almost there.
As soon as we entered the house, Kate retreated to the bathroom, saying she needed a hot bath.
Jade gave me the eyeballs and raised her brows. “What’s up her ass?”
I plopped down on the couch and let out a heavy sigh. “She’s pissed off at me because I told everyone about the dream she had last night. I guess it embarrassed her, but that wasn’t my intention. I thought it could be related to our case.”
“What case is that?” Jade lifted her glass of wine and took a sip.
I got up from the couch, filled a glass for myself, and returned to my seat. “Yeah, I forgot. You don’t know. Old man Myers was found murdered today.”
“You’ve got to be kidding!”
“I’m not, and the weird part is he was found in Kate’s old apartment”—I looked down the hallway before continuing—“and his throat was slit twice.”
Jade whistled. “And she thought her dream last night was about Robert Lynch.”
“True, but remember, she retracted that statement later. She said that although the dream character’s actions were like Robert’s, his appearance wasn’t.”
“Yeah, I remember now. Any leads?”
“Just that Marvin’s ex-wife and adult children were hot after his money.”
“Money is the oldest motive for murder. So what was up with that text you sent me this morning about the image in the snow?”
“Jeez, that seems like days ago. It was seriously creepy, Jade. Let’s go take a look with the flashlight. It might still be there.”
“Sure, but keep in mind that snow evaporates and images change, especially if the sun beats down.”
“I know, and I wish I would have had my phone with me at the time, but I was in a hurry to find Spaz and get to work. The location of the imprint is what worries me. It was right against Kate’s bedroom window well.”
Jade and I bundled up, grabbed the flashlight, and walked outside. We rounded the house to the basement window. All that remained was an indentation in the snow without any particular shape to it.
“Damn it. It doesn’t look anything like it did this morning.” I shined the flashlight to where the footprints came to the window then went back to the street. “See those holes? They were shaped like footprints this morning.”
“Did you look in the cavities to see if there was an actual print of the shoe’s sole?”
“Crap, I didn’t think of it, but I did walk over to the Johnsons’ house to see if there were prints leading to his meters, and there weren’t.”
“That really is creepy.” Jade took the flashlight and looked around the yard. “Maybe we need to install security cameras with motion sensor lights too. You can never be too careful.” She nudged me. “Come on. Let’s go inside where it’s warm. There’s nothing more we can do now except be vigilant.”
I was thankful we had returned to the house before Kate finished her bath. Explaining why we were outside and giving her one more thing to worry about wasn’t on my to-do list that night. Jade and I continued our conversation.
“I was sure Kate’s giddiness would last all day because of
the guy we met at Tap and Tavern, but after she heard about Marvin’s death, her whole disposition changed. Maybe that explains her attitude toward me too.”
Jade perked up. “So who was the guy from Tap and Tavern?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, just a new guy in town who was there for lunch too. He probably wanted to make friends with anybody who was sitting next to him.”
“Can you blame the guy, especially with two beautiful women like you and Kate sitting there?” Jade gave me a grin. “So Kate took a liking to him?”
“Um, yeah. I mean the guy was pretty good-looking and very polite. He even paid for our lunches. Kind of weird, huh?”
Jade cringed. “That’s over the top. Something is off with that. I could see buying a lady a drink, but two entire meals and drinks? Nope, that’s not right.”
“Another thing that was weird was that he had tattoos on his hands. They didn’t fit his personality.”
“I never understood that. Tattoos can be covered up on most areas of the body until you get past the wrists and above the neck. After that, you’re screwed for life.” Jade slugged down her wine and held out her hand. “Give me your glass. So what did this handsome guy look like?”
“The typical hot guy. You know, dark hair, green eyes, and perfect teeth.”
Jade laughed. “So it sounds like you were checking him out too.” She set the bottle of wine on the breakfast bar and popped the cork.
“Nah, I’m taking a break from men. He seemed more interested in Kate, anyway.”
Jade poured the glasses, rounded the kitchen, and handed my glass to me. She took her seat again. “It’s funny that a man with hand tattoos would appeal to Kate. Something like that would normally freak her out.”
“Like I said, the guy was very friendly, and Kate likes to befriend strays, but I’ll keep my eye on her. She should get to know him slowly, if that’s what she even wants to do. But giving him her card was kind of reckless. She wrote her personal number on the back.”