Julius Katz and Archie

by Dave Zeltserman

  Burke nodded to himself as he made up his mind. “I’ll get her for you,” he said, his jaw setting in determination.

  Margaret Herston lived with her husband in a very expensive multi-million dollar waterfront condo overlooking the Harbor and it was only a short three point two miles from Julius’s townhouse. While Julius gave Burke the information he had regarding Herston, I searched through phone records and other databases for any connection I could find between Herston’s almost billionaire husband and Gail Kingston. I was working on a theory that the two of them discovered their spouses cheating on each other, got together and conspired to kill Kenneth Kingston, and possibly also Margaret Herston once Kingston was dead. This theory would still fit with Julius’s that one of his six invitees was involved, as well as better explaining a motive for the attempt on Julius’s life. If they were planning to kill Margaret Herston next, they’d have to be worried about Julius making the connection between both deaths, especially since they had no idea what Kingston might’ve told Julius when they were alone.

  Before Burke left to retrieve Margaret Herston, he asked Julius about the long shot that I was sent to New York for. Julius put him off, telling him he was going to wait until he heard from me before going into any details about it. Burke looked amused over Julius’s eccentricity concerning this, but didn’t push him for an answer, and once he was out the front door, I told Julius, “Finesse my eye! You sent Burke because you know his reputation and you know he’s not above bullying and extortion to get her here!”

  Julius chuckled at that. “He’s proving to be very resourceful, Archie. I’m sure he’ll find a way. His efforts to find who sold our killer his gun might very well lead us somewhere. I’m impressed so far. This could turn out to be a valuable partnership.”

  That comment bothered me for some reason and I couldn’t quite figure out why. I tried to ignore the sensation jingling inside of me and instead asked Julius whether he really tried calling Herston this morning.

  “I did. And as I told Burke, I failed miserably.”

  “You did this before you came down from the third floor this morning? That’s why you came down so late?”

  “I made a few calls from up there,” Julius admitted. “But I also spent more time than usual this morning working out. I was feeling sluggish after not sleeping, and I needed to get past that.”

  “Okay.” I digested what Julius was telling me, but that strange sensation was still nagging at me. “How about Tom or Saul? Couldn’t you have sent one of them to collect Herston?”

  “They’re both already engaged and not available. Why do you ask, Archie? You don’t believe Mr. Burke is up to the task?”

  “No, that’s not it.” I tried to figure out why it was I asked that or even cared that Julius had sent Burke out on an assignment, and I couldn’t understand it except I couldn’t shake this odd and extremely uncomfortable sensation. I tried explaining this sensation to Julius, about how intense and counterproductive it was as if it was keeping me from focusing my processing cycles on where they needed to be.

  “I don’t get it,” I told Julius. “It makes perfect sense for you to be working with Burke, but I find myself wishing you weren’t.”

  “I think what you’re feeling is jealousy,” Julius said with a sympathetic smile. “Don’t worry, Archie. In my heart you’ll always be my favorite private eye to work with. And there will never be one whom I count on more.”

  That helped, although the jealousy sensation was quickly replaced by something different—an excess heat which I recognized from the past as something similar to embarrassment. In the image I had of myself as a short, heavyset balding man, my cheeks were now burning red.

  “I’ve been trying to find a link between Herston’s husband and Gail Kingston,” I said to change the subject. “I’m thinking that maybe they discovered what their spouses were up to, and somehow worked together to kill Kingston. So far I’ve come up with nothing. Do you really think Margaret Herston is going to help at all in this?”

  Julius nodded. “Yes, Archie. I believe she will be playing an invaluable role in this investigation, but we’ll see.”

  ◆◆◆

  I had to give Burke credit. He did what he said he was going to do. Only thirty-nine minutes later he had Margaret Herston sitting in the chair facing Julius, while he took one of the chairs in the back.

  Herston, the woman in question, was a redhead with a fair complexion bordering on pale. She was forty-two, and according to her driver’s license, was five foot six and a hundred eighteen pounds, but I had her weight estimated closer to a hundred and twelve pounds. Maybe she lost those six pounds recently due to the stress of having her secret lover murdered only two days ago. In any case, with her long red hair expensively coiffed and herself dressed in designer jeans, a yellow silk blouse and wearing a pair of brown leather Bottega Veneta flats that I priced out at six hundred and twenty dollars, she would’ve been attractive except for a pinched tightness about her features and a pronounced gauntness to her face, especially her eyes, which her green eye shadow and the blush applied to her cheeks only accentuated. This gauntness could’ve been new given her being grief-stricken over Kingston’s murder, but she looked more put upon and angry than grief-stricken.

  Julius had already offered her coffee and other refreshments, which she declined. As he sat opposite to her, he nodded slightly, and thanked her for seeing him.

  “What choice did I have?” she demanded while glaring angrily at him as if she were trying to bore a hole through him, her lips tight against her face.

  “You could’ve spoken to the police instead of agreeing to speak to me,” Julius said. “You still very well might. It was easy enough for me to discover your affair with Kingston. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before the police do as well, and they’ll be every bit as anxious to speak to you as I am, although probably with far less discretion.”

  “So that’s how you justify extorting me,” she said bitterly.

  Julius stared at her blankly before letting out a soft sigh. “Madam, please quit this injured act. It will get you nowhere, and certainly not any sympathy from me. Granted, your choice to have an affair was your private business, but once Kenneth Kingston was murdered that changed and has become police business. I am working in concert with the police to catch Kingston’s murderer, and while I understand the delicacy of your situation and will try to use discretion, I am not willing to play games with you. While I want information that you have, if you are evasive with me or play the injured party, I will throw up my hands and give you to the police. But one way or another we will get whatever relevant information you have concerning Kingston’s murder. Do I make myself clear?”

  She bit her lip and nodded, her earlier anger now looking more like a brittle despondency, but she remained dried-eyed.

  “I’d like to talk to you in private and without that man here,” she said, referring to Burke.

  Julius shook his head. “I’m sorry. You had that opportunity earlier when I called you, but now Mr. Burke is equally engaged with me on this homicide investigation and he’ll be present. So is it us or the police?”

  She took a deep breath. The pinched tightness to her features softened as she accepted her situation.

  “It might as well be you,” she said.

  “In that case, would you like some French Roast coffee? Or perhaps bottled water? Or some other refreshment?”

  She gave a faint smile to that. “How about some wine from your famous wine cellar?”

  Julius opened his eyes wide in an exaggerated display of modesty. “Famous? Hardly. But I’d be happy to bring up a bottle. Any preference?”

  She shook her head. “Surprise me,” she said.

  Julius nodded and looked towards Burke, who told Julius a beer would be fine. While Julius left for his wine cellar, I kept an eye on his office to make sure Burke and Herston stayed put. Julius surprised me when he picked out his best pinot noir that went for three hund
red dollars a bottle.

  “You have a forty dollar bottle of pinot noir that is almost as good,” I said. “Besides, you only have three bottles left of your original case. Aren’t you being too generous with a woman who could turn out not only to be a cold-blooded killer, but someone who took shots at you? Or if not her, her husband?”

  “Archie, all valid points, but I believe this bottle will best suit my purposes.”

  He took the bottle upstairs and then put together a tray containing an assortment of cheeses and crackers, and brought that, the wine, two bottles of Rolling Rock, a beer mug and a single wine glass to his office. Burke waved off the beer mug, preferring to drink straight from the bottle. Margaret Herston seemed to be admiring the bottle of pinot noir before Julius opened it, and even more after Julius poured her a glass and she took a sip of it. I was surprised that Julius hadn’t brought a wine glass for himself, especially given the vintage.

  “An exceptional wine,” she said. “You’re not joining me?”

  A remorseful sigh escaped from Julius as he shook his head. “No, Madam.”

  Herston shrugged and took another sip. “As far as I’m concerned, your wine cellar lives up to its reputation. I’d love to see it someday,” she said.

  Julius nodded politely. “Thank you. Perhaps someday you will. On Thursday morning did you shoot Kenneth Kingston once in the heart?”

  Herston was taking another sip of her wine when Julius asked that and she almost spat it out. Burke almost did the same with his beer.

  “No, I didn’t kill Ken,” she said when she was able to. “But if I did, do you think I would tell you?”

  “Possibly,” Julius said. “People have in the past, although not always in words, sometimes instead by their mannerisms.”

  Herston nodded as the point was taken. “I didn’t kill Ken,” she said.

  “Did your husband?”

  “I don’t think so, but I couldn’t tell you for certain.”

  “Did he know of your affair?”

  “I can’t imagine Steve knowing about it,” she said, her smile turning brittle. She took another three sips of her wine, emptying her glass, and waited for Julius to reach across his desk to pour her a refill before adding, “If he did, I think he would’ve kicked me out of the condo by now and would be doing everything he could to ruin me financially and maybe worse. You know who my husband is?”

  Julius nodded but otherwise didn’t answer her. After I’d found out about Margaret Herston, I also built a profile on her husband. Stephen Herston was worth a shade under one billion dollars. He had started a computer company which he sold for three hundred million right before the technology bubble burst in 2001, and then turned that three hundred million into over nine hundred million by shorting financial stocks during the market meltdown of 2007 and 2008. Two years ago he started a new company to help corporations more effectively outsource work overseas to lower their labor costs. I know I shouldn’t blame someone for being shrewd and making smart business deals, but the fact that he was getting ridiculously wealthy on other people’s misfortunes and pain didn’t exactly endear me to the guy, and even though I’d never met him I was rooting for him to be the killer.

  Julius asked, “Is your husband capable of murder?”

  Herston took another sip of wine before nodding, her lips thin lines as they pressed together.

  “Would he have killed Kenneth Kingston if he learned of your affair?”

  Her color paled to a milk white as she thought about this question. “He could’ve,” she said. “But if he did it wouldn’t be out of jealousy or anger, only because he doesn’t like people touching his possessions, and that’s all I am to him.”

  “How did your affair with Kingston start?”

  She smiled wanly as she thought about that. “I met Ken a year ago at one of his book events,” she said. “I didn’t go to the bookstore to see him, but he was there, and I knew of him having read several of his books. While he wasn’t necessarily a favorite of mine, in person he had a certain charm, kind of like some big pampered poodle, the type you see at the Westminster dog show. After his book event, we had dinner and drinks, and then found ourselves in a hotel room.”

  “And this continued until his murder?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did he ever try to break things off with you?”

  She shook her head.

  “Did you ever try to end the affair with him?”

  “No.”

  “So you had strong feelings for him.”

  Margaret Herston gawked at Julius as if he was nuts. “Not at all,” she said. “I had no real personal feelings for Ken, nor did I even have a strong physical attraction to him. Don’t get me wrong, he was fun to be with, and like any well-trained pampered poodle he could perform his tricks on command, but this was an affair solely for excitement and convenience. It was exciting knowing how dangerous it would be for me if Steve ever found out about it, especially if he found out that I was sleeping with someone like Ken, and it was convenient being able to travel to different locations where Ken was having one of his events.”

  “How did you feel when you learned of Ken’s murder?”

  “Both relieved and terrified. I knew I was pressing my luck regarding my husband, and that the affair needed to come to an end. I also didn’t feel confident that Ken would let it come to an end without making a big dramatic scene and possibly bringing my husband into it. And I was terrified realizing that the police could discover my affair at any minute, and what the consequences of that would be. I think I’ve lost five pounds the last few days simply from the stress of it.”

  Julius accepted these answers without any further digging while Burke sat back quietly in his chair with his eyes closed, but showing he was still awake by taking occasional pulls from his beer, and certainly absorbing everything. Next, Julius focused on their alibis for Thursday morning and late last night, both Margaret Herston’s and her husband’s. Margaret Herston had what sounded like an unassailable alibi for when Kingston was killed; she is a trustee for a charitable foundation, and they’d had a meeting that morning from nine o’clock until noon. Last night, she’d been home alone when Julius was shot at, which possibly could be verified depending on the security that her condo building had. As for her husband, as far as she knew he was traveling on business both Thursday morning and Saturday night. But even if their alibis proved to be solid, it wouldn’t have precluded either of them from hiring a hit man.

  Once Julius was done with this line of questioning, he asked Burke whether he had any questions, and Burke’s eyes only opened slightly as he shook his head.

  Julius nodded then to Margaret Herston.

  “Madam,” he said, graciously, “I believe we’re done. I would like to thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to meet with me, and I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you.”

  She looked startled by the abruptness of this, and when Julius started to stand so he could escort her out, she asked him to wait. He sat back down.

  “That’s all the questions you have for me?” she asked.

  “I believe so. Unless you have something to add that you think can help me with this investigation.”

  She appeared distracted as she shook her head. “Who’s your client for this?” she asked.

  “No one.”

  “Then I’d like to hire you.”

  Julius frowned as he considered her. “If you think by hiring me you can save yourself or your husband from a murder charge—”

  “No, that’s not what I think,” she said, cutting him off. “I’d be hiring you to do the same as you’re doing now, which is to find whoever did this to Ken. What I want is for you to do it discreetly if possible as far as my involvement is concerned. If you discover that Steve is involved, or even myself, then you’ll do what you have to. But it will cause me a significant amount of damage if word leaks out of my affair with Ken, and that’s all I’m hiring you to do, to find this person,
but at the same time to do so while trying to look after my interests.”

  That was it. Son of a gun. That was what Julius was after and that was why he brought up a three hundred dollar bottle of wine from his cellar. It was an investment. I understood perfectly then what he meant when he told me she could play an invaluable role in the investigation. Translation: her money could play an invaluable role.

  Julius put on a show of considering her proposal for an appropriate amount of time before telling her that he would accept her offer under the given conditions. “Of course you’ll be hiring both myself and Mr. Burke since we are working this investigation together. Mr. Burke, do you have any objections?”

  “No, sir,” Burke answered with a smirk, since he understood also what had happened.

  “Now about the fee…” Julius started.

  “Ten thousand dollars up front for the two of you to split, and a fifty thousand dollar bonus if you succeed in protecting my interests,” Margaret Herston offered.

  “That would be acceptable to me,” Julius said. “Mr. Burke?”

  “Fine with me,” Burke said, a smirk broadening on his face.

  Margaret Herston wrote Julius a check for ten grand, and he then wrote Burke a check for his share. After Julius escorted her out of his townhouse, he and Burke sat together in his office while they strategized on what they were going to do next, and while they did this, Julius started calling his new partner Paul. The hell with that. As far as I was concerned he was still Burke, and that was how he was going to remain!

  The end result of their session was that they agreed they needed to verify Stephen Herston’s alibis for both shootings, and that Burke would take this on, but he needed to so without his camera crew following him. The stratagem that Julius devised was a simple one. The cascade of suspects to Julius’s office wasn’t going to be starting until four o’clock that afternoon. At some point Julius would come up with a task that he would need to send Burke on. The camera crew would be stuck in Julius’s office while Burke would have an hour or two to try to discreetly confirm Stephen Herston’s whereabouts when Kingston was killed and Julius was shot at.