Murder in San Francisco

by Dianne Harman

  As Roger finished the last of the cheesecake, he let out a long sigh.

  “What was that for?” Liz asked.

  “I’m just feeling sad that there isn’t another piece. Since I’m not a guest at the spa I could have justified two pieces.”

  “It’s probably better for your lawyer look that there isn’t,” she grinned as she reached over and patted his stomach which constantly threatened to expand because of her cooking.

  “Okay, I get the hint. Let’s get back to Michelle’s case. I think you should accompany her. Even though she’ll have Winston with her, she’s still going to be nervous. You’ll need to keep her as calm as possible.”

  Liz pushed the crumbs around on her plate. “I’m planning on it. I’ll call her in the morning to see how she’s doing, but I thought I’d go to her condo about 1:00 tomorrow afternoon. That will give me plenty of time to show her the commands for Winston, although I hope she doesn’t have to use them. And I really hate to miss another dinner here at the lodge. I’m worried Gina will quit because of the extra work I’ve put on her. At the least, I need to give her a bonus for doing all of this.”

  “I don’t think she’s going to quit. From what she’s told me she loves working here. She even told me once her favorite times are when she gets to do everything by herself, because she feels like she’s the owner of the spa and everybody always compliments her on the food she prepares.”

  “She said that to you?” Liz asked with an incredulous look on her face.

  “Yes,” Roger said, grinning. “We were talking a few weeks ago, so I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Of course, I could start worrying that she won’t ever make that cheesecake again, and that would probably cause me some sleepless nights.”

  “I think your beauty sleep is safe, since I promise I’ll make it for you in the very near future.”

  “I’d prefer it if you gave me a specific date, so I’d have something to look forward to,” Roger said with a plaintive look on his face.

  “Tell you what. If it will cause you to sleep better, I’ll make it as soon as this issue with Michelle is resolved. How does that sound?”

  “Does that mean if it’s over tomorrow night, you’ll make it the next day?” he asked hopefully.

  “Yep. A promise is a promise.”

  “Okay, now that we’ve solved that problem, we probably need to get some sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a very interesting day,” he said as he picked up their plates and carried them over to the sink.

  “I just hope it’s a good interesting and not bad interesting,” Liz said, getting up from her seat and following him. “I really am concerned about how much stress Michelle can take without it having some effect on her and the babies.” She rinsed the plates, put them in the dishwasher, and started it.

  Fifteen minutes later when they were in bed and Liz was almost asleep, Roger said, “I’m having trouble getting to sleep. I’m used to knowing that Winston is right outside the door.”

  Liz put her head on his shoulder and said, “Pretend I’m Winston, and I got in bed with you. I have a feeling that’s exactly what he’s doing right now at Michelle’s home.”

  CHAPTER 29

  Liz spent the next morning catching up on her email, meeting with Bertha, her manager, to see what had been happening with the spa during the last few days while she’d been gone, and writing instructions for Gina about the evening’s dinner. She looked at the clock and knew that Gina was usually home at that time. She picked up her phone and called her.

  Gina answered the phone in her usual cheery tone. Liz marveled that the young woman never seemed to have had a grumpy day in her life. “Hi Liz, how are you?”

  “I’m fine, Gina, but I’m feeling really guilty about leaving you to do everything the last couple of days, and unfortunately, I’m going to have to go into the city again today, and I’ll be there during dinner tonight. I’m so sorry, but something has come up.”

  “Liz, I understand, and knowing you, I rather imagine it has something to do with a murder. Actually, I enjoy preparing the dinners, and from what the guests have told me, I think it’s gone well. As good as you are to me, I’m just happy to be able to help you.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate it. I think tonight will be the last time I have to ask you to fill in for me, at least for the near future. I’ve written out instructions and done some prep work, so you should be okay. Unless something unforeseen happens, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Not to worry. Good luck with whatever it is you’re doing,” Gina said as she ended the call.

  Liz punched in Michelle’s telephone number on her cell phone, and it was answered almost immediately. “Liz, I can’t tell you how much I love Winston. I hope you don’t mind, but I did let him on my bed last night, and you know what? I slept like a baby. I wish I could keep him. He’s wonderful. It’s almost as if he knows what I’m thinking.”

  “Glad to hear that you like him, but I think I’d have a divorce to contend with if I gave him to you. Roger had a hard time getting to sleep last night without Winston. He’s really become a part of our family. To change the subject, I was hoping we could meet at your condo at 1:00 this afternoon. I want to go over the touch commands for Winston with you, and then I can drive you to the meeting in Walter’s office. After that I’ll go to the doctor’s office with you, and as we discussed last night, I’ll wait in the doctor’s reception area while you meet with him in his office. Would that be all right?”

  “Yes, that’s fine,” Michelle said. “I was just getting ready to pan fry a steak I found in the freezer. We forgot about dog food, and I thought Winston might like that. I also have some hamburger I’m defrosting. Is that okay with you? I don’t want him to starve.”

  Liz laughed. “You are really spoiling him. As a matter of fact, I did give Walter a couple of baggies of dog food, but I guess in the excitement of everything, they got overlooked. They’re probably still in his office, and I’m sure Winston would prefer your treats over his daily dog food. I don’t think you should be walking him. Is there someone there who can do it for you?”

  “Yes, I told you I know the doorman, and he was more than happy to take Winston out early this morning when he got off work. My weekly cleaning lady came today, and she’s taken him out as well. I’ll have her do it one more time before you get here. Do you think that’s enough?”

  “More than enough. He’ll be fine. How are you doing?”

  “I’m okay. I’d probably be a blithering idiot if Winston wasn’t here. Having something to do is keeping my mind off of the meeting. Quite frankly, I’m dreading it.”

  “I don’t blame you, but remember, Winston will be with you at all times, and I have a feeling a lot of other people are going to be only seconds away. I’ve got a few more things to do before I leave. See you soon.”

  *****

  Later that afternoon Liz walked into the lobby of Michelle’s condominium building and immediately noticed the large bouquet of fresh flowers that was on the round table in the center of it. The other evening when she’d been at Michelle’s she was so focused on Michelle and everything that was happening, she hadn’t paid much attention to anything else. She decided then and there that a large vase of fresh flowers would be perfect on the table in the great room at her lodge. Zack, her gardener, made sure fresh flowers were always in the cottages, but she’d never thought to display a large bouquet in the lodge.

  She took the elevator up to Michelle’s floor, opened it, and was immediately greeted by a very happy Winston. He wagged his tail, sat down, and extended his paw, as Ed James, the dog trainer, had taught him to do when he first met people. Liz could only assume Michelle had told him she would be coming up on the elevator. She looked down the hall and saw Michelle standing in the doorway of her condo, grinning while a muscular young man, who she assumed was one of the bodyguards Roger had hired, stood next to it.

  “Liz, are you sure I can’t have that big guy?” Mi
chelle asked while looking at her with a fake pout. “Since I’m going to come into some money while I’m receiving a family allowance from Bernie’s estate, I’d pay you a ridiculous price for him.”

  “Fraid he’s not for sale,” Liz said as she and Winston walked through the doorway, “but you might consider getting a dog of your own. I’d be happy to give you the trainer’s name. Roger spoke so highly of him and there’s no doubt about it, Winston’s the most highly trained dog I’ve ever seen. By the way, how did he like the steak and hamburger?”

  “Considering he ate all of both of them, and then looked at me expectantly, I’d say he thoroughly enjoyed them, although I do have one little problem.”

  “What’s that?” Liz said sitting down and scratching one of Winston’s ears.

  “My cleaning lady has fallen in love with him. She said she had a boxer when she was a little girl and always wanted another one, but her husband is allergic to dogs, so she can’t have one.”

  “Doesn’t sound like a problem to me.”

  “If your cleaning lady had spent the better part of the morning playing with a dog, brushing it, and not getting the things done I’m paying her to do, you might think it was a problem,” Michelle said.

  Liz laughed. “Well, I consider that a good problem. A bad problem would be if she hated dogs or she was the one who was allergic to dogs.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that. I guess you’re right. Okay, so now what?”

  “I want to teach you two touch commands that Ed James showed me. The first one involves putting thumb pressure on Winston’s right side, or his haunch. It’s where his back leg and his rear meet. I’m going to point it out to you, but I’m not going to actually press there.” She reached over and petted Winston and let her hand slide to that area. “Right in here is the trigger point. Don’t ask me how, but the trainer said it must be done with the thumb. See?”

  “Yes. That looks pretty easy. Why the thumb?”

  “He told me that people always pet a dog with their hands, and no one would deliberately put a thumb there.”

  “That makes sense,” Michelle said. “Now the question is, what does he do if someone puts their thumb in that region and presses?”

  “It’s a silent command for him to attack. By that, I mean a full-on attack, like taking a big bite out of the person who is the threat. Hopefully, the doctor won’t do anything to earn that.”

  “No one hopes that more than I do.” Michelle said as she nervously chewed on her lip. “What’s the second command, and what’s it for?”

  “The second silent command is to press your knuckle under his chin, hard. If that’s done to him, that’s the command to take the person down. In other words, Winston won’t bite him, but he’ll pin him to the ground.”

  Michelle was quiet for several minutes and then she said, “How did he come up with those two touch commands?”

  “I asked him the same question and was told that both of them can be done as if someone was simply petting Winston. The person who was to be the recipient of the command wouldn’t be aware that I or someone else was doing anything other than simply petting him, which would seem very non-threatening.”

  “Wow.” Her face lit up. “That’s sheer genius. I guess it must have involved a lot of training to get Winston to learn that, but then again, as smart as he is, probably not.”

  “I don’t know. Are you clear on these two commands? I can go over them again, if you’d like me to. I want you to feel safe.”

  “Thanks to you, Liz, I’ve never felt safer.” Michelle looked at her, her eyes shining. “I’ll have Winston sit next to me, and I’ll pet him from time to time, so it won’t arouse any suspicion. Then, heaven forbid, if it does look like I’m in danger, I’ll give him whichever command seems appropriate. Thank you. I wouldn’t attend the meeting without him.”

  “If it’s any consolation, if I were in your shoes, I’m not so sure I’d be able to either.”

  At 2:15, Liz said, “I want to take Winston for a walk before we go to Walter’s office. I’ll be back in a few minutes, and then we can leave. I’m curious to see what Detective Latham has in mind.”

  CHAPTER 30

  Liz, Michelle, Roger, Sean, and Detective Latham were all seated in Walter’s office when he began to speak. “We have about an hour and a half to go over the plans for the meeting in Dr. Throckmorton’s office. Mitch, why don’t you tell us what you have in mind?”

  Detective Latham said, “First of all, I want to tell you that the detective I spoke of yesterday evening confirmed everything that Sean had found out. Dr. Throckmorton has been on his department’s radar for a long time, but they just haven’t been able to get the necessary evidence needed to bring charges against him.” He turned to Sean, “He said he didn’t know how you found out as much as you did and as quickly as you did, but if you ever need a job, he wants you to call his department.” Everyone laughed.

  “Thanks,” Sean said. “I did a lot more research today and while only one new thing came to light, which I’ll tell you about in a minute, what I did find out is that my initial information is absolutely correct. The doctor’s seriously in debt, his wife is running up more and more debts every day, and there have been a number of complaints filed against him, but nothing that would stand up in a court of law. I’m glad that your friend was able to concur with my findings.”

  “Sean, you said you had something new. What’s that?” Roger asked.

  “I found out that Dr. Throckmorton has been seeing a psychiatrist twice a week. Evidently he’s on several medications for severe depression and has talked to the doctor about committing suicide if his wife leaves him. He’s terrified that if he has to curb her spending habits, that’s what will happen.”

  “Sean, that’s information between a doctor and a patient and as I recall, it’s privileged and confidential. How were you able to find out something like that?” Detective Latham asked.

  “Detective, law enforcement personnel often have their hands tied when it comes to getting information. As a private investigator, I don’t. And as far as telling you how I found out or who told me, let me remind you of an applicable saying. If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you.”

  Detective Latham laughed. “Okay, I get your point, but it doesn’t thrill me. Not only are we dealing with someone who operates in a very grey area of medical practice, and may be a murderer, now we find out he could be suicidal. Swell. Michelle, how are you holding up?”

  “I’m doing very well, Detective. Winston’s been with me ever since our meeting last night, and even given what you just said, I’m not concerned.” Michelle bent down and patted Winston. “I know he’ll be with me when I’m in the meeting with Dr. Throckmorton, and if I feel threatened in any way, Liz has shown me two touch commands which will disable the doctor.” She smiled and said, “I just hope something comes of this, and I will no longer be considered a suspect.”

  “If it makes you feel better, Michelle, although you were on my list simply because of your relationship with Bernie, I never really considered you to be a serious suspect,” Detective Latham said, smiling broadly at her.

  “Detective, you’ll never know how much better that makes me feel.”

  “All right, now that we’ve gone over those things, I want to spend some time on the actual meeting. First of all, Liz, I believe you’re going to take Michelle to the doctor’s office and wait in the reception area while she’s in the meeting with him. Is that correct?”

  Liz nodded. “Yes, unless there’s something else you’d like me to do.”

  “No. That’s fine. We spoke yesterday about Michelle telling the doctor she’s been seeing a psychiatrist, and that’s the reason Winston is with her, as her comfort dog. I want you to do that, Michelle. If for any reason the doctor refuses to allow Winston in his office, I don’t want you to go in by yourself. You’ll have to tell him that Winston goes with you or you won’t go in. Understand?”

  “Yes, and I couldn’t agree
more. Although I’m not seeing a psychiatrist, Winston really has become a comfort to me.”

  “Michelle here’s the next thing,” the detective said as he took a small case out of his pocket. He opened it and took a ring from it. “This is a recording device. It looks like a big emerald, but of course it’s fake. I really doubt that the doctor could tell the difference, it’s so well done, but even if he does know something about jewelry, he’d have to examine it with a jeweler’s loupe and a strong light, and I don’t see that happening, given his obsession with the $500,000.

  “I want you to wear it on your left hand, ring finger. He may want to shake hands with you and the tiny switch to activate it is just off to the side. That’s why I don’t want you to wear it on your right hand. I don’t think it would be noticeable to him, but I don’t want to take any chances.” He handed the ring to her. “I want you to activate it the minute he comes into the reception area to get you.”

  “How do you know he won’t send one of his nurses to get me?” Michelle asked.

  “I checked his office schedule, and he closes at 3:00 on Thursdays. Today is Thursday, so the staff will all be gone, which is probably why he wanted to see you then. No one will be in the office or the reception area.”

  “All right. I can do that.”

  Detective Latham turned towards Roger and Walter. “I want both of you to follow Michelle and Liz to his office. Give them a two minute or so lead and then stand outside the doctor’s office in the hallway. I have listening devices for both of you as well as Michelle’s bodyguard. Roger, I’d like you to see to it that her bodyguard gets one.

  “You can secure them behind your ears. They have a very fine clear thread and a listening device that will fit into your ear. That way you’ll know when Michelle has gone into his office. You’ll be able to hear everything that’s being said between the two of them.” He reached into his briefcase, took out three plastic cases, and handed one to Walter and two to Roger.