“Are you doing most of the work yourselves?” This time she held out a cable TV bill, then placed it in the bills folder, realizing she would have been surprised by it if she hadn’t seen that strange bedroom in the attic.
“What we can. We’re not plumbers or electricians, so we call them in as needed. All the wiring had to be redone, not only because it was unreliable, but for safety’s sake. Some of the plumbing also needed upgrading. It seems to be a never-ending process.”
“Did you have any idea it would take this long when you bought it?”
“Unfortunately, no. We thought we’d be done by now. I think it will take another three years, at least. Ryan is more optimistic. He and I have been friends since I joined the police force. We agreed that if either of us got married before the house was finished, we’d work something out. Either our bride would move in, or the other one would buy the new groom out. Maybe not the wisest decision we’ve ever made, but we think when we’re done it will be worth it.”
“And so far Ryan hasn’t found Miss Right, and you’re not too sure about the woman you’re seeing?” A catalog from JH Breakell & Co., jewelers on Spring Street, was next in the pile. Mickey frowned at it, and Tina threw it in the wastebasket.
Mickey nodded. “We’re both rather surprised about that, actually. It’s not from lack of looking.”
“What’s the main hang-up?”
“More than one. They’re either too clingy or too independent. Lots of them complain too much and max out their credit cards.”
“And your current one?”
“Quite independent. So, I might change my mind about that criteria.” He grinned.
He probably thought she was too independent. That was okay. Hank didn’t think so, and right now, Hank was the only one who counted. She slit open an envelope and withdrew the contents then read a few lines of a letter from Olivia to a local financial firm. She gasped.
CHAPTER 34
“Look at this. She threatened to sue this financial firm for fraud.”
Mickey took the letter and read it, then read it again. “This is the firm Colin works for,” he muttered.
“Really?” Tina tried to see the letterhead.
Mickey held it so she could read it. “Lisbeth’s going to love this. You said she should just stay here.”
Tina nodded absently while reading the whole letter. “I don’t think Olivia thought Colin was involved, or she wouldn’t have written this.” Tina looked at the envelope again. “But she never mailed it.” She showed the envelope to Mickey. It was addressed and stamped. “Could Colin have known she wrote it and wanted to stop her? Could he be the one who’s been coming in to search?”
Mickey shrugged. “That’s for Lisbeth to find out.” He pulled his phone out of a pocket and poked at it.
Tina heard Lisbeth say, “Now what.”
Mickey grinned at Tina. “Something else you should see right away.” He described what they’d found, then tucked his phone away again. “She’s on her way.”
Tina was looking at the letter one more time. She noticed that it wasn’t signed. Just typed, with a typed signature. “What did she use to type this on? I haven’t seen a computer or a typewriter anywhere.”
“Good question.” Mickey stood up. “We should probably search for a typewriter. I doubt she used a computer.”
“Probably in one of the other desks,” Tina said. “Maybe this old roll-top or that slant-top one. Jenny and I never bothered to open either one because there were so many papers on this one.”
Mickey was closest, so he lifted the roll-top. An old Remington stood in the middle of the interior, and envelopes, an open ream of paper, and pens littered the rest of the surface. The cubbyholes were filled with other office supplies—little boxes of staples and paperclips, stamps, a stapler, scissors, tape, and other miscellany.
“Not extraordinarily neat, but good enough to find what you need,” Tina said. “One part of Olivia Blackwell could still keep certain things in order. The things most important to her. I suspect she was totally disgusted and dismayed about the rest of her house.”
Mickey looked surprised. “Then why didn’t she do something about it?”
“She couldn’t. Something in her brain prevented her from coping. She needed help, and until recently, she never asked for any. No telling what would have happened if she’d acted sooner or lived.”
“I think she was just mean enough not to care.”
“What makes you think she was mean? Did you ever talk to her?”
Mickey looked uncomfortable. “A couple of times. I used to own a motorcycle. She’d come out and yell at me about the noise.”
Lisbeth strode into the room, John behind her. “This looks a lot better. You’ve been working hard.”
“Yeah, we have.” Mickey handed her the letter.
After she put on gloves, she read it twice. She handed it to John and looked around again. “You found the typewriter it was probably written on. We’ll take that back to the lab with us. This house is full of surprises. I want you both to continue to work on the paperwork until that’s all done. I think there was some in the sitting room upstairs. Collect that, go through it next. Ask everyone else to bring any to you as they find it.”
“What about pictures?” A woman stood in the doorway with a medium-size box in her hands. Tina recognized her as the one working in the living room.
Lisbeth raised her eyebrows. “You think any of them are particularly interesting, Cathy?”
“I have no idea. But I did think they should be looked at before we hand them over to the relatives.”
“You were right.” Lisbeth held out her hand, and Cathy gave her the box. “Thanks.” Cathy left, and Lisbeth turned to John. “Take the typewriter and the ream of paper out to the car.”
After he left, she put the box where the typewriter had been and began to go through it, handing pictures to Tina as she finished looking at them. “Let me know if anything strikes you.”
They were all in tarnished silver frames. Most of them were of people Tina didn’t know in clothing from decades past. A more recent one showed Rebecca and Jenny sitting in their living room. Something about the room struck Tina, and it took her a few moments to figure out what it was.
“Look at this,” she said to Lisbeth. “You’ve been in Mrs. Tinsdale’s house, right?”
“Yes.”
“Look closely at the furnishings.”
Lisbeth brought the photo closer to her face. “The knickknacks aren’t the ones I remember. Is that significant?”
“Maybe. When I was there it was all shells and sea glass and stuff you buy at beachy tourist shops. What I’m seeing here are expensive pieces.” Tina pointed at a glass figurine. “This looks like a Lalique.” She pointed to a porcelain figurine. “This looks like a Lladro. The picture frames are probably sterling. At the reading of the will, Rebecca had cheap ones you could buy anywhere. She and Jenny insist they’re not interested in money, and of course that Rebecca can’t leave the house. After seeing this picture, I’m beginning to wonder.”
Mickey lost interest and began looking through papers on the other desk.
Lisbeth handed Tina another one of the Tinsdale house interior, this one of a bedroom.
Tina studied it. “More expensive things. Looks like a Persian rug, expensive draperies, good quality furniture. Not that Rebecca couldn’t have all that stuff from her husband’s estate. But then, why the switch of articles for the reading?”
Lisbeth gave her an appraising look. “You’d make a good detective.” John had come back while they talked. She handed him the two pictures. “More evidence. Will it ever end?”
Everyone laughed as they looked around the office.
“Maybe we can finish by the end of the week,” Tina said. “I hope so.”
“Maybe not.” Mickey held out a pile of checks to Lisbeth. “These are checks made out to several people of interest.” He looked at Tina. “Including you.”
> CHAPTER 35
“What?” Tina practically shouted. “I never got a check from Olivia Blackwell in my whole life.”
Mickey handed the pile to Lisbeth. “It’s on the top.”
Lisbeth looked at it and turned it over. She showed Tina the signature on the back. “Did you sign this?”
Tina felt the blood rush from her head. “No.” The response was automatic. “It doesn’t look much like my signature.” She turned the check over and gasped when she saw the amount. “Five thousand dollars? Why would she…”
The three of them were staring at her. She sank down into her chair. “It’s not possible. You’ll have to get a handwriting expert to check it out. Who were the other checks made out to?”
Lisbeth flipped through them. “Several to family members for various amounts, and one to Evelyn Simpson. You have no idea why she’d give you that much money?”
Tina rubbed her forehead. “She wanted to hire me to get rid of the clutter. But I never spoke to her or agreed to do it.”
“Then how do you know she wanted to hire you?”
Tina hesitated. She realized Lisbeth noticed. “She talked to my Uncle Bob in the driveway, asked him to speak to me about it. But he never told me until the other day. He didn’t want me to have anything to do with her.” She wasn’t going to lie to the police. It could come back to bite her on the butt. She wished she’d never known Olivia Blackwell, that the detestable woman had never lived next door.
“So you think she sent you this check to get you to help her?”
“Probably. But I never received it. It had to have been intercepted. Which makes me wonder about the others. Are they all dated the same day?”
Lisbeth flipped through them again. “Yes.”
“So she probably wanted something from each person she made a check out to. But somehow they all got into the wrong hands.” Tina felt a little better about the fact that there were others.
“And just how do you think that happened?” John asked. They all looked at him.
“Good question.” Lisbeth raised an eyebrow at Tina.
“She asked someone to mail them for her. And that person stole them. Cashed them.” Tina rubbed her forehead some more, but it wasn’t helping the headache forming there. She was suddenly aware of the sounds and smells around her. People moving around in the rest of the house, making the floors creak. Someone sneezed. The smell of cardboard and dust and the faint lingering cat odors became almost overwhelming. She stood up, but Lisbeth and John blocked the way out. “I need some fresh air.”
Lisbeth looked startled. She turned, and after a moment, John did too, and they left the room single-file. On the porch they all took deep, cleansing breaths.
“Better?” Lisbeth looked at her with concern.
Tina bit her lip. “Some. This is too close to home, both literally and figuratively. First you arrest my mother, and now I’m under suspicion.”
Lisbeth made a dismissive gesture with her hands.
“Of course I am,” Tina snapped. “Everyone who inherited is.”
John smirked. Tina wanted to smack him. She’d like to smash some things, as well. She took some deep breaths to help calm herself down. They didn’t help much.
Hank stepped out onto the porch, a bunch of papers in his hands. “There you all are. I found these in the back of the wardrobe.” He handed the stack to Tina. “You all right?”
“I will be.”
He nodded. He believed she would be. Love for him swept over her, and that did more to calm her than all the deep breaths in the world.
“What happened?” Hank looked at Lisbeth.
She explained about the checks and showed them to him. “It looks as if she was beginning to come to terms with all of this.” Hank glanced at the open door. “I think she probably wanted all these people to help her in some way. I wonder if any of them got their checks, and if she told the people she was sending them and why.”
“What do you think she wanted them to do?” Tina asked. “And who exactly did she send checks to?”
“Maybe she wanted the women to help inside and the men outside,” Hank said.
“Rebecca got one?”
Hank double checked. “Yes. Two thousand.”
“What could she do if she never leaves the house?”
“Maybe Rebecca can answer that.” Lisbeth held out her hand for the checks. “We need to get going. If you find anything else, let us know.”
Tina looked at her watch. Only three o’clock. Would the day never end?
CHAPTER 36
They worked until five and didn’t find anything else of interest, even among the papers Hank had found upstairs. Tina went to each room to see how things were going. Some were almost done. The living room and dining room would need another full day at least, she figured. She hadn’t even started on the music room, but it wasn’t too bad. The kitchen was coming along, but because so much had to be washed before being boxed, it would take at least another two or three days.
Upstairs was better. All the bathrooms were finished, and two bedrooms nearly done. One would take another day because the officer had gone upstairs and cleaned out the squirrel mess.
She thought by the end of the week they’d begin to see the daylight. She hoped. Everyone promised to come back the next day. After locking the front door, Mickey said good-bye, and Hank told her he had some things to do and would see her tomorrow.
Tina walked home slowly, weary in both mind and body, glad to see the newshounds had gone for the day. Her mother stood at the sink, scrubbing potatoes. Uncle Bob was in the dining room, setting the table, Princess by his side.
“I’m home. What’s for dinner?”
Laura turned to look at her. “Meatloaf and baked potatoes. Green beans.” She grimaced. “You need a bath.”
Tina grimaced back, thinking about the meal to come. The meatloaf and potatoes would either be undercooked or almost burned. The green beans already smelled up the kitchen, so they would be mushy. She hoped her mother wouldn’t burn the rolls she always served. They would either be the saving grace or another disaster.
“I’ll be back.” Tina climbed the stairs and quickly undressed and stepped into the shower. She used lots of coconut-scented soap and strawberry-scented shampoo to wash away Olivia Blackwell’s house stink. She took her time, getting dressed in fresh jeans and a polo shirt and blow-drying her hair.
The meal wasn’t a total disaster after all. Meat and potatoes a bit undercooked and the green beans mushy, as she expected. She ate two rolls. Uncle Bob told them about going to the library, and Laura mentioned going to lunch with the Lunch Bunch, a group of women she’d been friends with for years.
During dessert of store-bought apple pie, Tina told them about all the things uncovered at the house next door and showed them the pictures of the dolls.
“How odd.” Laura pointed to the Popeye doll. “I guess this was you.” She handed the picture to Uncle Bob.
He laughed, making Princess look up at him. “And which one is Laura?” he asked Tina.
“Snow White. And I’m Cinderella.” She named the rest.
“But the Gingerbread Man didn’t have a tag?” Uncle Bob asked.
“No, he didn’t.”
“It didn’t fall off?”
“I checked the wrappings thoroughly. No tag.”
“Interesting. Even Mrs. McEllen is here. But none for the Simpsons.”
“She may have made this collection before she knew them,” Tina said.
Uncle Bob nodded. “You’re probably right. The question is still, why?”
Tina sighed. “I know. I think we have to just accept that we’ll probably never know what her thoughts and feelings were. And there’s more. She made out checks to all the family, to Evelyn Simpson, and to me.”
“What? Now I suppose the police suspect you. How much was the check for?” Laura looked steamed. Tina realized it was her usual expression when they discussed Olivia.
“Fiv
e thousand.” Both Laura and Uncle Bob looked shocked. “These were cancelled checks from the bank, so there’s no telling if she included letters with them. I expect she did. I think she gave them to someone to mail, and that person removed all the checks, forged the signatures, and cashed them him or herself. Could have been anyone. Anyone desperate for money, especially.”
“You don’t know what the total was for all of them?” Laura asked.
Tina put her fork down, finished with her pie. “One or two thousand each.”
Uncle Bob shook his head. “She probably wanted you to help with the house. What an obfuscatory woman.”
Laura frowned. “What’s that mean?”
“Both confusing and trying to conceal. Perfect description of Mrs. Olivia Blackwell. Among other things.” Uncle Bob stood up and cleared away his dishes.
Tina and Laura sat watching him, then heard him and Princess go up the back stairs, and his bedroom door close.
“She really got under his skin,” Laura said. “Even dead, she’s still irritating him.”
“I’ve never seen him like this before.” Tina stood and picked up her own dishes.
Laura followed her into the kitchen. “It’s rare. Except for the hearing loss, his life has been pretty smooth since he got out of the Navy.”
“He doesn’t talk much about either his time in the Navy or his hearing loss. I remember when I was younger he could hear better. And I remember when he got Princess just before I left for college.”
“Yes. I wasn’t too sure about the idea. But it’s been wonderful, and I worry less about him when I’m out of the house. I know she’ll alert him to any danger.”
“Do you know much about his Navy career?” Tina went to clear more from the dining room while Laura opened the dishwasher and began to load it.
“Not a lot. He doesn’t talk about it much. Nobody did when they came back from Vietnam. Civilians didn’t want to hear about it. He put in his twenty years, and I think he was glad to get out. It wasn’t long after that the hearing loss began. At first, he could work, but it got harder and harder, and eventually he had to quit his job and couldn’t find another one. He couldn’t afford really good hearing aids with just his Navy pension, and that’s when I asked him to move in with us. Now the VA pays for the aids and does all the testing and everything for his hearing. They’re saying he should go for a cochlear implant, but he doesn’t want to. Maybe later.”
Buried Under Clutter (Tina Tales Mysteries Book 2) Page 14