"Who? Oh, that picture? I meant to ask you about that."
"This is Edie's brother-in-law and her sister-in-law and their two boys. This was taken before you were born," said Dad, pointing to each of them in turn. "This man, Reggie, couldn't be any more different from Uncle John. He gambled away the family money, was always in debt and dreaming up some zany plot to pull them out of it. Ended up getting caught in the middle of a big Ponzi scheme. He was responsible for making a lot of people lose a lot of money. He died before he could be thrown into jail, but that's not the point. It's this boy right here." Dad tapped the photo. "This is Terry. Terry Swanson. He's the older of the boys. He took it pretty hard when his dad died and his mother took him and his brother, Noah, away. That's why I nearly didn't recognize him."
"Recognize whom?" I frowned, wondering what my father was so excited about.
"Do you have the newspaper with the headline about the murder?"
"Yes, it's right here." I reached for where I tossed it on the kitchen counter. Dad opened it and placed the photo frame next to the police photo. "Terry Swanson," he said, pointing to them. “I’m sure of it.”
"Edie's nephew is the man who was murdered out there?" I asked, pointing to the yard. Nate and Leonard abandoned their drinks and joined us at the counter, taking turns to get closer looks at both of the photos.
"I will bet on it. He came around, let's see… about four years ago, just when Edie was starting to get sick. He stayed for a few weeks. Don’t you remember? I told you about him but you had just changed jobs and gotten a big promotion."
"It sounds vaguely familiar," I said, searching my memory.
"We were all pleased to see Terry, especially after so long. Sure, we got the occasional Christmas card and phone call, but his mom moved around a lot so we never really kept in touch. She died a little over six years ago and we didn't hear much from the boys after that. All of a sudden, Terry showed up, right out of the blue!"
"Didn't you think that was strange?" I asked.
Dad shook his head. "Not really. We were so happy to see him that Edie insisted he stay with her since she had so many empty rooms. Terry turned out nothing like his old man from what we could observe; but later, we found out he he was exactly as corrupt as his old man. He convinced Edie to sign a bunch of checks that were made out to him. I only discovered it when she asked for my help balancing her check book. That was when I saw all the missing checks. She finally admitted Terry had persuaded her to give him the money but she was very confused by then. I don't think it took a lot of persuading, especially from a so-called ‘loving relative.’ I told the bank to stop most of the checks and we chased Terry out of the house. Edie was terribly upset about it."
"Why didn't you ever tell me any of this?" I asked, mortified at the thought of Aunt Edie being taken advantage of by a family relative.
"You were so busy at the time and your mom and I didn't want you to worry."
"I remember him now," said Leonard, his mouth pulling into a distasteful smile. "He was a charming snake. He seemed like the most loving nephew, always willing to help out and running around, doing this and that, driving Edie on all of her errands. He said he just wanted to reconnect with his aunt after his mother took the family away. He couldn't do enough for Edie. She totally relied on him."
"Until he realized we were onto him. That’s when the cash cow suddenly dried up," said Dad grimly. "I thought he'd be gone for good when we tossed him out of the house."
"Well, apparently, he came back and someone shot him," I reminded them. "We have to tell Detective Logan."
"I agree." I reached for my phone as the doorbell rang. "Dad, can you get that while I make this call? It's probably Tia. She said she’d come by to go for a walk."
"I'll get it," offered Nate. He returned a moment later, Detective Logan was standing right behind him.
"Detective, I was just trying to call you!" I said, punching end on the phone screen just as it clicked onto his voice messaging service. "We've just found out something very important."
"Me too," said Detective Logan, his face growing stern. "Did you know the victim was related to you?"
"I do now," I said, pointing to the photo my father still held in his hand. "Dad recognized him when he saw this old photo from Aunt Edie's study."
"He was a no-good piece-of-work," said Dad. He passed the newspaper article and the framed photo of the young family to Detective Logan.
The detective studied them for a few seconds then said, "You recognized him from this? He looks barely six years old."
"It triggered a memory," explained Dad. "I'm not surprised someone shot him. He probably tried ripping the killer off too," Dad added.
"That so?" asked Detective Logan, his face suddenly blank. "We got a hit back on his fingerprints that identified him as Terry Swanson."
"That's him," said Dad, nodding.
"Did he have a record?" I asked.
"A fairly long record of mostly non-violent crimes. Shoplifting, forgery, theft, insurance fraud, the list goes on."
"Dad said he tried to rip Aunt Edie off by convincing her to write him checks."
"That's another one of his specialties," agreed Detective Logan. "There're warrants out for him in three states, including this one."
"Was burglary on the rap sheet?" I wondered. If he were chased off before, why did he come back? Especially, after so long? He must have known Aunt Edie had passed on. Perhaps he wanted to see what else he could grab from the house.
"There's a couple of burglary charges that date back almost fifteen years ago, so I wouldn't say that's his regular line of work. But it's very possible he came here to steal as I originally thought. It's also quite possible he thought he was the victim and having something stolen from him," added Detective Logan.
"Stolen from him?" I repeated.
"Like what?" added Dad. "As far as I know, he didn't have two honestly earned nickels to rub together."
"This house," said Detective Logan, stunning us all into silence. "I got a call from a lawyer in town who recognized him from the newspaper article. Seems Terry Swanson went into his office a few days before he turned up dead. He consulted with one of the lawyers about contesting Edie's will."
"You have got to be kidding!" yelled Dad, his face turning red. "That little—"
Detective Logan held his hand up. "He seemed to think he had a valid claim as a close relative and he instructed his lawyer to prepare a complaint to contest the will. Miss Wright, did you know about that?"
"No! This is the first I've heard of it! The will was settled and the title was transfered to me over two months ago!" I told him.
"In light of this recent news, I'll have to go over your statement again."
"Why? My daughter already told you everything she knows," said Dad. He placed a steadying hand on my arm but I wasn't sure if it was for my benefit or his.
"I'd like to make sure of that."
"And what if she doesn't want to make another statement?" asked Dad.
"Sir, this is in your daughter's best interests. So far, she is the only person in town who has any possible motive for wanting Terry Swanson dead."
I grabbed hold of the kitchen counter to steady myself and my knees buckled with shock. "I didn't even know him! I never knew we were related in any way. And I definitely didn't kill him!"
Chapter Twelve
Thankfully, Detective Logan didn't insist on tossing me into the back of his police car and driving me down to the police station to interrogate me. Instead, we sat in the front living room and he asked me to recount all of my movements in the hours before finding the body. He also asked me to describe (again) what I noticed when I did. He asked me dozens of questions and I did my best to stay calm, even though I felt like snapping at him and insisting on having a lawyer present.
When he was satisfied with my statement, he started in on a new line of questioning. He began asking about Terry and what I remembered about him. Why didn't I recognize hi
m? All I could say was I remembered Terry as a child, although he was several years older than me, and it had been a very long time since I last saw him. I vaguely remembered when he came to stay with Aunt Edie.
"You didn't return home for the few months when Terry lived with your aunt?"
"No. I just got a promotion at work and I couldn't take the time off. My parents told me Terry was staying with Aunt Edie. I vaguely remember being pleased because she would have liked having him stay at the house with her. I know she tried to keep in touch with him and his brother Noah."
"Did you speak to Terry during that time?"
"No, not at all."
"Were you angry that he ripped off your aunt?"
"I am very angry now but I didn't know anything about it when it happened. My parents never told me."
"Did your sister say anything?"
"No. I'm not sure Tammy knew about it either. You'll have to ask her."
Detective Logan made a note in his pad. "I will. From my notes, I understand that Terry stayed in this house for a couple of months. Is that right?"
"I think so but my parents will have to confirm that."
"Would you say he knew his way around?"
"Yes. He would definitely have visited here a lot as a child — all of us did. Aunt Edie loved her friends and family and the kids especially. Since the house has never been remodeled, I’m sure he would have known his way around well. He would have had plenty of opportunities to inspect it too after he moved in with her."
"Edie wouldn't have noticed?"
"She wasn't too ambulatory in her later years and often seemed confused so Terry would have probably had no problem snooping around."
"Is it likely he could have stolen more than just money from her?"
"You've seen his rap sheet so I assume you must think so, but I've looked around and so has Leonard. We didn’t see anything missing but I didn't have a catalog to check so I don’t know for sure. Detective, why would Terry come back after all this time?"
"From what I've ascertained, your parents banished him from the house when he thought he was onto a pretty good thing. Could be he was preparing for a much bigger payday and simply biding his time, hoping your aunt left him everything in her will."
"She did leave several items to my parents and my sister but I don't think there was anything for him, or his brother. Uncle John, her husband, shelled out a lot of money to Terry's family in the past."
"He might not have known there was nothing in the will for him. It's possible he was trying to persuade her to change it while he was living here. He might have thought he succeeded in doing so."
"Have you seen the will?" I asked.
Detective Logan shook his head. "No."
"I can get you a copy. Her original will was dated more than ten years ago."
"He might not have known that she never changed it. He obviously found a copy somewhere and realized he wasn't in it."
"Is that why he was contesting it?"
"It's possible. He might also feel he had a valid claim. The lawyer I spoke to said Terry insisted Edie wasn't of sound mind when she made her will. He also suggested that you and your family were coercing her."
My jaw dropped. "That's outrageous! I didn't even know Aunt Edie wanted to leave me the house! I certainly never knew she included me in her will. Could Terry really have argued that successfully in court?"
"He certainly seemed to think so; and the lawyer reassured him that he’d taken similar claims to court in the past. Terry had nothing to lose in pursuing the case and a whole lot to gain. Even if he didn't get the house, he could have forced the sale of it for some of the proceeds. Maybe he hoped you would pay him off rather than risk going to court."
"So it looks like I had a lot to gain by killing him." The words slipped out of my mouth before I could think about what I said.
Detective Logan closed his notepad and slid it into his pocket. "I don't think you killed him but I also think Terry Swanson was here for a big payday one way or another."
"Why would he break in, or attempt to break in, if he thought he could get this house deeded over to him?"
"There's no guarantee that would actually happen and his lawyer advised him of it too. He most likely heard somehow that you planned on selling the house so he might have come here to abscond with whatever he could before you arrived. He might even have intended to smash it up a bit and make it harder for you to sell."
"That's awful."
"I know it's upsetting but it's just a theory."
"What about Terry's accomplice?" I asked. "Could that be someone I know too?"
"I'm investigating all of his known associates and I know he has a brother. I'll be trying to locate him too."
"Noah? No, he can't be involved." My heart dropped. Noah was always such a sweet kid.
"If I told you last week Terry tried to rip off your aunt and wanted to take you to court to contest her will, would you have believed me?"
"Good point. I suppose I prefer to believe Terry was involved with someone I didn't know. It makes it less personal."
"It's horrible to know someone who was so close to you would dare to betray you."
"Speaking from experience, Detective?" I asked but he didn't reply. Instead, he got to his feet and thrust his hands into his pockets.
"I'll be in touch," he said. "If you see Noah Swanson, or hear from him, let me know."
"I certainly will." I walked with Detective Logan to the door. He opened it and hesitated. "What is it?" I pressed.
"Be careful about the people you have around you," he warned. "I assume that Terry's accomplice probably took off after killing him but until we know for sure, just be careful. If there were something valuable here, something they were both looking for, don’t be surprised if someone tries to ingratiate his or herself into your life just to get it."
"I'll be careful," I assured him.
"You might want to do something about heightening your security too."
"I'll talk to Nate about that. I think an alarm system would be a good idea."
"You hired Nate Minoso?"
"Yes, he's an old friend."
"Good choice. His work is unparalleled."
"I'm sure he'll appreciate the compliment."
Detective Logan nodded and took off along the path. Halfway down, a blackberry tendril snagged his jacket arm and he had to tug himself free. Wincing, I closed the door.
"He gone, honey?" asked Dad. He, Nate and Leonard were in the kitchen during our conversation and now I walked back in there. The three of them waited expectantly. "Don't keep us in suspense. What did the detective say?"
"We went over my statement again and he asked me a bunch more questions. He wanted to know if I was angry that Terry ripped off Edie. I said I was now. Why didn't you tell me, Dad? Just because I got that promotion didn't mean you couldn't tell me what was going on over here. Even if I couldn't do anything to physically help, I would have listened over the phone."
Dad tucked an arm around me and I leaned my head on his shoulder. "I know you would have but it was easily managed. Truthfully, it was a good thing for Aunt Edie to realize how vulnerable she was. She finally allowed us to help out more often and we hired a couple of people to assist her in the house for as long as she reasonably could stay here."
"Whom did you hire?" I asked. "I know you got her a housekeeper or was it a caregiver?"
"A little of both. We got a lady your mom knows to come in twice a day. She did light cleaning and made some hot meals that Aunt Edie could reheat. She already had a gardener who kept everything neat and tidy. Your mom and I did everything else."
"Who was the housekeeper? And the gardener?" I inquired. Detective Logan made me think about anyone else who might have had access to all areas of the house. The housekeeper definitely would, and possibly the gardener too. It would have been easy for him or her to find out when Edie wasn't home, and when she was out of the way or resting, even if they didn't regularly come
inside the house.
"The housekeeper was Ellen Walters and Edie hired the gardener through Jeanne McKellar. Frank. Yes, that's it. Frank Walters. Ellen is his wife, which was why we hired her too."
"Frank and Ellen are lovely people," said Leonard. "I'm sure they had nothing to do with any of this ugly business."
"Why didn't you keep him on? The garden would have been in much better condition than it is now," pointed out Nate.
"Honestly, I thought Vanessa's mother was dealing with the gardener and she thought I was. We simply forgot so he must have stopped coming," admitted Dad.
"That explains the invoice I found in the stack of mail when I first got here," I said. "I'll settle it."
"Oh, no. It's my fault, I should..."
"Dad, it's fine," I said, stopping him. I knew he would jump in and try to solve it but the unpaid invoice gave me a good reason to call on the Walters. I planned to pursue a path of some subtle questioning. "You've done so much for Aunt Edie. I'll take care of it now. Besides, I might ask if he has some good ideas for bringing the garden back to life."
"You don't want me to haul in the heavy machinery?" asked Nate. His face fell slightly and I remembered back to the days when he loved woodshop class.
"No, I still want you to do that. The front yard isn't salvageable and if I see one more person’s clothes getting stuck on the brambles, I might die of shame. But after you've done all the heavy work, I want to get a professional to do the landscaping."
"It sounds like a lot of drudgery," said Leonard, piping up. "I'll bring gallons of fresh lemonade for all the hard workers. I bet you don't have any that’s fresh, Vanessa."
I doubted Leonard was as interested in the hard work or the workers’ hydration as he was in watching the workers toiling at it. I might have enjoyed the sentiment too if my mind weren't whirring with all the questions I planned to ask the people who were hired to help Edie.
"I don't. It's very kind of you to offer," I told him as Nate bit back a laugh.
"Will there be many men?" asked Leonard.
"Several," said Nate. He winked at me over Leonard's head.
"I hope you include all the labor costs in my daughter's quote," said Dad, entirely missing the point. "I have to head off now to pick up your mom from her book club but I'll tackle some of those thorny branches before I go. I'll chop it back a couple of feet and leave it in a pile for Nate's guys to dispose of, that is, if it suits you, Vanessa?"
Alibi in April (Calendar Mysteries Book 4) Page 11