by Susan Slater
Nothing was mentioned about ricin, or empty safe deposit boxes or the death caused by cleaning one of them—and he didn’t ask questions. He didn’t even stay around to chit-chat with Stephanie, even though he sensed she would welcome a break. He was feeling more than a little claustrophobic and fresh air was a welcome change to the stuffy confines he’d sat in for over three hours. And he didn’t rule out it was tough to look at that chandelier and not see a body. He felt for Stephanie.
“I’d like to talk with Penny, without Gert.” He hadn’t meant to just open the apartment door and blurt it out, but he was feeling some urgency. And he hadn’t heard that the sheriff had followed up, talked with either Gert or Penny or both. Of course, now he might know why.
“Well, hello to you, too. Can I tag along? We can eat these in the car.” Elaine pointed to a plate of sandwiches.
“Sure. Wouldn’t have it any other way. I expect Penny may still be cataloging seed shipments. And I wouldn’t mind another visit to the ranch. In fact, let’s take a chance that she’s there and just drive out.”
***
They were not only in luck—there was the Jag—but right beside it was the sheriff’s county-issue SUV. Dan allowed himself a “hot damn.” Maybe, just maybe there would be some answers. Finally. He grabbed his briefcase and headed for the front steps.
Penny opened the door and quickly covered her surprise with a short, self-conscious laugh, and some comment about hoping Elaine was feeling back to normal. But Dan had to ask if they could come in. It didn’t seem to be a popular idea. Then Sheriff Howard stepped into the hallway, uniform awkwardly unbuttoned one extra button at the neck, no t-shirt, and lacking the obligatory regulation necktie. Could it be that they’d just interrupted something? A little shifting of eyes, nervous patting of her skirt and a tug on her pullover sweater. Without it being spelled out, Dan knew the two of them had been making out. Making out? Is that what you called it over fifty? Or sixty-plus if referring to the good sheriff. Dan was only ten years or so behind and, yeah, making out worked.
“The Professor isn’t here right now. He had to run into Santa Fe.” Penny paused. “Can I take a message?” Still no one had moved—just a tight-knit tableau in the hall blocking the entrance to the living room.
“I’m not here to see Buster. I’d like to take a few minutes of your time.”
“May I ask what this is about?” Penny’s hand fluttered up to her neck.
“I have a few questions concerning the necklace. They’re not ones your mother can answer.”
“Oh, I see.” She didn’t invite them in but just moved back out of the door, then turned and walked toward the kitchen. “We can talk in here. Is there anything I can get you? I’ve just made a pot of tea.”
Dan and Elaine shook their heads. Still nothing from the sheriff as he brought up the rear. His shirt now buttoned correctly. Everyone took a chair. Dan waited until Penny had poured a cup of tea. If shaking hands were any hint, she was not looking forward to the discussion. There wasn’t an indication one way or another that she’d talked with her mother. He imagined it would be more than a little difficult for Gert to confront her daughter—possibly it hadn’t been done. So, now it was up to him. He took a deep breath.
“Let me just lay it out. Facts and supposition, and you can help me with that second part.”
Penny nodded and seemed to be shrinking in her chair, eyes big, face the color of chalk.
“Here’s what I have,” Dan paused. “Before I start, I need to record this conversation.” He reached into his briefcase and pulled out the recorder and placed it in the middle of the round dining room table and pressed On.
“Oh, I don’t know…I’m really not comfortable…” Penny glanced at the sheriff who must have given her some sign because she just gave a little shrug and clasped both hands in front of her. Resigned, Dan thought. He hoped he’d finally get the truth.
He cleared his throat. “UL&C has a policy that when an insured item has not been in the insurer’s possession for any length of time be it one hour, one day or longer, that item must be reappraised. I’ve taken the liberty of having Ortega’s in Santa Fe perform the appraisal and submit their findings in writing.” Dan removed a binder from his briefcase. He inched it toward Penny. “To save us some time, let me summarize. Approximately three hundred thousand dollars of diamonds have been removed from your mother’s necklace and sold. Monies from these transactions briefly found their way into your bank account before being sent to the Caymans—to another bank account in your name.”
Dan paused but there was no comment from Penny. He did note the look of surprise on the sheriff’s face. “And what was probably a handler’s fee of some sort—ten thousand appeared siphoned off for Lawrence Woods up front. Mr. Woods was the go-between, the person representing Gertrude Kennedy—only Ms. Kennedy never authorized such representation. The signature on the letter requesting the sales had been forged. It would appear that you and Mr. Woods were milking a cash cow for your own benefits.” The barely audible sound of sucking in air made Dan glance quickly at Penny, but the sound had come from the sheriff.
“You said you had nothing to do with these shenanigans—that it was all Lawrence Woods’ doing—”
“I did it for you.” Penny pushed back her chair and stood, grasping the edge of the table with one hand and pointing at the sheriff with the other. “All for you. I knew we would never have a life together being so much in debt. We would have been saddled with over a hundred thousand in medical bills. Dear dead Emma. How could we have gotten out from under that? And what were you going to do about it? Nothing. You were just content to keep on working, keep on living in this god-forsaken town—”
“You’re blaming me for embezzling? And from your mother? No wonder I looked good all of a sudden—you needed a cover-up.” The sheriff stood abruptly catching the edge of the table on his holster sending the pot of tea sloshing over Penny’s hand. “I’m a law-abiding citizen—a man who’s served his community, worked toward a better good—”
“Oh, really? Everything you touch turns to shit. Look what you’ve done.” Because of the scalding tea? Not entirely, Dan thought. Penny was holding her hand and crying, then seemed to fold into the chair.
Elaine quickly scooped up towels from the kitchen and filled a bag with ice. “Here, this will make it feel better.”
Penny unbuttoned her cuff and pushing the material back held the ice pack in place. But not before Elaine had seen the tattoo—the stem of a four-leaf clover. Not a tree trunk, a stem. And this put Ms. Kennedy in the cooler putting an ice pack on her.
Deftly Elaine wrapped a towel around Penny’s arm tucking the ends under on each side. She hoped her hands weren’t shaking because something told her that she needed to be careful with this information. She couldn’t just accuse—pain, blindfolded, a lack of sleep and food…who would believe her? Could she believe herself? She hadn’t even remembered the tattoo until now. In trying to move on and not dwell on what happened that night, she’d repressed an important clue. But what did it mean? Who was the other person in the cooler? Not Sheriff Howard, she was certain of that. She quickly glanced across the table. The man was livid, jaw clenched, red splotches of color dotting his neck. They’d be lucky if he didn’t have a stroke. No, she’d bet her life that he had no idea what his girlfriend had done.
Penny seemed not to notice Elaine taking any extra time with the ice pack but continued to sob. “Don’t you see? This is my inheritance. Mother wouldn’t have been cheated. She would have gotten full value. We could have gone away, bought a boat—”
“So it’s okay to screw over insurance companies? And put my job in jeopardy? This is one hell of a way to say you love me.” The sheriff paused and turned to Dan. “So what happens now? Will your company press charges?”
“Pressing charges will fall to the insured. It will be up to Gertrude Kennedy. She has severa
l options. Press charges, sue to get the three-hundred-thousand back, or simply take a loss on the money and insure the necklace at its current, lesser value exonerating United Life & Casualty of any claims. She may have a case with the bank because of their president’s involvement. I can’t speak for her but I will meet with her in the morning And then, the Feds may have a say about prosecuting because of the bank involvement—hiding money taken from an account without the owner’s permission or knowledge for an out-of-country transfer and deposit.” Dan put the recorder and binder back in his briefcase. “I’ll keep you posted.”
He left the house hearing Penny entreating the sheriff to just listen to her, give her a chance. Dan doubted that would happen. His grandmother used to say “there’s no fool like an old fool,” and he knew the sheriff didn’t relish being duped.
Chapter Nineteen
Dan turned the Cherokee toward town. Questions. Just when he thought he might be getting closer to answers. For starters, he was convinced that pretending to find the necklace was a mistake. Penny should have just left that part alone. But when he wouldn’t leave town, she had to try something else. “Finding” the necklace was her ace. She counted on UL&C recalling their agent. Yet, Penny and the necklace were only one part of the puzzle. It didn’t explain Amber’s call to check Dan’s itinerary so that Chet Echols could put him out of commission. And it didn’t explain Amber’s death and the bank president’s death—somehow that was tied to the ricin. But why was he so sure of that? And, if so, how were they connected? And locking up Elaine? How did that fit in?
“You’re quiet. Are you okay?” He realized Elaine was staring at him.
A half glance in her direction, then full attention back on the road. Nothing like a rollover to improve your driving habits.
“Still too many unanswered questions.”
“And here’s something else. I remembered something this afternoon. I can’t make sense out of it, but I know it happened. I’d forgotten about it until now.”
Dan waited. Was that all? “Want to share?”
“You’ll think this is crazy but what if I told you I think Penny was one of my captors?”
“Why do you say that?”
“The one who put an ice pack on my ankle had a tattoo. I thought it was a trunk—”
“A chest of some sort?”
“No, no, like a tree—a tree trunk. Only now I know it was a stem, the bottom part of a four-leafed clover.”
“Penny has a tattoo?”
“Yeah, and not a little one either. It’s about the size of a silver dollar.”
“I never noticed.”
“How could you? She always wears long sleeves. She only rolled her sleeve back today when she got scalded.”
Now it was Dan’s turn to be silent. What part would Penny play in abducting and hiding Elaine? And who was her accomplice—or the other way around?
“You didn’t hear their voices?”
Elaine shook her head, “No one said anything.”
“You were blindfolded, possibly drugged—certainly suffering a twisted ankle and in pain…not good indicators for making your memory foolproof.”
“I know. I’m even doubting myself.”
“Tell me again what you do remember.”
“Well, just before I fell I heard a scream—not just one, more like a series of frantic cries. You know, like someone was terrified.”
“Guess we can assume that it was Amber and she was afraid for her life.”
“I don’t think abducting me had anything to do with men unloading a truck. It probably was a load of fertilizer and feed. I think someone thought I saw something else—something happen to Amber.”
“Bound, gagged, stripped, thrown into a car that was set on fire—what had she done? What could warrant a death so brutal?”
“It smacks of anger. Whoever did it didn’t like her very much. Why do you think they used my car?”
“Maybe for no other reason than to buy time. Didn’t think the body would be identified so quickly—wanted me to think it was you. Or, hey, maybe just because it was handy.”
“And maybe they thought you would leave. That killing me would be the last straw.”
“Didn’t know me, did they?”
“Dan this is all so dangerous. Solving the necklace’s disappearance is such a small part of it. The bad guys are still out there.”
He didn’t want to tell her he was thinking the same thing. He wasn’t sure they were any closer to a solution than they had been this morning.
“Are you sure this is the business you want to get into?”
“Yes, I’m beginning to like the danger…a little.”
“Well, you have a front-row seat and plenty of time to decide.”
“Are you up for stopping by Gert’s? I’d rather do it now and not wait.”
“This won’t be easy.”
***
Gert met them at the door and didn’t invite them in. “It was Penny, wasn’t it?” She looked tired, Dan thought. All eighty-five years seemed etched in wrinkles around her eyes. “I’m afraid I haven’t confronted her. I’ve waited on more evidence…something concrete.”
“I understand. Apparently, she didn’t act alone. Lawrence Woods was a part of this.”
“That ninny. He wasn’t right for this town. Stood out like a sore thumb. Not hard to believe he’d be on the take.”
“But she did it for love…I’m not sure that makes a difference but she was trying to help the man she loves.” Elaine offered.
“I don’t think he needed money. Certainly not now.”
“With the medical bills from his wife’s illness? I think they were exorbitant and him being so close to retirement.” Elaine added.
Gert looked perplexed. “Who are you talking about?”
“Sheriff Howard, of course.”
“That was over thirty years ago. He dumped Penny to marry that snippy little Emma Waites. Penny was devastated. She’d had a dress picked out. They were engaged, you know.”
Elaine just stared, then glanced at Dan. He looked as lost as she was.
“But you seemed to indicate that Penny does have a boyfriend.”
“Used to, anyway. And with benefits, I’m sure. Isn’t that what they call it today? You’ll excuse me talking about my own daughter this way, but Penny was never good at keeping her knickers up.”
“Who would this boyfriend be?” Dan finally found his voice.
“The bank president, of course. God rest his soul.”
“Lawrence Woods?” Incredulous. Dan just stared. It was shock enough to think of Penny as a biker babe, but a cougar? Why, there had to have been fifteen years difference in their ages.
“One and the same. Started last year right after he moved to town. She had lots of free time and a place to meet. She pretty much runs that laboratory out there by herself. Doc Jenkins travels a week out of every month and she keeps things going. There were plenty of overnights, I can tell you that. No, there was no way she stole from me to pay some poor man’s debt. I’m afraid it was just plain avarice. I think that bank president saw a way to get quick money. I’m just positive it was his idea, his pressure for her to act. I don’t think their romance would have ever amounted to anything. So, to Penny’s way of thinking she was just dipping into her inheritance—the fact is, I’m not dying quickly enough.”
Gert paused. “I don’t think they knew that I’d guessed what was going on. But there were too many whispered phone conversations when she thought I was asleep on the couch. I might be from a different generation but there are some things that don’t change. And, Mr. Mahoney? It’s not Alzheimer’s. I’ll keep in touch. Insure the necklace with the remaining stones. I won’t register a claim. I’m just so sorry that a member of my family had to cause so much heartache for you.”
***
Elaine put a cup of hot chocolate on the table and pulled out a chair. “I’ve been wondering about that and I don’t think so. The other person seemed young, bigger, bulkier—I don’t think that’s how you’re describing the Doc. But I’m not sure. There was just something about how the person moved—bent down placing the food on the floor. Quicker movements, less deliberate than an older person would make. Of course, I could only see shadows.”
“Damn. Once again, if there’s an answer, it only turns into another question.”
***
This wasn’t a night for sleep. Dan covered his insomnia by pleading some alone time to complete the paperwork on the necklace. And then just sat there and watched Elaine as she slept. He was a lucky man. He didn’t need to remind himself that there could have been a much different outcome. And it made him angry—not so much that he still had aches and pains where he didn’t before but that someone had the audacity to endanger the innocent.
The necklace was accounted for—a headache for UL&C, but there was an end to his involvement. It was difficult to see Penny with Lawrence Woods in a romantic way but it made sense that the president could have taken advantage of her. Maybe even suggested a way to get easy money. No wonder a visit to the bank meant wearing makeup.
But he was ducking the real meaning of solving the theft—he could leave. There wasn’t a reason to stay. Other than a big part of him needed to see justice done. And ego wouldn’t let him leave the outcome to the Feds. More importantly, he bet he knew someone else who felt the same—someone who also had a stake in the outcome.
Chapter Twenty
He knocked on the door to the sheriff’s office at eight-twenty. He hadn’t shaved, but a shower and clean clothes made a sleepless night less apparent. Dan stepped through the door after a gruff “Come in” and could see the sheriff wasn’t in much better shape.