“How about Snappy’s business he owned with Hank Bloch?” Jake asked.
“I have no idea what their finances were like as a company,” the attorney said. “Only that Snappy had assets on his own.”
So we’d covered all of the suspects except Deloris Mack. “And Snappy’s ex-wife?” I asked him, just to confirm our earlier suspicion that he was representing one of our suspects.
Instead of answering the question directly, the attorney glanced at his watch. “I’m sorry I can’t give you more time, but I need to get into the zone for this case. Happy hunting.”
With that, Adam hurried his pace in order to get away from us as quickly as possible.
Jake started after him when I touched my husband’s shoulder. “Let him go.”
“Don’t you think we can push him a little harder?” Jake asked. “I have a feeling he knows more than he’s letting on.”
“Why should he be any different than anyone else?” I asked him. “Frankly, I was amazed by how forthcoming he was with us.”
“I don’t know,” Jake said doubtfully.
“That’s because you’re used to being able to compel someone to talk to you. Everything on this side is done purely on a volunteer basis.”
“I get it. So, we now know that three of our four suspects had financial motive to want to see Snappy dead, and any one of them could have been at the donut shop to ask him for money when they discovered him with the emeralds. I’d still like to know more about Hank Bloch and what his individual status is like.”
“So would I,” I said. “That’s why we’re going to the library.”
“What do you think Meredith can tell us today that she didn’t mention yesterday?” Jake asked me as we headed for his truck, the snow continuing to fall all around us.
“I’m not sure, but if anyone knows what’s going on in this town, I’m willing to bet she’s the one. She’s like any other good librarian; she might not know herself, but I’m willing to bet that she’ll know who to ask.”
Chapter 14
“Meredith, we hate to bother you again, but could you spare us a few minutes of your time?” I asked her.
“Of course, but I’m sorry to say that I have nothing new to add to our conversation from yesterday,” she said apologetically. “I’d love to be able to help you find out who killed my uncle, but I’m out of information on the topic.”
“Actually, we’re interested in learning how his construction company is doing,” I said. “Would you have any idea?”
“Do you mean financially? That’s a little out of my purview,” she said.
“I knew it might be, but who better to ask than a librarian?” I asked her with a smile.
“Flattery is nice, but I still can’t answer the question.” Meredith paused for a moment, looked around the large expanse, and then she said, “Follow me.”
Jake looked at me with his eyebrows raised, but all I could do was shrug. Evidently Meredith had an idea, but she clearly didn’t feel any desire to explain what it was. The three of us walked through the main library together, down some stairs into the basement, and into a glass-enclosed room that had the word Genealogy emblazoned across the door. At first, it appeared that the room was empty, but then I saw a white-haired older man stand up from behind one of the desks. He might have been late in years, but he had an instant air about him that shouted his vitality. There was no stoop to his shoulders, and his eyes were both bright and clear.
“Carter, do you have a second?” Meredith asked him.
“What do any of us have but the continuous ticking of the clock toward our individual fates?” the man said rather poetically. Did he always talk like that? If he did, he must be tedious to have a conversation with.
“Indeed,” Meredith said with a smile. It was clear from the start that she was fond of the man and vice versa. “I thought you might be able to help my friends out.”
“Sorry, but we don’t need information on anyone’s family tree,” I said apologetically.
“Everyone should know where they come from,” he said to me with an indulgent smile. “How else can they possibly know where they are going?”
“Suzanne, Jake, I’d like you to meet Carter Wills. Carter, this is Jake and Suzanne Hart.”
“Actually, he’s Jake Bishop. I’m still going by Hart for the donut shop’s sake.”
“Would that be Donut Hearts, by any chance?” Carter asked, his eyes lighting up.
“Guilty as charged,” I said with a grin.
“I’ve sampled your delightful treats. They are amazing!”
“Thanks so much. It’s always nice to meet a fan,” I told him.
“Can we get back to our question?” Jake asked, interrupting the warm and fuzzy turn our conversation had taken. “We’re inquiring about the financial state of the construction company recently run by Snappy Mack and Hank Bloch.”
“I’ll leave you to it,” Meredith said as she excused herself.
“Thanks,” I told her. “We’ll check in on the way out.”
“Good, I’d like that.”
After the librarian was gone, Jake asked Carter, “Would you mind telling us why Meredith would believe you might be able to help us?”
“It’s simple enough. Before I retired last month and began to devote myself to my lifelong interest of genealogy, I worked at the building inspection office for the county.”
“And how does that relate to the construction company’s status?” I asked.
He laughed. “You clearly have no ties to the building trade. It is made up of a group of the worst gossips I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing in my life. Nothing, and I mean nothing, escaped my attention while I was there.”
“So, do you know anything about Hank Bloch?” Jake asked him.
“The man loves to gamble, and I don’t mean just on deadlines and low bids. From what I’ve heard, he is in debt up to his eyebrows to several of the less savory elements of the trade, and from what I’ve heard, their patience is wearing thin with him as they wait for repayment.”
I looked at Jake, who nodded at me. “That’s excellent news, though not for Hank,” my husband said. “When we spoke with him yesterday, he was under the impression that he’s set to inherit everything Snappy owned, including some personal property that was worth quite a bit.”
“I believe he’s simply foolishly grasping at straws,” Carter said with a frown.
“Why is that?”
“It is common knowledge that Snappy used his wealth as a whip on the people around him. From what I understand, he tended to change his will at the drop of a hat. Who knows which version was the latest? I told him on more than one occasion that it was foolish to give anyone a reason to believe that he was worth more to them dead than he ever would be alive, but he wouldn’t listen to me. It was a game to him, as dangerous as it turned out to be. All I could do was offer him my warning. Ultimately, our behavior is up to each of us and no one else.”
“Do you happen to know anything about Deloris, Snappy’s ex-wife?” Jake asked him out of the blue. Evidently we weren’t finished with the retiree quite yet.
“Quite a bit, actually.” Was the man actually blushing? “I don’t suppose there was any reason for Meredith to mention it, but we’ve been seeing each other for several months.”
That was news. “You and Deloris?” I asked. I hadn’t meant to make it sound so outlandish a proposition, but it must have sounded that way to Carter.
He wasn’t upset, merely bemused by my question. “I know, we make an unlikely pair, but we’ve each been unlucky in love in the past, and yet somehow we found our way to each other among a sea of strangers.”
“I know the question is impertinent, and feel free not to answer, but by any chance were the two of you together the n
ight before last?” Jake asked him bluntly.
“You’re looking for an alibi, aren’t you? For her or for me?” Carter asked. “You see, I realize to an outsider, I may have just admitted to a motive of my own for the benefit of Snappy Mack’s ex.”
“He didn’t mean it that way,” I said, but Jake just shrugged.
Carter chose to laugh instead of being insulted by the implication. “Shake my hand, sir.”
Jake, surprised, did as he was told, and Carter took it gladly. “Why that particular reaction to my question?”
“The county was clearly finished with me, and the implication when I was forced into retirement was that I should go find a corner somewhere and wait to die. You’ve just given me a vibrant, if completely imaginary, compelling argument to commit murder, and for love, no less. It’s more excitement than I usually get, even if it is all pure fabrication and speculation.”
“Can you prove it, though?”
Carter frowned for a moment, and then he laughed. “I’m betting that us being together all night won’t be enough for you. What timeframe are we discussing here?”
“Sometime between eleven p.m. and three a.m.,” Jake said. The chief had been able to narrow it down to those hours, we’d just recently learned.
“We’re both covered, then. Deloris and I were visiting my daughter in Tennessee, a fact she will gladly swear to in court. Hannah is not a big fan of my lady friend, so she’d have no reason to lie to protect her, even for me.” Carter grabbed a piece of paper and jotted down a telephone number. “Call her.”
“We’ll do that,” Jake said.
Clearly, it wasn’t good enough for the amateur genealogist. “I mean right now, before I’ve had a chance to warn my daughter regarding what you might ask her.” There was a gleam in his eyes as he said it, a gauntlet thrown at our feet.
Doing as was suggested, Jake pulled out his phone and made the call. After a brief conversation, he hung up and turned to me. “It holds, unless his daughter is in on it, too.”
“My, you’re suspicious of everyone, aren’t you?” Carter asked with delight.
“Sometimes that’s what it takes,” Jake said.
“Well, if there’s anything else I can do for you, don’t hesitate to ask,” he said as he turned back to an open book on the table in front of him.
“Since you offered, can you give us any insight into Sanderson Mack or Madison Moore?” I asked him.
“Sanderson is weak, both morally and physically. For him to drive a screwdriver through his father’s back and skewer his heart is almost beyond comprehension.”
“Unless he was enraged by something,” Jake added softly.
“There’s always that,” Carter said, agreeing with a nod.
“And Madison?” I asked.
“I would put nothing, and I mean nothing, past that young lady. She is a prettily wrapped present with nothing but rotten vileness inside.”
“You sound as though you’re speaking from experience with her,” I said gently.
“Indirectly. She broke my only son’s bank account, and then she managed to do the same to his spirit. She drained him for all he was worth, and then she discarded him like some empty container. If Madison had been murdered, I would have surely been on your list of suspects, though no doubt it would have been a long and colorful collection by the time you finished compiling it.”
Jake was ready to go, but I wasn’t, not until I asked him an important question, at least to me. “How’s your son doing now?”
“How kind of you to ask,” Carter said with a gentle smile. “Paul has recovered, both his credit and his mental health. He married a lovely young woman named Tina, and they are quite happy together these days. Thank you for asking.”
“Thank you for all of the time you’ve given us,” I said.
Carter was about to respond when the door to the genealogy room opened, and Meredith came in, looking rather grim. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but we’re closing the library. The storm is getting worse, so if you two want to get back to April Springs, I suggest you go now.”
Out on the sidewalk, Jake looked up at the disquieting sky. “What do you think?”
“I think we’re going to be in trouble if we hang around Maple Hollow too long,” I said. “Should we head back now?”
“The roads aren’t that bad yet,” Jake said as he scuffed his shoe across the pavement. “Why don’t we go find Madison and Sanderson and see what they have to say before we panic and hit the road before we have to?”
“Okay, if you’re sure,” I said, though the sky wasn’t getting any brighter, and I had a hunch that the weather was just going to get worse as the afternoon progressed.
We drove to Sanderson’s place, but there was no response to our summons.
“Could he possibly be at work?” I asked Jake.
“His business went under, remember? Maybe he’s just ducking us.”
Jake skipped the doorbell this time and pounded on the door with his closed fist, hammering away at it far longer than I would have.
There was still no answer.
“This is hopeless,” I said. “Let’s go find Madison’s place and then get out of town while we still can.”
Jake agreed. “Who knows? Maybe they’re together again.”
“Do you honestly think they’re seeing each other so soon after Snappy died?”
“She appears to be the type to move on to the next person in line, and if it’s Sanderson, I don’t think she’s going to have a bit of a problem managing it.”
“That presupposes she knows that she’s not getting any of the money herself, though,” I replied as we headed to her address. I’d looked it up during a lull at the donut shop earlier, so I knew where she currently lived.
Whether she was there or not was a completely different matter.
“Maybe she’s hedging all of her bets,” Jake said.
“You don’t think much of her, do you?”
“I’ve seen users like her before, Suzanne,” he said quietly.
“From firsthand experience?”
“No, thankfully, that was one trap I never managed to fall into. Some of my worst cases as an investigator were spurred on by artificial jealousy stoked by someone who was after something. The combination of love and greed can be pretty powerful.”
As we drove, I looked over at the profound sadness in my husband, and it hurt my heart to see it. “Sometimes I forget what you had to endure before.”
He patted my knee affectionately. “It’s fine. After all, it made me always appreciate what I’ve got,” Jake said with a smile.
“Me, too, though I can’t compare war stories with you.”
“I don’t know. I imagine things can get pretty rough when you’re running low on donuts at the shop,” he said with a laugh.
“Not as much as you might think. If my stock starts to run dry, I just lock the door and hide in the kitchen until everyone goes away.”
“That’s what I’d do, given the choice,” Jake said as he started to park the truck at the apartment complex in question where Madison resided. He skidded a little on the snowy pavement, and for a moment, I wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop, but Jake quickly got it under control and managed to halt our progress before we wound up in someone’s living room.
“Whew, that was a close call,” I said.
“That? Nonsense. I never lost control for one second.”
I looked at him skeptically. “So, you’re trying to tell me that you meant to slide into the spot?”
“What can I say? Sometimes I’m a bit of a showman.”
“Come on, let’s go see if she’s home,” I answered.
“What are you two doing here?” Madison Moore asked as she answered the door. She’d ob
viously been napping, and her hair was mussed, her makeup in need of touching up.
“We came to see you,” I said brightly, happy for some reason that I’d caught her at less than her best. “May we come in?”
“This isn’t a good time,” she said, glancing back inside her place. Was it possible that Sanderson was inside, cowering in a closet?
“It won’t take long. We were wondering if you’ve been able to come up with any reason someone would want to see your boyfriend dead that you couldn’t come up with before. After all, you’ve had some time to think about it and get over the initial shock of it all.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever get over that,” she said. “But no, Snappy was such a sweetheart, I can’t imagine anyone wanting to kill him.”
“He was certainly good to you, wasn’t he?” I asked.
“What do you mean by that?”
“You told us that he gave you that brand-new car, and not a cheap one by the look of it. Don’t forget, he also said that he was going to leave you a fortune; isn’t that what you told us yesterday? That should really be able to help with that crushing credit card debt you’re facing.”
I got a direct flash of hot contempt from her for a moment before she was able to subdue it and rein it back in. “It’s a common enough problem these days. What can I say? The economy got me, just as it did just about everyone else.”
“Madison?” I heard a man’s voice call out from the other room. “Who is it?”
“I’ll be right there,” she said before turning back to us. “I’m having a meeting with my accountant, so if you’ll excuse me…”
We didn’t get a chance to answer, as the door was slammed in our faces.
“For some reason, I don’t think that was really her accountant,” Jake said with a grin. “I suspect it might have been Sanderson himself, but I’m not entirely sure of it.”
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