Morton grinned as the two attorneys examined the documents. “I wasnt happy with the name, but beggars cant be choosers. Ezekiel Dawson was undoubtedly one of the many homeless who dies unidentified in LA every week. Someone stripped him of any IDmaybe at the county morgueand somebody else made other ID to match. He was fortyfive, which is near enough to my own age.”
“But you were going by the name of Morton Dawson around here,” Sid protested.
Mortons grin broadened. “Sure. I couldnt see myself spending the rest of my life answering to „Zeke, so I told everyone my middle name was Morton and to call me Mort.” The grin disappeared, as he added, “Everyone but Joan. I told her the whole truth right from the very beginning.Thats why I mailed back the money.”
“She told you to?” Kay posed the statement as a question.
Morton nodded. Pushing back his empty plate he said, “Joans the most remarkable person Ive ever met. Shes completely honest, and she wants me to be the same. But, at the same time, she trusts me completely. Thats quite a feeling thatto know someone trusts you completely. Its hard not to become trustworthy in return, at least for me it's hard.
“I met Joan the first time I stopped here. We chatted a bit. Then, when I was about to leave, I noticed one of the cars in the parking lot had a flat. So I came back in and told Pete, back there.” He gestured with his head toward the rear of the restaurant. “It was Joans car, and I volunteered to change the tire. She was very grateful, urged me to come back in afterwards to clean up and have a cup of coffee on the house. I did. And thats when we sat, and I guess I poured out my lifes story. Even so, I really had no idea Id ever be coming back here.
“Then, with things getting more absurd back in Hawaii, I began to have fantasies of getting a divorce, sneaking off with my ill-gotten gains, and coming back to see Joan. I still wasnt clear in my own mind as to what I wanted her role to be. But, when I came back to Denver on my next tour, I couldnt wait to drive back down. I phoned ahead, and Joan sounded pleased to be hearing from me. I ended up spending most of the day here, at her house. No hankypanky, if thats what youre thinking. Somehow, it just didnt seem right, not with my being married. And, besides, Joan is very religious. She belongs to the Gospel Hall Church down the street, and she takes marriage vows seriously. But she was sympathetic and urged me to confront my problems head on. Thats not easy to do, as you probably know. The one thing I didnt tell her about was the money.
“So, then there was my third visit. I spent five days here. By the end of it, there was no mistaking my feelings. I was in love. So was Joan. But I still couldnt tear myself away from the money. I suppose I could have taken off then, gone back to Hawaii, and confessed to the embezzlement. Knowing Joe, hed have probably never prosecuted, being only too happy to get the money back. Besides, hes basically a nice guy. But, I didnt do it. Instead, I put in my regular call, was referred to Isobel, whod told the operator to let her know when I called, and thats when she dropped the bomb on me.” Morton shook his head at his own indecisiveness.
“At first, the plane crash seemed to havesolved all of my problems. It didnt. When I got back here and told Joan about the money, she was aghast. She insisted I fly back to Hawaii with it and turn myself in. She even offered to go back with me. There was a limit to what I was willing to do, but I did agree to take a plane to San Francisco and to mail the money from there with the note saying to give it back to Hawaiian Harvest.”
“But why didnt you send it directly to Hawaiian Harvest?”
“Because I didnt trust anyone there. All the corporate officers are predatory, and theyve been skimming more than their share from HHs coffers. A million dollars sent to the company anonymously would have been like manna from heaven to whoever opened the package. I couldnt even trust Joe, because he could easily have decided it was histax free. And I wanted the money to go back to the company where Id gotten it. Thats why I sent it to Sullivan Jabagat. Id met him a while back in bankruptcy court when a big retailer went bust on Oahuone who owed us a tidypile. It didnt take much talking with Sullivan to know he was scrupulously honest. So he was the obvious choice. The money did get back to Hawaiian Harvest, didnt it?”
“A million of it did,” Kay said, carefully watching Mortons face as she said it.
He looked puzzled, and asked,“What do you mean?”
“The million dollars loaned to Hawaiian Harvest by the state was stolen. Everyone who knows about your embezzlement figures you took the loan money too.”
The loan and what happened to it was the second important topic of discussion on the way back to Denver, and Sid and Kay were also agreed on this point. Morton Dyer had been every bit as surprised by the news of the missing second million as he had been by the news of his wifes death.
***
“O.K. O.K.,” Hank said. “It makes sense. So the next step is to find out who from the factory visited the field where we found the dynamite.”
“Im way ahead of you, Hank. And it doesn't help any. I checked with the foreman about what visitors hes had since New Years Day. It turns out Joe comes up frequently. The only other person from the factory he saw was Winston Hanamoto.”
“Hell, thats something.”
“Im afraid it isnt. The foreman says theyve only worked about two days a week on the field. Anyone could have driven in and out on off days, with no one being the wiser.”
“Still,” Hank was lost in thought. “I can see Joe going up there, but what was Winston doing out in the field?”
“Checking payroll. Or so he told the foreman. There was some kind of discrepancy in workers wages he was clearing up.”
“Sounds like he could have sent a clerk up.”
“I thought of that, but the foreman grinned and said Winstons notorious for nit picking, and he likes to pick the nits himself.”
“Did he go into the shack?”
“Hey, Hank, youre doing all right. Youre right on my tail. While I was up to the field I asked the foreman that, and he said Winston did, but just for a minute. So I checked on when they used dynamite. The foreman said the box was closed at the time, with metal straps around it. No way could Winston have gotten anything out of the box. They didn't start blasting until later in the week, and the box was full when they opened it, just as expected.”
“What about Joe?”
“The foreman was no help at all there. Joes been there so many times, the foreman couldnt remember how often he went into the shack, or when, or how long he might have spent in it when he did. So, really, weve just drawn a blank from him.”
“Well. Lets work the other end. Who was around the factory the day before Zoe saw the hypothetical wrapper?”
Corky laughed, saying,“Youve got the makings of a great detective, Hank. I checked it out, and didnt get anywhere there either. The bosss parking place is behind an oleander hedge and under a big banyan in back of the factory, out of sight of anyone at work. Anyone could have planted the hypothetical wrapper, because everyones been at work trying to salvage something out of Hawaiian Harvest before it goes belly up.”
“Shit!”
“My sentiments, exactly.
***
The drive back to Denver was a miserable one, convincing Sid, especially, how fortunate they were to be living in Hawaii. The sun had come out and been warm enough by afternoon to melt some of the fallen snow. Then its early setting had left the area under a blanket of cold dry air, freezing the melted snow and making the highway a treacherous toboggan slide. Sanders were out, but there were still long untouched patches where Sid dared to run the car at only a crawl. But the trip gave them plenty of time to discuss what they had heard.
“What do you figure the Feds are going to do to him?” Sid asked, sitting up close to the steering wheel and gripping it tightly.
“Nothing, I would guess. There isnt a smidgen of evidence to indicate he had anything to do with the bombing of the plane. In fact, everything points to his simply taking advantage of the situation and being lucky eno
ugh to pull it offat least for awhile.”
“What did the agent say when you called him?”
“She was eager and said shed be driving down immediately. She was kind of concerned he might bug out, but I told her about Frank and how hed keep an eye on Morton. I gave her his number, and she said she was going to call him.”
“Did she?”
“Yes. I checked with him while you were in the restaurant calling Qual. Frank says everythings under control.”
“Are we going to alert Hank right when we get back? Qual decided it should be up to us as to when. His main concern was for us to tell the Feds Morton was alive and ready to answer questions.”
“No reason why we shouldnt tell Hank as soon as we get in. Unless the Feds want to hold Morton, hes going to be flying over with Joan in the next couple of days. Hank might just as well get his questions together, though I think we can supply him with most of the answers.”
Sid smiled at the thought of Hank suddenly finding out Morton Dyer had indeed not been on the downed plane. “What do you want to bet hell want to extradite Morton? I was tempted to tell Morton to sit tight so he could get a free trip back to Hawaii.”
“Joan would never have gone for that.”
Sid nodded. “Shes sure straight-laced.”
It was Kays turn to nod. “And exactly the kind of woman Morton Dyer needs.”
Sid guffawed. “Hey? Whats happened? Since when have you thought of women as existing to satisfy a mans needs?”
“Nothing wrong with it in this case. To my notion, Morton Dyer is exactly the kind of man she needs. Shes very nice, and all that, but I think she needs to become more familiar with the big, wide world out there. Morton can be a good introduction.”
“Thats for sure. Anyone who could steal a million dollars and get away with it knows what the world is like. If she hadnt talked him into sending it back, he might never have been caught.”
Kay seemed lost in thought.
Sid carefully braked to an almost complete halt behind an eighteen-wheeler creeping painfully up a steep grade. Taking a brief moment to look at Kay, he brought his eyes back to the road and asked, “What do you think?”
The question wasnt unexpected. Kay knew Sid had the same feeling she had, that they were somewhere close to a solution. When the time approached in any of their cases, Sid wanted her to reveal her hand, something she was always reluctant to do. But this time she needed a sounding board to find out if the cards she was holding were really worthwhile.
“The key is the car Morton reports seeing in the cul de sac across from Opihi Place.”
“What?” Sid couldnt believe the major fruit of their trip to the Mainland and the long interview with Morton was a car which might or might not have actually existed. “All he can remember, and he isnt even sure of that, is it was big and light colored.”
“Yes, but hes corroborating OHearne, which is whats important. Now, Im almost sure of what happened that night.”
To Sids relief, the truck pulled off into a rest stop, the road seemed well sanded ahead, and the oncoming traffic had dwindled down to one or two cars a minute, all driving carefully.“Im all ears,” he said as he began moving along at a comfortable and what he considered to be a safe, thirty-five miles an hour.
“Someone went into the Dyer house before Morton got there. Charlotte Dyer left the door unlocked and the alarm off for OHearne, but someone arrived earlier, probably close to four. Whoever it was, killed Charlotte. Im not sure why, but it was much more likely to be money than passion or some other such motive. That I still have to work out. Whoever the killer was, then walked back to the car which they had left across from Opihi because they didnt want it seen near the Dyer house.
“When the killer got into hisor her carand before he could take off, Morton Dyer came driving along and turned into the Dyer driveway. The killer saw his chance to throw suspicion on someone else and called the police, planning to leave before they arrived. In minutes, Dyer drove out again and, before the killer could get away, OHearne came walking by from the direction of the airport. The killer took off as soon as he saw OHearne disappear behind those hedges in the Dyer driveway.”
“Sorry, Kay. There's a big hole in that scenario. The police showed up almost immediately when O'Hearne entered the house. If the killer called the police when O'Hearne went in, why didn't he call the police when Dyer went in?”
“I think he did, and either that call didn't go through, or the police took longer in responding than they claimed they did.”
“Kay!” Sid said. “Now your hunch sounds like whole cloth.”
Kay grinned. “I've got another in reserve. Dyer may have gotten there before Charlie was killed. The killer simply waited until he left before going into the house.”
“Phew! You whole cloth is completely full of holes.”
“Maybe it is, but theres lots of it I can check out when I get back to Elima.”
“Then what happened?”
“After that, its pretty easy. Blackmail!
“Blackmail?”
“Yes. Blackmail. Why do you think OHearnes memory regarding the car became so hazy in the second interview?”
“Of course!” Sid said, his face lighting up. “He saw the same car again somewhere.”
“Or remembered having seen it before. So he getsin touch with the killer, whos sure of only one thing, which is that hes going to get rid of OHearne. And he does.”
“I have to admit its beginning to sound like a logical explanation, but there are still more holes in it then cloth.”
“I know. But as soon as we get back, Im going to match this theory against whatever Hank and Corky have unraveled. Ive got the feeling the holes we have may match the patches theyve gotten together.”
The lights of Denver were now plainly visible in the distance. The highway had long bare stretches of road surface, and Sid had eased the car up to fifty.
As he approached the outskirts, Sid turned off onto 225 and headed for the airport. Kay was silent for most of the rest of the way, and Sid was lost in his own thoughts, relieved the driving was now almost snow and ice-free.
Kay broke the silence finally as they were driving into the rental car area. “Sid, do you remember when I mentioned Occams Razor to Craig?”
“Mm-hmm. I wonder if Qual ever explained to him how all it means is the simplest explanation is usually the correct one.”
“I wondered about it too. Now Im wondering if we cant apply Occams Razor to all these mysteries?”
“All what mysteries?” Sid asked, as he pulled up to the gasoline pump in the rental car area. “Youve already tied the two deaths together. What other mysteries are there?”
Kay smiled as Sid rummaged through his pocket to give the attendant the necessary papers. She reached into the glove compartment, pulled them out and handed them over. “Have you already forgotten about the second million dollars?”
“Oh. Right. You think the money fits in somewhere?”
“Im sure it does. I think everything fits in together, the two deaths, the missing millions, both of them, and the biggest mystery of all.”
“Which is?” Sid asked, as he got out of the car and glanced disapprovingly skyward at what was promising to be another snowfall, and a substantial one this time.
Kay looked over the top of the car at him from the passenger side and said, “Why, the plane crash, of course. Im sure everything is tied into everything else, including the plane disaster.”
Chapter 20
It was obvious Jenny had missed them. She was as excited as a puppy when they drove up, shortly after sunset. The house sitter had been a poor substitute for Kay, as far as the dog was concerned. The cats, on the other hand, had quite clearly been overfed, having made no move toward the refrigerator when Kay deposited the groceries theyd bought on their way through Napua.
“Im bushed,” Kay said, after giving Jenny an affectionate pat. Sid sought out Sheena and picked up the purring cat who, while pl
eased at the attention, showed she could just as easily have done without.
“Those are absolutely the worst airline connections Ive ever had to deal with. Theyve just gone nuts over security.”
Kay shrugged. “You really cant blame it on the airlines, the weather was just against us. If we could have taken off from Denver as scheduled, we would have picked up our flight in LA and been home this morning.”
“It doesnt matter whose fault it was. It was still miserable.” Putting Sheena down, Sid added, “Weve got phone calls to make. The light on the answering phone is blinking like crazy. We probably have a dozen calls on it.”
“Lets let everything go until morning. Qual knows were back. Thats really all that matters. Let him fend off anyone who wants to get in touch with us.”
“Well, I have to have a snack before hitting the hay.”
“I probably should have something too. Otherwise, Ill wake up hungry in the middle of the night. I tell you what. Throw something together while I take a shower.”
“A shower? You mean Im not invited.”
Kay laughed. “Not tonight. Be a big boy and dont be greedy. You had youre share of fun in the Denver motel.”
Sid feigned disgruntlement. “O.K. If thats the way it is. How about a banana frappe?”
“Sounds good. Put in one of those mangoes I bought, too.”
While Kay was off taking her shower, Sid found two bananas in the freezer and dropped them into the blender. Peeling and cutting the mango into sections, he added them to the bananas and then poured in a cup of cold milk. Slowly moving up the scale of speeds, he soon had a thick, milkshake equivalent. By the time hed completed his culinary achievement Kay, wearing a light cotton bathrobe, had joined him.
Sid sat across the bar from her as they sipped their drinks. “Great,” she said. “Ten hours ago I would never have thought Id ever want to drink anything cold again.”
The Yoshinobu Mysteries: Volume 2 Page 69