by Parnell Hall
The witnesses were divided into three groups: those who had to be at Yankee Stadium at seven o’clock, those who didn’t have to be at Yankee Stadium at seven o’clock, and Derek Jeter.
Derek Jeter was taken first, taken at his word, and excused. He had nothing to contribute to the investigation. He had heard of the man, but he had never met him, didn’t know what he looked like, and had not seen him at the party.
Cora was surprised to find she’d been bumped up near the head of the list. After all, she wasn’t starting that night in Yankee Stadium.
“Don’t be silly,” Henry Firth said. “We’re all witnesses.”
“Did you interrogate yourself?” Cora asked him.
Henry Firth made a face, which was unfortunate. Cora had always thought the county prosecutor looked like a rat, and it merely enforced the image. “You know what I mean. We’re all witnesses, but some of us are more witnesses than others. You’re a VIP in the Greystone household. You’ve had the confidence of both Matt Greystone and his wife.”
“Neither of which would seem to be relevant,” Cora said. “Matt Greystone had nothing to do with this crime, and I can’t believe his wife did either. She happened to find the body. That’s bad luck, but not incriminating. Anyone could have found the body.”
“Anyone could have, but she’s the one who did. She walks into the sauna, moments later she comes screaming out the door. The stone that had been on top of the stove is now on top of the victim’s head. This is clearly a crime of opportunity. It would not have taken long.”
“I’m sure Becky Baldwin would be delighted to hear you just threw premeditation out the window.”
“I’m not throwing anything out the window, and you know it. I’m just telling you how it looks bad for Mrs. Greystone.”
“What does she say about it?” Cora asked.
“She doesn’t. Becky Baldwin stepped in and made her clam up.”
“Not before you had a good chance to question her.”
“True, but nothing she said was particularly incriminating.”
“Again I will relay the good news on to Becky.”
“The woman claims she came in, found him dead, and raised the alarm. Not a unique defense strategy. What else is she going to claim?”
“I have no idea.”
“But you do. You were seen talking to Jackie Greystone on several occasions. Witnesses saw you asking her something. You seemed to be indicating the decedent.”
“Wow,” Cora said. “‘Seemed to be indicating’ is the type of cold, hard proof that sways juries. It’s all right, Henry. I understand. Becky Baldwin is an attractive young woman. If you have a chance to throw some work her way it’s gotta be hard to resist.”
Chief Harper shook his head. “Please. Could the two of you stop sparring? This is tough enough without all that. Cora, do you know anything that could help?”
“I don’t know anything that could help you make a case against Matt Greystone’s wife.”
“What was she telling you about the decedent?”
“Nothing personal. She just pointed him out as a party crasher. She said they’re a problem. Matt gets besieged by hangers-on. And if he complains, he gets bad press.”
“So she had a reason not to like him,” Henry Firth said.
“Oh, sure.” Cora rolled her eyes. “The guy represented a potential bad news clipping. If I had the opportunity, I’d have killed him myself.”
“You were talking to Jackie Greystone just before she went to the sauna?”
“I don’t know about just before.”
“You didn’t watch her walk across the lawn and go in?”
“No, I watched my niece’s daughter swimming in the pool. Cute kid. Getting to be a handful.”
“She’s not the only one,” Henry Firth muttered.
Chapter
23
Cora came out of the dining room and found Matt Greystone standing in the hall. “Where’s your wife?”
“In the study with Becky Baldwin. I wanted to be with her, but they threw me out.”
“They can’t have a confidential conversation in front of a third party.”
“Yeah, I get that. I’d still like to be there.”
“So would I. Let me see if Becky will let me in.”
“You’re a third person.”
“Yeah, but I’ve worked for Becky before. I can check if she needs me and see what I can learn.”
“Do it,” Matt Greystone said.
Cora knocked on the study door and pushed it open. “You need me?”
Becky looked up from the table. “Who said that?”
“I did. Trust me, you need me. Don’t worry about confidential conversations, you’ve already had one. Let’s go over the stuff we can all talk about.”
“Did Matt send you?” Jackie asked.
“No. If he thought to take this tack, he’d have been here. I told him I was checking up on assignments, but I’m happy for any news I can get. If you don’t want me to tell him, I won’t.”
“That’s fine, but I don’t want you talking with my client. Her husband’s another matter. I can talk with him. She can talk with him. It’s the cops I don’t want her talking to. But he’s her husband. He can’t testify against her. I just don’t want him in here when I’m talking.”
“What are you saying?” Cora said.
“Get him in here, and we’ll leave the two of them alone.”
Cora went out and found Matt Greystone. “Good news. Your wife wants to see you.” She led him back to the study.
“Okay,” Becky said. “Talk to each other all you want. If the cops come by, tell them to roll a hoop. Cora and I are going to plan your defense.”
“Defense?” Jackie said.
“Potential defense. No one thinks you’ll be accused of anything. But we have to prepare as if we did.”
* * *
“All right,” Cora said. “Why were you so eager to get me out of there?”
“What makes you think that?”
“You left them alone together.”
“They’re married.”
“Becky.”
“All right, all right. My client told me things in confidence I can’t tell you.”
“So you can’t tell me?”
“Yeah, but if I don’t I’ll go nuts for the rest of the day and have a nervous breakdown.”
“You have a sound legal mind. What’s up?”
“She knows the dead man.”
“She knows the gossip columnist? Who is he?”
“Leon Bratz, of Bratz Chats.”
“That’s the name of his column?”
“And his radio show. He has five minutes a day on some local station.”
“And how does she know him?”
“He’s written things about her husband.”
“What things?”
“Like he’s having an affair on the road.”
“Does he name the woman?”
“He doesn’t even name Matt. It’s like ‘What big-name Yankee phenom is doing better on the road than at home? He may not pitch every day, but word is he’s getting quite a workout. One has to wonder if his wife has her head in the sand now that her bonus baby’s hit the jackpot.’”
“What’s your client say about that?”
“She says it’s not true.”
“She’s with him on the road?”
“No.”
“Then how does she know?”
“She says she knows Matt and he wouldn’t do that.”
Cora rolled her eyes. “Oh, dear. Another hopelessly naive young woman. You want me to talk some sense into her?”
“No, I want you to find out what this gossip columnist was up to. The stories he’s published so far don’t rate killing him. Besides, he’s already published them, so you can’t stop him from publishing them, you can only stop him from publishing more. I’d like to know what else he had that someone might not want to see in print. Did he get a confirmation on th
e affair? Did he get the name of the woman?”
“It’s kind of hard to talk to him since he’s dead.”
“Yes, and isn’t that convenient for someone who didn’t want him talking?”
“Do you think the police might be of that opinion?”
“I can see them leaning in that direction.”
“It would behoove us to find another suspect.”
“It certainly would. Do you suppose you could circulate among the guests and see if you can scare one up?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Cora said. “And I know just where to start.”
Chapter
24
Cora found Don Upton hanging out by the pool waiting to be interviewed. As the man who was trying to start the sauna, Cora would have bumped him up the list, but Don was a minor leaguer and didn’t have to be back to the stadium. As far as Cora was concerned, the Yankee brass didn’t have to be back at the stadium either, just the players, and there weren’t that many players there, but she didn’t run the zoo.
“Hi, Don,” Cora said. “Care to have a little chat while you’re waiting for the cops?”
Don frowned. “Who are you?”
“You don’t know me? I like you already. I’m Cora Felton. I’m known as the Puzzle Lady. I’m not famous enough to be here, I just happen to live in this town. I sometimes help out Becky Baldwin, the local attorney. At the moment Becky is engaged in making sure the police don’t come to the erroneous conclusion that Jackie Greystone is responsible for the crime.”
“I see,” Don said. The young man had sandy hair and an endearing boyish grin. “She’s the most likely candidate, and I’m the most likely alternative. And you’re hoping I’ll give myself away?”
“A confession would make things easier,” Cora said. “The questioning threatens to go on all afternoon.”
“Yeah, but I don’t have to play tonight. And when you confess to murder there’s always the chance of jail time. Which really cuts into a career.”
“Anyway, you and Matt go way back.”
“We were in the minors together. Before the trade. Shared a room on the road.”
“Did you know the victim?”
“Not personally. I’ve heard of him. Everybody has. Good guy to stay away from. So I did.”
“What about Matt?”
“Matt, too. No one on the team would give that guy the time of day.”
“How’d he get an invite to the party?”
“You’re asking the wrong guy. And there’s no right guy. No one in his right mind invites Leon Bratz to a party. It doesn’t matter. He just shows up.”
“He’s crashed parties before?”
“Sure.”
“You’ve seen him?”
“Of course I’ve seen him. Everybody’s seen him. A career killer, that’s what they call him. He gets something on you, and then blasts you the moment you do good. Kid gets called up one day, gets three hits, with a double, he runs ‘Guess what the raw rookie likes to hit besides baseballs? His girlfriend won’t say, but she’s been sporting a nice shiner lately. The newest Yankee declined to comment. Apparently getting a hit at the major league level makes a guy too big to talk to the press.’”
“You do that well.”
“What?”
“Imitate Leon Bratz.”
“Oh? You’ve heard him?”
“No, but I feel like I have. Tell me about the sauna.”
“What about it?”
“You come in here, hot day in July, first thing you wanna do is start the sauna.”
“I like to lie around with naked women. Is that so hard to understand?”
“No. When I was your age, I liked to hang around with naked men. Still do, actually. Like to, I mean. I think there’s some morals clause in my Granville Grains contract. I sell breakfast cereal to schoolchildren. Not directly. In TV ads. Anyway, I’m wondering why Leon Bratz suddenly got so interested in the sauna. Was it just because you did?”
“I have no idea what he was doing there.”
“Well, he was getting his head bashed in, of course, but that’s probably not why he went. Why would he be following you?”
“I have no idea.”
“I think you do. Otherwise you’d be trying to figure out why. But you’re not even thinking about it because you already know.” Cora smiled. “You know, you’re very lucky you’re getting this dress rehearsal before you talk to the police. You’ll do much better with them if you survive me.”
Don put up his hand. “You’re starting to get strange.”
“Believe me, you have no idea. Do you do crossword puzzles?”
“What?”
“Crossword puzzles, like the ones in the paper. Do you ever solve them?”
He shrugged. “Sometimes.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“Why?”
“The casual admission probably means you have nothing to hide. Would you know how to construct a crossword puzzle?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“And then that answer is the type you’d make when you do have something to hide. It indicates to a trained interrogator that you know exactly what they’re talking about, you just don’t want to talk about it. It indicates to a policeman investigating a crime, for instance, that you know something about the crime they’re investigating, and they’d do well to keep asking you. See what I mean?”
“No, I don’t see what you mean. I said I don’t know anything about constructing crossword puzzles because I don’t know anything about constructing crossword puzzles. You can’t understand that because constructing crossword puzzles is second nature to you, but it’s not to me.”
“Fine,” Cora said. “Do you know anyone else at the party? You know Matt, you know his wife, you knew the victim. Do you know anyone else?”
“Well, Derek Jeter, of course. I mean I know who he is. He wouldn’t know me. Oh, and what’s-his-name. Matt’s agent.”
“You know him?”
“Of course. He’s Matt’s agent.”
“Is he your agent?”
Don made a face. “I don’t have an agent.”
“So tell me about the sauna.”
“What about it?”
“You went out there to start it. Did you go inside?”
“Yes, of course.”
“What did it look like?”
“The inside of a sauna. Nothing special about it.”
“You saw the stove?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of stove was it?”
“What do you mean, what kind of stove was it? It’s a wood-burning stove. That’s why I was gathering wood.”
“How does it work?”
“Are you serious?”
“Absolutely. Tell me how it works.”
“You burn wood in it. It heats up the sauna.”
“The stove heats the sauna?”
“Yes.”
“It gives off steam?”
“That’s right.”
“Doesn’t it take water to make steam?”
“There’s a bucket of water by the stove.”
“What do you do with the bucket?”
“When the stove gets real hot you pour water on it, it gives off steam.”
“You pour water on it?”
“Yes.”
“You pour water on the stove?”
“There’s a rock. The stove heats the rock. You pour water on the rock.”
“You saw the rock?”
“Yes.”
“Was the rock on the stove or on the victim?”
Don made a face. “Was that supposed to trap me? When I saw it, the stone was on the stove. How it got on the victim I have no idea.”
“Was there water in the bucket?”
“I didn’t notice. Probably not. I doubt if it had been used for a while.”
“Why do you say that?”
“That’s not the sort of thing Matt and Jackie were going to fire up. Run
around naked? Be a nice story for the gossip mags.”
“Who could really care?”
“Not me, but I’m not famous. Hell, if I was, I wouldn’t care. With everything that’s been written about Matt, it makes him supersensitive. That’s probably what what’s-his-face was doing there, by the way.”
“What do you mean?”
“Checking to see if the sauna had been used. ‘What bonus baby pitcher’s been running around naked on his estate? Rumor has it a Yankees star pitcher in rehab has a clothing-optional sauna.’ Guy’s nosing around, slips, hits his head.”
“Right,” Cora said sarcastically. “He slipped and hit his head on the underside of the rock that should have been on the stove. I hope you have a better explanation for the cops.” She pointed. “It looks like they finally got to you.”
Dan Finley bustled up. “Sorry to interrupt. Cora, the chief would like to see you.”
Chapter
25
“I don’t mean to tell you how to run your investigation, Chief,” Cora said.
“Well, that’s awfully nice of you,” Henry Firth interjected. “Would you mind passing that sentiment on to Rick Reed? I have a feeling that’s exactly how he’s going to report the situation.”
“Don’t worry. No one listens to him,” Cora said. “Come on, guys. I was just talking to Don Upton, a guy who was actually in the sauna, and you haven’t even given him a look.”
“Are you kidding me?” Henry Firth said. “He was one of the first people we talked to.”
Cora’s mouth fell open. “He didn’t tell me that.”
“What?” Henry Firth said. “A witness failed to disclose to you that he had already had a chat with the police? That’s shocking. Would you like us to proceed against him?”
Cora glanced from Henry Firth to Chief Harper. The chief looked uncomfortable. “Cora’s only trying to help, Henry. Let’s not give her a hard time. After all, she doesn’t know what you have in mind.”
“Why don’t you tell her?” Henry said.
Harper still seemed apologetic. “We searched the sauna. Not that hard to do, but we had to get the body out of there. Barney Nathan was having a hard time examining it because there wasn’t any light. It’s not like there was a fire going or anything. Anyway, we finally got the body moved and we searched the place.”