1 52 Steps to Murder

by Steve Demaree

  “Oh, to be young again.”

  “We’re still young, Lou.”

  We continued our fiddle-faddle until we pulled up in front of the Blue Moon Diner. Most of the regulars had already eaten and headed to work, so Rosie looked up to see who made the bell on the door jingle.

  “Well, if it isn’t Frick and Frack.”

  “What happened to Dick Tracy Squared?”

  “Anyone who eats as much as the two of you deserves two nicknames.”

  “And two plates of food. What’s good today?”

  “If I said ‘nothing,’ does that mean you’ll go somewhere else?”

  “We’ll never leave you, Rosie.”

  +++

  A few minutes after we left the Blue Moon we had copies of the phone records for all the suspects except Don Hampton, who had no phone. I’d planned to give all of them a good going over, but I was particularly interested in the records of four people. In some cases, I was interested in who was called. In other instances, I wanted to know if any calls were made to or from a certain number. Not only did the records show all incoming and outgoing calls, but how long each call lasted.

  It took a few hours for the two of us to go over the records. We’d gathered some helpful information. Where it would lead, we didn’t know.

  No one made any calls to or received any calls from the Reynolds house. Someone had made a couple of calls from the Silverman house after Silverman’s alleged disappearance. If Silverman made those calls, why did he continue to hide?

  Angela Nelson had lied to me when she told me she didn’t know her grandmother had been hurt. She made some calls to the hospital and one to her grandmother’s house the day before she died. Why did she lie to me? Did she think it would make her look bad because she was unwilling to cut short her buying trip, or was there more to it?

  I also learned that at 9:35 on the morning of the murder someone from Mrs. Jarvis’s house called Mrs. Nelson’s house. The phone call lasted only a couple of minutes. A short time later, at 9:48 Irene Penrod called the local cab company from her own home. Both of these agreed with the information Irene Penrod had given us.

  +++

  Lou and I spent the rest of Monday eating, resting, and eating again. A lunch feast at the Blue Moon Diner was followed by a late afternoon nap, and a steak dinner at Burkman’s. Neither of us ever ate what he called a sissy steak. Both of us opted for a sixteen ounce porterhouse. A loaded baked potato, coleslaw, and homemade bread with garlic butter accompanied each steak. For appetizers, both of us ordered a cup of chili, and the two of us split an appetizer portion of baby-back ribs. We were impressed with the ribs and vowed to make a quick return for a man-size portion. I topped off my dinner with a piece of butterscotch pie. Lou felt that he had gone without banana pudding long enough. After both of us assured each other that our food had settled enough for us to leave under our own power, each of us pulled himself from the table and left with a smile on his face.

  +++

  Lou’s night was his own. He told me he planned to go home and lower himself into his folding chair. It was time to work some more on his jigsaw puzzle.

  Just as was the case when I returned home after lunch, I noticed the absence of my neighbor. I wasn’t sure how much longer Miss Humphert would avoid exposure to my “illness,” but I hoped she’d stay away for a while longer. While I wished it would keep her away for a year, I planned to take it one day at a time and be thankful for each of those days.

  +++

  While Lou played, I had work to do. I placed a phone call to Angela Nelson.

  “Hello.”

  “Miss Nelson, this is Lt. Dekker. How are you this evening?”

  “Uh, fine, Lieutenant.”

  “Miss Nelson, I told you that I would let you know if we found out anything else about your grandmother’s death. I’ve uncovered some new evidence. Could Sgt. Murdock and I drop by tomorrow morning sometime?”

  “I was supposed to work tomorrow, Lieutenant, but I don’t have anything urgent. I can call and let them know that I won’t be in until tomorrow afternoon, if that’s okay.”

  “That’ll be fine, Miss Nelson. We’ll drop by somewhere around ten, if that’s all right.”

  +++

  I planned our strategy for the next day. The next morning we planned to question Angela Nelson to see why she lied, locate Stanley Silverman, even if it took a search warrant, and talk to Harry Hornwell, if necessary. If we didn’t discover our murderer by that time, we planned to look inside the house Hartley rented for a month to see if the money was still there and do whatever was necessary to find the Reynoldses. I felt we were getting close to solving the case. All we had to do was talk to the right people and push the right buttons.

  +++

  Shortly before I went to bed, it hit me. My brain had been sorting so many clues, I had forgotten one of the most important. I needed to place another call. I had only one question I needed to ask a certain witness. If that witness gave me the answer I expected, I figured I had the case wrapped up, or at least I was well on the way to doing it.

  I made the call and confirmed what I expected. It was the only way the case made any sense. Too many people had too many alibis and not enough motives. I still had people to see the next day, but at least I expected to wrap up the case before the day was over. It should have been enough to make me smile, but there was something about realizing a person murdered someone else that kept me from smiling. Besides, I felt like kicking myself for not solving the case sooner.

  44

  I awoke Tuesday morning, rolled over, and looked at my old-fashioned alarm clock. The hands pointed to 7:23. That gave me time to hop in the shower, get dressed, read my daily devotional, pick up Lou, and eat a hearty breakfast before our appointment with Angela Nelson.

  The thought of breakfast made getting out of bed easier. Breakfast was the dangling carrot that kept me from sleeping a little longer each morning. Lou, on the other hand, needed no carrot. He arose each morning at 6:30 and had showered and dressed by a little after seven.

  As I showered, my thoughts drifted to the two women who had died. Even though I’d spent many years on the police force, it still pained me each time I discovered another body. At least this time both women were well up in age and in poor health. One of them had no family. The other had only one granddaughter.

  As the water turned cold, I realized my thoughts and I had lingered a little too long. I jumped from the shower, or at least as much of a jump as someone my age and physical condition could manage, and dressed hurriedly. I had no desire to rush through breakfast. Once I’d dressed, I called Lou to let him know that I was on my way.

  Just as I was about to leave, the phone rang. It was someone in the department telling me about some new evidence that just came in, evidence that would solidify our case. I made note of the information, hung up the phone, prepared to leave. It was then that something happened that had never happened to me. I reached in a drawer and found something that could be helpful, then closed the door, and left to pick up Lou.

  +++

  Lou opened the car door and was about to get in. As he ducked his head and looked at me, he froze.

  “Cy, you look like you’ve had a head-on collision with the Cheshire cat. What gives?”

  While I always like to bring each case to a close, each time it pained me to know that someone had murdered another person. A full-faced grin was something Lou never saw unless we were about to tackle another plate of food.

  Lou sat down and repeated his question.

  “What gives, Cy?”

  I puffed up and said, “Guess who God spoke to this morning?”

  “You don’t mean He spoke to you, do you Cy?”

  I grinned from ear to ear and nodded my head.

  “Now, don’t get me wrong. The house didn’t shake. I didn’t even hear anything, but the thought was clear enough. Is that kind of how you get your messages, Lou?”

  “Pretty much. So tell me your
message, and I’ll tell you mine.”

  I stopped smiling. I was disappointed that Lou had a message, too. I’d hoped that my message was the only message of the day. Nevertheless, I shared my message with my friend.

  “My message was, ‘Lightning,’ and I even know what it means.”

  “Oh, you do, do you? Well, let’s see. It has nothing to do with your speed.”

  “Or yours.”

  “Don’t interrupt. I assume it doesn’t have anything to do with a pedestrian being struck by Lightning.”

  “No, and I’m not going to tell you what it has to do with. Just watch me operate today.”

  “Yes sir, Dr. Dekker.”

  “So, Lou, what’s your message of the day?”

  “My message for today was, ‘Listen to your partner, both of them.’”

  “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you for years. You should listen to whatever I tell you.”

  Lou laughed and then replied, “I don’t know, but since this is the first time I’ve had this message, and this is the first time God has trusted you to get a message right, maybe this is the first time you’ve said anything worth listening to. Plus, you’re forgetting one thing, Cy.”

  “What’s that, Lou?”

  “My message said ‘both of them. Know what that means?”

  “Yeah, it means Jesus and I agree on whatever this is, and you’d better listen to us.”

  “Well, I promise you I’ll do my best to listen to the One of you who’s never wrong.”

  45

  I eased Lightning in front of Angela Nelson’s house. Lou and I stepped out of the car and looked up to see Miss Nelson peering through the blinds. I counted the steps to the front door. I refrained from smiling when I noticed there were only three. After all, this was not a moment to smile.

  I climbed those three steps, knocked on the door. Angela Nelson opened the front door and admitted us.

  “Why don’t we have a seat in the living room. I think we’ll be more comfortable in there.”

  I nodded and Lou and I followed Angela Nelson into the living room. It contained facing couches and a couple of chairs. Miss Nelson took a seat on one couch, and Lou and I plopped down on the couch across from her. No one spoke for a few seconds, and then Angela Nelson broke the silence.

  “You said you have some information about my grandmother.”

  “That’s right, Miss Nelson. We’ve uncovered some new information about your grandmother’s death.”

  “I thought you said she was poisoned. You mean she wasn’t poisoned?”

  “Oh, she was poisoned, all right, but not the way and the time that we had originally thought.”

  “Oh?”

  “See, when I originally looked over the evidence, I couldn’t see anyone with a motive for murder except you.”

  “I assume you mean that you thought I would be inheriting my grandmother’s estate.”

  “That’s right, Miss Nelson.”

  “But I told you at the time I wouldn’t inherit.”

  “I know that, Miss Nelson, but many years on the force have taught me not to believe everything I hear someone say. It was only after Mr. Hornwell made the will public that I knew that you’d told the truth. That was when you lost your motive.

  “Anyway, I studied the evidence trying to find out who killed your grandmother. The next day I found out that it took the poison somewhere between fifteen and twenty minutes to work. So, I began to muddle through what I knew at the time.”

  I reached into my pocket and pulled out my candy bar. I unwrapped it, took a bite. Angela Nelson cringed. I imagine she envisioned chocolate stains all over the upholstery.

  “We know that Irene Penrod went over to see your grandmother that morning, and that Mr. Hartley was there, as well. Could it be that one of them poisoned your grandmother before he or she left? We also know that someone else was in the house, because both you and Officer Davis heard this person. As far as both of you could tell, this person ran out the front door. At any rate, even if the intruder continued to hide in the house, if this person was the murderer, he or she would’ve had to have murdered your grandmother prior to this point because either you or Officer Davis were in the house from that time on.”

  Angela Nelson interrupted me.

  “Plus, Lieutenant, Officer Davis and I had already discovered my grandmother’s body by that time.”

  “I’ll get to that in a minute, Miss Nelson. We aren’t sure when Mr. Hartley or Miss Penrod left your grandmother’s house. Supposedly, Mr. Hartley left first, but he could’ve been the person you and Officer Davis heard leaving. However, that’s doubtful, because Mr. Hartley had already delivered mail to everyone on the street.

  “So, we have Mr. Hartley, Miss Penrod, and the person who ran from the house, who could’ve been anyone. Plus, we have one other person, Miss Nelson.”

  “Who’s that, Lieutenant?”

  “You, Miss Nelson.”

  “But, I wasn’t there yet.”

  “I’m not talking about who was there yet, but who was there at all.”

  “But I never saw my grandmother until the officer arrived.”

  “I know that, Miss Nelson. We even have witnesses. Mr. Silverman said he saw you, and Miss Penrod confirmed that he was watching. Even Mrs. Wilkens had her eyes on you from the moment you arrived until you gained entrance to your grandmother’s house, assisted by Officer Davis. Mr. Silverman also said you never entered the house until Officer Davis arrived, and we have every reason to believe him, because if not, we would have to assume that you were lying, Mr. Silverman was lying, Miss Penrod was lying, and Mrs. Wilkens was lying. That’s just too many liars to suit me.

  “Not only that, but according to the time the taxi driver said he dropped you off and the time Officer Davis said he arrived, you didn’t have enough time to murder your grandmother. That is, you didn’t have time unless you murdered her after you and Officer Davis discovered the body.”

  “But Officer Davis would’ve known if my grandmother was still alive.”

  “Not necessarily, Miss Nelson.”

  “I don’t understand, Lieutenant.”

  “I think you do, Miss Nelson. It’s called assisted suicide.”

  “You think my grandmother and I planned her death in the few seconds I was alone with her before Officer Davis came in the room.”

  “No, I don’t, Miss Nelson. When Mrs. Reynolds, her son Jimmy, and Mr. Silverman disappeared, I decided to subpoena everyone’s telephone records to see if there were any phone calls made from either house. I was getting their phone records, so I decided to look over the records of anyone else connected with this case.

  “Miss Nelson, you told me that you didn’t know that your grandmother had been hurt in a fall until you arrived at her house, but our records show that you talked to her. We have records of phone calls that were made from various hotels across the country where you were staying at the time. Some of those were made to your home, evidently to retrieve whatever messages had been left on your answering machine. Others were made to the hospital where your grandmother was a patient.

  “Plus, we have a record of calls made from your cell phone to your grandmother’s number. One of those calls was made the day before your grandmother died. I think that was when your grandmother pleaded with you to help her die and to help Mrs. Jarvis escape her wheelchair for good. I think there’s evidence of this in two envelopes that Miss Penrod told us about. I think you have those two envelopes, Miss Nelson. Why don’t you go get them for us?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lieutenant.”

  I never played poker, but I knew how to bluff.

  “Oh, come on, Miss Nelson. I know you have them. I could get a search warrant, but I know you don’t want me to do that.”

  Lou and I tried not to get involved emotionally as tears began to flow down Miss Nelson’s cheeks, but it became more difficult as those escaping tears changed to sobs. I wasn’t in a hurry. I remain
ed silent and planned to give Angela Nelson as long as it took.

  A few minutes later, Angela Nelson took her hands away from her face and looked at me.

  “I’ll be right back,” she said, as she stood up and walked out of the room. She returned carrying two envelopes and a tape recorder. She handed them to me.

  “What’s this?” I asked, looking at the tape recorder.

  “There’s a tape, too,” Angela Nelson responded.

  46

  I sat the tape recorder between Lou and me and laid the two envelopes on top of it. I picked up the top envelope and motioned for Lou to pick up the other one. The two of us opened and read silently as Angela Nelson sat across from us. When both of us had finished reading, we exchanged envelopes. When Lou and I’d finished reading the contents of both envelopes, we faced Angela Nelson who broke the silence.

  “The tape recorder has batteries in it. Just push the ‘play’ button.”

  I turned around the tape recorder, pushed the “play” button, and looked at my watch.

  “Hello, Grandmama. It’s me, Angela. Are you feeling better now that you’re home?”

  “No, Child. I told you the other day that the doctor said my old bones are too brittle to heal.”

  “Maybe you’ll feel better when I get there. I’ll be home tomorrow.”

  “Angela, I’ve already told you what the doctor said. Remember what we talked about the other day?”

  “I don’t want to do it, Grandmama.”

  “Please, Angela, you don’t know how much it hurts. I don’t want to hurt anymore. You’re the only one who can help me.”

  “But Grandmama, it’s not right. Besides, I don’t want to lose you.”

  “I don’t want to lose you either, Child, but I just hurt so much. Help me, Child. I want to go be with your grandfather. Please.”

  “I’m afraid, Grandmama. I’m really afraid.”

  “Just listen and I’ll walk you through it. I’ve written down that it was my idea, and Mabel Jarvis has done the same. I’ll send Irene down to pick up Mabel’s envelope tomorrow. The envelopes will be on the table beside my bed. You pick them up and put them in your pocket as soon as you see them. Understand?”