Carola remembered what Jack had told her about the police chief and how he hated Americans and probably felt that Ray’s death was karmic justice.
“Well in that case, I guess we’ll have to take justice into our own hands.”
“Senora Trout, please don’t do anything that could result in danger to you. Senor Trout would never forgive me if something happened to you because of me.”
“Don’t worry. Thanks for this information, Santiago. Right now I need to think about this. I may want that tape.”
“Senora, I’m sorry, but I can’t give it to you. It is the property of Senor Silva, but what I can do is make a copy of it for you. I will bring it to you at the lodge after the weather clears a little. Again, I am sorry for being remiss in not telling you earlier that the camera was there.”
“I understand. Thank you, Santiago. I’ll talk to you later,” she said as she slipped on her boots and poncho, ready to fight the elements on her way back to the lodge.
CHAPTER 31
Carola went to her room, not sure what to do next. She thought she heard footsteps in the hall and then remembered it would be perfectly normal to hear them since Mitch and Janelle had returned to the lodge. She sat down and looked out the window at the driving rain, thinking about what she had just seen on Santiago’s computer screen. Lost in thought, it took several knocks for her to realize that someone was at her door.
“Who is it?” she asked as she walked over to the door. Cayo started purring and went over to the door as well.
“It’s me, Lisa. Do you have a minute to talk?”
“Of course,” Carola said as she opened the door. “As a matter of fact I was just thinking about going to your room. You saved me the trip. What’s wrong? You look pale.”
“I think I know who murdered Ray,” Lisa said as she sat down, visibly shaken.
“Quick, tell me. What have you found out that would make you say that?”
“First of all I received a long email from Bea. Evidently she tried to call me late last night, but I was so deep asleep I never heard the phone ring. I slept in uncharacteristically late this morning. I thought some yoga would help, so I spent an hour doing that and some light exercises. When I was through I went over to my computer and saw that Bea had written a long email to me. I won’t bore you with all the details, but she confirmed without a doubt that there is a discrepancy of nearly a million dollars from the last report Janelle had given Ray and what the actual numbers on Janelle’s computer indicated.”
“This may sound terribly naïve of me, but didn’t Janelle use a password to protect that information?”
“Not naïve at all. Yes, she did. Bea remembered a conversation that had taken place once between Janelle and Bea about dog’s names. Evidently Janelle’s dog was named Killer. Bea remembered it because it was so unlike the image Janelle always tried to portray. Anyway, Bea knew that a lot of people use their pet’s name as their computer password, so she tried it, and it worked. After she found the discrepancy and realized nearly a million dollars was missing, she wondered why Ray had suspected that the numbers on the report Janelle had given him were phony. She went to Ray’s office and searched his computer. Evidently Janelle has an enemy in her department who knew about the discrepancy, and that person sent a copy of the two reports to Ray, alerting him.”
“Wow! That certainly explains the dinner conversation between Ray and Janelle I overheard the first night we were here at the lodge.”
“Wait Carola, there’s more. A few minutes ago Pablo came to my room. He said he was very sorry to bother me, but he had learned something he thought I should know. He told me his wife, Catalina, cleans the guest rooms in the mornings here at the lodge. Last night his wife told him she dropped a can of spray that she uses when she’s cleaning, and it rolled under the bed in Senora Byers’ room. Catalina looked under the bed and saw what she thought was the antique fly rod and reel Pablo had told her about the night before. He didn’t know what it meant, but he thought it was strange the items were under the bed in Senora Byers’ room, and not in my room. I think that pretty much proves that Janelle murdered Ray and here’s why.
“She cooked the books by producing a phony report to cover the loss of the money that should have been in the Moving Graphics account but was missing, presumably transferred to her fiancé, Andrew White. When Ray mentioned to her at dinner that he wanted to talk to her about it, she must have panicked and decided to kill him in order to keep the loss of the money secret. In order to shift suspicion away from her after she killed Ray, she stole the antique fly rod and reel to make it look like Ray’s death was tied to the theft of his antique fishing equipment. What do you think?”
“She very well might be the killer,” Carola said. “I find it very honorable that Pablo told you about the discovery of the fishing equipment in Janelle’s room rather than getting Catalina to take the items, so he could sell them to raise the money they so desperately need for her medical treatment. Even though he was on our suspect list, I really never thought it was him, plus, when I talked to him late yesterday afternoon, he told me he, his wife, and his mother-in-law had been up all that night at their home trying to think of a way to get Catalina to Buenos Aires and be seen by a specialist.”
“I hadn’t thought about that,” Lisa said. “He easily could have had his wife take them and somehow sold them, maybe even to one of the sporting goods stores we saw in San Martin yesterday. Even if he only got a fraction of what they’re worth, it would probably be enough for him to pay for a cancer specialist for her. What an honest man.”
“Let me tell you what I’ve found out this morning,” Carola said. First she told Lisa about the email she’d gotten from Kelly. “I know you’re fixated on Janelle, but you have to admit that Brad certainly had a strong motive. I can’t rule him out just yet. What we have is a series of things that point to Janelle. When I tell you about the conversation I just had with Santiago, it will probably be the final linchpin in convincing you that Janelle is the murderer.”
When Carola finished relating her conversation with Santiago to Lisa, she sat back and waited for Lisa’s reaction. Lisa stood up, sat down, and stood up again. Then she started pacing from one side of the room to the other and said, “If the police were at all involved in this case, we could turn over what we’ve discovered to them, but that doesn’t seem like a viable option.”
“No, I don’t think it is,” Carola said. “I believe the best thing for us to do is just let this simmer until tonight. I’ll talk to Jack and see what he says, and I’ll also call Kelly and get her opinion. From what I understand, based on everything we’ve discovered, while it appears Janelle is the murderer, we can’t actually say with certainty it is her. So, I guess what I’m saying is she could leave here, go home, and never be charged with Ray’s murder. Since the Moving Graphics money is missing, she probably gave it to her fiancé, which, based on what Colin told me, seems to be the case. Anyway, if she quickly replaced the funds she might never be charged with embezzlement. Then she’s free and clear to marry the handsome wealth management guy and she’d ride off into the sunset, essentially getting off scot-free. Is that how you see it?” Carola asked Lisa who was still pacing back and forth. Lisa stopped for a moment and picked up Cayo, absentmindedly petting him.
“Yes, that’s how I see it, and it’s wrong. I don’t know what I can do about it, but I can’t believe this. I’m going to my room. Maybe an answer will come to me. Mind if I take Cayo? He seems to like being with me.”
“Of course not. I’m going to make some notes about everything we’ve learned, so I don’t forget anything. If you get tired of Cayo, or you start sneezing, feel free to bring him back. See you later,” she said as Lisa walked out the door and down the hall.
CHAPTER 32
After she returned to her room, Lisa continued to pace from one side of her room to the other. Occasionally she stopped to look out the window at the heavy rain which showed no signs of letting up. She
held Cayo in the crook of her arm, still absentmindedly petting him as she paced. The more she paced, the angrier she became until she finally came to a decision.
“Cayo, we’re going to Janelle’s room. I saw her going down the stairs when I walked out of Carola’s room. If nothing else, I’m going to retrieve Ray’s antique fishing equipment she has hidden under her bed. At least she won’t have it, and she won’t dare ask what happened to it once she discovers it’s gone, because if she does, everyone will know she’s the murderer.” She opened the door of her room and walked purposefully down the hall to Janelle’s room. She stood outside and listened for a moment. Not hearing anything she carefully opened the door and looked in the room. There was no sign of Janelle.
Good. She must have gone down to the kitchen and gotten something to eat, Lisa thought.
She set Cayo down on the floor and then she laid on the floor peering under the bed. Sure enough, just as Catalina had said, there was Ray’s antique fly rod with the Hardy Perfect reel attached to it along with his rod case and his box of antique flies. As she was reaching for the rod, the door opened, and Janelle walked into the room.
“What the…?” Janelle said. “Stay where you are, Lisa. So, you figured it out, did you? Well, guess what. You’re right. I’m the one who murdered your husband. He found out about the money I took from the company and gave to Andrew, but you knew that, didn’t you. I had a text today from the janitor at Moving Graphics. I’ve been paying him for some time to make sure no one goes into my department after hours. He thought it was strange when he saw a light on in my office last night. He went in and told Bea he was doing a check like he did every night to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything. He said she was sitting at my computer looking at a bunch of numbers.”
As Lisa sat up she saw a gun in Janelle’s hand. “Where did that come from?” she asked fearfully. “I know you can’t get a gun through airport security.”
“Trust me, you can get about anything through security these days, particularly when you’re an attractive woman and you pay people. Not much is off limits, but that’s neither here nor there. Now that you know about me, I think you and I are going to take a little walk down to the lake. The reason I came back to the room just now was to get Ray’s antique fishing equipment out from under my bed and take it down there. I’m going to throw it in the deep section of the lake, so it will never be found. I can’t leave it here under the bed where someone might find it sooner or later, and then I might be implicated in Ray’s murder.
“Since I was already planning on going down to the lake, I’ll just take you along with me and when we get there, I’ll shoot you and put the gun in your hand after you’re dead. It will look like an open and shut case of suicide. Wouldn’t be much of a stretch for everyone to think that you committed suicide because of your husband’s death. Weather being what it is, don’t think anyone will see us go down there. Get up,” she said, motioning with the gun.
Lisa put her hands on the bed to help steady her as she tried to stand up. Neither one of them saw Cayo leap at Janelle’s arm, badly scratching her, and causing her to drop the gun which discharged with a loud bang when it hit the floor. As Janelle and Lisa struggled to get to the gun, the door flew open, and Pablo rushed into the room. In one step he held his knife to Janelle’s throat and yelled, “Senora Trout, come quickly to Senorita Byers’ room.”
Seconds later, in response to the sound of the gunshot and Pablo’s shout, Carola ran into the room, trying to figure out what had happened. “Pablo, what…? Lisa, what’s happened?”
“Later, Senora Trout. I don’t think Senora Martin can stand up right now. I want you to go out in the hall and take the boleadora from the wall where it’s hanging next to where the whip was. That’s the thing that’s made of stones and bound with leather strips. I’ll use it to tie Senorita Byers’ hands behind her back until the chief of police gets here.”
Carola hurried out into the hallway and took the boleadora from where it hung on the wall with the rest of the gaucho display items. She quickly returned to the room with it.
“Senora, hold this knife at her throat. If she moves, plunge it into her. I’ll tie her hands behind her back.”
Lisa sat on the edge of the bed in stunned silence watching the scene taking place in front of her. Cayo had jumped into her lap and seemed to be watching as well.
While Pablo was securing Janelle’s hands behind her back, she screamed, “Stupid cat. Look what he did to my arm. That’s my blood dripping on the floor. Let me go. You can’t prove I did anything.”
Just then Santiago barged into the room. “Pablo, Pilar called me and said she heard a gunshot upstairs. I ran over here as fast as I could. Senora Martin, are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Just pretty shaken up. Santiago, Janelle admitted to me that she killed my husband and also said she was going to kill me. What do we do now?” she asked.
“I will call my brother-in-law, the chief of police. I think when he hears that an American woman was the one who killed Senor Martin and was going to kill you, he will be happy to take her away to jail. From what I hear, the jails in Argentina are much different than those in the Unites States. Our jails here in Argentina are in terrible condition and full of mean and cruel prisoners. I don’t envy her.”
“I’m entitled to a phone call. I want to call my attorney in California,” Janelle yelled, trying to get her hands free from the boleadora.
“I don’t think that applies here,” Santiago said, “and even if it did, we’re a small town and Ramiro runs his police department the way he wants to. You’ll be lucky to ever see an attorney. I’ll call him now. I think this will make him quite happy.”
While they were waiting for the chief of police to arrive, Carola said, “Pablo, why did you come back up here?”
He looked at her with a sheepish smile and said, “Pilar said I should ask Senora Martin if she could donate something to my family to help Catalina get medical help. Pilar said the senora was very rich, and that I should try. I was walking down the hall to her room when I heard the gunshot.”
“Considering you saved my life Pablo, I think we definitely should talk later today. Perhaps I can help your family,” Lisa said. “And I probably should thank Pilar as well for sending you up to my room. Let’s not forget Cayo. If he hadn’t jumped up and scratched Janelle, the gun wouldn’t have gone off, and I’d probably be lying dead on the shore of the lake about now.” She petted the cat and whispered, “I don’t know what Carola’s feeding you, but I think I’ll go down to the kitchen and get the best fish Pilar has in stock and give it to you on a silver platter.” Later, when the events of the morning were related, everyone would swear Cayo had grinned.
*****
That afternoon Jack walked into their room and began stripping off his wet clothing as he headed for the shower. “Hi sweetheart,” he said, “how was your day?”
“Quite amazing. I’ll tell you all about it after you take a hot shower.”
CHAPTER 33
The following evening while they were getting dressed for the final dinner at the lodge, Carola said, “I can’t believe we’re all leaving tomorrow. So much has happened in such a short time. I wonder if we’ll be bored when we get home.”
“I certainly won’t,” Jack said. “I’m looking forward to some down time. I don’t know if it was the weather or what, but I think these are the three best days I’ve ever seen on the rivers here. I doubt if the guests will ever catch more fish anywhere else.”
“Well, that’s great news. What with the tragedy that happened while we were here, I don’t think I appreciated how super the fishing was. I’m glad there was some good to go along with the bad. Let’s go downstairs. Lisa’s going to join us tonight, and I want to be there to support her.”
“I’m ready, by the way have I told you lately how much I love you and how beautiful you are?”
“I don’t think so, but I’m more than happy to have you repeat bot
h of those thoughts as often as you wish. Thanks, and I love you just as much, but I don’t think you’re beautiful,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.
“I’d worry if you did. Might hurt my reputation. Don’t think being a beautiful man would make people want to fish with me.”
“Agreed. Cayo, your treat yesterday was a once in a lifetime thing. Don’t get any big ideas about me giving you treats like that on a regular basis.” Once again, she was sure he understood as he turned and jumped up on the bed, lying down and purring deeply.
When they walked into the great room, the cocktail hour was well under way. Even with Ray’s death, after all, these were fishermen and they were all very happy with their three days of fishing. Jack joined the group and they began to swap fishing stories.
Carola saw Lisa and Mitch talking and walked over to them. “Good evening, Carola,” Lisa said, “you look beautiful tonight.”
“Thanks, and may I return the compliment?”
“I’ll just say ditto to both of you and save myself the trouble of repeating it,” Mitch said laughing.
“Well, how is the new owner and how is the new president of Moving Graphics doing this evening?” Carola asked taking the glass of wine that Mitch had poured for her.
“We’re discussing some changes that need to be made in Janelle’s department as well as in the Janitorial Department. I spoke with Bea today and found out that the man who sent Ray the information regarding the missing funds was the number two man in the Finance Department. I’m going to appoint him as Chief Financial Officer to replace Janelle. I spoke with him, and he doesn’t think anyone else in the department was aware of the situation, so it looks like I won’t have to fire a bunch of other people and create headaches for the Human Resources Department. There are enough changes taking place. Glad I don’t have to implement some more.”
Murdered in Argentina: A Jack Trout Cozy Mystery Page 13