Fortune's Favors

by J A Whiting

  At first, Dug was reluctant to speak with Claire and Nicole saying he had given a statement to police thirty years ago and had nothing more to add. Claire didn’t tell him that the case files had been destroyed, instead she told him that since the case was being re-examined, they preferred to hear the details directly from the person who had spoken them. Dug relented and they arranged to meet at a boat house next to Jamaica Pond.

  “You used to live in Chatham Village for a while?” Claire asked as they sat inside the boat house near huge windows that looked out over the lake.

  “In my mid-twenties. I was just starting out in my career, trying to make a go of it with my own company,” Dug said.

  “You’ve done well it seems,” Nicole said.

  “It’s worked out better than I could have hoped.” Dug smiled and gave a nod.

  “You lived near Janice Carter’s house?” Claire asked.

  Dug took in a long breath. “Yes, I did. After Janice got killed, I left the house and moved in with my girlfriend. I didn’t like living near that place. Every time I passed it, I felt like crying. Honestly, the neighborhood scared me after that. I never felt comfortable. I had to get out.”

  “You had a roommate?” Nicole asked.

  “I did. There were three of us initially, but one guy moved out.”

  “You didn’t look for someone to replace him?”

  “We did at first, but then we said what the heck and didn’t bother with it. My roommate had been talking about moving away so we figured we’d wait until the lease was up and then we’d both move on.”

  “Your roommate’s name was Bricklin?” Claire asked.

  “That’s right. Joe Bricklin.”

  “How did you know Joe?”

  “He worked construction. I was doing the plumbing on a house he was working on. We’d talk, we got to know each other. He was looking for another roommate and I needed to get out of my apartment so it worked out.”

  “How long did you live together?” Claire asked.

  “Two years.”

  “You knew Joe pretty well?”

  Dug smiled. “Well, you know my wife says guys only talk about sports and women and drinking. Maybe she’s right. I knew Joe’s ways, what he liked to eat and drink, what he liked to watch on television, but I can’t really say we actually knew each other all that well. We both worked all day. I was usually with my girlfriend in the evenings. Joe played softball, dated. We didn’t run into each other a whole lot.”

  “Did Joe have a girlfriend?” Nicole questioned.

  “He went out with different girls. He had been dating the same young woman for a while right before we went separate ways.”

  “Do you recall her name?” Nicole asked.

  “Hmm,” Dug thought for a few seconds. “Brittany. That’s it. It’s been a while since I thought back to those days.”

  “Was it Brittany Patterson?”

  “I think that’s right. She was blond, thin. She was going to school to be a nurse.”

  “Did you hang out with Joe and Brittany?”

  “No, we’d talk in passing, but we didn’t hang out.”

  “Did you play on the softball team with Joe?”

  “Not me, no way,” Dug chuckled. “I’ve always been uncoordinated. I’d rather watch sports than play them. It’s safer for me that way.”

  “What was Joe’s personality like?”

  “His personality?” Dug shrugged. “A typical guy, I guess. He was easy to get along with as a roommate.”

  “Did he have a temper?”

  “I never saw it if he did.”

  “Did you know Janice Carter?” Claire watched the man’s face.

  Dug’s shoulders slumped slightly and he shifted his gaze out the window at the lake. “I knew her.”

  “Would say you were friends?”

  “Oh, gosh, no, not friends. Friendly. I mowed her lawn a few times when her regular guy was away. Her kid was a cutie. Poor thing.”

  “What was Janice like?” Claire asked.

  “She was a nice person, always friendly, always a smile. She didn’t have it easy, working fulltime, going to school, raising a kid. She worked her butt off, but never once did I ever hear her complain. Her parents were around so that was a help to her. I couldn’t believe what happened to her.”

  “Was your roommate friendly with Janice?”

  “Joe liked to talk to her. If she was out in the yard, he’d go over to talk. Like I said, Janice was a real sweetheart. Everyone liked her.” Dug’s face turned serious with sadness pulling at his facial muscles. “Everyone except for one person, I guess.”

  “Were you at home on the night Janice died?” Claire asked.

  “I was at my girlfriend’s place until late. I got home after midnight, maybe closer to 1am. I didn’t know anything had happened. The police weren’t called until the morning.”

  “Did the police ask you where you were that night?” Claire asked.

  “They sure did,” Dug said.

  “Did they check with your girlfriend to corroborate that you were there?”

  “Yes, they did.” Dug smiled. “She’s my wife now.”

  “Joe was at home that night though, is that right?” Nicole questioned.

  “I didn’t know where he was when I got home. I went right to bed. I didn’t know if Joe was home or not … until later.”

  “You mean in the morning?”

  “No. Joe came home around 4am. I don’t know if he’d been drinking, but he was kind of loud. I woke up from him banging around,” Dug said.

  “Do you know where he was before he got home?”

  “I don’t. In the morning, he went to work early and I spotted the police when I was heading off for the day. Janice’s murder was all anyone talked about.”

  “Joe told the police he thought he saw someone at Janice’s door that night. So he must have been home for part of the evening.”

  Dug blinked, his face blank. “I didn’t know Joe saw someone.”

  “That’s what we read,” Nicole said.

  “Did what he saw help at all?”

  “It didn’t. Joe isn’t sure now that he saw anything,” Claire told him. “It might have been shadow.”

  “That’s too bad,” Dug said shaking his head. “That killer has been walking around free for thirty years.”

  Something about the conversation picked at Claire. “Joe must have gone out late. Did he often leave the house late at night?”

  “Sometimes.”

  “To see his girlfriend?”

  “I suppose. We didn’t keep track of each other. We just did our thing.”

  “Why did you mention that Joe must have been drinking before he came home that night?” Claire asked.

  “He was noisy. I woke up. I wanted to use the bathroom, but I had to wait because Joe was showering. When I headed to the bathroom, Joe was in his room stuffing his clothes into a trash bag. I thought he must be drunk.”

  Claire’s head started to buzz and her posture straightened. “Did you ask him why he was throwing out his clothes?”

  “He said he got some oil all over them. He was cursing. He was pretty mad.”

  “Did you ask him anything else?”

  “Nope. I used the bathroom and went back to bed.”

  “Did you ask Joe how he got oil on his clothes?” Claire asked.

  “I didn’t ask. I didn’t really care.”

  “Did you think it was odd?” Nicole asked.

  “Not really. I didn’t give it any thought.” Dug chuckled. “We were young. We did a lot of dumb things.”

  Claire’s heart pounded. “Did you tell the police about Joe coming home late and throwing out his clothes?”

  Dug moved his jaw a little from side to side while he thought. “Maybe? I don’t remember talking to them about it, but maybe I did. It was too long ago. I don’t remember all the details.”

  “Was Joe’s girlfriend with him when he came home that night?”

  �
��No. He was alone.”

  Claire’s head was spinning and when she didn’t ask a follow-up question, Nicole jumped in. “Did you know Brandon Willis?”

  Dug made a face. “That was the guy who supposedly attacked a little girl at the ball field beside the basketball courts. He got off. No evidence.”

  “Did you know him personally? Brandon played on Joe Bricklin’s softball team.”

  “I didn’t really know him.”

  “Did Joe get along with Brandon?”

  “I suppose he did. I can’t say for sure.”

  “You knew what Brandon looked like?” Nicole asked.

  “Vaguely.”

  “Did you ever notice him at Janice’s house?”

  “No. I wouldn’t have known it was him if he was there.”

  “Brandon dated Janice a couple of times. Did Joe ever mention Brandon to you in connection with Janice?”

  “I don’t think so. If he brought it up, it didn’t make an impression on me.”

  Ten more minutes passed with Nicole finishing up the questioning and then the young women thanked Dug for meeting with them and left the boathouse.

  Moving quickly down the sidewalk, Claire was practically shaking. “Why would Joe Bricklin return home late at night and throw out the clothes he was wearing? Why did it have to be done right away? Right then? Why couldn’t it have waited until morning?”

  Nicole eyed her friend. “Maybe he was drunk and was behaving irrationally.”

  Claire stopped and turned to Nicole. “Or, he was acting completely rationally. Maybe he had to get rid of his clothes because they were covered in blood. Janice’s blood.”

  22

  Robby carried a tray of chocolate petit-fours into the walk-in refrigerator and then returned to the marble-top workstation to continue making the sweet creations. “So now you think Joe Bricklin murdered Janice Carter?”

  “We aren’t sure,” Nicole said as she frosted a three-tier vanilla cake. “We should talk to him again.”

  “Or if he is the killer, you might want to run far, far away from him.” Robby used a large knife to cut the cake into small squares.

  Claire raised her eyes and stared off. “I had such strange sensations running through my body when Dug Duggin was telling us about Bricklin throwing his clothes into a trash bag.”

  “What does Clairvoyant Claire think?” Robby asked. “Who’s the killer?”

  Wiping her hand on a dishtowel, Claire sighed. “I’m not sure yet. But I sure felt weird when I heard about Bricklin’s behavior the night of the murder.”

  “Why would Bricklin want to kill Janice?” Robby asked. “He had a girlfriend, he was friendly with Janice. What was his motivation?”

  Nicole dipped her spatula into the bowl of frosting. “How about unrequited love?”

  Robby’s forehead crinkled. “You think Bricklin was in love with Janice?”

  Nicole said, “One of Janice’s friends mentioned that Joe would rush over whenever Janice was outside. It sounds to me like Joe was infatuated with Janice, but she wasn’t interested in him. Rejected emotions are often a spark to a fire … a fire of jealousy.”

  “And rage,” Claire agreed.

  “What about Brandon Willis?” Robby asked. “He was picked up for an attempt to kidnap a little girl. His plan to abduct the girl was foiled. Maybe in his anger and frustration, he turned to Janice ... and killed her.”

  “I haven’t eliminated Brandon Willis as a suspect,” Claire said as she returned to the whoopee pies she was filling.

  “What about the roommate you talked to? Duggin? He lived with Bricklin right across the street from Janice. Why isn’t he a suspect?” Robby asked.

  “Duggin was with his girlfriend during the time Janice was attacked.” Nicole moved the spatula over the cake’s third layer spreading the frosting.

  “That checks out?” Robby asked with suspicion. “The police know he really was with the girlfriend?”

  “It checked out. He was with the girlfriend.” Claire nodded.

  Robby questioned, “Where did that trash bag of clothes end up?”

  “Who knows? It probably got thrown in a dumpster somewhere,” Claire said.

  “There goes the evidence,” Robby sighed. “Lost to the years.”

  “Along with other evidence that went up in flames in the police station fire decades ago.” Claire passed the back of her hand over her forehead. “This case is a mess. So much has been lost. Even if we come up with a suspect, what will be used to tie him to the case? There’s no DNA evidence left.”

  Robby turned around and leaned against the counter with the knife in his hand.

  “Put that thing down,” Nicole told the young man. “It gives me the creeps when you look at us when you have it in your hand.”

  Robby narrowed his eyes. “Too menacing for you?” he kidded.

  “Don’t even joke.” Nicole returned to her work.

  Robby looked at Claire. “You said there’s no DNA evidence?”

  “That’s right. It was destroyed in the police station fire.”

  “Well, why don’t you tell Detective Gagnon to go get some.” Robby cocked his head.

  In confusion, Claire and Nicole stared at the young employee.

  “What do you mean?” Claire asked.

  “Exhume the body.” Robby’s voice had an edge of excitement to it. “See if any DNA can be extracted from it.”

  “Can they do that?” Nicole asked.

  “Yes, they can.” Robby’s blue eyes sparkled. “It’s been done before. Successfully. Push your detective friend to get on it.”

  “Why haven’t they exhumed the body before now?” Claire questioned.

  “To tie the evidence to whom?” Robby asked. “Nothing new has come up before, but now you have the Duggin man telling you Bricklin tossed his clothes in a trash bag a few hours after Janice Carter was killed.” Robby narrowed his eyes. “Why was Bricklin in such a hurry to shower when he got home? Why not go to bed for a few hours and shower when you get up to go to work? That guy has ‘suspicious’ written all over him.”

  Nicole said, “Maybe that’s the reason Bricklin claimed to have seen someone at Janice’s front door that night. By claiming someone was at the house you can draw suspicion away from yourself.” She looked at Claire. “Are we going to talk to him again? Ask him why he tossed his clothes in such a hurry?”

  “I’m not sure,” Claire said. “It might be best if Detective Gagnon goes to see Bricklin. We’ll explain our thoughts to him when we meet with him tomorrow.”

  “Ask him about exhuming the body,” Robby reminded her. “And you know what? Tell Gagnon to alert the newspapers and news stations. Get a story out there reporting the cold case and the exhumation of the victim’s body to access DNA. When the guilty person sees or hears the news, he’ll freak. He’ll panic. He’ll think the police will be closing in on him.”

  “Who knows what he’ll do if he panics?” Nicole asked. “Are we sure we want him to panic?”

  “If he panics, he might make a mistake that will cost him,” Robby said. “He’ll do something that will call attention to himself. Guaranteed.”

  “Maybe you should abandon your musical career,” Nicole suggested. “Maybe you should go into law enforcement.”

  “My personality is too big for law enforcement,” Robby said.

  “Putting the story of the exhumation out there is actually a good idea,” Claire said.

  Robby shook his head and deadpanned, “I have one good idea a couple of times a year.”

  Claire ignored him.

  Nicole said, “We just need to convince Detective Gagnon to have Janice’s body exhumed.”

  “Right,” Claire said with a worried expression, but then her face brightened. “If they won’t exhume the body, maybe the police can put out a story about how they’ve managed to get some viable DNA, even though they haven’t, in order to try and flush out a suspect. If the killer thinks the police have DNA that can tie him to t
he crime, then he might make a mistake like Robby suggested.”

  “It’s a game of cat and mouse,” Nicole grinned. “Once the story goes out, the police will have to put officers on our suspects to tail them and wait for the killer to do something dumb.”

  Robby gently poured ganache over the squares of chocolate cake. “Now that we have the case taken care of, let’s talk about another game of cat and mouse.”

  Claire and Nicole turned to look at the young man.

  “What do you have planned for Jim and Jessie from JJ’s Bakery,” Robby asked. “You’re not going to stand for them stealing our shop, are you?”

  “There isn’t anything we can do to keep them from kicking us out because they negotiated for this space and offered the owner more money to lease it,” Nicole said with a frown.

  Robby’s eyes darkened. “The owner should have given you the opportunity to counter the offer and stay here.”

  “But, he didn’t,” Nicole said taking a quick look at Claire. “It is what it is.”

  “We can’t keep the shop in this space,” Claire said. “But we might have a surprise for those rats, Jim and Jessie.”

  Robby rubbed his hands together. “Ooh. Tell me.”

  “Not yet,” Claire said with wink, “but stay tuned. If it works out, I think you’re going to like it.”

  “I bet I’ll love it,” Robby said. “Jim and Jessie Matthews are monsters. They are so jealous of this store. They’re so jealous that we tied for the grand prize at the food festival with them. Like we’ve said a hundred times, there’s more than enough business to go around.”

  “Some people just don’t like strong competitors. They only want the spotlight on themselves. They’ll do anything to destroy their competition.” Nicole sighed, sad to leave the space she’d turned into one of Boston’s hottest sweet shops. “We’re going to need some luck, to maintain the shop’s success, and to solve this darned cold case.”

  Claire set her jaw, determined not to allow disappointment to ruin their efforts. She looked from Nicole to Robby. “We’re just going to have to make our own luck.”

  Robby smiled and nodded. “That’s my girl.”

  23