Blake had been taking notes. Moss had mentally tucked them away in his memory banks. Fred Black went out the door. No one stopped him.
"The latest news is that the bullet from your son came from the same murder weapon. I think it's time for us to leave you to your sorrow. Thanks for your time," said Moss.
"I think we should call it a day Blake. I for one am kind of beat. Let's think about what has transpired today and begin with a fresh start in the morning. I love that homemade food restaurant and what say we call Sean and his wife, along with your wife, and chow down."
"I'll give her a call Moss, but knowing her she has dinner already in the oven. How about we rain check for tomorrow. I hear the funeral is tomorrow for Phillip, but that could be delayed for a double burial," said Blake.
Blake dropped Moss off at Sean's home. Sean and Wendy were waiting for him sipping a glass of wine together. They poured him a glass of wine and went to the living room to discuss the interview with the Street's and their chauffeur.
After listening to the details, Sean asked, "Can you make heads or tails out of these suspects Moss?"
"Not at the moment Sean. I like to leave my options open and not rush to an erroneous decision. I think we can narrow it down to three or four at the moment. What can you tell me about the burial plan for the victims?"
"It looks like the day after tomorrow for a dual burial. The reading of the will, strangely enough, has been set for 10 am tomorrow. The lawyer's secretary called me to be there just before the appointed hour. Because we are investigating a murder, I asked for a list of people who have been summoned. I'm surprised as Loren Ripple, Sam Polly and Willie White have been asked to the reading. I guess we'd better hold off on interviews till afternoon or later."
"How about we go out to dinner at my favorite restaurant. I've heard that pot roast is on the menu tonight. God love the beef."
The Cats Out of the Bag
All those who were summoned sat waiting for the lawyer to read the will. The office was located in Bayville in the tallest building in the area. The firm of, Street, Clevis, and Wills occupied the top floor. The view of the bay area was second to none. Moss thought this office and firm was the epitome of pretentious people.
Mr. Geoff Clevis shuffled in using a walker. The man must be way over eighty, Moss thought. He sat down at the head of the conference table, adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. A booming voice belying his age rocked all who were there at the reading of the will.
His introductory speech was brief; informing those present that this was Phillip Street's last will and testament. His last sentence was firm, he said, "This will is locked and anyone trying to protest it will fail miserably. Those are his exact words that are quoted."
Clevis took a sip of water and continued reading, "I began this law firm with nothing but hard work. My son Joel assumes he will inherit my vacant chair. Nothing further from the truth can be said. From three months after my death, this firm will no longer exist. Both of my partners are aware of the arrangements. I want this to be known. I did some things in the past that are regrettable. I know money cannot heal old wounds, but it might help. Therefore, I leave twenty five percent of my net worth to Loren Ripple. I also leave twenty five percent to Sam Polly for his past work. Next I leave ten percent to Bill White for the nasty prank I played on him. To Sean Pastor goes ten percent for my math homework. That leaves thirty percent left for my daughter under certain conditions. First she must get married to the opposite sex and have a baby. Secondly she must find a job and work at that job for at least five years. At the end of that time, she will receive the remaining thirty percent.
As for my wife, I leave her nothing but sad memories of a husband who loves only himself. She receives the house and property where we call home.
It will take some time to liquidate my holdings, but Geoff Clevis has ninety days to unload my holdings."
"That is about all ladies and gentlemen. The remainder is full of legal talk. I know most of you would want to know what Phillip Street was worth. The figure is over ten million dollars."
You could have heard a pin drop, as my mother used to say, thought Moss. These people were in deep shock. What a strange turn of events. To a person, all mouths hung open. Even the lawyer had cracked a smile knowing what a turn of events Phillip Street left them with.
Jill Street was fuming and banging the table after a few minutes of thinking what had been said. Nobody paid her the least of attention. Each person there was wrapped up in their own thoughts. Moss thought, we play the cards we're delt.
Sean was driving, Wendy was staring out the window; Sean went over the evidence again while staring at nothing but a green forest of evergreens. Somewhere along the line he missed something that should have been evident and germane to the investigation. It would come to him sooner or later. What he needed to do was talk to the supporting cast such as Tammy White and Randy Rhine.
Moss decided that Randy Rhine would be next on his list to interview. Randy was a car salesman for Ford. He asked Sean, "Do you think Randy Rhine would be available for an interview this afternoon?"
"I don't see why not Moss. He's always hanging around the showroom. He's sales manager now so he rarely sells many cars to new customers. He's got a list of old customers a mile long. They call him up and order over the phone."
"I'll buy the pizza Sean as I would like to see Charley again. We never asked him if he saw Joel that Saturday night."
"Do you think Jill met up with Joel on that Saturday night?"
"Yes, Sean, I do………. Also I think it's possible she killed him, but I'm not sure about the murder at the Elks Club. I realize that the same gun was used, but it's a mystery yet to be solved."
Charley was happy to see Sean and his wife. He said, "So happy you're not in jail Chief. A small welcome back today as the pizza is on me."
"When you get a minute Charley would you come answer a few questions," asked Moss.
Charley nodded and went to work making their pizza. While it was in the oven, he came over and sat down. Moss asked, "Charley, we know about Jill Street picking up a pizza, but at anytime did you see Joel Street, her brother?"
"Now that you bring it up, I'm fairly sure I saw his car as Jill pulled out of the drive up window. I did notice she turned right and the car followed her. It was dark and I was a little busy on a Saturday night."
"Many thanks Charley. You've been a big help to this investigation," said Moss.
He left to fetch the pizza and Wendy said, "My God Sean, do you think she killed her own brother?"
"I'm not sure what to think Wendy. Moss here knows what he's doing and I'm too close to the events to be objective. I put my trust in Moss."
Silver Tongue Speaks
Randy Rhine, hand held out, greeted Sean with a typical salesmen approach: smiling with dead eyes. Randy kept looking at Moss as if the jailer had just arrived to cuff him and throw away the key.
Randy led them to his office. Moss noticed that there were so many awards on the wall it was hard to tell what color the wall was. Two small chairs sat in front of a tiny desk. Randy sat down and offered coffee. Both Sean and Moss declined. Sean said, "We're in a bit of a hurry Randy, so forgive the abruptness of our interview. Moss Adams has some questions so please bear with us."
Randy nodded and looked at Moss expecting to be asked if he killed either one of the Street's. Moss asked, tell us what you observed from around 11pm till the alarm sounded announcing some problem inside. I gather you were outside a lot of the time."
"There were a lot of coming and going in and out the door. We finally brought out a table to hold our drinks and a few brought chairs to sit on. I spent most of my time with chatting with whoever was around at the time. I did see and hear Phillip come out and he was teased by Sam and Nellie. He scurried off mumbling. Ah, and Nellie came out looking a little sad. I saw Sam go down by the bushes and walk to the back of the building, but knowing him he went back there to take a leak. You k
now…….. now it comes back…………Phillip came out one more time followed by Nellie. By then we were all have gassed. I saw them walk around the side and that is all I remember."
"I read in the report that you and Lynn Aspen came together. Why is that Mr. Rhine?"
Lynn and I remained good friends even after high school. He was looking for an old T-Bird and I got lucky and found him what he was looking for. He's single now and so am I. We kind of hang out together rather frequently."
"At any time that evening, after you arrived, did you see anyone leave and come back later," asked Moss.
Randy was puzzled by the question and looked to Sean for help. Sean said, "I think what he is asking Randy, did you observe anybody before dinner and or after dinner take leave and come back, say, an hour or more later?"
Moss could see the wheels turning in Randy's head. He looked up to God for the answer and said, "Well, Lynn took his leave for awhile. An old classmate asked about the classic T-Bird and wanted a ride in it. I guess they or he was gone for around an hour or so. I didn't pay much attention as I was talking to some long ago friends."
"How well do you know Loren Ripple,'' asked Moss.
"Sometimes me and Lynn will go for drive and find her down by the jetty painting. We kind of pretend it was an accidental meeting, but we now make it a habit to have lunch and talk about nothing much."
"Thanks for your time Mr. Rhine. You've been a big help."
Back out in the Chief's car, Sean said, "Let's go catch up with Blake and see how he's doing. He was trying to find out Joel Street's whereabouts on that fateful weekend."
Moss Sweetens the Pot
Back in Sean's office at the station, the three men sat talking about Joel and his movements on Saturday and Sunday. Blake had very sketchy information on the illusive Joel Street. Blake smiled and said, "I badgered his secretary until she gave up his newest girlfriend. Surprisingly, she lives here in town. I found her very willing to talk about him. Her name is Linda Forthright.
She told me they had a date to go out Saturday night and drive up the coast for the weekend. The last time he called was just before nine pm. By ten pm she tried calling his cell phone and no answer."
Moss was beginning to see what a complicated case this really was. He was glad he hadn't drawn any conclusions yet. First was the gun plant in Sean's car; then the wife with her bottle of poison; after that, Loren Ripple up to her neck in suspicion; and then there was Jill Street the daughter. She was being followed by her brother to wind up at the boat launch with a car that didn't float, and him with a bullet hole between the eyes.
The sixty four dollar question was how did the shooter, with the same gun, kill both father and son miles apart?
A Walk on the Beach
Moss and company decided to take an early break. Moss asked how to get to the beach and the jetty that Loren Ripple went to all the time. Sean drew him a map and the next morning, after a hearty breakfast, Moss drove to the coast. It only took about forty minutes and he was at the jetty where the river dumped into the Pacific Ocean.
The sky was cloudy and it sure looked and felt like rain coming. Moss had wind breaker, but no hat. A short trail led to the beach with the tide out. Sea gulls created the only sounds other than the constant roar of the ocean. Few people could be seen. One guy was fishing off the jetty was all he could see at the moment. Moss went walking and thinking.
With his head down he walked into a brisk wind. A slight crunching noise came from his leather shoes. After half an hour a big sea stack loomed up in front of him. Driftwood had accumulated at the high tide mark. Moss sat down out of the wind. He felt lucky to have such a nice place to view the beach out of the wind.
An hour later, butt sore from sitting, he walked back to the jetty and his car. A sprinkle of rain was starting and it looked this April day was indeed full of showers coming.
Moss left the small tourist town of the unusual name of Cranberry and drove up the new road to Bayville then back to the southeast to Riversville.
Moss thought it prudent to have lunch at his favorite restaurant. He felt a little guilty not inviting anyone but he wanted to chat with the owner. A few customers were already sitting down at before noon. Moss took his customary table next to the window and waited for Flow Comstock to come over. She didn't hire a waitress and the coffee pot was customer serve yourself.
Today's special was clam chowder with deep fried fillet of fresh caught fish. Moss forgot it was Friday and the day they were putting to final rest the two Street men.
Flow brought the soup first. Moss asked her if she had a few minutes to chat. She said "I sure do. My husband and the dish washer can dish put up the orders easy enough. What can I do for you?"
"I'd like to hear the local gossip about Loren Ripple and Sam Street back in high school."
"I'll make a long story short. I was a year ahead of them. Loren was head over heels in love with him and I think she still is. I doubt she could kill him, but stranger things have happened for sure. The Street daughter is not worth much as was the son. Now, back to Loren, she and Lynn Aspen we're very close after that incident. I think it remained so over the years and became even closer after his wife died. She's a wonderful girl and as you can see," she pointed to the wall, "I have a few of her paintings."
"Many thanks Flow. If you think of anything else, call me at Sean's house. Now do you think Phillip's daughter or wife could pull the trigger?"
"You don't beat around the bush, Moss," she said laughing. "The daughter maybe but no way the wife would have the will power to use a gun on her husband. Poison I can understand, but not a gun."
"Okay Flow, I'm going to eat this wonderful smelling chowder now and many thanks for your help."
Moss drove to the police station. He found both Sean and Blake in the Chief's office. They still wore suits because of the funeral. Moss sat down and Brenda handed him cup of coffee.
Sean said, "Nothing out of the ordinary Moss at the funeral. Well, maybe that is not right either. Not a person there shed a tear. Everyone went their separate ways after the service. The only ones left there was Loren Ripple and Lynn Aspen."
"I'd like to gather everyone that is directly involved in this case to meet at the Elks Club tomorrow at six pm. I'll provide a list for you Sean. I think, if we're lucky, we can wrap this case up and put it to bed tomorrow."
Both Blake and Sean stared at Moss who sipped his coffee with a twinkle in his eye. Sean started to smile and then he laughed out loud. Brenda rushed in to see what the noise was all about. With tears in his eyes, he waved her out the door. Blake still didn't get it, but he soon would.
Saturday Night Fever
The list Moss gave Sean included, Veronica and Jill Street, Bill [Willie] White; Sam Polly, Nellie Ponds; Randy Rhine; Loren Ripple, Lynn Aspen; Sean Pastor; Blake Edwards; Ed Lewis and Jon Ashworth.
A nice day greeted Moss and Sean Saturday morning. The showers were gone and May flowers were coming. Moss spent the morning making notes and the afternoon was taken up talking about Sean's job and of course Moss and his new roommate. He told Sean he liked the Phoenix area and with his former partner, felt right at home.
At five they left for the Elks Club. Sean had reserved the dining room for one hour. Uniform police were stationed at the exits.
By six pm all were present and a buzzing could be heard like a sewing circle of the old days. Tables were arranged so all could see Moss at the head of the table. Sean stood by his side and then with a nod from Moss, he rapped the table with his knuckles. Everyone sat down and stared at Moss.
He said, "I realize this has the markings of Agatha Christie grandstanding the amazing talents of her sleuth. I'm not doing this for showing off, but one of you here murdered two people."
He let that sink in as gasps and heads swiveled like crazy.
"As an eye for an eye is written; in my opinion, murder, or the deliberate taking of a human life is plain wrong. Nobody deserves to be killed just because he or sh
e wronged them at one time or another.
Now that's out of the way, let's take this one at a time. Let's start with the wife, Veronica Street. She was caught with a vile of poison and had actually put a small amount into her husband's drink. The authorities will deal with that at a later time. Did she shoot her husband and with the same gun, shoot her son? No, is the answer. I don't think so, but she and daughter Jill conspired to do away with Phillip Street. So did Jill kill her brother and father? Let's think about that at this point. She had motive and opportunity.
Let's continue and come back after we go around the room. Next we have Sam Polly. He had a knife and no gun. I think he wanted to put the fear of God in Phillip with the knife, but he didn't shoot him. Nellie Ponds. I commend you on the blackmail business years ago. I asked for you to support your friend Willie White.
Speaking of Willie White, I want to thank you for your research on such short notice. I became suspicious why someone wanted to murder Joel Street. I asked Willie to look at the past crimes committed that were never solved in this town and Baycity. It was discovered that three rapes had occurred and the perp never caught. All happened on April Fool's Day. I found out that day was Joel Street's birthday. I'll come back to that later.
Randy Rhine helped us solve this case. He's a solid member of this community. I'll tell you how he helped in just a minute, but first let's take a look at Loren Ripple and her sad case of high school days. She had the unfortunate luck to fall in love with Phillip Street. The evidence shows she and Phillip was seen together going around the back of the building shortly before the alarm went off by the screaming waitress
Our medical examiner, Ed Lewis discovered saliva on Phillip Street's penis, but not enough to get a DNA sample. That leads me to believe that Loren and Phillip were engaged in sex of some nature.
Deadly High School Reunion Page 6