“We need a lot more than two letters if we’re going to go after Lyle Clarke,” Ryan said.
“That’s true,” Heather admitted. She had gone toe to toe with Lyle Clarke before and had not been able to prove his involvement in the illegal dealings or in the murder he commissioned. She knew she would have to have concrete evidence that he couldn’t wiggle out of in order to convict him of his many crimes.
“But,” Heather said. “Maybe tomorrow I’ll crack this code.”
Chapter 11
“Did you hear that?” Amy asked.
She and Heather were both at Phillip Ruth’s house. They had been searching for something to help them break the code, but so far had not found anything to illuminate them. They had found another picture of the glamorous older woman on his mantelpiece and assumed that he did know her, at least at some point in his life.
Most of his house was unremarkable. It was neat and tidy but consisted of simple pieces. The colors were muted, and they had the sense that Phillip Ruth had lived in this bachelor’s pad for a long while. It looked like a happy enough place, though still humble.
Then there were some recent additions. They found lavish jewelry in brand name boxes, and expensive perfume on a table. There were also brochures for European and tropical cruises on his mail table that looked like they arrived last week.
They were right next to their discovery when they heard movement at the door. Was someone breaking in to rob Phillip Ruth’s treasures? Or was it the killer coming to remove something incriminating?
Heather and Amy moved to opposite sides of the doorway. Heather took her Taser out of her purse. Amy picked up the nearest heavy item, which turned out to be a lamp. They heard footsteps in the room next to them. They were coming closer. Heather knew they had to act quickly to keep the element of surprise. She silently counted down from three so that Amy could see her lips move.
Then they jumped out.
The woman they faced screamed and took a few steps backward. Heather lowered her Taser. She didn’t think she would need it if the older woman decided to fight instead of swoon as was seemingly likely.
It was the woman from Phillip’s photos, and she was slowly regaining composure. Amy sheepishly put her lamp weapon back down where she found it.
“I was about to ask what you’re doing here, but what’s the point?” The woman asked. She positioned herself on the couch in a dramatic fashion, looking every inch a beauty queen even at sixty. “Men are pigs. Even ones as seemingly wonderful as my dear departed Phillip. So who are you? Even younger lovers? Or children he lied about not having?”
“Ms.?”
“Miss Evers. Trudy Evers. Depending on who you are, you might be able to call me that. I’m reserving judgment on what I’ll call you.”
“I’m Heather Shepherd. This is Amy Givens. We’re private investigators. We’re working with the police on solving Phillip Ruth’s murder.”
“In that case, you may call me Trudy.”
“What are you doing here, Trudy?” Amy asked.
“I have a key,” Trudy said. “For the last several months, I was practically a tenant here. Phillip and I were together so often.”
“And now that he’s gone, you’re visiting because…?”
“Because he told me he had gifts for me. He told me he didn’t have children. If he has family, they’re distant relatives. Why should they inherit what was meant for me? I know we weren’t married, so I don’t have any rights in this regard. But we didn’t think we had to rush into anything. I waited my whole life to find a man I found worthy. I didn’t think a few more months would matter.”
“Miss Evers,” Heather said. “Do you know anyone who would want to hurt Phillip Ruth?”
“No, I can’t think of a soul. He was so kind to everyone. And he was so generous. Especially to me.”
“So you’re saying the jewelry and the perfume is all for you?”
“What can I say? He was my sugar daddy.”
Heather and Amy looked at one another. It was strange to hear an older woman use such a term, but it did certainly seem like Phillip Ruth was spending his money on her. But where did the money come from?
“Your sugar daddy?” Amy asked.
“That is the term they use, isn’t it?” Trudy asked. “We enjoyed one another’s company. But he enjoyed spending money on a younger woman.”
Heather and Amy didn’t react, so Trudy felt the need to say, “I’m twelve years younger than him.”
“Do you know where his money came from?” Heather asked.
“No,” Trudy said. “He never made a big deal about it. I assumed he just had money. I thought he didn’t spend it around the house and just saved it for a rainy day. I know that he also worked just to get out of the house.”
“It seems like he needed more money than that,” Heather said.
“What are you implying?” Trudy said, rising from the couch. “Phillip was a good man.”
“Then why did you instantly suspect him of wrongdoing when you saw us in the house?” Amy asked.
“Because,” Trudy said. “I suppose I don’t want to admit that he’s gone. It might be easier if he weren’t as perfect as he seemed.”
“We are very sorry for your loss,” Heather said.
“I suppose that the manner in which he was killed surprises me,” Trudy said. “Maybe he was involved in something untoward. I don’t understand why he was by the side of the road when he was attacked. What was he doing there?”
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Heather said. “He might have been looking for something. Is there anything you can think of that he might have been searching for?”
“Not by the side of the road. He had been searching for the perfect vacation. Last week he started talking about how we were going to go on an exotic trip, and how after we returned we could do anything that we wanted. It was so exciting and inspiring. I suppose it’s not going to happen now though.”
“Last week he started to make big plans? He hadn’t done that before?” asked Heather.
“He had spoken vaguely about how he’d love to travel with me and how we could lay in the sand together. But he hadn’t made any plans. He had bought me jewelry before but didn’t mention anything so expensive until last week. I assumed that he had been waiting to make sure I was the right woman for him. That I wasn’t just a gold digger.”
Heather thought about it. Phillip’s expenses and his change in banking habits had changed after he started dating Trudy. However, something new had happened last week. It was something that made him think he could travel.
“I’m sorry, but I have to ask this,” Heather said. “Where were you the night he died?”
She didn’t really think that Trudy Evers could have physically attacked Phillip, especially if she cared about him as much as she said, but Heather had to be thorough in her questioning. The significant other was always a suspect, so she needed to hear the woman’s alibi.
“Because Phillip was working, I went out with a girlfriend. I wanted to show her my new necklace from him.”
“Thank you for telling us. We’ll just have to double check that information with her.”
“I understand,” Trudy said, giving her the necessary contact information. “You always suspect the lover. However, I could never harm Phillip. I adored him, and he cherished me.”
“Thank you for answering all our questions. The police will have to keep the jewelry for now, but if everything checks out I’m sure it will be given back to you,” Heather said.
“I do appreciate the jewelry,” Trudy said. “But that’s not what I’ll miss. I’ll miss the man who would dance with me. I’ll miss the lively conversations at dinner. I’ll miss whispering sweet nothings into his ear.”
“It must be interesting whispering into a hearing aid,” Amy commented.
“A hearing aid?” Trudy said. “Phillip didn’t need a hearing aid.”
Heather raised an eyebrow. This was impo
rtant information, but she still wasn’t sure what it meant yet.
Chapter 12
Dave took a moment out of his walk to scratch an itch behind his ears. His foot hit the right spot and solved his itchy ear problem. Heather watched him, thinking that she knew how he felt. This case felt like an itch that she wanted to scratch and get rid of. However, even if she were able to get her foot behind her ear, it wouldn’t solve her problem.
Amy also looked lost in thought as she walked Cupcake beside her.
“Are you thinking about the case or Jamie?” Heather asked.
“Jamie,” Amy admitted. “He’s working late again tonight. Apparently, the local shelter is having an adoption event, so they’re cleaning all the dogs up and helping them look their best. Hopefully, it will help them find their forever homes.”
“You don’t like that he’s working late?”
“No. I’m supportive of it. He supports my crazy schedule. I just wish that we were able to get together and talk things out. It’s not the same over the phone.”
“Is he still upset about Phillip’s death?”
“It still bothers his that we saw him right before he was killed and couldn’t do anything to help him,” Amy said. “But I’m trying to convince him that my catching the killer helps restore justice.”
“It will if we can figure out who killed him,” Heather said. “There are so many unanswered questions.”
“I don’t think he minds that we become embroiled in solving crime,” Amy thought aloud. “I think it just bothers him that murders are happening nearby. He really is a caring man. He cares about strangers and animals too.”
“And of course, he cares about you,” Heather said.
“How could he not?” Amy joked. “And maybe he’ll still even want to move in with me.”
“It will happen when it’s meant to happen,” Heather said.
Amy stuck her tongue out at her bestie. “If I said that about solving a case, you’d bop me on the nose?”
“Bop you on the nose? What does that mean? It sounds like you’re training a dog.”
Dave gave her a concerned look. She pet him on the head and by the nose to reassure him.
“Okay,” Amy said. “So let’s discuss the case seriously. Who would have wanted to kill Phillip Ruth?”
“I wish I knew,” Heather groaned.
“I don’t think it was the sugar baby Trudy Evers, or the other waiter Pierre,” Amy said. “Who could have been there?”
“If we could only decode the notebook, I’m sure we would have our answer. But we don’t know how to decode it.”
“Let’s focus on what we do know,” Amy suggested. “What are the bits of the case that don’t make sense?”
“That Phillip Ruth was liked by everyone he knew. That he changed his spending habits and suddenly had more money. That he only wore a hearing aid at work. And that he didn’t need the hearing aid.”
Heather paused. Suddenly the gears were clicking into place.
“I know that look,” Amy said. “You figured it out.”
“Part of it,” Heather said. “I think I know where Phillip was getting the extra money.”
“Where?”
“From C.D. and L.C. and others.”
“And who are they?”
“Customers that he was blackmailing,” Heather said.
She started walking faster, the more confident she became. Dave happily jogged beside her. Amy and tiny Cupcake were struggling to keep up.
“It makes sense. Phillip didn’t need the hearing aid. He was using it to eavesdrop on the customers at L'oie D'or. His coworkers mentioned that he would stop and wait in the corner for periods of time. His boss said he would come in early to appreciate the ambiance. He was actually listening in on the customers. He would write down notes in code if they were doing anything blackmail worthy. And he must have found out their contact information from their credit cards when they paid their bills.”
“So someone he was blackmailing killed him?”
“Yes. That’s why he went to that wooded area. It must have been where he told the people he blackmailed to leave the money. He was checking his watch because that must have been the time he told them to leave the cash. He arrived at his pick-up point with his flashlight to find the money. He thought he was alone because he didn’t see a car.”
“But the person he blackmailed was lying in wait.”
“Exactly,” Heather said. She stopped walking when she realized that she was forcing the rest of her group to keep pace and how tricky it was for the kitten. She picked Cupcake up and gave her a hug. The kitty looked untroubled and started to climb up on her shoulders.
“So we know how and why,” Amy said.
“We finally figured out the motive,” Heather agreed.
“But we still don’t know who,” said Amy.
“We’ll just have to crack the code,’ Heather said, determinedly. Then she started walking again.
Chapter 13
Heather stared at the code, willing it to make sense. She repeated it to herself, “ZEEZHQ RDBQDSZQX, ZEEZHQ RDBQDSZQX.”
“Okay,” Amy said. “You sound like an insane person. You need to stop that.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just trying to figure out the code.”
“It can’t be something that complicated if he could write it out at work,” Amy mused. “It needs to be something simple.”
“Great. So it’s something simple that I can’t figure out.”
Amy rolled her eyes and Heather knew that she was taking her frustration out on her friend.
“I admit it,” Heather said. “I’m being cranky. Why don’t I bring out some donuts and see if they improve our mood?”
“If you’re being cranky leads to donuts, I’ll accept it every time,” Amy joked.
They were in Heather’s kitchen, examining the code again. Heather always kept a stash of donuts in the house in case company visited or if her family was in need of dessert. She served them on the table, and Amy happily accepted one.
Heather shook her head. Amy was probably right, but the code was eluding her. She needed a fresh set of eyes on it. Ryan was still at work. After Heather had explained her theory to him, he had begun trying to get warrants and records from the restaurant so they could compare customers’ credit card numbers to the notes in Phillip’s notebook.
She thought Eva and Leila might be helpful with the code. They sometimes did the crosswords and other puzzles in the newspaper. However, they were out for the evening. They had decided to go out to a fancy restaurant even without dates and seemed set to have a grand time.
Lilly was in her room doing homework, but Heather thought she could take a snack break if she wanted one.
“Lilly?” she called. “Do you want a donut break?”
Lilly was there almost momentarily, beaten only by Dave who was speedy when it came to donuts. Heather laughed. She pulled a chair out for Lilly to sit down on and set a donut out for her. Then she fed the animals a snack as well. Dave was a happy dog, and Heather allowed the good feelings to push away her frustrated thoughts.
“How is homework going?” she asked.
“I’m almost done,’ Lilly said. “But this donut will give me the strength to finish strong.”
“She’s learning from me how to justify snacks,” Amy said. “But I guess that’s part of what aunts are for.”
“What are you working on?” Lilly asked, looking at the codes on the table.
“It’s part of the case we’re working on,” Heather explained. “We need to crack the code.”
“Can I help?” Lilly asked. “Nicolas and I sometimes write letters in code to each other. Just to see if the other person can crack it. I’m pretty good.”
“Thank you for the offer, sweetheart,” Heather said. “But we don’t know what the man was writing about. It might be something scary.”
“I could still help,” Lilly said. “I received my own threatening letter before and ended u
p okay.”
Heather didn’t even want to bring up that memory. She hated that Lilly had felt so scared at the time. It also angered her that Lyle Clarke had been orchestrating the sending of the letter.
“Why don’t we let her try?” Amy said. “We’re having no luck with it. We’re not sure that she would either. But if she does, we could find out who the killer is.”
“If you really want to try,” Heather said, wavering. “You can. But you have to promise me that if you read anything upsetting or scary that you’ll stop.”
Banana Fudge Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 50 Page 5