Lana sat down next to the elderly gentleman. “I think she would prefer you wear the brown ones. They complement your sweater.”
Mr. Henderson nodded and slowly pulled on the socks and his footwear.
“Can I call someone for you? Do you have children or siblings?” Lana asked.
“The police called my son for me. An embassy worker will help him arrange a flight over. I can’t leave Margret here in Budapest all alone.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
The paramedics knocked lightly on the door. “Mr. Henderson, would you like to ride with your wife?”
“Yes, please.”
As Lana watched the paramedics wheel Margret away, all she could think was, and then there were eight…
23 Causing a Heap of Trouble
“There is no way on God’s green earth that Sally killed anyone, let alone Carl. What kinds of drugs are those Hungarians smoking? Is medical marijuana legal there, too?”
“Not that I know of, Dotty,” Lana said. Her normally serene landlord was livid. Through her phone’s tiny screen, Lana could see Dotty pacing around her living room, making tight circles on her oriental rug. The pets had enough sense to stay on the perimeter. Seymour had jumped up on top of the couch and was watching Dotty move through his half-closed eyes. Chipper and Rodney both lay with their muzzles on their outstretched legs, waiting for her to calm down enough to pet them.
“Someone else on that trip must have done it. You used to be a journalist, you have to investigate this! Didn’t you win some fancy award for proving a young man didn’t kill that police officer? Work your magic for Sally! Sorry, I didn’t mean to reference you ex-husband. You know what I mean – find out who really did it before poor Sally spends the rest of her natural days in an eastern European prison! It’s too late to save Carl. But you have to bring Sally home.”
“I don’t know, Dotty. The police interviewed everyone after they realized Carl was murdered. As much as I want to believe Sally is innocent, there isn’t anyone else who would have had a reason to kill him.”
“Bull honkey. It breaks my heart to hear that Carl had a wandering eye, but Sally was no killer. Someone must be lying. Or that Hungarian gangster did sneak onto the boat and hurt Carl. But I know in my heart that Sally never could have done this.”
Dotty and Sally had been friends for ages. Lana didn’t know Sally nearly as well, of course, but had talked to her several times at Dotty’s place, especially after the two ladies started up Doggone Gorgeous and Purrfect Fit. She was one of the nicest, kindest people Lana had ever met. Which was probably why other people tended to walk all over her. Sally didn’t seem to have a mean bone in her whole body.
Perhaps that was the problem. Didn’t they say that serial killers were often docile people who snapped? Maybe this whole business with Jess pushed Sally over the edge. But could she really have killed Carl? She did push him off the boat and did nothing to help rescue him. If Lana hadn’t heard Carl floundering, he would have died during his first dip in the Danube. So what was preventing Sally from pushing him in again?
As Lana thought back to how Sally had resisted those two officers trying to handcuff her, she realized the older lady was probably more capable than she let on.
But if it wasn’t Sally, who else could it be?
Jess was a home-wrecker, there was no denying that. But a murderer?
Lana sucked up her breath, not wanting to broach the next subject, but needing answers. “Dotty, do you think Carl had much money or any possessions another could inherit?”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
“Jess said Carl had written up a will making her the beneficiary. And that he promised to leave her his yacht, If the Shoe Fits. But Sally said it’s her boat.”
“Oh Lord, what games was that boy playing? Carl always was the type to live beyond his means. No, Carl didn’t own anything. Heck, I let him stay in one of my apartments for free whenever he was in Seattle. I sure hope he didn’t promise it to Jessica. I don’t want any trouble from that rabble-rouser when she gets back.”
“I expect she’ll give it a try. She’s already threatening to hire a team of lawyers to sort this all out.” Lana looked away, almost afraid to tell Dotty the rest. “There’s more bad news. Carl also told Jess that he was the owner of Wanderlust Tours.”
“He what?” Dotty screamed so loudly that Seymour jumped off the couch and sped out of the room. Rodney began to whimper as Chipper ducked under a chair.
Dotty bent down and patted her dogs’ heads, reassuring them. “I’m sorry about scaring Seymour, but I cannot believe it. After all I did for that man! Even in death he’s causing a heap of trouble.” Dotty shook her head so violently, the entire screen shook.
“You listen to me, there is no way that Sally did this! You have to help my friend, at least until I can get her a lawyer,” Dotty said, her tone furious, as she pointed a pudgy finger at Lana through the phone.
“I know you’re upset, but I don’t know how much I can really do for Sally. Her legal team will be able to do far more than I.” Lana could see Dotty starting to protest. “But I promise I’ll start looking into the guests’ backgrounds and potential motives.”
“Good. I’m going to call my lawyers and see what they can do. Tomorrow being New Year’s Eve isn’t going to speed the process up, but I reckon we’ll have someone there to help Sally within twenty-four hours.”
“Oh no, I completely forgot about New Year’s Eve!”
“I know I’m asking a lot, but you’re going to have to figure out a way to help Sally and give our guests a New Year’s Eve to remember, Lana. They did pay a pretty penny for it, and I don’t like giving refunds.”
“Oh, man,” Lana muttered. With everything going on, she’d forgotten that it was the end of the year. Dotty was right; making sure her guests enjoyed the New Year’s celebrations was priority number one. Since they hardly knew Sally, Carl, or the Hendersons, their deaths and arrest weren’t their concern.
“I’ll do my best, starting with getting them to dinner on time. After I get them back to the hotel, I’ll go online and see what I can find that might help Sally.”
“You’re a star, Lana. I really appreciate you helping me out.”
“You’re welcome. Give my Seymour a big kiss for me, will you?”
“You bet, hon.”
24 Lana’s To-Do List
As soon as Lana finished her call with Dotty, she rounded up the rest of her group and moved them to their final destination on the tour. Their hotel was situated in a gorgeous art deco building that Lana would have loved to explore. Unfortunately there was no time to do so. They were so late checking in, Lana had to ask her guests to reassemble in the lobby as soon as they’d freshened up, so that they wouldn’t miss their dinner reservations.
When she ushered them into the taxi, Lana heard Helen say to Rebecca, “I would kill my husband if he treated me like that – cheating with another right under my nose. Did you know that Sally proposed to Carl, and not the other way around? Sally has been so unlucky in love, I bet she meant to kill him the first time she pushed him into the Danube. She must have finished off the job when he returned to the boat.”
Lana couldn’t hear Rebecca’s response, but based on Helen’s satisfied look, it was what Helen hoped to hear. Lana chose to tune her out. Sally’s immediate future lay in her hands, and she had no idea who the real killer could be.
The dinner and folk dancing were a blur. Lana couldn’t keep her mind on the performance or food; all she could think about was any possible connection between Carl and Margret Henderson.
After they were back in the hotel and all the guests’ needs had been met, Lana changed into a pair of soft flannel pajamas and snuggled under the duvet. She balanced a notepad on her lap. Lana stared at the blank page, unsure where to start. It had been so long since she had investigated anyone.
In large loopy letters, she scribbled “TO-DO” at the top of the page. After
a moment’s hesitation, she wrote down a list of action items: “Investigate Tom’s business and Helen’s background. Jess – what’s her story? Mrs. Margret Henderson – medical condition and connection to the others? Fabulous Five? Contact Jeremy.”
Her old editor Jeremy should be able to help her with some of the details. Other than Christmas and birthday cards, they hadn’t had much contact since they’d both been fired by the Seattle Chronicle. Yet she knew he still felt guilty that he had been able to find a new job straightaway, while she floundered to find her feet again in another profession. Maybe if she sent him a list of the passengers’ names, he could look for dirt on any of them. Given the time of year, Lana hoped Jeremy was still checking his email somewhat regularly.
Before approaching Jeremy, Lana needed to search online first so as to not waste his time. She figured she’d get one shot at this, and then his feeling of guilt would be sated.
Once her laptop was warmed up, she started with the easiest. The Hendersons were exactly who Dotty said they were. Harold Henderson and Dotty’s last husband had co-owned a seafood processing plant that had made them millionaires. Both Harold and Margret Henderson were active members of several charities. They had even founded one to help low-income families send their children to college. No wonder those two were so fit and with it – they were still incredibly active in their community.
Helen Roberts was the owner of Lake Union Yacht Rentals and had married Tom ten years earlier. After a bit more digging, Lana discovered that Helen had inherited the boat rental company and two more businesses from her father three years ago. Shortly after his father-in-law’s death, Tom had been named the rental company’s director. A few months ago, Helen had sold the other two businesses and invested the proceedings into the rental company, dramatically expanding their fleet of luxury yachts. Her name was also listed on several charities’ boards, but none that the Hendersons were involved with. They also lived in different neighborhoods, and the Hendersons owned no watercraft, as far as Lana could tell from the online information at her disposal. Lana made a note to ask Mr. Henderson about that, if she ever had the chance to speak with him again.
Tom Roberts’s background was less auspicious. Before his marriage to Helen, he had founded several small companies in a range of fields, all of which had filed for bankruptcy years ago. It is as if he has the kiss of death, Lana thought. There was even a small article about his misfortune in the Seattle Chronicle, dated eleven years earlier. Yet three years ago, he was named the director of a multimillion-dollar boat rental company, one Helen’s father had built up from scratch. Helen must have known that her husband was unsuccessful as a businessman. Had she made him the director simply for tax reasons? She was so domineering, Lana wouldn’t be surprised if Helen was pulling the strings from behind the scenes. Though why she would hide her involvement was beyond Lana. Helen seemed obsessed with her social standing and making certain that everyone knew how rich she was.
Her fellow tour guide, Carl Miller, was an enigma. Lana found three references to him being arrested for insurance fraud and passing false checks, but all were several years old. Dotty had mentioned that Carl had been struggling with his gambling addiction for many years. He must have been stealing from and swindling people in order to fund his habit. From what she was reading, Carl had been a true con artist. Lana hoped Jeremy would be able to find out more about Carl’s criminal background. It might provide them with clues as to who might want to hurt him. Lana knew she couldn’t ask Dotty about it. That woman loved Carl like a son and was blind to his faults, as most mothers are. Lana hoped that Dotty would be able to accept whatever information she found out about Carl, even if it was bad.
Sally Simmons didn’t exist, as far as social media and the internet were concerned. She had never been arrested, nor done anything noteworthy enough to have been reported on.
Other than her own social media, Lana found only one mention of Jess online. Her name was listed in the caption of a photo taken at her work during last year’s Christmas party. Jess was standing on top of the bar, kissing its owner full on the lips. According to the caption, the woman standing off to the side with her hands on her hips, glaring at them, was his wife. The article’s author even made a snotty reference to the threesome and the owner’s sexual escapades. Somehow it seemed fitting. Jess was a true gold digger.
With reluctance, Lana typed in the names of the Fabulous Five, hoping they were innocent bystanders in this mess. She didn’t know what she would do if she discovered Frieda or Sara were somehow connected to Carl. Soon she could put her mind at ease. Lana could find no connection between Carl and any of the five friends.
So where did that leave her? With a whole lot of questions and no real answers. She sure hoped her friend Jeremy could fill in some of the blanks.
25 A Visit from the Budapest Police
When the police inspector called her hotel room, Lana was half-asleep and groggy. His request to come downstairs to the lobby woke her right up. Lana threw on her clothes, hoping Sally was with him and being released.
Instead of Sally, Jess stood next to the inspector. They were deep in conversation. Based on Jess’s defiant expression, she wasn’t pleased.
Lana stood back and gave them room until Jess stormed off and ordered a daiquiri at the bar.
“Ah, Miss Hansen, thank you for seeing me at this late hour.” He led them over to a corner of the lobby. “Please, have a seat. I have a few questions about Sally.”
“Is she okay?”
“No, she is not, which is making it difficult for us to take her statement. Tell me, does Sally have reason to be depressed?”
“Yeah, you could say that. She had just found out that her fiancé had been messing around with Jess. I think it’s safe to say her world fell apart.”
“That would explain why she pushed Carl into the Danube.”
“Yes, but she wasn’t trying to kill him. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, not premeditated,” Lana insisted.
The detective gazed at her with narrowing eyes, yet said nothing.
“Why are you asking?” Lana pushed, hoping to find out when Sally would be released.
“She changed her statement about her pills. She says that she was going to kill herself by taking an overdose. She’d crushed them up and mixed them with water, but changed her mind and dumped them down the drain instead. Do you believe that this is plausible?”
Lana groaned internally. She should have never left Sally alone. “I guess it is possible. But what changed her mind?”
“She didn’t want to give Carl the satisfaction.”
“And you don’t believe her?”
“No, that’s the problem. I do believe her. She didn’t want to make life easy for him by disappearing, but she couldn’t stand to see him with Jess, either.”
“And that’s why you think she killed Carl and tried to kill Jess? That’s ludicrous. My ex-husband cheated on me, and I didn’t try to kill him.”
“Perhaps if you’d had the opportunity…”
Lana glared at the inspector. “Are you going to keep Sally in custody or release her?”
“The autopsy results have led us to believe that Margret Henderson was poisoned. However, we won’t know with what until we get the results from the toxicology screening back. Until we do, we will need to keep Sally in our custody.”
“And how long will that take?”
“Four to six weeks.”
“This is ridiculous! Sally didn’t kill Carl or Mrs. Henderson. You aren’t even searching for another suspect.”
The detective smirked. “Of course we are. But until I know how Mrs. Henderson died, I cannot allow Sally Simmons to return to the United States.”
Lana stood up, her arms trembling with rage. “I’m tired, and it’s late. I look forward to seeing you again, when you release Sally.”
The investigator stood up and left without another word.
26 A Liar and a Cheat
After th
e investigator left, Lana noticed Jess had gone outside to smoke a cigarette. Though Lana wanted to crawl back into bed, she wanted to talk to Jess even more. That curiosity led Lana out into the bitter cold.
Before she could say a word, Jess conceded, “Carl wasn’t rich. He lied to me. The boat wasn’t his, and neither was the tour company. I can’t believe I trusted him.” Jess mashed her cigarette out with her heel before lighting another.
Lana rubbed at her arms. “Did Carl really tell you that he owned them both?”
“Of course he did. Why do you think I followed him to Budapest?”
“Why did you? He’d already changed his will in your favor. What more did you want from him?”
“I thought if we spent two weeks together, I could persuade him to marry me.”
“How did you get him to change his will, anyway?” Lana asked while rubbing at her cheeks.
“I told him it was over unless he made an honest woman out of me. He’s the first one I’d landed who wasn’t already married. This was my shot. He told me he just couldn’t do it. He’d had too many ex-wives, and he knew how marriage changed things. So I kicked him out. Two days later he came crawling back with his will in his hands, showing me that he’d made me the primary beneficiary. He told me he’d rather I inherit everything, instead of his ex-wives.”
Lana said, “Funny, he was never married.”
Jess sighed and flicked her cigarette into the street. “It was all lies. If I had known that, I wouldn’t have borrowed my mom’s credit card to pay for this trip. She is going to kill me when I get home.”
“You broke Sally’s heart,” Lana said through chattering teeth.
Jess leaned in so close that Lana could smell the nicotine on her breath. Her mouth twisted into a grimace. “She should thank me. I saved her a world of hurt. He would have sucked her dry and left her as soon as her bank account hit the single digits.”
Death on the Danube Page 12