Chapter 28

 

The next morning Fred was in the station hallway when he was approached by Jim. Jim asked if he had heard about the jewel robbery on Longboat Key. “No,” Fred said, “I’m afraid I’ve been busy with other matters.”

“Well,” Jim said, “there’s not much to tell except one of those society people was robbed of over $500,000 worth of jewels. We just got the call and were waiting for you to assign someone to the case. You probably remember the woman, Judith Emperor. She is the one that donates a million each year to the care and maintenance of feral cats.”

“Tell you what,” Fred said, “you deserve a break today. How about you go out to see Mrs. Emperor and then brief me on what you find out.”

While Jim was gone, for what seemed like the hundredth time, Fred went over the facts of the case. Fred had a strong gut feeling that someone beyond Slivers was responsible for the massacre. Nothing really pointed to that conclusion and it was incompatible even with the plausible multiple personality theory of Maureen’s. As far as motive, Slivers did not seem to have any motive to kill any of them. Even his selection of the bank was out of the ordinary. The closest bank was just across the street from Slivers’ office. He in fact passed that bank on the way to the County Bank where he had committed the murders. There had to be some reason Slivers had chosen the County Bank. The fact that he had passed other banks on the way to his killing spree would tend to mean Slivers did not have a vendetta about the banking industry or the financial world in general. Otherwise, he would have selected the bank closest to his office.

Fred had just finished his baloney and peanut butter sandwich and was sipping his no calorie, no caffeine, and no sugar soft drink when Jim popped in his office. Jim said, “I still don’t understand why you don’t just drink water, since you’re getting absolutely nothing from that concoction.”

Fred ignored the comment and asked, “How did you make out at Longboat Key?”

“Well,” said Jim, “my preliminary investigation is not over since the fingerprint people were still at the house taking prints when I left. Mrs. Emperor said she hadn’t even been out of the house for a week; and the last time she was out she only went shopping, and took a short side trip to see her therapist. So she has no idea how her jewels could have been stolen from her home.”

Thinking Maureen might have some connection to this therapist, Fred asked Jim, “Just out of curiosity, what was the name of Mrs. Emperor’s therapist?”

Jim thought for a second and then said, “I don’t know. I believe she said a Mr.—gee, I can’t remember, didn’t seem to have any bearing on what happened.”

Fred said quizzically, “You mean he goes by ‘Mr.’? Then maybe he’s not even a medical doctor?”

Jim responded, “No, I guess not—oh, I remember now, her therapist is a Mr. Ford.”

Fred found it strange that someone without a degree could pose as a therapist. Oh well, he thought, I’ll ask Maureen about that. Laws and rules are dynamic and maybe someone without the requisite education can practice mental therapy on a limited basis. At any rate that potential illegality pales by comparison to what we have in front of us with these two murder cases. Maybe a decade from now, when we have time on our hands we will check it out.