Chapter 32

Store away bills, private papers, and valuables before potential buyers start touring your house.

The next morning, after our fruitless search of Ted’s office, Nita and I stood in front of his office building again.

I checked my watch for the third time. We were early for office hours, but if we could catch Ted before his clients started to arrive, we might be able to get into see him and, with any luck, get the information we needed. “I have a feeling this is going to be a waste of time, just like last night. Ted probably won’t tell us a thing about what’s in the will.”

“It’s not like it’s a state secret.” Nita chewed on her thumbnail, something she only did if she was nervous or embarrassed. “If somebody else had a copy, they could tell us, without breaking client confidentiality. Unfortunately, Ted had always been close-mouthed, even when we were kids. Must come from the Polish side of his family.”

“Who else could have a copy? Maybe Ian? If so, it might have been among the things he left at the B&B.”

“Unfortunately, his things are no longer there. Neil said Detective Spangler sent him out there to get Ian’s belongings. Maybe you could ask Detective Spangler if he found a copy of the will.”

I grimaced. “We can forget that. Even if he did, could you in your wildest dreams imagine Detective Spangler letting me read it?”

“Maybe, if you two got along better.” Nita shook her head as though it was a mystery to her why I didn’t get along with Detective Spangler.

It wasn’t a mystery to me, especially after I couldn’t convince him Tyrone was incapable of murdering someone. I kept thinking of all those days Tyrone spent in jail.

“I don’t think Ted is going to tell us anything. And your stupid idea of us getting into his office last night had to have been your worst idea yet.”

“Well, you went along with it. If we’d found the information we needed, you would now be thinking it was a terrific idea.” Nita began chewing on her other thumbnail. She must be feeling more nervous than she was letting on.

“I went along with your idea only because we were desperate,” I admitted. “Now we still have to convince Ted to share the information with us.”

Nita pondered that for a few seconds. “That may be difficult. Even as kids he wasn’t good at sharing.”

I threw up my hands, wanting to give this up as a lost cause.

“Okay, let’s go.” Nita started toward the front entrance of the building. “We’ll just have to brazen it out with Ted and see what he’ll tell us. Too bad I don’t have some family history to blackmail him with. He was always so proper.”

Reaching the second floor, we turned the corner only to find Ted standing at the door of his office. He must have come in from a back entrance. With his key in hand, he was ready to unlock the door.

“You guys are up early. What brings you here?” Ted unlocked the door and switched on the lights. “My secretary hasn’t even arrived yet.” He looked around him, as though noticing something was different but unable to put his finger on what. Probably the fact that his secretary’s desk was no longer covered in food remains.

Nita didn’t waste any time. “We wanted to see you before you got busy. Do you have a second?”

Ted eyed us suspiciously. “Why do I think this is going to give me heartburn, even before my first cup of coffee?”

We followed him into his office, which looked all too familiar. I spotted a rag we had dropped there the night before and used my foot to push it under a chair. Could the police find fingerprints on cloth?

“Sorry to bother you, Ted, but we are looking for some information. You’ve heard about Damian Reynolds’s murder? Nita and I want to help Monica Heller, who’s accused of his murder.”

A pained look crossed his face. “Yeah. Heard you guys caught her in the act. Sure am glad I’m not representing her.” Ted put his briefcase on his desk, switched on his desk lamp, and sat down. We took the two seats in front of him.

I sat forward in my chair and was sorry I did when it emitted a loud squeak. “We didn’t see Monica stab him. We only saw her with a knife in her hands. But that’s beside the point. To help her, we need to see if there’s a connection between Damian Reynolds’s murder and Ian Becker’s murder.”

Ted put his head back, stared at the ceiling, and then sighed. The sigh of someone who wanted to tell us we were crazy but too polite to do so.

“Why do you two keep getting involved in things like this? There is no connection.”

Nita huffed. “Maybe there is but no one has made that connection yet.”

I hoped if I could get his attention focused on me, he would forget the antagonism he and Nita had built up as cousins. “According to his phone records, Ian called you when he got into town. Can you tell us what he had to say?”

“Yes, he did. But we only talked long enough to set up an appointment for him to come in. But he never came.”

I sensed Ted was going to be out of patience with us soon. “Let’s make it simple. All we want to do is find out who else was named in Doris Becker’s will and if someone could have benefitted from Ian’s death. Then we can follow the trail to see if there could be a link between the two murders.”

“A will names the beneficiaries. But it depends on how a will is written as to who would get his portion if he died—his heirs, if any—or if his share is to be divided among any other heirs named in the will. And that’s all I’m going to say.” His face reddened when he realized what he had just insinuated. So there had been more heirs named. But that still didn’t help us know who they were.

Nita went in firing both guns. “Come on, Ted. You always had a thing about Monica. Don’t you want to see her proved innocent?”

“I didn’t—”

“You did.” Nita looked smug. She’d found something to use. “When we were in school and you drove me anywhere, how was it we always passed Monica’s house on the way?”

I almost felt sorry for him. Having Nita as a cousin couldn’t be easy. “Ted, you’ve got to help us so we can help Monica.”

Ted reached for his briefcase, opened it, and pulled out a folder. “I’d like to help you out, Laura.” Ted tapped on the folder. “But what’s in Doris Becker’s will is confidential.”

So that’s where the will had been. He had taken it home the night before. No wonder Nita and I couldn’t find it.

I tried to hide my frustration. “Yes, but your client is dead. And her nephew, Ian Becker, is dead. The information will eventually be made available to the public when probate is filed. Couldn’t you just speed up the process so we can see who the beneficiaries are now?”

“Think of Monica sitting in jail—wearing orange and not looking her gorgeous self.” Nita was digging deep.

We heard a door close outside Ted’s office.

“Excuse me for a minute. I need to see if that’s my first appointment.” With that he got up and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Nita jumped up and reached across the desk for the folder.

“Nita! You can’t do that.”

“Watch me.” With that, she opened the folder and flipped through the pages, paused, and then just as quickly returned the folder.

She’d barely sat down again when the door opened. For a second I was certain my heart had stopped beating, and I wasn’t sure it would start again.

“Okay, guys, I’ve got a client waiting, so I need for you to leave. Sorry I couldn’t help you.”

“Ah, Ted, think of Monica.” Nita was such a natural actor. She really should try out for the Louiston Players.

“Come on, Nita. Ted’s a busy guy.” I rushed her out of the office. “Thanks for your time, Ted. If you change your mind, please let us know.”

We raced down the steps to the lobby, not waiting for the elevator.

“Nita, you nearly gave me a heart attack. What if Ted had come in and found you going through the folder?” I was out of breath and about ready to faint.

Nita started to giggle. “What are you so nervous about? If Ted hadn’t wanted us to look at that folder, he wouldn’t have left it there. As I said, he always had a thing for Monica. He’d do anything to help her, even if she didn’t know he was alive. Men.”

“What’d you see?”

“You aren’t going to believe this. In addition to Ian, Doris named two other people. Emily Thompson and Brandon Thompson.”