“Damn, Nick. You did good.” Bernie sat back in his chair and looked across the desk at his friend. “How did you get these DVDs?”
“I ran into the jogger who found Mindy Davidson. While I was talking with him, he happened to mention he knew a guy who’d recorded a video of the body before the police got there.” Nick put his hands behind his head and flexed his back. “I tracked him down and just lucked out getting the porno flick.”
“Why’d he give it to you?”
“While he shuffled through a stack of DVDs looking for the one he made after videoing the body at the graveyard, I happened to see two with the same cover.” Nick held it up. “See the people in brightly colored wigs? They caught my eye, and I asked him about them. He said he’d inadvertently ordered two copies, and if I’d give him twenty bucks, I could have one of them.”
“You shelled out the twenty because you thought it might be the one the Carter woman told us about?”
“I hoped it would be. And of course it is, although it’s almost impossible to identify anyone in the film.”
“I think the woman in the bright red wig is Mindy Davidson.” Bernie picked up a slice of pizza from the open box on the desk.
“So do I. And of course, the man in the dark green mask is Max Garvey.”
“I couldn’t pick out Mrs. Carter, though. Could you?”
“She’s the one in the orange get up.” Nick reached for another slice of pizza.
“How can you tell?”
“I noticed the scar on her elbow when we talked to her. It showed up in the film.”
“Damn, I must be slipping. I missed that.” Bernie laughed.
“I didn’t mention it when we questioned her because it looked like something she probably picked up years ago.”
“The DVD got a little shaky when the guy in purple appeared on camera. When he was off camera, the film seemed more focused and the shots more professional.”
Nick drank from his canned soda. “I think he was doing most of the filming when he wasn’t on camera, don’t you?”
“Probably. It’d be my guess he’s the one the Carter woman called ‘the count’. She did say he wore purple and did most of the camera work.”
Nick frowned. “I sure wish we knew who he is.”
“How’d the guy in South Port get this flick?”
“Said he got it from a mail order catalogue. Somebody’s making money from those little sex games at the condo complex.”
“Think it’s Garvey?”
“Could be, but it also might be somebody who found out what was going on and cashed in on it. I’m betting on the count. On the other hand, it might’ve been Mindy herself. Or the two of them could be in it together, as Mrs. Carter suggested.” Nick wiped his mouth with a paper napkin and tossed it into the trashcan.
“I couldn’t catch up with Garvey yesterday while you were gone. Seems he’s out of town for a couple of days. His wife said he was going to some kind of seminar.”
“Did you question her? She works with Vernon Armfield. You knew that, didn’t you?”
“Yes. She has a pretty good job there, according to her.” Bernie took another piece of pizza.
“Comptroller, she said.” He looked at Bernie. “Do you think she knows about the sex games?”
“I don’t think she has a clue. She’s in love with her husband and makes no bones about it. She didn’t have many kind things to say about Mindy or her way of life, either. She even said Max told her that if he wanted to play around, he wouldn’t do it with Mindy Davidson. He’d be afraid of her because of the number of men she’s slept with.”
“You’re right. It doesn’t sound like she knew about the games.” Nick drank the last of his soda.
Gordon Jones walked into the office. “Talked to a buddy of mine on the force. They have the fingerprint report back from the Armfield burglary.”
They both looked at him. “Let me guess,” Bernie said. “The jewelry was clean.”
“In a way, it was. They didn’t find any prints except those made by Rebecca and Vernon Armfield. They voluntarily gave their prints to the police earlier so they could be ruled out in Mindy’s condo. We know Rebecca didn’t do it.” Gordon half smiled at Nick. “She was out of town with you at the time of the murder.”
“That means Vernon could have,” Nick said.
“Not likely,” Gordon said. “His office staff swears he was at work most of the day. He had a luncheon meeting with some lawyer friend and was back in the office by the time the call came about the aunt.”
“Did you get the lawyer’s name?” Bernie asked.
Gordon looked at his notes. “Willard Brookmeyer.”
Nick jotted it down. “Do you guys think the two murders are connected?”
“Without a doubt,” Bernie said.
“Probably,” Gordon mumbled.
“I think so, too. Millicent Davidson made waves. She spouted a lot of hot air, but she may have hit on something the killer didn’t like.”
“What did she say, Nick?” Gordon asked.
“She told me she thought Vernon killed Mindy. We know that can’t be true because he didn’t have time to get rid of the body. She also told me he was having an affair with Mindy. I think that might be true.”
He chose not to share information about the DVD he and Rebecca had found just yet.
“What makes you think so?”
“The way he answers questions. The bastard is hiding something. I just wish I could figure it out.”
“Your gut feelings have been right before,” Gordon said.
“What about Max Garvey? Do you think he could have done it?” Bernie asked.
“He could’ve killed Mindy, but I don’t think he’d have the balls to kill Millicent. Not in the Davidson family home in broad daylight,” Nick said.
“But you’ve got to admit it takes balls to run the sex games. And most of that was done in the daytime.” Bernie looked at both of them.
“That’s true,” Nick and Gordon said almost in unison.
“What about the other things you brought back from South Port?” Bernie asked.
“Since we’ve been working closely with the police on this, I sent a couple of things to them for prints. I know it’s a long shot, but I hated not to check them out. The glasses were an expensive brand. If someone knew they’d lost them, they’d look around for them. They were pretty much covered with leaves when I spied them, meaning they’d probably been there for a while. I’m sure most of the visitors to the graveyard were there to see the grave where they found Mindy. I picked up the glasses in the back of the cemetery, and that probably explains why someone else hadn’t found them.”
“Did you bring back any pictures?” Gordon asked.
“They’re here on my desk somewhere. I’ll find them in a minute.” He looked at his two friends. “I think the scrap of cloth came from a sheet. Maybe one used to cover the body. As for the other items we found, most were routine things anyone could lose. Of course, I want to get it all checked out.”
Bernie got up. “I’ll be right back. I think I have some notes in my office we need to talk about.”
“Did they do an autopsy on Millicent Davidson?” Nick looked at Gordon.
“Yes. Her neck was broken. The ME says the fall caused her death.”
“I see.” Nick looked directly into Gordon’s eyes. “You know I have to ask you something.”
“I know. I saw you and Bernie watching the film.”
“Well?” Nick’s eyes bored into Gordon’s.
“Yes, damn it. It’s me. How did you know?”
“Didn’t you take a bullet in your side while you were still on the force? Just before you resigned and came to work for me?”
“I did, and I’ve got the scar to prove it.” He laughed a nervous laugh. “And you saw the one on the man in the black mask.”
“I saw it.”
“I thought maybe the wig would disguise me enough so nobody would ever recognize me.” He looked away from his friend. “Who else knows?”
“Nobody. Not yet, anyway.”
“You’ll keep it quiet as long as you can, won’t you?”
Nick nodded, and Gordon went on. “What do you want me to do, Nick?”
“I want you to level with me. I want to know everything you know about this sex ring. I want to know how deep your involvement is. And if you had nothing to do with Mindy Davidson’s death, I want you to distance yourself from this case as far as you can before somebody else catches on.”
“All right. We can go out for a beer after work tomorrow, and I’ll tell you everything. I’d go tonight, but Tammy has plans.” He walked away, then came back. “I still have some vacation time coming. Maybe I should take it.”
“That might be a very wise idea.”