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Her next words were a pretty good indication of their Black Widow theory.
“And, that was?” Matt asked.
She lowered her voice. “And that, my friends, was his grandson. A man who adored his grandfather and apparently had seen clear through her. He insisted that his grandfather was in unbelievable health and had just had a checkup three weeks before his death, but the cops didn’t want to listen.
She took a sip of water, then continued. “Meanwhile the grieving widow collected her inheritance and disappeared. As we all know, she moved to Los Angeles using yet another alias. After months of trying to get the police to investigate, he ordered a private autopsy. The medical examiner had determined that it was a natural death and would not waver, nor would he order an autopsy. So, according to the accounts I found written by an investigative reporter, because the grandson was convinced something was off, he paid for the autopsy and the body was exhumed. He was right. The private pathologist was very thorough. Traces of morphine were identified in the skeletal muscle which he ruled to be the cause of death. He also discovered small puncture marks, confirming that the morphine had been injected. Enough of a dose to kill the old man.”
Margaret removed a file from the leather tote bag at her feet and placed it on the table. She tapped the file with her index finger and said, “All of the articles I found by the investigative reporter are here. The prime suspect was none other than Briana Hanley, or Barbara as you knew her. Although the cops searched, she was not found. Also, because to all intents and purposes she vanished, my feeling is that she doesn’t really know the cops were looking for Briana Hanley. Back then she was a blonde. One more thought, Cami. Danny said you mentioned she must have had a lot of plastic surgery. Perhaps it was not just to look younger, but to significantly change her look each time.”
Garrett looked at his friend with admiration clearly evident. “Maggie, you outdid yourself. This certainly was worth waiting for. I’m guessing some of the things in that file folder were what held you up tonight.”
“And you guessed right. The last piece of information should really be of interest to you. I’d found little indications but couldn’t confirm them until a contact of mine in San Diego dug deeper than I could. She may have claimed to be a CPA, and perhaps she really was, but as a young woman Barbara Overbeck graduated from the School of Nursing at San Diego State University. She moved to Cleveland, Ohio where, as Barbara Overbeck, she pursued a career as a registered nurse. It didn’t take too long for her to marry her first husband—a fifty-three-year-old doctor she met at the hospital where she worked. She became a nurse practitioner while married to him, so she knew plenty about medicine and how you could kill someone and make it look natural. It appears he was her first victim, and her first significant inheritance. Shortly after his death, as in the Hanley case, she disappeared never to be found.”
The last bit of information threw a whole new spin on the confusion surrounding the death of Al Shady and disappearance of Barbara. Questions flew around the table, many of them aimed at Margaret. Finally she had to say, “I’m happy to be able to be a part of this. I may not have all the answers, but as you might suspect I do have an ulterior motive. The more I got into it, the more I knew when this whole thing finally comes to a conclusion we are likely to uncover things that are real shockers. I don’t know if we’ll be able to find Barbara or what happened to her, but I do know that when the dust settles Danny and I will be able to write one Hell of a book. Probably true crime rather than treating it as fiction. I’m in for the long haul if you will have me. Are you going to share this with the detective on the case?”
At first there was silence as everyone digested what it would mean to share Margaret’s information with the police and whether they even wanted to. Cameron got up from the table and returned with a seven-tier chocolate cake she had picked up at the Gelson’s Market, plus a cake server, a sharp knife and plates for everyone.
As she sliced and served generous pieces of the cake, even to those who protested, she said, “It’s always easier to think while devouring chocolate. Dig in. Here’s my thought. They have been so closed with us, they would probably write us off as nosy amateurs. With our combined skills and contacts—Danny, you’re a professional, Kate you’re an investigator, and none of us are real amateurs because we all have some solved cases under our belts. Even you, Colonel. I say we carry on by ourselves. When we have more answers, it will be soon enough to gloat while we present them with facts.”
Garrett said, “That’s all well and good, Cami, and I pretty much agree, but it could get dangerous. We really don’t know what we’re getting into and this could just be the surface. Is it smart for us to go it alone or to bring them in for some measure of protection? There’s still the question of Al’s murder. I know she couldn’t have pulled it off by herself. That is, if she wasn’t kidnapped and is actually part of it. Maybe, despite her history, she really didn’t cause his death. It bothers me that it wasn’t typical of her style. Making it look like natural death. He was beaten, his body hidden for a few days, then dumped in the canal. She would have had to have help. Strong help. Still, I’m not saying we shouldn’t do this by ourselves. We just need to be aware of what we’re getting into.”
The discussion went on for another hour, exploring all the pros and cons. Halfway through, Clarence ventured out from his place under the table and went to each of them sniffing and looking for a treat. When no one gave him anything, he padded into the living room and headed for the fireplace. Carrying out his normal routine, he turned around a few times and settled in one of his favorite spots.
They finally decided who would do what and were all in agreement that they would not bring the police into their private investigation just yet. Between Garrett, Kate and Margaret’s resources, they were sure to move forward. They still didn’t know about Barbara’s remaining aliases. However, they were sure she had substantial financial security set up under each one, or even under a name unrelated to any of them, in case she had to run as she had from the past murders she most likely committed. Not only did she appear to be a skilled murderer, but one with the resources to have many sets of false ID. There was still a possibility she had been kidnapped, but that theory was growing dimmer by the day.