Chapter 32
Dear Sophie,
I met a guy whose house is beyond the norm of messy or disorganized. I have watched hoarder shows on TV, and that’s where I think he’s headed. I really like him otherwise. How do I handle this?”
Want to Help My Honey in Chipmunk, New York
Dear Want to Help My Honey,
Hoarding is a very sensitive matter. Do not simply barge in and start cleaning up. You can talk to the hoarder with empathy and try to understand it from his perspective. Better yet, see if he’ll talk with a professional about the situation.
Sophie
Madison. There wasn’t a good reason in the world for Madison’s earring to be caught in the throw next to Hollis’s bed.
Even if she’d been having an affair with Hollis, she’d had the earring at the underground dinner. She could only have lost it there within the last few days.
Madison’s earring must have snagged on the throw when she set the foggers. She would have been working in darkness and probably couldn’t locate it.
Suddenly things began to fall into place. She’d been very close with the Habermans once. She might well have had a key to the house.
And she had probably been the one we interrupted when we walked Kelsey home when no one had electricity. Madison must have returned to look for her earring or the missing foggers.
Cindy’s story made sense now, too. She was afraid Gavin had killed his dad. To protect him, she rushed to the Habermans’ house, found the foggers, and removed them.
I couldn’t help snickering just a little bit at the thought of Madison returning for the foggers and not being able to find them.
I left the earring hooked onto the throw. My fingerprints were on it now, of course, but it was probably better for Wolf to see it where it had been.
Locking the Habermans’ front door behind me, I couldn’t believe I had yammered on and on with Madison at the coffee shop. The whole time, she must have been thrilled that I wasn’t on to her.
Mochie mewed and stretched when I walked into my own home. I called Wolf on my cell phone while opening a can of beef stew for cats. He didn’t answer. I left a message for him on his voice mail.
I retrieved fresh red and yellow tomatoes from the garden. They were still warm from the sun. I sliced one into chunks, added strips of leftover flank steak and baby spinach leaves, and made a quick vinaigrette with sweet balsamic vinegar for my dinner.
By the time I finished, I still hadn’t heard from Wolf. I called again and left another message. “I found evidence today at the Habermans’. Left it in place for you to see. I still have a key to their house. Call me if you need to get in the house.”
It had been a long day and I felt like I had hiked from one end of town to the other and back. I settled into my little den with a good mystery and hit the sack early.
* * *
I woke to glorious blue skies in the morning. I was a little surprised that Wolf hadn’t called. Maybe he had arrested someone for Hollis’s murder.
It was still early enough to enjoy sitting out back in the garden. After a long shower, I threw on a sleeveless blouse and denim shorts with a comfy elastic waist. I fed Mochie Tuna Delight, which lived up to its name. It reeked of tuna and Mochie seemed delighted.
I made myself a large mug of hot tea, slid Mochie’s harness on him, and carried them both out to the backyard.
Mochie was thrilled to prowl in the grass while I relaxed with my tea.
The gate creaked open. Mochie lifted his head from the scents in the grass. We watched as Fawn, a slender young woman, studied the back of my house. She clearly hadn’t noticed Mochie or me.
She took a few steps into the yard, turned around, paused, and took a deep breath.
In as gentle a voice as I could manage, I said, “Good morning!”
She started in shock. “I thought I was being so careful, but I didn’t even notice you.”
She walked toward me. “Who is this?”
“Mochie.”
Fawn bent to stroke him. I could hear him purring.
She looked up at me. “I talked with Bernie last night. He thinks pretty highly of you.”
“We go way back. Could I get you a cup of tea?”
“No, thanks. I can’t be here very long.”
“Who are you hiding from?”
She slid into a seat. “Parker.”
I sipped my tea and watched her.
“Bernie said I could be honest with you. But you should know that I’ll deny everything.”
What could I say? “Okay.” She was clearly afraid of Parker. He seemed so harmless. What had he done to this poor woman?
“I was in a car accident six months ago. The people in the other car didn’t have insurance and their little boy wasn’t in a car seat. His medical bills were unbelievable. He’s okay now, but they sued me for the cost of the medical care. It was crazy! If he had been in a car seat like he should have been, he wouldn’t have been injured. My little boy was in his car seat and didn’t get so much as a scratch. Anyway, the point is that I needed a lawyer, so I went to Parker.”
She swallowed hard. “He agreed to let me pay his bill in installments. I thought he was the greatest thing ever. So sweet, so kind. Always checking to see how we were doing. And then the ax fell.” Fawn looked away. “Parker came around and told me he could make my payments to him disappear if I would sleep with him. I threw him out of my apartment.”
“Good for you! What a scumbag.”
“The thing is that I have an incident in my life that I’m not proud of. I’ve worked hard to put it behind me. And if it came to light I wouldn’t be able to get a job anywhere. It was stupid—I was running with the wrong crowd by a mile and stole from my employer. I left town to get away from my problem. Then I met my husband and had my little boy, Trevor. I’m a different person these days. I’d still like to pay back every penny that I took, but my husband got sick and died. I’m struggling to make ends meet. Parker found out about the charges against me. And now he’s blackmailing me. But I set him straight. I saw his high-society wife at the underground dinner. And I let him know that if he presses me anymore, I’m going to tell her. I bet she wouldn’t be happy to know about his behavior!”
“She would be mortified. I gather you didn’t go to the police because of the charges against you?”
“What would happen to my baby? They’d sock me into jail and give him to strangers. I can’t let that happen to him. He’s everything to me!”
“Of course. I understand completely.” It pained me to say it. Parker let Bettina think he was being kind to his clients by cutting their bills, when he was pressuring them into bed. Hollis must have learned the truth. Had Hollis confronted Parker? Maybe Gage had, too, before him.
“I think you’re smart to avoid Parker. For the time being, anyway. Thank you for telling me what happened to you.”
“You won’t tell the police? Bernie said you wouldn’t.”
Ugh. Why was Bernie tying my hands this way? “I have to be honest with you, I think the truth will come out. Parker will be in a lot of trouble. If it’s any consolation, I don’t think you’re the only one who is going through this.”
When Fawn left, I changed into a skirt and slipped on some silver bangles. I walked down to Alex’s office. He was just striding out the door when I arrived.
He pecked me on the cheek. “I’m on my way to court.”
“Mind if I walk with you?”
“I would enjoy your company.” We started walking toward the courthouse.
“So let’s say I became your client.”
“Uh-oh. What did you do?”
“Mmm, I don’t know. Someone is suing me.”
“For what?”
“I drove my car into their house.”
“Were you drunk?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Are you kidding? Of course it matters.”
“We’re getting off track here. Just assume I need your brilliant legal expertise. But I struggle to pay your bills. So you propose a barter arrangement. You’ll reduce the amount of money I owe you if I play hanky-panky with you.”
Alex stopped walking and stared at me. “Is this some kind of weird game like I’m the cop and you’re the chambermaid?”
“You play some strange games. I think it’s the cop with the burglar, and the chambermaid with the duke. But you’re missing my point. What would happen if you did that?”
“Well, I would lose my license to practice law, and you would have to find another attorney.”
I smiled at him. “That’s what I thought. Thanks! See you later.”
“Sophie! Wait. What was that about?”
“I’ll tell you later. Good luck in court.”
I walked home slowly. I was in a pickle. If I told Wolf what Parker had been doing, even without mentioning Fawn’s name, they would surely pull all of Parker’s client records and ask questions. The trouble was that he probably was smart enough to hold some other sin over their heads. They might all deny everything, and Parker would get away scot-free.
Even worse, Parker’s scam was a major motive to murder Gage and Hollis. If they found out, they would have notified the Virginia Bar. It would have brought Parker and the whole firm crashing down. Hollis and Gage would have had to leave and try to salvage what little respect they could.
But if Parker had killed Hollis, then what was Madison’s earring doing on the throw in Hollis’s bedroom? I didn’t want to think that they had conspired to murder him. Had Parker used Madison? Had he convinced her to kill Hollis?
I didn’t want Fawn’s greatest fear to come true—her child placed in a foster home while she was in prison. But Parker had to be stopped.
Even when I was back at home making dough for chocolate chip cookies to put in the freezer, I wrestled with my conscience. If I told Wolf, Fawn would either run like Kelsey had, or she would have to deal with the consequences of stealing money from her boss.
Wolf showed up at my door when I was wrapping the dough in waxed paper. It was ready to be cut into cookies and baked when I needed them.
I motioned Wolf in and bit my tongue so I wouldn’t say anything scathing. It had certainly taken him long enough to show up!
I slid the packages of dough into freezer bags.
“Could I make you some lunch?”
“No, thanks. But I’d take a cup of coffee if you have it. I was up all night working on a different case.”
That explained the delay in responding. I could understand that. I poured us both a cup of coffee, the rich aroma filling the kitchen.
We sat down at the kitchen table, and with a heavy heart, I told him about Parker’s scam on young women who had a secret to hide.
In all the years I had known Wolf, I had never seen him so spitting mad. His face turned a shade of red that I had never seen on him before.
“Who told you this?”
“One of his clients.”
Wolf narrowed his eyes. “You’re not going to tell me who it is? We’ll need someone to testify. I can’t just walk into court for a warrant without some kind of confirmation.”
“Here’s the problem. Parker was smart about who he targeted. I suspect all these young women did something in their pasts that they want to hide. That gave him leverage over them. Now they have moved on. Some of them are single moms who worry about what will happen to their children if they go to prison.” I took a chance. “Is there any way you could wipe the slate clean on their past transgressions in exchange for their testimony?”
Wolf sat back and sipped his coffee. “We would have to take it on a case-by-case basis. If it’s a misdemeanor, we might be able to work something out. But if it were murder, for instance, then that would be entirely different. I’m sure you understand.”
I didn’t like it, but I did understand.
We walked over to the Habermans’ house. I unlocked the front door, flicked on lights, and led him upstairs to the master bedroom.
Even with the overhead chandelier on, it wasn’t easy to see the earring. It took us a couple of minutes to find it.
“It was just dumb luck that the sun was at an angle that reflected the earring yesterday.”
“You’re sure this belongs to Madison?” asked Wolf.
“Madison was wearing a pair just like that at the underground dinner. She said they were a gift from her husband. It’s true that someone else could have the same or similar earrings. I can’t quite reconcile finding the earring here with Parker murdering Hollis.”
Wolf nodded. “I’ll follow up. Thanks, Sophie. You’ve been a big help.”
After he left, I spent a few minutes watering flowers and making sure everything was in order before going home. Over my lunch of leftovers, I thought about Parker and how to get evidence on him. As I mused about his victims, it dawned on me that Kelsey may have been one. If Parker discovered that she was wanted for murder, he may have tried to blackmail her into bed, too.
The problem was getting someone to testify against him. Very briefly, I considered making up a legal problem and paying him a visit. But he would wonder why I hadn’t gone to Alex. Hmm. I could invent something that I wouldn’t want Alex to know.
But wouldn’t that be some kind of enticement? I wasn’t sure if it was legal. Parker was on the library board. Maybe I would see him in the evening.
In the afternoon, I walked down to see Alex again.
“Two visits in one day?” he asked.
“I want to be sure I understand the technicalities of attorney privilege.”
“Okay.”
“If I came to you because someone was suing me, but I happened to have committed a crime several years before, would you have to turn me in?”
“I’m under an obligation to keep your secrets.”
“So then, let’s say I want to be a witness in a case against someone else. Could you help me clear up my previous crime?”
“Depends on what it is.”
“But you wouldn’t turn me in?”
“Probably not.”
“That’s not very helpful.”
“I can’t help someone commit a crime, for instance.”
“Okay. I’m going to send someone to you. Wolf seemed to think he might be able to cut her some slack.”
“Thanks. What’s her name?”
“Hmm, if she’s not your client and Wolf comes asking you questions, then you might have to reveal her name.”
“Sophie, you’re driving me a little nuts here. Wolf can cut her some slack, but he doesn’t know who she is?”
I grinned at him. “That pretty much sums it up. I’ll let her tell you everything, if she decides to trust you.”
“Sophie, don’t forget there’s a statute of limitations on most crimes. Whatever she did may not be a problem anymore.”
“Except for murder, right?”
“She murdered someone?”
I said no, but I was thinking that Kelsey had.
I borrowed a sheet of paper from him and wrote a note to Fawn.
We desperately need a witness against P. The police cannot move forward without one. They may be able to help you with your previous problem. Please contact attorney Alex German. I can vouch for him personally. He will look into your issue and may be able to help you resolve it. Don’t worry about the attorney’s fees. You would be helping other women if you could talk to the police.
Sophie
I folded it in fourths and tucked it into my purse. “Thanks, Alex. If she comes in, I’ll cover her legal fees.”
His eyebrows raised. “That’s a problem. But since you really want me involved in this, I’ll see her pro bono, at least initially. If you don’t tell me her name, how will I know it’s her?”
“Oh, you’ll know when you hear her story.”
I walked around his desk and planted a big smooch on him. “Thanks, Alex.”
As I walked out, he said, “Whatever possessed me to get involved with Old Town’s biggest snoop?”
I waved to him on my way out of his office and headed straight to Fawn’s apartment.
I let myself into the building and walked up the stairs. The neighbor’s door flew open. She stood in her doorway, her eyes suspicious slits. She held her chin raised and crossed her arms over a sagging bosom.
I smiled at her and slid my message to Fawn under the door. “I’m glad Fawn has you to watch over her,” I said, and hurried down the stairs.
I walked home leisurely, pausing to gaze in shop windows, but everywhere I looked, I thought of the murders. Would we ever know the connection between Parker and Angus? Or had Angus’s death been unrelated to Hollis’s?
At six o’clock, Alex showed up at my house bearing a giant bag of Chinese takeout.
He walked into the kitchen and set the bag on the table. “That was a fascinating client you sent my way.”
“Oh? I thought you couldn’t talk about clients.”
“She asked me to tell you that she’s in the clear. Her crime was a petit larceny, and the statute of limitations has already run. She’s been worried about it because that idiot Parker lied to her and misled her into believing that someone would take her kid away.”
“So you can talk about Parker?” I brought dishes, napkins, and chopsticks to the table while he took boxes of goodies out of the bag.
“I can promise you that Parker is toast.”
“Iced tea or jasmine?” I asked.
“Definitely iced. It’s too hot for anything else.”
We sat down to eat. Alex wasn’t a super chatty type, but he talked like crazy. “I’m stunned. I had no idea. In fact, it never would have occurred to me to be so heinous. It shows a totally evil side of him that I don’t think any of us knew existed. He’s twisted!”
“Trula is in for a big shock.” I picked up a piece of spicy Kung Pao chicken with my chopsticks. “I bet the police reopen Gage’s death. Don’t you suppose Gage was on to him first?”
“Probably. Which proves that he’s getting more and more desperate. No wonder Fawn is afraid of him. She has seen his dark side.”
“Should I call Wolf and put him in touch with you?”
Alex grinned. “I already phoned him. He came to the office.”
“So wheels are already in motion!”
“Thanks to you.”
“No, I think we’ll have to thank Fawn for being brave,” I said. “Without her, nothing would go forward.”
After dinner, I changed into a simple navy-blue sheath style dress and added dangling pearl earrings. If I was going to help the library with an event, I probably ought to look the part.
At eight thirty that night, I realized that the days were getting shorter. We had passed the summer solstice, and it was hard to believe that darkness would be falling a little earlier every day. I left the kitchen light and outdoor lights on, locked the doors, and set off with Alex.
“Are you sure you want to walk over there alone?” he asked. “I don’t mind going with you.”
“An escort? I don’t think that’s necessary. Parker doesn’t know that we’re on to him. It’s Fawn who needs to be careful.”
He squeezed my hand. “Call me if you change your mind.” He turned off toward his home, and I headed for the library. I had walked about four blocks when I began to wonder if someone was following me. I made a point of walking on King Street, which buzzed with people and was well-lighted.
I stopped a few times and pretended to study store windows, but I didn’t notice anyone suspicious on the busy street. I decided I was being silly. Besides, I now knew that Madison or Parker had killed Hollis. All I had to do was keep an eye out for them. Nevertheless, I stuck to busy streets.
It wasn’t until I neared the library that I was certain someone was tailing me.
I dodged behind an open gate that was surrounded by a lush delicate cypress vine thick enough to hide behind. Pressing my back against a brick wall, I watched as someone scurried by. I was about to leave my hiding place when a second person rushed past me.
Either I was losing my mind, or something very peculiar was going on. I leaned to the left just enough to watch as they continued. Maybe they weren’t following me at all. But now I was intrigued. What were they doing?
I left my hiding place and darted from shadow to shadow as I followed them.
The first figure appeared to stop and look back. I stopped, too, well away from the beam of the streetlight.
The second person darted to the side and waited until the first one continued on his way.
Trying to hide the light from my cell phone, I called Wolf’s cell phone.
This time he answered. “Hi, Sophie. What’s up?”
I whispered, “I’m on my way to a meeting. I thought I was being followed, but it turns out that someone is following someone else. It could be completely harmless, but I’m getting a little worried about them.”
He took down our location and promised to send a squad car by.
I had barely slipped my phone back into my purse when the first person appeared to turn right. The second person rushed forward. I picked up speed so I wouldn’t lose them.
Although they were in a dark shadow, there was no mistaking that the first person reached out and dragged the second person off the sidewalk.
Nor was there any mistaking the chilling scream that followed.