| |
Fred and I sat in our truck the next morning, waiting for Kari at her lake house. She'd called me back the night before right after I’d discovered Michelle’s husband, Dave, was Katherine’s brother. Bonnie had looked so confused when I told her that I drew a diagram on my whiteboard for her. Seeing a diagram of the complex relationship helped me, as well.
At the top of the diagram was Matt and Katherine. Below that was Croix and Katherine on the right and Matt and Kari on the left. Below Croix, I put Croix’s sister and Johnson. Then, I added Michelle and Dave Rivers below Matt, with an arrow from Matt to Michelle to show their relationship. The final piece of the puzzle fell into place when I drew a two-headed arrow between Dave and Katherine with the label "brother and sister". Bonnie had laughed and asked if everyone in the Ozarks was related.
I told Kari I had good news for her but couldn’t explain it over the phone. I’m sure without drawing her a picture; I know it did me. All she really needed to know is that Michelle’s husband, Dave, is Katherine’s brother, and Johnson probably lied in his report because he is married to Croix’s sister. It probably wasn’t necessary to draw her a picture of that part of the puzzle, but I had an ulterior motive for wanting to meet Kari in person. I wanted to see her reaction when I brought up the watch.
We arrived at the house early, so we had to wait in my truck. Fred wanted out after ten minutes. I would have preferred to stay in the cab with its nice, warm heater, but I suppose that was why he had to get out. Poor Fred didn’t have the luxury of taking off his thick coat—he must have been roasting.
Fred headed for the back of the house and toward the lake the second he escaped the truck. The last thing I needed was a wet and smelly dog on the ride home, so I yelled at him to get his butt back before he went for a swim. To my astonishment, he listened to me for a change. He didn’t come back, but he did stop. He laid down on his belly, lowered his head, and put his tail between his legs, acting like I’d threatened to horsewhip him. I’m sure if anyone was watching, they’d be on the phone to the local SPCA, reporting me for animal abuse.
I started to walk over to him to let him know I wasn’t mad when I heard someone behind me. In an instant, I knew what was bothering him. “Hi, Kari. I didn’t see you coming.”
“What’s wrong with your dog? You didn’t beat him, did you?”
Kari was wearing a green smock and pants to match. I smiled and tried not laugh. “No, he’s been afraid of anyone who even resembles a vet ever since an accident I had several years ago. I didn’t know you were a nurse.”
She shook her head and went over to Fred, bent down, and rubbed his head. “You don’t have to be afraid of me, big fella. I promise you I won’t stick any needles in you. I’m not a vet, and you can tell your master I’m not a nurse either.”
“I’m sorry, Kari. I just assumed...”
She cut me off. “Because I’m a woman?”
I had a flash of what Bonnie would have said if she’d been here. The words, chauvinist pig, came to mind. It was a good thing she’d chosen to sleep off her hangover instead of coming with us. “Really, Kari, I feel like such a fool.”
She smiled, and her eyes actually twinkled. “I’m playing with you, Jake. You’re not the first person to make that mistake. I should have told you I’m a dentist and own my own practice in town. I was running late because of complications with a root canal. I hope you don’t mind—I didn’t have time to change, but I would have if I’d known Fred’s fear of vets.” She stood up and nodded toward the house. “What say we go inside and you can tell me what’s so important you had to tell me in person.”
***
WE WERE CLOSER TO HER back door than the front, so she let us in the house through the lower-level door. The house sat on a gently sloping lot and had a walk-out basement. It was a lot like my home back in Colorado, only bigger. Fred should be glad I didn’t let him swim or he’d be sitting in the truck.
Kari invited us both inside. She'd said it was too cold for Fred to be outside. I could get to like this gal. Any woman who likes animals has a special place in my heart. We took a seat in the family room, where we watched her put a pot of coffee on. The house wasn’t pretentious or decorated with overly expensive furniture, but it wasn’t filled with garage sale finds either. Fred had overcome his fear of her uniform shortly after she offered him a doggie treat. I couldn’t for the life of me understand why keeping the case open meant so much to her, now that I saw she didn’t need the insurance.
“Well, Jake, you said you had some good news for me. Did you find a connection between Rob and Michelle’s husband?” She'd returned with two steaming hot cups of coffee she placed on a heavy cherry wood coffee table surrounded by four equally heavy leather chairs. She also brought another treat for Fred.
“Yes, but I find it hard to believe you didn’t know.”
She'd taken the chair next to me instead of the one across the table. Fred sat between us, so it was a little awkward when she reached over and put a hand on my arm. “Know what, Jake?”
“Michelle’s husband, Dave Rivers, is Katherine’s brother. They’re brothers-in-law.”
She withdrew her hand. “You’re kidding?”
“You didn’t know?”
“Until two days ago, I didn’t even know about Michelle. Of course, I didn’t know.” She looked at me with wonder in her eyes. “I knew you’d come through for me. You have no idea how much this means to me, Jake.”
“Ah, well, I did have a lot of help from Bonnie. It was something she heard at church that put me on the right track.”
Kari’s lips turned down, and she sat stiffly back in her char. “Bonnie?” She relaxed and smiled again. “Oh, the old lady whose house you’re working on. How’d she help?”
Too late, I realized I’d put my foot in my mouth again. How could I tell her Bonnie had heard Matt was having an affair? “Just some gossip about a fire because of faulty wiring. That’s what gave me the idea to call Croix.”
I mentally crossed myself, hoped I wouldn’t be punished for lying, and continued. “Then, once Croix came out, she got him to open up.” This time I bit my tongue before telling her how she'd done it by talking about the kids.
“She sounds like a remarkable woman.” She said it with less enthusiasm than a stiff at the morgue. I swear I saw her stifle a yawn.
“That’s only the half of it. You should have seen her at the jewelers with the Rolex.” Kari’s reaction confirmed my belief in Lazarus; people can be raised from the dead after all.
This stiff was wide awake, sitting forward in her chair with eyes larger than any stuffed deer's head I’d ever seen. “Rolex?”
“Yeah, I was going to ask you about it. Fred found one out by your dock the other day when he found the wire cutters. I didn’t think it had anything to do with anything, thought some fisherman must have lost it trying to catch crappie—you know how those guys go from dock to dock because that’s where crappie like to hide.”
“I doubt if a fisherman would wear a Rolex. Those cost a fortune.” She was staring so intently that if her eyes had been a laser, she would have burned a hole in my head. “You mentioned a jeweler?”
“Yeah, we took it to a jeweler to get it cleaned up—you wouldn’t believe what a mess it was from sitting in the water so long—that’s when I saw the inscription on the back and thought of you. But that’s before I knew you were a dentist. Turns out, the watch is a fake, probably not worth what I paid to have it cleaned. I can’t imagine you buying a fake Rolex for your husband. Would you?”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t even know where to buy a replica.” Kari didn’t die on me again, but I could feel the air get a lot colder. Mention of the watch blew out any romantic spark she might have felt earlier. Now, she kept her distance as though I had leprosy.
“I didn’t think so but wanted to check before I got it fixed. Like Bonnie said, it probably fell off the wrist of a fisherman. The jeweler said someone had replaced the band with a cheap imitation.”
“I’d be willing to buy you the real thing, Jake, if you find evidence Deputy Johnson colluded with Rob and filed a phony report. That should be enough for the insurance company to stop payment.”
“I think I’d rather have the cash and keep this watch. It’s not like I’ll be invited to meet the queen any time soon. I need a fancy watch as much as Fred needs a diamond-studded collar.”
Mention of Fred made her smile again, and she reached down to pet him. “You’ll be a big hit at the Westminster Dog show with that collar, won’t you Fred?”
The big ham pushed his head against her hand and smiled. Kari didn’t know it, but I was sure he thought he was going to get another treat. That wasn’t going to happen. Kari acted like she’d never seen the watch, which meant she wasn’t the K in the inscription. It was time to leave. Fred and I let ourselves out the back.
I had hoped Kari would claim the watch and tell me how it found its way into the water by her dock. Now, I was fairly sure that was a dead end. I knew only two other women with names starting with K. Kelly wasn’t on my suspect list so that left Kathrine Croix, Matt’s ex-wife. I didn’t have a clue how I could interrogate her.