Chapter 31

“It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment.”

-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet

I turned right onto 47th from Cottage Grove and merged north onto Lake Shore Drive. Traffic was a little heavy, so it took me about a half hour to exit at Chicago Avenue and turn right on Franklin. I love Kiki’s Restaurant. Zagat describes it as “a terrific, traditional French bistro in food and décor.” Today I could use a little of both.

I was a little late as usual. At Kiki’s, the valet took my car. Valet parking - another thing to love at Kiki’s.

Morgan looked up from his Perrier and scowled. “I should’a known you couldn’t make it on time. You never do.”

“Sorry, but I know you’ll forgive. I spent some time with Tom. He’s out of the coma now.”

“Oh, that’s good news. You’re forgiven.”

A middle-aged waiter wearing a white apron and a nice smile handed us menus. I ordered a glass of house white.

I undid my napkin with an exaggerated furl. “Morgan, I love this place. The lights are low, and the food and service are marvelous. And you look like the cat who stole the cream.”

“If I do, it’s because I’m getting a dose of that little electric jolt we cops get when we’re on the scent. I dropped everything to look for Nurse Mary Holder, and now I’m convinced more than ever that something’s not right.”

“What did you find out?”

“Our mutual friend has literally vanished. Poof. Gone. No trace of her since the last interview the cops had with her. No one’s seen her in over a year. No one knows where she’s gone. No forwarding address at the apartment she rented, and all her accounts were closed out including credit cards and bank accounts. She sold her car. I found the bill of sale and called the guy who bought it. He’s still got the car but has no idea where she went.”

“What about the Nurses Registry?” I asked. “If she’s anywhere she’s probably working as a nurse. Can’t they track you through your license?”

“Sometimes I think you could be a good detective, DD.”

“And other times... what?”

“Don’t ask.”

Our waiter, Jerry by name, served my wine. Morgan told him we’d order in a minute or two, then picked up the thread.

“To answer your question, yes, there is a Nurses Registry. I checked it out right away. She never renewed her license. No record of any change of address either.”

“So the game’s afoot, heh? Did you check out Facebook?”

“Believe me when I say Mary Holder is totally off the grid. I even went back and looked at video from some shopping areas, like Watertower. Nothing.”

“So she’s moved somewhere. Where?”

“But if she moved, DD, we still should be able to locate her. She’s either newly married, dead, or deliberately gone missing. And if it’s either two or three, there could be some connection between her and the Dowager’s fall.”

“And a possible connection between the Dowager’s fall and Tom Joyce’s fall?” I asked.

“DD, I think this might be enough to reopen the case on the Dowager’s death.”

“Hold on for a minute. I don’t want to get you involved in this. Think about it. It could really be a bad career move for you. Anything connected to me right now is a bad career move. I’m toxic with the Chicago Police Department.” I then proceeded to relate some of what had happened over the past few days. I didn’t tell him about my breaking and entering or the arrest, but I did tell him in detail what Mrs. Toller told me about the Dowager and her actions before her tumble down the stairs. Finally I told him about Mrs. Toller’s murder, but not that I was there or that I was the principal suspect.

Morgan’s eyes got bigger and he clenched and unclenched his hands, but he didn’t say a word until I’d finished.

“Mrs. Toller’s murder hasn’t come across my desk yet, and I was so involved in this search, I haven’t been reading the papers.” He looked chagrined.

“That’s terrible news,” Morgan said. “Tell me what you know.”

“I got a chance to talk with her. I liked her. Maybe someone thought she knew too much about something. It happened right after Tom’s fall, so it might be connected.”

“I think it is, too.” He picked up his glass. “It’s a shame this has to be what’s bringing us together for dinner, DD, but it really is good to see you again. It’s been awhile.”

“I know. Let’s toast to finally getting together and to finding out what’s going on at the Grange estate.” We clinked glasses.

Jerry returned to our table and took my order for their famous roasted chicken with vegetables. Morgan opted for steak pommes frites, another specialty.

When Jerry left, I felt I had to warn Morgan because he didn’t realize what he was getting into. “Morgan, listen. Don’t get yourself involved with anything that has to do with me right now. I’ve got a court date for illegal trespass coming up in a month or so, and I can’t predict what’s going to happen.”

“I’m sorry to hear that DD. What happened?”

“Nothing you can help me with,” I said, reluctant to drag him any further into my problems.

Morgan reached across the table and took my hand. “Look, I’ll try to help you, DD, in any way I can. You know that. Have you got a good lawyer?”

“Yeah. You know Karl Patrick. He’s helping me.”

“Okay. He’s good and if anybody can get you out of this, it’s him. Tell him to call me. And don’t worry about me, DD. My career is already in the dumper. I’m never gonna go back up the ladder, but it doesn’t matter. The good news is I got to KMA time with my pension four months ago, so I’m golden.”

“KMA time? What’s that?”

“You know, Kiss My Ass. I ain’t got no Chinaman anymore, but that doesn’t matter because I actually like what I’m doing now. Let’s get back to what’s really important - where is our Nurse Mary? After what you told me about Mrs. Toller, I want to find Mary Holder now more than ever. Mrs. Toller’s murder - and it was murder you say - makes the connection solid with the other two incidents. I can feel it, DD. This is the case that took me down the toilet, and I want it solved.”

“So what do you think happened to Nurse Holder, Morgan?”

“I don’t have an opinion as yet. There are several possibilities as we said. One, she could be missing because she wants to be missing. She might have begun another life somewhere and left all traces of the old behind. It’s more common than you’d think.”

“And two, she could be dead,” I added.

“That’s a distinct possibility, and I’ve been considering it. But remember, DD, she herself sold her car and she herself terminated her lease. Another thing, she didn’t leave any effects in her apartment like most people do when they die. So yes, it’s a possibility, but it’s not probable.”

“But if she has another life, why isn’t she using her nurse’s license?”

“She could have assumed another name, DD. Maybe she has a license under that new name if she’s still practicing. Or maybe she isn’t practicing anymore. Maybe she married a millionaire. A lot of nurses do, DD.”

“Believe it or not, nurses don’t generally marry rich men with the exception of registered nurses who are oversees airline flight attendants. Statistically they have a 32% chance of marrying wealthy.”

“Hmm. You are always a curious wealth of information, DD McGil. I don’t even want to know why you looked up that particular statistic. It must have been an interesting case.”

“That’s what insurance training does for you. And everyone else thinks I’m boring. But one thing you haven’t told me is what Mary Holder looks like? I take it you interviewed her?”

“Oh yeah. She was attractive. Age around 21 then, so now she’d be 23 or 24. Height, five foot six. Slim, strawberry blonde, and she wore her hair in a bun. No glasses. Grey eyes. Neat and tidy. Nice hands with long fingers. She had a soft voice. She reminded me of Gwyneth Paltrow. I couldn’t pin anything on her, but I had my suspicions.”

“Why?”

“Because she was too good to be true. She was ultra professional, so soft spoken and goody-goody. Real people have warts. You know what I mean. There’s always something they do to excess or some vice they’ve got. But I couldn’t find her little secrets.”

“Maybe she really didn’t have any,” I said.

“That’s what the other dicks thought. They all liked her. But with me, it wasn’t an obvious thing. It was a series of small things. With me, she didn’t like to make eye contact. She generally looked down. You get an impression, a feeling, when you interview people. And my feeling was that she had something to hide. Again, nobody else agreed, so maybe I was wrong. But that was my take.”

Our entrees were delivered. We both ate silently for awhile. My appetite wasn’t keen. I had that awful feeling in the pit of my stomach telling me something wasn’t right. Even the excellent chicken didn’t make me feel any better.

“So, I’m guessing that your illegal trespass had something to do with the Grange mansion, right?”

I continued eating and kept silent.

“So I’m right,” he said. “You better tell me everything. Exactly what were you doing there, DD?”

“If I tell you, would you have to testify at my trial if they subpoenaed you?” I really wanted to tell him about the safe, but not about the Doyle notes. But maybe I had to tell him everything. I didn’t know what to do.

“You know I wouldn’t tell, even if they subpoenaed me.”

“Even if they tortured you?”

“DD, they’re not gonna torture me. You have to tell me everything. Together we might be able to get a handle on what’s happening there. If you don’t, I’ll be going into this blind.”

“I know you’re right. But you better mean it, or I’m dead meat. And for God’s sake never tell Karl Patrick that I told you everything.”

“I promise. Now get on with it. I’m waiting.”

“Okay. Here’s what happened. After Mrs. Toller mentioned the safe in the library, I decided to find it. I thought for sure it held something very valuable, and if I found it, I would then have it opened by the estate executors. Whatever it was that led to two deaths and a nearly fatal fall might be in there.”

“I’m watching your eyes, DD. You suspected something particular was in that safe. Don’t try to deny it. I can tell. What was it? Tell me.”

“Damn cop. You’re right. There’s one thing I haven’t told you about. The day he fell, Tom Joyce found something hidden in a secret drawer in the library desk. It was David J. Grange’s personal diary. Tom found it late in the day and was going to take it home with him. He’s positive it’s in Grange’s handwriting. Tom said that in the diary, Grange mentions an Arthur Conan Doyle manuscript, and this manuscript was not listed on the inventory of the estate.”

“Wow. It’s very suggestive that it wasn’t in the inventory. That could be a motive for Beatrice Grange’s murder.”

“There’s more,” I continued. “Apparently the manuscript had some Doyle notes attached that contained information on the Jack the Ripper case.”

“Double wow. The ultimate murder case - Jack the Ripper. I’ll bet that and the missing manuscript are each worth a pretty penny. Either one is a hell of a good motive.”

“Morgan, when I broke into the estate last night, I found the safe. It was behind one of the massive library bookcases. But I couldn’t find the combination for it and never got it open.”

“Let me ask you something. Do the detectives on the case know that you found the wall safe?”

“It’s not a wall safe, but a big honking thing that would look at home in Fort Knox. And no, they don’t.”

“That’s good. That’s good. If they found you with the wall safe open, you’d be in real trouble.”

“That’s what Karl Patrick said, too.”

“Who were the detectives on your case?”

“Captain Marvin and Inspector Peter Jones. Why?”

“I know both of them. Those two aren’t interested in anything but closing cases. Believe me, if they suspected you, you’d still be in jail. They’re hard noses. So if they let you off the hook, it means they don’t have any hard evidence against you.”

“That’s a good thing, right?”

“Yeah. But now we’re still faced with the question of how to get into that safe. You’re right. Something may still be in there, assuming no one in the household knew the combination.”

“Morgan! I just remembered that Tom mentioned something about seeing some numbers carved into the hidden compartment in the desk where he found the diary. Maybe those numbers are the combination to the safe.”

“It’s worth a try, DD. Think you can find that hidden space and get those numbers? Maybe we could get into that safe and see what’s there.”

“I hate to tell you this, but I already tried. I did find two secret compartments in that desk, but neither had any numbers. So there must be more hidden spaces or drawers, but I couldn’t find them.”

“DD, you’re going to have to. It’s our only chance. Let’s pay up, and we’ll head for the mansion right now.”

“But Morgan I don’t think I can...”

“I’ve got confidence in you DD. You’ll find the hiding place. I know you.”

“But they won’t let me in the mansion after last night. And what standing do you have? You’ll get yourself in more hot water with the Department.”

He dropped cash onto the table. “Com’on. I told you that I’m past my KMA time, and this case is real important to me. Watch and see what a badge will do. Just remember all that insurance training and find that damn hidden compartment with the numbers. That’s our ace in the hole.”

He’d already reached the door by the time I gulped down the last of my wine and gathered my purse. Usually I would never leave without a lemon tart desert, but today wasn’t usual. Anyway, I was still a little queasy.

“Don’t forget about the silent alarm,” I said as I caught up to him. “We have to get it turned off. If it goes off again, Karl Patrick will kill me.”