Jude Devine Mystery Series (90 page)

“False sense of security,” Jude replied. “Or he did something to make the problem go away and thought the threat was over.”

“This Anton individual Maulle seemed to have a beef with, the human slime. Any thoughts?”

“We’ll need to track down that CTG guy, Hugo. I have a few people I can call.” Jude reflected that Arbiter had his uses. “So far it’s the only wrinkle we have.”

“There’s always something.” Koertig picked a parrot feather off his shirt. His expression was pensive. “Looking around, you’d say Maulle had the perfect life. But someone decided to take everything away from him. This wasn’t random.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Jude agreed. “So there has to be a clue in this house. We’re just not seeing it yet.”

“The boss is never gonna let us travel.”

“I know.” Searches of Maulle’s other homes would have to be conducted by detectives in the respective jurisdictions.

“Pity the niece was never here before,” Koertig said. “It would be a help if she knew what was missing.”

“I don’t buy that Maulle did his own housework,” Jude said. “Let’s check out the maid services. Someone knows this place pretty well.”

“I’m on it,” Koertig said. He slid a photo of Pippa back in the file. “You have to feel sorry for the kid. She’ll be scarred for life.”

“After we’ve interviewed the parents, I’ll talk to them about getting some help for her.” Jude finished bagging items she wanted from the filing cabinet and crossed to the door. “You didn’t find anything in the bedroom?”

“He was a
very
tidy guy.”

“There has to be a safe somewhere. I didn’t see any receipt from a home security system company, so it must have been installed when the house was built. Let’s get the plans.”

Koertig followed her to the master bedroom, another sprawling interior with stunning views. Jude lifted every picture and tapped her knuckles along the wood panels and drywall. The room had a wood floor, like most of the house. The closet was carpeted. It looked like Koertig had already lifted the edges to check beneath.

“Let’s move the bed,” Jude said.

They squeezed every pillow for foreign objects, then hoisted the mattress followed by the base and lugged them to the nearest wall. The bed was a solid hardwood design like the rest of the hefty bedroom furniture. It had been stripped by Belle’s team and the bedding removed for the usual tests. They wrestled the frame onto its side and Jude searched for anything taped underneath while Koertig balanced the weight. She then crouched and tested the floorboards for one that could be lifted. The thought of going through the entire house doing the same thing was daunting. That was a job for junior staff.

“There’s nothing in here,” she said with frustration.

They lowered the bed and replaced the base and mattress. Puffing, they sat down on opposite sides. Their efforts had dislodged a parrot feather, which fluttered across the satiny floorboards.

“Brains of a four-year-old,” Jude said.

Koertig gave her a sympathetic look. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. If there was anything to find, we’d have found it.”

“I was referring to the parrot.”

Koertig regarded her blankly.

“Our eyewitness,” she said with grim humor.

“Plus the three cats,” he reminded her.

“Yes, and we know how felines love to cooperate with figures of authority.”

“Did you hear that bird talking to Pippa?” Koertig asked. “I know they just copy what they hear, but it’s still incredible.”

“Even supposing that’s all they do. What if we could get it to repeat what it heard in the office?”

Koertig didn’t respond immediately. “You ever interviewed a bird?”

Jude met his quizzical gaze. “You’re right. My neurons aren’t connecting. I need to eat something.”

“There’s this new burger at Sonic. Hot chili with bacon and guacamole.”

The merits of that combination spoke for themselves. Jude worked through the rationalizations. They’d searched the most important rooms. Why go quietly insane working through the remaining five thousand square feet of luxury real estate when there were rookie detectives twiddling their thumbs back at headquarters? The outdoor team was still at the scene, gradually fanning out, searching for the murder weapon and any other evidence. The primaries didn’t need to hang around.

She peeled off her gloves and got to her feet. “I’d hate for us to fade away while we’re snipe hunting.”

Koertig sprang up like a man half his size. “I’m supposed to be on a diet,” he belatedly recalled.

“Guacamole is health food,” Jude said.

They went through all the bagged evidence from the upstairs area, checking that the labels were complete and initialed. In any investigation the paperwork was second nature, but Jude always double-checked her work because autopilot was no guarantee of accuracy. They carried their haul out to Koertig’s Durango and unloaded it into a secure storage box ready to be handed over to the evidence clerk back at headquarters.

“Got that knife yet?” Koertig hassled the officers moving slowly up the ridge behind the house.

Jude grinned. She knew he’d enjoy being in charge.

*

Jude knocked on the door of Pippa Calloway’s room at the Holiday Inn. “Do you have a few minutes?” she asked when Pippa’s wan little face appeared in the crack.

“Of course.” She swung the door wide and invited Jude to sit down.

“I haven’t called your lawyer.”

Pippa snorted. “He’s hideous. Totally reptilian. I don’t know where my parents find these people. They’re bringing another one with them, did you know that?”

“No.” Jude was curious that the Calloways thought they needed an entire legal team.

“The family estate attorney. Because that’s what you do at a time like this, you think about money.”

Jude wasn’t sure how to respond. She’d had family ask if an autopsy was really necessary because they’d heard it could slow down probate. Sticking to her game plan, she said, “I was thinking maybe you’d like to visit with your uncle’s parrot.”

An elfin smile transformed Pippa’s face, carving ten more years off her age. Just looking at her, Jude felt like a decrepit has-been. It crossed her mind that plenty of cops thought about prepaid funeral arrangements. Maybe it was time she looked into the options. She’d contemplated the idea in the past but always felt weird about choosing a casket. If she was iced on the job, wouldn’t the people she left behind know better than to bury her in something called the Pink Lady Magnolia?

“I’d love to see Oscar,” Pippa said. “Do I have to ask Mr. Mahanes?”

“No, but I’d appreciate if you keep him informed. Call it ego management.”

Pulling a face, Pippa located a business card and entered the number into her cell phone. “Mr. Mahanes? I just wanted to let you know I have Detective Devine with me. She’s kindly arranged for me to see my uncle’s pets.” After a few beats, she put her hand over the phone and told Jude, “I’m supposed to say ‘no comment’ if you ask me any questions, and have a conference call if you want to talk.”

“Tell him I’m in awe of his lawyerly prowess and will play by his rules because I can’t remember my own.”

Giggling, Pippa repeated the words verbatim. As she listened to Mahanes’s closing arguments, she gathered up her wallet and room keys and whispered, “Lead the way.”

Jude took the phone from her when they reached the Dakota. “Mr. Mahanes? If you want to come visit with the bird, you’re welcome.”

“That won’t be necessary.” He signed off with a slick warning about fruit of the poisonous tree.

Jude handed the phone back and opened the passenger door. “I have a question to ask you. Off the record.”

“Okay.” Pippa climbed up into the seat.

Jude got in the driver’s side, leaving her door open to release the heat from inside the vehicle. She turned on the engine and got the a/c running. As they drove out of the parking lot, she said, “The portrait of you in your uncle’s dining room is really wonderful.”

“Oh, the Susan Ryder?” Pippa sounded surprised. “I didn’t know he’d brought it over from London.”

“Did you know your uncle kept all the cards and letters you sent him over the years?”

Pippa was obviously touched. “Oh, that’s so sweet of him.”

“Sometimes when we find a large collection of photographs of a child in a relative’s home, we’re suspicious.” Jude let the comment hover between them.

“You want to know if Uncle Fabian ever touched me inappropriately?” Pippa’s tone was lifeless.

“I’m sorry. I have to rule that out.”

“He would not have dreamed of it. Uncle Fabian was disgusted by attacks on children. Anything like that on TV, he was always upset.”

“He sounds like a good person,” Jude said.

“I suppose in your job you only see the worst,” Pippa remarked.

“Unfortunately, that’s often true.” Jude felt a twinge of sorrow. She wasn’t sure if she could remember innocence, it left her so long ago.

“Well, my uncle was a gentleman in every sense of the word,” Pippa said with dignity. “I’m not suffering from the Stockholm Syndrome or anything like that. If he was an asshole I wouldn’t have been planning to live here for the next year.” She stared out the window. “Jesus, what am I supposed to do now?”

“What were you planning to do out here?”

“I’m a sculptor. Not professionally. I haven’t sold anything yet. But Uncle Fabian believed in me. He thought I should explore my talent away from negative outside influences.” She gave a bitter little laugh. “By that I mean my parents. They hate that I’m artistic. That’s how come I just graduated in dentistry. As if I would ever do that for a living.”

Jude thought it must be nice to be a Harvard dental school graduate who could afford to despise the high-paid profession she’d trained for. “I noticed a letter to you among your uncle’s possessions, suggesting a delay to your trip to the Four Corners. He said he’d booked a flight to London for you. What can you tell me about that?”

“We spoke on the phone. He said there was a problem he had to handle and he didn’t want me to be stuck in the mountains by myself.”

“What happened?”

“He called me back a few days later and said everything was fine, so I packed my stuff and got in my car.”

“I see.” Jude changed course. If she was going to dig any deeper, she wanted Pippa’s answers on the record, and that meant scheduling another interview with Mahanes present. “Tell me about your uncle’s parrot. Oscar, isn’t it?”

“Oh, he’s a doll.” Pippa livened up instantly. “Incredibly sensitive and loving. I can tell he’s devastated.”

“This might sound like a stupid question. But do you think he remembers things?”

“Are you kidding?” Pippa laughed. “I’ll never have another fight with a boyfriend on the phone in front of him.”

Encouraged, Jude said, “There’s something I’d like us to focus on during the visit.”

Pippa stared expectantly at her.

“Oscar is our only eyewitness.”

The sound of a softly expelled sigh reached Jude’s ears. “He was hiding in the bottom of his cage, picking out his feathers, when I got there,” Pippa said. “And you want to make him remember?”

Jude felt like one of those animal exploiters who sent not-so-funny videos of pet pranks in to Animal Planet. She said “Imagine how proud your uncle would be if Oscar provided important evidence.”