Kee Patterbee - Hannah Starvling 01 - The Chef at the Water's Edge (9 page)

How could he know that?
Hannah asked herself. Louie’s experience of Julia’s sleeping habits bothered her. Such matters are intimate and by all accounts, Julia had been faithful. She scrutinized Louie a bit more. There was the possibility that he might have too much knowledge of ‘his love.’ She added it to her mental personnel files.

“Well, they did find her in her nightgown. Adds some more credence to his story,” Cate proposed.

“And she didn’t show any signs of sexual assault,” Buster confessed, lifting a paper he was reading for all to see.

Cate winced. “That narrows the field a bit, doesn’t it, though?”

Buster stiffened. “What do you mean?”

Hannah motioned to Vera. “Who all was in the house that night?”

Everyone turned to look at Vera for an answer. “All night? Just Asa and Julia in the main house. The night guard at the gate. Mr. and Mrs. Staples. They are the valet and cook. They stay on the property in the servant’s house to the rear. Everyone else leaves by 9:00 p.m. They return on various days at various times.”

“No one else?”

Vera thought for a moment and then her eyes opened. “Jazlyn. She was visiting.”

“That must have been frosty,” Cate said, “Given the argument earlier.”

Hannah took a last swig from her cup of tea. “It’s interesting, that’s for sure. What kind of relationship did Julia have with Jazlyn?” Cate asked.

*****

Vera frowned and rolled her eyes as she searched for the right words. “A distant one. I do not want to judge, but Julia did not care for her niece, even before the rumors. She was never mean to her, but in private, she referred to her as, how do you say, a free spirit. I believe she meant it as an insult.”

“It means she thought Jazlyn was a little too familiar around men,” Cate said.

“It means she was a slut,” Louie chimed in.

“Louie.” Cate exclaimed.

“What? Just stating the facts.”

“Yeah. Well…state them better next time.”

Hannah glanced in the direction where Buster was sitting. He blew out a slow breath of air as Cate gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Where were you?” Buster asked Vera with accusation in his voice. With the conversation turned toward Jazlyn, both Cate and Hannah noticed Buster’s increased agitation. Jazlyn had made quite an impression on him earlier. So much so that he was on the defense in regards to a woman he had just met.

“I was working late at the studio, prepping the set for the next day. I left around 8:30 p.m. I picked up some food and got to my apartment around 9:40 p.m. I was home for the rest of the evening.”

“I hate to ask, but is there anyone that can confirm that?”

“Yes. My roommate.”

“I’m sorry. For some reason, I assumed you lived with Julia and Asa.”

“No. She made that offer to me after I arrived in America, but I declined. Her trust was generous enough. The least I could do was earn my way otherwise.”

Vera’s answer disappointed Buster. Hannah did not think he wanted her to be the focus of the investigation. He just was looking for someone else to draw attention away from a relationship that had not yet even occurred.

“Did anybody else stop by or just show up?” Buster asked almost in desperation.

“I remember the police questioning Jack Miller. He stopped by to drop off some papers. I believe the police have everyone’s statements.”

“I’m sure they do,” Hanna agreed. “I suppose it was Asa who identified the body?”

“Yes. Poor man. He has not been the same since.”

Removing his glasses, Louie dabbed his eyes with the corner of his t-shirt. “My poor precious Julia. Something happened to get her down to that lake.”

Hannah picked up her empty cup and stared into it. “Anything else you can think of?”

“Well, I’m not sure it means anything, but the groundskeeper who found her had reported a problem with trespassers who accessed the grounds by small boat. It didn’t happen often, just now and again. But it did happen.”

“That’s worth considering,” Buster tossed out.

“Everything is,” Hannah said, holding her cup up toward Louie. “Do you by chance have any hot tea?”

“I do. Can I get you some?”

“Please.”

Louie asked around, and both Cate and Vera agreed to the offer. He then exited the room. Once he disappeared from view, Hannah said, “Not that you are any different, but Louie does seem to be a bit sensitive when it comes to Julia. Just in a different way. I just need to ask you, who all saw the body? Was it just the groundskeeper, the police, the coroner, and Asa?”

“I believe so. Is that relevant.”

“Maybe. Not likely. But maybe. Information is information. You have to consider everything. Every possibility.”

“Such as?”

“Oh, the tabloid stuff. The rumor that she faked her death. That she is living in France under an assumed name. That sort of thing. Crazy stuff. But we must consider it.”

“I so wish that were true. It’s better than the truth.” Vera looked down and sighed. “I still can’t believe she is gone. I miss her so much.”

“That makes two of us,” Louie agreed as he re-entered the room. Settling back into his chair, he looked over to Hannah. “Teapot’s doing its thing. It’ll be boiling in a few.”

“You know what I find odd? That you are not Julia’s replacement. That’s what she wanted, right?” Cate asked.

“That is what she had told me. Then after the accident, nothing happened. Months went by. No one said anything about continuing. Without Julia, everything started unraveling. I assumed that Asa would just let it go. Then he announced he was bringing it back, but this time with Jazlyn. He said he was replacing me. That I would remind the audience too much of Julia. I don’t understand that.”

“So, no explanation other than you look too much like Julia?” Louie blurted out.

“Well, you do look a lot like her,” Hannah noted.

Everyone agreed.

Vera squirmed in her seat. “Sometimes people have mentioned a similarity, but I have never seen it.”

Louie got up and said, “Follow me.” Vera gave him a quizzical look. “Come on,” he insisted. Everyone followed as he led them into the living room. He motioned for Vera to look at the pictures on the wall displaying photos of Julia.

As everyone scanned the frames, Vera focused on one when Julia was about the same age as herself. “Julia never showed me photos of her at this age. I do suppose we bear some resemblance.”

Louie pointed to the picture and gestured as he talked. “She was taller than you. Shaped somewhat different. And her hair was darker. Longer. But in the face, you were similar without question.” He then pointed to a picture of a child, perhaps six months old. “Did you look like that as a child?”

Vera studied the photo for a second. “Somewhat. Yes.”

“There you have it. That’s what she saw in you. Herself. You reminded her of herself. That’s why she took such an interest.”

Everyone looked to Louie for an explanation, which he proceeded to give. “When Julia was younger, she was riding a horse. It threw her, and she landed on a fence post. She broke her hip. Had internal injuries. In short, it messed her up. They told her she would never be able to have children, something she knew she wanted someday.”

Hannah understood. “You’re suggesting that Vera became a sudden surrogate years later.”

“Without question.”

Vera, who was still looking over the photos, reached and grabbed Louie’s hand out of instinct, causing him to smile. “She never told me that.”

“I doubt anyone other than Asa and I knew. Maybe not even him,” he said in a soft voice.

After a long moment of silence, Buster said, “Well, one mystery solved. One to go. Any ideas, flatfoot?”

“A few. But I don’t like to blurt things out until I know the facts,” Hannah commented. “I promise when I know something you will hear it from me. So I’ll tell you all about it later, okay?”

Everyone agreed, though the frustration on Cate, Buster, and Louie’s face was clear. Vera seemed to accept it. Looking at her cell to check the time, she gasped. “Oh. It’s later than I thought. I need to get back to the studio for tonight’s test run.”

Hannah handed her a business card with her name, private cell number, and email. “Say nothing about this meeting. And when we see each other again, act cordial, but not familiar. A sudden friendship would bring attention to us.”

“I understand.”

“We’ll meet back here tomorrow night to give you an update. If I don’t have anything new for you, then I’ll get Buster to call you for a coffee. You can make an excuse not to follow through. Otherwise, drop back over tomorrow, same time. Is that okay, Louie?” Hannah questioned.

“Do you even need to ask?”

Vera reached out and hugged Hannah. “You do not know how much this means to me. Thank you.”

Hannah smiled at the gesture. “You’re more than welcome.”

After making her goodbyes to all in a similar manner, Vera exited just as the whistle of the teapot sounded.

“Still want that tea?” Louie asked.

“Do you even need to ask?” Hannah mimicked.

The next morning, Hannah made her way to the Zebulon police station. With a laptop in hand, she made her way to the receptionist at the front desk. She removed her hat and sat it down with the device before directing a charming smile to the police receptionist.

“Hi, I’m from Serling University and I’m doing a piece for our paper on Julia Karas. I was wondering if I could get copies of the original police report that was filed when she died.”

The receptionist looked Hannah over. “Aren’t you a little old to be working on a school paper?”

“Never too old for a second chance,” Hannah replied with a cheerful expression.

With a mixture of disgust and blasé in her voice, the receptionist looked at Hannah’s laptop and hat. Shaking her head, she opened a desk drawer to produce a thumb drive, which she then pushed to Hannah. “It’s our most requested file. You can make a copy here at the desk.” Taking the thumb drive, Hannah popped it into her laptop and downloaded the file. Once completed, she returned the drive to the receptionist. She then exited the station.

Once outside, though the air was brisk, she found a small bench in the park across the way from the station. She once again opened her computer, located the file, and opened it. Glancing it over, she clicked off details in her head, and arranged them for later recollection as she needed them. “Police arrived 7:53 hours. Single investigating officer: Alexander Borg. Place of incident: Decedent’s home. Rear of property abutting Lake Riesen. Specific to gazebo at water’s edge. Cause of injury: Speculative at present time. Findings suggest decedent struck head on gazebo frame post, fell into the water. Body discovered in the water by secondary party around 7:10 hours. Clothing: White nightgown. Valuables: One gold necklace with a small key. No sign of alcohol or drugs. Last seen alive 20:30 hours by decedent’s spouse. Manner of Death: Pending.”

The lack of an immediate cause of death gave Hannah pause. Why had the attending officer listed it as ‘pending’? Why not accident, suicide, homicide, or indeterminate?

“Pending. Pending.” She tumbled the word through her mind, contemplating. Then it hit her. “He had questions.” Satisfied with her answer, she returned to the report. Locating the section ‘Forensic Findings,’ Hannah sharpened her focus. Toxicology reaffirmed no alcohol found in Julia’s system, but the terms of the autopsy struck her as odd. The family, meaning Asa, agreed to the procedure before its initiation, which was standard. The examiner bypassed a full or limited autopsy in favor of an external exam. More so, the ‘Visual Inspection’ section of the report showed Julia as having several injuries to the left side of her face. Written in bold letters were the words
blunt force trauma
.

Hannah shook her head to clear it. Something was wrong. She knew the indicated impact might show minimal injuries such as external bruising. This was due to the elasticity of the skin. Such an injury could affect deeper, more solid tissues such as the skull and brain, fracturing or lacerating. Thus, it warranted a more in-depth investigation. They should have at least done a limited autopsy.

A flood of new questions came to mind for Hannah. These questions perturbed her. The report was brief and full of odd decisions. She had to work them out. She needed a course of action.

She worked on the puzzle in her brain for a few minutes. The chill in the air began to bother her, so she returned to the station. Seeing her again, the receptionist sighed, “Yes?”

“Alexander Borg. Is he in?”

“Sorry. He retired eleven months ago.”

Right after the autopsy
, Hannah thought. Interesting. She filed the information. “Well, does he live around here?”

“He moved north of here.”

“You wouldn’t happen to have the address, would you?”

The receptionist stared at Hannah with a blank face before returning to work on the computer. A moment later, she pulled out a pen and wrote on a small sticky note. She then handed it to Hannah. “It’s a fair ways, about three hours or so. Up in Eagleson County.”

Producing a humble smile, Hannah said, “Thank you,” and headed for the outside. She returned to her rental car and typed the address into the onboard navigation system. “A hundred and forty-seven miles,” she mumbled once the system engaged. “Good deal.” She called Cate to let them know she would be getting back late and then headed out.

As she traveled along the interstate toward her destination, Hannah found herself relieved. Cate and Buster had chosen to attend the festival with Louie rather than come along on her investigative excursion. It would give her time to think things over without distraction. She began with the accident report. It was short, given Julia’s celebrity status. It did not answer much and caused her to questions the thoroughness of the investigation.

Driving along, she thought through all the questions that came to mind. Why hadn’t someone ask more questions about marital issues? What about her aversion to water and night blindness in relation to the location of the body? Why was she in her nightclothes? Why was she in the gazebo alone? Why was there a faulty handrail on a multimillion-dollar estate? Why didn’t the groundskeeper notice and have it repaired? Then there was the coroner’s report that said little to nothing. And the biggest question of all was if this were no accident, who had the most to gain by Julia’s death? And how did they pull off the murder?