Murder Unleashed (20 page)

“Because they think you might have helped him. Jonathon denies it. He also denies that he killed the woman.”

“I don’t think he did,” Helen said. “I think her husband, Kent the ogre, did it. He was at the shop that day, Phil. He could have stolen Jonathon’s shears and killed his wife. Listen, I know you have some law enforcement contacts, but why were the police telling you this?”

“Because they wanted me to deliver a message,” Phil said.

“What am I going to do?” Helen said.

“You’re going to let me help you,” Phil said. “Maybe we can give them some leads on the real killer. I know you think it’s Kent, but could anyone else have killed Tammie?”

“The police are convinced it’s Jonathon. I’m not, but I admit Jonathon looks like a good candidate. He had a fight with her the day of the murder, then disappeared for part of the afternoon. I don’t know if his fingerprints are on the murder weapon. But he may have killed someone years ago in self-defense.”

“Did he shoot them?”

“No, he used grooming scissors.”

Phil whistled. “That’s not good.”

“It gets worse. He may have an ugly past, Phil. Margery’s friend Elsie says he used to work for a crooked vet in Tampa, and he took a bribe and ruined a show dog’s chances. She claims Jonathon changed his name and his look when he moved here. The crooked vet and his bosomy assistant sound a lot like Tammie and Kent.”

“What does Kent do for a living now?” Phil said.

“Nothing,” Helen said. “But he has a lot of money.”

“Do you think Kent conspired with Jonathon to kill his wife?”

“No. I’m not convinced Elsie’s story is true.”

“You don’t like to hear bad things about Jonathon, do you?” Phil said.

“I like him, but I can’t tell you why, except he doesn’t talk baby talk to the dogs. That’s some basis for a friendship.”

“Anyone else?” Phil said.

“There’s something odd about Todd, too. I don’t think he’s a killer, but he may be blackmailing a customer. He’s jealous of Jonathon. Jonathon was in a snit when Todd worked in his room, and he held a pair of scissors to Todd’s throat.”

“Jonathon again. Are you sure he’s a good guy?” Phil said. “He sounds violent.”

“He’s a prima donna,” Helen said. “He wouldn’t actually hurt anyone.”

“Except the man he killed.”

“He tried to kill Jonathon first,” Helen said. “Anyway, Jonathon didn’t hurt Todd. I swear Todd cut his own throat to make the fight with Jonathon look worse.

“I can’t think of any other candidates. There may be other people who wanted to kill Tammie, but I don’t know her well enough to say who they are.”

“What about Jeff?” Phil said.

“Jeff!” Helen said. “He wouldn’t hurt a soul. Besides, he was running around like crazy at the store the afternoon of her murder.”

“Did you see him at the store all afternoon?”

“I think so. I was pretty busy,” Helen said.

But now she wondered. Jeff had slipped out this morning, and she didn’t realize it until he came whistling through the front door. Could he have disappeared for half an hour the day of Tammie’s murder?

“Maybe Jeff needs checking out,” Phil said. “I’ll see what I can find out about Jonathon, Todd, Kent, and Jeff. Can you get the gossip on Tammie? Any way that you can talk to someone in her crowd?”

“I can try,” Helen said. “I can work on the Todd angle, too. It’s possible he’s blackmailing Jan Kurtz, one of our customers. Margery thought I should talk with Jan and see if I can find out why.”

“Good idea,” Phil said. “Jan is more likely to confide in a sympathetic woman.”

There was a knock on her door. Helen heard a smoky voice demanding, “Are you two decent? It’s Margery.”

“Of course we are,” Helen said.

Margery handed Helen a glowing cell phone and stepped inside Helen’s home. “It’s your boss, Jeff. He wants to know how you are. So do I.”

“I’m fine, Jeff,” Helen said into the phone. “No, no. It was nothing serious. The detectives asked me some questions and let me go. I don’t know why they came on so heavy with the handcuffs. Once I got to the police station, it was no big deal. I’m sorry I didn’t call you sooner. I’ll be in tomorrow. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Helen snapped the phone shut and handed it back to her landlady. Margery’s face was purple with anger. “When are you going to quit lying?” she said. “Aren’t you in enough trouble?”

T
he high-rises on Galt Ocean Mile blocked everyone else’s view of the ocean, like bullies taking over a bar.

The massive buildings made Helen feel insignificant. She should have been gliding up the curving drive to Jan Kurtz’s condominium in a Mercedes or a Jaguar. Instead she got off a bus. Helen was out of breath by the time she climbed up the long driveway and grand staircase. She was also wet. When the wind shifted, the fountain had sprayed her like a stray dog.

The magnificent doorman eyed the dripping Helen as if she were a burglar. Helen was nearly blinded by the light from the chandeliers bouncing off the mirrors and the marble floors. The young man at the front desk gave her a superior stare.

“Helen Hawthorne to see Mrs. Kurtz.”

The superior young man made a call, put the phone on hold, and said, “Mrs. Kurtz is at home, but she’s not expecting anyone.”

“Tell her I want to talk to her about her gift bag.”

The young man spoke into the phone again, then said, “You may go upstairs. Seven-seventeen.”

The elevator was paneled in dark wood. On three sides it had long brass rods like coffin handles. It traveled faster than Helen’s bus.

Jan opened her condo door cautiously, blocking it with her small, trim body. Her pink Capri pants and fitted top had been stylish three years ago. Her makeup and blond hair were flawless, but Jan’s smile looked like it might slip off her face. Her hands trembled slightly, and she clung to the door frame to steady them. Jan was a frightened woman. Helen hated to make her feel worse, but she needed some answers, and the only way she would get them was by asking Jan questions that would hurt her.

“I know about you and Todd,” Helen said, deliberately talking a little too loud.

Jan swiftly beckoned Helen inside. Condos had notoriously sharp-eared neighbors. Helen stepped in and stopped, stunned by the view of the blue-green sea stretching into infinity. A little black poodle came running up, danced around Jan, then barked protectively. Jan scooped up the dog and put her hand over its muzzle.

“Shush,” she said, hugging the dog. “You know we can’t make noise.”

Jan turned to Helen. There was fear in her eyes and a desperate courage. “I don’t have any more money,” she said defiantly. “I told Todd that. He said this would be the last payment, and now you’re here. I swear I’ll go to the police this time. I have nothing to lose. I’m broke.”

Helen looked past the splendid view and saw the slightly lighter rectangles on the green wallpaper where paintings must have hung. A long, lighted display cabinet for smaller artworks was dark and empty. The carpet was worn and the curtains were sun-faded.

Helen had guessed right: Todd was bleeding this woman. “Sit down, Jan, and talk to me,” she said. “I don’t want your money. I think I can help you.”

Even though she was in her own home, Jan took a seat in a mint-green wing chair, as Helen directed. Helen sank into the couch. The pillows shifted, and she saw they hid a stain on one cushion.

“I don’t think you can help me,” Jan said. Tears streaked her perfect makeup. “I’m trapped. Todd’s tried this ‘last payment’ routine before. I gave him all the money I had, but he’ll be back for more in a few months and I’ll have to sell my condo.”

“How long has this been going on?” Helen said.

“Three years.”

“Tell me why he’s doing this to you,” Helen said. “I’ll understand.”

“It’s Snickers,” Jan said, and hugged her dog tighter to her chest. Helen looked at the small curly-coated poodle with the long pink tongue. Maybe she couldn’t understand after all.

“Snickers is illegal,” Jan said. “I live in a condo that doesn’t allow pets.”

“That’s all?” Helen said.

“All? It’s everything. The condo association can take my Snickers away from me. Ever since Todd discovered I lived in a no-pets building, he’s been blackmailing me. I couldn’t bear to live without my little doggie. With my husband dead, I have no one else.”

Snickers jumped out of Jan’s lap, then returned with a slobbery squeaky toy, as if the rubber duck would cheer her up. Jan took it and scratched the dog’s ears. “See?” she said. “See how sweet he is? He gave Mommy a present.”

“How did Todd learn your secret?” Helen said.

“At your store. I bought a special bag to hide Snickers in when I carried him into the building. It looked like a designer purse, except it had mesh on the sides, so Snickers could breathe. Todd sold it to me.”

Todd had preyed on a customer. Jeff would be furious and mortified.

Jan kept her head down and her voice so low Helen had trouble hearing her. “I . . . I made friends with Todd. You know, good friends. I know it was a mistake, but I’m only forty-five. I’m still an attractive woman, and I’d dated such awful men. One got drunk and made a scene in a restaurant when I refused to go home with him. I was so embarrassed, I never went to the restaurant again.”

Helen had made a few mistakes herself. She hoped she looked sympathetic.

“After that episode, I didn’t date,” Jan said. “Then I met Todd. He seemed so nice. He was a little young, but that didn’t matter to me. We had fun together. We went shopping. I could never get a man to go shopping with me before. My late husband, Thomas, hated stores. They bored him.

“I enjoyed buying Todd presents. I gave him platinum cuff links, a gold key ring, and a silver ID bracelet. I felt so sophisticated. I liked shopping for nice clothes for Todd. I helped him with his rent sometimes, but I’d do that for any friend in trouble. Todd made me laugh. For the first time since Thomas’s death, I felt young.

“Then Mrs. Morris—she’s another widow, an older woman who lives in the penthouse—said, ‘So you’ve taken up with the neighborhood gigolo.’ Suddenly I saw what I was: a foolish middle-aged woman with a much younger man.”

That interfering old busybody, Helen thought. Jan wasn’t hurting anyone. Why couldn’t that woman have left her alone?

“I was so ashamed,” Jan said. “I was the laughing-stock of the building. I couldn’t go out with Todd again. Thanks to Mrs. Morris, I realized Todd wasn’t my friend. He was my boy toy. I gave Todd a nice present and said I didn’t want to see him anymore.

“That’s when he turned nasty and threatening. He started blackmailing me. He said if I didn’t pay him, he would tell the condo association about Snickers. They took away Mrs. Chaney’s peke and nearly broke her heart. So I paid him. But Todd wanted more and more. I tried to give him what he wanted, but then the stock market crashed, and suddenly my investments weren’t doing so well.”

“That’s a terrible story,” Helen said. “But I have to ask, couldn’t you move to a building that allowed pets?”

“I wish I could. But I can’t afford to anymore. After I lost so much money in the market, this building started undergoing a massive renovation. The salt air destroys these condos. We need a new roof, new elevators, and new balconies. The air-conditioning system has to be replaced. There are huge assessments against each condo—seventy thousand dollars for this unit. I had to take out a home equity loan to pay it. If I tried to sell now, I’d take a big loss. Nobody wants to move into a building when there’s construction going on. It’s noisy and inconvenient, so the prices go down. It will take at least two years before all the work is done. I can hardly afford to stay here, but I can’t afford to leave.”

The bare room said Jan was telling the truth.

“I am so sorry,” Helen said. “Our store owner will be horrified that this happened. When I tell Jeff—”

“You can’t! Please. Jeff would fire Todd, and Todd would smear my name all over the neighborhood. I have to live here.”

“But—”

“No!” Jan was shaking with fear. “I’ve thought about going to Jeff a hundred times, but I know what would happen. I couldn’t stand it. I faced down the gossip about Todd once. I lived through the giggles and smirks on the elevator, the little remarks in the lobby. It’s over now, but I couldn’t take it again. Promise me you won’t tell Jeff.”

“I promise,” Helen said. “But I also promise that you’ll never make another payment to Todd. Don’t you worry, Mrs. Kurtz—”

“Please call me Jan.” For the first time, she managed a tentative smile.

“Don’t worry, Jan. If Todd threatens you again, call me at the store and I’ll take care of him.”

“What are you going to do? How will you make him stop?”

“I’m going to blackmail him,” Helen said.

As Helen walked to the bus stop, she saw the Galt Ocean Mile in a new light. Now it seemed bold, rich, and optimistic. That’s what she was. Well, two out of three, anyway.

Helen felt so energized, she started the second phase of her investigation. She needed some accurate information about Lauderdale society. Margery could help with that.

When Helen got back to the Coronado, she saw a tall ladder leaning against the old white building. At the top of the ladder was a tanned and shapely pair of legs in purple kitten-heeled sandals.

“Margery!” Helen said. “What are you doing on the roof?”

“Checking for storm damage,” Margery said.

“Get down here,” Helen said. “You’ll fall and kill yourself.”

“Quit fussing at me like I’m an old lady.” Margery leaned over at an angle that made Helen dizzy, and glared down at her.

Helen was not going to remind her landlady that she was seventy-six. “Those shoes worry me. They’re not safe.”

“Of course they are,” Margery said. “I can hook them on the ladder rungs for traction. I can’t find a decent roofer to go up and check for me after the storm. They’re all busy doing hurricane repairs. So I did it myself. The roof is fine. Hold the ladder if you’re worried about me. I’m coming down. Why aren’t you at work?”