Traci Tyne Hilton - Mitzi Neuhaus 04 - Frozen Assets (15 page)

Carmella waved Mitzy away.

***

Having another new suspect to contend with didn’t sit well with Mitzy. She needed to get to the bottom of the Jason situation before she even began to contemplate Ulrike’s
other
brother.

She drove straight to Concord Street. The sky was deep gray, but no snow was falling yet. She parked in Livia’s driveway, trying not to worry about getting stuck up on the hill in her Miata. Snowy winters in Portland were rare. So rare they were usually welcome, but this particular snowy winter was becoming a real drag.

Livia answered the door on the first knock and ushered Mitzy in. “You’re just in time.”

“I am?”

“You are. I’m just back from lunch with Karina’s bridge partner, and the fresh pot of coffee just finished brewing.”

“Karina’s bridge partner?”

“I assume you’ve popped by to see if there was any news about the murder.” She poured two cups of coffee. “I mean, you have a vested interest in getting that house sold, don’t you? Six percent on seven-hundred thousand dollars is nothing to sniff at.”

Mitzy bit the inside of her cheek. As much as she hated to admit it, offering to give away the commission on the English house had been a very, very stupid move. She still hadn’t told Alonzo about it either. And no… with a new house to remodel, $40,000 was nothing to sniff at. “As much as I like to think I can get the house sold for Karina… murder is a hard thing for buyers to overlook.”

Livia slouched back into her couch. She kicked off her alligator kitten pumps and tucked her feet under her. “I don’t know which idea is worse: Karina continuing to live across the street, or a big, ugly vacant house on the block.”

“Squatters would be worse.” Mitzy rested her coffee mug on her knee. The idea of Karina’s house going the way of the squatter house on the other side of town hurt her pride. She had to get this sold by hook or crook

“Thanks for that. I wasn’t disturbed enough yet!”

“It sounds like you learned something of interest at lunch.”

“I did.” Livia grinned. “You’ll never guess who has been doing odd jobs for Karina.”

“Ulrike’s brother?”

“Yes! How did you know?” Livia sat up a little.

“I had heard he had been odd jobbing. But… why…how?”

“According to Gigi Young, Karina has had a tall blond Swede over several times in the last month to fix this or that. He was even there when Gigi popped in once. Very, very good looking, according to Gigi.”

Mitzy took a sip of coffee and pondered. “But how did she get connected with him?”

“I think Arnold palmed the work off on him. She used to call Arnold to fix things. Sometimes he’d do it, sometimes not. If he had a pseudo brother-in-law who needed money, then maybe he saw it as killing two birds with one stone?”

“So, then… do you think that Arnold and Peter would have been over there doing an odd job for Karina? She says she doesn’t know what they were up to, but maybe they were going to do the job first and tell her about it later.”

“Peter? Hmm. I didn’t know his name. It could be, but why? What could she have needed done?”

“Maybe they heard about the winter freeze and wanted to make sure her pipes were taken care of. Does she have a tap out on her balcony for watering the window boxes?”

“I wouldn’t know. But, yeah, winterizing the pipes might make sense. We did have an awful freeze that night.”

“So, what you are suggesting is this brother of Ulrike’s was the second man at the balcony that night…”

“And therefore, the murderer.”

Mitzy sat up. This could be the nail in the coffin, so to speak. All of the pieces fit together. “Will you call the police and tell them?”

Livia frowned, then chuckled. “You’re kidding, right? They don’t want to hear any hair-brained theories from the neighbor. I’m not that Murder She Wrote lady.”

“But if you have decent evidence, don’t you owe it to the police to share it? Or to Arnold?”

“Of course not. The police are smart. They probably already know all of that.”

Mitzy sat back and gave Livia a once-over. She was dressed for lunch out with the girls. Tan leather pants, nylons, and her shiny pumps. A low-cut, cashmere sweater over a lacy shirt of some kind. Her hair was styled, and her makeup was impeccable. Her face was clear and guilt free. She seemed to be completely legit—a society woman who had gotten juicy gossip but knew not to take it too seriously. “So… how is Jason taking Arnold’s death?”

Livia shrugged. “Who knows? Have you ever tried to get a boy to talk about his feelings?”

Jason, all six and a half feet of him, was hardly what Mitzy would call a boy. “He was pretty close to Arnold, though, wasn’t he?”

“Back in the day, he practically lived with them. He even went to St. Lucia with them every summer.”

“So, he was very, very close?”

“Until Todd died, he was. Todd was like his brother.”

“But not Zachary?”

Livia shook her head. “Zachary was kind of a bully. I know you wouldn’t believe it to look at him, but he was a real snob. Jason and Todd were tight, but Zachary couldn’t be bothered with Jase. My son didn’t go to the right school, after all.”

“Kids.” Mitzy shook her head. Had Zachary actually been a snobbish bully, or just a boy who was jealous that his little brother had a best friend that wasn’t him? It would be impossible to know. Zachary probably didn’t even know himself.

“Did Jason ever odd job for Arnold? Pick up a little construction work with him while he was growing up?”

“Nah. Jason worked with his dad. He’s a big, strong kid, but he’s worked in the computer biz his whole life. Still works with his dad, in fact.”

Livia didn’t seem to get what Mitzy suspected, which was good. Her defenses hadn’t gone up. Mitzy exhaled slowly. “I just wish there was something more I could do to help.”

“To help sell the house or solve the murder?”

Mitzy shrugged.

Livia chuckled. “I like you. You have no sense of boundaries at all, do you?”

“I guess not.” Mitzy drained her coffee. “But I do have a busy job, so I’d better get going.”

Livia walked her to the door.

“Thanks for the juicy bit of gossip. Wish I knew how to use it!”

“If anyone could find a use for it, you could.” Livia leaned forward and gave her an air kiss. “Don’t be a stranger.”

Mitzy mulled over what she had learned as she drove home. Peter had every reason to be at the English house, and there was a reasonable explanation for them to be up on the balcony. There was no reason that Mitzy would imagine for them to scale the house like a mountain instead of just waiting for Karina to wake up and let them in. Likewise, she could see no reason on earth to pull Arnold to his death, once you had helped him climb up.

Having a good grasp on who it could have been was like a second cup of coffee late in the morning. Mitzy was energized to unravel the problem. If she could think of a good reason to visit Ulrike, she might just be able to untangle it all.

16

Mitzy spent the rest of the afternoon drumming up business, but her heart wasn’t in it. She knew she had to tell Alonzo about her offer to Karina. She didn’t report to him on her business, any more than he did, but Karina had taken up so much of their time, the murder had consumed so much of their mental energy, and Alonzo himself had helped her find some valuable info. He deserved to know.

She exhaled slowly and stared at her phone. Concoct a reason to get to Ulrike’s or call Alonzo and discuss the little matter of giving away $40,000? She tapped the screen. She turned the phone over. She bit her lip.

She dialed Alonzo.

“Hey.”

Mitzy squeezed her eyes shut. “Hey.”

“What’s wrong?” Alonzo’s lowered his voice.

“Nothing.” She took a sharp breath.

“I’m on lunch. I’ve got all the time in the world, Mitz. What’s up?”

“Whew.” She exhaled slowly. “I don’t know why this is so hard to say.”

“Do you want me to start?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Something has changed for the worse in the English murder case, and you need some help from me. But, you are afraid to ask because you know I’ve already helped, but, in general, I’m just not that into murder.”

“Close.” Mitzy laughed. “You are really close. That English family is a mess. And the house…”

“It’s a murder house. You’ll never sell it. Is that where you’re going?”

“Pretty much.”

“Why were you scared to tell me that?” Alonzo chuckled. “Am I a scary husband?”

Mitzy let a sigh of relief escape. “I know I can’t sell it, but I have a buyer.”

“Hey! Well done.”

“It’s her step-son, and he won’t buy it through an agent, so if I subtract myself from the equation, she gets out of the house.”

“But you lose your commission. It stinks, but it’s a no-brainer. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”

“I’ve got to just back away, right? I mean, it seems like the right thing to do under the circumstances.”

“Of course it is, and frankly, I don’t mind at all. We’re invested in this now, but I wish we could put the English family as far behind us as possible.”

“The trouble is Karina. She won’t hear of it.”

“Why am I not surprised?”

“So, I offered to do the contract but give up my commission. It seemed like a compromise that both parties could appreciate.”

“So, you’re calling to confess?”

“The commission wasn’t small.”

“What else could you do? Send the papers around and put the family behind you. Let’s go have Christmas without worrying about getting that house sold. Does that work for you?”

Mitzy held her breath. No, it didn’t work for her, but he was being so nice about her doing the work unpaid. “I could try.”

“There is no try, right?”

“No one has signed anything yet. But I will do my best to get this all taken care of before Christmas.”

“Let her out of her contract, Mitzy, and walk away. Why not? Call it your Christmas present to yourself. Or to me.”

Darn it. That was one she couldn’t ignore. Especially as she hadn’t come up with a gift for him that came anywhere near the house he bought her, or ever, ever could. “I will do my best. When we drive down to the farm for Christmas, this English mess will be behind us.”

“We’re still going to the farm?” Alonzo sounded confused.

“Er…” Mitzy frowned. She hadn’t said anything to indicate otherwise, had she?

“I’m kidding. Sorry. I can’t think of anything better to get for Christmas than you extricated from this mess.”

“I love you, Al.”

“Good. Love you, too. Come have a bite with me?”

“I already ate.” She grimaced. She had a lot of work to do if she wanted to pin down the murderer before they left for their Christmas in the country.

“See you tonight, then.”

She hated to drop Karina, but if Zachary wouldn’t work with her, it was the only other option. Until it came to that, though, she’d dig into this Peter issue.

The first thing she did was put in a call to Karina. She could tell something about the last time Peter was over fixing the house. Maybe even give a sense of how Peter felt about Arnold and even Arnold’s relationship with Ulrike. Karina answered on the first ring.

“Mitzy! Do you have word from Zachary?”

“None yet. I really don’t think he’ll work with me.”

Karina exhaled in frustration. “Well, then he can’t buy it, can he? Moving on. What do we do next to move the house?”

“I was wondering how you were holding up.” Mitzy needed to swing the conversation away from the house if she wanted any useful information, but Karina sounded especially amped up today.

“I’m fine. I spoke with the police again yesterday. It seems like they have so many questions that I just don’t know the answers to. They should talk to Ulrike, really. What do I know about his day-to-day life? I mean, really. As if I wanted to answer one more question about the man who destroyed my life.” Her voice rose and cracked. If she was holding it together at all, it was by a thread. “The sooner I’m rid of this house, the better.”

“I agree. But… with the ongoing investigation…”

“Murder houses don’t sell.” Karina sighed, her voice dropping abruptly. “I just want to get away from it all.”

“I don’t blame you.” Mitzy racked her brain. “It can’t be pleasant having the house hanging around your neck. Are you still sleeping at the hotel?”

“No, I had to come home. I was afraid that if the house was unoccupied, people would come swarming to it to see where the murder happened. And that… that couldn’t be good for the sale.”

Mitzy rocked her head back and forth. Actually… no. Perhaps Karina was right. The people who wanted to take pictures of a murder scene weren’t necessarily the same people who would buy the house. “I was just wondering about that night… and what Arnold was doing there.”

“If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times. I just don’t know.”

“Could he have thought of some repair that needed doing and decided to do it without asking?”

“That would be highly unlike him. Thinking of someone else… no. Not likely at all.”

“What about the guy he was with? Could he have been someone who knew about some work that needed done and asked Arnold for help? Maybe Arnold wasn’t the one who decided to come by that night.”

“Are you thinking of Zachary?”

“Maybe, or maybe someone else who had done work for you…” She drummed her pencil on the desk. It was now or never. Karina either fessed up to being familiar with Ulrike’s odd jobbing brother or she didn’t.

“Peter? No. He just did whatever I asked him to. He was good, but he wasn’t a take-charge kind of guy, you know? I expect he just wanted a little money under the table while he was in the country.”

“So, he wouldn’t have known of any little repairs or winterizing issues that needed doing.”

“If he did, he would hardly have cared. In fact, the last time I needed something done he didn’t come at all. I had words with Arnold’s assistant about that.”

“With Ulrike? You had a fight with Arnold’s girlfriend?”

“I wouldn’t say it was a fight. She was just as irritated with her brother as I was. She was perfectly happy for him to take my money, especially when it kept me from calling her sugar daddy. I mean, I’m sure you can understand that.”

She couldn’t understand any of it, frankly. “What job did Peter flake out on? Could he have come back to take care of it later, and maybe, I don’t know, maybe Arnold saw something that needed done while they were here?”

“Peter would hardly come to fix my leaky toilet in the middle of the night, and really, even if he had, Arnold wouldn’t have seen anything in the dark of night that needed fixing.”

Karina sounded logical, except a snowy, starlit night with a bright moon was hardly dark. In fact, it often felt brighter than dusk. It was unusual enough for Portland that Arnold could have easily been distracted by all he could see in the night, and that alone might have made him notice something extra he could fix while he was there. Mitzy kept those thoughts to herself. It was the most sensible idea yet, though it did hinge on a midnight toilet repair. “Did Peter have a key to the house?”

“No.”

“What about Arnold? Maybe Peter did want to fix the toilet in the middle of the night and brought Arnold to let him in.”

Karina was silent, except for her breathing, which was fast.

“Do you think I might be on to something?”

“The idea is terrifying, Mitzy. As the toilet in question is in my master bathroom.”

“Ahh.” Mitzy agreed that the idea of an ex-husband and his buddy sneaking around the master bedroom while you slept was a terrifying one.

“And anyway. If they had come up to my bedroom with a key, why would they have then scaled the face of the house to get to the balcony?”

“And the toilet was the only job left undone?” If there was something else…. anything else, then this theory had teeth. Especially if they scaled the front of the house to keep from waking Karina up.

“I think so.” Karina paused. “No. Wait. It wasn’t. I also wanted my greenhouse winterized.”

Mitzy grinned. “So maybe… maybe he did bring Arnold with him to do the greenhouse, and Arnold decided he needed to take care of winter issues with your balcony door! Do you realize you may have just solved the key to this investigation?”

Karina let out a long, slow, aggravated sounding breath. “Except that the greenhouse is still not taken care of, and they had the climbing gear with them. Who would bring climbing gear to fix a greenhouse?”

Mitzy shook her head. “That’s beside the point. Anyone might have had it in their car. Thank you so much, Karina. You have really helped me out.”

“How does any of this help you sell my house?”

“Oh, we’ll see! I will call you back as soon as I know the answer to that. Take care of yourself, okay?”

“You do the same…” Karina’s voice trailed off.

Mitzy ended the call, giddy. Sure, she didn’t know why Peter might have hated Arnold enough to kill him, but she had a reasonable explanation for both of them being at the house and up on the balcony. She could get to the bottom of this tonight if she didn’t miss a step.

She dismissed entirely the nagging voice at the back of her mind that said if it was this easy, the police would have solved it by now. The police might well know everything she knew, but then again, people had their guard up with the police. No one suspected she was capable of unraveling the tangle on her own.

***

It was getting late, but Mitzy had her next step narrowed down to three options. She could beard the lion in her den, i.e., go visit Ulrike and make her spill the beans about her brother Peter…

Mitzy scratched her head. No, she didn’t have three options after all. Just the one. Everyone else had spilled everything they knew. It was up to Ulrike now… but… she’d have to catch her off guard. If she suspected Mitzy was after information about Peter, then she would have her defenses up, and the trip would be wasted.

Her only chance was to take Bonnie with her and have Bonnie address the issues regarding Dirk and his contract.

Mitzy dialed Bonnie. “Hey, how are you doing?” She hated beating around the bush, but there wasn’t another option right now. Bonnie wouldn’t appreciate being a prop for Mitzy’s investigation, so she’d have to ease her into taking the trip to Ulrike’s office.

“I’m hanging in there.”

“Have you and Dirk been able to talk?”

Bonnie sniffled.

A wave of guilt washed over Mitzy. It wasn’t right to just use this poor girl. Perhaps she really could make this trip down to English Cottages work out for Bonnie. Maybe a confrontation would be good for the put-upon young bride. Mitzy waited for Bonnie to talk.