03 Murder by Mishap (27 page)

“That was pure coincidence. We’d already contacted the lawn maintenance company the Bishops use. They’d already agreed to send me in as an employee, and when Bishop mentioned his wife wanted to restore the gardens, it was just the excuse I needed to hang around the place.”

Mary, Charlie and Starling were listening to Edna and
Goran
with rapt attention. Besides
Goran
, only Edna had known that Stephen Bishop was one of the bankers being threatened. She was also the only one who knew of his duplicity in stealing his wife’s jewelry in order to pay off the extortionists.

Remembering Stephen’s suspicions that Peg had been in his office, Edna said, “You were the one who took the brooch from Stephen’s desk.”

“Right again,”
Goran
agreed. “I broke into the office one afternoon when nobody was home.
Easy enough since I had access to the house.
We’re bonded, you know.” He gave a short laugh at his own joke before he went on. “I thought something funny must be going on when Bishop was so ready to give up his wife’s jewelry, once he’d depleted his own savings. I’d already decided to go through his desk to see if there was anything pertinent to our investigation. When I saw the brooch, I took it to have it appraised. I’d planned to put it back before he could miss it.”

“Did you know it was a copy?”

He shook his head, “I suspected, but didn’t know for sure.”

“How did it end up in the dirt,” Starling spoke up. “Mother told me that’s where she found it.”

He looked sheepish.
“Careless of me.
It must have dropped out of my pocket when I was tilling up the garden, probably when I pulled out my handkerchief to wipe my face. I didn’t have a clue where to look when I realized it was gone.” His voice was full of suppressed laughter when he said, “Nice of your mother to find it and hang around until I got there.”

Edna felt the color creep up her neck and into her cheeks at the memory of getting caught in the fence. She quickly diverted the conversation. “Stephen thought Peg took the brooch from his desk. Why didn’t he suspect you, since you were the one receiving his payments?”

“Remember. He knew me only as a gardener,”
Goran
said. “His payoffs were left at a drop sight. Bishop never dealt directly with anyone except the initial contact and that was necessary only to acquire the original loan. After that, Bishop received his instructions by phone.”

“How did
you
know where the drop was, then?” This time Mary asked the question. Edna was surprised her crime-enthusiast neighbor had managed to keep quiet for as long as she had.

“I was informed through my contact at the Treasury,”
Goran
said. He winked at Mary and added, “Can’t tell you how they found out.
Top secret.”

“What did you do with the jewelry,” Edna said with the sudden realization that Peg might be able to reclaim some of her property if it hadn’t, in fact, been turned over to be broken apart or melted down.

Goran’s
eyes sparkled with suppressed humor. “Every piece is tucked away in a safe deposit box at her husband’s bank.”

Edna stood stunned for a second or two before she choked out a laugh. “You’re kidding. You hid it right under Stephen’s nose?”

“Sure did. Made certain he wasn’t around when I went to the vault, of course, but I figured it would be a pretty safe place.”

They all laughed, and Edna shook her head, chuckling at his audacity. “Peg will be pleased and relieved.”

Starling turned to Jaycee. “Where have you been? We were worried about you.”

The young woman frowned and looked from Starling to Edna. “Didn’t you get my note? I stuck it on your front door.”

“It ended up under our wet newspaper,” Edna explained, “looking more like a finger painting than a message.”

“What did it say,” Starling asked.

“I wrote that
Goran
and I would be away for a few days and please don’t worry.” Jaycee looked apologetically at Starling. “I know we had plans. I’m so sorry you didn’t get my message.”

Uncharacteristically, Starling didn’t seem in a forgiving mood, at the moment. “Why did you leave that envelope with my mother? She and Mary were threatened as a result of your thoughtlessness. They could have been killed.”

“I know, I know,” Jaycee said, obviously upset at both the thought and the accusation. “When
Goran
came to my house to tell me who he was and that my cover had been blown, we had to leave at once. It was the middle of the night. I didn’t have a chance to get the envelope back, and I really didn’t think anyone would suspect your mother was holding it for me.”

Edna interjected to calm her daughter. “It wasn’t Jaycee’s fault. That man wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t answered the door with the envelope in my hand.” To Jaycee and
Goran
, she said, “Where
have
you been?” 

“Hopping around Boston suburbs,”
Goran
answered. “We stayed in a different town each night and roamed around during the day.” He glanced at Jaycee with affection.

 “Were you hiding from the guy in the picture, the shadow guy,” Mary asked. “Is that who we just arrested?”

“From what I learned this afternoon, our lab techs are nearly positive the shadow in the photo matches the profile of the man you arrested,”
Goran
answered Mary, speaking to Charlie as well.

Jaycee said. “I didn’t realize that the fire was all part of this major extortion ring until after I agreed to testify. I received several threats before the trial, but once it was over and the arsonist went to prison, I thought it was all over.”

Goran
picked up the explanation. “We’d been watching this bunch, building a case. When Carol ... or Jaycee ...” he stopped and shrugged. “To avoid confusing everyone, let’s keep calling her Jaycee. Anyway, when she left Chicago and went to stay with her grandmother in Florida, everyone thought she was out of harm’s way. I wasn’t really part of that end of things, just assigned here in Providence to watch Bishop, once we took out the real courier. You could have blown me away when I met up with one of our chief
witnesses
right here in this yard.

“When I notified my superiors that Carol James was in the area, they told me to get her out. Said they’d just learned she’d been located. My cover was established at the Bishop’s and things were pretty quiet, so her safety became my top priority.” He grinned at her. “Best assignment of my career.” She reddened slightly and smiled back.

“If you were safe in Florida, how come you came up here,” Mary asked. She had been quiet, watching and listening carefully to all that was said. As usual, her question was pertinent, if not diplomatic.

Jaycee met Mary’s steady gaze. “When I found evidence of a second man at the fire, I figured they’d still be after me. I had already hoped to spend some time here in New England, so I just left Florida sooner than planned. I didn’t want Gran to get involved.”

“Hadn’t you spotted the shadow man in your pictures before you testified,” Starling asked, using Mary’s name for the arsonist.

Jaycee shook her head. “I got the memory chip back only after the trial was over. When I got to Gran’s, I was showing the pictures to her and that’s when I saw him. She was sitting at the computer and I was standing behind her. When seen from a distance, it’s a more obvious silhouette. I called Dietz to tell him what I found. He was my contact in Chicago.”

 Edna studied Jaycee for a second or two and said, “We guessed why someone was after you when we saw that shadow in your photos and realized you had proof of a second arsonist. It explains why you’re using an alias, but why did your grandmother buy a house? Why not just rent an apartment?”

“That was Gran’s idea when I told her why I had to leave for a while. She insisted on talking to Dietz and when she found out he had a contact not far from Westerly where she’d grown up, she insisted I come here. She thought if she bought a house under her name, nobody would guess this is where I’d be staying. Besides, we didn’t know how long I’d have to hide out.” A blush reddened her cheeks. “Guess we have a lot to learn about going underground.”

Charlie frowned peevishly. “I wish Dietz had filled me in more before he went off on another assignment. It’s a good think
Goran
happened along and knew enough to take over.”

Mary uncrossed her arms and rested her hands behind her, as if she were about to boost herself onto the hood of the car. She asked Jaycee, “Will you sell and move away now?”

Their neighbor shook her head and flushed with pleasure.
“Actually, no.
My idea for an illustrated, historic cookbook is something I want to pursue. At first, Gran and I thought it up as a cover story, but after we talked about it and you all had such great ideas,” at this she looked from Mary to Edna to Starling, “I’m hooked--on the food and on all the history in this region. Also, Gran wants to come for a visit, back to her old ‘
stompin
’ ground,’ as she calls it. Actually, I think that’s why she bought the house in the first place.”

“So, you won’t disappear on us again,” Edna asked with a smile.

“Well, maybe once in a while,” Jaycee admitted. She grinned up at
Goran
and slipped her hand into his.

“She’ll be needed in Chicago,” he said, “while we’re tying up the case.” He looked at Charlie. “She’s in no more danger, since you arrested the second arsonist and Chicago’s got the head of this little organization. This time, we’ve got plenty of witnesses who’ve agreed to testify. That’s taken some of the attention off Jaycee, too.”

With a sudden thought, Edna said, “What about the Providence police? According to them, you’re one of the extortionists. They’re looking for you.”

“Not anymore,” Charlie interjected. “I phoned the department this afternoon. Talked to a detective working on the case and told her that
Pittlani
and I would be in to talk with them sometime tomorrow.”

“Is that your real name?
Goran
Pittlani
?” Mary asked.

“Don’t you like it,”
Goran
tried to look offended, but there was a twinkle in his eye. He didn’t answer her question, though, before Starling spoke up.

“Getting back to the idea of food,” she said, nodding at Jaycee. “I’m starving. Does anyone else want to go eat?” She looked around the group.

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Charlie said. He also looked around to include everyone when he added, “Anyone up for a little surf and turf?”

“I need to find my kitten and feed Hank,” Mary said, pushing away from the car. “Thanks all the same.”

Edna glanced at her watch. “I want to be here when Albert gets home, so I’ll pass, too. You young folks go along.”

Mary strode off toward her house with Hank running ahead of her. Charlie opened the door of his car for Starling, and
Goran
put his arm around Jaycee’s shoulders as they headed for the Kia. Edna retrieved her suitcase from Starling’s car and, as she unlocked and opened the front door, Benjamin scampered in. Before she stepped inside, Edna waved to Mary when her neighbor turned to call to the half-grown, black kitten who was cautiously stalking her.

While Edna unpacked her bag, fed Benjamin and prepared a supper that could be heated quickly once Albert arrived, she mulled over what she could tell him about the past week. While he had been away, tending to Stan instead of enjoying a relaxing week of golf, she had spent most of her time with Peg.

Edna would, of course, tell Albert about Virginia’s death, although the complication of the brooch and how she happened to spot it or the
Froissard
family’s involvement were all irrelevant. No, she wouldn’t tire Albert with insignificant details. After all, he had not known Virginia well, had not known the
Froissards
at all, and wasn’t interested in jewelry.

She was certain he would like to know that Stephen Bishop was in the hospital recovering from knee surgery and that Peg would probably be getting a divorce, but he needn’t be concerned with the how’s or why’s.

Breaking lettuce into a small bowl, ready to be dressed before dinner, she wondered what to tell Albert about their new neighbor. That she was young and pretty, certainly, and that she was a photojournalist. He would like the fact that Jaycee had so much in common with their youngest daughter. Edna wouldn’t mention being threatened at gunpoint. It would only cause Albert undue distress and he’d had enough worries this past week. If pieces of Jaycee’s history came into conversation in the future which might prompt him to ask questions, she would explain then. She really doubted her possession of Jaycee’s camera chip would arise.

With a self-satisfied sigh, she thought the summary of her week would please and entertain Albert while they enjoyed their usual pre-dinner drink by the fire.

An hour later, she was sitting in her favorite chair beside a glowing fire, listening to her “Middlemarch” audio book and working on the sweater for her six-month-old grandson when Albert got home.

#  #  #

Acknowledgements

A particular “thank you” goes to my cousin for his real estate expertise and for the guided tour of Martha’s Vineyard.