Death Changes Everything (17 page)

“I’d like to meet him. Can he come see me?”

“I’m sure he’d be happy to meet you, CeCe. When would it be convenient for you?”

“Tomorrow. Doesn’t matter when, just call me first and I’ll be sure to put my teeth in. Oh my dear, are you all right?”

Emma was choking on her coffee and managed somehow to stammer, “I’ll have him call you in the morning.” When Grace had written down Cecily’s phone number, the two bid a hasty goodbye.

“I shall be interested to know why she was so excited when she heard Jacob’s name,” said Grace when they were safely back in the SUV on their way downtown.

“I noticed that, too. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out. Grace, I have clients I simply must see this afternoon. Would you mind if I drop you at the bookstore for a few hours?”

“I’m a little tired after all those stairs. Would Jacob be able to bring you home if I took the car?”

“I’m sure he could. Grace, I’m so sorry. I should have noticed. You really do look tired.”

“It’s nothing to worry about. I’ll take a nap and be right as rain this evening.”

***

“You look awful,” said Kristy, opening her door to Matt.

“You’re the third person today who’s told me that.”

“Because it’s true. Who were the other two?”

“Jake and Captain Danning. They both told me to go home and go to sleep.”

Kristy kissed him. “Well, I’m glad. You were pushing it, going to work today. Can I get you some soup?”

“I would love soup. What’ve you got?”

“I made tomato bisque, but if you want something more substantial, I have leftover chicken and dumplings in the freezer.”

“Nah, tomato’s good.” Matt sat on a stool at the bar and watched Kristy in the kitchen. “You didn’t happen to talk to Danning today, did you?”

Kristy spooned hot soup into bowls and shredded cheese over the top. “No. Why?”

“He seemed to know a lot more than I thought he should have about the investigation. He even knew about my headaches and dizziness and the frickin’ crossword puzzle.”

Kristy put Matt’s soup on the counter. “I don’t know about the crossword, but sweetie, nobody has to tell him how you’re feeling. One look at that scraggly mug and he can guess the rest.”

“That good, huh?”

She leaned against the counter and blew on her soup. “I tried to tell you, but you’re a bit…”

“Dedicated?”

“Stubborn. Pig-headed. Obstinate. Mulish.”

Matt held up his hands. “Okay, okay. I give.”

“When did you see Jake?”

Matt looked sheepish. “At Della Hill’s house.”

“By that hangdog look on your face, I’m guessing it was after Captain Danning told you to go home.” Kristy shook her head. “Was it worth it?”

“She’s either clueless or in heavy-duty denial about her family. Jake gave me a copy of Roger’s will.” Matt pulled out the envelope and went into the living room. Collapsing onto the sofa, he kicked off his shoes and put his feet up on the coffee table.

Kristy plucked it from his hands. “Read later. Nap first.” She sat down next to him and patted her lap. He laid his head in her lap and she gently stroked his hair.

“This is nice,” sighed Matt. “I’m glad Danning made me come home.”

Kristy watched his features relax, her heart swelling to know how at home he felt with her. She took a deep breath. “I love you, Matt,” she whispered, but he had already fallen asleep.

15

Jake watched Matt drive away, then went back inside to say goodbye to Della. He stopped at the courthouse to file the will, then headed back to his office to search for Walter Winters. When nothing came up on the Internet, he launched a public records search. While he waited for the results, he went over the facts as he knew them, but it brought him no closer to a solution.

Atop any list of suspects is always the victim’s spouse. Maddie Hill was either a very good actress or she was genuinely grieved. Morty had checked Steven’s travel and it appeared he’d been accompanied by a variety of women on his trips over a number of years, none of them his wife. Maddie was no fool. She may have turned a blind eye, but she had to have known about it. If she hadn’t killed him before, why now Roger’s will gave her five million reasons to keep Steven alive, if she’d seen it.

Pam Young now stood to inherit twice the fortune, but that was only a motive if she’d seen Roger’s will and if she had an expectation that Roger would not change his will after Steven died. The timing of her father’s death, when he had told Jake he intended to make such a change, was suspicious. The Coroner had assured Matt that Roger’s death was by natural causes though, so Jake thought money was an unlikely motive for Pam.

A stronger motive was her fifteen-year grudge against both Roger and Steven. In spite of Della’s assurances to the contrary, Pam herself had announced the men had forced her out of the company and she didn’t seem over it to him. She lived on the next block and could have come and gone by way of the alley, without much risk of being seen. Grace had eliminated Pam, pointing out that Steven’s murder was impulsive and Pam would have had plenty of time to plan.

Bruce Lewiston had been passed over for promotion when Roger appointed Steven CEO. This could have come as no surprise, since Roger had always been open about his intentions. The only way Roger would have promoted Lewiston was if there was no one in the family ready to take the helm. Lewiston would likely have assumed, as Jake had, that with Steven out of the way, Roger would bring Pam back. With Roger gone, too, Jake expected Pam would soon step in.

Lewiston had known about the fund that had supported Hill Energy’s workforce since the price of oil dropped. Even if he’d successfully hidden it from the family for years, the current downturn was too severe for even Steven to ignore. Had he confronted Lewiston about it?

Jake wished the auditor would finish his work and tell them how Lewiston had managed to set up the fund. If he forged signatures, he would be facing serious prison time and that would give him a reason to kill Steven before he could take action against him. Since neither man had a meeting on their calendar, perhaps Steven had told Lewiston to come to his house. How could none of the neighbors have noticed someone coming to the house that morning or heard the shots?

Next, Jake considered Valerie Smith. She had Roger’s address so had she broken into his house? If she was having an affair with Steven, she could have gotten the code from him, since it was Steven who gave it to the pool company. Still, if she’d written down the address, wouldn’t she have written down the code and the combination for the safe? If she’d stolen from his parents, perhaps Steven had threatened her with the wild shot, but why would he put the gun down where she could pick it up and shoot him?

The wild card in all of this was Walter Winters. He had returned Hill’s money when his mother died, why would he want to find him now? If he went looking for Roger and found him out of town, it made sense that he would go to see Steven. Perhaps they had argued, but again, why would Steven take a shot at someone only to let that person turn his gun against him?

Maybe Winters wrestled the gun from Steven and shot him before he could get to the gun safe for another weapon. There was no way Valerie could have overpowered Steven, but maybe Winters could have. At least that scenario made sense, assuming Winters had come to Casper. Jake’s head was spinning when his computer beeped.

“Well, I’ll be darned.” Jake printed the screen and called Matt. When his phone went to voicemail, he called Brugnick. “Cross Winters off your list, Morty.”

“He was definitely somewhere else when Hill died?”

“Yep.”

“Can anyone verify his alibi?”

“The State of California can. Walter Winters died three months ago.”

***

Saturday morning found Jake and Emma standing outside of Cecily’s apartment, waiting for her to answer the bell. “Why are we doing this again?” Jake had asked when Emma made him put on a suit and tie.

“CeCe likes you. The minute I mentioned your name, she got all excited.”

“But a suit? On a Saturday? Really?”

“It won’t kill you and I think CeCe will be pleased. She might even vote for you.”

“Do I have to do this every time I meet a voter? Shouldn’t I just be myself?”

Emma had tilted her head and looked at him. “You have a point. Lose the tie.”

The older woman answered and her face beamed when she saw Emma. “Emma! I’m so glad you’ve come. Always easier to get to know a man when you’ve got his wife around to make sure he tells you the truth.”

She shook Jake’s hand, then pulled them into the apartment, offering Emma the same chair she’d sat in the day before. Jake sat down next to her while Cecily busied herself in the kitchen, then joined them, bearing a plate of home-baked cookies.

“I’m real glad to know you, Jake,” she said, pressing him to take one of her oatmeal raisin cookies.

“I’m happy to know you, too,” said Jake, biting reluctantly into the cookie. “This is really good. Emma you need to get CeCe’s recipe.”

The woman grinned, obviously pleased. She peppered Jake with questions, more about his character than his politics. Emma was impressed with how well Jake handled himself, answering each question with patience and candor. When Jake had answered all of her questions, Cecily seemed satisfied. She stood up but motioned for Jake to stay seated.

“I’ll be right back,” she told them, then disappeared into the back of the apartment. She returned a few moments later, pulling on the arm of the young woman they had been searching for since Steven Hill’s funeral. “He’s all right, Valerie. You can tell him.”

The young woman looked ready to bolt, but Jake had risen and was holding his hand, his most charming smile encouraging her to stay. She didn’t take his hand, but she did sit down.

“Jake, this is my great-niece, Valerie Smith.”

Jake raised his eyebrows and Cecily chuckled. “I know, but her name really is Smith. I teased her when she got married. Told her she ought to have him take her name instead.”

“Smith is a perfectly good name, Aunt CeCe.” Emma recognized her distinctive accent.

“You’re from California. So am I. Born and raised.”

“What part?”

“Santa Barbara. What about you?”

“Northridge.”

There was an awkward silence and Cecily nudged Valerie. “Go on, tell them.”

Tears brimmed in Valerie’s eyes. “I just can’t, Aunt CeCe. I can’t do it.”

“She’s had a tough time since she got here. Do you want me to tell them?” Valerie nodded. “Valerie’s mama, she died when Valerie was knee high to a grasshopper. All she ever had was her daddy. He was my sister’s boy.”

“Was?” asked Emma gently, watching as Valerie blinked hard and rubbed her eyes.

“He died a few months ago.”

“I’m so sorry, Valerie.”

“It was his heart,” she said, sniffling. Cecily handed her a box of tissues and Valerie took one. “Doctor told him last year he better quit smoking but Daddy always had to have his cigar after dinner. I tried to get him to stop.” A sob escaped and she wiped her eyes with the tissue. “He told me life wasn’t worth living if he couldn’t have his cigars.”

“Now, child,” said Cecily. “Your daddy didn’t mean anything by that. It was just his way, is all.” She looked at Emma. “Valerie went over one Sunday morning after church, like she always did. Only he didn’t answer the door. She found him lying there, poor thing.”

“Oh no.” Emma went to sit beside Valerie, pushing Jake over and putting her arm around the girl. “I’m so sorry.”

“I was going through his things, getting ready to sell the house. I found some of my grandmother’s things in the attic.”

“That was my sister,” injected Cecily.

“I read her diary, from when she was pregnant with Daddy.”

“Valerie’s expecting her own baby now,” added Cecily, as proud as thought Valerie were her own child.

“I just wanted to see, I don’t know, what it was like back then. I never dreamed…”

“She never dreamed her grandfather wasn’t really her grandfather!” Cecily finished for her. “It was a shock to me, let me tell you. My sister having another man’s child. I was never so stunned in all my days.”

“You didn’t know about it when it happened?”

“I was just a kid when Trudy left home. Thought she’d make her way in the world. My folks might’ve known, but nobody ever told me anything.”

“Your grandmother’s name was Trudy?” asked Jake.

“Yes.”

“Trudy Winters,” said Cecily. “That was her married name. Klingman’s our family name.”

“And you came here looking for Roger Hill, your biological grandfather?”

“How did you know?” Valerie looked frightened.

“Did you find him?”

“It said in the diary he was from Casper, so I came to visit Aunt CeCe. She got his address and I went over there, but he wasn’t home. His grandson said they were on a cruise around the world.”

“Can you believe that? Who takes a cruise all the way around the world?” asked Cecily but Jake ignored her.

“Roger’s grandson answered the door? When was this?”

“A couple of weeks ago.”

“On a Saturday?”

“I don’t think so. Aunt CeCe, do you remember?”

“It was a Thursday. Trash day.”

Jake nodded. “How do you know the man was Roger’s grandson?”

“He told me his grandparents were on a cruise. When I asked when they’d be back, he said maybe another month. I said I just had to talk to him so he told me his uncle would know how to reach them.”

“What happened then?”

“He wrote his uncle’s name and address down for me and I left.”

“Did you go see his uncle?”

Valerie started to shake. “Go on, child. You didn’t do anything wrong.” When Valerie shook her head, Cecily picked up her story. “She tried, but nobody was home. Took her all the way ‘til Saturday to catch him.”

“Was Steven’s wife there when you went to the house Saturday?”

Valerie shook her head. “I didn’t see anybody but him.”

“What did Steven say when you told him why you were in town?”

Valerie started twisting the tissue in her hands. “He laughed at me. Told me I was a liar and I just wanted his father’s money. I told him I didn’t know anything about any money. I just wanted to meet him, you know. Know what he was like, what kind of person he was.”  

“Steven didn’t believe you?”

“He said I didn’t have any proof so I showed him the diary. He took it and he wouldn’t give it back! I grabbed at it and he shoved me. He pulled a gun out of the closet and told me to get out and forget I ever heard about his family.”

“What did you do?”

Valerie stared at Jake, her eyes wide. “What do you think I did? I got outta there!”

“And the next day, he was dead,” said Cecily. “That’s why she’s been afraid to tell anybody she was there. She’s been afraid someone would think she killed him.”

“You came to Steven’s funeral?”

Valerie nodded. “I knew Roger Hill would be there. I just wanted to see him. I couldn’t make him believe me without the diary, but I came so far. I just had to see him.”

“But you looked so angry,” said Emma.

Valerie twisted the tissue until it tore. “It made me mad, seeing them all like that. I couldn’t even have a funeral for Daddy. Just had him cremated and I scattered the ashes. Nobody would’ve come to a funeral anyway, ‘cept me and Davy.”

“That’s her husband,” offered Cecily. “He’s in the movies.”

Valerie blushed. “He’s a day player. Does crowd scenes, that kind of thing. He’s back in L.A. I should go home, too, only my car got towed and I can’t afford to get it back. I’ve been looking for work, but everybody keeps saying they don’t want to hire me ‘cuz I’m not from Wyoming.”

“Did you ever get a chance to speak to Roger?” asked Emma.

Valerie’s eyes looked fearful again, so Cecily answered for her. “She went to his house. Took her a whole week to get up courage.”

“Older lady let me in. I don’t know who she was, but she was at the funeral. She said she remembered me from the funeral and asked if I knew Steven. I told her I wanted to pay my respects to his dad so she took me back to see him.”

“Did she stay in the room?”

“No. She knocked on the door and told him I was a friend of Steven’s. Then she pushed me into the room and shut the door behind me.”