Death Changes Everything (18 page)

“What did Roger say when you told him who you are?”

“I couldn’t. Not at first. I just stood there, like an idiot. I didn’t know what to say. Finally, he said I looked so familiar and he got this look on his face. He said I looked like someone he knew a long time ago.”

“She’s the spitting image of Trudy at that age.”

“He had such an, I don’t know, wistful look on his face, I just poured it all out to him.” Tears brimmed in her eyes again. “And he believed me. He cried, can you believe it? He said was glad to see me. We sat and talked. He was so nice.”

Valerie stopped and smiled, her eyes unfocused. “I told him about Davy and the baby. He promised to help us out, help us get on our feet until Davy’s career takes off. I told him I didn’t need any help and that wasn’t why I wanted to see him, but he insisted. He said he was changing his will, with Steven gone, and he’d have his lawyer put in a provision for me, just like he was doing for all his grandchildren.”

“So he was in a good mood when you left him?”

“He was tired. He was rubbing his chest like Daddy used to do when his heart was hurting him. I asked what I could do to help him, but he said he had medicine for it. He asked me to come back in a few days and see him again.”

“And then what?”

“Then I left. There was a big French door to the side yard and I left that way.”

“And Roger was fine when you left him?”

“He was ringing a little bell. He said his wife knew when he rang it, to bring his medicine right away. I wanted to stay to make sure he was okay, but he said he didn’t want her to find out about me like that.”

“Have you met with anyone else in the Hill family? His daughter, Pam Young? His wife, Della? Maybe Steven’s wife, Maddie or her daughter, Melody?”

Valerie shook her head as Jake listed each name. “I haven’t seen anybody else. I’m starting to think God doesn’t mean me to be part of their family.”

“I just have one question,” said Emma, looking at Cecily. “When I told you Jake’s name, I may be mistaken, but it seemed familiar to you.”

Valerie answered for her aunt. “It was in the box, with the diary. There was an envelope with
Joseph Rand, Attorney at Law
on the return address. Aunt CeCe couldn’t find anybody by that name, but she thought maybe he was your father.”

“Yes. He was Roger’s attorney. He forwarded money every month, from Roger to Trudy. I sent the checks after he retired, but the address I sent them to wasn’t in Northridge.”

“Grandma Trudy lived in San Diego. She died quite a while ago.”

“I’ll see what I can do about getting your car out of hock. You know I’m going to have to speak to the police about what you’ve told me.”

“We know that, Jake,” said Cecily. “That’s why I asked you all those questions before I brought Valerie out. You’re an honest man and we trust you to do what’s right.”

“I’ll be in touch when I have news. Please don’t leave town.”

“I have no money to go anywhere.”

“Valerie didn’t kill anybody,” insisted Cecily.

“I know you believe Valerie, but she needs to cooperate with the police for them to believe her.”

Cecily threw her arms around Jake. “I knew you could help her. I might even vote for you!”

***

“Do you believe her?” Jake was driving Emma to her office. She had been juggling her schedule but there were clients who needed her and who couldn’t be put off. She had three appointments, but the first wasn’t for another forty minutes.

“Yes and no. When she talks about her father, her grief seems genuine, but there are other parts of her story that seem a little rehearsed.”

“I agree. By her own admission, she was with Steven before he was killed and she was with Roger before he died, though the coroner says he wasn’t murdered. Valerie says Della let her in, but Della never mentioned Roger having a visitor.”

“Valerie says Steven pulled a gun on her to scare her into leaving town, but if she’s the one he fired the shot at, why wouldn’t she mention that? It doesn’t make sense.”

“Unless she was lying about the whole thing.”

“She’s not lying about being there. Nobody lies to put themselves at the scene of a crime. There’s something she’s not telling us. When did Valerie’s car get towed?”

“Not until after Steven’s murder. The other part of her story that doesn’t ring true is her running into Ryan Young at Roger’s house. Why would he be there? Talk about putting yourself at the scene of the crime, Valerie’s three for three.”

“You think she made it up, hoping to pin the break-in on Pam’s son? How would she have the alarm code or the combination to the safe?”

“Before I met Valerie, I wondered if she might be having an affair with Steven. Maybe she’s making up the story about being Roger’s granddaughter. I haven’t heard of the police finding a diary.”

“That would make more sense, but that would mean that CeCe’s lying, too, and I don’t get that feeling.”

“Little old ladies can lie, just like everybody else. Sometimes better because they’ve had more practice.”

“I thought you liked CeCe.”

“I did, but we don’t know her. We don’t know what she’s really like.”

“If Valerie’s been in California, CeCe may not have seen her in years.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning what if Valerie’s an imposter? CeCe thinks she’s telling us the truth because that’s what the fake Valerie has told her.”

“Em, you read too many mystery books. That’s ridiculous. Walter Winters was Trudy Klingman’s son by Roger Hill. We can confirm whether Valerie Smith is Walter’s daughter.”

“And whether our Valerie is the real Valerie.” Jake slammed his hand on the steering wheel, making Emma jump. “Okay, fine. You hate my theory. You don’t have to break your hand.”

“It’s not that. It’s Valerie’s car. Matt said both the car and the license plate had been reported stolen.”

“That means Valerie really is lying, which means CeCe is lying too. That’s sad.”

“I can’t believe I forgot that. I’m such an idiot. How does Matt keep all the details straight?”

“You’re not an idiot. Matt’s been specially trained to be a detective and he’s been doing this a lot longer than we have.”

Jake parked in front of Emma’s building. One of the perks of working on a Saturday was easy parking. “Come on. I’ll use Kristy’s computer while you’re working. I want to see what I can find out about Valerie Smith. What did she say her husband’s name was?”

“Davy.”

“David Smith. I can’t imagine how many of them there are in L.A.”

“Why don’t you work backwards from Walter? Start checking with crematories and see if you can verify her story that way.”

“I knew there was a reason I married you.”

“I hope there was more than one reason.”

16

By the time Emma’s last client left, Jake had been able to verify at least some of Valerie’s story. He had spoken to a man at Chapel Hills Funeral Services who confirmed that Walter Winters had been cremated and his daughter, a woman fitting Valerie’s description, had handled the arrangements.

There was a David Smith in the Screen Actors Guild and the age looked about right, but the actor’s credits didn’t match how Valerie described them. There was no personal information available. He could find no marriage license on file for David and Valerie, nor any record of her high-school graduation. He did find Valerie’s birth certificate, listing Walter as her father, and he’d located her mother’s death certificate dated six years later.

“I’ll give this to Morty,” he told Emma as they drove home. “Police have access to information I don’t. Maybe he can find something.”

“Let’s see if everyone can come over for a meeting tonight.”

“Already done. I called ahead and warned Grace. She said she’d make a pot of chili.”

Jeb was already there when they got home. Kristy and Matt arrived within minutes, with Detective Brugnick following in his car. Grace’s chili and home-baked cornbread were the perfect complement for a cold night and she’d made apple cobbler for dessert from the last of the farmer’s market apples.

“Grace, between your cooking and Kristy’s, I’m gonna have to join a gym,” said Matt, rubbing his belly and pushing back in his chair.

Grace glowed under Matt’s praise and shooed the team into the living room while she insisted on clearing the table. Jake reported what he and Emma had learned from Valerie and the concerns they had with her story.

“Matt, did the police find Trudy’s diary?” asked Emma, when Jake had finished speaking.

“Morty?”

The young detective was consulting his notes. “I don’t see it here. I’ll check the full inventory tomorrow.”

“I hate to admit it,” said Jake, “but I forgot all about Valerie’s car being stolen until after we left. I didn’t even think to ask her about it.”

“I’m glad you didn’t. She’s probably feeling pretty safe right now and that means she’ll stay put. Morty, did the lab finish with that car?”

“No blood, no gun powder.”

“That’s disappointing,” said Matt. “Did they get a hit on the prints?”

“No, but they did confirm the car was stolen in California so they sent the prints to them and asked them to start with LA County.”

“California sorts prints by county?” asked Jeb.

“You have to give a thumbprint to get a driver’s license,” explained Emma.

“And people stand for that?”

Emma smiled. “People stand for a lot of things in California that people in Wyoming would consider government overstep.”

“Like smoking in restaurants,” added Grace, joining them from the kitchen. “Though even I’m getting tired of people fighting about it.”

“Am I the only one who thinks it’s suspicious that Maddie Hill left town?” asked Brugnick.

“Yes. I thought Winters was your man.”

“He’s dead, though Valerie looks good for it.”

“Except for the no blood in her car thing.”

“There’s that.”

“Boys,” said Grace, and both men grinned at her, unfazed.

“My money’s on Pam Young,” said Matt, pulling a bound report from his briefcase. “Auditor’s final report. Pam authorized the fund fifteen years ago and has been drawing a substantial living from it ever since. Auditor says it’s legal, but if Steven found out about it, no way he wouldn’t have cut her off.”

“Why would Pam kill over that?” asked Kristy. “The Hills have tons of money.”

“Steven was a wealthy man, according to his banker, but Pam wasn’t, at least not until Roger died. Her husband’s a teacher and they have a big family to support. The house they live in was deeded to them by Roger and Della, but without the management fee she draws from the fund, they’d be hurting.”

“So she does have a motive,” said Emma.

“Especially when you consider she hated Steven and that his death changed everything for her financially.

“She couldn’t have known that her father was going to die before he could alter the will,” argued Grace.

“True,” admitted Matt, “but she also had opportunity, since she could have come and gone through the alley without anyone seeing her.”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” said Brugnick. “Turns out, Pam’s a crack shot. She’s even won awards for her marksmanship.”

“That doesn’t make her a killer,” observed Grace.

“No,” agreed Jake, “but I think it’s time we talked to Pam.”

“First, we talk to her son. What’s his name again?”

“Ryan.”

“Morty, you and Jake go see Ryan. I want to know what he says about being at his grandparents’ house. Pam accused Steven of stealing, but maybe she was deflecting attention away from her son.”

“Will do,” said Morty.

“You still have no proof that Steven knew about the fund,” said Grace. “Even if he did, there’s no proof he knew of Pamela’s involvement or confronted her about it.”

“Which is why I’m not bringing her in, but I agree with Jake. It’s time to ask her some questions.”

“I think our time would be better spent talking to Steven’s neighbors again. It just doesn’t seem possible that no one would hear or see anything.”

“I know you don’t think Pam’s our killer, Grace, but the evidence is piling up against her.”

“Circumstantial evidence.”

“Maybe, but sometimes circumstantial is all we ever get. I don’t want to waste police time going over the same ground they’ve already covered.”

“I can go,” offered Emma. “Cecily refused to talk to the police, but she talked to us.”

“I think we should speak to Roger and Della’s neighbors as well. If someone did see Ryan there, they might not have thought anything of it. After all, the police probably asked if they noticed anyone who shouldn’t have been there.”

“Good idea, Grace,” admitted Matt.

“I want to help,” said Kristy. “It’ll go faster with three of us.”

“Four of us,” added Jeb. “I finished my book and until my editor sends it back to me for changes, my time is yours.”

“Perfect. We’ll take one side of the street and you and Grace can take the other.”

“I’ll call Della,” offered Jake. “She didn’t mention Valerie being there, but maybe she just didn’t think it mattered.”

“I’ll get Arty working on Valerie’s background,” said Matt, referring to Arty Thomes, a technician who worked for the Casper PD. “I’ll run everything by the Captain. I’m guessing he’ll want to pull her in so she can’t skip town.”

***

Valerie Smith was arrested the next morning and Cecily called Jake in a panic, asking him to represent her. Jake had to turn her down, but recommended two other attorneys she could call. Because she could not pay the bail, she remained in jail, giving Jake and Brugnick time to pay a call on Ryan Young. They found him alone, in the apartment he shared with his pregnant girlfriend, who was away at work.

“Ryan, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Jake Rand. I was your grandfather’s personal attorney.”

“I’ve seen you around.”

“Before he died, Roger asked me to assist the police in finding your uncle’s killer. That’s why I’m here with Detective Brugnick today.”

“I didn’t kill nobody,” Ryan licked his lips, looking from one man to the other.

“No one said you did. We’re here because someone saw you at your grandparents’ home the day it was broken into.”

“Who says?”

“What were you were doing there?” asked Brugnick.

“I gotta right to be there.”

“I agree,” said Jake. “No reason why you shouldn’t have stopped by to check on it while your uncle was out of town.”

Ryan slumped against the counter. “That’s right.”

“I didn’t know you had a key.”

“Mom made one for me.”

“Why didn’t she just loan you hers?”

“That woulda been a pain. I was always goin’ over there and borrowing stuff for her.”

Jake and Brugnick exchanged looks. “She gave you her alarm code?”

“Nah, she couldn’t remember hers. I got a buddy at the alarm company. He said it was the one they give people when they’re havin’ work done, only he set it so it wouldn’t shut off.”

“A buddy?” asked Jake.

Ryan nodded. “He’s installing cable TV now. Says it pays a lot better. He’s gonna get me in, once he’s worked there awhile.”

“That’ll be good, since you have a family to support. I imagine it’s pretty tight right now.”

“Yeah. Mom says I get Grandpa’s stock, but with oil prices in the tank, it ain’t worth nothin’. She said she’d give me money for it.”

“What kind of things did your mom have you pick up for her?”

“All kindsa things.”

“And she had you take them back for her?”

“Nah. She said she might need ‘em again and it would just be easier to hold onto them, then give ‘em all back at once.”

“What were you borrowing that day?” asked Brugnick.

“She wanted some necklace out of the safe, only she didn’t know which one she wanted to wear. Mom just said take everything and she’d put back what she decided she didn’t want.”

“So you took everything? Paperwork and all?”

“I just grabbed whatever was in the safe and stuffed it into a bag. I didn’t wanna be hangin’ around.”

“Why did you wash off the door?”

Ryan held up his hands and wiggled his fingers. “Nacho cheese corn chips. Mom’s always on my case about getting it on everything.”

“Who did you open the door to while you were there?” asked Brugnick.

“Some girl. She wanted to talk to Grandpa. Got all upset when I told her they were gone so I palmed her off on Uncle Steven.”

“Why not your mom?”

“She was a pain, whining at me like I had anything to do with them going on a cruise. I figured Uncle Steven could have her.”

“Did you tell her where to find him?”

“Wrote it down for her.”

“Then what?”

Ryan shrugged. “Then she left and I got outta there.”

“Were you parked in the driveway, Ryan?” asked Jake.

“Nah, I have a junker and Mom always said the neighbors would probably call the cops if they saw it in the driveway. She always made me park around the block.”

Jake and Brugnick thanked him and walked back out to Jake’s truck. “He seemed to be telling the truth,” said the detective.

“He did,” agreed Jake. “Which means Pam accused Steven, not to cover up for her son, but to cover her own tracks.”

“When you look at how much money Steven had and how little Pam had, it makes a lot more sense that she’d be the one stealing things from her parents. Unless you believe Ryan when he says she was borrowing them.”

“It also means she could have seen Roger’s will the day before Steven was killed.”

“Let’s go ask her.”

***

Emma stopped in front of Kristy’s building in the loading zone and waited while her friend hurried out and climbed into the SUV. “Where’s Grace?” asked Kristy, when she saw Emma was alone.

Emma pulled out before the parking enforcement officer headed down the street could lecture her about the purpose of a loading zone. “She had a rough night and woke up with a fever this morning. I hated to leave her, but Jeb offered to stay with her. It’s just us today.”

“That’s too bad. She’s been doing so well.”

“I know. I hate to think of losing her.”

“I know. She’s quite a lady.”

“I wish I could persuade her to see the doctor here in town, but she says her oncologist in San Francisco says there’s nothing more that can be done. We had a long talk about it when Jake was out hunting. She says she’s ready to go when the good Lord calls her.”

“When my mother was dying, she wanted to talk. I’m ashamed to say, I just couldn’t bear to hear it.”

“Nothing shameful in that Kristy. It was really hard for me and I’m a lot older than you were and Grace is my friend, not my mother. I don’t know what I’m gonna do when my mother dies.”

Emma pulled up in front of Maddie’s house. It looked bleak and empty, with the rest of the neighborhood decorated, some for Halloween and others with a harvest theme. “Shall we split up? I’ll take this side, you take that side?”

“Sounds good. Then we need to talk to the neighbors on the next street over. Maybe someone saw Pam in the alley.”

“Or someone else. I think we need to be careful not to project what we think might have happened. It’s too easy for people to pick up on it and tell you what they think you want to hear.”

“Good point. We’ll meet at the end of the block and tackle Pam’s side of the street together. After that, we can go see if Della’s neighbors saw anything.”