Murder on the Bucket List (6 page)

Jud watched them with suspicion. Francine wondered if he could read lips. Moving in front of the monitor and turning it back on, she said, “Can we go back to that fifty-minute gap? There was something interesting about the order those cameras went out. Did you notice that?”

Her fiddling with the computer got his attention. “I'm sorry, Francine, but I have to ask you to step away from the computer. I plan to take it for evidence.”

“Okay, but the video blanked out in a specific order, didn't it? First the front outside camera, then the back outside, then the inside camera on the entrance side of the building, followed by the camera on this side.”

“The person obviously shut them off as he came to them.”

She searched for something else to say. “And it took them fifty minutes to get the car outside and onto some vehicle? How long did it take Jake? Couldn't have been more than ten.”

He paused before answering. “Your point is?”

Until now she'd been making things up, but a piece seemed to lock into place. “That either they were incompetent in getting the car out to the front of the building, or they were looking for something else in addition to the car. Maybe you should treat it like one of those puzzles where you have to ask yourself, what's different from one drawing to the next? What if you could get a still shot from each camera
before
it went dark and then one
after
? It might be an interesting comparison. What they were here to do besides take the midget car may be apparent.”

“Actually, that's a brilliant observation.”

Jonathan and Alice returned. “You may have the computer, Jud, but I'm going to follow Jonathan's advice that you wait for my husband to get home before we give you anything else.”

Jud looked at Jonathan. “The purpose being?”

“You're a good guy, Jud,” he answered. “I watched you grow up along with my boys. But at this point, you know why it's not a good idea. As this thing unfolds, there could be circumstantial evidence uncovered that implicates Larry. We need to let him get home before any more coincidences get unearthed.”

six

As Alice pulled her
Cadillac into her driveway, Francine was pleased to see the crowds had left. Using the policeman as a gatekeeper must have enabled Charlotte and the group to run through the tours pretty quickly. Jud's police car followed them into the driveway.

Charlotte yanked open Alice's front door the minute they all got out. She hobbled out to meet them. “I have Toby's list.” She waved a sheet of paper at Jud. “It's got all the people who were here.”

He smiled at her and took the sheet. “Thank you.”

“I made copies for us,” she told Francine. “The tough part will be separating the merely curious from the guilty party who returned to the scene of the crime.”

“
If
the guilty party returned,” she reminded her.

Jud glanced through the names. “I promise I'll take a thorough look at this later.” He folded the paper and pocketed it. Seeing Alice head for the front door, he took off after her.

“I sure hope he's not humoring me,” Charlotte muttered. “I hate being humored.”

Francine avoided eye contact. She often humored Charlotte.

Alice went through the front door, cell phone in hand. The others followed.

Her voice was tense as she paced in the foyer. “You've already hired an attorney? When? This
morning
? You did that without telling me? Yes, I know Jonathan thinks it's a good idea. He only just suggested it to me. As busy as you've been, I didn't think you'd have thought of it, let alone had time to do anything about it. And you want to tell me what that secret door thing is all about?” She listened, then gave a sideways glance at Jud. “I agree. This isn't a good time to discuss it. I'll call you back later.” She took steps away from Jud into the living room, lowering her voice. “Yes, I'll try not to worry. I believe you that it's all circumstantial.”

But Francine heard strain in her voice as she said it.

When Alice turned around to see where Jud was, she practically bumped into him, he was following so closely.

“Would you ask your husband what time he gets in tomorrow?” he asked, recovering quickly.

Alice took a step backward. She held the cell phone close to her mouth and mumbled into it. “What time do you get home tomorrow? I know you've told me a hundred times, but tell me again.” She looked up. “Three o'clock.”

He wrote it in his notepad.

“There's a lot going on here, but I
will
pick you up,” Alice continued into the phone. “Don't you worry about that.” She ended the call. “Where's Joy?” she asked Charlotte.

“She went home for lunch and hasn't come back. The rest of us ordered Jimmy John's.”

The news seemed to deflate Alice. “I don't know that I can eat, but I wish she'd waited.”

Francine wasn't surprised. The five of them were good friends, but much as she and Charlotte were close, so were Joy and Alice. After what they'd seen at Friederich's garage, with Larry's hidden security camera and missing coverage, she probably wanted to be alone with Joy.

“I was kind of glad to see her go,” Charlotte whispered to Francine. “Her excitement over making the morning news was getting on my nerves.”

“Even if you aren't going to let me look at the business records yet,” Jud said to Alice, his voice full of resignation, “please don't be out of touch today. We need to move on this investigation, and we may have additional questions for you.”

“I know you don't like this,” Jonathan said, “but Larry isn't here to make informed decisions. His interests have to be protected.”

“If he's innocent, then he has nothing to fear.”

“In your heart, you know that's not true. People can be made to look guilty. That's why the legal system is structured to slow things down, so there's no rush to judgment.”

“Thank you for letting me have the video surveillance equipment,” Jud said, a bit stiffly. “I'll be back in touch soon.” He shook everyone's hand and left.

“What—” Charlotte began.

Francine put a finger to her lips and shook her head. She walked into the front room and checked the detective's progress through the bay window. Finally she exhaled in relief. “He's gone.”

“What surveillance equipment?” Charlotte pulled a notebook out of her purse and opened it to a blank page. “And don't stall. I'm not Jud.”

Jonathan raised his eyebrows at Alice. She nodded for him to answer.

“Larry had a four-camera monitoring system in Friederich's garage, but he had already downloaded to his hard drive everything up to Thursday. Jud wants us to give him the video footage.”

“What's wrong with that?”

“There's nothing wrong with it.”

“Then what's the big deal?”

He went mum. Alice opened her mouth to speak, but he cautioned her with a shake of his head.

There was fire in Alice's eyes, and Francine was pretty sure it was the situation making her mad, not Jonathan. “Oh, for heaven's sake. It's only Charlotte,” Alice said, “and she's good at this kind of stuff.” She pursed her lips. “Saturday, Jake Maehler came in and took one of his midget cars. Then later the system went blank twice. Once, just the outside went dark. It lasted about two hours. Then the system came up but someone turned all the cameras off for fifty minutes and took a second car, one that was unmarked.”

“Ohhh. And I bet Larry had the means to do that.”

“Yes, he did, but he flew to Las Vegas on Friday. What we
don't
know is what's on the video Larry downloaded Thursday. Jud is suspicious, and Jonathan recommends that we don't give up the video until Larry is back in town. He says we need a chance to watch it first and have a lawyer advise us on what to do.”

“Evidence
can
be made to look one way or another,” Charlotte said, jotting notes. “Larry should protect himself, I agree. Can I watch the video?”

Alice shook her head. “We don't know where Larry keeps it, and our lawyer, who I didn't even know we
had
, has advised him not to tell anyone until he gets home. That way we can honestly say we don't know.”

Francine let the lacey window sheer fall back into place. “Did Larry tell you the lawyer's name?”

“No, and I forgot to ask.”

“The problem,” Jonathan said, “is that the police are going to be pressured to solve this quickly. Brownsburg
isn't
the murder capital of Indiana, and the town council will want this cleared up.”

Francine nodded in agreement. “I thought Jud looked very tired.”

“Still, we can't let this get rushed,” Jonathan said. “We need to make sure anything that comes to light does so in a way to protect Larry.”

“And Alice.” Francine walked over, put her arm around her, and gave her a hug.

“I appreciate all of you,” she said. “Charlotte, thanks for getting rid of the tourists.”

“It was my pleasure, believe me.”

“Do you need us to stay?” Francine asked.

Alice waved her off. “That's okay. You've done enough, and I'm sure you're all hungry. I just need to be by myself for a while. I'll lock the door, retreat upstairs, and pretend no one's home.”

“I'm not hungry,” Charlotte said. “Remember, I had a Jimmy John's sub—at least the half Toby didn't eat. I could stay.”

“Please don't be offended, but I'd prefer to just wait for Joy to come back. She helped all morning dealing with the press, and I need her right now.”

Francine moved quickly to take any sting out of Alice's words. “Do you have a way home?” she asked Charlotte. “I could get the car and drop you off at your house.”

“No need. Toby took me home and I drove my car back.”

Jonathan started up the stairs. “Alice, I'll just gather up the financial records and head home.”

“Thanks for looking them over. I know we're going to need guidance from both you and the lawyer.”

Charlotte still had out her notebook. “What financial records?”

“I can't tell you. Client confidentiality.” He disappeared into the study.

The doorbell rang. Francine stared at the door. She'd just watched Jud leave, and she hadn't seen any other cars outside. Who was it now?

seven

Alice looked through the
peephole. “It's Darla.”

“Don't let her in,” said Charlotte. “She's already had the crime scene tour.”

Alice took a step away from the door. “She's carrying a clipboard. You know what that means.”

The women groaned. “The homeowners' association,” they said in unison.

Francine had dealt with Darla before in this capacity. “Better let her in and head off any trouble now.”

Alice opened the door. Darla sashayed in with her clipboard and an iPad. “Hi, Alice.” Then she noticed the others. “Well, it's probably best you're all here together.” She exhaled noisily, like this was an unpleasant thing she needed to get out of the way. “Can we sit down?”

“Sure. Would you like some tea?”

“No, I won't be here that long. Thanks anyway.”

Alice indicated the front room. Francine couldn't help but remember that fourteen
hours ago they were sitting in this very room waiting for the police to arrive. It felt less ominous in the daylight without whirling red and blue lights shining in the windows, but Darla's visit was likely to stir up more trouble. She was the perfect homeowners' association president, since she liked to be in everyone's business. Those who had been on the receiving end of a visit, however, had a different opinion.

“If it were up to me,” Darla said, “I wouldn't be here. It's not like you
intentionally
violated the homeowners' agreement. But I've gotten lots of calls, and I want to be able to say that we've talked about it.”

Charlotte took a seat. “About what? The dead body? I don't think there's anything about dead bodies in the homeowners' agreement.”

“Technically, there is. Don't you remember the roadkill clause we added a year ago? We had to put it in when Denise Faulkenberg hit that squirrel and the furry thing made it up to her lawn before it died? She wouldn't touch it and birds pecked at it for three days?”

“I recall the incident,” Alice said, “but I hardly see how it applies.”

“The membership overwhelmingly approved the idea that a dead carcass on a homeowner's property must be removed within twenty-four hours of its death.”

Francine could scarcely believe what she was hearing. “This was a dead body, Darla, not some unfortunate woodland creature trampled on the street. Alice didn't even know it was there.”

“Technically,” Charlotte added, “we don't know yet how long Friederich had been dead. She might not be in violation.”

“Look, I'm on Alice's side here. But as the president of the Summer Ridge Homeowners' Association, I'm required to report back that I've talked to you about it and that you've received your first warning.”

“Warning?” Alice was incredulous.

“I guess this means you'll get no leeway for the next dead body,” Charlotte said. “Better check the shed more often.”

Darla flipped over a sheet of paper in her clipboard. “That leaves us with two other issues: the public indecency clause and the guest vehicle clause.”

“Public indecency? I defy you to prove that one!” Alice said.

Darla pushed a few buttons on her iPad, then turned it around so they could see it. “You admitted it. We don't need pictures.”

Charlotte moved closer to the little screen. “Is that the
Indianapolis Star
?”

Darla turned it back around. “In tablet format, yes. ‘Skinny-dipping Grandmas Find Body.' But it's not just the
Star
. It's all over the Internet.”

“Joy will be so happy!” Charlotte told Francine.

“The vast majority of my callers were not. And then you gave guided tours of the crime scene, which brought traffic to a halt in the subdivision. While it wasn't strictly a party, it did have a party-like atmosphere and there were too many guest cars on the street, which is the heart of the problem. You're not allowed to stage that kind of an event without written permission from your neighbors.”

“Her neighbors were here all morning,” said Charlotte. “Including you. I think that's implied consent.”

“I'm not saying it wasn't kind of exciting to be here. I'm saying the traffic flow was an issue when your neighbors needed to get out.”

“What neighbor needed to get out?”

“My daughter, for one. She had to get to the gym for a session with her personal trainer. In the end, I let her walk over to a friend's house where she could catch a ride. Sara has to get ready for SpeedFest, you know.”

This was news to Francine. Sara Baggesen was sixteen and a handful. Though Francine knew Sara raced midget cars, she also knew that Sara's father, Darla's ex-husband Vince, didn't allow her to her to race in nationally televised events. Francine wondered if he was still Sara's mechanic. She was fairly sure the SpeedFest race would be on TV.

Alice waved her hands dismissively. “I'm sorry, but it's really not my fault. I didn't invite all those people to come.”

“You let them in. I don't see a difference. I came over to talk to you when Sara tried to drive out, but you weren't here. Charlotte said you were with the police at Friederich's garage. What were you doing there?”

“My lawyer advises that I not talk about it.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“It's not what you might think. But I'm not going to talk about it.”

Darla sat there for a moment deciding how to proceed. “The important thing is—and I always say this to first-time offenders—warnings are just a way to make sure everyone knows what's expected so it doesn't happen again.”

“I was one of the first people to move into this subdivision thirty years ago. We've been neighbors for what, fifteen years, Darla? I've seen Sara grow up, for heaven's sake. This is the first murder in the subdivision. I think it's safe to say the likelihood is small that there will be another one in the next thirty years.”

“I certainly hope so. You don't seem like the type who would attract dead bodies on a regular basis. And that's what I told the neighbors who called.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“You're welcome.” Darla removed a sheaf of papers from her clipboard and handed them to Alice. “I'll just leave these with you then. You can fill them out anytime, but I'll need your action plan before the next homeowners' association meeting.”

While Alice was still sputtering, Darla let herself out.

“Action plan?” Alice's face turned a purplish-red.

“Next time she's not getting the tour for free,” Charlotte said, straining to see the papers Darla had handed her.

Alice threw the papers on the floor and burst into tears.

“Don't you mind her,” Francine said, rushing to provide comfort. “Darla's just a first-class busybody.”

“Is everything okay down here?” Jonathan descended the stairs carrying an inch-thick folder of what looked to be memos and ledger paper. He stepped into the front room.

The women looked up, startled, having forgotten he was in the house.

Francine was first to recover. “I'll tell you about it on the way home.”

“Do you have what you need?” Alice asked.

He held up the folder. “It's all here.”

Charlotte stared at it for a moment, then maneuvered to her feet. She started across the room. “What is it you have in there?”

Francine intercepted her on the way. “Let me walk you to your car.”

“It's okay. I can manage it.”

“No, I insist. Jonathan and I are headed out anyway.” She took Charlotte by the arm, knowing it was best to leave her no alternative.

The three of them said good-bye and made their way outside. Charlotte's eyes never left Jonathan's folder. “Now don't forget, if you need my help, you just call.”

“I won't. Forget, that is,” he added dryly.

They reached Charlotte's car, a big black Buick she'd had for nearly fifteen years. She gripped the car door for balance and lowered herself into the driver's seat. “Let's talk later,” she said. “I'll have lots of questions.” She closed the door and started the car.

I bet you will
, thought Francine. She and Jonathan walked hand in hand back home. Charlotte's car passed them and Francine waved, but the wave was not returned.

So Charlotte is ticked. She'll get over it.

“Do you need to go to the office this afternoon?” she asked Jonathan.

He squeezed her hand. “No, I think I'll use the time to review these records. And to watch Larry's video.”

“What video?”

“Larry keeps his surveillance video archives in his home office. I didn't tell Jud. I copied a week's worth of data off the hard drive to a blank DVD.”

“You didn't!”

“I did.”

“What will Larry say if he finds out you did that?”

“He texted me privately and asked me to do it. He wants to know as much as anyone what's on there.”