Shaded Light: The Case of the Tactless Trophy Wife: A Paul Manziuk and Jacquie Ryan Mystery (The Manziuk and Ryan Mysteries Book 1) (30 page)

“We also checked the bathrooms and the servants’ rooms, and the kitchen. Nothing unusual. You can see the complete list after we’ve finished off the main floor. Thought we’d do it while they’re eating.”

“The grounds?” Manziuk asked.

“No indication anyone came in from outside. Neighbors saw nothing. Looks like an inside job to me. Not much help in the garden. You got that daisy chain thing?”

Manziuk nodded.

“Nothing shows on that path. No deep scuff marks or anything. Victim doesn’t appear to have put up much of a struggle.”

“That’s it?”

“Well, we were looking for the murder weapon. We found two possibilities.” He held up a plastic bag containing what looked like a black braided cord.

“What is it?” asked Manziuk, taking the bag to have a closer look at its contents.

“It’s the cord off a housecoat. Frankly, it was the only thing I saw that looked like a possibility. There were a lot of belts and scarves and such. But Dr. Munsen said something about a smooth rope. Well, there it is.”

Ryan was leaning forward, across the desk. “I’ve got a cord like that on some lounging pajamas. It’s made of polyester or something, but it’s braided like a rope. It would leave marks like a rope, but it wouldn’t be abrasive.”

“Where did you find this?” Manziuk demanded.

Ford consulted his notebook. “It was with the clothes belonging to George Brodie. A sort of kimono-style silk robe.”

“And the other possibility?”

“Well, it’s not any one thing in particular. There’s a type of cord used in the garden. It’s beige, but it’s not twine. It’s more like a smooth twisted cord. Maybe even cotton. It’s used a lot. In some places, it’s holding up plants tied to stakes. In a number of places, it’s used to hold together little water fountain things. Like the one where the body was found. And in a few places, it’s used to hold weights.” Ford shook his head. “We couldn’t make it out. Looks like whoever tied them there is trying to pull the branches down by weighting them. Never saw the likes of it.”

“Did you find a loose piece of the cord?”

“Not yet, but we’re looking for it.”

“See if Mrs. Winston knows where the gardener would keep extra cord. Get a sample from somewhere and get both cords to Munsen right away.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Any other surprises you’ve been holding back?”

“That’s it. I’ll have the itemized lists for you by morning. This looks like a real dilly. Of course, the cord and the note may be all you need.”

Manziuk nodded. “Could be.”

“Need me for anything more?”

“No. Finish up here and then go home and get eight hours. We’ll see how things pan out in the morning. Oh, there is one other thing. Get Moffatt looking through our files to see if we have anything on these people. Check them all. Noon tomorrow will be good.”

“Will do.”

When he was gone, Ryan asked, “Do you think Nick Donovan wrote that note? The bit about ‘this time’ sounds like him. She got away once.”

“It certainly sounds like something he could have written. It was done on a typewriter, not a computer.” He walked over to the corner table, where a Selectric typewriter sat under wraps. “This one, I expect.”

“He was still in love with her and she wouldn’t have anything to do with him. Maybe laughed at him. So he killed her. You saw what he was like. Distracted. Didn’t seem to be all here. And his alibi is pathetic.” Her voice became animated. “‘One of us must have been mistaken about which garden.’ Give me a break!”

“Maybe.”

“You’re not satisfied?”

“I don’t like things to fall into place too easily. Takes the challenge out of it.”

She rolled her eyes.

Fortunately, there was a knock on the door and Mrs. Winston appeared with a tray, followed by Crystal with a second. Manziuk and Ryan set themselves to eating. She finished first and busied herself with her notes. At last she looked up. “Okay, here it is.”

“Alibis?”

“Uh huh. Want to hear them?”

He moved his chair closer so he could see the paper she had been writing on. He laughed. “Alphabetical?”

She didn’t reply. “She was last seen at about three-thirty, so I’ve just looked for where people were starting then.”

Bart Brodie — walking with Shauna from about 3:00 to 4:00

Ellen Brodie — napping in her room from 3:35 till 4:00

George Brodie — in the billiard room for a few minutes after 3:30, and then in his study talking to Kendall until about 3:45 and sending e-mail on his computer until Lorry arrived after 4:00

Kendall Brodie — came out of his room about 3:30, went to his dad’s study to talk. About 3:45, he went to find Lorry Preston in the music room and they went to the garden.

Nick Donovan — in rose garden 3:20 to 3:45, walked to the Japanese garden with Kendall & Lorry 3:45 to 4:00

Anne Fischer — asleep in room the whole time

Douglass Fischer — reading in room from just before 3:30 until 4:00

Peter Martin — asleep in bedroom from just after 3:30 until 4:05

Lorry Preston — playing piano (heard by several others) until Kendall came in at 3:45, went for walk

Hildy Reimer — out front alone until 4:00, heard clock ring hour as she came in

Shauna Jensen—walking with Bart from 3:00 until after 4:00

Mrs. Winston — in kitchen

Crystal Winston — in kitchen except maybe for a couple of brief trips to pick up dirty dishes

“Well, isn’t that terrific?” Manziuk said. “Other than Bart and Shauna, the only ones who weren’t alone for at least a few minutes are George and Kendall Brodie and the Fischers, and being father and son and a married couple, none of them would likely hesitate to lie for each other. So there’s not one out of the lot of them that couldn’t have done it! Well, Lorry appears to have been heard playing the piano by several people, but that’s not to say even she couldn’t have whipped out, killed Jillian, and got back to the room without anyone noticing. You don’t pay that much attention to music you hear in the background. Or she could have even set up a tape to fill in. So none of them are out of this.”

He circled the desk, then stopped. “Here, let’s time this. You set your watch. I’m going to sneak out of the house into the garden, strangle someone, and sneak back here. Let’s see how long it would take me.”

So saying, he went out.

When he came back into the room, Ryan looked up. “Eight minutes,” she said. “And a lot of luck. It’s amazing somebody didn’t see him, with all the people in this house.”

“A lot of people, yes, but things seem to have been pretty quiet for those particular moments.”

“But how could the murderer have known that?”

“Luck,” Manziuk replied. “Or maybe he was seen.”

“You mean someone might know more than he told us? Other than the murderer, of course.”

A smile touched Manziuk’s lips. “I’d guess at least half the people kept something back on purpose. And the other half kept something back without realizing it was of importance.”

“That many?”

“That’s normal. Well, we’ll just have to see what we can do. I wish there was at least one with an iron-clad alibi. Then all we’d have to do is break it. But this mess!” Manziuk threw up his hands. “I don’t think we can rule anyone out in terms of opportunity. So now we look at possible motives. Lorry also has no motive whatsoever, so, given she’s neither an impostor or a maniac, I think we’ll skip her for the time being. George, again, has no real motive. You don’t strangle your partner’s wife merely because she annoys you. Ellen—nothing I can see. Kendall had never met her before this weekend. Bart hadn’t met her, although he seems to have enjoyed getting her upset. But I can’t see why he’d murder her. Unless, of course, he knew her from somewhere else. But that would seem like an awful coincidence given Nick’s story. Anne dislikes her, even hates her, but enough for murder? Ditto Hildy. Her sister? I don’t know. Could be something there. Douglass Fischer—is he telling the truth or not? Then there’s Peter Martin, the husband. Or Nick Donovan. He looks the most obvious. He was in love with her once and she refused to marry him. The letter refers back to the past. He could have known about the cord from the bathrobe, if that is the murder weapon, because he’s likely visited with the Brodies before.”

“But the note was found in the Fischers’ room,” Ryan protested. That doesn’t make sense. And despite Douglass Fischer’s denial, I think something was going on between him and Jillian Martin. And his wife thought so, too.”

“So you think one of the Fischers could have done it?”

“Why not?”

“Who else?”

Ryan thought for a moment. “Peter Martin, I guess, but there doesn’t seem to be a strong enough motive for him.”

“Anybody else?”

“Well, there’s Shauna Jensen. She had good cause to hate her sister, if you believe Lorry Preston. But she was with Bart Brodie. Unless, maybe they knew each other from before. Maybe it was all part of a planned-out scheme.”

“Now you’re starting to think like a cop,” Manziuk said.

She stared at him. “You really think Bart and Shauna could have been working together?”

“No, but you have to look at all kinds of options. Never take anything or anybody at face value. Who else?”

“Well, Hildy Reimer. Why was she really here? And why did she have a gun?”

“Okay. So now we have a starting list of suspects with Nick Donovan at the top of the list. So we go back to the station and get these notes typed up. Then we go over them with a fine tooth comb and come up with a list of questions we need to ask to clarify things. For instance, why did Hildy have a gun? How drunk was Anne Fischer when her husband went upstairs?”

“What?” She stared at him.

“The brandy bottle at the back of the closet was empty. He was drinking down at the bar. So who was drinking in the room? Or was it left over from some other guest?”

Ryan motioned toward the door. “Why don’t we ask some more questions right now?”

“Because I want a few more answers first. Like have we found the murder weapon? Whose fingerprints were on that note? Was it typed in this house? Who stood to gain by her death?”

“Who stood to gain?”

Manziuk nodded. “For all we know, Peter Martin has financial problems and he took out a half-million insurance policy on her. The next time I talk to these people, I want it to be from a position of strength.”

Ryan nodded slowly.

“If you jump in too fast, you can hurt your case. Now, you have your own car. I’ll meet you in my office in half an hour.”

She stared at him. “It’s ten-thirty.”

“Is that a problem?”

She made a face. “No, I love working all night.”

“Get used to it.”

In the dining room, most of the members of the house party slowly finished their late evening meal. Peter had been given a tray in his room. Shauna had gone to her room but refused food. Only Anne and Bart showed any signs of genuine hunger. The others merely toyed with the food. A mood of deep gloom, present since the discovery of the body, had sunk upon the house and most of the people.

“I wonder if they’ll just pack someone off without any farewells.” Bart mused as he set down his glass. “I guess they have a kind of protocol. Or it could depend on the whim of the arresting officer. What is his name again? Awful to have policemen with names you can’t pronounce. Man-something. Tuck?”

“Shut up, Bart,” his uncle said.

“M-A-N-Z-I-U-K,” Anne said. “I asked that nice young officer. He said you pronounce it Man’s hook.”