06 Suspects and Surprises (7 page)

Early the next morning Suzie headed to the library to check on Louis. She made a few stops along the way for party supplies, since Mary was not with her. She was more than a little concerned about how Louis had behaved the day before. She knew that he was likely still taking Warren's death very hard. When she arrived at the library she was surprised to see that there was a police car in the parking lot. When she stepped inside the library she spotted Jason and his partner, Kirk, standing at the front desk with Louis. Louis was red in the face and obviously frustrated.

“Look, I don't know who would have done it,” Louis said, clearly aggravated. “I think that you need to be out looking for the criminal who stole my most valuable possession, rather than wasting your time here asking me the same questions over and over again.”

“Louis, I'm just trying to get as much information as possible so that I can solve the crime,” Jason said calmly.

“What's going on?” Suzie asked as she walked up to them both.

Jason cast a wary glance in her direction. “Louis had a break-in last night,” he explained.

“A break-in?” Louis repeated. “Is that really what you're calling it? The most important thing in my life was ripped out of my home, and you call it a break-in?”

“The book?” Suzie asked and narrowed her eyes.

“Yes,” Louis said with exasperation. “First Warren was killed, and now this. I don't think I can take any more. If I don't get that book back, I'm going to lose it. I should have left it here, I never should have taken it home.”

“Relax, Louis,” Suzie assured him. “Jason is a great police officer and he will take care of this for you.”

“I can't, I just can't,” Louis said tearfully. He walked off towards the employee lounge of the library. Suzie stared after him sympathetically.

“So, now I'm a great police officer?” Jason asked, reminding her that he was still there.

“Jason, you know I didn't mean what I said,” Suzie said with a sigh. “But surely you can see that there is a case here now. Obviously, whoever killed Warren was also after the book.”

“Obviously?” he asked and raised an eyebrow. “Is that an investigative term?”

Suzie narrowed her eyes as she studied Jason. She had never seen him so snippy with her before.

“Are you going to tell me that you don't think that there's a connection between the two crimes?” she asked incredulously.

“I'm not saying that, I'm just saying that the evidence isn't there to support that connection,” Jason explained and shook his head. “We can't just make assumptions.”

“Assumptions like I must be lying about the renovations I did on the house?” Suzie asked.

“I never said you were lying,” Jason pointed out. “Sometimes things are overlooked.”

“So, now I'm a liar, and I'm cheap,” Suzie said with disbelief. “It's good to know your real opinion of me, Jason.”

“Suzie, you know that's not the case,” Jason said impatiently.

“Maybe that's the problem,” Suzie said with a sigh. “I don't know. What I do know is that this was no accident. Are you going to investigate it as a murder, or not?” she asked.

“I can't,” Jason said with a frown. “Not without some kind of evidence. But what I will do is keep an ear out and I will do some investigating and see if any new evidence comes to light. If anything comes up, I will let you know right away.”

“Fine,” Suzie nodded. She had a million other things she wanted to say, but she didn't think it was appropriate library conversation.

“Suzie,” Jason warned her as he met her eyes. “I want you to stay out of this. No conducting your own investigation. It could come back to hurt you, since the death took place on your property.”

Suzie nodded and then walked away from him without saying anything more.

“I mean it, Suzie,” Jason called after her. Several people in the library shushed him for raising his voice. Jason shook his head and walked out of the library.

Suzie was more than a little annoyed. She knew that Jason had to do his job, but she felt as if she was the one that was doing it for him. Her cell phone began ringing. She pulled it out to see that it was Mary calling. “Hello?” Suzie asked. She stepped out of the library so that her conversation wouldn't bother anyone.

“Hey Suzie,” Mary said. “I just wanted to check on you, and see how Louis is doing.”

“Not well,” Suzie replied. “Someone broke into his house and stole the book that he was trying to get insured.”

“Unbelievable!” Mary said with a shake of her head. “What are the chances of that?”

“Not likely,” Suzie replied. “I think that there must be a connection between Warren's death and the stolen book. Of course, Jason doesn't seem to agree,” Suzie said and made her best attempt not to roll her eyes.

“Do you think that there is a way we can get some proof that it was connected?” Mary suggested.

“I don't know what proof that would be,” Suzie sighed as she walked towards her car. “I can't really blame Jason, there simply is not any evidence. Even the person who stole the book left no evidence behind.”

“Well, come home, we'll have lunch and brainstorm,” Mary said. “I hate to say it, Suzie, but we may need to focus more on damage control than the murder investigation.”

Suzie grimaced as a group of women walking past all began whispering and glaring in her direction. “I think you might be right about that,” she said. Suzie was just about to get into her car when she heard footsteps behind her. She froze, and then slowly began to turn. She found Louis standing just behind her.

“Sorry if I scared you,” he said nervously. His eyes were red-rimmed. Suzie knew how much that book had meant to him.

“It's okay, Louis,” Suzie said gently.

“I heard what Jason said,” Louis explained. “That he didn’t think there was a connection between the death and the robbery.”

“He might be right,” Suzie said in a mild attempt to defend her cousin.

“I get that,” Louis nodded. “But I think there’s a strong possibility that there is a connection between Warren's death and the book being stolen. I was wondering if you would help me?”

“Help you what?” Suzie asked as she met his eyes.

“I need to find out the truth so I want to investigate this crime,” Louis said. “I can't just leave this up to the police. I can't even feel safe in my own home right now.”

Suzie knew that she couldn't let it go either. “Louis, you think about all of the people in your life that might have done this. Write a list of their names. Then, we will meet later this afternoon to go over them. Right now I'm going home to try to do some damage control for Dune House, but as soon as you have that list put together, call me and let me know.”

“How will I know who to put on the list?” Louis asked as he looked up at her. “I don't have any enemies.”

“Start with people that you think would have an interest in the book then,” Suzie said. “And add anyone who is shady or has made your skin crawl.”

“I can do that,” Louis nodded. “Thanks, Suzie.”

“Call me when you have your list,” Suzie reminded him before ducking into her car.

When Suzie arrived at Dune House, Mary was waiting for her.

“How did it go?” she asked as they shared a quick lunch of salad and half sandwiches.

“Not good,” Suzie shook her head. “The worst part is that Jason is getting really testy. He told me to stay out of it entirely.”

“He's only trying to protect you,” Mary pointed out grimly. “Kids that age think that they know everything.”

“I feel like I'm having to prove myself to my cousin, at the same time that I am trying to solve a murder.”

“Well, you and Jason really don't know each other very well,” Mary reminded her. “You've only been part of his life for a short time, and now you see each other just about every day. It's going to take some time for him to fully trust you.”

“I guess you're right,” Suzie sighed. “But I am not going to sit back and let the reputation of this beautiful place that we have restored be tarnished by rumors.”

“What can we do?” Mary asked. “We're at a dead end.”

“Not necessarily,” Suzie said thoughtfully and then took the last bite of her sandwich.

“What are you thinking, Suzie?” Mary asked.

“I'm going to check in with Dr. Rose,” Suzie said as she picked up her purse.

“Didn't Jason say to drop it?” Mary reminded her as she followed Suzie to the door.

“Last time I checked it's not illegal to drop in on a friend,” Suzie called back over her shoulder as she opened the door.

“I think you better think about this, Suzie,” Mary warned her. “I'm sure if you just ask Jason to check…”

“No, I don’t want to bother him,” Suzie said sternly. “I am going to make sure that we get to the bottom of this.”

“Okay, but call me if she found anything, promise?” Mary caught her arm before Suzie could get out the door.

“I promise,” Suzie said and paused to smile at Mary. “Don't worry, I won't spend your birthday in jail.”

“Good,” Mary sighed. “Because last time I had to bail you out it involved going into neighborhoods that weren't exactly safe and friendly.”

“Don't worry,” Suzie said firmly and tried not to laugh at the memory that Mary stirred up. Then she headed for her car. Mary watched from the door until Suzie pulled out of the parking lot.

Suzie turned on her radio to try to drown out her thoughts. She didn't like to be on the outs with Jason. She knew that he was just trying to do his job. But it hurt that he didn't seem to believe that she had been as careful as she claimed with the updates on the balcony.

When she reached the medical examiner’s office, there were no other cars in the parking lot. She stepped out of her car and ducked inside. There was no one at the front desk, but Suzie could hear music coming from the examination room. She knew that Dr. Rose liked to listen to music while she worked. Suzie walked up to the door and knocked lightly.

“Hello? Dr. Rose?” Suzie called out. When there was no answer she pushed the door slightly open. “Summer?” she called again. “Are you in here?”

The music suddenly turned off.

“Suzie?” Dr. Rose poked her head around the corner of the hallway. “Sorry, I didn't hear you out there. Come on back.”

Suzie smiled at her. Ever since Dr. Rose and Jason had begun dating, Dr. Rose had been even friendlier to Suzie. She was just hoping that Jason hadn't warned her not to tell her anything about the exam.

“Hi,” Suzie said as cheerfully as she could. “Sorry for interrupting.”

“It's okay,” Dr. Rose said as she snapped off her gloves and tossed them in a disposal bin. “I'm finished.”

“Were you working on Warren Blasser?” Suzie asked nervously.

Dr. Rose settled her gaze on Suzie. “I don't think I should discuss the results with you.”

“Oh, of course not,” Suzie said mildly. “I don't want any details or anything, I was just wondering if you had found any evidence of assault.”

Dr. Rose cleared her throat. “Suzie, I know how difficult it must be for you that this happened at Dune House. But the truth is, there is no evidence of anything other than an accidental fall.”

“Which I would have told you, if you had waited for me to do my job, instead of doing what I asked you not to,” Jason said from just behind Suzie. Suzie frowned as she hadn't even heard him walk up behind her.

“I'm sorry, Suzie,” Dr. Rose said. “I wish that I could tell you something different, but the injuries are consistent with an accidental fall.”

“Okay,” Suzie said, and closed her eyes. She could feel Jason glaring at her.

“There was no reason to interfere,” he said sharply to her. “I told you, if Dr. Rose found anything, you would be the first to know.”

Suzie took a deep breath. “I know, Jason, I'm sorry.”

“You can't just take advantage of my relationship with Summer,” Jason began to say, he was preparing to launch into a full force lecture, which made Suzie quite uncomfortable, since she was old enough to be his mother.

“Jason,” Dr. Rose said and laid her hand lightly on his arm. “It's okay. It's not a big deal. She's just worried about Dune House.”

“No,” Suzie said sharply. “I am not worried about Dune House, because I already know that this death wasn't an accident. What I'm worried about is a murder going unsolved.”

Dr. Rose studied her with some sympathy. “If it's easier for you to believe that he was murdered, that is up to you, Suzie, but there is nothing to indicate that. I know that a tragedy like this happening on your property is overwhelming.”

“No,” Suzie shook her head. “You're both wrong. Just because there isn't proof, doesn't mean that it didn't happen.”

“Suzie, I think you're letting this get out of control,” Jason warned her. “What you need to be doing right now is consulting a lawyer and reviewing your insurance.”

“Thank you for your time,” she said in a clipped voice to Dr. Rose. Without another word to Jason she spun on her heel and walked out of the medical examiner's office. She was nearly to her car when Jason caught up with her.

“Suzie, please don't be upset,” he said urgently. “I didn't mean to be so offensive. To be honest, the results were a surprise to me, too. I really thought maybe you were right, that it was deliberate. I was a little shocked when that didn't turn out to be the case.”

“I still believe it, Jason. If we don't do anything to stop all of this we're going to have an unsolved murder in the town of Garber,” Suzie promised him.

“Suzie, I always have your back,” Jason reminded her and met her eyes. “If there's more to this, I assure you I will uncover it.”

Suzie glanced up at Jason. She wanted to believe him.

“I know,” she said quietly. “I'm sorry that I interfered.”

“Suzie, what about the party?” Jason asked. Those words coursed quickly through Suzie. She knew that she had been distracted and the party was coming up fast.

“It's still on,” she said before she hurried towards her car. She could feel Jason watching her. She thought he was trying to make sure that she actually got in her car. But when she turned back to look, he was nowhere to be seen. She had a sudden uneasy sensation that maybe it was somebody else that was watching her.

***

Suzie was about to return to Dune House when her cell phone began ringing.

“Suzie, I have the list,” Louis said when she answered. “Can you meet me at the library?”

“Sure, I'm two minutes away,” Suzie said and started her car. She drove to the library. It looked pretty dead, with only a few cars in the parking lot. As she walked in, Louis walked over to meet her.

“Where's the list?” Suzie asked.

“It's a short list,” Louis replied.

“Okay,” Suzie frowned. “Who is on it?”

“There's a collector from Florida that is a little obsessive and could possibly border on nuts,” Louis said grimly. “Tim Barows. Then there is an old high school friend of mine that was always jealous of everything I had. He wanted to be the one to run the school library, instead it was me. That kind of thing.”

“Huh,” Suzie nodded. So far she hadn't heard anything that made her very suspicious.

“Then, there is Gerald,” Louis said with a grimace.

“Gerald?” Suzie asked curiously.

“He's the son of the man who gave me the book. The only reason that I'm even considering him is because the book is rare and valuable, and by all rights should have gone to him,” Louis explained.

“Well, that is a pretty good motive,” Suzie agreed. “Is it enough of a motive for him to steal and murder someone?”

“I don't think Gerald would do that,” Louis said as he shook his head slowly. Then his eyes widened. “Then again, he was always rather snippy with me when I would visit. At the time I thought it was just because his father was sick, and he was stressed. Maybe there was more to it than that,” he said. “But I still can’t see him as a murderer.”

“The book was worth a lot of money, maybe he didn't want to share it with someone who wasn't technically family,” Suzie said with a shake of her head. “Once his father was gone, he might have thought he could take it back from you.”

“So, you think Gerald broke into my house and stole the book?” Louis asked and frowned. “I don't want to believe it's true, but I can't think of anyone else who would do this.”

“What about the other collector that you mentioned?” Suzie asked. “Would he or any other collector you know go to these lengths to get the book?”

“No,” Louis shook his head. “A stolen book is worth nothing, all of the other collectors would know that. If a book as rare and valuable as this is reported as stolen there's no way to sell it, or even to show it off, without being arrested.”

“Then why would Gerald take it?” Suzie pressed with confusion. “If he couldn't sell it, and he couldn't even show off that he had it?”

“I don't know,” Louis admitted. “Maybe just to get back at me. Richard and I had a close relationship. He confided to me once that he had never felt very close to his son. Maybe Gerald was jealous of what we shared, and he just took the book to make sure that I didn't have it.”

“I guess that's possible,” Suzie nodded. “A personal motive would explain why he wouldn't care about not being able to sell it. However, what in the world could this have to do with Warren's death? What would he get out of killing Warren?”

“Maybe it was just a coincidence,” Louis suggested. “Warren could have just fallen…”

“Maybe,” Suzie said with sight annoyance. “We did everything we could to ensure the safety of that balcony. I really think that Warren did not just fall. The railing did not just break. I believe it was altered.”

“Okay, okay,” Louis nodded and backed up slightly. “Let's say that Warren was murdered. That doesn't necessarily mean that it's connected to Gerald and the theft.”

“Hmm, good point,” Suzie nodded. “Will you excuse me for a moment?” she asked.

“Of course,” he nodded and narrowed his eyes. “I can't believe that Gerald would do this,” he said to himself.

Suzie was dialing Jason's number as she walked away from Louis. Jason answered on the third ring.

“Suzie, I'm so glad you called,” he said. “I know we didn't exactly have a chance to talk everything out and I think that we need to.”

“We do,” she agreed. “But can we do that later? First, I need you to look into Warren Blasser's past. See if he had any enemies.”

“Suzie,” Jason sighed. “I told you, I can't do any investigation when there is no crime.”

“I'm not asking you to do any kind of investigation, just to take a glance at the man's past,” Suzie pressed impatiently.

“I'll do what I can,” Jason replied before hanging up the phone.

When Suzie turned back to Louis she found that he was at his computer.

“What are you doing?” Suzie asked curiously as she walked up to him. She could tell that he was very focused on what he was doing.

“I'm just looking into Gerald's history a little more,” he explained. “It seems he has a lot of properties, he may be in more debt than I realized.”

“Then his motive would be even stronger,” Suzie agreed.

“Maybe,” Louis nodded with a frown. “But he wouldn’t gain financially because he wouldn’t even be able to sell it.”

“One good thing is that if it was Gerald that stole the book then there is a good chance he will still have it,” Suzie said. “He can't sell it, and it is too valuable to destroy, so he must still be holding onto it.”

“I know where he lives,” Louis said. His eyes were narrowed as he stared into space. “I can't believe he would do something like this.”

“I just hope he's only a thief,” Suzie said with a sigh.

“Do you think Jason would check it out for us?” Louis asked hopefully. Suzie frowned as she recalled the way Jason had spoken to her.

“No, I don't,” she said. “Without some kind of proof that it was Gerald who stole the book, all he can do is ask Gerald questions. That will tip Gerald off that he is a suspect. If he does have the book, he'll find a way to hide it or get rid of it, before we can get it back.”