Murder & The Monkey Band: High Desert Cozy Mystery Series (12 page)

“We’ve got to stop meeting
like this,” Marty said the next morning, as she and Laura walked out the front
doors of their respective homes at the same time.

“Don’t know
about you, but I’ll be glad when this is over. It’s been quite fascinating, but
Dick called last night wanting to know how much longer it was going to be
before the appraisal was completed. He told me my desk was overflowing with
work which is exactly what I did not want to hear. At least I’m getting paid
while I’m accompanying you and holding up the tape measure. Somehow, I think
this is a waste of my intelligence.”

“We’ll finish
up today. May be a waste of your intelligence, but you sure were a help when it
came to that diamond ring. I’m not sure poor Carl will ever get over that
experience. Please don’t do it again. Sometimes your powers scare even me.”

“Don’t think
I’ll need to use any more of my powers on the appraisal. I didn’t see anything
that looked like it needed my help. Glad you feel we’ll finish up today. Let’s
do it.”

It was particularly
hot for October. The weatherman had predicted a high temperature of 107 degrees
for the day. The heat shimmered on the desert floor as Marty and Laura drove
down the hill from High Desert to the Jensen residence.

The antique
book appraiser was waiting for them by the gate. Marty rang the buzzer on the
gate, and Rosa immediately unlocked it and opened the front door for them.
Marty introduced him to Rosa. “I heard you say yesterday you would be able to
wrap up the appraisal today. Do you think that’s possible?” Rosa asked.

“Yes, unless
something happens that’s totally unforeseen. By the way Rosa, I don’t know the
terms of the Will, but I’m wondering what you’re going to do when the house is
closed up?”

“I was
planning to look for work when you finished the appraisal, but I received a
phone call from Mrs. Jensen’s stepdaughter, Amy, this morning. She told me she
was going to give some of the money from her share of the estate to her
stepbrother, Jim, and his sister Marilyn, and in return they will give her
their share of the house and the antiques. She asked me to stay on and work for
her. She’s even giving me a raise in salary. I can’t tell you how happy this
makes me!

“Amy thought
the house should be kept in the family, so she’s going to keep it and not sell
it. I’ve met her many times, and I like her. She’s very involved with a lot of
charity causes. She’s kind of like Mrs. Jensen in that respect. Mrs. Jensen was
a large donor to a number of them. I’m so glad I can stay here, because I love
working here.”

“So her
stepbrother, Jim, didn’t want the house?”

“No. She said
he was so distraught after hearing about the terms of the Will his mother had
drawn up reducing his inheritance to one-fourth instead of the one-half he was
expecting, that he’s decided to move out of Palm Springs and go to San
Francisco. It’s kind of funny because Amy lives in San Francisco, and she’s
going to move to Palm Springs. She told me she’s always wanted to write a book
and that as peaceful and quiet as it is here in the desert, she might finally
be able to do it.”

“I’m glad for
you. Well, enough talking. We need to get started if we’re ever going to finish
the appraisal today. Our main focus will be on the living room. Between the
Meissen collection and a number of other good pieces of furniture and
decorative items, we’ll be there until at least mid-afternoon.”

After the
antique book appraiser had finished, Rosa served them lunch in the breakfast
nook. It was the time in an appraisal that Marty always loved, the downhill
side. They’d finished the Meissen collection and most of the other decorative
items in the living room when Marty’s phone rang. Jeff’s name came up on the
phone monitor. “Good afternoon. How is your day?” she asked.

“It’s fine,
but I’m in a hurry. We’ll talk tonight. I was able to get a search warrant and
went to George’s restaurant. The hostess let me into his office. I found the
Monkey Band set as well as a .9mm gun…”

Marty
interrupted him. “Wasn’t that the type of gun that was used to kill Pam
Jensen?”

“Yes, and
please don’t interrupt again. Just listen to me. I took the gun to our
ballistics lab and told them I had to have a test run on it ASAP to see if it
there was a match with the gun involved in the murder. I got the results a few
minutes ago. It’s a match. Why I’m calling is this. You told me the other night
that Carl, the antique dealer, had been called by someone wanting to know the
value of a Monkey Band set. From what you told me, he was unable to get the
man’s name. You must have mentioned to Carl that I was the detective working on
the case. Anyway, he called me a little while ago and said a man had brought
one of the pieces from the Monkey Band set, the conductor, into his shop. The
man told Carl he’d inherited the set from his recently deceased mother and
wanted to know what it was worth.”

“Did Carl find
out who he was?”

“No, but the
security camera in the store was able to photograph the man. When Carl called
me, I immediately went over and looked at it. I’ve seen a number of photographs
of George Ellis, and it was him. Here’s why I’m calling. Carl told George that
he would have to do some research on it, and he would get back to him in a few
days. George told him he couldn’t wait that long and wanted to know if he could
recommend anyone else who could quickly tell him the value of a Monkey Band
set. He recommended you.”

“Oh, no! Well,
at least he doesn’t know where to find me.”

“Fraid he
does, sweetheart. George said he was familiar with your name because he’d
talked to Pam’s son, Jim Warren, yesterday, and Jim had mentioned you were the
one who was appraising his mother’s estate.”

“Jeff, what
does this mean?”

“It means I
don’t want Rosa, you, or Laura to open the gate or the front door. I’m on my
way over there. You might ask Laura what she thinks.”

“Jeff, Laura
wants to tell me something. Just a moment.”

“Tell him he
better hurry because George Ellis just pulled into the driveway, and tell him
I’m having a vision he has a gun on him,” Laura said.

“I heard
that,” Jeff said. “Have Rosa make sure the doors are locked and stand away from
the front door and any windows. I’ll be there in a few minutes with backup.”

Rosa checked
the remote lock on the front door and the gate and made sure they were locked.
The three of them stood on the far side of the living room, Rosa with the
remote control for the gate and front door in her hand, ready to open it for
Jeff.

They heard the
front door open and looked at each other in astonishment. A voice cried out,
“Marty Morgan, I want to talk to you. Where are you?” George Ellis burst into
the living room with a gun in his hand, just as Laura had predicted. “Which one
of you is Marty Morgan?” he yelled.

Marty took a
deep breath and stepped forward. “I’m Marty Morgan. Who are you?”

“Rosa knows
who I am, don’t you Rosa? That’s probably why I’ll have to kill all three of
you just like I killed Pam, but first I want you to tell me how much the Monkey
Band is worth, the whole set. Here’s one of the pieces. I put it in my pocket,
so you could see what I’m talking about.”

He retrieved
the piece and handed it to Marty. She knew how valuable it was and couldn’t
believe George was carrying it around in his pocket. “Pam always said the
Monkey Band set was the most expensive thing in the house, and a lot of
collectors would kill for it. I’ve been on the Internet and found a couple of
collectors who very badly want a set like the one Pam owned. Matter of fact one
of them lives just a few miles from here in La Quinta. My problem is I don’t
know what to ask for it, so tell me what it’s worth and be quick about it.
After I take it to this guy in La Quinta and get the money from him, I’m
leaving. Probably go to Brazil where there’s no extradition treaty with the
U.S. So, how much is it worth?”

“Give me a
minute. I need to examine it for nicks to see what condition it’s in,” she
said, trying to buy some time until Jeff showed up. She looked over at Laura,
who gave her a small wink. Marty didn’t know what it meant, but she assumed
Laura knew something that was good.

“Hurry up, I
don’t have all day,” George said, waving the gun at her in a threatening
manner.

“How did you
know I was here?” Marty asked, deliberately stalling.

“I talked to
Jim yesterday, and he said you were the one he’d hired to do the appraisal.
Talked to an antique dealer earlier today, and he mentioned your name. Seemed
like it was kismet, you know, you doing the appraisal here and the antique
dealer mentioning that you knew what Meissen things were worth. So, quit
stalling and tell me what it’s worth.”

From behind
George a voice shouted, “Police! Drop the gun, or I’ll shoot. I’m a crack shot,
and it will only take one shot to kill you.”

George’s
shoulders sagged and a look of resignation came over his face as he dropped his
gun on the floor. “Put your hands up in the air,” Jeff commanded. He turned to
where his two men were standing, guns drawn. “Get his gun and handcuff him.” He
looked at the three women. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, but I’m
shaking so badly I think I better set the Monkey Band conductor down. I’m
afraid I’ll drop it” Marty said.

“Rosa, I told
Marty to have you make sure the front door and the gate were locked. Why didn’t
you lock it?”

“I did. See, I
have the remote control right here. I wanted to be able to open it when you
came. They were both locked.”

Jeff turned to
George. “You knew the security code to get in, didn’t you? But of course you
would as close as you were to Pam Jensen.”

“I told her
not to use her birthday as the code,” George said. “I told her everyone used
their birthday or their pet’s name as their code. She laughed and called me
silly. It was easy for me to get in.”

“So you
punched in the code for the security system the night of the murder, is that
right?”

“It was a
piece of cake. Sure I did.”

Without
drawing attention to himself Jeff shifted his eye contact to Rosa, and the two
of them exchanged looks. Jeff smiled ever so slightly at her. Rosa realized
that her not arming the security system the night of the murder had nothing to
do with the murder. George knew the code and punched it into the security
system, not knowing that it was already unarmed because she hadn’t turned it
on. She took a deep breath and felt relief for the first time in several days.
At the same time Jeff thought there was no reason to disclose to anyone what
Rosa had done. In the long run it hadn’t mattered.

“Jeff,” Marty
said, “George admitted he murdered Pam Jensen. The three of us heard him say
it.”

“I did not.
They’re lying. I never said anything like that. I just said I knew her security
code and came into her house. While I was here I discovered her body. Someone
had killed her. I was afraid they’d come back for the Monkey Band set, so I
took it with me for safekeeping.”

“George, you
better remember that story, so you can tell it to the judge and jury, but
between the ballistic matches on your gun, threatening to kill these three
ladies, admitting you murdered Pam Jensen, and having a stolen piece of the
Monkey Band set on you, I think your version of what happened just isn’t going
to fly when you tell your story.”

Jeff turned to
the two police officers. “Take him in and book him for murder, attempted
murder, and grand theft.” He turned to the women. “In California, grand theft
is when anything over $950.00 in value is stolen, and if what I’ve been hearing
is true, the Monkey Band will come in way over that.” The two policemen
escorted George out of the house while he ranted and raved that he was entitled
to an attorney.

“Are you sure
you’re all right?” Jeff asked them a second time. They nodded. “Well, if you’re
certain, I’d like to record a statement from each of you about what took place
today. After that you’re free to go.”

Marty said, “I
still need to finish up a little more on the appraisal.” “Shouldn’t take me
more than an hour. What are you going to do about the Monkey Band set in
George’s office?”

“I have one of
the officers getting it now. He’s going to take it to the station for
safekeeping. It’s too valuable to be left in George’s office. I want you to
come to the station tomorrow and appraise it. After all, it is part of the
estate. I’ll take the piece George had with him to the station so the set is
intact. It’s gone through so much, I’d hate for anything to happen to it now.”

“If you hadn’t
shown up when you did, I don’t think any of us would be talking to you, and
you’d probably be taking photos of us for the crime lab,” Laura said.

Marty turned
to Laura, “You winked at me when George was talking. What was that all about?”

“I knew Jeff
was at the front door and everything would be all right, and it was.”

“We’ve got the
same parents. Is it possible for you to transfer a little of that psychic
ability to me?”