Shake Down Dead (15 page)

I knew she meant more than Whitney’s
death. The people being blackmailed by Whitney had done things that
they wanted to be kept secret.

Bernie and I brought Decker up to speed
on my day and what I had learned. In the end, none of us had any
idea of who had committed the awful crime and Harold was no closer
to being exonerated.

“Is today Wednesday?” I asked. “Bernie,
do you get the paper?”

“Sure, let me think where I put it. I
haven’t had time to read it yet,” Bernie called over her shoulder
on the way to the kitchen.

“Let’s see if there is an obituary for
Whitney in it,” I said to Decker.

“I’m not sure they have released the
body yet.”

Bernie came back into the room, handed
me the newspaper and said, “Oh, Henrietta isn’t having a funeral
for Whitney. I believe that Whitney will be cremated later. The
memorial service is tomorrow.”

I stopped paging through the paper and
looked at Bernie. “How do you know that?” I asked.

“I got a call from the funeral home
asking me for the email addresses of the staff at Sunrise Group
Home and several others.”

“Who has a funeral by invitation only?
That’s just weird.”

“It’s a private memorial service, not a
funeral, Jennifer. Henrietta is a very private person. I mean, when
she’s not drinking. You have to realize that she’s been through so
much these last few years.”

I found the obit and read it to Bernie
and Decker.

“Wentworth, Whitney, 26, Hermann, MN,
Died Saturday night, September 24, in Itzig. Preceded in death by
her father, Graham. Survived by her mother, Henrietta. The family
requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Mary’s Haven
Group Homes.”

I shook my head. “It seems so odd to
need an invitation for a funeral—I mean memorial
service.”

“It’s probably rare around here,”
Decker said. “They do it a lot in bigger cities with celebrities
and prominent families who don’t want a lot of gawkers at the
service.”

“I sure can’t blame them,” Bernie said.
“The place would be overcome by ghouls who want to see a murder
victim.”

“I suppose,” I said. “I was hoping to
go to the funeral to see who would show up. Bernie, do you think
Mrs. Wentworth would mind if I tagged along with you?”

Bernie put her index finger over her
mouth as to shush herself. “I might not mind, but I’m sure
Henrietta would. I got my invitation this afternoon. Have you
checked your email lately?”

“No, but I will right now.” I dug out
my phone, clicked on the internet connection, and saw an email from
Walhalla Funeral Chapel. “Here it is. I can go. I wonder if the
murderer will show up. I know the police always look at funerals.
Isn’t that right, Decker?”

“They often do. I’m not sure if they
will this time. If it’s by invitation, it’s a whole different
deal.”

“Why,” I asked.

“Whoever did this isn’t in control. The
killer might be there but it would have to be by invitation, so it
changes the whole scenario.”

I turned to Bernie, “I’ll pick you up
at ten o’clock tomorrow morning in my snazzy new car.”

“What are you doing tomorrow, Jerry,”
asked Bernie.

Decker looked up from his phone. “I
just got a text from Jacobs asking me to meet him for
breakfast.”

“
Really. Is he going to
share with you what he’s found out so far?”

“I hope so. He knows I’m poking around.
I promised him I’d share with him if we learn anything.”

“We? He knows I’m investigating,
too.”

“No, he knows you’re snooping in that
delightful way of yours.”

“And my snooping is useful to the
Sheriff’s Department. Just like your investigation.
Right?”

Decker gave me one of those cute, sexy
smiles and said, “I plead the fifth.” Then he turned to Bernie and
said, “Snoopy and I are heading home. Thank you for the lovely
meal.”

I gave Bernie a hug and Decker and I
headed out.

20

Bernie was waiting in her parking lot
when I pulled in to pick her up for the memorial service on
Thursday morning.

She waved when she realized it was me.
Sliding into the vehicle, she clapped her hands. “Oh, I love it!
It’s so roomy.” She started pushing buttons.

“Hey, we don’t need air conditioning on
in October.” I pushed a button to shut it off. “I thought you liked
your little car.”

“Oh, Jennifer, I do and I’m deeply
grateful for the parishioners for giving it to me. The gas mileage
is awesome. I just wish they had thought about how long my legs
are. I just don’t fit in it. Besides, I love this heated seat. My
rump is nice and toasty.”

“Good. Now get ready to get your rump
out of here and into the funeral home—I mean funeral chapel. And
keep your ears open; you might hear something useful.”

I parked the SUV and met Bernie just
inside the front door. There were only about two dozen people in
the room we were directed to. The sign on the door said “Reposing
Room 1.” I didn’t see anyone reposing in this room. Whitney’s body
was still being held by the county medical examiner.

I noticed Yvonne Jackson talking to
some people near the front of the room. I told Bernie I’d catch up
with her when the service started and made my way over to speak
with Yvonne. Several people who were coffee customers stopped me to
say hello. When I walked up behind her, the two men she was
speaking with turned and walked away.

Before she could spot me and get away
again, I came up on her left side and grasped her arm above the
elbow. “Mrs. Jackson! I was hoping I’d see you here. Megan told me
that you like the coffee I was serving at Charlie’s events, so I
brought you a pound of my best blend. I’ll get it for you after the
service.”

“Oh, well, sure. Megan told you that? I
never told her anything.” I noticed the accent on the
“her.”

“You don’t like Megan?” I
asked.

“Like her? Sure, I like her; she’s a
very friendly person. I just don’t approve of her relationship with
my son. She’ll hold him back.”

“Back from what?”

“The governorship is just the beginning
of his political career, my dear. He needs a wife who doesn’t have
a half dozen ex-husbands and a houseful of kids.”

“Megan’s only had three husbands and
her three kids are all grown up.”

“See, she’s too old for him. You had no
business introducing her to my Charlie.”

“Yvonne, you need to get a grip. Megan
Murphy was one of Charlie’s biggest fans when he was a rock star.
She was the president of his fan club. He’s at least five years
older than her. Besides, I didn’t introduce her to him. Do you
really think she needs help in that department?”

“I guess you’re right. I just want him
to win this election so much. He deserves this. It would make
everything okay.”

“Yvonne, he’s succeeded at everything
he’s attempted. His band made him a rock star and now he’s a real
estate mogul. Why would you think he won’t succeed in being elected
governor?”

“I suppose . . . I mean, you know, oh
dear.”

“What do you mean, it would make
everything okay?”

“Oh, nothing. Nothing,
dear.”

Dear? When did I become dear to her? As
long as I was apparently in her good graces, I asked, “Yvonne, how
well did Charlie know Whitney? I’m surprised he isn’t here
today.”

“He’s hoping to get out of his meeting
in time to be here. Wait, what do you mean how well did he know
Whitney? Are you insinuating that he had something to do with—? Get
away from me you horrible person!” She turned and walked toward the
back of the room. Just then Charlie walked in and Yvonne linked her
arm in his and began talking to him, smiling and laughing. Guess
she wasn’t talking about me.

“Is that how you do all your snooping?
Do you have any friends left?” I turned to look at Megan
Murphy.

“I sure blew that, didn’t
I?”

“No, Yvonne is totally overprotective
of Charlie, who doesn’t need her protection.”

“How much did you hear?”

“Charlie dropped me off before he
parked the car. I just heard the part about you being a horrible
person. What the heck did you say to her?”

Before I could answer, Charlie came
over to us, flanked by Yvonne and Bernie.

Bernie said, “Let’s take a seat. I
think they’re getting ready to begin.”

Bernie and I sat at the end of the
second row while Charlie, Megan and Yvonne took the seats directly
behind us. Megan carefully maneuvered them so that Charlie sat
between them.

“What time are you meeting Pamela
Frey?” Bernie asked me. “Do you think she can tell you anything
about Whitney?”

“I don’t know, but she’s Whitney’s
cousin, so she might have some insight that her friends don’t
have.”

Piped in organ music cut into our
conversation. The service was brief and befitting for a woman who
died so young and so violently. There were no eulogies by her
friends and relatives. The minister spoke of her being in a better
place. I’ve always thought that it was stupid to say that to
someone who just lost a family member. The best place for a loved
one is with the people who love her.

I was sure that Whitney was loved by
her mother and others even though she wasn’t an easy person to
like, much less love.

After the service, Charlie and Megan
were the first in line to offer their sympathy. Then they were out
the door. When Bernie and I had paid our condolences to Henrietta,
we decided to grab some lunch at Chin’s Chinese before I dropped
her off at her office.

With our plate heaping with beef and
broccoli over fried rice, Bernie and I discussed what had happened
at the funeral home. “Do you think Yvonne has always been so
overprotective of Charlie? She went ballistic when I asked her if
Charlie had ever had a relationship with Whitney.”

Bernie took a sip of water and said,
“I’m not sure, Jennifer. I know she loves to brag about him and
she’s supportive of his decision to run for public office. She once
said to me that she felt it would redeem him from his folly of
being a rock ‘n’ roller. Her words not mine.”

“You would have thought that his real
estate business would be redemption enough. What a weird choice of
words. Redeemed from what?”

Waving a forkful of beef, Bernie said,
“I think she’s referring to his standing in the community. She’s
sort of obsessed with what others think.”

“Do you think Charlie could have had
anything to do with Whitney’s death?”

“Oh, I hope not, Jennifer. He’s so
popular and he’s such a nice man. He’s very generous to our
organization.”

We were both lost in our own thoughts
while we finished our lunch. For Megan and Bernie’s sake, I hoped
that Charlie hadn’t been involved with Whitney. However, his name
was on the list.

After I got Bernie back to work and
turned off all the buttons she had turned on in my car, except for
the one that warmed my seat, I stuck my Bluetooth earpiece in my
ear so I could talk to Decker while I drove over to the library. I
couldn’t wait to find out what Jacobs had told him.

Decker answered on the second ring.
Before he would tell me what he had learned at his meeting with
Jacobs, he wanted to know what I’d learned at the memorial service.
I told him about my encounter with Yvonne Jackson. “I don’t know
why she got so upset with me. He’s single and so is Whitney. So
what if they had a relationship? He’d only been seeing Megan for a
couple months, so he wasn’t even cheating on her. Do you think he
could have had something to do with Whitney’s death?”

I heard Decker sigh. “I don’t know,
Jennifer. Jacobs checked further into his alibi and it seems that
he hasn’t been completely honest.”

“He lied? What did he lie
about?”

“Hey, everybody lies. Didn’t you learn
that last summer? He said he went from the press conference to
dinner with some businessmen who were supporting his candidacy.
Turns out, he was seen leaving the press conference at the Shining
Star hall about three-thirty. His dinner meeting at the Schnitzel
Haus was at five o’clock. The hostess there said that Charlie
rushed in about five minutes after all the other men and women had
arrived. According to the hostess—her name was Marge—his clothes
were a little disheveled. He ran his hands through his hair and
straightened his tie before he asked her in what room the meeting
was being held.”

“Wow. He sure had enough time to kill
Whitney. I got to Trudy’s at about three-fifteen. Our class is for
two hours so it must have been about quarter to five when Harold
came in yelling about Whitney sleeping.”

“Charlie could make it from Itzig to
Hermann in less than fifteen minutes. However, if he did drag her
into the woods, then walk to wherever he had parked his car, he
could have arrived at the Schnitzel Haus close to five-oh-five.
Yep, timeline fits. Damn! I was hoping we had eliminated him as a
suspect.”