“One doesn’t exclude the other. You can take care of some people and murder others.” Though frankly this story about Mr. Cymbal reaching across the Atlantic to murder the son of his political opponent seemed a little far-fetched. If he wanted to hurt David Felfan’s chances of becoming the next mayor wouldn’t he resort to the usual stuff? Like spreading nasty rumors, perhaps, or hiring a private detective to dig up dirt on the man? Murder seemed a little risky. No matter how careful you were, sooner or later a connection might be made, and not only would Cymbal not be mayor of Paris,but he would find himself an inmate of its penal system. And I didn’t think a man like that would take the risk.
Chase had gone in search of Steph, wanting to have another word with Jeff’s widow, and in the meantime we were waiting in the nice salon. On the walls paintings had been placed depicting vineyards down the ages. It all looked very pleasant and very bucolic. Which reminded me of something.
“Did you know that Tex and Gran have joined the AA?” I asked.
“Yeah, Mom told me,” said Odelia with a smile. “They’re each other’s sponsors, if you can believe it.”
“Oh, I can,” I said. “And Father Reilly and Scarlett are in the same boat. Though the pleasure is entirely Scarlett’s, I imagine.”
“Father Reilly’s wife has left him,” Dooley explained. “Though she wasn’t actually his wife, because he’s not allowed to get married. So his bishop told him to carry on with Marigold in secret, but she didn’t like that, and now she’s gone to Canada with her daughter, and Father Reilly has become a drunk.”
“Poor Francis,” said Odelia, shaking her head. “He really loved Marigold.”
“And now he loves the bottle,” said Dooley. “But Shanille is watching him. She’s launched the FuSSy brigade, and they’re going to stop their humans from drinking alcohol no matter what. ‘All bets are off,’ she said. Those were her exact words.”
“What does that mean?” asked Odelia with a frown.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” I said. “But it doesn’t bode well for your dad and grandmother.”
“I still can’t believe Mom made Dad attend AA meetings,” said Odelia. “I mean, does he drink more than he should sometimes? Yes, he does. But he’s not an alcoholic, and neither is Gran.”
“They’re not alcoholics, but they can’t stop drinking,” said Dooley.
“Not being able to stop drinking is the definition of an alcoholic, Dooley,” I said.
“No, it’s not. An alcoholic is a member of the AA. As long as you don’t join the club, you’re fine. But of course Marge had to go and sign them up, so now they’re card-carrying alcoholics and they’ve got the official AA badges to prove it.”
Odelia’s lips quirked up into a smile at Dooley’s peculiar logic. And I had the impression she had more to say on the subject, but Chase walked in with Steph Stewart and so we were plunged back into our investigation of Jeff’s murder.
CHAPTER 28
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Chase gave Steph the same news he gave Jeff’s parents: that they had to let Edmundo Crowley go, since they didn’t have the evidence to bring charges against the man.
“So… you’re simply going to let him walk?” asked Steph, who didn’t take too well to the news.
“We investigated the man’s computer and phone, and found no evidence that he hired someone to murder your husband, or obtained the gun to carry out the murder himself. And we showed Crowley’s picture to a witness who saw a man enter Cipriana Cilke’s flat yesterday afternoon shortly before she and Jeff were shot, and she didn’t recognize him. Furthermore, the search of his phone and computer shows no evidence that he was behind the campaign that got you dismissed from consideration for the WelBeQ position. So unless he has a second computer, or is a very clever operator, he might notbe the guy we’re looking for.”
Steph’s eyes were wide and concerned. “Crowley wasn’t behind that slander campaign?”
“At this moment we have no reason to assume that he was.”
“I don’t believe this. What about the NYPD investigation?”
“We’re going to liaise with them on this. They’re carrying out their own analysis of the man’s phone and computer, as well as the results of the search of his apartment. And we’re going to pay a visit to the officer who’s in charge of that investigation. But unless they come up with something solid and conclusive…”
“But if Crowley didn’t do it, then who did?”
“The investigation is still ongoing,” Chase assured her. “We will get to the bottom of this, Steph.”
“Crowley did confess to throwing those rocks through your window,” Odelia said, “and also the reckless maneuver that had Jeff pull over. He says he did that after he found out that your complaint with the NYPD cost him the WelBeQ job.”
“They didn’t hire him?”
“No, they didn’t,” said Chase. “The NYPD contacted them and asked them about his candidacy, and afterward they decided to hire a different candidate.”
“Oh, God. And now you’re saying he wasn’t even behind that campaign. So I cost an innocent man his job.”