“He’s not stupid, but he’s arrogant. Arrogant enough to think he’s above the law. And very soon, if he’s not stopped, he will be the law, and then woe betideLa France and all itscitoyens.”
The discussion seemed endless, and frankly Steph wasn’t in the mood. So while her in-laws continued to discuss the merits of David’s theory, she took Zoe inside. It was time for her bath—and for Steph to have a lie-down.
CHAPTER 31
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Dutifully we all filed into Uncle Alec’s office. The Chief wanted an update on the state of the investigation, and so all the usual suspects were present again: Odelia and Chase, of course, and Dooley and myself. Our input was limited to not getting on the Chief’s nerves too much—which meant we were sitting quietly and making ourselves invisible—while Chase was expected to deliver a full report.
“What I’ve been wondering,” said the Chief, “is how the killer knew that Cipriana’s flatmate would be out. Unless she was in on it, of course.”
“I don’t think he did know,” said Chase. “If Hailey had stuck around, I’m sure he would have killed her, too.”
“She had a narrow escape,” said Odelia.
“You’re sure she’s not involved?” asked the Chief.
“Absolutely. Several witnesses saw her in the shop.”
“And so you’re satisfied that Jeff was the intended target, not Cipriana?”
“If we accept that Jeff was lured there, and wasn’t there as a client, then yes, Jeff must have been the intended victim.”
“He could have been a client, who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” the Chief pointed out. “And then Cipriana is the one you should be looking at.”
“Hailey had never seen Jeff before, so he wasn’t a regular customer,” said Chase. “And we checked his phone. He did indeed get a message from his colleague, asking to meet him in town that afternoon.”
“But Clive Balcerak never sent that message,” said Odelia. “Or at least he claims he didn’t. He says he wasn’t in Hampton Cove but in New York.”
“Better talk to the guy, and check his alibi,” said Uncle Alec. “He could be lying.”
“We’re meeting him tomorrow,” said Chase. “It wasn’t easy to pin him down. Said he had some big work thing and couldn’t make himself available.”
“Tell him to make himself available. This is a murder investigation, not a social call. Right.” He splayed his fingers on his desk. “If this was a professional hit, and Jeff was the target, then who are we looking at? Who could be behind this thing?”
“David Felfan thinks his political opponent ordered the hit,” said Odelia. “He’s Jeff’s dad, and he was running for mayor of Paris before this happened. He’s decided to withdraw as a candidate, which means the next mayor will almost certainly be Bill Cymbal.”
“Who ordered a hit on his opponent’s son as an intimidation tactic,” Chase completed this possible theory.
“I’m not sending you to Paris to talk to the guy,” the Chief grumbled. “For now let’s try to organize a Zoom call. And if you think he might be involved, let’s liaise with Interpol.” He frowned. “How likely do you think his involvement is?”
“At this point, we really have no way of knowing, boss,” Chase admitted.
“The other possibility that’s been suggested is that Beniamino Kosinski is behind the hit,” said Odelia, moving on from the French connection. “He’s—”
“Yes, I know who Beniamino Kosinski is,” said the Chief. “But what does he have to do with this murder business?”
“Well, Ian Stewart suggested that Jeff’s murder could be a warning. Both families have been at daggers drawn for years, and have been locked in a war of words. Beniamino could be trying to get the Stewarts to sell him their winery, giving him a virtual monopoly in this part of the South Fork.”
“If you don’t give me what I want, I’ll start killing people,” said the Chief. “It sounds good in theory, but frankly I don’t think Ben is that kind of guy. I’ve met him a few times, and he doesn’t strike me as the Don Corleone type of person.”
“Yeah, we also met him, and he doesn’t exactly look like a cold-blooded killer,” said Chase. “In fact he gave us a crate of wine as a present.”
“You didn’t accept, did you?” asked the Chief, alarmed.
Chase smiled.“Of course not. Bribing the police—big no-no.”
“He wasn’t trying to bribe us,” said Odelia. “Just being nice.”
“Fine,” said Uncle Alec. “So who else? Besides the wine guy and the French politician? Tell me you’ve got some other suspects lined up?”
“Well, there’s Robbie Scunner,” said Odelia.
“Who’s he?”
“The Stewart Winery foreman’s son. He’s in love with Steph, and was deeply unhappy when she left for Paris, and returned with Jeff Felfan on her arm.”
“Plain old-fashioned jealousy. I like him as a suspect. So where are we on alibi?”
“Well, he admits he followed Jeff into town, and even snapped a couple of pictures of the moment he entered Cipriana’s flat. But we showed his picture to our witness, and she didn’t recognize him.”
“She wouldn’t, if he hired a hitman,” the Chief pointed out. “Which is your overriding theory, if I’m not mistaken?” He gave his detective a scrutinizing look.