“Odelia isn’t a big boy, though, is she?” asked Dooley. “She’s a big girl.”
“Just a figure of speech, Dooley,” said Harriet. “And now let’s eat—I’m starving!”
32
That evening, Odelia and Chase finally gave a sign of life: they dropped by for a meeting with their spies. Once again they used backchannel diplomacy, or in other words: the window in Gran and Scarlett’s room.
“So did you get them?” asked Odelia as she stepped into the room.
“We’ve got them!” said Gran, and handed her granddaughter the cameras. “The footage is on this laptop,” she explained. “Which Scarlett’s great-nephew was so kind to set up for us.”
“And the footage is all right?”
“Better than all right,” said Gran. “The footage is great. Captures Brian in all his splendor and from every possible angle.” She cleared her throat. “It’s a little, shall we say, risqu?, though. So better not let this fall into the wrong hands.”
“So is it Brian and his secretary?” asked Chase as he accepted the laptop.
“It’s Brian and Dee, and also Brian and Gladys,” said Scarlett. “I don’t know how he does it, but the man has some stamina.” She sounded in awe of the general manager. “Also, as far as we could tell, Dee was upset with the guy. But he must have done some fast talking, for there she is, back in the game, as if nothing happened.”
“The footage was captured this morning and this afternoon,” Gran explained. “This morning Brian had a session scheduled with Dee, and then in the afternoon, when she was conveniently on her lunch break, Gladys Judder dropped by, and he had another session with Gladys. So do you think you’vegot enough now?”
“Oh, I’m sure we’ve got plenty,” said Odelia, well pleased that her agents had done such an excellent job. “In fact I’d say that your job here is done, ladies. Sara will hand this footage to her lawyer, and since Henry died last night, Annette has told me she doesn’t need you guys hanging around here anymore.”
“I think Annette is a little miffed with us,” said Gran. “I interviewed her and practically accused her of having murdered Henry. She didn’t like that.”
“No, she definitely did not,” Scarlett chimed in. “So was he? Murdered, I mean?”
“Abe hasn’t delivered his report yet,” said Chase. “And as long as he hasn’t, Alec wants to hold off on instigating a full murder inquiry, which costs money and involves a team that needs to be assembled.”
“Always following procedure,” Gran grumbled. “That’s Alec for you. Anyone can see that the guy was murdered. And in fact we’ve already done your homework for you.” And in a few words she explained about Murder Club, and the interviews they’d conducted that morning. “So you see, it’s either Desmond, Charlie or Kate Doyle. Though my money is on Desmond.”
“Yeah, I think he’s our most likely suspect,” said Scarlett. “He practically told me he did it. In fact he came this close,” she said, holding her thumb and index finger millimeters apart.
“Okay, so please don’t go around accusing people,” said Chase, issuing a formal warning. “It’s not your job, and you might jeopardize our official inquiry—if and when it gets green-lit.” He cocked an eyebrow at the two ladies. “Can I have your word that you will hold off on any moreof this ‘Murder Club’ business?”
“Yes, Chase,” said Gran dutifully.
“Yes, detective,” said Scarlett meekly.
“Great. Now tell me again why you think that Desmond Palka killed Henry?”
And so with visible relish they reiterated the events as they had transpired.
“You did good,” he finally grunted. “But no more, you hear. And give your fellow Murder Club members the same message.”
“But how can we give them the message?” asked Gran. “We don’t even know you—not officially.”
“Yeah, I forgot about that,” said Chase, rubbing his chin.
“I don’t think there’s an issue here,” said Odelia. “As far as I can understand, the Murder Club members have already decided to wrap up their investigation, and let the police handle things from now on. That’s what Liz Murphy told you, didn’t she, Gran?”
“Oh, absolutely. They are keenly aware of their limitations, the same way we are. So from now on we defer to you, Chase.”
Chase seemed pleased to hear that, for he gave them both a pat on the back and a smile.
“He should deputize them,” said Harriet. “And he should deputize us. After all, we’ve done all the work so far, and what has he done? Nothing.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” said Brutus. “Gran and Scarlett and the rest of the team have done a lot, and all Chase has done is sit behind his desk and twiddle his thumbs. And now he’s telling us to back off? It’s not fair.”
“He’s not actually telling us to back off,” I said. “All he’s saying is that if they go on, they might jeopardize the official inquiry. Tamper with evidence, mislead witnesses. It’s a very tricky business getting a conviction in court, even when you know who the killer is, and you have plenty of evidence. Even then the defense counsel can argue that their client’s rights have been violated by the Murder Club.”