“Oh, I have a pretty good idea,” said Michele, surprising us all. “My niece Alison is involved with a man named Jason Rocamora. Mr. Rocamora is a violent criminal and has spent time in prison for various crimes. In fact Isobel had engaged a private detective agency to keep tabs on the man, and make sure he didn’t harm Alison. And also, Isobel told me just yesterday that Alison planned to marry this criminal, and that she told her daughter that if she was going through with the wedding, she would cut her off financially. I guess Mr. Rocamora didn’t like that.”
“You think he’s the one who broke in last night?”
Michele nodded soberly.“You have to know that Isobel was working on a book. Her autobiography. She was under contract with a publisher, who’d offered her a sizable advance on royalties. As far as I know the manuscript was on her laptop. So whoever took that laptop now has the only copy of Isobel’s book.” She raised a meaningful eyebrow. “My boyfriend is Isobel’s publisher, so I know how much she was paid for the book. And now that Jason has the laptop, I’m sure he’ll be in touch soon, demanding money in exchange for the manuscript.”
“How did this Jason Rocamora know about the book?” asked Odelia.
“Alison will have told him. She knew what her mother was writing.”
“How much did your boyfriend pay for the book?” asked Chase.
“One million dollars,” said Michele, watching Chase closely.
The cop didn’t disappoint. He whistled through his teeth.
“Why so much?” asked Odelia. “Isobel wasn’t famous, was she?”
“No, she wasn’t. But she knew a lot of famous people, and she was promising to write a tell-all book, no holds barred. She didn’t believe in secrets, you see, and said she wanted to expose them in her book.” When Chase and Odelia eyed her curiously, she added, “I probably should have prefaced that by saying that my husband and Isobel’s husband ran the Droba Group for a while, which is one of the biggest tire companies in the world. The company was founded over a hundred years ago by one of Dean and Gavin’s forebears. It was run by my father-in-law Bill, who relinquished the reins to his sons. But when Dean died and Gavin disappeared, Bill took over again, and is still running the company today.”
“So it’s safe to say that Isobel knew a lot of very important people,” said Chase, summing things up nicely.
“And a lot of those very important people are going to be in her book—all of their so-called secrets exposed. Which is why she was paid the one million.”
“For a gossip book?”
“Everybody likes gossip, Detective Kingsley. Especially about the rich and famous.”
“Do you know the name of the detective agency Isobel contacted?” asked Odelia.
“Of course. And I’m sure they’ll be able to tell you what Jason Rocamora is planning to do with Isobel’s laptop. They promised to keep a close eye on him.”
CHAPTER 14
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While Chase did a quick check to see if this Rocamora character had a criminal record, Odelia talked to her dad again.
“Secrets? What secrets? I don’t know anything about secrets,” Tex blustered.
“Well, Isobel was writing a tell-all book about the people that have passed through her life,” Odelia said. “So you guys must have discussed this during the past week, seeing as you’ve known each other for so long, right?”
“I don’t know anything about any secrets,” Tex insisted. “And anyway, why is this important? I thought Isobel was the victim of some burglar? Some thief?”
“This burglar might have been after the book,” said Odelia. “Isobel’s laptop was stolen, and Michele just told us that Isobel’s manuscript is worth a great deal of money.”
“I guess,” said Tex, his eyes fixed on some point in the middle distance. This was obviously a man who wanted to be anywhere but here, and talking about anything but Isobel and her book.
“So to your recollection, nobody here mentioned that manuscript, Dad?”
Tex turned decidedly shifty-eyed.“No, nobody. Whatever was going on with that book, this is the first thing I’m hearing about it.”
“Okay, fine,” said Odelia, visibly disappointed in her dad. “How about Mom?”
“What about your mom?”
“She never mentioned the book?”
“No, she did not,” said Tex.
Chase had returned, thoughtfully clutching his phone.“Michele was right. Jason Rocamora does have a criminal record. Aggravated robbery. Assault and battery. Sounds like a seriously wrong dude.”
“Well, there you have it,” said Tex with satisfaction. “Case closed. Now can we go about our business?”
“Mh? Oh, no, buddy,” said Chase. “I’m afraid you can’t leave the premises. At least not until Alec says you can.”
“But you’ve got your guy!”
“Maybe.”
“God,” said the doctor, and stomped off, looking none too happy.
We all stared after him.“What’s going on with your dad?” asked Chase.
“I’m not sure. He’s acting really strange,” said Odelia. “Him and Mom both.”
“I’ve been trying to get a hold of the detective assigned to Jason Rocamora,” said Chase, “and they’ve promised he’ll phone me back as soon as he can.”