The woman was muttering some words in a language that I couldn’t understand. They didn’t sound very nice, though, and were mainly directed at Chase, whom she seemed to have taken an instant dislike to. A cop’s fate, I guess.
Chase didn’t seem to mind. In fact he looked over the moon. He’d finally nabbed his man, even though she was a woman, and in due course the lady was put in a squad car and carted off to the precinct for processing and questioning.
CHAPTER 36
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Once more we found ourselves on the outside looking in. In this case we were in the viewing room, looking into the interview room, where Chase was interrogating his suspect. Bereng?ria wasn’t playing ball, though. She was refusing to explain what she was doing in the park, and why she was targeting Ona. But they’d found the phone on her that the blackmailer used, and when a search of her apartment was conducted, they’d found several more blackmailing notes she had carefully prepared, as well as a list of the people she was targeting.
It was an interesting list, and featured Michele Droba, Vena Aleman, Nathan Gruner, Perlita Gruner and… Marge Poole!
What the search hadn’t produced was Isobel’s laptop, wallet or phone. And since Miss Morat? wasn’t talking, there was no evidence to suggest that she was Isobel’s killer. But clearly she was in possession of the manuscript, and the secrets it contained—a gold mine for a cunning blackmailer.
Chase soon gave up, especially when Bereng?ria demanded a lawyer be present for the interview, and the lady was arrested on the grounds of the evidence they had discovered: the blackmail.
We returned to the house, where Odelia went in search of her mother, to ask her about the blackmail. Finding Marge’s name on Bereng?ria’s list had obviously greatly concerned her. She found her mom at the tennis court, where she was watching a game between Tex and Glenn Aleman. Tex was losing, I guess, for he didn’t look happy, while the bookstore owner was grinning from ear to ear.
Odelia took a seat on the bench next to her mom. Marge looked up and smiled.“Hey, honey. I wasn’t expecting to see you here. How is the investigation going?”
“Chase just made an arrest,” said Odelia. “Bereng?ria Morat? was arrested on charges of blackmail.”
“Bereng?ria? But she’s Michele’s housekeeper.”
“I know. She’s also a blackmailer.” She eyed her mom closely. “Mom, is there something you want to tell me? Only, your name was on Bereng?ria’s list of targets.”
Marge swallowed uncomfortably.“Honey, I don’t know what to say.”
“Did you receive a blackmail note, Mom? Or did Dad?”
“No, we haven’t received anything.”
“Which means she must have targeted Ona first,” said Odelia thoughtfully, “and was waiting to target the others until she was sure she could pull it off.”
“Marge has a secret, Max,” said Dooley. “I can see it in her eyes. She looks guilty.”
“She does look guilty, doesn’t she?” I said.
“She’s a bad liar, Max. Some people are good liars, but she’s lousy at it.”
Marge must have overheard us, for she turned to me and said,“You shouldn’t be so quick to judge, Dooley. I have a perfectly good reason to keep my private affairs private.”
“Which is?” I asked, curious now.
But Marge closed her lips and turned away, clearly not prepared to talk.
“Mom, you have to tell me what’s going on,” said Odelia. “This has gone beyond you and Dad’s private lives. We’re in the middle of a murder investigation here.”
“This has got nothing to do with your investigation,” said Marge. “Trust me.”
“I would, but if you don’t tell me, Chase will have to bring you in for questioning. You and Dad.”
Marge shook her head.“I guess that’s what you get when your daughter marries a cop. Your private life isn’t your own anymore. Everything becomes everybody’s business.”
“Why, is it so bad?” asked Odelia quietly, as she touched her mom’s arm.
Marge persisted for a moment, then finally relented.“Okay, fine. If you have to know, I once published a series of short novels under anom the plume.” She squeezed her eyes closed. “The name I used was Kitty Velvet, and the stories were of an erotic nature.”
For a moment, no one spoke, as we digested this revelation. Then Dooley burst into laughter, quickly followed by myself, and even Odelia had a hard time keeping a straight face.
Marge glared at her daughter.“It’s not funny. If word spread about this I’d be the laughingstock of the whole town. People would read the stories and quote them back to me. I have a lot of loyal readers at the library, and they’d have a field day if they knew I once attempted to be a writer.”
“But Mom!” said Odelia. “This is wonderful. I didn’t know you were a writer.”
“I’m not,” said Marge, carefully studying her fingernails. “I only sold a handful of copies, and my reviews were pretty damning. Which is why I don’t want anyone to know about this. I have a reputation to uphold, you know.” She looked anxious all of a sudden. “You won’t tell anyone,will you? I don’t want people to know.”