ôSome people donÆt like dogs,ö I said. ôOr maybe they once had a dog and it died and now they donÆt want another.ö
ôWhat do you think happened to the dog?ö asked Dooley, as always fascinated by death in all its facets. ôDo you think someone shot it through the heart like Valina?ö
ôIÆd say chances of that are slim to nonexistent.ö
ôI saw that you are a member of the Brookwell Archery Club, Ada?ö asked Odelia.
ôYes, thatÆs right. You didnÆt know? I used to shoot a lot when I was younger. Nowadays I rarely go anymore, though I keep renewing my membership, more for old timeÆs sake than anything else, I suppose.ö She smiled a sweet smile at Odelia. ôBut IÆm sure thatÆs not the only reason you came here. You probably discovered that my Gene was on ValinaÆs list. And now youÆre wondering if I went over there last night to kill the woman?ö
ôWell, the thought had crossed my mind,ö Odelia admitted.
ôI never signed up for that thing,ö said Gene, who had a sort of crumpled look. Both his clothes, which appeared a little too large for him, and his skin, which had the same effect. ôIt was Lily who was responsible. She probably thought it was a good joke.ö
ôWhoÆs Lily?ö asked Chase, who was taking notes.
ôOur granddaughter,ö said Adra. ôSheÆs thirteen, and is into practical jokes. Last month she signed me up to fly to Mars and start populating a new colony. And now this month itÆs Gene who got it in the neck. Please donÆt read too much into it. ItÆs her age, I guess.ö
Chase smiled.ôSo are you going to repopulate Mars, Mrs. Elfman?ö
ôIÆve raised three daughters. I would think IÆve done my share,ö the elderly lady laughed. ôBesides, who wants to travel to some dead planet when weÆve got a perfectly nice one down here?ö
ôHow about you, Mr. Elfman?ö asked Odelia. ôHave you ever swiped right?ö
Gene frowned.ôSwiped where?ö
ôGene isnÆt into computers,ö said the manÆs wife. ôOur eldest bought him a tablet last Christmas, and I have to say he tried his best, but in the end we simply gave it back.ö
ôThe internet is a dangerous place,ö Gene grumbled as he gave Chase an accusatory look, as if he held him personally responsible. ôFull of crooks and cheats. My son-in-law got a message last week, telling him that he won something called bitcoin. The fool clicked on the message and now his phone has been hacked. HeÆll have to buy himself a new one.ö
ôOur daughter wants us to try out this online banking thing,ö said Adra, ôbut I told her we better not. A friend of ours lost all of her savings when someone from the bank called. Or at least he told her he was from the bank. A very nice man, too. Ever so friendly. Turns out it was some kind of scam and she ended up transferring all of her savings to this man.ö
ôPolice wonÆt do a damn thing,ö Gene grunted. ôAnd the bank refuses to give her back the money, claiming it was her own damn fault for being so gullible in the first place.ö
ôHarriet chatted with a United States Marine,ö said Dooley. ôBut it turns out it was Rufus instead. Rufus is a dog,ö he added for good measure. ôA very nice sheepdog.ö
But of course Adra and Gene couldnÆt appreciate DooleyÆs contribution to the conversation, since they didnÆt speak our language.
ôSo,ö said Adra finally, patting her knees. ôAre we still on for book club tonight?ö
ôAgain?ö asked Gene. ôI thought you just had your book club meeting?ö
ôWhat with one thing and another, we never got to finish discussingTears in the Mud,ö said Adra, ôwhich is why Marge proposed a second meeting.ö She shot a look at Odelia. ôThough now with Valina murdered, I guess we should probably postpone.ö
ôIÆll ask Mom,ö Odelia promised.
ôTell her to give me a call.ö
ôDid you know,ö said Gene, scooting forward in his armchair, ôthat there are people out there who can spy on you through your computer? Take pictures, even? Just imagine for a moment, young man, that youÆre taking a shower and some person on the other side of the world decides to snap pictures of your willy? How about them apples, huh?ö
I had the distinct impression that Gene could talk for hours about the dangers we all faced in this brave new internet world, but Chase and Odelia still had more witnesses to interview, so they decided to thank the couple for their time and be on their way.
Pity, I thought, since when Adra had opened the fridge IÆd spotted another nice piece of chicken in there, just waiting for me and Dooley to sink our teeth into.
Then again, who knows what the next person had in store for us?
Chapter 13
Our final interview of the dayùand I must admit I was glad for it, since I was starting to yearn for a nice long napùwas Emma Kulhanek. Chase and Odelia wanted to find out if her husband Norwell had indeed been home when he said he was, and the best way to find out was to go straight to the source of the manÆs marital blissùas professed by both.
ôOh, yes, he was here,ö said Emma as soon as the question had been laid before her. ôHe arrived home late, but then he often does, and now with this big mess at the site heÆs got a ton of work to get through, as you can imagine.ö
ôWhat time did he get home?ö asked Odelia.
ôOh, around eight, I should say? IÆd kept his dinner in the oven, and warmed it up as soon as he walked through the door. I kept him company and then he went upstairs and went straight back to work in his office. IÆm afraid that when I went to bed he was still at it, slaving away at that site.ö
ôWhen did you go to bed?ö
ôLate. I keep telling myself IÆll turn in early, but I never seem to manage. I start watching something on TV and before I know it itÆs almost midnight.ö
ôSo you went to bed around midnight would you say?ö Chase insisted.
ôA little later,ö said Emma, looking sheepish. ôTwelve-fifteen. Something like that.ö
ôAnd your husband was still working in his office?ö
ôYeah, I went in there for my goodnight kiss,ö said Emma, looking amused. ôI donÆt understand. WhatÆs this all about?ö
ôYou havenÆt heard?ö asked Odelia.
ôHeard what?ö
ôValina was murdered last night.ö
EmmaÆs eyes went wide, and her face took on a paler hue. ôOh, my Godùmurdered!ö
ôWe thought you knew,ö said Chase.
ôDidnÆt Norwell tell you?ö
ôNo, he didnÆt. I havenÆt heard from him all day. HeÆs been at the office, busy as usual, trying to build a new site for Valina.ö She looked dismayed now. ôSo all these questionsà I thought it had to do with the hack, but youÆre looking for ValinaÆs murderer?ö
ôValina was killed between midnight and two oÆclock last night,ö said Chase, ôand your husbandÆs key card was used to gain access to the building at one-fifteen. So we can safely assume that the murder was committed at that time.ö
Her eyes widened, fully aghast.ôYouÆre not seriously suggesting that Norwellàö
ôHe claims that someone took his key card,ö said Odelia. ôHe had it when he badged in yesterday morning, but this morning when he arrived he discovered it wasnÆt in his wallet, where he keeps it. So someone must have stolen it between the time he arrived for work yesterday and the time Valina was shot at one-fifteen last night.ö
ôShot? You mean like with a gun?ö
ôWith bow and arrow,ö said Chase, studying EmmaÆs face.
If a person could personify shock and dismay, Emma did a perfect job at it. She looked absolutely flabbergasted.ôOh, my God,ö she muttered, then frowned. ôIt canÆt have been Norwell,ö she finally said. ôIÆm a very light sleeper. In fact I always wake up when Norwell comes to bed. HeÆs already told me to use earplugs but I canÆt wear them. My ears just start to itch and hurt when I do, even the hypoallergenic ones he got me from the pharmacy. So if heÆd left the house at any time during the night I would have heard.ö
ôYouÆre sure about that?ö asked Chase.
ôAbsolutely. I even wake up when the kids sneak downstairs for a glass of water. ItÆs very annoying. Though Norwell says itÆs a good thing. He sleeps like a log, you see. You can fire off a cannon and he wouldnÆt wake up. If the house caught fire IÆd be the one getting everyone out of bedand safely outside on the lawn waiting for the fire trucks to arrive.ö