46
The members of Murder Club were especially excited to discover that the home had harbored a pair of ruthless murderers all these years.
“A serial killer? Here at Happy Home? No way,” said Liz, who couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “And Brian and Desmond were working together to murder residents? How is that even possible?”
“I don’t believe it,” said Olivia. “Brian is not a murderer. He’s such a nice person. I just can’t believe he would do such a terrible thing.”
“People will do anything for money, Liv. Haven’t you learned that by now?”
“I know, but not Brian. He’s so nice. He always asked me how I was feeling, and when I had that bad cough last year, he came to check on me every day, and told the doctor to take good care of me. A man like that can’t be a killer.”
“He probably wanted to keep you alive long enough to fake your will,” said Liz.
“He wouldn’t have targeted you,” said Gran. “Since you have relatives who’d get suspicious if you suddenly decided to leave everything to Happy Home.”
“And also, we’re not rich,” said Bill.
“Yeah, looks like they were only targeting residents with money,” said Scarlett.
“Poor people,” said Liz. “I knew a few of them. Not all twelve, but still a fair few.”
“Do you remember when they died?” asked Gran, keeping her mission in mind.
“Not really,” said Liz. “I mean, I know that they died, of course, but I wasn’t especially close to any of them, to be honest.”
“Neither was I,” said Olivia. “They seemed to keep themselves to themselves.”
“They didn’t keep themselves to themselves,” said Bill. “They were in pretty bad shape, that’s all. They didn’t leave their rooms because they were mostly bedridden. And so when they died, it didn’t register, since they’d been ill for such a long time.”
“Yeah, that’s probably it,” said his wife. “That’s probably why I can’t remember any details.”
“Still, even though they were ill, that doesn’t give Brian and Desmond the right to murder them,” said Olivia. “And to steal their money and their possessions.”
“I wonder if Dee knew,” said Liz now. “I mean, she knew everything else that was going on here, so why not this?”
“She claims she wasn’t involved in the financial decisions,” said Gran. “That Brian trusted his accountant to take care of that.”
“Is this the same accountant who claims that everything was on the up and up?” asked Bill, arching a skeptical eyebrow.
“Yeah, one and the same,” said Gran. “Though Chase told me she’s lawyering up. So maybe she knows more than she’s letting on.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me one bit,” Bill grunted. “Politicians, bankers, accountants… all cut from the same cloth.”
“Looks like this cop of yours has his work cut out for him,” said Liz. “You think he’s up for the job?”
“Oh, yes,” said Gran. “If anyone can get Brian to confess, it’s Chase. That kid is an ace!”
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“He’s denying everything!” said Chase later that evening when he dropped by. To avoid attention and speculation, he and Odelia had entered through the window, just like before. “Says he doesn’t know anything about any suspicious deaths, or about any inheritances, and he most definitely does not have a bank account in the Cayman Islands. He says he’s being framed.”
“He’s lying, though, isn’t he?” asked Gran.
“Of course he’s lying,” Chase grunted. “But I’ll get him to confess. I just need more time, and more information. What did your residents have to say?”
“Nothing special,” said Gran. “I talked to a couple of them, and all they remember is that these twelve were mostly bedridden, and rarely showed their faces in the cafeteria or at public events like bingo night.”
“Their deaths don’t seem to have attracted any attention or suspicion,” Scarlett added. “They were here, nobody noticed them much, and then they died. Almost as if Brian and his accomplice committed the perfect crime.”
“I’m wondering now if the doctor wasn’t in on it,” said Odelia. “I mean, to issue twelve death certificates and not once alert the authorities that there’s something suspicious about these deaths. That strikes me as particularly fishy.”
“It certainly does,” Gran agreed. “If I were you I’d arrest this doctor, and grill him. And check his bank account. If he was in on it, he must have been paid for his services.”
“We’ve checked Desmond’s bank account, and Brian’s, and so far haven’t been able to find a trace of the money,” said Chase unhappily.
“He probably has a secret bank account,” said Odelia. “One that we’re not aware of yet.”
“We searched his office, his home…” said Chase. “We talked to Dee, talked to Brian’s wife… Nothing.”
“It must be somewhere,” said Scarlett. “He must have been able to draw those funds.”
“How did Desmond pay for that fancy car of his?” asked Gran.
“Cash,” said Chase. “Turns out he was an inveterate online gambler, and had a windfall last year. Squared away almost a hundred thousand, which he spent on that car and that watch—which he bought second-hand, by the way. No evidence that he ever received any money from Brian, aside from hispaycheck.”
“So what are you telling us?” asked Gran.
“I’m telling you that the investigation is proceeding slowly,” said Chase, getting up. “And that I’m not giving up. I know that Brian is behind this whole thing. And if I have to go to the Cayman Islands and personally drag the truth from these bankers, I will.”
“He won’t,” Odelia assured us. “Uncle Alec told us he doesn’t have the budget for such a trip. He said first to gather more evidence, and then he’ll decide. Plus, we would need a court order, for which we also need more evidence, so…”
“So what, you can kill people and steal money and hide it and nobody can do a thing about it?” said Gran.
“Unless I have conclusive evidence that Brian set up that bank account, there’s not much I can do,” said Chase. “And since the guy isn’t cooperating…”
“Chase looks sad, Max,” said Dooley.
“That’s because his investigation isn’t going anywhere,” I said. “And when a cop has collared a suspect, but he can’t prove the suspect’s guilt, it’s very frustrating.”
“So what does this mean for us?” asked Harriet. “Can we leave now, or do we have to stay here?”
Odelia, who had heard Harriet’s question, smiled down at us. “I think you can leave now. There’s nothing you can do for us here.”
“We can leave?” asked Scarlett, her voice betraying her excitement. “We can finally go home?”
“We are home, Scarlett,” said Gran. “This is our happy home!”
“Oh, no, it’s not,” said Scarlett. “Any home where a serial killer is allowed to run amok is not a happy home to me!”
“We’re going home!” said Harriet happily.
And I had to admit the prospect of leaving this place filled me with joy. It might be a happy home for some, but our happy home was somewhere else entirely.
“And so our adventure endeth,” said Brutus, suddenly becoming lyrical. “And a wonderful job was done by all.”
“Not such a good job,” I pointed out. “The killer hasn’t confessed, we don’t have any evidence linking him to the case, so chances are that he might not get charged.”
“The case is closed for us,” said Harriet. “The rest is up to Chase. And since I have absolute confidence in that man, we can rest easy now.”
Oddly enough, rest easy was the last thing I could do. Somehow I had the distinct impression that we’d missed something. But what?
47
“We did good,” Scarlett assured her friend.
“You think? I’m not so sure,” said Vesta.
“What are you talking about? We caught a serial killer. Thirteen people dead. And who knows how many more would have died if we hadn’t caught him.”