“You still seem very bitter about the whole experience,” Odelia remarked.
“Yes, of course I’m still bitter. It was a horrible thing to do.”
“So when Jay and Dylon came in first and second place for this new art installation here, the decision by the town council must have rankled?”
He grimaced.“Yes, it did. And I’m not denying that. And of course Jay being Jay, he decided to rub my face in it, just for old time’s sake. Sent me a message after the decision was announced, wishing me all the best, and adding that he hoped I wasn’t a sore loser.”
“I think we better continue this conversation at the station,” said Chase.
Bronson gulped a little.“You’re not… arresting me, are you?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“But I told you I was Skyping with my mom when Jay and Dylon were killed.”
“I talked to your mom, Bronson,” said Chase, not unkindly, I thought, since he probably understood the poor kid’s motive for killing his two former fellow students. “And she was honest with me. She told me she hadn’t heard from you in weeks. Said you were probably too busy with your art, as usual.”
“But…”
“Did you really think we wouldn’t check your alibi, Bronson?”
“Or did you think your mom would lie for you?” asked Odelia.
“No, but…” The kid was sweating profusely again, clearly deeply impressed by his impending arrest. “Look, I do have an alibi, but I promised not to tell anyone.”
“Of course you did,” said Chase, clearly not believing a word Bronson was saying. “Okay, let’s go,” he said, and took out a pair of shiny handcuffs.
I think Bronson panicked a little, for he suddenly called out,“Madam Mayor! Madam Mayor!”
Madam Mayor, who’d been talking to a council member, approached us, looking distinctly unhappy when she caught sight of Chase’s handcuffs. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“Bronson here is refusing to tell us where he was on the nights Jay Green and Dylon Pipe were killed,” Chase explained.
“And he has a very strong motive for murdering both men,” Odelia added for good measure.
“Look, he can’t have killed Jay Green,” said Charlene. “For the simple reason that he was with me last night.”
A stunned silence followed these words, and I think we were all surprised by this development.
“Bronson was… with you?” asked Odelia.
“Poor Uncle Alec,” said Dooley, voicing what I think we were all thinking. “His girlfriend is cheating on him with a promising young artist.”
“I can see the attraction,” I said, seeing Bronson in an entirely different light now. “Young and fit and all of that.”
“If you like that sort of thing,” said Dooley, a touch of disapproval in his voice.
“Yeah, exactly. If you like that sort of thing.” And clearly Charlene liked it a lot, for she now stood smiling at Bronson, earning herself a frown from both Chase and Odelia. Odelia because she presumably didn’t appreciate her uncle being thrown over like this, and Chase a good friend and superior officer.
When Charlene caught the expressions on their faces, she laughed.“Oh, no, it’s not what you think! Bronson was modeling for us.”
“Modeling?” asked Chase.
“Yeah, when Dylon died, we lost our model, and even though I like Tex a lot, he’s not exactly the perfect model for these art classes we’ve all been taking. And so we had to find a solution, if we wanted to keep on drawing and painting. And it was actually Marge who came up with the idea. Since she didn’t want to hurt her husband’s feelings, she decided to organize some extra lessons. So now we have our official class, on Monday night, and a second class on Tuesday night at my place. Just a few people, mind you. Me, Marge, Vesta, Scarlett… And Bronson here, who’s proven to be anexcellent model and quite an inspiration for us all.”
Bronson produced a faint smile.“Thanks,” he murmured shyly.
“Oh, no, you’ve done a great job, Bronson,” said Charlene, patting the young artist on the back. She then beamed at Chase. “So you see, Bronson couldn’t possibly have killed Jay Green, since he was at my place last night, and there are several witnesses who can provide him with an alibi.”
“Oh, dear,” said Odelia.
“Now I do hope I can count on your discretion?” asked Charlene fervently. “Your dad… He’s a wonderful person, but when it comes to modeling, he—”
“Sucks,” said Odelia. “I get it.”
“All we wanted was to prevent your dad from showing up naked again, and make an absolute fool of himself. I hope you understand.”
“Yeah, of course,” said Odelia, though she didn’t look so understanding. I guess she didn’t fully approve of her mom and grandma going behind her back like this.
“So… is Bronson our guy or not?” asked Dooley, who had a hard time following what was going on.
“No, he was privately modeling for Charlene, Marge, Gran, Scarlett and some of their friends,” I explained.
“Modeling? What was he modeling?”
“Well… himself, I guess.”
Dooley frowned at me.“I don’t understand, Max. Why would he be modeling himself to all of these women in private?”
“It’s what they do, they draw… men… in the nude.”
“But why?”
“Honestly? I have absolutely no idea,” I said. “For some reason they like drawing men in the nude.”
“Must be something in the water,” said Dooley, as he eyed the coffee cup Charlene was clutching with distinct suspicion.
CHAPTER 36
[Êàðòèíêà: img_2]
We were back in the car, with Chase prey to understandable disappointment.
“I really thought we had our guy,” he said.
“Do you think I should tell Dad?” asked Odelia, who had other problems to deal with. “I mean, he has a right to know, don’t you think?”
“And Uncle Alec,” Dooley added. “He probably doesn’t know his girlfriend spends her evenings staring at naked men.”
“Bronson still doesn’t have an alibi for Dylon Pipe’s murder,” said Chase, “but I think we can agree that Dylon and Jay were killed by the same person, so that means Bronson is off the hook. And if he didn’t do it, maybe we should take a closer look at Tyrone. It’s not impossible thatJay was a client of his, and in spite of his whole spiel about not wanting to hurt the people who owe him money, I’m sure he wouldn’t be above putting the squeeze on them. So maybe they simply squeezed too hard and Jay ended up dead? And the same thing goes for Dylon.”
“I’ll talk to Mom. If anyone tells Dad it should be her,” said Odelia.
“What are you talking about, babe?” asked Chase, who only now seemed to realize he was holding a monologue.
“This whole modeling business! If they don’t want Dad to be their model, they should simply tell him, and not sneak behind his back like that.”
“Yeah, you’re absolutely right,” said Chase. He put the car in gear, and moments later we happened to be cruising past Tyrone’s Place. The crime boss was seated outside, enjoying a nice meal, along with several of what I assumed were his lieutenants. And as we slowly drove past, Mr. Friday had the audacity to give Chase a cheerful wave.
“The nerve of the guy!” said Chase, as he stepped on the accelerator and roared away. “Now I know it was him!”
“Yeah, but how are we going to prove it?” said Odelia.
And that’s the thing, of course. When ordinary citizens commit murder, they often make a mistake, because they’re amateurs, and haven’t been trained for that sort of thing. But when a professional like Tyrone decides to teach a client a lesson, he doesn’t make mistakes, or at least the people who work for him don’t, since they’re more often than not trained killers, and don’t take any chances.
In other words: the investigation was more or less stymied at this point.
[Êàðòèíêà: img_4]
By the time we arrived home, Odelia had made up her mind that she was going to tell her dad that his modeling career wasn’t going to pan out, with his own wife and mother-in-law deserting him for a younger model.