52 Steps to Murder (30 page)

“Miss Nelson, you told me that you didn’t know that your grandmother had been hurt in a fall until you arrived at her house, but our records show that you talked to her. We have records of phone calls that were made from various hotels across the country where you were staying at the time. Some of those were made to your home, evidently to retrieve whatever messages had been left on your answering machine. Others were made to the hospital where your grandmother was a patient.

“Plus, we have a record of calls made from your cell phone to your grandmother’s number. One of those calls was made the day before your grandmother died. I think that was when your grandmother pleaded with you to help her die and to help Mrs. Jarvis escape her wheelchair for good. I think there’s evidence of this in two envelopes that Miss Penrod told us about. I think you have those two envelopes, Miss Nelson. Why don’t you go get them for us?” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lieutenant.”

I never played poker, but I knew how to bluff.

“Oh, come on, Miss Nelson. I know you have them. I could get a search warrant, but I know you don’t want me to do that.”

Lou and I tried not to get involved emotionally as tears began to flow down Miss Nelson’s cheeks, but it became more difficult as those escaping tears changed to sobs. I wasn’t in a hurry. I remained silent and planned to give Angela Nelson as long as it took.

A few minutes later, Angela Nelson took her hands away from her face and looked at me.

“I’ll be right back,” she said, as she stood up and walked out of the room. She returned carrying two envelopes and a tape recorder. She handed them to me.

“What’s this?” I asked, looking at the tape recorder.

“There’s a tape, too,” Angela Nelson responded.

46

I sat the tape recorder between Lou and me and laid the two envelopes on top of it. I picked up the top envelope and motioned for Lou to pick up the other one. The two of us opened and read silently as Angela Nelson sat across from us. When both of us had finished reading, we exchanged envelopes. When Lou and I’d finished reading the contents of both envelopes, we faced Angela Nelson who broke the silence.

“The tape recorder has batteries in it. Just push the ‘play’ button.”

I turned around the tape recorder, pushed the “play” button, and looked at my watch.

“Hello, Grandmama. It’s me, Angela. Are you feeling better now that you’re home?”

“No, Child. I told you the other day that the doctor said my old bones are too brittle to heal.”

“Maybe you’ll feel better when I get there. I’ll be home tomorrow.”

“Angela, I’ve already told you what the doctor said. Remember what we talked about the other day?”

“I don’t want to do it, Grandmama.”

“Please, Angela, you don’t know how much it hurts. I don’t want to hurt anymore. You’re the only one who can help me.”

“But Grandmama, it’s not right. Besides, I don’t want to lose you.”

“I don’t want to lose you either, Child, but I just hurt so much. Help me, Child. I want to go be with your grandfather. Please.”

“I’m afraid, Grandmama. I’m really afraid.”

“Just listen and I’ll walk you through it. I’ve written down that it was my idea, and Mabel Jarvis has done the same. I’ll send Irene down to pick up Mabel’s envelope tomorrow. The envelopes will be on the table beside my bed. You pick them up and put them in your pocket as soon as you see them. Understand?”

“Yes, Grandmama.”

“Okay, here’s what I want you to do. Irene will be here in the morning. She’ll be leaving town, so she’ll be leaving a few minutes before you get here. Nosy old Mr. Silverman will be watching as always from his house, so he’ll give you an alibi. Just come up on the porch as if nothing’s wrong and ring the bell. I won’t answer, of course, but ring it anyway. Then, go over to Irene’s, as if you don’t know that she’s already left town. When she doesn’t answer, come back over here and make sure that Mr. Silverman sees you using your cell phone.

“Call the police. They’ll probably send some tenderfoot who doesn’t know what he’s doing. When he breaks in, go to the back of the house first, so he won’t know anything, and then come up to my room. Make sure that you get here before he does and pick up the envelopes. Then, go into your act. Chances are he won’t know enough to check and see if I’m dead. He’ll have to go out to the cruiser and call in. That’ll be your cue to hurry to the refrigerator and get a glass of grape juice. Bring it up and go to the medicine cabinet and get me the poison. I’ll put the poison in the juice and drink it. If the officer isn’t back yet, we’ll say our goodbyes and you can go back downstairs and delay the officer until I’m gone. Chances are he won’t come back upstairs until the medical examiner comes.

“Wait around until they leave, then sneak through the underground passage and take some juice and poison to Mabel Jarvis. You got that?”

“I wish you’d change your mind, Grandmama.”

“I can’t, Child. I just can’t. I need to catch up on things with your mom and dad and your grandfather.”

The sound of a doorbell came through on the tape.

“I’ve got to go now, Child. Irene’s here. I love you, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I love you, too, Grandmama.”

I pushed the “stop” button and looked at my watch again. Only Angela Nelson’s flowing tears kept her from knowing that she was not the only one who had shed a tear.

“What happens now, Lieutenant?” Angela Nelson asked in a choked up voice.

I paused and composed myself.

“I know it’s been rough, and it’ll continue to be, but as best you can, I’d recommend you do your best to try to get your life back together.”

“Does that mean you’re not arresting me?”

“Miss Nelson, the last time I checked there was no charge against giving a thirsty woman something to drink. In a world where everyone is eager to get his or her hands on every relative’s money, you declined your grandmother’s estate. You were coerced into doing something you didn’t want to do. I see no reason to ruin the life of a woman who’s already struggling, nor do I see why we should deprive the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society of your grandmother’s money. However, I do have a couple of questions, Miss Nelson.”

“What’s that, Lieutenant?”

“Were you the person in the raincoat?”

“Yes, my grandmother came up with that when she first told me about her idea. She wanted to muddy the waters as much as possible, hoping that the police would give up on trying to solve her murder. I guess she never expected someone as good as you.”

“So, how were you able to answer your home phone just after eluding Sgt. Murdock and me?”

“Have you heard of ‘call forwarding?’ That night I had all calls forwarded to my cell phone.”

I had never considered ‘call forwarding.’ It was the price I paid to live in the past as much as possible.

“And where did you go when Sgt. Murdock chased you?”

“The only place I was sure I was safe, Irene Penrod’s place. I knew she was still out of town and no one would think of looking for me there.”

“There’s one other thing, Miss Nelson. Tell me about Mrs. Jarvis.”

“I had planned to go directly from my grandmother’s to Mrs. Jarvis’s, but of course you ruined that plan. So, I had to go back after you left the street. Before I gave Mrs. Jarvis her grape juice, we talked for a few minutes. She told me that because of her wheelchair she had never been able to see the underground, and she asked me if I would wheel her down there. I agreed to grant the dying woman her last wish. I held on as I wheeled her down the basement steps, and again when we headed down the secret passageway. I stood beside her and listened to her share about her life until she nodded her head and was gone. I shed a few tears, asked God to take good care of my grandmother and Mrs. Jarvis, leaned Mrs. Jarvis back in her wheelchair, and I walked back up the stairs and left.”

“But what if we never found the passageway?”

“Oh, everyone knew about the passageway. Someone was going to let it slip before too long. Besides, I left enough clues for you.”

“Does that include the newspaper date and the galoshes in the pantry?”

“Yes.”

With that, Lou and I got up, hugged Angela Nelson, and told her to call us if there was ever a need we could fill. Then, Lou and I walked out in silence.

47

As Lou and I got to the car, I turned and saw that Angela Nelson stood in the doorway. I waved. She waved back. Lou looked in the side-view mirror and told me that the young woman continued to lean against the door watching us as we drove away. I had already informed the sergeant about my plan. Now, it was time to see if Lightning II, my bugging device, would pay off. I turned on the receiver, and turned up the volume. I smiled as we heard the sound of a door closing and something that sounded like someone clapping.

“A magnificent performance, My Pet.”

“Thank you, Harry, but I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Obviously, My Pet, but you were the one who imitated your grandmother’s voice on that tape.”

“It looks like all my years of acting lessons finally paid off.”

“Not to mention what a wonderful job you did copying your grandmother’s and that Jarvis woman’s handwriting. And who can dispute that the handwriting was theirs? Who can they come to? You were your grandmother’s only relative and the Jarvis woman had none. They can come only to me for verification.”

“Plus, you covered for me when that lieutenant almost ruined things by sending me away before I could kill Mabel Jarvis. That old woman would have assumed the worst and would have contacted the police when she saw them carrying my grandmother out. It’s a good thing you were there to put her out of her misery.”

“Also, it was a good thing I was here to give your grandmother the medication that put her to sleep. Otherwise, she would’ve cried out. Even that wet-behind-the-ears rookie cop would have been able to figure that one out. And it was a good thing Irene Penrod left those envelopes behind. If the police had gotten them, they might’ve have gotten even nosier. Before that, we weren’t sure that your grandmother suspected we were up to something. And Stanley Silverman gave me an opportunity to show that rookie cop two envelopes stuffed with blank paper when I left his house. No one could tell that they weren’t the same envelopes that Penrod woman had. And even if he’d stopped and searched me, envelopes with blank paper couldn’t incriminate anyone.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you, Harry. You even knew we could let them know about the one will as long as we had another one dated later that we can use.”

“Yeah, but you were the one who found all that money that Jarvis woman had hidden in her house.”

“But you were her attorney and knew she had money hidden somewhere.”

“Plus, I knew she died intestate. In time, we’ll release your grandmother’s other will plus the one you wrote for that Jarvis woman.”

“Yeah, that lieutenant had no idea those two were worth millions. Of course, I was a little scared when he called about coming by. Good thing we had a back-up plan.”

“Come here, My Pet. It’s best if we don’t see each other for a while. Then, we’ll collect our money and meet on the beach in Fiji.”

Lou and I had heard enough. We turned the car around and headed back to Angela Nelson’s.  Too bad my bugging device doesn’t include a hidden camera. I would’ve loved to have seen the look on Angela’s face when I rang her doorbell a second time.

“Oh, hi, Miss Nelson.”

“Er, uh, did you forget something, Lieutenant.”

“I did, Miss Nelson. This will take only a moment. Mind if I step in?”

“Uh, sure, Lieutenant.”

Angela Nelson stepped back as Lou and I entered the house.

“Oh, here it is, Miss Nelson,” I said as I bent over and reached between the couch cushions.

“Here’s what, Lieutenant.”

“I call it Lightning II. It’s a bugging device. I don’t want to lose it. Do you know that it was still picking up loud and clear even after we turned the corner?” I turned away and raised my voice. “You can come out now, Mr. Hornwell. Oh, by the way, Miss Nelson. You might want to consult an attorney before you say anything else, but I wouldn’t recommend Mr. Hornwell. I’m afraid he’ll be too busy to handle your case.”

+++

We read Angela Nelson her rights, confronted her with her taped confession. Angela confessed to what she and Harry Hornwell had done, despite the fact that the attorney did his best to keep her silent.

When questioned alone in another room, Angela said Hornwell had enlightened her as to how much her grandmother had salted away, and how her grandmother had talked about changing her will. I doubted that Mrs. Nelson planned to change her will, but Hornwell needed an accomplice and would make up whatever story he needed to accomplish his objective. On that occasion, a seasoned attorney seemed so credible to one so young.

After officers had transported Miss Nelson to police headquarters, she opened up. She told us how she had met Hornwell at her grandmother’s house one day, how she saw him a couple days later when she was eating lunch at a downtown drug store. He asked her to meet him for dinner that night. He wanted to discuss some ideas for her grandmother’s estate with her. She declined at first, but he convinced her that these possibilities were good for her grandmother and that her grandmother would be more receptive to a suggestion if it came from her. As Hornwell and Angela finished dessert that night, she realized that the subject of her grandmother never came up. Instead, Hornwell related to her about how lonely he was since his wife became an invalid and was confined to bed. He pleaded with Angela Nelson to meet him a couple of evenings a week for dinner, nothing else. Again Angela declined, but the persistent attorney convinced the young woman that there was nothing wrong with meeting for dinner.

Miss Nelson related that over time the attorney began to come on to her. He began to give her money and buy her gifts. Also, he started telling her how miserable her grandmother was and how she would be better off if she died peacefully. Miss Nelson never agreed until after her grandmother’s fall. This encouraged Hornwell to format a plan for getting rid of Mrs. Nelson and Mrs. Jarvis. As the attorney for both, he knew how wealthy both women were, but then Angela needed no convincing of that. Her grandmother kept no secrets from Angela about her wealth. Plus, Angela had discovered the secret and location of Mrs. Jarvis’s wealth. Still, Angela was unwilling to go along with Hornwell’s scheme until she heard what condition and state of mind her grandmother was in the first time she talked to her in the hospital.