Birthdays Can Be Deadly (7 page)

“Change to his will?” Samantha pressed.

“Oh uh, you know that information is privileged, Samantha.”

“It's okay, Nicholas. It will stay just between us. We're just trying to help.”

Nicholas glanced warily at Eddy and then looked back at Samantha. “Look, after James made his fortune I encouraged him to create a will just in case. He was estranged from his son. So, we set up his will so his inheritance would go to his best friend and business partner. They've lost touch over the years, but James didn't want to change it. Then all of a sudden last week he wants everything switched around.”

“Let me guess, he wanted to leave it to his son?” Eddy asked.

“Well, I'm not technically allowed to say but I won't say that you're wrong. Listen, James was a good guy. He felt terrible about the bad blood between himself and his son, so I was happy that he had made up with his son, but it all seemed so sudden. Then when he wanted to leave everything to him, I just felt uneasy. I tried to talk him out of it, I suggested a trust, but he didn't want anything to do with it.”

“So, Mike stood to inherit all of the money?” Eddy asked.

“He did.”

“Then maybe he decided to speed up the timeline of his inheritance,” Samantha said sadly.

“I hate to say it, but it could be possible,” Nicholas agreed.

“Thank you for your help, Nicholas,” Samantha smiled.

“Just remember you didn't hear any of it from me,” Nicholas said firmly. He shook Eddy's hand as they stood to leave. “And don't forget about that lunch, Samantha.”

“I won't,” she promised.

As Eddie and Samantha left Nicholas’ office to head back to Sage Gardens Eddy's phone rang.

“It's Walt,” he said as he answered the phone. “Walt, did you find something?”

“I sure did. Mike is in debt, a lot of debt. His mortgage is behind, his car is on the verge of being repossessed and he has quite a few outstanding loans. I don't even want to tell you about the credit cards or the collection agencies.”

“That doesn't sound good,” Eddy said grimly. “We just found out that only last week James changed his will to leave everything to Mike.”

“Oh wow, that certainly pins the spotlight right on Mike as our potential killer.”

“Yes, it does,” Eddy said. He hung up the phone and looked over at Samantha.

“Looks like Mike was in a ton of financial trouble.”

After they returned to Sage Gardens they met with Walt at his house. As the three gathered around Walt's kitchen table they discussed the case. “So, sonny boy drops back into his life out of the blue,” Eddy pointed out. “Convinces his Daddy Dearest to leave the money to him, and then suddenly James is in the ground. Dale the janitor I talked to said that he heard James and Mike fighting about money a few weeks ago. Maybe Mike got James to change the will, and then felt pressured to strike before James had the chance to change it again.”

“That does make sense,” Walt nodded. Then he grimaced. “I don't mean that it makes sense that he killed his father, but that he had motive to.”

“Yes, and motive is what counts,” Eddy said thoughtfully. “But what motive would he have to steal his own father's watch? Unless he wanted to sell it and claim it on insurance.”

“I have someone looking into the watch situation,” Samantha blurted out.

“You do?” Eddy arched an eyebrow. “Who?”

“I can't really say,” Samantha said uncomfortably.

“What do you mean you can't say?” Eddy asked again. His investigative nature caused him to grow more interested.

“I mean, I promised her it would be our secret. She might be able to find out who stole the watch,” Samantha explained nervously. She was beginning to regret saying anything about it. She knew just how skilled Eddy was at getting information out of people.

“Secrets?” Walt frowned. “I don't like secrets. Secrets lead to messes, and messes are not pleasant,” he settled his gaze on Samantha as well. Samantha took a slight step back as both of the men focused in on her.

“If she finds anything, I'll let you know,” she attempted to assure them both.

“You'll let us know,” Eddy countered, his voice growing a little rougher.

“Excuse me?” Samantha shot back with annoyance. Before she could tell Eddy exactly how she felt about his comment, her cell phone began to ring. She glowered at him and fished her phone out of her purse. She didn't recognize the number, but was happy for the distraction. “Hello?” she asked hesitantly.

“Sam, it's Jo,” Jo said swiftly.

Samantha looked from Eddy to Walt, and then lowered her eyes. She turned away from the two men.

“Did you find something?” she asked hopefully.

“I have a lead,” Jo replied suspiciously. “Why are you talking so softly?”

“I'm with my friends,” Samantha explained quietly. “You can tell me if you found something.”

“This is supposed to be our secret, remember?” Jo said sharply. “You didn't tell anyone did you?”

“No,” Samantha cleared her throat. “But I might need to.”

“Why would you need to?” Jo asked incredulously. “I don't want you telling anyone.”

“Because we're acting as a team,” Samantha frowned.

“This is ridiculous,” Jo muttered. “I just need a description of the watch so that I can make sure I have the right fence.”

“Oh, a description of the watch?” Samantha repeated.

“Who is that?” Eddy asked.

“Is that your secret friend?” Walt questioned and stood up from the computer chair.

“Who is that in the background?” Jo demanded.

“Jo, are you going to see the fence today?” Samantha asked quickly.

“No, I can't go until tomorrow,” Jo replied shortly.

“Let's meet tomorrow then. I'll give you the description of the watch tomorrow,” Samantha rushed to say.

“What? Why?” Jo asked, just as Samantha was hanging up the phone.

She tucked her phone back into her purse and looked up at the two men who were still staring at her curiously. All three were silent for a few moments.

“Well?” Walt finally asked.

“Well what?” Samantha asked in return.

“Well, who was that on the phone?” Walt asked.

“A friend,” she replied and lowered her eyes again.

“Enough of this,” Eddy snapped. “I know exactly who she was talking to.”

“You do?” Samantha asked with surprise and some guilt.

“Sure,” he narrowed his eyes. “You said her name Jo.”

“I did not!” Samantha growled.

“Oh, that's right she did,” Walt said and snapped his fingers sharply.

“I didn't realize,” Samantha said with a frown.

“So, who is this Jo?” Eddy demanded.

“Well, there's a Jo that lives here in Sage Gardens,” Walt pointed out. “She moved in not that long ago.”

“You know her?” Samantha asked.

“Oh no, not really,” Walt said shyly. “I just noticed her and overheard her name.”

“Who is she?” Eddy asked as he locked eyes with Samantha. “I know I know her from somewhere.”

“Uh, well,” Samantha felt a ripple of tension rise up along her spine. She knew that she had already revealed too much.

“Listen Sam, doing something like this, conducting an investigation like this, requires a certain amount of trust,” Eddy said gravely. “I want to know the truth. If you can't trust me with it, then we don't have any business doing this.”

“Don't say that, Eddy,” Samantha said with a frown. “It's not that I don't trust you. It's not like that. It's just that she asked that I respect her privacy.”

“I'm going to find out either way,” Eddy pointed out. “Either I ask you who she is, or I ask her.”

“You wouldn't do that, would you?” Samantha asked apprehensively. “I wasn't supposed to tell anyone who she is.”

“I would, and I will,” he replied sternly. “She talks to me like she knows me. I need to know who she is.”

“She spoke to you?” Samantha asked.

“Yes, she did,” he replied and narrowed his eyes. “Now, out with it.”

“Samantha, we're your friends,” Walt said in a gentler tone. “You can tell us the truth.”

Samantha took a shaky breath. “All right,” she finally conceded. “But you both have to promise not to tell anyone else. Especially you, Eddy,” she said and looked directly into his eyes.

“Tell us,” Eddy said without agreeing.

“Jo, the woman that lives here in Sage Gardens, is Joanne Baylor, the same woman who…”

“The cat burglar?” Eddy asked with disbelief.

“The what?” Walt stammered out.

“Yes, the cat burglar,” Samantha finally admitted and felt as if a big burden had been lifted off her shoulders, only to be replaced by the dread of Jo finding out that she had told her secret.

“This is absolutely ridiculous,” Eddy growled. “How could you even associate with that woman, Samantha? How does she have your phone number?”

“Listen, she offered to help, and what better way to catch a thief, than to use a thief?” Samantha explained quickly.

“No, don't you even try it,” Eddy warned her. “There is no explanation for this, and you know it.  She's a dangerous criminal who will say and do anything to get what she wants.”

“She's done her time, Eddy,” Samantha pointed out, though she didn't fully believe it herself. “She was released early for good behavior. She offered to help because she wants to turn her life around.”

“I'll believe that when pigs fly,” Eddy snapped and shook his head. “Walt, are you buying any of this?”

“I don't know,” Walt replied with a slight frown. “She has a point about a thief catching a thief. Hopefully Jo will be able to help.”

“I can't even conceive of what the two of you are thinking,” Eddy said sharply. Then he stormed out of Walt's villa.

“Eddy, wait!” Samantha called out and started to follow after him. Walt grasped her arm gently and held her back.

“Let him go,” he advised. “He needs a little time to cool off.”

Samantha frowned and looked down at the floor. She knew that she was the reason that Eddy was so upset. Even with everything that was going on, she didn't want Eddy to be angry with her. She wondered if he might be right, that she had made the wrong choice by allowing Jo to be involved.

***

Eddy did his best to calm down. There was little that bothered him more than a criminal who was given back their freedom before they had served all of their sentence. He didn't really believe that people could change. The idea that an infamous cat burglar had been living in the same community as him, had even spoken to him, without him realizing made it very difficult for him. Had he really gotten so rusty that a criminal could flaunt herself right under his nose?

He didn't want to be at his villa if one of them came looking for him, so he walked down towards the lake. His mind was still churning over the case as well. Jo was a distraction, but he needed to focus on what mattered. If Mike was responsible for his father's death then he needed to suffer severe consequence for it. The only thing that bothered him was how obvious it seemed.

“I thought I might find you out here,” Samantha said quietly as she stepped up behind him. Eddy tensed, but he did not turn away from the water to face her.

“You shouldn't sneak up on an old detective,” he muttered and slid his hands into his pockets.

“I wasn't sneaking,” Samantha insisted as she moved around beside him. “I just didn't want to disturb you,” she explained.

“Oh?” he glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow. “I'm fairly disturbed now, aren't I?”

“Eddy, don't you ever just relax?” Samantha asked as she narrowed her eyes. “Does everything have to be an argument, or an interrogation?”

“I was trying to relax,” Eddy pointed out. “I was looking out over the water. I was calm, and quiet. Then you showed up,” he looked over at her once more, his expression indifferent.

“All right, I get the point, I'll go,” Samantha said with a sigh of frustration. She grasped the pole on the canopy and began to swing around it to walk away.

“Wait, don't go,” Eddy said sternly. “I'm sorry, I was just kidding around.”

“That's kidding around?” she asked with widened eyes as she looked back at him. “I guess I missed the humor.”

“I guess you did,” he admitted sheepishly. “I've been a little rough around the edges today.”

“Because of Jo?” Samantha asked and searched his expression for a hint of the truth. He grimaced.

“Maybe,” he said quietly. “I'm not sure how to feel about working with someone so notorious.”

“We all have our pasts, Eddy,” Samantha reminded him as she leaned against the pole of the canopy and looked out over the water. “There are choices that we've made that we will be dealing with for the rest of our lives. But Jo paid her debt, didn't she?”

“Not exactly,” Eddy replied with a scowl. “There were a lot more robberies that didn't get connected to her. I'm sure she's responsible for at least a few of them. However, she only went to jail for a handful that could actually be proven. That's why she got out as early as she did, Samantha. Am I just supposed to ignore the way she broke the law and be buddies with her now?”

“No one is asking you to do that, Eddy,” Samantha assured him. “You think that everything is black and white. Not everything is. Did Jo commit crimes? Yes, she did,” Samantha nodded. “You and I both know that. But what is the point of a criminal doing their best to change their ways if they are never given the opportunity to turn their lives around?”

“I don't know, Sam,” he shook his head and looked away from her again. “It goes against my better judgment. I don't think we should trust her.”

“Who ever said anything about trusting her?” Samantha asked with a slight smile. “It's not as if I expect you to do that.”

“So, why are you asking her for help?”

“For James’ sake,” she explained. “If involving her leads to finding the watch and possibly the murderer then it’s worth it.”

“It sounded like you were going to let her handle talking to the fence alone,” Eddy said.

“It might have sounded that way, but I'm not going to let her do that,” Samantha replied. “Why do you think I told her to meet me tomorrow so I could give her a description of the watch?”

“You intend to go with her?” Eddy asked suspiciously.

“I'm not some kind of delicate flower, Eddy. No, I didn't wear a badge, but I did conduct my own investigations. I haven't forgotten how to do just that,” she insisted sternly.