GUNNED (22 page)

I shrugged again. “Well, if Sheldon was mean about his brother’s hobby, coupled with a lifetime of feeling inferior to the man, maybe Jerry snapped, but according to what he just told us, it doesn’t sound like Sheldon would be so petty and mean spirited. Jerry’s been jealous of his brother all these years. Why would he all of a sudden decide to kill him now?”

“Opportunity,” Annie said. “They did not see each other often, but with Sheldon’s arrival back in Connecticut, a perfect opportunity presented itself.”

“Maybe.” It sounded flimsy to me. Could Jerry have been sitting at home all these years waiting for his brother to knock on his door so he could finally kill him? I really didn’t think so, but stranger things have happened. “Let’s stop by Shirley’s on the way home and see if she’s found out anything more on any of the suspects.”

It was pretty much a straight shot south to Shirley’s home/office combo in Westport. She ushered us in with a big smile.

“Did you get my messages? I left several.” Shirley looked at me and then shook her head. “Your phone’s off, right? Alex, Alex, Alex. It works so much better when it’s turned on. I guess I should have called Annie’s phone instead.”

She had me there.

“So what’s up? Sounds like you found something?”

“Tea okay?”

Annie and I nodded and Shirley went off to make tea. When she returned we settled in her living room.

“What have you two been up to?” Shirley asked, as she passed me a mug of steaming Earl Grey. “I know you went to see Jerome Perry the other day.” She grinned at me.

“How do you know that?”

“Twitter. He posted a couple of comments about the snoop sisters. A couple of old broads—his words, not mine—who started stalking him. I figured he meant the two of you.”

“Geesh. Is nothing sacred anymore? And we are not old! For goodness sake, I’m not even thirty-nine yet. Almost, but I’m not there yet.”

Annie and Shirley both smiled at me. Okay, so maybe my impending fortieth birthday was making me a bit crazy. But I still had more than a year before I crossed that threshold. I needed to calm down.

I got off the subject of age and told Shirley about our talk with Mr. Perry and that the police had scratched him off of their ten most wanted list.

“And who have you been stalking today?”

“We just came back from Danbury.”

“The brother? The doll guy, right?”

I looked at Shirley and sighed. “How the heck did you know that? And why didn’t you warn me first.”

“He advertises on the Web. Restores old dolls. Don’t you like dolls?”

“No. Not the kind he has. And he has a lot. They’re all over the place. The only good thing is I didn’t see any clowns. That would have tossed me over the edge.”

Annie shuddered. “Very creepy.”

“So, what do you have?” I asked, quickly dropping the doll topic.

“You talk with Jennifer Shalt yet?” Shirley asked.

“Yes, we did. She was the first person we spoke with after the wife. Why?”

“Oh right, you mentioned that on Sunday. Impressions?”

I gave Shirley a shrug and then looked at Annie. “Nothing much. She said Sheldon disrupted their Sunday dinner. Her mom got a little ruffled, but not much there, I don’t think.”

Shirley leaned back in a well-worn chair, cradling her mug in her hands. “The Shalt’s nursery is in some serious financial trouble. They can’t keep their prices low enough to compete with the big box stores that have nursery centers. Did she tell you that?”

“No. She didn’t say anything about the business really, one way or the other, and I’m afraid I never asked. Why? Is that important?” I thought back to the last time I had the need to go to the Shalt’s nursery and my shock when I got to the checkout counter.

“The nursery was started by Jennifer’s great grandfather way back. It was nothing more than a farm stand selling fresh vegetables that the family grew on their land. Then things picked up, people moved into the area, etc. But the point is the land is very valuable and there’s a lot of it, and the old man was kind of a kook and thought of it as his own little kingdom. Kind of like Monaco.”

“Meaning what?” I asked.

“Meaning that only direct descendants could inherit the business, or the proceeds from the land, if it was ever to be sold. Not even a spouse can inherit. At least he wasn’t crazy enough to exclude female heirs. And if there aren’t any direct descendants, everything goes to some charity the old man designated.”

“And is the family thinking of selling?”

Shirley smiled. “My friends on the city council here in Westport get around. And I’ve been told that there’s been some interest from a three-man investment group out of New York. They want the land and some other parcels around it.”

“So?” I reached for a cookie from a plate Shirley had set out. I still didn’t see how this had anything to do with the Spiegels.

“So. Here comes Sheldon Spiegel with his claim that his kid was switched with another. He’s not sure who that kid might be yet, but he’s pretty certain it’s got to be one of the five other babies born at the same time as his daughter Andrea. It would have to be. Who else was there, right?”

“And if it turns out that Jennifer is a Spiegel and not a Shalt, she’d be cut out of the proceeds from the sale of the land,” I said, warming to this scenario.

“And she did tell us that she always felt different from her family,” Annie pointed out. “Maybe she thought there was something to Mr. Spiegel’s story.”

“Okay, but wait a minute,” I said. “She told us that she always felt different
after
Sheldon was already dead. If she killed him, why toss out a little tidbit that might induce us to concentrate on her?”

Shirley held up a hand. “For one thing she would have no reason to believe that you knew anything at all about the possible sale. After all, it’s pretty hush-hush right now. And she certainly wouldn’t think you knew about the terms of the family business. How could you? I only know because I have friends on the city council and they like to talk. And their talk made me do some digging. Jennifer Shalt is in debt up to her eyeballs. She bought a house last year, she has a big car payment and some student loans.  And this is only rumor, mind you, but there was talk about a year ago that they were selling more than just plants.”

I glanced at Shirley over the top of my mug. “What does that mean?”

“It means that it wasn’t only orchids and roses they were growing in their hot houses. But like I said, purely rumor. There’s nothing new on that front, so maybe they stopped, or maybe all they were growing was flowers. And that comment she made about feeling different was probably a totally unconscious slip. Did it make you look at her more seriously?”

I shook my head. “No. I totally dismissed it. I even told Annie that as a kid I always thought I was adopted. I think most kids feel like that at some point.”

“Exactly. I know I did,” Shirley said. “Especially when I was mad at my mom for something.”

“I don’t think Sheldon was seriously considering Jennifer as his daughter. My gut tells me he thought Christine Jamison was his real daughter.”

Shirley thought about this for a moment. “Jennifer didn’t know that. All that family knew was that a man came by their house saying Jennifer might be his kid. Bye-bye to her share of the money if the business got sold.”

I sighed. “I guess we need to go back and talk with Jennifer Shalt again.”

“Alex, you said we cannot get emotionally involved. We have to look at everyone as if they are a cold-blooded killer.”

Annie was right. Jennifer seemed like such a nice young woman, running her own business, and maybe she was. But I knew one thing. When a lot of money was involved, even a saint might be tempted to kill.

“Oh, and there’s one more thing I thought you’d like to know about Jennifer Shalt. A couple years back, she was working late one night. All alone, and it’s pretty secluded out where the nursery is. A couple of punks showed up with the intention of robbing the place, but her sister had already left with the daily deposit for the bank so there was no money left in the till. They ransacked the place a bit and hit Jennifer a couple of times. Not hard enough for her to go to the hospital, but enough to scare the daylights out of her.”

“Okay. So?” I asked Shirley.

“Just in case it happened again, she got herself prepared. She bought a gun.”

“
Mon Dieu
!” Annie said. “She did not tell us of this gun.”

And of course I never asked. I wondered if she would have said anything if I had.

“It’s like I told you, Annie, we have to take everything with a grain of salt. We can’t assume anything anyone tells us is the truth. Not that people necessarily lie all the time, but they omit stuff, like the fact that they just happen to own a gun. Of course none of this may mean anything at all in terms of the murder.”

“But how do we find out?”

“Well, we talk with her again. And now would be a good time.” I looked at the clock on my dash. “She should still be open. Maybe we can catch her before the after-work crowd hits the store.”

It was almost dark by time we got to the nursery. There were several cars in the parking lot, and I saw a couple of customers walking back to their cars with their purchases. A young woman took us to a back office where Jennifer Shalt sat behind a desk piled high with papers.

“Did you find the killer?” she asked when she saw Annie and me standing in the doorway.

“No, not yet. But we have a few more questions, if you have a minute.”

“Sure. Winnie, are there still customers?” Jennifer asked the young woman who had shown us to the back office. “By the way, this is my sister Winnie.”

“Winifred. I’m named after my grandmother, but everyone calls me Winnie. Are you the lady who talked to Jennifer about that Mr. Spiegel guy?”

“Yes. I’m Alex Harris and this is my friend Annie Willix.”

“Nice to meet both of you. Jen, I’m going to work on that flower order that came in today.”

Winnie left and Jennifer motioned us to a couple of chairs.

“So what can I do for you?”

“Since we last talked, we’ve found out a few things, which we hope you can clear up.”

Jennifer leaned forward on the desk and clasped her hands in front of her. “Sure, if I can.”

“We heard that the nursery isn’t doing very well and there’s a chance you might be selling it.”

Jennifer shook her head and pursed her lips. “Wow. Small towns. Nothing stays quiet for long in a small town.”

“So it is true?” Annie asked.

“It’s true that the nursery hasn’t been selling as much as we’d like. And it’s true that we’ve been approached by some investors who want the land. It’s been hard for us to compete with discount nurseries in the big stores, but our landscaping business is actually picking up. My brother’s doing a great job and hired on a new employee. And as far as this side of things goes, we’re working on some new ventures.”

“Like what?”

“You just met my sister. Well, she’s an art major and has a wonderful eye for color and she’s good at putting things together. She’s very creative, so we’re entering the floral business.”

“But you’ve always sold flowers. I’ve bought several plants from you, “I said.

“Yes, plants. But not cut flowers. We’re moving into the floral design business. Winnie’s already got several orders for a couple of weddings and a big high school reunion party in New Haven. That’s what she’s working on now. And we’ve started offering classes like vegetable gardening, floral arranging and landscape design. We have a long way to go, but I think we’re on the right track. I’ll be honest with you,” Jennifer said, as she stood up and came around the desk. “I don’t know if any of this will work. But we’ve got to give it everything we have before we throw in the towel for good. This place was started by my family. It means a lot to me.” Jennifer looked pensive.

“But?” I asked.

“My parents thought it might be a perfect time to sell. I mean, we never even considered selling, but then here come some guys from the city with money to burn. I’m not going to lie. It’s caused some tension. My other sister and parents wanted to take the money and run, but Winnie, and Tom and I, well, this is our home. I love this place. I’ve been coming here since I was a toddler. So we talked it over and decided to see how things pan out with our new services; give it another year to eighteen months and see how it goes. I’m optimistic. But what does any of this have to do with Mr. Spiegel?”

“We know about the conditions of this business. We know that if you weren’t a Shalt, if the land sold you wouldn’t get anything.”

Jennifer sat back down in her chair and looked at me. “And you thought I killed the man so no one would find out I was a Spiegel instead of a Shalt?” She shook her head. “I guess if we were planning on selling the business, I could see where someone might think that, but we’re not selling. Like I said, things are picking up. But I’ll be happy when this murder is solved. Having you and the police coming by is not good for business.”

“The police were here?” I asked.

“Yeah. They came by earlier today and asked if I had a gun.”

“And do you?” That darned police database. Of course John would know about the robbery last year and that Jennifer had a gun.

“I do. It’s all legal. And I showed it to them and it’s not the gun that killed Mr. Spiegel. I’m surprised that you suspect me.”

I shook my head. “I didn’t. But then I heard about the potential sale of the land and the terms, and, well, a few other things, but they were just rumors.”

Jennifer just stared at me. “Small towns.”

I wasn’t quite sure what she meant by that and I didn’t think I could press her much more for fear of accusing her of something that was totally untrue.

“And you did say that you always felt you didn’t belong. That made me think you really did think you might be the Spiegel’s child, and if the land sold you wouldn’t get anything.”

Jennifer pushed her hair over her shoulder. “Fair enough. As far as not fitting in goes, I think it’s due more to the fact that I’ve always been a type A personality. I’m the typical bossy older sister and it’s caused a few confrontations over the years, but the older I get and the older my siblings get, we’ve all mellowed and don’t take things so seriously anymore. Plus, we really have to pull together to make this business work. Look, I’ll be honest. I thought it was kind of cool that maybe I had another family. I could keep the one I have plus get to know the new one. But you just saw my sister. Everyone says we have the same walk and mannerisms. I’m a Shalt. Mr. Spiegel seemed liked a nice man just trying to find out what happened. When this is all cleared up, I hope you’ll tell me which one of us turns out to be his biological kid, but it won’t change anything for me either way because I don’t plan on selling this business. Ever.”