Murder for Bid (20 page)

He scrunched his brows. “What?”

I held up my hand. “There’s more. Greg hinted that she has quite a few issues. He said that she’s a kleptomaniac.
Seems she has a reputation around town.”

Sean drew in a deep breath but let me continue.

“Also, I checked with Amanda’s hairstylist. He confirmed that there was an affair. Apparently Amanda had confided in him before her death. So, I guess, that shirt I found in the garbage might have been a key piece of evidence after all.” I finished my statement with a little shake of my shoulders for emphasis.

“Probably,” Sean conceded. “We sent a team to the dump, but we couldn’t locate it.”

My jaw dropped. So, I was right! My instincts that Schmidt killed his own wife had been dead-on all along! I resisted the urge to do an I-told-you-so dance.

“Is that everything?” he asked.

“Yup. That’s it.” I had left out the fact that I saw Madeline Reiner walking into Schmidt’s building yesterday. He’d be furious if he knew I’d been that close to Schmidt again.

He let out a long sigh. “You’ve been busy.”

“Now it’s your turn. What did your guys find out about the bracelet?”

“As we suspected, it belonged to Amanda. Schmidt confirmed it.”

I wasn’t surprised, but having my suspicions confirmed made it all sink in.

“You don’t have any idea when it could have been placed in your apartment?” he asked.

“No, like I told you last night, I’ve been in and out so much these past couple of days, it’s impossible to figure out when someone could have broken in.”

He glanced around at my overstuffed apartment. “Yeah, and you may not have noticed it with all this other stuff around.”

I shrugged. “There was the car I told you about. The one in the alley.”

“We checked with the neighbors. No one saw anything.”

“Figures.”

“I know that someone is trying to frame you, but it wouldn’t hurt to get a lawyer, just in case something else turns up pointing to you as the prime suspect.”

“I can’t afford an attorney. Besides, I called you when I found the bracelet. Why would I do that if I was the one that stole it in the first place?”

He shook his head. “I agree and fortunately so
does the D.A. Just think how differently it would have gone down if I would have been here and discovered the bracelet, or someone else for that matter. It would have looked bad for you.”

He had a point.
“Prints?”

“None on the bracelet
except yours and your mothers.”

I sighed. “Is Jessica Hanson officially missing?” I asked, changing the subject.

“Yes.”

“Do you think she’s dead?”

“No.”

“No? Then you must have some more information.”

He shrugged.

“You’ve put a trace on her credit cards. They always do that on TV cop shows. Where is she?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Fine.
I’m assuming then that she’s in witness protection. Are you building a case against the judge?”              

“I’ve said enough about that, Pip.”

I sat back, thinking. This Jessica Hanson thing opened a whole new bunch of options. Was it possible that I had been wrong about Schmidt all along? “Do you know where Jessica was getting her law degree?” I could take a good guess, but I wanted confirmation.

“She was an undergrad at Northwestern. Her dad, believe it or not, got her the internship. He’s a Cook County Judge.”

Interesting. “Can you give me a hint about what Judge Reiner might be involved in?”

Sean shifted in his seat, “I don’t know.”

“Come on, Sean. Save me the research. You know that judicial rulings are public information. If I dig around hard enough, I’ll eventually figure it out. Or, come to think of it, I could just call Greg and ask him. He seems to have his ear on the rumor mill.”

Sean briefly considered these options before relenting. “It concerns the Bensenville Industrial Park. It seems that money may have crossed hands to get the permits approved.”

“Wow. There’s been quite the debate over that for years. I didn’t even know it had passed. The environmentalists must be up in arms. Who’s the contractor?”

“There were several bids on the line, including one from your pal Greg Davis. B&J Construction won the contract, though. It’s worth millions.”

I sat back, digesting what he’d told me. “Do you think Amanda was just in the wrong place at the wrong time or was it more personal than that?” I asked.

“That’s a good question. I have no idea yet.”

I considered what a waste it all was. An innocent life lost just because of greed. I thought of another question. “Is Schmidt still investigating the judge?”

“Supposedly not.
We weren’t even aware of the judge’s alleged activities until we started the homicide investigation. Schmidt told us a couple of days after Amanda’s murder. It’s all been turned over to the Feds now.”

I thought back to Amanda’s murder. How ironic that the judge showed up that day to help console Richard. He seemed like a friend. I just couldn’t believe that it was all an act. He couldn’t have known he was being investigated by Schmidt’s firm then. Greg’s suspicions of the judge couldn’t be correct. Unless the Reiners were just putting on a good show that day for the police, and possibly even the news cameras. Those types of social connivers were always good actors. How many times had I seen Sheila smile and hug one of her contemporaries just
to bad mouth the same woman seconds later?

“You were there the day the Reiners showed up at the crime scene and consoled Schmidt. Do you think it was just all an act?”

“I doubt it, but who knows?” He rose from the sofa and offered his hand to help me up. “Things are never what they seem, Pippi,” he said.

I wondered if he was referring to the case or something else. I wanted to ask him what he meant, but he was already at the door.

He opened it as if to leave, but instead he turned back. “I may as well tell you. It’s going to be all over the news tomorrow. Amanda’s murder has been ruled a double homicide.”

I was taken back.

“She was pregnant,” he added. “Not full term. She was slim, so probably not many people even noticed. But she was far enough along that the coroner ruled it a viable pregnancy.”

“Oh, no,” I said, contemplating this new information.
Pregnant. Of course, Schmidt would have known about the pregnancy. I just couldn’t see him murdering his own child. Unless … was it possible that it wasn’t Schmidt; that there was a third possibility that no one had even considered yet?”

“You know, whoever’s responsible for
these murders is onto you Pippi. You should back off. There’s a lot of powerful people involved. It’s just going to get more dangerous.”

“Your concern is touching,” I said in a sarcastic tone, regurgitating some of the anger I had been feeling toward him. “But, I’m not backing down now. You’re right. Someone is onto me and by breaking in here they’ve posed a threat to me and my parents. I won’t be able to stop looking over my shoulder until they’re behind bars.”

“Don’t you trust me to do my job?”

I nodded. “I do, but…”

He placed his hands on my shoulders, looking straight into my eyes. “Whoever broke in could have just as easily been waiting for you. They could have killed you if they wanted. They’re just trying to throw suspicion off themselves and you’re an easy target since you were already spotted at the scene. If you continue, they might change their tactics and decide that it would just be easier to eliminate you all together.”

He was right. Maybe I should back down. “Okay. I’ll try to let it go.” Or at least I’d be more careful when I was poking around.

He let out his breath, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. His hands were still on my shoulders and I waited, anticipating his next move. Would he kiss me? Would we be able to fix all that had come between us in the last couple of days? I leaned in, reaching for him, but he backed away, leaving my arms dangling.

Without another word, he turned and left. I watched him, his steps heavy as he made his way down my stairs. He didn’t even glance back.

Chapter
Thirteen

I woke up the next morning determined that I wasn’t going waste another second crying over Sean, or lusting over Greg, or worrying about Sarah Maloney. Agreeing to back down on the case was a relief. I had been tying up too much of my time messing around trying to find Amanda’s killer and I had better things to do, like getting my business back on track.

I hunkered down, and started tending to my on-line listings, which today, just happened to be children’s clothing. Was it any wonder that my mind kept wandering to Amanda’s pregnancy? Every time I came across a piece of infant clothing I was reminded of the fact that she was pregnant. The baby changed everything. Did Richard know Amanda was pregnant? If so, he was more of a monster than I first thought. The idea that he could kill his wife and his own baby just to be with some crimson-lipped woman practically turned my stomach. Unless … maybe the baby wasn’t his. Could it be that both Amanda and Richard were being unfaithful to their marriage? I hadn’t considered that possibility.

After some consideration, I decided that it wouldn’t hurt to make a quick phone call. I picked up the phone and dialed my new friend, the hairdresser, Reginald.

“Good morning, Reginald’s.” A cheery voice answered. It was Barbie. I could imagine her on the other end cradling the phone on her perfect shoulder while touching up the polish on her synthetic nails. For some reason the image irritated me.

I decided to take a hard tone.
“Put Reginald on the line, this is an emergency,” I barked into the phone.

Barbie wasn’t buying it. “What type of emergency?”

“A beauty emergency, that’s what. I need to talk to him now.”

“Who is this please?”

Uh … think … think. “Sheila Scholstein.” Certainly, Sheila wouldn’t mind if I dropped her name again.

“Just a minute please.” The Scholstein name must have held some clout with Barbie. Reginald was on the line immediately.

“Mrs. Scholstein,” he cooed into the phone.

“This isn’t Mrs. Scholstein. It’s Patricia Owens (I really did have to come up with some new aliases). If you hang up, I’ll tell Sheila how rude you were to me. She’s a close personal friend. Very close, practically family,” I added for good measure.

“What do you want?” Reginald sounded a wee bit testy. I got right down to business.

“You told me the other day that Amanda Schmidt had confided in you about an affair.”

“Yes, so?”

“
Who’s affair was she talking about? Her husband’s or her own? Or were they both having an affair?”

“Why her affair, of course.
I don’t know anything about the husband having an affair.”

“Of course.”
I did have it all wrong. I had assumed that Richard was the only one having an affair, when Amanda was cheating too.  I could see how it all happened:
After enduring her husband’s indiscretions, the latest with a crimson-lipped beauty, Amanda, feeling betrayed and unloved, sought comfort in the arms of…

“Who was the man?” I pushed.

“That I don’t know.”

I wondered if he would tell me eve
n if he did know. “That’s fine. Thank you.” I hung up, my mind whirling with new possibilities. All of which I quickly put aside, reminding myself that I was supposed to be backing down on the case and investing more time into my business.

Cozying up to my computer, I went back to work on my listings. Clearing a spot on the floor, I set up several shots of clothing groupings, arranging the clothing in the most appealing manner possible. One thing I had learned early on in the business was that poor photos damaged sales. For large lots, I had accumulated several fabric remnants of varying colors that I used as backdrops and I arranged the clothing so that none of the outfits clashed with each other. If I was shooting single items, I often photographed the item hanging. In the
case of adult clothing, I used my mannequin, an awesome find that I’d picked up dumpster diving behind a downtown boutique. At the moment, I was having fun with toddler clothes and was using a black drop cloth to show off their vibrant colors.

After making some good progress, I took a snack break and flipped on the television. That was a huge mistake because Amanda’s story was all over the local news. Which got me thinking about what Sean had said regarding Judge Reiner being su
spect of accepting bribes over the Bensenville project?

I returned to my computer a
nd searched the Bensenville Industrial Park project. There was no shortage of information. The project, first proposed several years ago, met with immediate opposition. Those who were against the expansion touted the negative environmental impact due to industrial waste dumping and air pollution. Others felt that in the name of progress, the project was necessary. Each side had deliberated the debate in court for several years. Until Judge Reiner’s most recent ruling, it seemed the Planning Commission and the courts stood on the side of the environmentalists; now, the pendulum had swung drastically to the other side. Plus, the expansion called for the destruction of hundreds of low income homes and the relocation of those homeowners.