Authors: Ashlyn Chase
Strange Neighbors (36 page)
Merry nibbled her top lip as she mulled it over. "Okay. I think that might work. And speaking of invitations…"
"Let's keep it small. Immediate families."
"I meant invitations to the wedding."
"So did I."
"You're kidding. How about close friends?"
"A few."
"The people in our building?"
"Vegas is looking better and better."
She shook her head. "Uh-uh. Eloping is not an option. Only daughter, remember? My father would kill me if he didn't get to walk me down the aisle."
"Which father?"
"Oh, that's right! We'll have to hold the ceremony after sunset."
"You're kidding."
She tilted her head and looked up at him, batting her eyelashes. "Please?"
He groaned. "It's a good thing I love you."
"I could say the same for you. Now, can I think about the fun stuff?"
"What do you mean?"
Her eyes twinkled. "Shopping! I have a wedding dress and lingerie to buy." She hopped off his lap and jogged to the elevator.
"Hey, don't I get celebratory sex?"
"Sorry. No time for hanky panky."
"Damn. It starts already?" As the elevator doors began to close he called out, "You'll make up for that on the honeymoon, sweetheart."
"Count on it!"
***
The case has been solved! Chad cheered. I can't believe it. Columbo came through. I guess he deserves his reputation as a first class sleuth, after all. Now we're just waiting for the landlord to meet with him.
Jason greeted Joe Murphy at the front door and shook his hand.
"Come in. I hope you don't mind, but I invited some of the other tenants."
"Gwyneth and Morgaine, I hope."
"Yes. I figured they could help with the translation between you and Chad."
"Perfect." Joe followed Jason to the elevator.
Chad noticed a spring in Joe's step. Maybe he's pleased about seeing Gwyneth again. Or he could just be strutting like a peacock because he solved a challenging case. Maybe both. Hell, I don't care if he brought his own trumpet to blow. I can't wait to find out who was responsible for my murder.
Jason pushed the button for the third floor. "We're meeting in their apartment, if you don't mind. I guess they feel more comfortable there. They said it helps to connect in their um… sacred space, I think they called it."
Joe shrugged. "Whatever floats their boat."
Jason chuckled.
As soon as they arrived at 3B, the door opened. Jason had just lifted his fist to knock, but didn't have the chance. You gotta love psychics.
"Come in, gentlemen," Gwyneth said. "How nice to see you again, Mister Murphy."
"Nice to see you again too, Gwyneth. You look lovely."
"Why, thank you."
She blushed that peachy color only redheads can turn. Chad thought he saw a little mutual attraction going on there.
Morgaine was already seated. A teapot steamed on the coffee table in front of her. Four unmatched bone china cups and saucers had been laid out. Honey and milk took center stage along with a plate of cookies.
"Can I pour either of you gentlemen a cup of tea?" she asked.
"Thank you," Joe said.
Jason shook his head. "I have to go after this. I'm taking Merry out to do some Christmas shopping."
"Morgaine, please don't tell me you're going to do the Southern manners thing again and chit chat the afternoon away. I'm dying over here."
She chuckled. "Be patient, Chad. You've waited over forty years; you can wait another four minutes."
"Is Chad getting restless?" Jason asked.
"Oh, he's been fussin' about this all day," Gwyneth said. "'When are they gonna get here? Can't you call and tell 'em to hurry it up?' He's been drivin' us crazy."
"Maybe I shouldn't have planned this get together when he was listening," Morgaine said.
Joe frowned. "How can you tell if he's around, anyway?"
"We ask him to announce himself. It's only polite." Morgaine handed Joe his tea. "Eavesdropping doesn't show respect, and we expect to be treated with the same respect we show others."
"That's good. Otherwise it might prove very inconvenient to have him around. Of course, now that I have an answer for him, he shouldn't be around much longer, right?"
"We hope he can move on to Summerland after that," Gwyneth said.
Joe raised his eyebrows. "Summerland? Is that some kind of rest home for spirits?"
Gwyneth and Morgaine laughed.
"Aren't you just precious? Bless you're heart. No, Summerland is what we call the place spirits get to. Kinda like what some people call Heaven. And we believe in reincarnation after that."
"Okay, okay. The Wicca lesson is over, girls. Get to the point, will you?"
Morgaine sighed. "I'm sorry gentlemen, Chad is trying to push us along."
"That's fine," Joe said. "We can chat more after he's gone."
"What makes him so sure I'll be gone? None of us know what's going to happen after this." He seems downright anxious to get rid of me, though.
Joe gazed at the ceiling. "So, Chad. It's a good thing I researched the international angle. I managed to obtain some fingerprints from your old case file and a friend of mine ran them through Interpol. The guys' names were Hans Gottlieb and Franz Keiser."
"Hans and Franz. You've got to be kidding."
"What was that, Chad? Did you have a question for Mister Murphy?"
"No. For God's sake, don't stop him. I was just adding commentary. Now tell him to keep talking."
"No, he didn't have a question, pardon me for interruptin'. Continue, Mister Murphy."
"That's quite all right, Gwyneth." He paused and gave her a soft smile. "Back in the fifties these men were Swiss bankers."
"Swiss bankers? I was murdered by Swiss bankers? What the fuck?"
"Now, Chad. Don't be rude."
"What's he saying?" Jason asked.
"Oh, nothin'. He just uses some crude language sometimes."
"Well, so do you, sweet cheeks."
Gwyneth rolled her eyes. "Please go on, Mister Murphy. I'll just ignore him."
"All right. Well, this may take a little explanation."
"Ya think?"
"These men became involved in the IMF."
"Is that like the FBI or the KBG?" Gwyneth asked.
"No. It's the International Monetary Fund. Basically, it's like a world bank. It was originally set up to stabilize exchange rates and facilitate a way to improve the world by making loans to participating countries when they most needed it. Most of the countries belonging to the United Nations are part of it."
"Really? I wonder why I never heard of it. Chad, you shut your mouth."
"I wasn't going to say a word."
Joe cleared his throat. "Okay, well, back in the sixties, there was some talk of President Kennedy shifting our debt from the world bank to our national bank."
"I see." Gwyneth nodded slowly then switched to a head shake. "No, I don't see. What's that got to do with Chad's murder?"
"Well, the world bank stood to lose a lot of money in interest from us. There were other things being discussed at the time. Some very unpopular decisions were made— like lending money to dictatorships as long as the regime was friendly to U.S. interests. In 1964, the world bank financed Brazil's overthrow and the new dictator."
"I do declare! Isn't that right around the time President Kennedy was shot?"
"Yes. So, you understand the timeline. That's important. With the IMF's headquarters in the USA and America having the only veto, our country wielded quite a bit of power."
Morgaine squinted. "So the rest of the governments blamed us for lending money to violent men to overthrow their own countries' governments."
Joe nodded. "It's created quite a negative image ever since. Historically, the president of the IMF is from the United States, whereas the managing director is European. That policy has been in question for years and may change, but since 1944, that's the way it's been."
"So what are you saying?" Jason interjected. "That Chad knew something about this and was about to expose the plot to assassinate our president by the peaceful, neutral Swiss? Or at least someone thought he did?"
"I'm glad he asked the dumbass question so I didn't have to."
"I don't know what he knew. He never gave us specific information from his article. All I know is that some of the prints from Chad's apartment belonged to these two guys. Tell him he can rest easy now, though. They spent several years in jail for embezzlement later on."
Jason took a deep breath. "Did you hear that, Chad?
All is well. Justice has been done."
"Justice? You call a few years in a white collar prison justice for murder? I want more. I want them hanged. I want them drawn and quartered. I want a firing squad. Where are they now?"
Morgaine sighed. "He's not happy. He wants to know where they are now."
Joe's brow knit. "They died of old age. Please remind him that if he were alive, he'd be seventy-six years old."
"And enjoying my grandchildren or relaxing on the golf course or fishing. I missed all of that."
"And we understand that, Chad," Morgaine said, "but there's not much more we can do. We can't dig them up and hang their skeletons."
Joe's eyes widened. "Is that what he wants?"
Morgaine shrugged. "Chad, honey? There's nothing we can do about the past. Maybe if you move on you can confront them in the next life. That often happens in reincarnation."
Gwyneth added, "And don't forget about karma. Karma may have paid them a visit too. I mean, why did they have to embezzle? Maybe they lost all their money."
Morgaine nodded. "Or perhaps they had miserable marriages or someone in their immediate family died horribly. You never know how karma will work or when it will catch up with you, but it always does."
"I want to know how it worked, then. I want to know how they paid the price for taking my life."
Morgaine rubbed her eyes. "That might be difficult to find out, Chad. Maybe they just lived with a tortured conscience for the rest of their lives."
"Crap. Not good enough."
Gwyneth laid a hand on Joe's knee. "Is there any way you can find out what happened to them, Mistah Murphy?"
Joe bit his bottom lip. "I can check their obits and get the names of family members. Maybe a little more digging will give us a few facts, not much in the way of whole stories, though. Unless I can find some close family."
Jason cleared his throat. "I'm not crazy about the idea of paying for any more digging. That could go on forever and maybe require trips to Europe. Chad, you wanted to know who killed you. Now you do. We kept our end of the bargain. Now you keep yours."
"I'm not going anywhere."
Morgaine stared at the ceiling and shook her head in exasperation.
Joe asked, "What did he say?"
She looked Joe straight in the eye and lied. "He said, 'What if I can't?'"
Joe squinted as if thinking deeply, then said, "I have an idea."
***
Ralph picked up his cell phone on the third ring. "Jason? Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything's fine. How's your trip going?"
"Fantastic. This was the best idea. Dottie's never been so relaxed. It really has been like a second honeymoon for us. I really have to thank you for that."
"I'm glad to hear it. Listen, I called for a couple of reasons. First, tell Dottie that 3A is rented."
"The alleged ghost is gone?"
"No, but he accepted a roommate."
"You're kidding. Who?"
"The P.I. I hired. He's still investigating, but I didn't feel like footing the bill anymore. So Chad is letting him rent the apartment and Joe will keep digging in his spare time. Hey, it's a pretty creative solution, right?"
"I guess so. Do you mind if I just tell Dottie the ghost is gone, and we have a new tenant?"
Jason chuckled. "No, I don't mind at all. I'll ask Joe to keep Chad a secret. Joe can't hear or see him, so he won't even know he's there."
"Sounds like the ideal roommate."
"Yeah, he scored a pretty sweet situation. I think he has a crush on one of the girls across the hall."
"Aren't they lesbians?"
"Merry doesn't seem to think so."
"Speaking of Merry, how is she?"
"She's great. She said yes, Uncle Ralph."
"Finally! Hallelujah."
In the background, Jason heard Dottie asking what Ralph was so happy about. Ralph muffled the phone, but his voice still came though. "Jason said Merry accepted. They're getting married soon."
After a pause Ralph said, "Dottie's giving you a thumbs up. She's on the patio. When will it be?"
"January twenty-second."
"Thank God it's before spring training. You must be relieved."
"I'll say. So have you found a place for our honeymoon?"
"Yeah, this place we're at now is great. Yesterday we visited an island known for its history, but I wouldn't recommend it. I'd say some of that pirate blood must still be running through the native's veins."
"Uh-oh. That's not good. So where are you now?"
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