Final Settlement (26 page)

“What about it?” He rose from the bed and faced Darby and Miles.

“Was Lorraine blackmailing you?”

“Why is it you want to know?”

“Your name was in her ledger book, next to some sums,” Miles explained. “Was she demanding money?”

He shrugged. “Perhaps.” His face remained impassive, but his eyes were mocking.

“We have reason to believe Lorraine Delvecchio was murdered,” Darby said evenly. “I’m sure Chief Dupont told you.”

“He may have mentioned it.”

“We’re trying to determine who she was blackmailing. Maybe that will tell us who pushed her off that Breakwater.”

Miles stared hard at Marcus. “What information did she have on you?”

Leonard Marcus gave a rueful laugh. “Not enough, it turns out.” He shook his head. To Darby it seemed he was making a decision. Finally he flung down his magazine. “Oh, what the hell.”

Darby held her breath, hoping Marcus was about to shed light on Lorraine Delvecchio’s career as a blackmailer.
We need real confirmation that she committed a crime,
she thought.
That our suspicions are correct
…

“Lorraine worked for Dr. Hotchkiss,” he began. “Back before all this happened, I saw her quite frequently—probably four times a month.” He laced his fingers together, took a moment to think. “I managed the finances for several elderly island ladies, and they liked me to squire them around to their various appointments.”

“How was Lorraine involved?”

“Somehow, she caught on to the fact that I was engaged in minor medical insurance fraud. You know, helping the ladies make claims on procedures they didn’t actually have, depositing some of their checks in my account—that sort of thing.” He cocked his head to the side. “I’m still not exactly sure how Lorraine figured it out. The old ladies certainly didn’t have a clue. At any rate, she threatened to expose me, both to my clients and the police. I called her bluff because I didn’t believe she had any proof.” He looked at them with a frank stare. “Turns out she did have evidence, and quite a bit, too. Unbeknownst to me, I’d left a little paper trail that clever Lorraine had followed.”

“What kind of proof?” Darby asked.

“Oh, copies of insurance claims from the women, that kind of thing. Suffice it to say that it was easier and cheaper for me to pay her off than to risk exposure with my clients. I didn’t think the material would stand up in court, but one never knows.” He cocked his head again. “Of course, it’s never just one payment with a blackmailer. Before I knew it, she had me on a regular schedule. I was forced to accept her as another one of my expenses.” He turned an expressionless face toward them, but Darby noted that his eyes were menacing and hard. “I thought of killing her once or twice. Hiring someone to stage a botched burglary or monkey with her car. But that’s not my style. I’m not a murderer, although I’ve gotten to know one or two of them here.” He rested his chin on his hand.

“Lorraine stopped collecting when the Feds indicted you?”

He nodded. “She realized that her threat of exposure was pointless when I was probably going to jail anyway.” He looked back toward the cot. Suddenly, he whipped his head around, his expression dark, and slammed a fist against the bars. “The truth of it is, I’ve often asked myself if I’d have gone along with Kevin’s scam if I hadn’t been shelling out to Lorraine. She put me under a certain amount of pressure, you know?” Once more his features relaxed and his face became bland. “I’m glad she’s dead, whether by accident or not. She was one devious little bitch.”

Darby looked at Miles. At last they had proof of Lorraine’s role as a conniving, manipulative crook.
Only her unfortunate victims saw her “Mr. Hyde” personality
, thought Darby.

She swallowed. “Were you aware that she was blackmailing other people?”

“Not really. She did make a comment once when I was late in sending her a payment. She said, ‘Nobody else gets away with missing a deadline.’ I asked her if she extorted money from everyone at the medical practice, and she actually laughed, said something like it had turned out to be a wise career move.”

Miles raised his eyebrows at Darby, and then tilted his head toward the exit, non-verbally communicating that it was time to go.

“This has been helpful, Mr. Marcus.” Darby met the prisoner’s gaze. “Thank you for your candor.”

Leonard Marcus shrugged. “Why not? Maybe helping catch Lorraine’s murderer will carry some weight with the Feds.” He turned toward his cot. “Really, when you think about it, what have I got to lose?”

Miles took Darby’s elbow and steered her toward the exit. As they hurried down the dim corridor, they felt the cold eyes of the inmates boring into their backs.

_____

The door of the Dupont home was unlocked, but Tina knocked loudly as she pushed it open so as not to startle anyone. The puppy, its tail wagging so much that its furry body quivered, greeted her with enthusiasm, and then quickly squatted on the floor.

“Rosie!” Bitsy, rounding the corner, gave an exasperated sigh and knelt down. “Tina, what am I doing wrong? This dog won’t stop having accidents on the rugs.” She produced a squirt bottle and paper towels and quickly cleaned up the urine. She rose to her feet. “I’m sorry—what a greeting.” She spotted the large metal pot Tina was holding in her outstretched arms. “Whatever you have in there smells awfully good.”

Tina smiled. “My famous chicken gumbo soup, Bitsy. Figured you could use something warm on the stove. I’ll take it to the kitchen.” She marched past Bitsy to the kitchen and plunked the pot down on an empty burner. “If you’re not going to eat some soon, better put it in the fridge or freeze it,” she called.

Bitsy entered the kitchen and threw away the soiled paper towels. She rinsed her hands at the sink. “Thanks. I think I’ll have some right now, if you don’t mind. I’m starving. Care to join me?”

Tina was about to decline when she surprised herself. “Yes, I’d love a little bit. Like a cupful, okay?” She eyed the small kitchen table. “Let’s sit right here and have some.”

Bitsy grabbed a bowl and small cup from the cabinet and a ladle from a drawer. She took the lid off the pot and scooped them each some of the fragrant soup.

“It smells delicious.” Bitsy carried the bowl and cup to the table. “Want something to drink?”

“Nope. I’m all set. But spoons would be helpful.” Tina pushed a piece of paper to the side. “What’s this?” The paper was ripped from a small notebook and bore the same initials as in Lorraine’s ledger, plus scribbled notes in a loopy handwriting.

Bitsy placed soup spoons at their places. “I found that in the garbage. Alana must have been cleaning up and tossed it away. I think it’s something that Charles was working on, something to do with Lorraine Delvecchio?”

Tina gave Bitsy an appraising look. “Could be.” She peered at the initials and the notes. Next to “BA” was written “Alcott,” and then another word: Grace. Beside the initials “ML,” Chief Dupont had written “Marcus,” followed by “fraud.” Beside “DT” he had reversed the letters and written “ab,” along with a question mark. The rest of the letters—AB and RC—were reversed and had question marks.

“I wasn’t sure what it was at first, but I figured you’d want to see it,” Bitsy said in a small voice. “You and Darby.”

Tina nodded. “Good work, Bitsy.” She pursed her lips. “Any chance you found anything else in the actual notebook?”

Bitsy shook her head. “No.”

Tina shrugged and spooned some of her soup into her mouth. The broth was rich and fragrant, with chunks of chicken, celery, pepper, and barley, and had been seasoned so that there was just a hint of heat. She glanced at Bitsy to see if she was eating. The blonde was attacking the soup as if she was famished. Tina smiled.

“You know, I do believe Donny’s got a puppy training video at his house,” she offered. “I could have him bring it over this afternoon if you’d like.”

Bitsy looked up from her soup bowl, a bit of broth dribbling down her chin. “Oh, that would be super, Tina.” She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Can I ask another favor? I desperately need to get my hair cut. Charles’s service is tomorrow, and I—”

“Say no more, I understand.” Tina fished a little address book out of a voluminous red pocketbook and scrawled down a number. “Here you go. This is the woman who did my hair for the wedding.” She patted her red curls.

“Your hair was beautiful for the wedding!” Bitsy gushed. “Thanks. I’ll call her right away.”

Tina rose from the table. She picked up her cup and took it to the kitchen sink. “I need to go, Bitsy, but maybe I can come back with Donny later on.” She pointed at the paper on the table. “May I take that?”

“Sure.” She handed the page to Tina. “That could be the last thing Charles wrote,” she said sadly.

“I’ll take good care of it.”

Bitsy shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. He probably ripped it out of the pad to show you guys.” She gave a brave smile. “Thanks for the soup and the hairdresser.”

Tina gave Bitsy a hug and headed for the door. The puppy, who was nowhere to be seen, was suspiciously quiet.

_____

Miles carried a tray to the table and placed Darby’s salad and half sandwich before her. “I got you a fizzy water. Will that do?”

“Perfect.” Minutes before, the duo had driven off the ferry and realized that they were starving. Now, they were seated at the Hurricane Harbor Café, their lunches before them. A sign scrawled in the window announced that the restaurant would be closed the following day for Chief Charles Dupont’s funeral.

Darby glanced down, her eyes taking in Miles’s enormous submarine sandwich with pieces of lettuce, turkey, tomato, and sprouts sticking out the sides. “You’re not hungry, are you, Miles?”

He grinned and picked up the long roll. “Nah—thought I’d have a little snack is all.” He took a big bite and began chewing happily.

Darby uncapped her carbonated water and took a sip. “That jail was a depressing place.”

“They aren’t supposed to be walks in the park, love.” Miles’s voice was muffled by the thickness of the roll.

“True.” She picked at her salad. “What makes somebody like him cheat people out of their life savings? Why does a quiet person like Lorraine Delvecchio threaten to spill someone’s secrets if she doesn’t get what she wants?”

Miles made a thoughtful face. “In Leonard Marcus’s case, it’s definitely greed, right? He sounds like he was an opportunistic thief who knew he could bilk those old ladies, and then thought he could scam all those investors.”

“Right.” She took a bite of her chicken salad on whole wheat and chewed thoughtfully. “What about Lorraine?”

“Greed must be playing a part with her, too. At least as far as Marcus was concerned.”

“I get the feeling that Leonard Marcus thinks he is far superior to just about everyone. Maybe Lorraine felt that way, too. I mean, she had this unbelievable memory that nobody knew about. And yet I can’t help but remember what I used to think of her—that she was mousy and …” she paused. “Weak.” She turned her eyes up to meet Miles’s. “Maybe that’s why she did it, Miles. Everyone assumed she was meek and mild, yet here she was blackmailing at least five people. Perhaps the whole thing made her feel powerful.”

“Like eating this enormous sandwich,” Miles joked. “It’s not actually even a sandwich, it’s a beach-wich. I take that back. It’s a whole coast-wich.”

“Ugh.” Darby groaned. She touched his arm lightly. “Despite your corny comments, I wish you didn’t have to leave tomorrow.”

“Me, too.” He crinkled his nose. “I hate the thought of being without you.”

She sighed. “Seems whenever we are together, it’s never long enough.” Her face brightened. “Your plane is late in the afternoon, right? So at least we can spend most of the day together.”

“Yes. I’m wondering if we might catch our friend Bartholomew Anderson before I head for the airport. I’d like to question him about his involvement with Lorraine, too.”

“Good idea. I’ll call his paralegal and see if we can get an appointment.” She pulled out her phone and looked at it, frowning. “Tina called. I missed it when we were at the prison.” Cell phones had not been allowed and Darby had left hers at the main entrance. “I’m going to listen to her message.”

Miles nodded and took another enormous bite.

A moment later, Darby was punching in Tina’s number. “Miles, she has information on another one of Lorraine’s victims.” She bit her lip. “Tina?”

The redhead minced no words. “About time you called me back! You want to solve this mystery, or what?”

“Absolutely. Tell me what you found out.”

“I’d rather show you,” Tina said. “Are you and Miles in a compromising position?”

Darby felt her cheeks blush as she looked at Miles, contentedly chomping away on his sub. “No. We’re at the Café, having a late lunch.”

“Great. I’m at the office, working on Alcott Bridges’s listing. Come on over.” She clicked off and Darby put down her phone.

“Tina’s got something she wants to show us,” she explained. “Wrap up your coast-wich and let’s go.”

Miles grabbed a napkin and swaddled the sub. He helped Darby into her red coat and pulled on his own, then picked up the sub and his soda and followed her out the door.