Murder at the Book Fair (19 page)

"Well, Portwood gave someone
$50,000 each year. Any idea who it might have been?"

"Naw. Like I said, I don't
know him that well. I only saw him on business. Same with my other
authors."

"You've done well, Mr. Grimes."

"Well, a lot of people have
done a lot better than I have."

"That's not what I mean.
Whenever you spoke of Cyril Portwood you talked in the present tense."

"I'm not sure what you're
talking about. What do you mean by present tense?"

"I mean Portwood was
murdered. Only the murderer would know that he's dead."

"You're kidding me, aren't
you?"

"I wish I was. Someone
murdered him, and whoever did it did it at the book fair."

"With all those people
there?"

"Maybe. Maybe not."

"Well, I didn't do it. Like I
said, I was out of town. You can check. I can give you names of my family in
Indiana
and the place where I
stayed."

"I would appreciate that, Mr.
Grimes. It's not that I don't believe you. I'm checking on everyone else,
too."

"Okay, but you have to admit
that $500 is no reason to murder someone."

"No. But $50,000 a year,
every year, is a lot more. Or being mentioned in someone's will."

"But I didn't get $50,000 a
year, every year. And I don't think I was mentioned in his will. I wasn't, was
I? I can't see why he would give me anything. There had to be a lot of people
he knew better than he knew me."

"And you don't have any idea
who he might have given that money to? Maybe his brother and sister?"

"Makes sense. I didn't know
he had a brother and a sister."

"Do you know what color of
car he drove?"

"I think he had two. I think
both were dark. A van and an SUV, but I can't tell you exactly what color
either of them were."

"So, you don't know which one
he drove to the book fair this year."

"Remember, I told you I
wasn't there."

"Anything else you can think
of that might help us? Anyone you can think of who might have done this?"

"I don't know one person the
man knew. I wasn't involved in his personal life. The way you're talking the
man had some money. Maybe you should check with his banker or his lawyer and
see who inherits."

"That sounds like a good
idea. I'm also going to check and see who might be missing out on $50,000 a
year next year, although I suspect that whoever inherits will be getting more
money than that."

"That's enough to make me
wish I'd gotten to know him better. I mean he drove a nice car, and he dressed
nice, but I had no idea he might have been loaded."

+++

It was well into dinner time when
Lou and I finished with Grimes. We needed to find some place to eat and then go
over what we learned when we got back to the hotel.

"Well, Lou, tell me where you
think we are."

"Is this a trick
question?"

"No."

"The Capital Plaza Hotel.
Frankfort
,
Kentucky
."

"I mean in the
investigation."

"Somewhere between finding
out there's been a murder and having an idea who the murderer is."

I gave him a look and he turned
more serious.

"If I can be blunt, we've
talked to a lot of people and gotten nowhere."

"I agree. I think we should
check out of here tomorrow, go home for the weekend, and look for the money on
Monday. That means making a call to Herb Wainscott, who got us into this mess,
and getting a judge that will let us look at some bank accounts. I want to know
who might have a lot more money than he or she should have, or who might be
desperate and need money."

"Sounds like the way to go to
me. So we're headed home, going to enjoy our weekend, and heading back up here
when we find out something?"

"That's what I think we
should do."

"I agree."

"I want to check on Grimes
and make sure he was in
Indiana
for a wedding. And if he was,
find out when he got there and when he left. I look at him as a paradox. I
consider him our most likely but our least likely suspect."

"That sounds clear as mud.
Want to translate that into English?"

"Sure. In one way I consider
him the most likely to have murdered Portwood, but also the least likely to
have done so."

"Thanks for clearing that up
for me."

"Okay, let me translate some
more. Other than Lori Wildwood and Jonnetta Jarvis, who supposedly only met
Portwood at the book fair, I see Grimes as the least likely person to receive
$50,000 from Portwood. Supposedly, they barely knew each other. Also, if Grimes
alibi holds up and he really was in
Indiana
, he couldn't have done it."

"But?"

"But other than Portwood's
brother or sister, he seems the most likely candidate to murder someone."

"I'm still not sure if we
should be following the $50,000 someone received each year, or those receiving
money mentioned in Portwood's will."

"Me, either. But it could be
that both trails lead to the same person. Or that neither one has anything to
do with Portwood's murder. Maybe he was killed for an entirely different
reason."

"Like?"

"Like I don't know. I hope we
get to know everyone's financial situation by Monday. Then we can follow that
trail or abandon it."

"Back to where we are now.
Let's look at the people in the order we talked to them. But I won't include
those people who are connected to the book fair."

"And I thought they were the
most likely to have done it, because none of them are mentioned in the will,
and it's doubtful any of them are now out $50,000 a year.

"Here we go, Lou. The first
person we talked to was Bert McHugh. He admitted he is mentioned in the will,
but said he isn't the one who received the $50,000 a year. Since he is the one
who mentioned the money in the first place, he's probably telling the truth.
But, as a lawyer, he's probably the most capable of hiding things from
us."

"Like maybe there wasn't
really any $50,000 and he's trying to get us off on the wrong track."

"For the moment let's assume
that there was. Let's move on to Archie and Hazel Portwood. It's highly
doubtful that either of them was the one who received $50,000 a year from their
brother, considering that they didn't get along with him. However, they are
mentioned in the will, and had the opportunity to poison him at some point
Saturday. And it may have been somewhere other than when they walked by his
table at lunch.

"Jake Cartwright is another
paradox. Supposedly he was Portwood's best friend. But can someone have a best
friend they see only two or three times a year?"

"Absolutely! I can think of
people I would like better if I saw them only two or three times a year."

"Me, too. Let me move on, but
stay with Cartwright. Supposedly he doesn't inherit, and he claims he wasn't
the one who received $50,000 a year from Portwood. The only problem I have is
that it seems unlikely that someone can be a guy's best friend and not be
mentioned in his will."

"Maybe Cartwright didn't want
any of Portwood's money."

"Maybe. Now, let's move on to
those closer to home. Portwood's neighbors. I still think that Millie Longacre
was lying to us when she said that she didn't find Portwood on Saturday night.
She's another one who has to go very high or very low on the list. But I'm not
sure which. But in a way, she and Bob Barney would have had the least chance of
poisoning Portwood."

"Not if they waited until he
got home. And that would be the reason that his body wasn't discovered until
Sunday morning."

"But wouldn't carbon monoxide
and poison be overkill?"

"No, Portwood would only be
killed once, no matter what. It's just making more sure that you will
inherit."

"Which both of them will do,
unless we prove that either of them murdered Portwood."

"I hope we find out in the
end that Elmer was the murderer. But, if not, he won't be the only one full of
bull."

"Moving right along, Lou, we
get to the two authors, Lori Wildwood and Jonnetta Jarvis. I don't know if they
are even worth mentioning. What motive did they have? If Portwood just met
them, they couldn't be the ones getting $50,00o a year from him, and they
certainly don't inherit."

"Cy, since they aren't worth
mentioning, why did you mention them?"

"Because one of them probably
did the guy in."

"Maybe he was trying to steal
Jonnetta Jarvis's yippee dog."

"I think I'm right. It is
time to go home. First thing in the morning. Well, not exactly the first thing.
I don't want to run into the rooster."

"Or a possum or a skunk on
the road."

"Say goodnight, Gracie."

"Goodnight Gracie."

"Goodnight, George."

I shooed Lou out of my room
because I had some phone calls to make. Three to be exact, if you count
Jennifer, and I definitely count Jennifer.

"Herb, this is Cy."

"So, you've solved that
thing, have you?"

"No, I'm looking for some
help from you. Do you have a judge in your pocket so that you can let me get in
some people's bank accounts. I'm trying to follow some money. Fifty thousand a
year to be exact."

"That's enough money that I'd
be interested in following it too, as long as I could catch it."

"Well, I don't think you'll
get any of it. No one else will anymore, but it may or may not have something
to do with Portwood's murder. I already know who inherits. I just want to see
if I think that will be motive enough for murder. I think it will depend upon
how much someone needs money. And I have some other things I'm going to check
on, but Lou and I are going home for a couple of days."

"Good, because I don't think
I can do you any good before Monday. Hopefully I'll be able to give you what
you want then."

"Monday works for me. But I
don't want to be working on Monday much longer."

"Me, either, Cy. I don't want
to work much longer, and I don't want you to have to, but I really appreciate
what you and Lou are doing. At least I was right when I said Cyril Portwood had
been murdered. Now I'd like the satisfaction of knowing who did it."

"Me, too."

I bid Herb goodbye and made call
number two.

"This is Sam I Am dining on
green eggs and ham."

"Eating late tonight, aren't
you, Sam?"

"You retired guys wouldn't
understand."

"Actually I'm unretired right
now."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, Lou and I are helping
a friend solve a murder. Free of charge. Which is how I'd like for you to help
me. I want to give you some people to check on, and I don't even need the
information before Monday."

"Turning over a new leaf, are
you, Cy?"

"Just slowing down in my old
age."

I gave Sam Schumann the names of
the people I wanted him to check on, then ended the call, and made my most
important call.

"This is the guy who loves
you."

"I'm afraid you'll have to
give me more information than that."

"How about this is the guy
who has changed his mind and isn't coming home this weekend?"

"Okay, you had me at coming
home this weekend. So, are you really coming home? Just to see me?"

"Well, that and I miss the
old homestead. I have some work I need to do during the day tomorrow, but how
would you like to go out tomorrow night?"

"You mean like grilling out
back?"

"I was thinking like out away
from the house."

"Sounds good. Do we have to
take that other couple with us?"

"We might. One of them might
want to ride in my new van."

"I guess that nixes my
suggestion about going to the drive-in."

"Well, that and the fact that
Hilldale doesn't have a drive-in."

"Cy, didn't you ever go to
the drive-in when you were young? Most couples forgot there was a movie. You
and I can always pretend we are at the drive-in."

"I think I like your
suggestion. And I did go to the drive-in a few times as a teenager, but usually
with Lou, and we went for the food and the movies. I need to go now, but I'll
see you tomorrow."