The Puzzle of Piri Reis (12 page)

Although I had known him all of one minute, who
was Ito argue with his logic? "Right"

He gestured to a chair in front of his desk. "Have a
seat, Tony." He glanced at one of his soldiers. "Joey,
bring me a glass of tomato juice. How about you, Tony? What'll you have? I'm not a drinking man, but we have
beer and whiskey if you want it."

"No, thanks. Tomato juice is fine"

Fusco nodded, his expression showing his approval
of my choice of drinks. His man disappeared. The dapper mobster leaned back and pressed his steepled fingers against his lips. "So, Danny says you got a question
about some citizen named Ted Odom"

"You know him?"

Fusco shrugged. "I don't know." That was his way
to suggest I tell him more, so I brought him up to date
on the missing map.

"I'm in the middle of trying to figure out what happened to it. I spotted Odom talking to a couple of guys
last night on the River Walk who looked like, well, to
be honest, looked like soldiers. It made me wonder if
there was more going on with Odom than I knew."

He cut his eyes over his steepled fingers at his man.
"Send Little Augie to me"

Moments later, a well-dressed man about five-six
and sporting kinky black hair entered. Without a glance
in my direction, he said, "You sent for me, Patsy?"

"Yeah. Any of your boys know a bozo by the name
of Odom?"

Augie shrugged. "Odom? Yeah, Boss. One plays
the nags. The other is a small-time stringer."

"Which one is Ted Odom?"

Augie nodded, his kinky hair bobbing. "The nags.
Five, ten Gs at a time."

"He up to date?"

"Yeah, Boss. He always pays on time."

Fusco looked at me and raised his eyebrows as if to
ask "Anything else?"

I addressed the mob boss. "A long-timer?"

"Ten years at least, Boss," Augie said, still not looking in my direction.

"What about the other one?" Fusco asked.

Little Augie shrugged. "An eyeful. Charley Blue is
her candy man. She ain't nothing to us, Boss. Small
change"

Which meant that what little Lamia Sue Odom made
selling drugs was not worth Patsy Fusco's concerning
himself. I pushed to my feet. "That tells me all I need to
know, Patsy. Thanks."

He nodded. "Anything for a friend. Tell Danny hello
when you see him."

"You got it."

My stomach growled as I pulled back into the traffic.
It was almost noon and my morning bagels and coffee
were down to my toes. I stopped at one of the ubiquitous McDonald's, grabbed a burger, fries and soft drink,
and pulled into the shade of the giant oaks and elms in
Brackenridge Park off the old Austin Highway.

While I ate, I considered where I was. Ervin Maddox
had the opportunity. His whereabouts were unaccounted for around the time of the theft. Motive? Jealously initiates many regrettable and foolish acts.

Hogg? With him it was ego, a drive, a desire to pos secs that which no one else could. And he was, by his
own admission, in the area around seven forty-five
that night.

Ted Odom, while he had opportunity, appeared to
have had little motive, for he was current in his debts.
So he played the horses? He would soon be coming
into half a million and if we found it, the map.

And then there was the niece, Lamia Sue, who had
an apartment at the Elena Towers on the River Walk. I
paused and studied the name, Lamia. Unusual, but in
the back of my mind it struck a chord of familiarity.
And then I remembered. The ancient Greeks believed
that Lamia, a snake-like creature with a human head
and breasts, was a vampire who stole little children to
drink their blood. I shivered. Some reference.

I had yet to speak with Cobb, who, according to his
wife, was out of town. From the few opinions I'd solicited, no one held him in high regard. And according
to Eddie's report, Cobb had sued Odom three times.

In our earlier conversation that morning, Cobb's wife
had mentioned he had been out of town for a week. Suddenly I remembered two days earlier a remark Edna
made to Ted that Cobb had called and wanted to stop by.
She also stated she told Cobb the map was missing and
Ted had hired a private investigator to find it.

Two curious questions popped into my mind. One,
why was it none of the other suspects were out of
town-only Cobb? And second, if Cobb had been in
Florida for a week, how could he drop by the Odom
mansion that morning?

Only one answer. Cobb was home, and his wife was
lying for him. But, why was she lying? Had Cobb stolen
the Piri Reis for another buyer? That was a logical
guess. He brokered items of art, of historical value. I
chuckled. I'd let Cobb think I'd fallen for his little pretext. But then, I had a little pretext of my own for him.

Twenty minutes later, I pulled up to the curb in
an older and once-prestigious neighborhood. Cobb's
house was a two-story, red brick with white mortar
and gabled roof and white columns with Corinthian
capitals.

A sidewalk ran the length of the neighborhood,
which I guessed was developed back in the fifties and
sixties. Most of the lawns were neat, edges trimmed,
weeds pulled. One or two homes were up for sale.

I drove slowly to the end of the block and back, deliberately studying each house. I stopped in front of the
Cobb house, climbed out of my pickup, dropped to my
knees and started searching through the grassy lawn.

Cats aren't the only creatures driven by curiosity.
From time to time as I dug through the grass, I noticed
neighbors staring at me. From the corner of my eye, I
caught movement of a curtain in the front window of
the Cobb house.

Finally, curiosity proved too much for Mrs. Cobb,
and she came onto the porch. Several pounds overweight, the short woman wore black tights and a baggy
white shirt that hung to mid-thigh. Her brown hair was
cut short. "You. In my yard. What are you doing?"

Feigning distress, I looked up. "Ma'am?"

"I said what are you doing in my yard?"

Climbing to my feet, I brushed off my knees and
approached her. "I'm sorry. I should have asked first,
but, well, last night my fiance and I had an argument.
We were on the way to her place after a movie and just before we got to your house, she threw her engagement ring from the pickup."

By now, two or three neighbors had gathered. Behind me, I heard one gasp. "Oh, dear."

I continued. "The ring is very valuable. It cost me almost five thousand dollars, and I'm still paying on it." I
paused. "I'd sure appreciate it if you'd let me keep
looking for it, ma'am."

At that moment, a slender man in a T-shirt and shorts
came onto the porch and stopped at her side. "What's
going on, Martha?"

"His fiance threw her engagement ring from the
car. He's trying to find it."

Cobb chuckled and descended the steps. "Well,
we'll give you a hand, fella. Come on, Martha."

His willingness to help made me feel like a heel for
what I had to do, but, if they hadn't lied, such a deception would not have been necessary. I turned to face
him. "That won't be necessary, Mr. Cobb."

He jerked to a halt, staring at me in shock.

I hastened to explain. "I've been trying to get in
touch with you, but your wife kept telling me you were
out of town."

His slender face twisted in anger. He muttered a curse
and took a step toward me.

I glanced over my shoulder, and in a soft voice the
neighbors couldn't overhear, said, "I don't want trouble, Mr. Cobb, but it's me or the police."

That stopped him. The anger fled his face.

I continued in hushed tones. "Chief Ibbara gave me the go-ahead to find out what happened to the Piri Reis
Map. I know you've filed suit against Bernard Odom
three times, and I also know you claim the map is yours.
All I want to do is talk, nothing more." I handed him my
PI license.

He studied it, then looked up at me, indecision filling his eyes. Finally, he sighed and nodded. "I don't
have a choice, huh?"

I glanced at his wide-eyed wife who had her fists
pressed against her lips in disbelief. I shrugged. "Not
really."

The living room, while showing its age, was neat
and orderly. Cobb pointed to a wingback chair at the
end of a coffee table and he and his wife sat on the
couch. "So? What is so important that you had to sneak
around to find me?"

The hair on the back of my neck bristled but I held
my tongue. "You know the Piri Reis is missing." Before he could respond, I continued. "Edna Hudson told
you the other day when you called and wanted to stop
by and visit with Ted" I smiled apologetically at Mrs.
Cobb. "That's how I knew your wife was ... Well, that's
how I knew you weren't in Florida."

She looked around at him apologetically.

"I'm not going to blow smoke, Mr. Cobb. You claim
the map is partially yours. That makes you a primary
suspect in the theft" I paused. "And what happened up
in Seattle twenty years ago doesn't help."

He and his wife looked at each other in alarm. He laid his hand on hers. "We knew it might come up
about the vase, Martha"

She closed her eyes and dropped her chin to her chest.

Cobb leaned back on the couch, crossing his arms
over his chest. "So, what do you want to know?"

"Two or three things, really, but first, October second, say from eight to nine o'clock that night ...
Where were you?"

Without hesitation, he shot back. "Here. Martha
and I were here all evening."

I glanced at Martha. She opened her eyes and looked
at me. "I don't suppose anyone else saw you, Mr.
Cobb?"

A faint grin curled one side of his lips. "No" I had
a feeling he was lying.

At that moment the phone rang in another room.
Martha excused herself.

After she left, I continued, "You were together all
evening?"

Cobb leaned back on the couch. He hesitated. "No.
After dinner at six-thirty, Martha went upstairs, and I
went to my office to catch up on some bookwork."

I frowned. "How do you remember that? I mean,
how do you remember what you did on that specific
evening over two weeks ago?"

With a sly gleam in his eye, he replied, "Martha and
I had talked about the exhibit at dinner."

His wife peered around the corner. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Leo, but Albert Cord is on the phone. He says
it's urgent."

Cobb rose quickly. "This is important. I'll only be a
minute."

I held up a hand to say "Go right ahead"

Mrs. Cobb returned and gingerly sat on the couch,
folding her hands in her lap and giving me an uncomfortable smile. "Would you care for anything to drink,
Mr. Boudreaux?"

I smiled warmly. "No, thank you, Mrs. Cobb" Back
in Louisiana, there's an old saying that `sometimes
even a blind dog finds a bone.' Well, I was that blind
dog. I couldn't believe my luck. I had the two of them
apart for a few moments. Casually, I said, "So, you two
spent the evening together on October second"

"Yes," she replied softly.

"Watching TV?"

She nodded. "Yes. All evening."

Either she was lying, or he was lying. Probably both.
"So, there is no way he could have left the house without your knowing."

Mrs. Cobb stiffened. "No. Oh, no. Leo was home
all night. I would have seen him if he'd left"

Cobb returned. He glanced at his wife, then sat on
the couch. "A prospective client," he muttered.

"That's always good," I replied amiably. "Now, another question. You sued Odom three times. Can I ask
why?"

His eyes blazed. "I don't mind telling you. That no
good cheat and I worked together for several years. I
found him some good deals, and then he started reneging on some of our agreements. We never put things down on paper." He grimaced. "I should have insisted
but it was a handshake sort of thing. That's how I've
always worked, and up until Bernard, I'd never had
any problems. At first, there were none with him, but
then he started backing out on some of our deals after
I had obligated myself. I sued him twice for breach of
contract. I won one, lost the other. Well, that must've
got under his skin for he started spreading lies about
me and my work in the art community." He paused.
"If you know anything about the art community, it is a
close-knit group of snobs. Word spreads fast. His lies
cost me business. I sued him for slander, but he had
political influence." He shrugged. "I lost that one"

"And that's when things started going bad for you
financially?"

He frowned in surprise. "How did you know?"

"I know a lot. I know you filed for bankruptcy last
year. Must be tough to spend thirty years building something only to see it torn down by lies."

Dropping his gaze to the coffee table, Cobb nodded
emphatically. "Yeah."

"And I know you could lose this beautiful home"

Martha Cobb pressed her hand to her lips and looked
at her husband in shock. "Leo!"

He shook his head in dismay. "We're not going to
lose it, Martha. I got it worked out. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to worry you"