efe24af1849d5822a0fb0e585c983840

“She admitted that she knew the combination of your safe, and that she took a peek inside. So it’s not a big stretch to imagine that she would have taken your gun.”

“But if she did, wouldn’t her fingerprints be on the gun? Did the police say anything about that?”

Odelia sagged in her chair.“The only fingerprints found on that gun are yours, I’m afraid, Karl. But that doesn’t mean anything. It’s possible Suzy used gloves, and so did the person who shot that homeless person—our John Doe.”

“Would she be smart enough to think about such a thing?”

“Nowadays? With all the cop shows on television? Sure.”

Karl looked down at the table, a forlorn look in his eyes.“I’m really in a big mess now, aren’t I? I already heard from my ex-wife’s lawyers. They’re going to launch some kind of emergency procedure to have my visitation rights revoked once and for all.”

“Grace isn’t wasting any time, is she?”

“No, she’s got a perfect opportunity now, and she’s not going to waste it.” He tapped the table for a moment. “So do the police know who this man is? This John Doe that I’m supposed to have shot and killed?”

“Not yet. They’ve distributed his description to other precincts, and asked local TV stations to launch an appeal. So let’s hope someone recognizes him and comes forward.”

He gave her a wan smile.“Thank you, Miss Poole. Thank you for being in my corner. You’re just about the only one, I’m afraid. My former colleagues have all dropped me.”

“Your former colleagues?”

“Didn’t Kath tell you? I lost my job. Yeah, they’re not wasting any time either. Didn’t even wait to find out if I’m innocent or guilty.”

When Karl had been returned to his cell, Odelia decided to drop in on her husband, to see if there was anything new to report.

“As a matter of fact I do have a bit of news,” said Chase as he rubbed his eyes. “We finally have a positive ID on our John Doe.”

“You do? That’s great news! So who is he?”

“Well, a guy came forward who calls himself Charlie, though I doubt whether that’s his real name. He’s also a homeless person, and says that our guy called himself Pete.”

“Pete.”

“Yeah, Pete. And listen to this. According to Charlie, Pete owed him money. In fact Pete owed a lot of people a lot of money. Turns out Pete wasn’t just broke, he was also heavily in debt.”

“That’s interesting. So do you think it’s possible one of the people Pete owed money to might have killed him? Maybe this Charlie person, even?”

“Well, Charlie was seen wandering around the neighborhood where the Bunyons live, and it is conceivable, though highly unlikely, that he might have broken into the house, and it’s even conceivable, but even more unlikely, that he could have taken Karl Bunyon’s gun. But still, we’re really clutching at straws here wouldn’t you agree, babe?”

“But it is still a possibility, right?”

“A very, very, very remote one. Besides, like I told you before, the only prints we found on that gun are Karl’s, and from talking to my new friend Charlie I have to say he’s not the kind of guy who’d think about wearing plastic gloves when handling a gun. In fact I don’t think he’d know what to do with a gun if you handed him one. He’s more the type of person who’d settle a disagreement with his fists, if you catch my drift.”

Oh, she caught his drift, all right. And even though she didn’t like what Chase said, it all sounded very plausible to her. “So you still aren’t ready to release Karl?”

“Not a chance.”

Chapter 27

The four of us sat in the backyard of Marge and Tex’s place, taking in the devastation and the remnants of what once had been a fine family home—our family home. Workers were busy clearing the debris, loading it into a series of containers positioned on the street in front, and neighbors had come out in droves to gawk at the sad spectacle.

Gran, who seemed repentant but also reluctant to accept responsibility for what had happened, stood discussing things with the new contractor, both of them wearing their yellow hard hats, while Tex and Marge stood discussing things with their insurance guy, hoping to salvage what they could from their savings.

“It doesn’t look good, Max,” said Dooley, stating the obvious.

“No, it doesn’t look good indeed,” I agreed.

“At least we still have one home left, you guys,” said Harriet, striking the positive note.

We all darted a quick and frankly anxious look at Odelia and Chase’s house, just in case that had suddenly also collapsed under the strain. But luckily it still stood proud and erect, reluctant to follow its sister home into the abyss of contractor incompetence.

Marge had kicked Gran’s contractor to the curb, and had taken matters into her own hands by hiring one with an excellent reputation and track record, and an equally reputable architect. It would probably cost them a pretty penny, but at least they’d do a better job than the previous guy, who’d botched things to a great extent.