Murder is Secondary: A Susan Wiles Schoolhouse Mystery Read online

  “Mrs. Chichester, may we come in?” said Jackson.

  “Why so formal? Lynette and I are getting to be friends already. Please call me Dalia. By the way, beautiful shower last night. Come on in. Can I get you some coffee? I have a whole pot here from room service.”

  “Dalia, this isn’t a social call. I’m so sorry but we have some terrible news,” said Lynette.

  “What news? What could be so bad?”

  “It’s your husband, Zachary. He was found dead in the Jacuzzi in the Wiles’ yard this morning.”

  Dalia’s eyes opened wide. “What? I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying. I was with him last night. I left before him and got into bed before he came home. I figured he’d gone out early, or maybe had too much to drink and spent the night elsewhere.”

  “It looks like he was electrocuted. There was a Boom Box, still plugged in, next to him,” said Lynette.

  “How did he happen to fall into the Jacuzzi? It doesn’t make sense,” said Dalia. She began to sniffle but Lynette felt a lack of sincerity in Dalia’s emotion. “Poor Zachary.”

  “It may not have been an accident. In fact, the Boom Box was quite a distance from the Jacuzzi. It would have been nearly impossible for it to just have fallen in.”

  “Are you saying it was intentional? Someone deliberately murdered my husband?” said Dalia. What is it with this town and murders?” She was beginning to sound agitated.

  “That’s what we’re thinking,” said Lynette.

  “Can you think of anyone who may have wanted your husband dead? Anyone who may have benefitted from his death? Any personal or business enemies?” asked Jackson.

  “Not really,” said Dalia. Lynette picked up a hesitation in her voice. “His business partner, Phillip Bachman, was quite angry at him for abandoning his customers back home, but I’m sure he wouldn’t have killed him over it.”

  “Was he in town last night?” asked Jackson.

  “I’m not sure. He’s been traveling back and forth between here and New Jersey trying to convince Zachary to come back to the office.”

  “We will need his contact information,” said Jackson. He handed Dalia a small legal pad and a pen. She knew the number off the top of her head, which Lynette found a bit odd.

  “Do you know why Zachary was here in Westbrook? I know he told us that he was involved in the housing project by the school, but we know for a fact that he wasn’t,” said Lynette.

  “I have no idea. I have little interest––had little interest––in Zachary’s business dealings.” Dalia grabbed a tissue from the dresser. “What do you need me to do?” asked Dalia.

  “Well, the medical examiner will be spending some time with the body. After that, you will be able to make arrangements. I assume you’ll want to bring the body back to New Jersey.”

  “Yes. I’ll have to contact his poor mother and his sister. They’re going to be devastated.”

  “I’m so sorry for your loss,” said Lynette. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.”

  “And here’s our card. If you think of anything else that you think is important, anything at all, please give us a call,” said Jackson.

  “I will,” said Dalia.

  When they got back to the car, Lynette said, “There’s something fishy there. I got the sense that she wasn’t all that broken up over her husband’s death.”

  “Well, everyone reacts in their own way to these situations, but I know what you mean. She didn’t seem all that devastated.”

  “You know, in the few times I saw them interacting, it seemed that Zachary was very condescending toward her. Maybe she’s relieved that he’s gone.”

  “Maybe she even did it,” said Jackson. “We don’t know what skeletons those two had in their marital closet. She was there last night.”

  “Yes, she was. Also, Amber’s father called me late last night. In all the excitement, I almost forgot. He said he had proof that Zachary Chichester killed Amber. That’s motive right there. Of course, I don’t know yet what that proof is. I need to talk to him. I still don’t see the connection between Zach and Amber either.”

  “And we need to find out if that business partner of his was in town last night. It’s possible that he had deeper issues with Zachary than Dalia was aware of. Let’s get back to the station. We’ve got some work ahead of us,” said Jackson.

  Chapter 30

  Susan was feeling restless. The morning had wiped her out emotionally. She felt like an overtired child––exhausted to the point where it was impossible to take a nap. She began pulling down the balloons and streamers, then unloaded the dishes from the dishwasher. On top of everything else that was happening, she still couldn’t get the whole concept of being adopted out of her mind. She still didn’t know how she felt about searching for her biological parents. It could be a frustrating endeavor if she were unable to locate them. They may even be dead. She’d need to discuss this whole adoption issue with Mike and Lynette as soon as things calmed down. The porch is a mess, she thought. I’m not going anywhere near the Jacuzzi, but maybe I’ll sweep a bit. As she was sweeping, she came upon several deposits of cigarette ashes. That’s odd, she thought. No one at the party smoked. At least no one that she was aware of. After she’d finished sweeping and straightening up, she decided that by now it was later in the day. It was time to check in on Dalia. She grabbed her jacket and headed to Rocking Horse Ranch.

  “Dalia, I’m so sorry about Zach. I just stopped by to see how you were holding up,” she said to Dalia upon entering her room.

  “Well, I’m still a bit in shock. All those people at the shower, no one noticed anything odd at all. I can’t fathom who would have wanted him dead. After all, he doesn’t even know anyone here in Westbrook other than you and Mike.”

  “Could someone have followed him here from New Jersey? Maybe he had an angry client? Did he owe anyone money? Double cross someone on a business deal?”

  “Not that I’m aware of,” said Dalia. “I hope the police solve this quickly. I just want to get Zach buried and move on with my life.” Susan sensed that Dalia viewed her husband’s death more as an annoyance than as a tragedy. “I hope they don’t try to pin this on me. I’ve watched enough Dateline––it’s always the spouse. In this case, which one?”

  “What do you mean, Dalia? You said ‘which one’? Does Zach have an ex-wife?” Susan, of course, already knew he did, but wanted to see Dalia’s reaction.

  “No, of course not. I’m really stressed, that just rolled out of my mouth,” said Dalia.

  “So Dalia, will you be okay financially without Zach?” Dateline––guilty––spouse––that was always followed by the motive: a huge life insurance policy. Susan bet that Dalia would be getting a big payoff now. Maybe that policy was just recently purchased. Stop, it, thought Susan. Now you’re getting carried away.

  “Yes, I’m sure Zach left me well taken care of, thank goodness.”

  “Well, if you need anything, give me a call. I assume you’ll be going back home now.”

  “As soon as they release the body. Thanks for checking on me.”

  “I was worried about you. Hang in there. I’ll touch base with you soon.”

  After she left Dalia, Susan decided to stop off at the police station and see if Lynette had any updates. As she was going in, she passed Mr. Bernstein going out. He gave her a nod as he brushed by her. Susan thought that he looked very determined, like a bull charging a matador.

  “Mom, what are you doing here?” said Lynette.

  “I just stopped by to check on Dalia and I thought I’d say hello before I went home. What was Mr. Bernstein doing here? Did you find out what evidence his investigator had?”

  “Yes, and it’s great news for Tank. I’m not sure how he managed it, but Mr. Bernstein’s private investigator located an eyewitness. It was a ten-year-old boy. He was out riding his bike at the construction site the night Amber was killed. He didn’t come forward earlier because his parents did
n’t let him ride after dark. They were still at work when he was out riding so he figured they’d never know. This boy came across the bulldozer moving all crazy, so he whipped out his cell phone, zoomed in, and shot a video. There’s positive proof that Zachary was driving the bulldozer and killed Amber. We have it on video. All the charges have been dropped against Tank.”

  “Oh, that’s wonderful. Have you told him yet?” Susan was so relieved. At least one positive thing had come out of this.

  “I just finished with Mr. Bernstein so I haven’t had a chance yet. I can’t wait to deliver the news though.”

  “What about the sexual harassment charges?”

  “Well, we questioned some of Amber’s acquaintances again. A girl named Peyton Meyers admitted that Amber was blackmailing her into making up false accusations against Tank. I think those charges are a non-issue now.”

  “And I just happened to run into the girl who had accused him years ago. She recanted her story as well.”

  “Mom? You happened to…never mind. I don’t even want to know.”

  “I’m so happy. You go and deliver the news. I can’t wait to tell Dad,” said Susan. Tank’s name was now completely cleared.

  Chapter 31

  The next day, Susan was thrilled that Tank was in the clear, but another thing dawned on her. Dalia would now have to cope with the unpleasant truth that her husband was a murderer. Lynette had broken the news to her last night. After her morning walk with Mike, Susan decided to go by and pay Dalia another visit. Dalia didn’t seem as upset as Susan had imagined she would be.

  “Dalia, how are you holding up?” said Susan.

  “Learning the truth about Zachary yesterday was quite overwhelming. I’m still trying to process it. I don’t know how to tell his mother and sister. They will be devastated. I don’t want them to hear it on the news first. Making that phone call is at the top of today’s agenda.”

  “You look exhausted. Have you eaten breakfast?” said Susan.

  “No, I haven’t had much of an appetite lately.”

  “Let’s go downstairs and at least get a cup of coffee. You can practice that conversation with me first if you’d like?”

  “Yes, that may help me sort out what words I’ll use to inform Zach’s mother that her son killed a seventeen-year-old girl by running her over with a bulldozer. Let me wash my face and run a brush through my hair. I’ll be ready in a minute.” Dalia closed the bathroom door behind her and Susan had a seat on the edge of the bed.

  She wondered why Dalia didn’t seem more confused about Zach’s motive. After all, the big question mark in Susan’s mind was how was Zachary connected to Amber, a seventeen-year-old girl who’d lived hours away from him? Susan knew that if she were in Dalia’s position, that’s the first question she would have had. Maybe Dalia knew more than she was saying. Maybe Amber was the product of an affair between Mrs. Bernstein and Zach. Maybe Zach had met Amber somewhere along the way and had started a May-December romance. Now you are being completely ridiculous, thought Susan.

  As she waited for Dalia, Susan noticed a book on the floor by the nightstand. It was half-covered by the bottom of the bedspread. She picked it up, curious as to what kind of taste Dalia had in books. She looked at the cover and was shocked to find that it was the most recent edition of What to Expect When You Are Expecting. Lynette had the same book. Poor Dalia, thought Susan. She had to admit that she was surprised. Zach and Dalia hadn’t struck her as a very stable couple. Certainly not stable enough to be raising a baby. But now she was going to have to raise a baby all alone. Dalia came out of the bathroom.

  “I’m ready,” said Dalia. “After you.” She pulled the hotel room door closed behind her. She and Susan went downstairs and had a seat at a booth in the café. Susan talked Dalia into an egg white omelet with fresh fruit. She needs to eat for her baby’s sake, thought Susan. After eating and discussing what Dalia was going to say to Zach’s mother, Dalia excused herself to go to the ladies room. It’s the pregnancy, thought Susan. She remembered having to use the ladies room all the time when she was pregnant with Lynette and Evan. Dalia had left her phone on the table and after a few minutes had gone by, a text appeared. It was from Phillip. That was Zachary’s business partner, thought Susan. Never able to squelch her curiosity, Susan just had to read the text. It said, going as planned. All will be perfect soon. Love you. This completely caught Susan by surprise. If Dalia was having an affair with Zach’s partner, maybe that was the motive for murder. Especially if there was a chance that the baby was Phillip’s and not Zach’s. Time for another chat with Lynette, thought Susan. She finished breakfast with Dalia and drove to the station.

  Chapter 32

  “Mom, we already spoke to Zach’s business partner this morning. He was in his office in New Jersey. We called bright and early. He has an alibi. There was a Chamber of Commerce awards ceremony last night. Phillip presented one of the awards, and a hundred or so witnesses can place him there,” said Lynette.

  “But it makes sense. I saw a text that Phillip sent Dalia proving that they are romantically involved. Also, Dalia is pregnant. Maybe the baby belongs to Phillip and not Zach. Both Dalia and Phillip had something to gain from Zach’s death. If Zach died, the two of them could be together and Dalia would inherit Zach’s half of the business.”

  “Well, that’s news to me, but it doesn’t change the fact that Phillip Bachman has an alibi. We’ll have to keep investigating. We’ve only just started working on this case. Be patient. The important thing is that Tank is in the clear.”

  “Yes, you’re right. It had to have been someone at the shower though, don’t you think? Dalia was there. She could have done it.”

  “Mom, Dalia had financial security with Zach and she has been with him all these years. Why come to Westbrook and kill him now? Especially if she’s pregnant. I can’t imagine her risking being caught and sent away to jail, leaving a baby behind. She’s known during their entire relationship that Zach was married before and she has probably been living with his abuse from the time they got married. The timing doesn’t make sense. This was a crime of passion and opportunity. No one planned to come to the shower hoping there would be a boom box near enough to the Jacuzzi so that they could murder Zach that night. Dalia could have smothered him with a pillow or put arsenic in his coffee any day of the week. She didn’t need to kill him at the baby shower.”

  “I guess that makes sense.” Susan had to admit that Lynette was probably right. She thought a little longer, and said, “Hey, what about Mr. Bernstein? He’d just found out that Zach killed his daughter. I can’t think of a better motive––and talk about a crime of passion.”

  “He wasn’t at the shower though. We would have seen him.”

  “He could have snuck into the back yard.” After all, he could have hidden behind the giant oak tree, she thought.

  “But he didn’t know Zach would be at your house that night and he had no way of knowing where you live. If he wanted to kill Zach, he would have gone to the hotel where he was staying.”

  “That’s true. Lynette, I just thought of something.” Susan’s eyes lit up. “I found cigarette butts out in the patio. No one at the shower smoked. I smelled smoke on Mr. Bernstein when he was in here the other day. Those butts could have been his. Can’t you get DNA or something?”

  “Again, Mom. Why would he have thought to come to your house to find Zach? I’ll look into it but I don’t think it’s plausible. And contrary to what you see on those TV shows you watch, DNA takes a lot longer to process than you’d think”

  “Well that leaves Julie. She could have felt threatened by Zach’s sudden reappearance in her life. You know, they were once married.” Susan found it hard to believe, however, that Julie could do such a thing. She neglected to tell Lynette that she overheard Julie admitting to Dalia that she had faked her own death. There was no need to get Julie into legal trouble.

  “I suppose she is a possible suspect. I need some time to investigate. Go
home, Mom. That baby blanket isn’t going to knit itself. I’ll take care of things here.”

  “All right. I can take a hint. I’ll go now.” She gave Lynette a hug and patted her grandbaby. She wished she could forget about the case, go home, and knit––but she knew herself better than that.

  Chapter 33

  “Hey Jackson. Let’s take a ride over to the Bernstein’s house. Get your jacket,” said Lynette.

  “Sure thing.” Jackson was munching on a bag of barbecue-flavored potato chips. He poured the remaining crumbs into his mouth and tossed the bag in the trash. “I’ll drive. If that baby keeps on growing, you won’t be able to fit behind the wheel much longer.”

  “Tell me about it. I can’t even fit into a booth at Vinny’s anymore.”

  “You’re so lucky. I’d love to be a dad. I’ll bet Jason can’t wait.”

  “He’s pretty excited, just like I am. So Jackson, speaking of having a family, when are you going to propose to Theresa?”

  “I found a ring that I know she’ll love. I just have to think of how I’m going to ask her. You know, these days the proposal is a big deal. People come up with all sorts of creative stuff––flash mobs, hot air balloons––I’m just not that creative.”

  “Don’t let that stop you. Jason took me out for a romantic dinner and proposed over a glass of wine. That was good enough for me. Trust me, she loves you and will be thrilled even if you texted a proposal to her. Hey, that’s the house on the left.” Lynette and Jackson parked in front of a three-story semi-mansion. Mrs. Bernstein answered the door. She looked as though she’d been crying. Her hair was not brushed and she wore no makeup.

  “Hello, Mrs. Bernstein. We’re sorry to disturb you at such a sensitive time, but we need to ask you a few questions,” said Lynette.