Numbers Can Be Deadly (Sage Gardens Cozy Mystery Book 7) Read online

  “Madeline? You didn’t pay did you?”

  “Of course I did. I invited you, didn’t I?”

  “Madeline, I wish you hadn’t done that.”

  “Walt, I enjoyed your company, and I hope that we can do this again some time. You can pick up the tab next time.”

  Walt frowned. He wanted to argue the point, but Madeline was already on her feet. “Let me know if you find out anything. Please, do me the favor of coming to me before you go to anyone else. Can you do that for me, Walt?”

  “Yes.” He met her eyes. “I can do that.”

  “Thank you.” She offered him her arm. He took it and escorted her out of the restaurant. As they made their way towards the parking lot he turned towards her.

  “Thank you for trusting me with this, Madeline.”

  “Walt, we don’t know each other very well I know that, but I’ve always felt I could trust you with anything. Good luck on the investigation.” She leaned in close and kissed his cheek. Walt flushed and reached for the tissue in his pocket. But instead of wiping his cheek he put the tissue back and left the remnants of her lipstick there.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Seriously? Where is he?” Eddy looked at his watch again. “It’s not like Walt to be this late. Or late at all for that matter.”

  “He’s not technically late, relax Eddy.” Samantha rolled her eyes. “Your pacing is giving me a headache.”

  “I wouldn’t be pacing if Walt would just show up.”

  “Sit down, please.” Samantha pushed a chair out for him to sit on. Eddy glared at it and continued to pace.

  “Here, try him on mine.” Jo handed Samantha her phone. “Maybe he just needs to know we’re all waiting for him.”

  Samantha nodded and dialed Walt’s number. When he didn’t answer she lowered the phone and caught sight of a photograph on the screen.

  “What is this on your phone, Jo?” Samantha stared at the picture.

  “Oh, that was a snapshot I took of a photograph I saw in Kent’s house. It was a screensaver on his computer. I don’t know why, but for some reason it caught my attention. I figured I would look at it later to figure it out.”

  “I think I can tell you why.” Samantha stared at the image.

  “Well?” Jo leaned down beside her.

  “This photograph was taken during a game that was played during the evening. Maybe it was a night that Kent should have been working. Let me see if my friend in IT can find out from the computer systems he’s managed to access.”

  “Great eye. I never would have figured that out,” Jo said.

  “You knew enough to take the picture.” Samantha looked up at her with a smile. “That’s the only way we would have this to look into.”

  “All right, I know when to accept a compliment.” Jo grinned.

  “It doesn’t mean much unless we can prove it.” Eddy peered over Samantha’s shoulder at the phone.

  “Oh, I will, it should only take me a few minutes.” While Samantha tapped away at the buttons on her own phone, Eddy finally sat down.

  “What’s bothering you so much, Eddy?” Jo locked her eyes to his. “You’ve been on edge ever since we started looking into this murder.”

  “I don’t like the idea of prison hanging over the head of a friend of mine. It really bothers me when an innocent person gets caught up in some criminal’s web.”

  “That makes sense, Eddy, but it comes across as if you’re angry at Walt.”

  “I’m not angry. But I can’t get past this feeling that he’s hiding something.”

  “Listen up.” Samantha had a triumphant smile on her lips. “We were right. He should have been on shift during that game and he only gets a couple of fifteen minute breaks. He wouldn’t have enough time to go to the restaurant and be back in fifteen minutes even if he didn’t eat anything there.”

  “So, what does that mean? Did he call out sick?” Eddy asked.

  “No, there’s no record of that. Maybe Kent has made it a habit of leaving his post for dinner on a regular basis, and not clocking out.”

  “He’s sneaking around.” Jo snapped her fingers.

  “He might not have been at the company at all when Magnus was killed. Maybe, he was out enjoying a drink at the bar when it all went down,” Samantha suggested.

  “But he said he was attacked. Why would he lie about that?” Jo asked.

  “To protect his job. If he slipped out when he should have been working then he likely didn’t want to admit to that. Maybe he returned to the building, found Magnus dead, and concocted a story to cover up for his absence,” Eddy said.

  “Maybe.” Jo pursed her lips. “All of his co-workers are calling him a hero, so he would want to keep up the lie now.”

  “Exactly,” Samantha said.

  “But there’s another possibility,” Jo suggested.

  “What’s that?” Samantha asked.

  “Well, if he wasn’t knocked out, he could have easily killed Magnus.”

  “You’re right. We need to find out once and for all whether he was in that building at the time of the murder,” Samantha said.

  “Should we go back in for another search of his house?” Eddy asked.

  “No, I have a better idea. Bartenders know everything, even things they don’t realize they know,” Samantha said. “I’m going to go in tonight and talk to the bartender that works the night shift. If that goes the way I hope then we might have something to work with.”

  “I could go with you.” Jo offered.

  “No, I’d rather go alone. It will be less conspicuous and hopefully the bartender will be more willing to talk to me,” Samantha said.

  “Trust me, you are much more approachable than me.” Jo winked.

  “Oh, you’re approachable enough when you want to be.” Samantha smiled.

  “What do you think of this woman, Madeline, and Walt?” Jo turned to look at her. “Do you think he can remain objective?”

  “I think, I’ve never seen Walt anything but objective,” Samantha said. “He might be a bit enamored, but when it comes down to it, logic always wins out with Walt.”

  “Maybe. But he is still human, and pretty lonely,” Jo said.

  Samantha tilted her head from side to side. “I’ve never really thought of him as lonely. Now that you mention it, I suppose that he could be.”

  Eddy looked over at her as if he might have something to say, but Walt stepped in through the door before he could speak.

  “Sorry I’m running behind, guys. What are we up to?” Walt asked.

  “Kent might have lied about being knocked out because he skipped out of work to have dinner at the bar,” Eddy said.

  “Interesting.” Walt looked thoughtful.

  “Did you find anything?” Samantha asked.

  “I noticed that there are small payments from Hiller Maximum going to Jimmy each month. I also want to look more into Hiller Brothers’ accounts. I think Clive Hiller is going to be someone we need to look into.”

  “Maybe so.” Eddy nodded. “For now I think we should focus on Kent. If we can confirm that he wasn’t knocked out like he said he was the night of the murder then we have some real substance to move forward on. That way if the police attempt to make any move on you, Walt, we’ll have something else to give them.”

  “So, you think Kent is lying?” Walt asked.

  “We’re pretty sure of it, because of this.” Jo showed him the photograph of Kent at the restaurant when he should have been on shift. “That was taken when he was meant to be working. If he did it once, he could be doing it often or even every night.”

  “I’ll go to the restaurant tonight, there’s still time before it closes,” Samantha said. “I’ll see if he makes a habit of this.”

  “All right.” Walt nodded. “I’ll keep looking into Clive Hiller. I’m sure he’s involved.”

  As everyone began to leave, Eddy walked over to Walt. “What were you up to this evening?”

  “I’m sorry?” Wal
t glanced over at him.

  “When I texted you, you said you would be here soon. I assumed you were out somewhere?”

  “I was.” Walt opened the door.

  “So?”

  Walt shrugged and stepped outside. He expected Eddy to follow. When he didn’t, Walt closed the door behind him. Until things were clearer he wasn’t going to give Eddy any more reason to doubt Madeline. If Eddy found out that she had fed him some information about Clive Hiller, then he would point it out as her attempt to deflect guilt. Walt hoped that wasn’t the case.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Samantha sat down at the end of the bar. The rest of the bar was packed. She knew the bartender would be busy with those customers, but when he needed a break Samantha hoped that he would head down to the quieter end. From the distance Samantha could see that the bartender was the same one in the photograph.

  As Samantha waited for the bartender’s attention she looked up at the television and confirmed that it was in the same position as it was in the photograph. It was clear to her that when the picture was taken, not only was the night shift bartender on duty, but a game completed after nine o’clock was still on the television. When the bartender finally walked over Samantha slid a twenty across the smooth counter to him.

  “What would you like?” He looked at the money, then up at Samantha.

  “I don’t want a drink, just a little information.”

  “Information about what?” He eyed the twenty again, but did not pick it up.

  “About a man that frequents your restaurant.” She held up her cell phone with an image of Kent on it. “Do you know him?”

  “Kent? Sure. He’s in here all the time. What kind of information do you need to know about him?”

  “Well, I’ve heard a rumor that he comes in here, maybe when he should be at work. Do you know anything about that?’

  “Oh.” He shook his head. “I warned him that it was going to come back to bite him one of these days.”

  “What exactly?”

  “Look, he’s a decent guy, but he’s tired of working night shift. He complains about it every time he’s here. His boss refuses to move him to another shift, so Kent takes it out on him by sneaking out of work. He comes here, eats a burger, watches some sports, and then heads back. It’s never hurt anyone. I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

  “It doesn’t sound like it would be.” Samantha shrugged. “Hey remember that game last week?”

  “What game?” He glanced over at the crowd at the other end of the bar.

  “The baseball game on Tuesday night.”

  “Oh, yeah sure. That was a crazy game.”

  “Was Kent here that night?”

  “You bet he was. He was furious when the new coach put in that rookie.”

  “You’re sure he was here?”

  “No question.” He laughed. “When Kent gets mad, you notice.”

  “Why is that? Is he violent?”

  “Not violent exactly, but he likes to hit things.”

  “Punch?”

  “No. You know, slam things.” He smacked his hand hard against the top of the bar. Samantha jumped at the sound.

  “Was he here the entire night?”

  “No, just for about an hour.”

  “Do you know the times?”

  “No way. Why do people keep asking me that?”

  “People?”

  “Sure, it’s like all of a sudden Kent is the most popular guy in town. First, the old woman that always eats lunch here with her co-workers…”

  “Madeline?”

  “Maybe, I don’t work the day shift much.”

  “And who else?’

  “Some guy. He walked in here like he owned the place. When I didn’t give him all the answers he wanted he got angry and left.”

  “Do you remember his name?”

  “No, he didn’t even order anything. I think I’ve seen him in here before though. I can’t be sure, but I think it was with one of the baseball teams that sometimes comes in for dinner or a drink after the game. I think they might call him Hilly, but I’m not sure it might be a different person.” The first thought that popped into Samantha’s head was whether Hilly could be Clive Hiller.

  “Do you know which team?”

  “No, I don’t know, I might be mistaken anyway.”

  “What about Kent, did you ever see him with Kent?”

  “Look, I don’t know what this is about but I’m too busy for this.”

  “I’m sorry, just one more question. How long was Kent here for?”

  “It was a busy night. I barely had a chance to say hello to him. Kind of like tonight.” He frowned as someone hollered for him. “Excuse me.” As the bartender headed back to the crowd Samantha stared at the top of the bar. The sound of the man’s slap still echoed through her mind. So Kent had lied about being knocked out, and he liked to strike out when he was angry. That added up to a very good chance that he was involved in Magnus’ murder. She left another tip on the bar and headed out. As she walked to her car she dialed Eddy’s phone number.

  “What did you find out?”

  “It looks like Kent is a liar, and has quite a temper according to the bartender. He was here the night of the murder.”

  “For how long?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t confirm an exact time.”

  “Okay we’ll work with what we have. I think it’s time we paid Kent a visit.”

  “Don’t you think it’s a little too soon to tip him off that we’re on to him?” Samantha asked.

  “If Kent is volatile like the bartender claims, then we might be able to get him to lose his temper and confess. I think it’s worth a chance.”

  “Tomorrow morning? We can hit him while he’s sleepy, just after he gets off shift.”

  “Good idea,” Eddy agreed.

  ***

  Samantha held two cups of coffee as she waited for Eddy to arrive. They might only have a small window between the time Kent got off shift and the time he went to sleep. If they missed it, he probably wouldn’t open the door. When Eddy finally pulled up, her palms were hot, and her irritation level was high.

  “What took you so long?” She frowned.

  “Sorry, got caught up on the phone with Chris, then straight after I hung up with him Walt called.”

  “Updates?” Samantha settled in and buckled her seatbelt.

  “Chris let me know the reason that Kent’s story wasn’t investigated further is because the detective on the case was certain there would be video footage to prove his claim. There is only a video of the front entry and exit. By the time they realized that there was no footage, it was too late to have a medical exam done on Kent.”

  “But Kent still didn’t insist on one, which is odd.”

  “Yes, it is,” Eddy said. “I think you should let me speak first. I can be much more intimidating.”

  “But do we want him scared or talkative?” Samantha asked.

  “Maybe a little of both. We’ll start with one then shift to the other. But I’d like to take the lead.” He pulled the car to a stop in a parking space in front of Kent’s townhouse.

  “All right, it’s all yours.” Samantha stepped out of the car. Eddy walked past her to the front door. He knocked hard on the door. A minute later Kent opened the door.

  “What is it?” He rubbed his eye and squinted at them standing outside his door.

  “Just need a minute of your time,” Eddy said.

  “I don’t have a minute. I’m exhausted. You know, some people work nights.”

  “I’m aware of your schedule, I don’t mean to intrude, but this is a rather pressing matter.”

  “What is it?” Kent frowned. “If it’s about religion, you’re out of luck.”

  “No, it’s not about religion. Unless you count worshiping at a bar as your religion. Maybe that will get you out of the hot seat for leaving your post in the middle of your shift?”

  “What are you talking about?” Kent stra
ightened up. “I have no idea.”

  “No?” Samantha stepped forward. “I know that you are often clocked in at work, but are somehow simultaneously at the restaurant. How does that happen, Kent?”

  “That’s crazy. You can’t prove that.”

  “There are many witnesses,” Samantha said.

  “So, you have a few options here,” Eddy said. “Either we can take this information to your new boss, or we can take this to the police, who will find out that on the night of Magnus’ murder you weren’t knocked out and you weren’t where you claimed to be. Or, you can answer a few questions for us.”

  He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Like you’ve never played hooky on a job.”‘

  “No son, my generation didn’t do that.” Eddy scowled at him. “So were you at the restaurant on the night of the murder, or weren’t you?”

  “I was at work for most of the time.”

  “But not at the time of the murder?” Samantha met his eyes.

  “No. All right, no I wasn’t there.”

  “But you found the body?” Samantha asked.

  “When I came back, I saw him on the ground. I tried to help him, but he was already dead. I didn’t know what to do. I called the police and then I panicked and I couldn’t exactly say that I wasn’t there, so when the police arrived I told them that I had been knocked out. I mean, nobody asked me to prove it.”

  “Unbelievable.” Eddy shook his head. “Do you have any idea how much harm you did to the investigation?”

  “I need my job. If I lose it, I’m going to be evicted. I made a mistake. I didn’t kill anyone.”

  “Can you prove that?” Samantha took a step closer to him. “If you lied about being knocked out how do we know you didn’t kill Magnus?”

  “Why would I do that? He signs my paychecks.”

  “Your paychecks for the night shift, right?” Eddy squinted. “Isn’t that a shift you’ve been trying to get taken off for a long time?”