Numbers Can Be Deadly (Sage Gardens Cozy Mystery Book 7) Page 11

  “Look, I didn’t kill anybody.”

  “How did you get in and out of the building without the cameras catching you?” Eddy asked.

  “I went through the fire exit, the alarm on the door has been disabled.”

  “How do we know you didn’t kill him when you came back?” Samantha asked.

  “Look, I don’t care what you do. Let the cops come, I didn’t kill anyone. But first I need some sleep. So get out.” He pushed his door closed. Samantha heard the click of the lock. Eddy raised his hand to knock again.

  “No don’t. We’re done here.” Samantha caught his hand at the wrist. “He’s told us everything he’s going to tell us. Now you need to let Chris know what we found.”

  “You think so?”

  “Absolutely. If Chris finds out that you knew about this and didn’t share the information with him then he’s going to be very upset with you.” She glanced at her phone as it began to ring. “It’s Walt. Give Chris a call.”

  “Okay.” Eddy walked back towards the car as he dialed Chris’ number.

  Samantha answered her phone.

  “Walt?”

  “I need to talk with you and Eddy. Can you stop by my villa?”

  “Sure, no problem, we’re on our way now.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Walt stared at the piece of paper in his hand. Just as Madeline had said, all of Clive Hiller’s accounts were paid on time until he opened Hiller Maximum and Magnus refused to work with his new company. It seemed clear that he had withheld payment. Maybe out of revenge for both business and personal matters. Walt looked up when he heard a knock on the door. He opened it to find Jo on the other side.

  “I came as soon as I got your text.” He looked past her to see Eddy and Samantha headed towards the door.

  “I need you to back me up on this one, Jo. Can you do that?”

  “Sure.” She frowned. “Why? Do you think Eddy won’t?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Hey Walt. What news do you have?” Eddy stepped inside, with Samantha right behind him.

  “It looks like Clive Hiller is our man,” Walt said with confidence.

  “Really?” Samantha raised an eyebrow. “He’s such a powerful man to be concerned with such a thing.”

  “Powerful men like to get what they want, even if it means murder,” Walt said.

  “That is true.” Jo nodded. “They tend to be sociopaths. That’s how they get so successful.”

  “Not all of them I’m sure.” Samantha shook her head.

  “Take a look at what I found.” Walt pointed out the debt owed to Magnus’ company.

  “What does this mean?” Eddy blinked as the numbers swirled in front of him.

  “Clive Hiller was in the red, knowing that his account was in such good standing it wouldn’t be noticed right away. Then maybe Magnus found out or Clive was worried he would find out so he tried to make it look as if he had made the repayments so that no one would know the difference.”

  “Wouldn’t it throw up some red flags of some kind a long time ago if he wasn’t repaying the money?” Eddy asked.

  “Not in that particular system. The alerts were turned off for his account because he was such a good long term customer. Issues were supposed to be dealt with on a personal level so that there was no paper trail to embarrass him,” Walt explained.

  “I understand how you know about the transactions, but how do you know all of the other information?” Eddy narrowed his eyes.

  “I have a source. I trust it. I think we should look into it.”

  “A source that you can’t tell us about?” Eddy grimaced.

  “Eddy, stop.” Samantha shook her head. “If Walt says it’s good information, then it’s good information.”

  “Fine.” Eddy nodded. “Then let’s set up a meeting with Clive Hiller. Do you think you can help with that, Samantha?”

  “I’m sure I can get that set up,” Samantha said.

  “I should be there.” Walt frowned. “If this is about money, then I am the one most likely to be able to figure out and prove how Clive Hiller is connected to Magnus’ murder.”

  “That I have to disagree with.” Eddy shook his head. “You’re going to be putting yourself in full view of the detective on this case if you begin having meetings with potential suspects.”

  Walt gritted his teeth. “I understand that, but it’s still frustrating.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Walt,” Jo said. “You and I can look into Hiller’s connection in other ways while Eddy and Samantha have their meeting. Sound good?”

  “Sure.” Walt sighed. “I guess I could go over the financial records for his companies and see if I can find anything else.”

  “I might be able to help with that, too. Not the numbers of course, but I do know some ways he might be funneling the money.” Jo smiled.

  “Okay, I’ll try to set up the meeting for tomorrow.” Samantha pulled out her phone. “But if we’re meeting with Clive Hiller, Eddy, you’re going to have to look the part.”

  “I can handle that.” He winked.

  ***

  Early the next morning Samantha arrived at Eddy’s villa. She walked up to the door anticipating one of his usual old, light brown suits. When Eddy opened the door what she saw was a tailored suit and a man she almost didn’t recognize.

  “See?” He smirked. “I told you I could handle it.”

  In an attempt to hide her shock she reached up and straightened his tie. “You should wear a suit like this more often, Eddy. You clean up so nice.”

  “Flattery will get you nowhere, haven’t you learned that yet, Samantha?”

  “We’ll see.” She smiled and led him to the car. “Did you hear from Walt?”

  “He just called to see what time we are going to visit Hiller. He’s convinced the guy has something to do with the murder. He still wanted to go question him with us. I think I convinced him to leave it to us.”

  “You don’t think he’s on to something? I mean Hilly could be Clive Hiller and why would he be asking about Kent?”

  “It could be but with Walt it’s always about numbers. He sees something off about Hiller’s finances, and he’s going to fixate on that. But I fail to see why anyone as powerful and well off as Clive Hiller would need to off someone like Magnus. Even if he did, I doubt that he would do it at his place of work. And again, I’m not seeing a motive.”

  “Maybe Walt sees something that you don’t. He does have an eye for detail after all,” Samantha said.

  “Maybe. Or maybe he’s just got tunnel vision. That happens sometimes too you know.”

  “I know, but we have to look into it for his sake.”

  “I agree, that’s why we are going.”

  On the rest of the drive to Hiller’s office Samantha gripped the steering wheel tight. She stared hard out through the windshield.

  “All right, out with it, Samantha. I know you have something on your mind.”

  “How do you know me so well?”

  “Just tell me what’s bothering you,” Eddy said. She parked the car in front of the large building and stepped out of the car. Eddy shut his door hard and looked across the top of the car at her. “What is it?”

  “I just want you to be a little easier on Walt.”

  “Samantha, Walt and I are friends, he knows that I’m just looking out for him.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “Look, just because we don’t wash each others’ hair and have pillow fights…”

  “Really Eddy?”

  He sighed and adjusted his hat. “What I mean is, women have a certain kind of relationship, and men have a different kind. Walt knows that I have his back, and that’s all that matters.”

  “If you say so. We’d better get in there, or we’re going to be late.”

  After a long walk through the lobby and a short ride in the elevator up to the second floor, they stepped out onto a carpeted hallway. As they approached a large, wooden door
Samantha noticed a nameplate on the wall beside it. ‘Clive Hiller’. It was a name she had done quite a bit of research on over the last couple of days. He wasn’t just a wealthy man, he was a man of influence in the community. Hiller Brothers built strip malls, offices, houses and apartment buildings. Was she really going to walk in that office and accuse him of murder? She decided that she would have to be diplomatic. She knocked once on the door then opened it and stepped inside.

  Clive Hiller stood up from behind his desk and smiled at Samantha as she walked up to him. His smile faded just a little as Eddy stepped in behind her.

  “Welcome, please sit.” He pointed out two chairs in front of his desk. “When my assistant told me that you needed this meeting today I made some adjustments to my schedule. But I’m afraid, I don’t have very much time to talk. She said that you’re interested in building a new apartment complex?”

  Eddy looked over at Samantha with a cocked eyebrow. Samantha stared directly at Hiller.

  “Actually, that’s not why we’re here.”

  “No? Maybe I have the wrong appointment?”

  “No, you don’t. Please don’t fault your assistant, I can be very convincing.” Samantha smiled. “We only need a few minutes of your time, then we’ll be out of your hair and you can continue with your regular schedule.”

  “What is this about?” Clive rested his hands on the top of his desk. He narrowed his eyes.

  “As you may know a business associate of yours was murdered.”

  “Yes, I know that Magnus was killed. I’ve already spoken to a detective about it. So why do I need to speak to you about it?”

  “We’re consultants on the case. Hired by the family. We’d just like to gather as much information as possible,” Samantha explained.

  “I think you need to leave. You conned yourselves into my office, and I don’t appreciate that.”

  “Please, Sir.” Samantha offered a warm smile. “We just want to ask a few questions, then we’ll be gone.”

  He sighed and shook his head. “Fine, what is it?”

  “Did you know Magnus well?”

  “Not at all. I didn’t even like the man.” He rolled his eyes. “Nor did I hate him, so please don’t bark up that tree.”

  “What about his company? Did you ever have any financial issues with his company?”

  “Not that I knew about. Somehow there was some kind of glitch in the software and my payments weren’t being processed. But I only found out about that when the detective told me. I’m working on taking care of that situation now.”

  “With Jimmy?” Samantha asked.

  “Yes, with Jimmy.” He narrowed his eyes. “Why are you asking about Jimmy?”

  “Are you aware that he is a suspect in Magnus’ murder?” Eddy stepped forward.

  “Jimmy?” Clive laughed. “Not a chance. Jimmy would never do that.”

  “So, you know Jimmy pretty well?” Samantha met his eyes. “Would you say that you’re friends?”

  “I would say that we’ve known each other for a long time. That’s all.”

  “I suppose when Magnus refused to provide financial backing to Hiller Maximum, you were pretty angry.” Samantha placed her hands on her hips. “Maybe you went to Jimmy about just how angry you were.”

  “Magnus was always trying to cause some kind of trouble. I was used to it. But Chad handled all of that. I didn’t even know there was an issue for a while. By the time I found out, Chad was handling it.”

  “Seems to me that you don’t know about a lot of things.” Eddy rapped his knuckles on the desk. “Who exactly is Chad?” Eddy remembered that Walt had asked specifically about two members of the baseball team. He was sure one of them was Chad.

  “Chad is one of my employees. He is the companies’ financial director and I recently appointed him as manager of Hiller Maximum so that I could continue to focus on Hiller Brothers. I don’t expect to know about everything he does, but he and Jimmy were on the same baseball team and he did use Jimmy’s financial advice on a few occasions for Hiller Maximum and paid him accordingly.”

  “So, the payments from Hiller Maximum to Jimmy were legitimate transactions?” Samantha asked.

  “Yes, and I’m sure that you would know that if you were actually detectives, which you are not. So please, get out of my office.”

  “Sir, if I could…” Samantha began.

  “No you certainly couldn’t. Get out.” He pointed to the door. “Or I will be placing a call to security.”

  “Mr. Hiller…”

  “Samantha, that’s it. The man wants us to leave, so we’re leaving.” Eddy started to turn towards the door. Samantha eyed him impatiently, but didn’t argue. If there was one thing she’d learned about Eddy, it was that there was no point to arguing with him. Just as they reached the door Eddy paused and looked back at Clive. “I do hope you have a good lawyer, Mr. Hiller, because if everything you’ve told me is true, you’re going to look mighty suspicious to that detective you spoke to. I came here to rule you out as a suspect, but I can guarantee you that the detective came here to rule you in.”

  “Well, you can both give up, because I have an alibi for that night. I wasn’t even in the state. I was traveling to a conference.”

  “I assume you were with someone?” Samantha said.

  “No, I wasn’t,” Clive replied.

  “So, your alibi is that you were somewhere on the road all by yourself? You think that’s going to stand up?” Samantha asked.

  “Out!” Clive pointed at the door. “I don’t have to answer to either of you.”

  “That’s true.” Samantha nodded. “We’re not the ones with a warrant or handcuffs, but I’m sure it won’t be long before they show up.”

  “I have nothing to hide.”

  “Then you should be willing to answer one last question.” Samantha held his stare.

  “What is that?” He sighed.

  “Who else would want Magnus dead?”

  “You say who else, as if I’m someone that wanted him dead. But I’m not. I might not have liked the man very much, but that doesn’t mean that I wanted him dead. Business is business, I don’t have to like the people I work with. As for who might want him dead, I’d say you don’t have a piece of paper long enough to contain the list. Magnus made more enemies than any other man I’ve known. He made most of his fortune from the failure of others. How well liked do you think he could be?”

  “Thank you for your time.” Samantha nodded. As they stepped out of the office Eddy looked over at her.

  “Well, that was a bust,” Eddy said.

  “Not necessarily.”

  “What do you mean? We didn’t get any new information.”

  “We know that it wasn’t Clive.”

  “How? Because he claims he was traveling?” Eddy asked.

  “No, because when I gave him the opportunity to point a finger at someone else, he didn’t. A guilty man will always have someone in mind to pin the guilt on.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Eddy said.

  “Really? With all of your experience?”

  “Okay yes, usually a guilty man will try to deflect his guilt, but maybe Clive is cleverer than that. He is the head of a million dollar company after all.”

  “A million dollar company that was still bullied and controlled by Magnus. Maybe Magnus was far more powerful than we realized,” Samantha said. “There’s no question that Hiller had the means and the motive to hire someone to take care of his problem for him. Maybe he didn’t deliver the blow himself, but I think he may still be involved.”

  “You just said you thought he was innocent. Now, I’m confused.” Eddy furrowed his brows.

  “I said he might not be the killer. I don’t think he did it himself. But that doesn’t mean that he didn’t hire someone to do it and maybe he believed that it could never be traced back to him. The important question is, did he hate Magnus enough to arrange his murder?” Samantha asked.

  “Well, there was
the matter of the overdrawn debt,” Eddy said.

  “And the interest that Magnus charged on it.”

  “It must have amounted to a lot of money.”

  “Maybe Hiller thought he could get a clean slate if he took out Magnus,” Samantha suggested.

  “Maybe, but it’s a bit extreme, when Hiller has plenty of funds to cover the debt and make the monthly repayments,” Eddy said.

  “I think we need to find out if Jo and Walt found out anything about Hiller’s finances.”

  “Hopefully they dug up something.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “What’s this?” Jo stretched her arm over Walt’s shoulder and pointed at the list of Hiller Brothers’ account transactions.

  “Hm?” Walt looked at the numbers. “What about it? It’s a payment from a client.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I already vetted each of Hiller Brothers’ clients to make sure that there weren’t any fake ones. Everything in Clive Hiller’s accounts seems to be flawless.”

  “Except that we know he was behind on his payments to Magnus.”

  “That’s what I can’t figure out. Why are there no transactions to cover that debt coming into Magnus’ company? Wait a minute.” He looked at the printout of financial records that Madeline had sent him. “Let’s see, the amount is five thousand a month.” He looked back at Hiller Brothers’ transactions. “There is a transaction once a month for that amount coming out of Hiller Brothers with a transaction notation of ‘mag6886’. It must be for Magnus, but it isn’t reaching the account. So where does that money go?”

  He skimmed through the remainder of the transactions. As he searched, Samantha and Eddy arrived at the villa.

  “Don’t speak to him, he’s working.” Jo smiled. “He has me trained. How did the meeting go?”

  “Not great. We’re hoping that you found something.” Samantha frowned and peered over Walt’s shoulder.

  Walt shook his head. “This is strange. The money goes out of Hiller Brothers’ account but it disappears. It looks like the money has been taken right out of Hiller Brothers’ account made out to Magnus’ company, but I cannot see the payments going into Magnus’ company. So who knows what happens to it after that.”