Death in Detail Read online

  “He could have arrived at the house earlier, before dinner and done it,” Alders said stubbornly.

  “No, he could not. You’ll be happy to hear that while this house does not have a video camera security system, one of your neighbors up the street does, and I have been able to confirm that you all arrived when you said you did. This means that only Jasper could have tampered with the bottle during dinner, because he arrived first and found himself alone.”

  “No!” Lisa exclaimed suddenly. “I was in the kitchen before Jasper arrived. I saw him walk in and he didn’t go anywhere near the medicine cabinet.”

  “Ah. So none of you could have switched the pills at dinner, which leaves only two possibilities. I think the fingerprints here are very instructive, myself. We know the bottle has not been wiped clean because the pharmacist’s fingerprints are still on the bottle. Discounting the cook and Jackie, because their fingerprints are not on the bottle, that leaves only two possibilities - Lisa and Stephanie.”

  “Stephanie,” said Diane sharply. “I’m surprised at you! Not that I blame you either, of course. She was horrible to you.”

  Stephanie quivered, then burst into tears. “But I didn’t, I swear I didn’t. All I ever did was bring the pills to Auntie! I promise that’s all I ever did.” She was shaking violently, and Felix walked over to her and slowly began to pat her on the shoulder.

  “I know you didn’t kill your aunt,” Felix said soothingly. He reached into his pocket and produced an old-fashioned handkerchief, which Alders strongly suspected did not belong to him, and gave it to Stephanie. She blew her nose and dabbed her eyes.

  Felix turned to Lisa.

  “A conversation I had with the pharmacist revealed the real killer. You killed Agatha, Lisa.”

  To Alders’ amazement, the maid hung her head.

  “Yes I did,” she muttered.

  “What I would like to hear now is why,” Felix said, though he did not stop to allow her to explain. “I considered several possible motives. You didn’t stand to inherit any money and according to Stephanie’s account, nothing is missing, so you’re not actually stealing. It dawned on me that this had something to do with your latino ancestry. You are to all appearances white, Lisa, but your great-grandfather was latino, and to Agatha I’m sure even one drop was too much. I thought that, perhaps, you were descended from Honduran plantation workers, but killing an old woman for the sake a hundred year old vendetta? No.” He shrugged. “That makes me think that you were seized by that most reliable motive for murder, love. I remembered what you told me about Agatha, how she refused to allow you to date as long as you worked for her, and how Agatha used Jackie’s relationships against her. Agatha and her father practically disinherited Stephanie’s mother for marrying a latino man. When she found out you had that hated ancestry, she immediately began working to fire you. I think you fell in love with one of the Bellinger boys, dreaming but never getting close. Your dreams were crushed when you saw how Agatha reacted to the most distant corners of your family tree, and you decided she had to die. As long as she lived, she would never let you get close to her nephew. So, which of them was it?”

  “Jasper,” Lisa said quietly, tears now forming in her eyes.

  A look of astonishment invaded Jasper’s face.

  “Me?” he said.

  “Yes,” Lisa muttered, flushing red. “I - this wasn’t how I pictured you finding out, but I’ve always wanted to see the world. I hate it here. I used to listen at the doors when you came back from one of your climbs, and hope you’d take me away from here.” Tears were now forming in her eyes. “Everything that Mr. Green said was right. Even one drop was too much for her. I always knew Agatha was in the way, but when she found out about my great-grandfather - he was Honduran - she said she was going to fire me, and I’d never be able to see you again, and even if I did somehow get close to you, she’d disinherit you like her father did Stephanie’s mother...” The tears were racing down her face in great streams. “I overheard Chester talking about how he flunked medical school once, with the miscalculation and the overdose.”

  “And would you like to tell them about your conversation with the pharmacist?” Felix asked softly.

  Lisa sobbed. “When I went to the pharmacy, I chatted for a little with the pharmacist and he told me that these parabarbitals were very powerful pills and we had to be careful with them, and he’d been very careful filling the prescription because sometimes people die from pharmacist error if they label the bottle wrong or put the wrong pills in the bottle, and that made me think, that if I just switched the pills... and after I got off the bus back from the pharmacy I just sort of did it. I - didn’t really think to myself, I’m going to kill her, I just thought, maybe, that she just wouldn’t be there anymore, and afterwards I thought it wasn’t so bad because they were sleeping pills and maybe she’d just drift off to sleep.”

  Felix sighed. “Death in detail. I think that concludes my work in this case. I will say that whatever her personal faults, your Aunt was a very remarkable woman. She suspected that she was being poisoned. She thought the maids were stealing and the family was trying to kill her. In fact, the family was stealing and the maids were trying to kill her. It has a certain symmetry to it.” He nodded solemnly.

  “And now, I think the time has come for me to take about half of you to stay with your dear cousin Robert, some of you for a very long time.”

  “He means you’re going to jail,” Alders advised a weeping Lisa as he escorted her out of the room.

  “Yes,” Felix agreed. “Along with, let’s see - Henry, Gloria, and maybe you too. Chester. The rest of you, well, enjoy your inheritance. I’ll contact Mr. Dewey and I’m sure it will be released to you shortly.”

  Jasper looked at Lisa curiously as Alders led her outside.

  “Wow,” he said. “I never thought-”

  “It’s animal magnetism,” said Chester with a grin, apparently unfazed by the prospect of jail. “Hopefully it runs in the family.”

  “She should have told me, at least,” Jasper said, then went a little red. “I mean, she was quite good-looking.”

  “I’d stay away from her, Jasper,” Diane advised, flipping her neon green scarf back over her shoulder. “She’s a murderess.” Felix listened to this with a chuckle as he followed Alders.

  “Um... Mr. Green?” came a small voice from behind him. Stephanie was running out after him. “I just wanted to thank you for catching Auntie’s killer, and for believing that it wasn’t me.”

  Felix shrugged. “You never can tell, but I had a strong hunch it wasn’t you from the beginning. I don’t mark you as the murdering type.”

  “I have a boyfriend - his name is Martin. I haven’t been able to see much of him, because of Auntie, but maybe now we’ll be able to get married. So thank you - thanks again.”

  “My pleasure,” Felix said with a little bow. “And I wouldn’t push that marriage idea too soon,” he said, as he ducked into the car with Alders. “That might scare him off.”

  Stephanie smiled brilliantly at him, just for a second, before running back into the house.

  “He might warm to the idea pretty quickly when she gets her share of the old woman’s fortune,” Alders muttered.

  “Maybe,” Felix agreed. “But in any case, I wish her all the best. Perhaps she can fill her life with little victories.”

  “Life in Detail?” Alders suggested.

  Felix grinned.

  Epilogue

  Alders shoved open the door leading into Felix’s office, avoiding the twenty-pound doorstop, and froze. Felix was sitting behind his desk with his feet propped up on the table, eating a bowl of cereal and reading the paper.

  “Are you eating a bowl of cereal with the Emperor of Mexico’s spoon?” Alders asked in disbelief.

  “What else was I going to do with it?” Felix asked. “It’s a spoon.”

  Since he didn’t quite know what to say to this, Alders instead asked, “What’s in the paper?
”

  “The police have released Lisa Lebell from custody. They say there is insufficient evidence to charge her with the murder of Agatha Bellinger.”

  “What?” asked Alders with outrage. “But she confessed!”

  “Yes, that’s mentioned in the paper. They’ve come down rather hard on the police recently. I’m mentioned again, so I suspect we may get some more business soon, given all this free publicity. The police haven’t commented on her confession to us, but I imagine they’ll eventually say she was coerced. You know who’s really behind her release, of course?”

  “Breckinridge,” said Alders with venom. “But why?”

  “The will. If he can claim I didn’t solve the murder, he can claim the Bellinger fortune. Who knows what he might do with fifty million dollars - he might make a run for mayor.”

  “There’s a terrifying thought,” Alders said. “We’d better hope he doesn’t get it.”

  “I don’t think he will, but he’ll have a good go at it. I doubt Lisa Lebell will kill again, but we’ll keep an eye on her.”

  “Maybe she’ll make a pass at Jasper,” Alders said with a snicker.

  “Doubtful. Speaking of love and its fetters, though, there’s an announcement in the paper. Stephanie and Martin are engaged.”

  “Announced in the paper?” Alders asked, crossing his legs. “That’s a bit old-fashioned.”

  “It runs in the family. I can’t help but think they might have rushed into that engagement, but as you said, the money may have helped speed things up.”

  Felix handed Alders the paper and took another bite of his cereal. Alders eyed the spoon warily.

  “You might have given that spoon back to the Bellinger family, Felix. It was stolen.”

  “But I didn’t steal it, Sam. I never steal. I bought it from the pawn shop, fair and square.”

  “What about the locket?” Alders asked, pointing to the small golden locket that now sat between them on Felix’s desk. “If you don’t steal, how do you explain that?”

  “I must have forgotten to take it out of my jacket pocket,” Felix said vaguely. “Silly me. Maybe I’ll get around to returning it one of these days.”

  “And what about the Duke of Baden’s clock?” Alders said, pointing to the gold and jade clock now resting on a shelf behind Felix’s desk.

  “That’s important evidence,” Felix said with a glance. “I don’t trust the police with it. Would you?”

  “I suppose not,” Alders said with a sigh. “Though it’s not really evidence, Felix, and one of these days the stealing really is going to catch up with you.”

  “I never steal. You seem a little down, though, Sam. Would you like some brandy?”

  Alders looked up to see Felix holding Agatha’s crystal brandy bottle.

  “You really are unbelievable, you know that?” Alders snapped. “Alright, go on. One drink. Pour it.”

  Felix poured a small amount into each of two glasses, then raised his in a toast.

  “To Agatha Bellinger, and her Death in Detail.”

  Message to the Reader

  Dear reader,

  Thank you very much for taking a chance on an independent author. I believe Death in Detail is one of my best mysteries, and I hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.

  If you enjoyed Death in Detail, I’d very much appreciate it if you rated and reviewed this book or shared it with your friends. I rely on writing for my income, and I have struggled to get the word out about my novels, and just a little help from you could mean worlds to me. Since reviews are my only potential source of feedback, I also find them invaluable for my future writing.

  I have written a number of mystery novels featuring Felix Green and Sam Alders, as well as books in other genres. They are all available on Amazon, and you can find them by searching my name.

  Best,

  --Andrew Stanek

  PS: If you want to join my mailing list, go to http://eepurl.com/bhTc9H. I send out notices about my writing and sometimes give out good stuff, like free books and advance copies of my new novels to people on the list. I won’t send you spam. You can contact me at [email protected] if you just want to talk to me about something.