along, Eddie and Frank could always be counted on when somebody moved house or had a baby.’
‘Or needed a loan?’
‘That too. But Angela seemed to resent our closeness – she wanted Eddie to herself. She would always say they were too busy to move the furniture, they couldn’t afford potlucks right now, they had no money to spare.’
‘I can see why that would hurt. But what has it got to do with the missing money?’
‘Cecelia says Angela got Eddie to rescue her from her stupid job in the used clothing store and help her get a job with Frank at the credit union. Then, when the going got rough and Eddie wrecked his car and got fired, she divorced him and kept the house they bought together.’
‘I don’t see how that shows she got the bank money.’
He suddenly laughed. ‘Now that I say it out loud, you’re right, it sounds ridiculous. I told you, Cecelia has no proof, just a strong feeling.’
‘What do
you
think?’
‘About the marriage part, I think nobody understands anybody else’s marriage and we should just accept the fact that Eddie was crazy about Angela and quit trying to figure it out.’
‘Fair enough. But you have different reasons for suspecting her? Tell me about that.’
‘She left the bank soon after Frank killed himself. And she went back to that used clothing store Eddie rescued her from. Do you realize what a steep drop in living standards that caused her? Much harder work, lower salary, no benefits? Why would she do that? Unless she has money we don’t know about, she must be very hard up. I think the management at the credit union must have suspected her too, forced her out somehow and refused to give her a reference.’
‘But you don’t know.’
‘No, but you could find out, couldn’t you?’
‘Yes. Anything else?’
Darkness was falling, the streetlights coming on. In Chico’s yard, one tiny bulb burned above his patio entrance, but didn’t produce enough light to brighten the space under the ramada. In deep shadow, Chico fished in the cooler and came out with another can. ‘I guess if I’m honest,’ he said as he wiped it off on his blanket, ‘I’d have to admit I want her to be the guilty party because I just don’t like her. She can’t be trusted.’
‘That’s refreshingly candid,’ Sarah said. ‘Any reasons you want to share?’
Chico waved his drink vaguely. ‘Have you talked to her yet?’
‘Tomorrow.’
He smiled. ‘You’ll see what I mean,’ he said.
FIVE
A t the station on Tuesday morning Ollie Greenaway had everybody’s attention – for a while. He’d attended yesterday’s autopsy, and while the written report was not ready yet, he felt certain he already knew what would be in it. Unlike some detectives who had to keep a stern watch on themselves to get through an autopsy without hurling, Ollie got rosy and cheerful at his. He enjoyed the precision of the work the doctors did, and was always glad to draw that assignment.
‘The Animal went through all the protocols but he assured me several times that he was probably wasting his time,’ he told his teammates. ‘He kept saying’ – Ollie drew himself up and looked superior, doing his best imitation of Dr Greenberg – ‘“this body shows exactly the process I predicted at the crime scene. You see this bullet track through the spinal cord?”’ At the words ‘spinal cord’ Ollie lapsed into broad caricature. ‘“You do see, don’t you, my poor ignorant little police person, that this explains the small amount of blood loss?”’ Seeing Delaney getting ready to put his foot down, Ollie got serious. ‘What the doc is saying is that this guy was almost certainly dead after the first shot. We won’t have the written report till all the lab reports are back, and he’ll be even more cautious than usual since this is officer-involved. But I don’t think Spurlock has anything to fear from the autopsy report. And since there weren’t any witnesses, the autopsy settles
‘Or needed a loan?’
‘That too. But Angela seemed to resent our closeness – she wanted Eddie to herself. She would always say they were too busy to move the furniture, they couldn’t afford potlucks right now, they had no money to spare.’
‘I can see why that would hurt. But what has it got to do with the missing money?’
‘Cecelia says Angela got Eddie to rescue her from her stupid job in the used clothing store and help her get a job with Frank at the credit union. Then, when the going got rough and Eddie wrecked his car and got fired, she divorced him and kept the house they bought together.’
‘I don’t see how that shows she got the bank money.’
He suddenly laughed. ‘Now that I say it out loud, you’re right, it sounds ridiculous. I told you, Cecelia has no proof, just a strong feeling.’
‘What do
you
think?’
‘About the marriage part, I think nobody understands anybody else’s marriage and we should just accept the fact that Eddie was crazy about Angela and quit trying to figure it out.’
‘Fair enough. But you have different reasons for suspecting her? Tell me about that.’
‘She left the bank soon after Frank killed himself. And she went back to that used clothing store Eddie rescued her from. Do you realize what a steep drop in living standards that caused her? Much harder work, lower salary, no benefits? Why would she do that? Unless she has money we don’t know about, she must be very hard up. I think the management at the credit union must have suspected her too, forced her out somehow and refused to give her a reference.’
‘But you don’t know.’
‘No, but you could find out, couldn’t you?’
‘Yes. Anything else?’
Darkness was falling, the streetlights coming on. In Chico’s yard, one tiny bulb burned above his patio entrance, but didn’t produce enough light to brighten the space under the ramada. In deep shadow, Chico fished in the cooler and came out with another can. ‘I guess if I’m honest,’ he said as he wiped it off on his blanket, ‘I’d have to admit I want her to be the guilty party because I just don’t like her. She can’t be trusted.’
‘That’s refreshingly candid,’ Sarah said. ‘Any reasons you want to share?’
Chico waved his drink vaguely. ‘Have you talked to her yet?’
‘Tomorrow.’
He smiled. ‘You’ll see what I mean,’ he said.
FIVE
A t the station on Tuesday morning Ollie Greenaway had everybody’s attention – for a while. He’d attended yesterday’s autopsy, and while the written report was not ready yet, he felt certain he already knew what would be in it. Unlike some detectives who had to keep a stern watch on themselves to get through an autopsy without hurling, Ollie got rosy and cheerful at his. He enjoyed the precision of the work the doctors did, and was always glad to draw that assignment.
‘The Animal went through all the protocols but he assured me several times that he was probably wasting his time,’ he told his teammates. ‘He kept saying’ – Ollie drew himself up and looked superior, doing his best imitation of Dr Greenberg – ‘“this body shows exactly the process I predicted at the crime scene. You see this bullet track through the spinal cord?”’ At the words ‘spinal cord’ Ollie lapsed into broad caricature. ‘“You do see, don’t you, my poor ignorant little police person, that this explains the small amount of blood loss?”’ Seeing Delaney getting ready to put his foot down, Ollie got serious. ‘What the doc is saying is that this guy was almost certainly dead after the first shot. We won’t have the written report till all the lab reports are back, and he’ll be even more cautious than usual since this is officer-involved. But I don’t think Spurlock has anything to fear from the autopsy report. And since there weren’t any witnesses, the autopsy settles
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