Beth said, "By the way, I met Fredric Tobin at his party, and he was very charming. But he's a little too slick… I mean, there's another side to that man… There's something not so nice right behind that smile."
I thought of Fredric Tobin and pictured him talking to Emma on the lawn at his party. As he spoke to her, he must have known he was going to murder her. I wondered, though, if he decided to kill her to keep her from talking to me anymore, or if he just wanted to say, "Fuck you, Corey. Fuck you for being a wiseass, fuck you for figuring out I killed the Gordons, fuck you for fucking my ex-girlfriend, and just plain fuck you."
Beth said, "I feel a little responsible for the Murphys."
I forced myself to think about the Murphys. They were decent people, helpful citizens, and unfortunately for them, witnesses to too much that had taken place next door over the last two years. I said, "I brought a photo of Fredric Tobin to the Murphys on Wednesday, and they ID'ed him as the guy with the white sports car… Tobin owns a white Porsche…" I explained my short visit to Edgar and Agnes Murphy.
Beth nodded. "I see."
I said, "The murderer is Fredric Tobin."
She didn't reply.
I said, "He killed Tom and Judy Gordon, Edgar and Agnes Murphy, maybe that Plum Island veterinarian, and Emma Whitestone. And maybe others." I added, "I'm taking this very personally."
I stood and said, "I need some air." I went out back and stood on the porch. The rain was heavier now, gray rain falling from a gray sky into a gray sea. The wind was coming off the bay from the south.
Emma. Emma.
I was still in the shock and denial stage, working up to the anger stage. The more I thought about Tobin bashing her head in with an iron poker, the more I wanted to bash his head in with an iron poker.
Like a lot of cops who have a personal and close-up encounter with crime, I wanted to use my power and knowledge to take care of it myself. But a cop can't be a vigilante, and a vigilante can't be a cop. On the other hand, there were times when you had to put the badge away and keep the gun…
CHAPTER 30
Beth left me alone for a while during which time I was able to get myself together. Finally, she came out on the back porch and gave me a mug of coffee laced with what smelled like brandy.
We both stood silently watching the bay. After a few minutes, she asked me, "What is this all about, John?"
I knew that I owed her some information. "Gold," I replied.
"Gold?"
"Yes. Buried treasure, maybe a pirate's treasure, maybe the treasure of Captain Kidd himself."
"Captain Kidd?"
"Yes."
"And it was on Plum Island?"
"Yes… as far as I can guess, Tobin somehow got on to this, and realizing he could never get access to one of the most inaccessible places in the country, he began looking for a partner who had unlimited access to the island."
She thought about that, then finally said, "Of course… it all makes sense now… the historical society, the digging, the house on the water, the speedboat… we were all so hung up on plague and then drugs…"
"Right. But when you completely discount those possibilities, as I did because I knew the Gordons weren't capable of that, then you have to rethink the whole thing."
She nodded and observed, "As Dr. Zollner said, When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail."
I nodded.
"Tell me all of it. Go ahead."
I knew she was trying to get my mind off Emma's murder, and she was right that I had to work the case and do something positive. I said, "Okay… when I was on Plum Island, these archaeological digs struck me as totally out of character for Tom and Judy, and they knew I'd think that so they never mentioned it to me. I believe they were thinking ahead to a day — after they supposedly discovered treasure on their own land — when certain people might remember their digging on Plum Island and make a connection. So, the fewer people who knew, the better."
Beth remarked, "It wouldn't be the first time something valuable was moved and suddenly discovered in a more convenient place."
"That was the crux of the entire plan. The X on the pirate map had to be moved from Uncle Sam's land to Tom and Judy's land."
She thought a moment and asked me, "Do you think the Gordons knew exactly where the treasure was buried on Plum Island? Or were they trying to find it? I don't remember seeing too many fresh digs on the island."
"I think Tobin's information was reliable and believable, but maybe not very accurate. I learned a few things about pirate maps from Emma… and from this book here…" I pointed to the book on the end table. "And, as I learned, these treasures were meant only to be buried temporarily, so some of the landmarks on a map or some instructions turn out to be long-vanished trees, rocks that have been quarried or fallen into the sea… that sort of thing."
Beth asked me, "How is it that you decided to interview Emma?"
"I just wanted to check out the Peconic Historical Society. I was going to give it about an hour, and I really didn't care who I spoke to… then, I met her and in the course of conversation, it turns out she was once Tobin's girlfriend."
Beth contemplated all of this for a while as she stared out at the bay, then said, "So, next you interviewed Fredric Tobin."
"No, I interviewed him before I interviewed Emma."
"Then what led you to interview him? What possible connection would you think he had with the murders?"
"None, at first. I was doing junior detective work, talking to friends, not suspects. I'd met Tobin at his vineyard, back in July, with the Gordons." I explained about that and added, "I didn't care for him then, and I wondered why the Gordons did. After I spent a few hours with him on Wednesday, I decided he was an okay guy, personally, but he wasn't giving me the right answers to simple questions. You understand?"
She nodded.
"Then, after I spoke to Emma, I started to triangulate some relationships."
Again, she nodded, stared out at the rain, and seemed to be thinking. Finally she said, "I spent the same two days with forensics, the ME, Plum Island, and all that. Meanwhile, you're following a completely different scent."
"The very faintest of scents, but I didn't have much else to do."
"Are you still annoyed at the way you were treated?"
"I was. Maybe that's what motivated me. Doesn't matter. Point is, I'm giving this to you. I want Fredric Tobin arrested, convicted, and fried."
She looked at me and said, "That may not happen, and you know it. Unless we get some real solid evidence, this guy is not going to be convicted of anything. I don't even think the DA would try to indict him."
I knew that. I also knew that when the problem was a nail, all you needed was a hammer. I had a hammer.
Beth asked, "Well? Do you have anything more in the way of evidence?"
"Actually, I found a small flat-bottomed boat in Tobin's boat-house with a pole — the kind of thing you can use to move through wetlands. Also, an aerosol foghorn." I related my encounter with Tobin in the boathouse.
She nodded, then said to me, "Sit down." I sat in my wicker chair, and she sat in the rocker. She said, "Talk to me."
I spent the next hour briefing her, telling her everything I'd done since we parted Tuesday night, up to and including the fact that Tobin's girlfriend, Sondra Wells, and the housekeeper had been away on the afternoon of the Gordon murders, yet Tobin had led me to believe they had been home.
Beth listened, staring out at the rain and the sea. The wind was getting heavier and actually howled once in a while.
When I finished, Beth said, "So, the Gordons' purchase of the Wiley property was not to double-cross Tobin."