“The potential witness still hasn’t come forward, Chief,” said Chase.
“So we launch another appeal. We have to find this person. Charlene—Mayor Butterwick is feeling the pressure. The tourist board isn’t happy with this kind of publicity. Robbery and murder isn’t the best way to put this town on the map. And also the chairman of the chamber of commerce is putting pressure on the council to make this go away as quickly as possible, so the sooner we lay this case to rest the better. Oh, and also, Josslyn’s sister arrived, and she would like to talk to the detective in charge.”
“Josslyn’s sister?” asked Chase.
“Yes, a…” He groped in vain for his glasses, until Odelia pointed out they were on top of his head, then consulted his written notes. “Leonora Ledger. She’s here to arrange for the body of her sister to be flown back to Ohio, and also to find out why we still haven’t caught the person responsible for her sister’s death. So you talk to her, all right? Now.”
“Yes, Chief,” said Odelia and Chase in unison.
“Now get lost—and get me some results!”
Chapter 25
“Uncle Alec doesn’t seem to believe that Todd Bond was murdered, does he, Max?” said Dooley.
“That’s because the police have to follow the evidence, Dooley,” I said, “and the evidence seems to indicate that the young man’s death was an unfortunate accident.”
“What do you think, Max? Do you think it was an accident?”
“I’m not sure,” I said, and I wasn’t lying. I still had my doubts, to be honest.
“But if he was killed, who could have done it?”
“Well, as far as I can tell, the most likely suspects are Scott or Layla,” I said, “though to be sure we would need to investigate further. Ask Todd’s friends—talk to Scott and Layla’s parents—maybe interview other neighbors who might have heard something or seen something.”
“But if the investigation is closed, that won’t happen, right?”
“Unless Odelia decides to ignore her uncle’s decision and continue the investigation in her own time.”
But at that moment Odelia and Chase were too busy conducting a different investigation. We were in the lobby of the Star Hotel, waiting for Josslyn Aldridge’s sister to arrive to talk to us. Moments later the elevator dinged and two middle-aged ladies walked out. Odelia and Chase got up to greet them. Presumably these were Josslyn’s sister and Josslyn’s friend, the one with whom she’d come on this vacation. Sadly enough a vacation that had ended in tragedy.
“Let’s sit outside,” Odelia suggested, and escorted both women to the outside dining area, where we could talk undisturbed.
Josslyn’s sister looked like her, only a few years older. She was a gray-haired woman of sizable proportions, and had to be supported by Josslyn’s friend, whose name was Sadie Yentis. Sadie was about Josslyn’s age, I would have guessed, which meant she was in her late fifties, early sixties. She wasa round-faced, cheerful-looking woman with a frizzy mass of gray curly hair and large thick-framed glasses.
“So what can you tell us about the investigation?” asked Leonora. “Have you caught the man responsible for my sister’s murder?”
“I’m afraid not,” said Chase.
“But you were on TV,” said Sadie. “I saw you. Has no one come forward?”
“We did receive several phone calls,” said Chase, “but nothing helpful so far.”
Leonora shook her head.“It’s so sad. My sister was so looking forward to her retirement, when she finally could do all the things she’d been planning.”
“We were going on a cruise next month,” Sadie revealed. “We’d been saving for years.”
“I’d go with you, but unfortunately my health won’t allow it,” said Leonora.
“These are the hardest cases to solve,” said Odelia. “Because it’s almost always a crime of opportunity. A bag snatcher sees an opportunity to target a potential victim and he strikes, then removes himself from the scene as soon as possible.”
“It’s often gangs, isn’t it?” said Leonora. “Or at least that’s what I read. Gangs of thieves moving from town to town and stealing from tourists.” She shook her head. “Josslyn was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. She’s never had much luck in her life, I’m sorry to say.”
“What makes you say that?” asked Odelia.
“Well, for one thing she never found a husband.”
“She was in love once,” Sadie said. “At least that’s what she told me.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me if she was,” said Leonora. “Josslyn was a hopeless romantic, always falling in love with men who were absolutely unsuitable—or even remotely interested in her. Unrequited love—the phrase must have been coined for her.”
“She was very cheerful, though,” said Sadie. “Happy to finally do what she wanted to do—go where she wanted to go.”
“And then suddenly this…” Leonora fixed Odelia with a hopeful look. “Please tell me that you’ll do everything that is in your power to catch this maniac. I simply cannot accept that my sister’s death will be forgotten, the beast who killed her allowed to walk free.”
“I can promise you that we are doing everything to find this person,” said Odelia, placing her hand on the woman’s arm in a gesture of reassurance.
“Oh, dear, oh, dear. I still can’t believe that no one saw what happened.”
“Don’t you have cameras set up along the boardwalk?” asked Sadie.
“We do, but not at that particular spot,” said Chase.
“Bad luck,” said Leonora. “The story of Josslyn’s life.”
“Isn’t there anything we can do, Max?” asked Dooley. “Look at how sad Josslyn’s sister is, and her friend.”
“It’s as Chase explained, Dooley,” I said. “These kinds of crimes are very hard to solve: oftentimes it’s gangs moving from town to town during the tourist season. They probably left the area immediately after learning that Josslyn died as a consequence of the attack.”
“Maybe we can talk to some of the dogs belonging to tourists walking along the boardwalk that night?”
“We could,” I said dubiously. “But it would still be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Thousands of people pass along this boardwalk on any given day, and to find the one person who saw something will be very hard indeed.” Besides, if no witnesses had come forward now, the likelihoodthat anyone saw something was very small. “No, I think we have to accept that here is a crime that might never be solved.”
“But you have to solve it, Max,” said Dooley. “You and that big beautiful brain of yours.”
I gave him a small smile.“Even a big brain is no match for the thieves and pickpockets of this world, Dooley. Only diligent patrolling along the boardwalk can prevent that kind of crime, and I’m afraid that’s not up to us, but up to Uncle Alec and his police force.”
Chapter 26
That night, friends of Todd Bond had decided to organize a wake for their unfortunate friend. The place of the wake: the Walcotts. Apparently Scott and Layla’s parents, even though they had returned from the Bahamas, had offered their house as a venue to organize the wake, and I thought this was very nice of them.
Odelia and Chase had decided to go, but had of course not been invited. The only reason they even knew about the wake was because Rosa had told Odelia. Our human, not satisfied with Uncle Alec’s decision to close the case, had decided to keep on investigating, in her own time, and when Rosa phoned her about the wake, had decided to go.
And so Dooley and I found ourselves hiding in the bushes lining the backyard of the Walcott house, while Odelia and Chase were staking out the front, seated in their car, and making sure they clocked everyone coming and going, taking pictures of all participants.
I wasn’t sure what they hoped to accomplish, but maybe it was a good idea to get a picture of the social circle Todd Bond had moved in.