ôIÆm afraid thatÆs my fault,ö I piped up. ôI suggested that Brutus and Harriet keep a close eye on LitaÆs outfit. Find out what theyÆre up to.ö
Odelia relayed my words to the others and Uncle Alec frowned.ôMa is also convinced that one of LitaÆs group is behind the murder of Eric Blandine. Though when she said that whoever killed Blandine deserves a medal, Lita kicked her and Scarlett out of the group.ö
ôYeah, Lita is in the clear,ö said Chase. ôShe and Tobias Pushman are an item, and they were together the night Eric was killed.ö
ôOkay,ö said Uncle Alec, clapping his hands. ôGive me a rundown of the case. What have we got so far?ö
ôWell, if we assume that the killer was actually targeting Cotton and not Eric,ö said Odelia, ôthen weÆre looking for a person or persons who held a grudge against Cotton.ö
ôAnd the list of people who hated Cotton is long,ö Chase warned. ôThereÆs his ex-wife Dawn, who wasnÆt happy when Cotton left her for a younger woman, though she was with her daughter Inari that night, or so they claim. ThereÆs Inari herself, of course, who canÆt have liked the fact that her dad hurt her mom. Then thereÆs Diedrich, the family patriarch, whoÆs seriously displeased with his sonÆs romantic shenanigans that have caused perhaps irreparable harm to the Karat Group. And of course thereÆs CottonÆs younger brother Jared, who claims heÆs not interested in taking over as CEO, but who could be lying.ö
ôAlibis?ö asked the Chief.
ôDiedrich was home aloneùhis wife died a couple of years ago. Though there are servants, Diedrich could easily have snuck out and killed Eric Blandine.ö
ôHe didnÆt know about this whole switcheroo business?ö
ôOh, yes, he did. It was TobiasÆs idea, but they worked it out together, hoping to save the company.ö
ôWhat about the brother? WhatÆs his story?ö
ôHome with his wife Susan. And yes, I checked and Susan confirmed his account.ö
ôOkay, so what weÆre left with is these duck nutters andàö The Chief grabbed for his reading glasses, which were perched atop his head. ôElvis Diamond? WhoÆs he?ö
ôMajor shareholder of the Karat Group,ö said Odelia. ôStands to lose the most if Cotton keeps up his losing streak.ö
ôRight. And you mentioned something about a competing farmer?ö
ôZak Lemanowicz,ö said Chase, nodding. ôHe used to be one of the Karat GroupÆs suppliers, until they decided to switch to Merle Poltorak. According to several people I spoke to Mr. Lemanowicz is one very unhappy duck farmer.ö
ôOkay, so you better have a chat with both this Diamond character and the duck farmer. Now how about this supermodel Cotton was dating? Did you check her alibi?ö
ôWe did,ö said Chase. ôShe was indeed in a conference call with theVogue people. TheyÆre featuring her for the twentieth time and theyÆre doing something special.ö
ôSo thatÆs a bust, too,ö said the Chief, mussing up his thinning mane so he momentarily looked like a crazy scientist. Then he carefully flattened it again against his skull. ôRight! Well, off you go, then. And bring me something good this time. I want results, peopleùresults!ö And to emphasize his words, he glared in my direction for some reason.
I gave him my best smile, which was completely lost on him, then we all skedaddled.
ôTough case,ö said Dooley as we walked out. ôEverybody seems to have an alibi. ItÆs not fair, Max. Why do they all have an alibi?ö
ôBecause theyÆre all innocent?ö I suggested.
ôBut innocent people donÆt have alibis, Max. Innocent people donÆt bother with that kind of stuff. They simply go about their lives and donÆt care if a person is murdered or not. But this lot, they all have carefully constructed alibis! Conference calls, and wives and husbands and television programs they were watchingàö He frowned. ôHow do we know that Dawn and Inari Karat were watchingBedazzled? They could be making it up.ö
ôOf course,ö I said. ôJust like JaredÆs wife Susan could be making it up. Or Tobias and Lita Fiol. All these people giving one another alibis, itÆs all highly suspect, Dooley.ö
He gave me a suspicious look, figuring I was probably being sarcastic. But I wasnÆt. It was all very flimsy. A wife giving her husband an alibi. A boyfriend giving his girlfriend an alibi. Or a mother and daughter. How could you be sure they were telling the truth? You simply couldnÆt! The only one who had a solid alibi was Ebony Pilay. ThoseVogue people werenÆt going to lie for her sake, now were they? Though of course they might. She was, after all, a highly successful and important model, and they were all good friends.
And friends have been known to lie to protect people, havenÆt they?
ôI think itÆs the duck people,ö said Dooley as we all got into the car. ôOne of them must have snapped. It happens all the time. TheyÆre all peaceful and loving and hugging ducks and then all of a sudden something fizzles in their brain and they go completely cuckoo.ö
ôItÆs possible,ö I allowed. Though somehow it all seemed tooà convenient for my taste. Too easy. As if the killer was desperately trying to point to LitaÆs outfit. I mean, who in their right mind would murder a person in such a way that made it obvious that you were to blame? The duck people might be a little nutty, but surely they werenÆt idiots?
Of course chasing two cats through the streets wasnÆt exactly the hallmark of a sound mindà
Chapter 26
Elvis Diamond happened to live in the same apartment complex as Ebony Pilay, so we already knew the way when we arrived there. The man had secured himself a loft at the top of the building, which comprised the entire floor. He even had a private elevator so he wouldnÆt have to breathe the same air as those less fortunate than himself.
Mr. Diamond was a man in his mid-forties, with an excellent taste in clothes. He had a stylish beard thing going, and wore dark glasses even though we were inside. Maybe he had a problem with his eyes, or else he just thought he looked cool. Like a rock star.
ôSo what can I do for you?ö he said, smiling beneficently as if granting us a favor.
ôYouÆre the major shareholder of the Karat Group?ö asked Chase.
ôThatÆs right. After the family, of course. They still own the majority of stock.ö
ôSo with the price of the stock dropping, you must have lost a great deal of money?ö
He shrugged.ôYour experienced investor learns to take these vicissitudes in stride.ö
ôA fifty percent drop in price is a big chunk of change. You must have been furious.ö
ôI can assure you that I wasnÆt. And IÆm sure that the stock price will rise again. The fundamentals of the Karat Group are sound. Nothing has changed on that front.ö He made a slight gesture. ôItÆs an emotional response to an unfortunate lapse of judgment on CottonÆs part. But nothing that wonÆt rectify itself in the long run. And make no mistake: IÆm in this for the long haul. IÆm not a day trader, in and out looking to make a quick buck. I invest in the Karat Group because I believe in the long-term prospects of the group.ö
ôStill, it must have been a bad day for you when Cotton managed to singlehandedly sink the stock and cause you to lose millions.ö
The man gave us a placid smile.ôIs there a point to this, detective?ö
ôIÆm curious to know where you were on the night that Eric Blandine was killed. LetÆs say between ten and midnight?ö
ôI was here.ö
ôAlone?ö
ôYes.ö
ôSo no one can vouch for you?ö
ôIÆm afraid not.ö
And while Chase and Mr. Diamond squared off, Dooley and I decided to wander off and look for a bite to eat. WeÆd discovered that Elvis Diamond owned a pet, and if my nose wasnÆt deceiving me, that pet was a cat, and since the investor seemed like a very rich man, we were both anxious to see what kind of kibble all of that money would buy.
We ambled into the kitchen, just to have a quick look-see, you see, when we came upon a smallish gray cat, who looked a lot like Dooley.