Snuffed Out - Tim Myers [49]
“Easy, my friend, I’m impressed. So young Heather should be added to our list. Where is she, by the way? I’ve noticed the ever-changing signs hanging in her front window.”
“That’s the thing. The night I found Aaron’s body, Heather was outside. When she found out Aaron was dead, she threw her cat into my arms and tore off in her car.”
“So you’re still cat-sitting?”
“No, she came by long enough to retrieve Esmeralda, then she was gone again.”
“So Heather had the opportunity, she certainly had motive enough, and anyone with a steak knife could have skinned that cord.”
“You know, I’ve been thinking about that,” I said. “I wonder if they did an autopsy.”
“What are you driving at?”
“Well, if someone actually killed Aaron by dumping that water on the cord, they had to be there when it happened. Not only that, but they had to insure that the water hit the cord and puddled up around Aaron without being near it themselves. It sounds like they left an awful lot to chance.”
“So you’re saying the accident was staged after our friend Aaron was already dead.”
I finished off my own beer, then said, “It’s a possibility.”
“I wonder,” Markum said as he stroked his chin. “What are the odds we could get the sheriff to demand an autopsy?”
“Too late for that. The body was cremated the second it was released.”
Markum asked, “And who made that particular decision?”
“Sanora did,” I admitted. “Cragg told me Aaron never got around to changing his executor and heir after their split.”
“So all the more reason to suspect her.”
I said, “There’s somebody else I haven’t mentioned yet.”
Markum shook his head in amazement. “Harrison, how have you managed to find the time to run your candleshop, with all this sleuthing you’ve been doing on the side?”
“There’s a lot of downtime in retail, so I’ve had plenty of time to think.”
“I’m not criticizing, my friend, that was sheer admiration in my voice. So who is our fourth suspect?”
“Four?” I asked. “I’ve only counted Sanora and Heather so far.”
“Surely you’re not discounting Aaron’s latest love, the mysterious Ms. X? We’ve already seen Aaron’s pattern with women and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least that our potter friend cut another one loose. Perhaps his latest, or should I say last, paramour didn’t take the news as graciously as Aaron had hoped.”
“I never thought about that, but it’s as likely as what we’ve got so far.”
“So don’t keep me in suspense, Harrison. Let’s hear it all.”
“Maybe it’s because I don’t like him. I hate to say anything unless I’m sure.”
Markum said, “Come on, this is among friends. You’re not broadcasting it all over the world. What’s said behind your door stays here, as far as I’m concerned.”
“Okay. I know I can trust you. It’s Gary Cragg.”
“So there was something to that. I always suspected as much.”
“What are you talking about?”
After a long hesitation, Markum said. “I’ve often wondered if Belle seized on the missing money as a way of getting rid of Sanora without kicking Aaron out as well. Cragg and Sanora were getting a little too friendly, if you ask me, and I caught her leaving his office late one night just before Belle threw her out. If I saw something, as rarely as I was present on the grounds, think what you’re aunt must have seen.”
“So why didn’t she get rid of Cragg, too?”
“Perhaps she was waiting for a reason to present itself before she died. So your theory is that Cragg thought Sanora was still interested in her ex-husband, so he decided to eliminate his competition.”
“It could be, if Cragg thought it was serious.” I recounted what I’d overheard at the library between Cragg and the strange man, and Markum took it all in.
“So Cragg’s still interested to the point of jealousy. I’ll have to think about this. It’s not as simple as I once thought.”
“Is anything ever that way? So what am I supposed to do in the meantime while we’re considering the facts?”
Markum said, “Keep listening and keep thinking. At least we shouldn’t have to worry about the murderer striking again.”
“Why do you say that?”