1 52 Steps to Murder Read online

  “Yes, Grandmama.”

  “Okay, here’s what I want you to do. Irene will be here in the morning. She’ll be leaving town, so she’ll be leaving a few minutes before you get here. Nosy old Mr. Silverman will be watching as always from his house, so he’ll give you an alibi. Just come up on the porch as if nothing’s wrong and ring the bell. I won’t answer, of course, but ring it anyway. Then, go over to Irene’s, as if you don’t know that she’s already left town. When she doesn’t answer, come back over here and make sure that Mr. Silverman sees you using your cell phone.

  “Call the police. They’ll probably send some tenderfoot who doesn’t know what he’s doing. When he breaks in, go to the back of the house first, so he won’t know anything, and then come up to my room. Make sure that you get here before he does and pick up the envelopes. Then, go into your act. Chances are he won’t know enough to check and see if I’m dead. He’ll have to go out to the cruiser and call in. That’ll be your cue to hurry to the refrigerator and get a glass of grape juice. Bring it up and go to the medicine cabinet and get me the poison. I’ll put the poison in the juice and drink it. If the officer isn’t back yet, we’ll say our goodbyes and you can go back downstairs and delay the officer until I’m gone. Chances are he won’t come back upstairs until the medical examiner comes.

  “Wait around until they leave, then sneak through the underground passage and take some juice and poison to Mabel Jarvis. You got that?”

  “I wish you’d change your mind, Grandmama.”

  “I can’t, Child. I just can’t. I need to catch up on things with your mom and dad and your grandfather.”

  The sound of a doorbell came through on the tape.

  “I’ve got to go now, Child. Irene’s here. I love you, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “I love you, too, Grandmama.”

  I pushed the “stop” button and looked at my watch again. Only Angela Nelson’s flowing tears kept her from knowing that she was not the only one who had shed a tear.

  “What happens now, Lieutenant?” Angela Nelson asked in a choked up voice.

  I paused and composed myself.

  “I know it’s been rough, and it’ll continue to be, but as best you can, I’d recommend you do your best to try to get your life back together.”

  “Does that mean you’re not arresting me?”

  “Miss Nelson, the last time I checked there was no charge against giving a thirsty woman something to drink. In a world where everyone is eager to get his or her hands on every relative’s money, you declined your grandmother’s estate. You were coerced into doing something you didn’t want to do. I see no reason to ruin the life of a woman who’s already struggling, nor do I see why we should deprive the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society of your grandmother’s money. However, I do have a couple of questions, Miss Nelson.”

  “What’s that, Lieutenant?”

  “Were you the person in the raincoat?”

  “Yes, my grandmother came up with that when she first told me about her idea. She wanted to muddy the waters as much as possible, hoping that the police would give up on trying to solve her murder. I guess she never expected someone as good as you.”

  “So, how were you able to answer your home phone just after eluding Sgt. Murdock and me?”

  “Have you heard of ‘call forwarding?’ That night I had all calls forwarded to my cell phone.”

  I had never considered ‘call forwarding.’ It was the price I paid to live in the past as much as possible.

  “And where did you go when Sgt. Murdock chased you?”

  “The only place I was sure I was safe, Irene Penrod’s place. I knew she was still out of town and no one would think of looking for me there.”

  “There’s one other thing, Miss Nelson. Tell me about Mrs. Jarvis.”

  “I had planned to go directly from my grandmother’s to Mrs. Jarvis’s, but of course you ruined that plan. So, I had to go back after you left the street. Before I gave Mrs. Jarvis her grape juice, we talked for a few minutes. She told me that because of her wheelchair she had never been able to see the underground, and she asked me if I would wheel her down there. I agreed to grant the dying woman her last wish. I held on as I wheeled her down the basement steps, and again when we headed down the secret passageway. I stood beside her and listened to her share about her life until she nodded her head and was gone. I shed a few tears, asked God to take good care of my grandmother and Mrs. Jarvis, leaned Mrs. Jarvis back in her wheelchair, and I walked back up the stairs and left.”

  “But what if we never found the passageway?”

  “Oh, everyone knew about the passageway. Someone was going to let it slip before too long. Besides, I left enough clues for you.”

  “Does that include the newspaper date and the galoshes in the pantry?”

  “Yes.”

  With that, Lou and I got up, hugged Angela Nelson, and told her to call us if there was ever a need we could fill. Then, Lou and I walked out in silence.

  47

  As Lou and I got to the car, I turned and saw that Angela Nelson stood in the doorway. I waved. She waved back. Lou looked in the side-view mirror and told me that the young woman continued to lean against the door watching us as we drove away. I had already informed the sergeant about my plan. Now, it was time to see if Lightning II, my bugging device, would pay off. I turned on the receiver, and turned up the volume. I smiled as we heard the sound of a door closing and something that sounded like someone clapping.

  “A magnificent performance, My Pet.”

  “Thank you, Harry, but I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “Obviously, My Pet, but you were the one who imitated your grandmother’s voice on that tape.”

  “It looks like all my years of acting lessons finally paid off.”

  “Not to mention what a wonderful job you did copying your grandmother’s and that Jarvis woman’s handwriting. And who can dispute that the handwriting was theirs? Who can they come to? You were your grandmother’s only relative and the Jarvis woman had none. They can come only to me for verification.”

  “Plus, you covered for me when that lieutenant almost ruined things by sending me away before I could kill Mabel Jarvis. That old woman would have assumed the worst and would have contacted the police when she saw them carrying my grandmother out. It’s a good thing you were there to put her out of her misery.”

  “Also, it was a good thing I was here to give your grandmother the medication that put her to sleep. Otherwise, she would’ve cried out. Even that wet-behind-the-ears rookie cop would have been able to figure that one out. And it was a good thing Irene Penrod left those envelopes behind. If the police had gotten them, they might’ve have gotten even nosier. Before that, we weren’t sure that your grandmother suspected we were up to something. And Stanley Silverman gave me an opportunity to show that rookie cop two envelopes stuffed with blank paper when I left his house. No one could tell that they weren’t the same envelopes that Penrod woman had. And even if he’d stopped and searched me, envelopes with blank paper couldn’t incriminate anyone.”

  “I couldn’t have done it without you, Harry. You even knew we could let them know about the one will as long as we had another one dated later that we can use.”

  “Yeah, but you were the one who found all that money that Jarvis woman had hidden in her house.”

  “But you were her attorney and knew she had money hidden somewhere.”

  “Plus, I knew she died intestate. In time, we’ll release your grandmother’s other will plus the one you wrote for that Jarvis woman.”

  “Yeah, that lieutenant had no idea those two were worth millions. Of course, I was a little scared when he called about coming by. Good thing we had a back-up plan.”

  “Come here, My Pet. It’s best if we don’t see each other for a while. Then, we’ll collect our money and meet on the beach in Fiji.”

  Lou and I had heard enough. We turned the car around an
d headed back to Angela Nelson’s. Too bad my bugging device doesn’t include a hidden camera. I would’ve loved to have seen the look on Angela’s face when I rang her doorbell a second time.

  “Oh, hi, Miss Nelson.”

  “Er, uh, did you forget something, Lieutenant.”

  “I did, Miss Nelson. This will take only a moment. Mind if I step in?”

  “Uh, sure, Lieutenant.”

  Angela Nelson stepped back as Lou and I entered the house.

  “Oh, here it is, Miss Nelson,” I said as I bent over and reached between the couch cushions.

  “Here’s what, Lieutenant.”

  “I call it Lightning II. It’s a bugging device. I don’t want to lose it. Do you know that it was still picking up loud and clear even after we turned the corner?” I turned away and raised my voice. “You can come out now, Mr. Hornwell. Oh, by the way, Miss Nelson. You might want to consult an attorney before you say anything else, but I wouldn’t recommend Mr. Hornwell. I’m afraid he’ll be too busy to handle your case.”

  +++

  We read Angela Nelson her rights, confronted her with her taped confession. Angela confessed to what she and Harry Hornwell had done, despite the fact that the attorney did his best to keep her silent.

  When questioned alone in another room, Angela said Hornwell had enlightened her as to how much her grandmother had salted away, and how her grandmother had talked about changing her will. I doubted that Mrs. Nelson planned to change her will, but Hornwell needed an accomplice and would make up whatever story he needed to accomplish his objective. On that occasion, a seasoned attorney seemed so credible to one so young.

  After officers had transported Miss Nelson to police headquarters, she opened up. She told us how she had met Hornwell at her grandmother’s house one day, how she saw him a couple days later when she was eating lunch at a downtown drug store. He asked her to meet him for dinner that night. He wanted to discuss some ideas for her grandmother’s estate with her. She declined at first, but he convinced her that these possibilities were good for her grandmother and that her grandmother would be more receptive to a suggestion if it came from her. As Hornwell and Angela finished dessert that night, she realized that the subject of her grandmother never came up. Instead, Hornwell related to her about how lonely he was since his wife became an invalid and was confined to bed. He pleaded with Angela Nelson to meet him a couple of evenings a week for dinner, nothing else. Again Angela declined, but the persistent attorney convinced the young woman that there was nothing wrong with meeting for dinner.

  Miss Nelson related that over time the attorney began to come on to her. He began to give her money and buy her gifts. Also, he started telling her how miserable her grandmother was and how she would be better off if she died peacefully. Miss Nelson never agreed until after her grandmother’s fall. This encouraged Hornwell to format a plan for getting rid of Mrs. Nelson and Mrs. Jarvis. As the attorney for both, he knew how wealthy both women were, but then Angela needed no convincing of that. Her grandmother kept no secrets from Angela about her wealth. Plus, Angela had discovered the secret and location of Mrs. Jarvis’s wealth. Still, Angela was unwilling to go along with Hornwell’s scheme until she heard what condition and state of mind her grandmother was in the first time she talked to her in the hospital.

  As the plan became more of a possibility, Angela and Hornwell communicated only by personal ads in a metropolitan newspaper. If either of them wanted to meet, he or she placed an ad in code, always paid cash, and the two of them met to discuss Hornwell’s plan. Finally, Angela agreed to go along. Unless either of them foresaw a complication, they agreed to follow through upon Angela’s return. The plan was open-ended. It called for Hornwell to sneak over to the house he owned at the other end of Hilltop Place in the middle of the night on Friday night, before the lookouts arose. Without being seen, he prepared to keep watch on the neighborhood’s proceedings and Angela’s arrival. As soon as Irene Penrod’s taxi left Hilltop Place on Saturday morning, Hornwell hurried underground and raced to Mrs. Nelson’s house, where he gave her a sedative. Then, he waited inside Miss Penrod’s house to see if Angela would be able to commit both murders. If not, he would take care of Mrs. Jarvis. Everything went well until Hornwell hurried underground to Mrs. Nelson’s house. He was almost tackled by a deranged man. When Hornwell realized that the police were taking Angela away, he hurried to Mrs. Jarvis’s house. This time the deranged man was nowhere to be seen.

  Angela Nelson continued her confession until we knew everything. Sadly, Lou and I turned away. It was not the first time we had seen a young person waste his or her life by committing a terrible crime. The two of us walked out and decided that it was again time to eat. Years on the job had enabled us to eat, even when we didn’t feel like eating. As Lightning bolted in order to satisfy our hunger, Lou opened up.

  “Cy, you never cease to amaze me.”

  “I couldn’t have done it without you, or without all the help we both had.”

  “But how did you arrive at Angela Nelson and Harry Hornwell as our murderers?”

  “Well, I admit it took me a lot longer than it should’ve. There were too many clues, many of which had nothing to do with the murder. Each of them made things more complicated. Nothing seemed to make sense, so I decided to try to narrow things down a bit. It helped when we got the phone records. Last night I was thinking about those two phone calls on the morning of the murder. The call Mrs. Jarvis made to Mrs. Nelson and the one Irene Penrod made to the cab company. It got me to thinking about the time issue and the most important clue we had.

  “Frank told us that someone had given Mrs. Nelson something to put her to sleep forty-five minutes to an hour before the poison was administered. I had thought of that before, but only to try to figure out why someone would put her to sleep. What I needed to do instead was add the time needed to put her to sleep to the time it took to kill her and see where we stood. I added them together to see if I could eliminate any of the suspects. I looked over the clues and alibis we had been given for that morning and considered all of them gospel if they were confirmed by two or more people. It turned out that I could eliminate almost all of our suspects.

  “Supposedly, Angela Nelson and Officer Davis found Mrs. Nelson dead at around 10:45. Using the quickest time period Frank accounted for, that means that someone had killed her by at least 10:30, but probably a little sooner, and had administered the sleeping tablet by at least 9:45. Irene Penrod could have administered the sleeping tablet after Hartley left, but she couldn’t have killed Mrs. Nelson. Hartley was off the hook too, because he was seen delivering the mail after he left Mrs. Nelson’s house, and when I checked, he went immediately to an adjacent street and continued his deliveries. So, that eliminated him.

  “With the two of them eliminated, I decided to see who else I could cross of my list. I checked on Mrs. Murphy, the maid. She was feeding the homeless at her church. Witnesses accounted for her being there from 6:30 until after 11:00. Bobby couldn’t have done it, because witnesses confirmed that he had delivered groceries at 9:45 and 10:05. He couldn’t have entered the Nelson house before or after. The only way to enter the house was by way of the front door, which was being watched the entire time, or by underground, which no one could do unless they were already inside one of the houses on the street.

  “Other than our ultimate murderers, that left us with only the people on the street. Mrs. Wilkens confirmed that she saw Jimmy, Mrs. Reynolds, and Silverman often enough that none of them had time to hurry through the tunnel, kill Mrs. Nelson, and hurry back to establish an alibi. The only time they were unaccounted for was after Angela Nelson arrived. That left me with only Angela Nelson and Harry Hornwell as possible murder suspects. The problem was that Angela didn’t enter the house until she and Officer Davis discovered her grandmother, which presented another problem. I had already confirmed that Angela’s plane arrived at 9:17 and that she left the airport in a taxi at 9:52. That taxi pulled up in front of
Mrs. Nelson’s house at 10:20, or exactly an hour before we arrived. Two witnesses kept her in their sights the entire time until Officer Davis arrived.

  “There was only one possibility. I called Officer Davis, and luckily, he admitted his shortcoming. When I asked him if he confirmed that Mrs. Nelson was dead, he told me that he was too scared at the time to do so. All of us assumed that Mrs. Nelson was dead when Angela and Officer Davis entered the house. All of us assumed wrong. As soon as Officer Davis left to report the murder, Angela went to work. She poisoned her grandmother and hoped she would die before we arrived to confirm the death. The only problem was that while Angela could have murdered her grandmother, there was absolutely no way she could’ve put her to sleep. She had to have had an accomplice, and Hornwell was the only one who could’ve done it.”

  “But what about his alibi that he was at his cabin?”

  “The only time anyone could confirm that Hornwell was in the vicinity of his cabin was when he stopped at the general store on Friday afternoon and Sunday morning. Hornwell left his home on Friday afternoon, all right, drove to the general store to establish an alibi, then waited until dark and sneaked undetected into a house he owned on Hilltop Place. A magnet he carried gave him access to any house on the street by way of the underground tunnel. Except for the time that he left to commit his crimes on Saturday morning, he remained in his house until after dark on Saturday night, at which time he hightailed it to his cabin to establish another alibi. The Thursday night rain gave him the tracks and footprints he needed to establish that he’d been at the cabin. To make sure he had an alibi for the entire weekend, he stopped by the general store on Friday and Sunday.”

  “But how did you know things didn’t happen as Angela said?”

  “Two things. One, the woman had to have been given a sleeping tablet an hour or so before she was murdered. Irene Penrod denied giving her a sleeping tablet, and both Irene Penrod and Fred Hartley said the woman was not groggy when they talked to her. Also, we have the tape Angela gave us. I timed it. The tape was longer than the time of the phone call she made to her grandmother that morning. Besides that, the doorbell that rang at the end of the tape did not match the one at Mrs. Nelson’s house, but the one I heard as I rang the bell at Angela’s.”