Larry Levine had once again been at the newspaper, something Joe had no trouble verifying. The reporter couldn’t remember what he’d done during the day on Sunday, but he’d been drinking at O’Malley’s—of course—most of the evening, and a legitimate alibi for Sunday automatically made him a less likely suspect, so…scratch Larry.
Don Tracy had been at the theater until almost seven. He wouldn’t have had much time to get to the hospital. Possible, but unlikely. Still…And on Sunday he’d had a matinee, but matinees were over by five or five-thirty.
Nat Halloway had been at his office until he left for the pub, in plain view of half a dozen people yesterday afternoon. Sunday he’d been home alone.
Finally Joe called the Bigelow mansion. Albee Bennet answered after the third ring.
“Hi, Albee. Joe Connolly here”
“Mr. Connolly, hello. Can I help you in some way?”
“Routine, Albee. Where were you on Sunday?”
“Here, Mr. Connolly. I don’t seem to have the heart to do much else but stay home. Mr. Jared is still up in the air about what to do with the place.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
“Happily, I will be. I won’t be rich, but I’m sure that Thorny saw to it that I’d be taken care of.”
“So you stay home night and day, do you?” Joe asked.
“Pretty much so, Mr. Connolly.”
“Joe.”
“Pretty much so, Mr. Joe. Last night I raided the DVD library. I watched three old movies, made some popcorn.”
“Very nice,” Joe said. “Well, thank you.”
He hesitated then, thinking about the information Brent had passed on about the other two deaths. “Albee?”
“Yes, Mr. Joe?”
“Did Thorny—Mr. Bigelow—like to travel a lot? When he was researching his book, perhaps?”
“Oh, certainly. We got around. We spent a lot of time in Philly.”
“What about Richmond, say, or Baltimore?”
“I can’t remember dates offhand, but, yes, we were down there.”
“You and Mr. Bigelow?”
“Oh, yes. And Jared, of course. And Miss Mary.”
Jared and Mary, too? Now things were really getting interesting, Joe thought.
CHAPTER 16
Genevieve had to admit to being surprised when she saw Joe walk into the pub.
“Joe, hello,” she slurred somewhat drunkenly as he pulled up a chair at the end of the table.
She saw him look questioningly at Adam, who shrugged.
“Long day,” Brent said.
“Really? What did you do with your long day?” Joe asked him.
“We played tourist,” Brent said.
“Great,” Joe said. “Where’s Eileen? Didn’t she come with you?” he asked, looking worried.
“Eileen is fine. She called about five minutes ago and made her apologies. She’s tired and decided to stay home,” Adam explained.
“How was your day?” Adam asked Joe.
“Not bad,” Joe said, and glanced at Genevieve.
She smiled pleasantly at him but kept silent and played with the condensation on her glass, knowing she was too far beyond tipsy to safely speak. She focused on the music, which was really quite good, she decided. And the whiskey wasn’t half bad, either. In fact, the more she drank, the better it tasted.
Frowning, Joe returned his attention to Adam. “I talked to the Ravens, and also to Albee Bennet,” he said.
“Poor old Albee,” Genevieve put in, her words slurred.
“Is she all right?” Joe asked, looking at Nikki.
Trust a guy, Gen thought, to figure only a woman would have another woman figured out. Chauvinist. “I’m fine, and I can speak for myself white…quite well, thank you,” she told him, her delivery giving the lie to her words.
He studied her for a long moment, then clearly made the decision to ignore her. “Albee said that Thorne had traveled to research his book. He’d been to Richmond, Baltimore and Philly.”
“But…Thorne was the victim,” Nikki said.
Joe nodded. “He didn’t travel alone.”
“Aha! The butler did do it!” Genevieve said triumphantly and much too loudly.
They all stared at her.
Joe said, “Jared and Mary accompanied him on all his trips, along with Albee.”
Brent frowned. “The son and the sister-in-law. They would be at cross concerns, don’t you think?”
“I spoke with Mary. And I think she’d lie in a second flat to give Jared an alibi,” Joe said. “They’re sleeping together.”
“But she’s his aunt,” Nikki said.
“By marriage,” Joe said.
“I don’t care,” Genevieve offered. “That’s just…ewwww.”
“So you think Jared did it?” Adam asked thoughtfully.
“I don’t like him, so that probably adds to my conviction,” Joe said. “And there’s nothing to prove it. But he’s the major beneficiary, and the person supporting him—saying that he gave his father CPR, even though the body was found at the desk—is Mary. It bothered me from the beginning, the position of the body. Everything could have an explanation, but it’s all starting to add up.”
“And Jared Bigelow could look like Poe,” Genevieve announced happily.
Joe stared at her, frowning. “What the hell is she talking about?” he asked the table at large.
“Long story, better left for another day,” Adam said.
Joe groaned.