“Because my dad is her only living relative besides me. He thought he could worm his way into Nana’s good graces by using my dad. He kept telling Dad how dangerous it was for an elderly woman to be at the store so late at night, and wouldn’t we all feel safer if she was home and tucked in with us? But he didn’t know my nana. She was an active senior who always said she wasn’t just going to quit living because of her age, and nobody could tell her otherwise.”
I fought a smile. Despite MZ’s fake credentials, I was sure we’d have been fast friends. “Okay, but to be fair, Liza, murder’s a pretty big accusation because he couldn’t buy a piece of real estate. What led you to say something like that?”
“The last time he tried talking my dad into getting Nana to sign over the store, my dad got angry and told Hendrick if he didn’t quit bugging him, he’d call the police. Hendrick said he was going to do whatever it took to get the store, and that happened the day before Nana was killed.”
I almost gasped, but I managed to keep it together as the waitress approached and I ordered us some mint tea in the hopes it would soothe the rattled Liza. “Did your father tell the police this?”
“We both did, and the police said they would look into it. But Hendrick Von Adams is a rich jerk with his fancy Bentley and fancier driver. He probably has big attorneys who can get him out of a jam in no time flat.”
“Is he still here in Ebenezer Falls?”
“Yep. He’s over at the B&B where my friend, Sally, works at the desk. She’s says he’s a total jerk, always complaining about the food and the temperature of the water. I bet it was him who killed her!”
I didn’t want to upset her, but how likely was it this Hendrick guy had killed MZ? In the end, the store and the property would go to whomever she left it to in her will.
So I asked as much. “But if this man killed her, wouldn’t he still lose the store anyway? Didn’t your nana leave it to you or your dad, as her only living relatives?”
Liza’s breathing hitched as another wave of fresh tears assaulted her. “Nana was going to lose the store in the next few months or so. Her loan was in default, and Hendrick Von Adams knew it! She had maybe six more months before the bank took everything. She kept telling us she was going to find a way to catch up, but there was no way she could do that. Not being as behind as she was. Maybe he didn’t want to wait around for the bank to finally foreclose?”
And she’d refused Win’s offer of money. She really did just love helping the bereaved. We could all learn a lesson from the esteemed MZ.
“Why wouldn’t she take my money?” Win’s question mirrored my thoughts, but his voice had an edge of sorrow.
“You know something, though?”
“What’s that?” I asked, forcing myself to take small sips of the mint tea.
“The week before she died, she was really happy. Said she was having the time of her senior life. I’m glad, too,” Liza said, her voice cracking. “I’m glad she was smiling and laughing again. Like really laughing. I think she had a boyfriend.”
Or a generous spy friend who wasn’t such a hardass after all.
I was glad to see Liza calming, her shoulders going from rigid to relaxed. As I gazed at her multiple piercings, that was when I remembered the Senior Alert necklace.
“Liza? Do you remember when you told me you’d given your nana a Senior Alert necklace? Do you know if she was she wearing it that day? Did she ever wear it?”
Her smile was a reflection of my emotions…sad. “She did wear it. All the time—because I asked her to. She wouldn’t do it for Dad, but for me she did.”
“And the police didn’t find it at the store?”
“No, but Senior Alert was called. But they said someone called in after the alarm sounded and gave them the right password to call off the dogs.”
I sat up straight. Who would know her password? My stomach sank. The obvious answer was a family member. But Liza didn’t feel right. She was no killer, and unless she was up for an Academy Award for Best Portrayal of a Grieving Granddaughter, she wasn’t lying.
Which left Dan. Ugh. Please don’t let it be Dan. Liza would be left all alone without anyone, and I certainly wasn’t going to ask her something so sensitive while she was in the height of her mourning.
Sipping at my tea, I tried not to wrinkle my nose—tea isn’t my beverage of choice. “Did the police say who called in the password?”
Liza’s lower lip trembled and her eyes filled again. “It was my nana. She called it in.”
After I gave Liza my cell number, and made her promise she’d text me when she was home safely, I drove to a place I used to go as a kid, right by the Sound, and parked my cute little car.
But my heart was heavy. So heavy. Liza’s grief-stricken tears, the love and friendships she’d shared with her grandmother, overwhelmed me.
Turning off the ignition, I leaned my forehead on the steering wheel and clenched my eyes tight.
“Stevie? How can I help?” Win asked, clear concern in his voice.