“What about Patrick?” Seumas demanded. “He’s already been charged with homicide and you let him get away.”
“Did I?” MacRae smiled slightly. “Careless of me.” He herded the group out the door.
A solemn Matt Gibbs went to his wife. “Get up, Peggy.” He shook her recumbent figure gently. “It’s over.” He sighed. “It’s all over.”
Peggy sat up slowly and let her husband ease her out of the chair. She leaned on him, her eyes half shut. “It wasn’t worth it,” she mumbled. “The price was too high.” Without looking at anyone, she let Matt guide her out of the room.
“My God!” Beth exclaimed. “I’m not sure I understand any of this!”
Philip held his head in his hands. “What is there to understand? A conspiracy of greedy people destroyed the lives of my Chuckie and Harry Gibbs, all for their own gain. The age of the robber baron never ended. It’s stronger than ever in big business these days.”
“But who actually killed Harry?” Beth asked.
Philip looked at Will; Will looked at Marie; Marie looked at Beth; Judith and Renie looked at all of them.
“I don’t know,” Philip finally said in a weary voice.
“I think I do.” Judith grimaced. “Sorry. I shouldn’t intrude.”
Everyone, including Renie, turned to stare at her. Feeling a bit foolish and worn out from worrying, Judith sank into the chair Peggy Gibbs had vacated. “First,” she began as Renie handed her a half inch of Scotch, “I have to ask you a question, Will.”
He looked surprised. “Well…of course.”
“Why did you really switch sides?”
Will put his arm around Marie. “It was my wife who insisted.”
Judith smiled slightly. “That’s not the entire reason.”
Will laid his head back on the sofa. “No. It was Jimmy. He desperately wanted to take over the company. The man is driven, eaten alive by resentment over his illegitimate birth and deprived of what he feels is his inheritance.” Will paused and sat up straight. “Jimmy is astute and competent, with an excellent head for business. Given Moira’s indifference to Blackwell, Harry’s meddling, and Jocko urging me to alter the company’s books to make him look better as well as richer, I believed it was in everyone’s best interests to have Jimmy in charge.”
“What made you change your mind?” Judith asked.
“Jocko came back from Greece,” Will explained. “Jimmy was furious. I’d told him about Jocko’s attempts at deception with company records. Instead of telling the police, he did nothing. I knew something was going on behind my back. It was the South American buyout.”
“Which,” Philip put in, “would’ve placed Harry in charge.”
Will nodded. “On the day of Harry’s murder, I ran into Jimmy at the Rood & Mitre. I thought it odd. He rarely frequented pubs, and when he did, he had a drink and left. Then I heard about Harry. I figured Jimmy was giving himself an alibi.”
“But,” Beth pointed out, “he
“He didn’t,” Judith said. “But he put everything in motion, including connivance with Jocko and Archie Morton.”
“How do you know that?” Marie asked.
Judith shrugged. “All along, I felt jealousy was the motive. It caused Davey’s death, the jealous husband angle.” She saw the expressions of surprise and incredulity on the two couples’ faces. “Jocko goaded Harry into murdering Davey, hoping Harry would get caught and go to prison. But someone—Patrick, I suspect—put pressure on Hugh MacGowan to hold off with the investigation. Or was it you, Will?”
Will sadly shook his head. “Both of us. Moira and the company couldn’t afford that kind of scandal, not with Jocko already playing the numbers game. When Jocko left for Greece right after Davey’s death, we urged MacGowan to back off until Jocko came back—which we were sure he’d do eventually.”
Judith nodded. “Jocko figured the motive for Davey’s murder could be used again for Harry’s. The work of a jealous lover, this time around it was Patrick. If Jocko could concoct a romance between Moira and Davey, why not do the same with Moira and Patrick? She was very close to both men. But who told Jocko about Matt and Peggy’s schemes in Venezuela?”
“Archie?” Will guessed.
Judith shook her head. “He had no entree into Blackwell except through his brother. It had to be Jimmy. Somehow he found out what the Gibbses were up to, and could only stop them by killing Harry. He wouldn’t do the dirty work, so the Morton brothers did it for him. Jimmy and the Mortons were kin. Jimmy’s mother was married to Archie and Jocko’s cousin. Family—or clan ties, if you will—mean a great deal around here.”
Marie nodded. “That’s so, even among villains. But who actually smothered Harry?”
Judith grimaced. “Archie Morton is my best guess. His repair shop was close to the beach. No one would question his presence there. I can’t see Jocko sullying his hands with murder. But Archie might if his brother and Jimmy promised to pay him well.” She shot Renie a wry glance. “My cousin gave me the idea.”
“I did?” Renie said in surprise.
Judith nodded. “You mentioned that Archie couldn’t be a real mechanic because he didn’t have dirt under his fingernails. At the time, I thought that was just you, being perverse and getting into it with Archie. Then I realized you were right. Archie’s conscience may have bothered him. Like Pontius Pilate, he literally wanted to wash his hands of the whole tragedy. Not to mention that he’d know about forensic science, being in the car repair business and having to deal with the police about vehicles that had been involved in crimes. He probably spent the next few
