“Did I mention that Lana Baroja is over at Durant Memorial with a blunt trauma wound to the head, a probable victim of attempted homicide, and that somebody may have attempted to kill Isaac Bloomfield as well?”
The judge stalled out there for a second but got going again pretty quickly. “No, you did not.”
“I don’t suppose Kyle would like to exchange venue for the hospital?”
“He’s under no obligation.”
I sighed; dealing with lawyers always made me tired. “What’s the good news?”
“That was the good news.”
I sighed again. “What’s the bad news?”
“As suspected, Mari Baroja viewed revising her will as something of an avocation.”
I couldn’t risk sighing again; I was losing too much air. “Two quick questions: how many and when was the last?”
“Fourteen, and the latest revision was last Friday afternoon.”
I went ahead and sighed again; maybe my lungs would collapse, and Vic and Sancho could handle the whole thing. “Any idea who attested it?”
He glanced up at the aged Seth Thomas on the wall, which was not unlike the one in my office. I figured a clock salesman at the turn of the last century must have made out like a bandit in this county. “I imagine you will find out at 5:00.”
I got up and shook my head. “If you talk to Kyle Straub again, remind him that I’m going to start taking a personal interest in his miseries.” As I went down the steps, I turned and looked at him through the doorway. “And I’m considering yours.”
He closed his eyes and nodded slowly. “Always comforting to know one is in your thoughts, Walter.”
I’d have never made it as a lawyer.
It was just past 3:15, and I was hungry, but I knew there was supposed to be a small crowd waiting for me at the jail in half an hour. There was no time to eat, but I had an extra twenty minutes, so I rolled past Clear Creek Realty. Beth Banks, or Beebee as the locals had called her as long as I’d been aware, was attempting to lodge her considerable girth into a spanking new Cadillac. I smiled at her as I pushed the button on the passenger window and watched as about a cubic foot of snow fell inside my truck; I really had to get some seat covers. “Hey, Beebee.”
She giggled. “Uh-oh, what have I done now?” She was wearing a flaming red wool coat, and the flakes were beginning to accumulate in her platinum blond hair.
I left the motor running, so she wouldn’t think I was going to hold her for long. “Beebee, did you lease that building next to Evans’s to Lana Baroja?”
She thought. “Yes, about three months ago.” The smile faded a little. “Is there a problem?”
I thought it best to keep things simple. “Somebody broke into the place, and I’m thinking that they might have had keys. I was wondering if you knew of any other sets?”
“No, but I’ll check.” She thought for a moment. “I don’t know if there were any other keys to that building, but it’s always a good idea to change the locks in a new business.” The smile returned. “Like I have to tell you that.”
There was a substantial group of vehicles in the office parking lot; I guess Vic had been able to corral all the usual administrators for the mass imprinting. I put on my serious face which, I’m told by some, makes me look like I am mildly constipated and walked in, ignoring them and standing at Ruby’s desk. She was the first to speak, Dog by her side. “Walt…”
I whipped my hat off and spoke in what my father used to refer to as a full field voice. “Damn it.” Dog rolled his eyes up in a worried look at my tone of voice. I winked at Ruby, and she almost smiled. “Get me Vern Selby on line one, and tell him that I want to know the sentencing guidelines on obstruction of justice.”
She nodded. “First degree?”
I almost broke, but bit my lip and nodded back. She didn’t mention the chair or the big house, so I made a safe escape into my office and slammed the door behind me with a thunderous clap. The knob came off in my hand. I bent down and looked at the mechanism still imbedded in the core of the wood and hoped somebody would come in before too long. I tossed the knob on my desk and sat down to wait.
After a few moments, the intercom buzzed on my phone. I punched the button, “What?” I made sure it was loud enough for them to hear in the reception area.
“Walt, Louis Gilbert and the people from the Home for Assisted Living are here.”
“Tell them I want them in my office, right now.” I scrambled around and picked up Saizarbitoria’s folder, attempted to look like a captain of destiny, and waited a few more moments. Somebody quietly knocked against the door, and I was relieved that it pushed open a little with the knock. “Come in.”
Louis was talking as he opened it and looked at the hole where my doorknob used to be. “Walt, this is all just a big mistake.”
“I hope so.” I didn’t sound as angry; it was a hard emotion for me to sustain.
There was a small crowd behind him, and I recognized Jennifer Felson and Joe Lesky for starters. “There was a memo we put out saying that unoccupied rooms should be cleared in twenty-four hours.” Louis introduced a small, frightened old woman in the back of the group, Indian and probably Crow. “Anna Walks Over Ice thought she heard Joe tell Jennifer that that meant all rooms, including Room 42, but Joe doesn’t remember having that conversation with Jennifer.” Louis nodded toward the elderly woman. “She doesn’t understand English very well.”
I stared at the blotter on my desk. “Who cleaned the room?”
Louis was quick to speak. “Anna.” It is a long-standing western tradition-when in doubt, blame the Indian.
I looked at the group as they looked at each other. “Jennifer, you were on duty?”
She looked up and slightly raised her hand. “Yes.”
“Joe?” He raised his hand, too, and I started feeling like I was teaching class. I sighed. “Okay, you don’t have to raise your hands. Both of you were on duty?”
Joe was eager to clear things up. “It was near the shift change. I come in at ten o’clock, but I had some extra work to do, so I came in early.”
“And you found her, Jennifer?”
She started to raise her hand but stopped herself. “Yes, I was doing the eight P.M. rounds.”
“Did you have any contact with her earlier in the evening?” She nodded. “What was she doing?”
“Reading. She liked to read.”
“Was she eating or drinking anything?”
“She had some cookies.”
I wondered if Vic had eaten all the evidence. “Anything else?”
Joe piped up, “She always had a glass of Metamucil in the evenings as a fiber supplement.”
“Who mixed that up for her?”
Joe shrugged. “I did.”
“Did she eat or drink anything else that evening?”
They all looked at each other, and Louis was the first to speak. “She probably had her dinner at six with the rest of the clients.” He looked puzzled. “Do you think something disagreed with her?”
I looked at all their faces. “Mari Baroja was poisoned.”
Jennifer crossed herself, Louis stared at me in shock, and Joe paused and then translated to Walks Over Ice. They all looked sad, but they didn’t look like killers; they looked like people that cared a lot and got paid very little for their concern. The Indian woman said something to Joe, who looked at me, shrugged, and translated. “She says she will pray for Mrs. Baroja.”
We all sat there in silence for a moment.
The shock was still in Louis’s voice when he spoke. “Walt, this is horrible.”
“Yep, that’s the official view as well.” I studied them a while longer. “You can see how important this is?” They all nodded again. “Joe, do you have the Metamucil container?”
They all joined me in looking at Joe as his eyes widened. “Yes. Do you…? I mean, do you think…?” They all looked worried, images of other patients flopping around on the floor crowded in on them.
“I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. The amount of this particular poison wouldn’t have an effect on
