Dead Giveaway

assume she informed you that Mrs. Olsen left her property to you, Will.'

'I did no such thing,' I said. How I wanted to punch Jeff about now. I'd hoped to ease into that particular revelation.

Meanwhile, Mr. Knight's jaw had dropped, and I heard utensils crashing behind me in the kitchen.

Will said it all with his astonished, 'What?'

Jeff looked genuinely surprised, and maybe even a tad embarrassed now that he realized I hadn't already spilled these particular beans. Beans. Yuck. I'd never before considered that expression might be a reference to coffee beans.

Mrs. Knight came rushing back to join us, wiping her reddened hands on a checkered dish towel. 'That's why you're here? To recheck our son's alibi because you think he expected to inherit money from a stranger? Money he knew nothing about until this minute?'

'Ma'am, I have to contact or interview everyone who spoke with the victim recently,' Jeff said. His throat was all blotchy above his collar. 'A phone call isn't enough.'

'Will would never harm anyone,' a red-faced Mrs. Knight said.

Jeff had regrouped and returned to his calm cop mode. 'I never said he did.'

He had slipped up by not talking to me first, though. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, but I suspected his mistake had more to do with Will the Sports Hero. Seems I had plenty to learn about this aspect of the man in my life.

Mrs. Wright said, 'I think you should apologize to—'

'Annabelle,' Mr. Knight cut in with an admirable take-charge tone. 'You're jumping to conclusions. Let the officer talk.'

Jeff nodded at Mr. Wright. 'No problem, sir. I do apologize. Your son obviously was with you and his friends last night. We'll speak with the other young men present, but I'm sure they'll confirm what you've told me. My main purpose in coming was to ask a few questions about the meeting Miss Rose and Will had with the victim the other day.'

'Oh. That makes sense,' Mrs. Knight said. By her embarrassed expression, you'd have thought I'd just told her that her dress was tucked into her panty hose.

'I believe I told you all about our meeting with Mrs. Olsen, Sergeant Kline,' I said, trying to sound as patient and composed as Jeff.

Will squinted and cocked his head. 'I get the feeling you two know each—I mean, aside from what went down last night.'

'How could you ever guess?' I said. 'We know each other quite well, as a matter of fact.'

'From other cases?' His eyes were bright with curiosity.

Smart, intuitive kid. No wonder I liked him so much.

'We're colleagues,' Jeff said. He offered out his gum, and getting no takers, unwrapped a few sticks and folded them in his mouth. 'Back to why I'm here. Did Mrs. Olsen contact you after you met with her the other day?'

'No, sir,' said Will.

Jeff looked back and forth between the Knights. 'Either of you speak to her?'

They both shook their heads, and Mr. Knight said, 'Never.'

'Please be honest, Sergeant,' Mrs. Knight said. 'Do you think her death is somehow connected to our son?'

'We don't have evidence aside from her bequest to support that theory right now,' Jeff answered.

'Very strange to leave everything to Will,' Mrs. Knight said, half to herself. 'And you knew about this, Abby?'

'I only heard late last night—one reason I came here this morning. I drove to Mrs. Olsen's house after I left the crime scene. Since she'd called me to meet with her at the espresso bar, I felt—'

'Could we save that discussion for later?' Jeff said. 'Right now I'd like to hear Will's take on the victim. Did anything in particular stand out about her?'

'Ask me, she'd been smoking weed or taken some major head pill,' Will said.

'William,' his mother said. 'The woman is dead, for heaven's sake.'

Jeff held up a hand, chewing hard on his gum. 'It's okay. This is exactly the kind of thing I need to know. What made you come to that conclusion?'

'She knew everything about me, from the time I was a kid. It freaked me out. She never said anything about leaving me her stuff or anything, though. That is so crazy.' He looked at his mother. 'Not crazy crazy. Sad crazy, Mom. She may have been weird, but—'

'She didn't deserve to die,' his mother finished. 'Why didn't you tell me she knew things about your childhood?'

'I'm the one who should have told you,' I said. 'That's why you hired me. I was concerned about her obvious knowledge of Will, especially since she shouldn't have even known his name. That's why I've made an appointment with the social worker who handled the original CPS case—to find out how Verna Mae got so much information.'

'Molly Roth? Our old caseworker?' asked Mr. Knight.

Jeff stood abruptly before I could answer yes. He said, 'I think I have all I need for now. We'll be in touch.'

Mr. Knight stood, too. 'I'm concerned, Sergeant Kline. What if there's a connection between our son inheriting this woman's property and her murder? Would that put Will in danger?'

'We're doing everything we can to find answers,' Jeff said. 'If we find a connection and we think he needs protection, he'll get it. Right now, this crime appears to be a robbery-homicide.'

The Knights nodded solemnly, and then Jeff turned and started walking out of the kitchen.

Something was wrong. Why did he decide to split all of a sudden? Was he still angry about my trip to Bottlebrush? No... my gut told me that wasn't it. 'You still want me at the station by ten?' I called after him.

'Yes, ma'am,' he answered over his shoulder.

While Mr. Knight followed Jeff out, Mrs. Knight asked if I'd like coffee.

'No, thanks,' I said. 'I'm trying to get off the java. Then maybe I won't have to get my teeth bleached as often.' Still troubled by Jeff's attitude, I checked my watch. I had an hour to wait until I could talk to him alone and find out what was up.

When Mr. Knight returned, it was time to explain the theory Chief Rollins and I had come up with. More of what I'd wanted to ease into with the family.

I said, 'Though I haven't discussed this with Sergeant Kline yet, I have a theory why Verna Mae Olsen left her home and property to Will.'

'You do?' Will leaned forward, elbows on knees.

I nodded. 'By the way, Chief Rollins is the officer who came out and took you from Verna Mae the night you were abandoned. Or maybe I should say supposedly abandoned.'

Mrs. Knight's face paled. 'Supposedly?'

I looked at Will. 'You may have already met your birth mother, Will. We'll need your DNA to find out for sure.'

'Are you saying that's why Mrs. Olsen left me her stuff?' He checked his parents' faces for their reaction.

'And now she's been murdered?' Mr. Knight said. 'This is unbelievable... horrible.'

'We have no proof yet,' I said, 'but since she left everything to Will and kept close tabs on him for nineteen years, her being your biological mother might explain her behavior.'

'I-I'm stunned,' Mrs. Knight said. 'We only wanted Will to know the truth about his past. To know who he was and where he came from. Know about his African-American heritage. But to have all this happen? I'm thinking we should leave well enough alone.'

'Wait a minute, Mom,' Will said. 'You weren't there the day I met with Dr. Rose. She told me this wouldn't be easy. That I might learn things I wished I hadn't.'

'Dr. Rose?' Mr. Knight looked at me. 'I'm confused. Are you a doctor?'

'No, no,' Mrs. Knight said. 'Remember Abby told us Will would be interviewed by a psychologist, to make