“At twelve-oh-nine A.M., June thirteenth.”
Cleo rose, moved to the game table, picked up an iPhone, brushed the screen. She stared. “June twelfth was Saturday. It was on Friday that Glen couldn’t find the key to the gun safe.” She gazed at Annie, her eyes fearful with knowledge. “The key was missing Friday. You say something was hidden in the gazebo early Sunday morning.” Her face looked haunted. She knew that the person who took the key had to be someone with access to the house, Glen’s children, his sister, his cousin.
“If someone in the house took the gun, it would have to be hidden somewhere.” Cleo spoke in a wondering tone. “Or if someone didn’t live in the house, the gun had to be placed where it would be available.” She returned to the love seat, sank onto it, obviously shaken. “I didn’t actually think one of them could be guilty even though they’re the only ones who gain by his death. Now everything Glen had will be theirs—the house, his estate.”
Annie frowned. “You’re his widow.”
Cleo waved a dismissive hand. “I was his second wife. He had a family. We had a prenuptial agreement. Everything goes to them except for a hundred thousand to me and a portion of whatever he’d made since we married. The firm was in trouble and Glen’s investments were down, but the estate still totals almost a million. And there’s the house. It goes to them, but that’s fine. I didn’t marry him for his money. I don’t need anyone’s money. I’m a good lawyer.”
“Did they know this?” Annie saw the faces in her mind. Laura Jamison was defensive about her stymied career and upset that Kirk Brewster was losing his partnership. Kit Jamison’s sole focus was on her research and the grand opportunity that awaited her in Africa. Tommy Jamison’s rudeness to his stepmother had resulted in Glen’s decision to send him away to school. Tommy faced losing his senior year at the island high school and a starring role on the football team. Elaine Jamison wanted her nieces and nephew to be happy. All of them now would be able to do what they wished.
“They knew.” Cleo was somber.
“Is there anyone else who profits from his death?” The Jamison siblings would inherit enough money to be able to do whatever they wished. Tommy would certainly be able to stay on the island for his senior year in high school. “What about Glen’s cousin?”
Cleo looked startled. “Richard? No. He wouldn’t have wanted anything to happen to Glen. Richard was about to persuade Glen to help him get loans to build resort condos in Costa Rica. He sure won’t get any help from the kids. No, Laura and Kit and Tommy are the ones who—” She broke off. “Oh.” She looked thoughtful, considering. “One other may ultimately profit. I guess will certainly profit. I hadn’t thought about profiting.” The words came slowly. “I haven’t been able to think about anything besides Glen. Glen . . .” She took a shaky breath. “They didn’t let me see the study. I didn’t want to see it. They found someone to clean it.” There was horror in her voice. “Did you know there are people who clean up terrible things like that? The study’s clean now, so they say. I’ve gone up to the door and touched the knob, and each time I turn away. Maybe if I went inside, I’d be able to get rid of the terrible picture in my mind. Sometimes it’s worse if you imagine something instead of seeing it as it really is. In my mind, blood is everywhere and I want to scream, but I can’t. I’ve kept busy with letters and calls and arrangements during the day and I take pills at night, but the picture won’t go away. I guess that’s why I didn’t think about money. I should have told the police. And he would know about Glen’s gun.” She stopped, her face stricken. “I hate thinking this way, suspecting people I know. Still, it’s odd that Glen should die now. If he had lived two more weeks, Kirk would have been out of the firm.”
“Kirk Brewster?” Annie was puzzled. “Is the fact that he’s still a partner affected by Glen’s death?”
“Is Kirk affected?” Cleo’s voice was thin. “Oh yes. He certainly is. To the tune of about two and a half million dollars.”
Annie felt an instant of amazement. “That’s a lot of money. How can that be?”
Cleo ran a hand through her shining dark hair. “Key man insurance. For Glen. I was against it from the first. I told Glen that the economy would get better but he worried about the firm’s future if something happened to him. The firm was started by his great-grandfather. I thought the monthly payments were a waste. We would have been better off hiring a PR firm.”
Annie wasn’t deflected by Cleo’s criticism of Glen’s decision. What mattered was the timing. “What will happen since Kirk is still a member of the firm?”
“He and I are the two surviving partners. We are the beneficiaries.”
“How much will the firm—you and Kirk—receive?”
“Five million dollars.” She picked up the iPhone. “I’d better call the police.” She paused before she dialed. “If you don’t mind, you can show yourself out.”
A man’s voice droned beyond the partially open door. Max tapped on the lintel. “Miss Graham?” The legal secretary was listening intently to a cassette, her fingers flying over the keyboard.
She looked up in surprise. “Mr. Darling.” She clicked off the cassette.
“I hope you can spare a moment. I’m here for Glen’s sister.”
“Please come in.” She gestured toward a wooden chair to one side of her desk and reached for a pad. “What does Miss Jamison want me to do?”
Max wondered what would happen when Elaine Jamison discovered that he and Annie were prying into the personal lives of the Jamison family. He couldn’t claim to have her approval. He owed Edna Graham the truth. “Elaine didn’t send me. I’m here because the police have named her a person of interest in the investigation.”
Edna’s eyes widened in shock. Her face flushed with indignation. “Nonsense.”
Max nodded energetically. “My wife and I agree. We’re looking for information that would point the police in a different direction.”
Edna clasped her hands. “If I can help, I certainly will.”
“You may make a huge difference. No one had better insight into Mr. Jamison’s day-to-day life. Was he involved in any legal matters that might have led to the murder?”
Edna Graham’s strong-boned face was heavy and somber. “Mr. Jamison’s practice did not include criminal matters.” Her tone was a reproof.
