“There’s a switch that activates the system,” he said, and he reached to the back of the bookcase and pressed a button.
The two bookcases moved back into place automatically. Tavii then pressed the button again and the bookcases opened back up to reveal the safe.
“My father was the one who had the safe installed, but my grandmother was the only one who used it after he died,” Tavii said.
“Who knows the combination to the safe?” I asked.
“Just my grandmother.”
“You don’t know it?” Foxx asked.
“No. The only reason I know about the safe is because I lived here as a child when it was built. My father would pick me up and let me press the button to open the bookcases. He even put Treasure Island in front of it since that was our favorite book to read at night,” Tavii said.
“Who else knows about the safe other than you and your grandmother?” I asked.
“I’m sure Samson knows since he lives here.”
“Does your wife, Oleen, know about the safe?” Foxx asked.
“Yes. I showed her after we got married.”
“Any chance she told someone?” I asked.
“I told her not to, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t.”
“But she doesn’t know the combination?” Fox asked.
“No, and there’s little to no chance my grandmother told her. She never trusted Oleen.”
“Did you know Oleen is the eyewitness to the murder?” I asked.
“She’s not an eyewitness. She’s lying. Oleen would have told me back then if she’d seen something like that. She wants to hurt my family. That’s all this is. You’ve been involved in a lot of these types of cases. What’s your opinion? Will my grandmother get convicted?” Tavii asked.
“Based on the evidence as it is today, almost certainly,” I said.
“What about the act of keeping the gun? Can’t her attorney say she’d never be foolish enough to hold onto it after murdering Eric Ellis?” Tavii asked.
“He can suggest it. That was our first thought too. But after seeing this safe and how well it’s hidden, I think a good argument could be made that she assumed it would never be discovered,” I said.
“Unless Oleen told someone like Stan Cross about it and he planted the gun,” Foxx suggested.
“Yes, but Oleen didn’t know the code, so it wouldn’t have mattered,” Tavii said.
“I’m actually impressed the police found it,” I said, even though I knew Detective Parrish had told me he’d spent three days in the house looking for something like it.
“I’m not,” Foxx said.
“Why not?” Tavii asked.
“Look at this room. There’s not one book on the floor. Why didn’t they trash this room like the living room?” Foxx asked.
“True. You should see the bedrooms. Everything’s destroyed. They even turned the mattresses upside down and threw them across the room,” Tavii said.
“It’s like the cops knew exactly what they were looking for in here,” Foxx said.
“It’s a sound theory. So how did they know?” I asked.
“Easy. Stan Cross told them. Oleen admitted that she struck a deal with Stan to pay her for being an eyewitness. I bet he planted the gun in the safe once she told him you’d figured things out,” Foxx said.
There was also a practical reason the police hadn’t thrown the books to the floor. They would have most likely obstructed the automatic movement of the sliding bookcases.
“I think you’re giving Stan Cross too much credit,” Tavii said.
“How well do you know him?” I asked.
“Well enough. The man’s a thug. You’re describing someone who carefully planned this out. Stan doesn’t do that. He’s a bulldozer who threatens to run over people if they don’t do what he wants,” Tavii said.
“Okay, then who did?” Foxx asked.
“There’s only one answer that makes any sense. My grandmother. She had Eric Ellis killed and put the gun in the safe. I didn’t want to admit it, but she’s guilty,” Tavii said.
“And here I thought you brought us here to ask us back on the case,” I said.
“I wanted you to see the safe and give me your opinion on the strength of her legal defense. You answered that question for me. She doesn’t have a chance,” he said.
“You’re just giving up?” Foxx asked.
“I’m not giving up. I’m being realistic,” Tavii said. “My family’s business is under attack, not only from our enemies but also family members. I’ll be out of political office in a matter of weeks. I need to start focusing on what can be saved. My grandmother got sloppy and now she’s paying the price.”
He turned to me.
“Thank you for what you did for her. Please send your invoice for your time to Ruben Dalton. I’ll make sure it gets paid,” Tavii continued.
“I understand. For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing the right thing. Your grandmother’s most likely guilty, and I’m sorry for what you’re going through,” I said.
“Thank you.”
I turned to Foxx. I could tell he wanted to say something, but he was smart enough to know that Tavii’s arguments wouldn’t have swayed my opinion so easily.
“Let’s leave, Foxx, and allow Tavii to start the clean-up process,” I said.
“Good luck,” Foxx said.
Tavii nodded.
We left him in the study and walked back through the wreck of a living room. Foxx didn’t say anything until we got outside.
“You don’t really think she’s guilty, do you?”
“She might be,” I admitted.
“But now you think Tavii might have done it?”
“The guy could have fooled us.”
“I don’t buy that he doesn’t have the combination to that safe,” Foxx said.
“I don’t either. Lee Walters said he always suspected that Tavii had killed Eric Ellis. Maybe he did and Tavii’s the one who planted the gun in that safe.”
“It makes sense and he has more than enough government connections to slip a message to Detective Parrish on how to find the safe.”
“It’s a solid theory.”
We climbed into the SUV, and Foxx drove back onto the road.
“I think it’s time we made a run at Stan Cross. He’s the only suspect we haven’t met with. The hell with this coming up with some
