The Case of the Unfettered Utonagan by B R Snow

Author:B R Snow [Snow, B R]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781942691570
Published: 2018-11-30T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

I sat quietly, staring into the fire, my neurons relentless. I toyed with what was left of my dessert then set my fork down and pushed my plate away.

“Dollar for your thoughts?” Josie said.

“A whole dollar?”

“You seem to have a lot on your mind,” she said with a grin. “Offering a penny would be lowballing you.”

“Well, I should warn you. You get what you pay for. Right now, my thoughts are a mess.”

“I know I’m going to regret this,” she said. “But do you want to talk about it?”

“I guess my first question is why would anybody want to kill Peters over a bunch of wolf hybrids?”

“I think we both know the answer to that one. Nobody would.”

“Yeah,” I said, sitting back on the couch and rubbing my stomach. “Then the motive has to be jealousy or money. Maybe both.”

“The wife?” Josie said, then took a sip of Limoncello.

“That’s what the Chief and Detective Williams think. As soon as Peters will is declared null and void, which it will be, they’re convinced she’s going to get everything.”

“It sounds pretty straightforward,” Josie said. “The scorned wife seeking revenge and wanting to get her hands on his money.”

“I suppose,” I said, rubbing my forehead. “Althea is the key to this thing.”

“But she’s dead.”

“It’s always something, right?”

“There’s that sense of humor,” Josie said. “Larry the Loser seemed genuinely surprised today?”

“He did. And there was no way he was going to get away with it,” I said. “Unless he was playing dumb when he read the thing and tries to tough out whatever threats or lawsuit the wife throws at him. But he was clearly shocked by what was in that version of the will. And he made no effort to hide it.”

“If the wife was behind it, how the heck did she cross paths with Althea?”

“That, my friend, is a very good question.”

“Do you think Larry is going to be charged with Peters’ murder?”

“I don’t think the cops have any other option,” I said, again rubbing my forehead.

“Even though the Chief and Detective Williams don’t think he did it?” Josie said, frowning.

“He was caught red-handed writing himself in as a beneficiary then listing himself as the sole trustee of a multi-million-dollar account. And the only person who might be able to clear him went off a cliff. I think the cops and lawyers call that a smoking gun.”

“Then I guess you’ll have to figure out what’s going on, right?”

“That’s the plan.”

“So, you’ve got one?”

“Right now, all I’ve got is a jigsaw puzzle with a bunch of missing pieces.”

“You’ll figure it out.”

“I need to talk to Larry.”

“Well, here’s your chance,” Josie said, nodding at the end of the bar where Larry was sitting by himself slumped over his drink. “But you better hurry. It looks he’s been here awhile.”

“Why not?” I said, slowly working my way off the couch onto my feet. “Wish me luck.”

I headed for the bar and gently tapped the lawyer on the shoulder. He did a half-turn and forced a smile.

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