Who Killed the Ghost in the Library: A Ghost writer Mystery by Teresa Watson

Author:Teresa Watson [Watson, Teresa]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Published: 2014-08-02T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 28

Randy got the deer in the headlights look, as if he had just got caught doing something wrong.

“Michael!” Grandma Alma said. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Nice to see you, too,” Mike replied, bending over to kiss her cheek. He shook Walt’s hand. “I believe I caught you in the middle of a discussion. You were telling these civilians about a police case.”

Ignoring Mike, I looked at Walt. “There are a couple of things I want to know. Cliff was convinced that Stanley’s death was murder, and he told me that you thought it was, too. If that’s the case, then why did you declare it a suicide and close the case?”

Walt shifted uncomfortably in his chair and scratched his chin. “You have to understand the way things were back then. The Ashtons and the Underwoods were powerful people. No one did anything in this town that they didn’t know about. Even the mayor answered to them.”

“So the two families put the screws to the mayor, who in turn pressured you to close the case.”

“Something like that.”

“But why, Grandpa?” Mike said. “I’ve never known you to back down from anyone.”

“They said they would foreclose on our house, as well as ruin me financially and professionally. I wouldn’t have been able to find a job anywhere. I had four kids to raise back then. I needed my job.”

Grandma Alma placed her hand on Walt’s hand while the rest of us watched. “So the Ashtons and Underwoods forced you to close the case. Before that, who were your suspects?” Mike said.

“The obvious suspect would have been his wife, Amelia, but she had an airtight alibi. Ray and Aggie Foley, of course, especially Ray. They gave each other an alibi. Amelia’s father didn’t have an alibi for that evening.”

“Do you suppose that’s why you were pressured to close the case?” Randy said.

Walt shrugged. “It’s possible.”

“How did Mr. Underwood react when you questioned him?” I said.

“A bit indignant. He said he didn’t have any reason to kill his son-in-law.”

“I can think of two good reasons,” Randy muttered.

“What are they?” Walt asked.

“Stanley IV and Cecilia,” I told him.

“Cheating on his daughter would be the ultimate deal breaker for Mr. Underwood. He thought the world of her.”

“Did he have any guns in his house?” Mike said.

“Mr. Underwood? I believe he had a double barrel shotgun, a .38 revolver, and two or three other guns. Without the case file, I can’t tell you more than that.”

“What about the Ashtons? Were there guns in their house?”

“I don’t think so. Amelia didn’t want them in the house with the kids.”

“What I don’t understand is how someone got into the house, shot Stanley, and got out without anyone seeing them,” I said.

“We couldn’t figure that out, either,” Walt admitted.

“Grandpa, what was your gut instinct about the murder?” Mike asked him.

Walt rubbed and scratched his chin again. “That it was personal. It was somebody who knew him and really hated him.”

“If the current murders are connected to Stanley’s murder, then whoever killed him is still alive.

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