Cruising in Your Eighties Is Murder by Mike Befeler

Cruising in Your Eighties Is Murder by Mike Befeler

Author:Mike Befeler [Befeler, Mike]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00


Chapter 14

I gulped at the news of Mrs. Hargrave’s disappearance. It suddenly dawned on me what deep doo-doo I had stepped in. I had read that the maid had seen me in Mrs. Hargrave’s cabin the night before.

“She was in fine fettle when I left her cabin. In fact, Anita was turning down the bed.”

“I thought you had a memory problem, Mr. Jacobson,” Grudion said, a cruel smile crossing his lips.

“I do.” I tapped my temple. “But I read pretty good, and that was in my journal.”

The captain stared at me. “Anita reported seeing both of you in the cabin, but then she left. That corroborates you were the last person known to be with Mrs. Hargrave.”

Crap. Things were stacking up against me. “Someone else obviously came on the scene after I left. Wasn’t anyone else spotted in the hallway or didn’t other passengers hear any commotion?”

“There were raised voices overheard.”

“There you go.” I opened my hands toward my inquisitors. “And besides, I had no motive.”

Grudion stared at me intently. “Actually, you did have a motive. Anita reported that you and Mrs. Hargrave were arguing when she left the cabin. Your voices were also heard by a passenger in the corridor. So, Mr. Jacobson, you argued with Mrs. Hargrave, were there alone with her and had the means to kill her. Would you like to make a statement?”

“Yes. I didn’t do anything to Mrs. Hargrave.” I thought over what I had documented in my diary. “But I’d suggest checking with her nephew and niece, Gary and Gina. They might have visited her after I left.”

“We have. They both state they didn’t see their aunt last night.”

“Talk to them again,” I said. “I suspect they’re jealous that Mrs. Hargrave was seeking a long-lost niece who would decrease their inheritance.”

“We’ve been over this before,” Grudion said, pointing a finger at me. “I think you killed Mrs. Hargrave. You attempted to injure her twice before, tried to kill her by switching her medicine and this time you succeeded.”

“Wait a Goddamn minute. I have no reason to do anything to Mrs. Hargrave. She’s a nice lady. Whereas Gary and Gina both gain an inheritance if she’s dead. Plus they’re motivated to make it happen before she splits her loot with a third relative.”

“I don’t know if you committed a crime from anger or if you’re a serial killer, Mr. Jacobson.” Grudion narrowed his gaze at me. “I had that report concerning the death of a homeless man in Seattle before you boarded the ship.”

“No. I’m not any type of killer. I’m just an old fart who somehow got in the middle of all of this.”

“You had access to Mrs. Hargrave, an opportunity to kill her and motive—anger over an argument.” Grudion ticked off three fingers.

“Gentlemen, I want to solve this as much as you do. But you have to keep searching because if you only focus on me, the real killer will escape.”

Grudion grimaced. “I need to interview your wife.”

“Am I free to leave?”

Grudion looked toward the other two.



Download



Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.