The Case of the Unhealthy Health Club by David Staats

Author:David Staats [Staats, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781946797032
Publisher: Newtext Publishing
Published: 2019-11-06T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11. Preparing to nail the guilty party

Just as I was about to rap gently on Mr. Dure’s open door to announce my entry, I overheard Ms. MacCreedy say to him, “Does she always have to be present?”

“If it really makes you uncomfortable,” he said, “I’ll tell her we don’t need her.” I saw his hazel eyes flick towards the door and knew that he had seen me. I drew back a step into the hallway. “But I’d rather have her. She’s helpful to me – and having her do certain work keeps your bill down.”

“I guess it’s alright. As you say, if it keeps down the expense.”

“She is also under the same obligation to keep matters confidential as I am,” he said.

“Okay, it’s okay,” she said.

I waited another couple of seconds, standing at the threshold, then I rapped on the door and entered the office. I forced a smile as I nodded to Ms. MacCreedy.

“I’ve got another problem,” she was saying. Her right elbow was resting on the chair’s armrest. She raised her right hand to prop her chin in it; she looked like an old mope. Her twenty-three gold-plated bracelets jangled as they slid down her forearm to rest in a bunch.

Mr. Dure asked her what he could do.

“The life insurance company won’t pay off on Rich’s policy. They claim they’re doing an investigation to see if he might have committed suicide.” She sat up straight again. “I can’t believe it!” she said. I noticed that Ms. MacCreedy was always so concerned about money.

“What is the name of the insurance company?”

“The Fidelicity Life Insurance Company,” said Ms. MacCreedy. “Rich bought a policy about three weeks before he died. It’s supposed to pay $1 million each to John and Stephanie – and also $1 million to her.”

“‘Her’ being Vanessa?”

“Right.”

“So it is a $3 million policy, with $1 million payable to each of John, Stephanie, and Vanessa?”

“Right.”

“And apparently it has a suicide clause,” said Mr. Dure.

“That’s what I’m told.”

“And the insurance company did not deny payment, they just said they’re investigating?”

“Well, they won’t pay,” she said.

“But have they said they had already made a determination of suicide and were denying payment; or have they said basically, ‘we won’t pay until we determine that he did not commit suicide’”?

“I think that’s what it is. Mort Golden, handling the estate, told Stephanie, and she told me.”

Mr. Dure seemed to reflect for a moment. “Could there be anything to it? What do you think?”

“Rich? Commit suicide? I don’t think so. If you want to know what I think, that […] Vanessa put the insurance company onto the idea so that John and Stephie wouldn’t get the insurance money, and, if she murdered Rich, that would take the suspicion off her, too.”

“I’m not so sure,” Mr. Dure said. “One thing is, if Rich committed suicide, that would kill Vanessa’s suit against the health club.”

“Oh?”

“If he intentionally took his life, that means the health club did not cause it by negligence,” said Dure.

“Oh,” she said.

“Not only that,” said Mr.

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