Tracy Kiely: Murder Most Persuasive

“Well, I don’t see why you’re so upset, Annabel,” Bonnie said. “He was a thief. And a common thief at that. No one here is mourning his passing.”

I wondered if Michael had been an uncommon thief it would be a different story. Would Bonnie have mourned him then? But what exactly was an uncommon thief? All that came to mind was Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief. I considered the matter. While I normally don’t agree with Bonnie, I had to admit she might be right about this one. If I had a John Robie in my life, I’d probably mourn his passing.

Bonnie continued on. “The only one I can see being upset by this news is Reggie. After all, it was Reggie who was engaged to Michael.”

“Didn’t she break it off with him, though?” asked Kit, as she bent down to pet Scarlett, who, in turn, helpfully presented her belly. “A few months before the wedding?”

Ann nodded. “She broke it off and…”

“And then Michael disappeared,” finished Bonnie. “But I guess he didn’t, did he? You don’t suppose he killed himself because Reggie broke it off with him, do you?”

Although Bonnie’s lack of a filter between thoughts and speech was no secret, it still managed to catch you by surprise from time to time. Ann briefly closed her eyes before answering. “No, Bonnie. I don’t think that Michael killed himself and then buried himself under the pool’s foundation.”

“Well,” Bonnie said with a slight shrug of her shoulders, “when you put it that way, I suppose it doesn’t work. Well, don’t worry yourselves about it, my dears. That’s what the police are paid to find out. I’ve no doubt that they can handle our little mystery. Like I always say, we can worry about that tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day.” Shooting us a bright smile, she moved for the doorway. Scarlett paused, as if torn between staying with us and following her mistress. Just like her namesake, she opted for the decision that would suit her best: she sat down with us. Heading for the curved staircase that led upstairs, Bonnie paused and turned back to us. “Do you think you should mention Marty’s death to the police? Do you think there could be a connection?”

“No, Bonnie,” Ann said firmly. “I don’t.”

Bonnie looked unconvinced but said, “All right. Well, I’ve got to finish packing. Now remember, Ann, I’ll be gone one week. I’ve left all the instructions for Scarlett on the hall table. Take good care of her; you know how delicate she is.” We all looked at Scarlett, who was busy cleaning herself with great abandon. “When I get back, we can have that party for Marty. Why don’t you check the club and see if it’s available?” Almost as an afterthought, she called over her shoulder, “And just think! By then, this whole thing might be solved!”

Ann winced at Bonnie’s words. “That’s just what I’m afraid of,” she whispered. Scarlett stopped cleaning herself long enough to look up and bark.

“So she’s just going to leave? Now?” asked Kit in amused disbelief.

“It would appear so,” said Ann, her face resigned. “Although, when I stop to think about it, I can’t say that I’m surprised. Sensitivity isn’t exactly Bonnie’s strongest quality. But I’m fine. Actually, it will be easier if she’s not here. There’s so much I have to do before I can go back to my own place.”

“What do you need to do? Can I help with anything?” I asked.

“That would be great, thanks. I’ve got to sort through Father’s papers, catalog everything, and then distribute the various items that he left in his will. There’s an oil painting upstairs that Frances was always fond of. I know Father wanted her to have that. There are also a few china figurines that were set aside for Reggie.” She paused as Scarlett jumped at her knees. “And, of course, I’ve got to take care of Scarlett here.” Her lip sneered ever so slightly as she said this. Not that I blamed her. Scarlett is a pint-sized diva.

“Speaking of Reggie,” said Kit, “I gather you haven’t told her yet.”

Ann shook her head. “No. I’ll have to, and soon, but I don’t seem to have the mental capacity tonight to figure out exactly what I’m going to say.”

“How do you think she’ll take it?” Kit asked with ghoulish interest.

Ann’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “She’ll be upset, of course. To what extent, I can’t say.”

“Well, obviously!” Kit gushed. “No, what I mean is, why exactly did Reggie break it off? I could never figure that out. At that point, Michael was still Mr. Perfect. No one knew about the embezzling yet. Uncle Marty loved him—I mean, wasn’t he grooming Michael to take over the business?”

Ann nodded, almost as if the movement caused her pain. “I believe he was, yes,” she replied in a near whisper.

“And you all loved him, right?” Kit asked.

Only a fool couldn’t see that this was a subject that Ann didn’t want to discuss, but Kit nevertheless pressed ahead with her investigation. As horrible as it may sound, I have to admit that sometimes I wished that my mom would come to me and tell me that Kit wasn’t really my sister, that she found her in a wicker basket on the front porch. Hell, I’d even be okay if my mom told me that I was the result of a sordid affair. Even then, we’d only be half sisters, and I could soothe myself with the knowledge that we were not produced by the same gene pool.

“It was after Michael’s disappearance that Uncle Marty turned to Scott as a successor, wasn’t it?” I asked, hoping to change the subject.

“Yes,” said Ann. “Frances had always wanted Scott to take over the business anyway. She felt that since he’d been in the family and at the company longest, it was only fair. I don’t think Scott cared as much about it as she did.”

“Well, she’s always been the more intense of the two about Scott’s career,” I said.

“So, why do you think that Reggie broke it off?” Kit interrupted, reverting back to her line of questioning.

“She didn’t think it would work,” Ann replied. “She didn’t go into the details with me.”

“Do you think she was still in love with him? I mean, sometimes couples get into fights and say things they don’t mean, especially right before their wedding. It can get pretty stressful. I know Paul and I had a couple of doozies.”

“I don’t know anything about that. All Reggie said was that she told Michael she didn’t want to marry him. She seemed pretty certain about it.”

“Right.” Kit nodded her head as if this proved her point. “But Michael disappeared right after that. I just wondered if she regretted her decision.”

“I don’t think so,” said Ann. “After all, it was right after he disappeared that Father discovered that the money was missing.”

“Do you think Reggie could have known about the money?” asked Kit, her voice a conspiring whisper. “Do you think that’s why she broke it off?”

While Ann’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, my patience snapped. “Kit! Of course Reggie didn’t know that Michael was embezzling from Uncle Marty! Use your head. She would have said something!”

Kit swung to face me, her eyes narrowed in anger. I knew I’d pay for my outburst later, but right now I didn’t care. She was making the situation worse. Granted it was unintentional, but nevertheless I had to get her to stop.

“I’m only asking a question,” she retorted. “I wasn’t implying anything and, besides, I imagine that it’s a question that the police are going to ask as well.”