David Bishop - The Original Alibi

“Why, boss? I mean the guy’s in line to inherit beaucoup millions. Why should he risk that with a murder? It’d make sense for him to just cool his jets and wait until the chips rolled his way.”

“That seems logical, but let’s say he found himself engaged to a woman he didn’t want to marry. There’s rumors that Ileana was a gold digger playing him for his money. That she had a sugar daddy on the side; the one who gave her the expensive jewelry found at the murder scene. Maybe Eddie didn’t want a kid. He could’ve thought that he’d end up with the kid and she’d split with a divorce settlement. That’s what happened to him. His mother left after his dad was killed in Desert Storm. That’s why he was raised by the general. He didn’t want a wife who didn’t want her son, like his mother hadn’t.

“If Eddie did it, this wasn’t a sudden murder in a heated moment. It would have been cold and premeditated. And remember, this guy thinks he’s smarter than the average bear, than all of the other bears, so he couldn’t see himself getting caught.”

“How’s that spaghetti, boss? Chewing okay?”

“It works in small, easy bites, and tastes great, thanks for preparing it.”

“In the morning, maybe we’ll move you up to some scrambled eggs. Now back to the case. What about an old beau? Some dude who had the hots for Ileana and killed her when she dumped him for Eddie.”

“I’ve thought about that. Back at the time of the murder, Fidge spoke to neighbors who had seen a couple of luxury cars visit her place, but never saw the drivers. He also found that expensive jewelry she couldn’t afford on her own. That her folks couldn’t have bought for her. Eddie claimed he didn’t give it to her. If she had some well off fellas on the side that alone could have driven Eddie over the edge, or the lover she pushed aside to marry Eddie. That sugar daddy could be the person missing from my poker game.”

“Huh, boss?”

“I keep having this feeling there’s a player in this I haven’t found. That could be him. Or I could be guessing another person exists because I’m not convinced any of the others did it. Let’s get back to your idea of a jilted lover. That’s certainly possible. He could have killed Ileana and framed Eddie for taking her away from him. But why would he wish to arrange an alibi for Eddie? No. He’d want Eddie to go up for it. That’d get him revenge and also close the homicide file.”

“I don’t know, boss. The shakedown makes the murder a paying proposition.”

“Could be, with time to think and set it up. But a jilted lover is usually a sudden, angry murder. Not cold and calculated.”

“Well, so which one did it?”

“We’re not done yet. There’s also the general.”

“Why would the general kill Eddie’s fiancee?”

“The general could have had his fill of unreliable women. His ex-wife, Karen’s mother, Mary, was flaky. His son Ben’s wife, Eddie’s mother, had been no better, effectively selling Eddie to the general after Ben was killed in Desert Storm. Karen, his own daughter, is rather promiscuous, at least by the standards of the general’s generation. He could have been of the opinion that Ileana had set herself up to get pregnant to trap Eddie into marriage. That way she’d get her hooks into the general’s estate when Eddie inherits. That could have pushed him over the edge. And I can tell you, the general is more than capable of designing the entire strategy. He is a master tactician. He could have framed Eddie and arranged his alibi. Thereby protecting Eddie from what would undoubtedly be a failed marriage while also protecting his own estate which would go to Eddie.”

“But, boss, the general got a phone call about the alibi demanding the two million clams. Then he got another call while he was driving home from the bank telling him to throw the money over the edge down to the beach.”

“Only the general knew of those calls. They came in on his cell phone. He could have fabricated the whole bit about the calls. The general never reported the shakedown, so his cell phone was never examined. The general could have taken two million out of the bank and brought it home to put in his personal safe. Not thrown it over the edge at all.”

“What about the general’s health?”

“Ah. Today, sure, but this was done going on twelve years ago. The physical demands of the scheme were all activities he could handle then. And mentally, for him, the complex plan would have been a piece of cake.”

“That’s quite a yarn, boss. I buy the part about the killer setting up an alibi rather than getting the case closed by having Eddie convicted and sent up the river. Without that business about the alibi, there’d have been no shakedown. The best fit for that theory would be the general. He’d want to save his grandson. I don’t see why the others would. They’d want him convicted so’s the general might give them a bigger slice of his millions.”

“Well, that’s my dilemma.”

“Have you been able to identify an old jealous boyfriend?”

“Ileana’s parents don’t recall one. Cliff had been friends with Ileana, nothing romantic, and he doesn’t recall one. I think Cliff would have been more likely to know than her folks.”

“I got a question for you, boss.”

“Shoot.”

“You made a strong point that the general had the knowhow to strategize it all out. And like I just said, the general had the best reason to alibi Eddie, but why in blazes does he hire you? I mean the killing was over eleven years ago. It’s cold. Eddie’s under no threat. Why does he want you raking through the coals?”

“That’s the snag on the theory about the general. The only thing I can think of is the general wanted to find out if there were any loose ends. He figured if I worked the case and couldn’t find the killer then he was home free. Of course, he knew he would die before he could be convicted anyway so he had no fear from the cops. It would have been more about someone challenging his will on the grounds of him not being in his right mind. Or perhaps to feel confident there was no basis for a claim by Mr. and Mrs. Corrigan for the murder of their daughter. That could explain two other unusual elements: The general provided in his will for a million dollars to Ileana’s parents. Several months ago, the general gave the Corrigans a two-week all expenses paid cruise for their fiftieth anniversary. That could be guilt or compassion for the parents of a woman who had almost been his daughter-in-law. He could also have been creating a good relationship to discourage them from taking action against the estate on behalf of their dead daughter. I’m just guessing here, trying to stack it up every which way.”

“The general would have had an accomplice. You said his health was good enough to pull this off back when it happened. But Cory Jackson was murdered a few days ago. The general couldn’t have done that, could he?”

“No. He couldn’t. Charles? Cliff? Either of them could have taken out Cory for the general. Then again, the police think the murder of Cory Jackson was unrelated to his claim of having seen Eddie kill the Corrigan woman. That could be the simple truth.”

“You mentioned Karen could have boffed Cliff into doing her bidding. You said Cliff didn’t have the brains to plan it. How about the doll, does she?”

“Eddie is a grandchild; Karen is a daughter. Most people would likely think she had the stronger claim. And yes, to answer your question. She had the brainpower to devise the plan and the proven skill to manipulate Cliff who could have performed the actual murder, bribed the witnesses, and hired Podkin to work me over. As you said, Cliff knows Podkin and a lot of other bikers with criminal records. If she did it that way, with Cliff carrying the water with all the contacts, nobody could directly finger her. If Cliff got arrested somehow and tried to cut a deal to testify against her, it would be his word against hers. In the end, that thinking brings us back to where we were before. Why would she arrange an alibi for Eddie? She would want him convicted. Otherwise, he still gets the bulk of the estate.”