Faye Kellerman - Prayers for the Dead

“There’s a way,” Oliver blurted out.

Everyone laughed. Decker told Gaynor to go ahead.

Farrell said, “Since Sparks probably had a will, he might have made specific provisions. You know, like giving money to people other than his wife. Now all of this has nothing to do with his pension’s three mil. Because that was outside the trust’s assets-”

“I’m lost,” Webster said.

“Unfortunately, I’m not,” Decker said. Again, he wiped his brow. Six months of doing wills and estates for his ex-father-in-law-Jack Cohen, Esq. So mind-numbing, even the substantial salary couldn’t keep him in the field of estate law. With unusual resolution, Decker had defied his ex-wife and returned to his former occupation of police work. It had created a scene. Back then, everything with Jan had created scenes.

Decker said, “Sparks had two basic but separate financial holdings-the family trust and his pension plan, correct?”

“Correct.”

“Which means everything Sparks owned-outside of his pension plan-was in the trust.”

“Not quite.”

Decker paused. “He owned other things outright?”

“Joint tenancy.”

“His house.”

“No, that’s in the trust.”

“Farrell, this isn’t twenty questions,” Decker snapped. “What?”

Gaynor smiled. “Sparks co-owned some of his children’s houses.”

“Why didn’t I have a dad like this?” Oliver said. “Buy me a house, co-sign my loans.”

Webster drawled, “Sounds great except nothin’s for free. You want Daddy holding a string tied to your balls?”

“Maybe it wasn’t like that,” Marge suggested. “The guy worked all the time. Maybe he bought off the kids with money.”

“Except he didn’t give them anything, Dunn. He co-signed. Kept the knot nice and tight.”

Decker said, “How many houses did Sparks co-own?”

“Paul’s house-a three-fifty mortgage on that. He also co-owned several retail shops along with his daughter Eva and her husband, David, as well as their Palm Springs condo-”

“Now there’s a real moneymaker,” Decker said.

Gaynor smiled. “I never claimed he invested wisely. Just that he owned property in joint tenancy. And since those properties are not in the trust, he probably made specific provisions about them in his will.”

Decker said, “How about Luke? Did he buy him anything?”

“Nothing outright. But that doesn’t mean Doc never gave them anything. Four years ago, they’d been on a monthly payback plan with a medical collection agency. They had racked up huge outpatient bills.”

“Drug rehab?” Decker asked.

Gaynor looked surprised. “No. A fertility clinic.”

Decker paused. “Luke has kids. Twins.”

“How old.”

“Around three.”

“Then I guess the treatments were successful.”

Marge said, “Did Doc pay off the clinic?”

“Halfway through the payments, the clinic canceled the balance, citing professional courtesy. Since then, no financial entanglements between Luke and Doc. Luke lives in a rented apartment.”

“How much money does he have?”

“He and his wife have about two hundred bucks in their checking account.”

“Savings?”

“Nothing I could find.”

“That’s Generation X for you,” Oliver said. “Can’t save a penny without spending a dime.”

“Luke wasn’t kidding when he said he was broke,” Decker said. “How about Bram, the priest?”

“Now he has money. Sixty-seven grand to be exact.”

Oliver whistled. “Sounds like he’s got a bad case of sticky fingers with the Eucharist plate.”

Martinez said, “My uncle’s a priest. Priests don’t make that kind of money. All they get are small stipends.”

“Maybe Daddy gave him money to even things out,” Marge suggested.

Oliver said, “Sixty-seven grand worth?”

Gaynor said, “If Doc gave him the maximum allowed tax-free gift of ten grand per year, he could easily accumulate eighty grand. And I do think that’s part of it. But he also reports income from book royalties.”

Decker said, “Bram wrote a book?”

“Messianic Teachings from the Old Testament.”

“Oh, now that’s a real best-seller,” Oliver joked.

“He wrote that?” Martinez said.

Oliver’s eyes grew. “You’ve heard of it?”

“My kids go to Catholic school,” Martinez said. “Next to the Catechism, it’s their most used standard text.”

“Theirs and about twenty-five hundred other Catholic schools around the country,” Gaynor said. “I called up the publisher. Some small Christian religious house. I got the feeling the book keeps them in business.”

Decker said, “How long has the book been in print?”

“Seven years,” Gaynor said.

“Bram’s only thirty-five.”

“Then he wrote it when he was young. Because he’s been collecting royalties for a while.”

“And he keeps the money?” Martinez asked.

“According to the last five years’ worth of tax returns, he’s donated seventy-five percent of his royalties to the church. Another ten percent, he gives away to other charities. The remaining fifteen, he pockets.”

“Don’t priests take vows of poverty?” Marge asked.

“Banking fifteen percent of your royalties isn’t exactly chasing the buck,” Decker said.

“Especially when you consider he’s built sixty-seven grand by pocketing only fifteen percent of his earnings,” Marge added. “That means he’s given away a hell of a lot of money.”

Webster said, “Wonder why he gave it to the church when his biological brothers were in need?”

Marge said, “Yeah, doesn’t the Bible say something about being your brother’s keeper?”

“As a priest, it’s his obligation to give his worldly possessions to the church,” Martinez said. “Keeps the clergy honest.”

Oliver said, “Besides, he probably knows his brothers’ll just piss it away.”

Decker said, “Farrell, does Bram spend money on anything interesting?”

“Only thing unusual is he rents a one-bedroom apartment even though his official residence is listed at St. Thomas’s. He has itemized it as an outside office, been leasing it for the last nine years-”

“Office my ass,” Oliver scoffed. “Betcha the goat brings women up there.” He grinned. “What a priest can’t do with rosary beads.”

“That’s truly disgusting,” Martinez said.

Oliver laughed. “Yeah, I’m a goner, going to hell on a bullet train.”

Nine years. Right around the time Yitzchak died. Decker quelled the thought.

“Maybe he brings men up instead of women,” Marge said. “Didn’t Decameron say he was gay?”

“This is all beside the point,” Decker said. “All we’re interested in is whether he’s a suspect or not. For the time being, he looks pretty clean.”

“Yeah, if you’re going to choose a family member, I vote for Paul,” Gaynor said. “He’s the one deepest in debt.”

“So why should he pop his father when the old man was supporting him?” Oliver said.

“Maybe Doc threatened to withdraw support,” Marge said.

Gaynor said, “More likely, it’s the insurance policy.”

Oliver said, “I love how you drop these little tidbits on us, Farrell. What insurance policy?”

“Sparks has a whole life policy on himself with death benefits totaling six million.”

Collective gasps.

Oliver said, “You know, I think I’ll pay a condolence call on the widow Sparks.”

Gaynor said, “The beneficiaries are the children. Don’t ask me how I found that out, either.”

Decker said, “A million per kid?”

“Right on the nailhead.”

Marge said, “So now we have six suspects. Christ, maybe they were all in it together.”