investigate much further if they find enough evidence to indict him for her murder.”
“Why you? Why doesn’t he hire a private detective?”
“I asked him that. He wants someone who will blend in and not raise suspicions.”
Cloris laughed. “I hate to tell you this, but you don’t exactly blend in with the Bling! crowd, either.”
“Tell me about it.”
“And what do you get out of all this snooping around? Did Gruenwald blackmail you or something?”
“In not so many words.” I told her about his veiled threat, which I interpreted as all the American Woman employees risked losing their jobs.
“You should go to the police. Not to mention Human Resources. Look at all the money Trimedia will save by not paying his exorbitant salary. Better yet, you should sue the creep for harassment.”
I reached into my skirt pocket and withdrew Gruenwald’s check. Handing it across the table to Cloris, I said, “He also gave me this.”
Cloris frowned at the check for a moment before passing it back to me. “What if the police are right? What if Gruenwald is the killer, and he’s using you in the hope of diverting attention away from himself?”
“That crossed my mind, especially after what I observed on Sunday. I don’t think he and Philomena had the smoothest of relationships.”
“No kidding.”
“But how would asking me to investigate have any impact on the police investigation?”
“Unless you discovered someone else killed Philomena.”
“Except Gruenwald does have motive. Philomena flipped out big time over that lawsuit Sylvia Gruenwald filed. I questioned him about the argument I overheard, and he filled in the blanks. As I suspected, Philomena’s threats involved contacting some of her old cronies from the ‘hood to have Sylvia permanently dispatched if Gruenwald didn’t handle the problem himself.”
“Are you suggesting Philomena wanted Gruenwald to kill his wife?”
“Sounds like it.”
“And Gruenwald flipped out over Philomena’s threat against Sylvia?”
“Exactly. He may have walked out on her for Philomena, but divorce is one thing, murder quite another.”
“Yet you’re suggesting he killed Philomena because she wanted him or someone else to kill Sylvia. It’s okay for him to kill, but it’s not okay for someone else to kill?”
“In his mind. I suppose if he’s charged, he’ll claim he was protecting his wife from a killer.”
“If he’s the killer.”
“If. There’s always the possibility that he’s innocent, and someone else killed Philomena for a completely different reason.”
Our dinners arrived, and we ate in silence for a few minutes until Cloris finally asked, “If not Gruenwald, though, then who? Someone from her entourage? Norma Gene?”
“Norma Gene, being a guy, certainly has the strength, but she’s wandering around like a teary-eyed lost puppy without Philomena.”
I told Cloris about my conversation with Norma Gene. “I swear she’s on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She blames herself for letting her foster mother down and not preventing Philomena’s death.”
“What about someone on the Bling! staff?”
“Definitely not the Bling! staff unless someone acted without thinking. They’re all reluctantly polishing up their resumes. Bling! can’t survive without Philomena, and they know it. Even though they did all the work, she provided the big draw.”
“Rumor has it Trimedia poured a boatload of money into the launch of Bling! ”
“And with only one issue in print so far, they’ll lose a bundle on their investment.”
“Hence Gruenwald’s budget meeting?”
“Probably. I’d say his job is on the line.”
“Finding the killer isn’t going to save his job.”
“No, but if the police charge him with murder, as he’s worried might happen, Trimedia executes the morals clause in his contract and won’t have to pay to get rid of him. If I can determine that someone else killed Philomena, Gruenwald still loses his job,
“Why you? Why doesn’t he hire a private detective?”
“I asked him that. He wants someone who will blend in and not raise suspicions.”
Cloris laughed. “I hate to tell you this, but you don’t exactly blend in with the Bling! crowd, either.”
“Tell me about it.”
“And what do you get out of all this snooping around? Did Gruenwald blackmail you or something?”
“In not so many words.” I told her about his veiled threat, which I interpreted as all the American Woman employees risked losing their jobs.
“You should go to the police. Not to mention Human Resources. Look at all the money Trimedia will save by not paying his exorbitant salary. Better yet, you should sue the creep for harassment.”
I reached into my skirt pocket and withdrew Gruenwald’s check. Handing it across the table to Cloris, I said, “He also gave me this.”
Cloris frowned at the check for a moment before passing it back to me. “What if the police are right? What if Gruenwald is the killer, and he’s using you in the hope of diverting attention away from himself?”
“That crossed my mind, especially after what I observed on Sunday. I don’t think he and Philomena had the smoothest of relationships.”
“No kidding.”
“But how would asking me to investigate have any impact on the police investigation?”
“Unless you discovered someone else killed Philomena.”
“Except Gruenwald does have motive. Philomena flipped out big time over that lawsuit Sylvia Gruenwald filed. I questioned him about the argument I overheard, and he filled in the blanks. As I suspected, Philomena’s threats involved contacting some of her old cronies from the ‘hood to have Sylvia permanently dispatched if Gruenwald didn’t handle the problem himself.”
“Are you suggesting Philomena wanted Gruenwald to kill his wife?”
“Sounds like it.”
“And Gruenwald flipped out over Philomena’s threat against Sylvia?”
“Exactly. He may have walked out on her for Philomena, but divorce is one thing, murder quite another.”
“Yet you’re suggesting he killed Philomena because she wanted him or someone else to kill Sylvia. It’s okay for him to kill, but it’s not okay for someone else to kill?”
“In his mind. I suppose if he’s charged, he’ll claim he was protecting his wife from a killer.”
“If he’s the killer.”
“If. There’s always the possibility that he’s innocent, and someone else killed Philomena for a completely different reason.”
Our dinners arrived, and we ate in silence for a few minutes until Cloris finally asked, “If not Gruenwald, though, then who? Someone from her entourage? Norma Gene?”
“Norma Gene, being a guy, certainly has the strength, but she’s wandering around like a teary-eyed lost puppy without Philomena.”
I told Cloris about my conversation with Norma Gene. “I swear she’s on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She blames herself for letting her foster mother down and not preventing Philomena’s death.”
“What about someone on the Bling! staff?”
“Definitely not the Bling! staff unless someone acted without thinking. They’re all reluctantly polishing up their resumes. Bling! can’t survive without Philomena, and they know it. Even though they did all the work, she provided the big draw.”
“Rumor has it Trimedia poured a boatload of money into the launch of Bling! ”
“And with only one issue in print so far, they’ll lose a bundle on their investment.”
“Hence Gruenwald’s budget meeting?”
“Probably. I’d say his job is on the line.”
“Finding the killer isn’t going to save his job.”
“No, but if the police charge him with murder, as he’s worried might happen, Trimedia executes the morals clause in his contract and won’t have to pay to get rid of him. If I can determine that someone else killed Philomena, Gruenwald still loses his job,
Similar Books
