broken into, as in the first burglary?”
“Not according to Maddie Hill,” said Matt, after consulting the police reports in front of him. “It’s possible Hill caught the burglar before he could take anything and the guy ran, expecting that someone would have heard the shots and called the police.”
“How long had Steven been dead when his wife came home and found the body?”
Matt reached for the coroner’s report and flipped it open. “Less than an hour, probably considerably less. The body was still warm, blood was still pooling beneath it.”
“So he may even have heard Maddie pull up.”
“Oh my gosh, Grace,” exclaimed Emma. “He may have been in the house and left when Maddie ran out screaming.”
“Let’s not get carried away, ladies,” Matt warned. “Police work is based on facts and what can be deduced from those facts. There’s a three-hour window from the time Maddie Hill left until she came home. The killer may have been there at any time during that window. The coroner says it’s likely Hill died no more than an hour before his body was found, so let’s focus our attention on that hour and see if we can reconstruct what happened.”
“What about the blonde at the funeral?” asked Jake.
“What about her?”
“She’s the only one so far who we know was openly hostile toward the Hills.”
“She may be one of many if they’ve been laying off at Hill Energy,” said Grace.
“I think it’s time to take a look at Hill Energy. Jake, that’s a great place for you to start. With Roger Hill’s authority, you should be able to get whatever information we need. We need to know how many people they’ve laid off and whether any of the guys took it especially badly.”
“I’m on it, Matt. I’ll find out who takes over the business now that Steven is gone. I’m assuming Pam will, but I’ll talk to Roger. He’s not the most liberated guy when it comes to women in business.”
“We need to see Steven’s will,” added Matt. “I’m assuming his wife stands to gain the most by his death, but you never know. Maybe he remembered his secretary or something.”
“Nobody’s gonna kill for that,” said Kristy.
“You’d be surprised what people will kill for.”
“Maddie didn’t kill Steven,” said Emma. “She was just devastated.”
“Maybe she’s a good actress,” said Matt. “You’ve got to stop thinking like everybody’s friend, Emma. The assumption that the burglary is connected is only one possible theory. A good detective doesn’t focus in on any single theory until he rules out everything else. Until we can prove the two are connected, we have to consider that it may be completely coincidental. We need to take a good hard look at everyone who will be better off with Steven out of the picture.”
“Which brings me back to the blonde,” said Jake. “What do we know about her?”
“Morty put a BOLO on the car. I never knew how many white Camaros with black stripes there were in Casper. We haven’t turned up any with a hot blonde in the driver’s seat.”
“So, where do we go from here?” Kristy had noticed the gray creeping into the corners of Matt’s mouth and decided it was time to wrap up the meeting.
“I’ll talk to Roger Hill and look into things at Hill Energy. I’ll see if he or Della know who the blonde is.”
“I’ll talk to Maddie,” volunteered Emma.
“I’ll come with you, Emma,” offered Grace.
“I’ll get Morty to turn up the heat on those alarm people. Somebody had to have given them that code.”
“What about me?” asked Kristy.
“You have the toughest job of all,” smiled Jake. “Keeping this lug from going back to work too soon.”
10
Ronald Kenworthy was admiring the rich leather seats in Roger Hill’s den. The walls were covered with bookcases. Kenworthy wondered if Hill had read much of his extensive collection of books. He took another sip of cider from the antique china cup Della
“Not according to Maddie Hill,” said Matt, after consulting the police reports in front of him. “It’s possible Hill caught the burglar before he could take anything and the guy ran, expecting that someone would have heard the shots and called the police.”
“How long had Steven been dead when his wife came home and found the body?”
Matt reached for the coroner’s report and flipped it open. “Less than an hour, probably considerably less. The body was still warm, blood was still pooling beneath it.”
“So he may even have heard Maddie pull up.”
“Oh my gosh, Grace,” exclaimed Emma. “He may have been in the house and left when Maddie ran out screaming.”
“Let’s not get carried away, ladies,” Matt warned. “Police work is based on facts and what can be deduced from those facts. There’s a three-hour window from the time Maddie Hill left until she came home. The killer may have been there at any time during that window. The coroner says it’s likely Hill died no more than an hour before his body was found, so let’s focus our attention on that hour and see if we can reconstruct what happened.”
“What about the blonde at the funeral?” asked Jake.
“What about her?”
“She’s the only one so far who we know was openly hostile toward the Hills.”
“She may be one of many if they’ve been laying off at Hill Energy,” said Grace.
“I think it’s time to take a look at Hill Energy. Jake, that’s a great place for you to start. With Roger Hill’s authority, you should be able to get whatever information we need. We need to know how many people they’ve laid off and whether any of the guys took it especially badly.”
“I’m on it, Matt. I’ll find out who takes over the business now that Steven is gone. I’m assuming Pam will, but I’ll talk to Roger. He’s not the most liberated guy when it comes to women in business.”
“We need to see Steven’s will,” added Matt. “I’m assuming his wife stands to gain the most by his death, but you never know. Maybe he remembered his secretary or something.”
“Nobody’s gonna kill for that,” said Kristy.
“You’d be surprised what people will kill for.”
“Maddie didn’t kill Steven,” said Emma. “She was just devastated.”
“Maybe she’s a good actress,” said Matt. “You’ve got to stop thinking like everybody’s friend, Emma. The assumption that the burglary is connected is only one possible theory. A good detective doesn’t focus in on any single theory until he rules out everything else. Until we can prove the two are connected, we have to consider that it may be completely coincidental. We need to take a good hard look at everyone who will be better off with Steven out of the picture.”
“Which brings me back to the blonde,” said Jake. “What do we know about her?”
“Morty put a BOLO on the car. I never knew how many white Camaros with black stripes there were in Casper. We haven’t turned up any with a hot blonde in the driver’s seat.”
“So, where do we go from here?” Kristy had noticed the gray creeping into the corners of Matt’s mouth and decided it was time to wrap up the meeting.
“I’ll talk to Roger Hill and look into things at Hill Energy. I’ll see if he or Della know who the blonde is.”
“I’ll talk to Maddie,” volunteered Emma.
“I’ll come with you, Emma,” offered Grace.
“I’ll get Morty to turn up the heat on those alarm people. Somebody had to have given them that code.”
“What about me?” asked Kristy.
“You have the toughest job of all,” smiled Jake. “Keeping this lug from going back to work too soon.”
10
Ronald Kenworthy was admiring the rich leather seats in Roger Hill’s den. The walls were covered with bookcases. Kenworthy wondered if Hill had read much of his extensive collection of books. He took another sip of cider from the antique china cup Della
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