The Original Alibi mk-1 Page 19

  I stood up across from him. “You’re staying. Sit back down. I’ve got one more tape for you to hear, and you’ll want to hear this one.”

  “So, now I get to listen to Mr. and Mrs. Yarbrough talking about being bribed to confirm my being in Split Pea Anderson’s at the time my Ileana was murdered? Same old, same old, Kile.”

  “This is one you don’t know about, Eddie. I think you’ll find it fascinating.”

  Eddie looked disgusted, but he sat back down, crossing his legs, curiosity leaking from his pores. I put in the tape of him and me talking outside the apartment building where his date lived.

  It had played only a few seconds when he sat upright. “Where did you get that?”

  “That was me you were talking with. I taped my own conversation with you. I think you should hear it all. Then we’ll talk some more.”

  He had been there, but I wanted him to hear just how clearly he had confirmed hiring Podkin to kidnap and batter me. I knew the general was also listening. It would be tough for him to hear, but the general personified toughness and he needed a straight shot of what his grandson had grown into. How Eddie had agreed to pay a bribe to keep the police and his grandfather from hearing the tape. The charges against him through this tape were serious, but they didn’t establish murder or even connect Eddie to the Ileana Corrigan homicide.

  “Kile, you’ve got me on paying Podkin and being responsible for your getting worked over. If you turn it over to the cops, my attorney will fight it on the grounds that I incriminated myself without my knowledge as I didn’t know you were taping our conversation. Now, I know you don’t have anything that ties me to Ileana’s murder. You can’t. So, can I leave without you doing the fight club routine again?”

  We sat staring at each other for several minutes.

  “Get out of here.”

  Chapter 35

  Charles came in after Eddie left and offered to bring me an Irish or something to eat. The kitchen staff had just made a batch of roast beef sandwiches for the crew of the outside landscaping service. Their men had been working to thin and shape a group of trees in the front yard arranged in a quincunx.

  “That would be nice, Charles. I’ll take both. And please join me. I need to kick some things around and I’d like your thinking. Can you do that?”

  “Give me fifteen minutes. I’ll let the kitchen know to make up a tray while I go check on the general. I’ll come back with our lunch.” I nodded and Charles left the study, closing the door.

  Fifteen minutes later, Charles reopened the door to the study and held it so the maid could carry in a tray that held two plates with sandwiches and potato salad, two glasses of water, my usual and a glass of beer for Charles.

  Through lunch we spoke of the general’s condition, and of Christmas approaching without the shopping being finished, an annual state of affairs for most Americans. Also of the status of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the excitement their new owners had brought to their fan base.

  When we finished, Charles wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Well, Mr. Kile, how can I be of help?”

  “Charles, we’ve become friends and I’d like to talk with you about how this case got solved.” His eyes went wide when he heard me say, solved. “That’s right; I’ve found the killer of Eddie’s fiancee and his child. I have an accessory to the murder held incommunicado. When I leave here I will go to the police. I fully expect they will return to arrest Karen.”

  “What?”

  “I’m sorry, Charles. Karen, in concert with Cliff, who this morning has made a deal to avoid prosecution, killed Ileana. She is also guilty of trying to hire me to kill Eddie. These efforts were designed to move her to the top spot in the general’s will.”

  “That explains why Cliff didn’t come to work this morning and isn’t answering his phone.”

  “Cliff has given sworn testimony as to how he helped Karen kill Ileana. At her direction, he bribed Cory Jackson and Tommie Montoya to create witnesses against Eddie. She wanted Eddie convicted of murder and discredited in the general’s eyes, expecting the general would denounce Eddie so she would inherit the bulk of the estate. All that occurred eleven years ago. Just recently he helped her again by killing Cory Jackson. This eliminated the only person who claimed to witness the murder. Cliff hired one of his biker buddies to abduct and beat me. Their plan, to keep me out of commission until the general died, knowing that once the general passed away, I would be paid some nominal amount and dismissed. At that point, she would have gotten away with murder and become extremely wealthy. She promised Cliff that he would live that life with her. After we talked with him, he understood that Karen has no intention of marrying him. Instead, she would count on his remaining quiet to avoid his own arrest for murder.”

  “But given what you said, she would not have constructed an alibi for Eddie. She would have wanted him convicted.”

  “That was the burr under her saddle. She loved the general and had no desire to watch him suffer while his grandson was being convicted of murder. She saw Eddie as the weak man he is, and expected he would become a sniveling coward once arrested, begging the general to save him. That the general would be ashamed of him and either cut him out of his will or give the two of them equal shares. She would have been satisfied with that. I think she also loves Eddie. After all, they are family.”

  “Why would Cliff confess to this? ”

  “After the Yarbroughs told their story to the police about their dog being shot, the police reopened the case. Cliff was a sharpshooter in the military. He knew Podkin who abducted me. He likely had biker friends who would kill Ileana. I had to tell the police about Karen offering me a lavish life if I would kill Eddie. They kept pressed Cliff and he made a deal to save himself by giving them a more sensational killer, Karen. ”

  Charles just sat there in a slouch, as if someone had magically removed the largest bones from his body. After more than a minute, he muttered, “I don’t believe it. No. I just don’t believe it. She couldn’t have done it.”

  “You know the saying, follow the money. The world sees her as the general’s daughter, while Eddie is a grandson. She became jealous, insanely jealous. She believed she was entitled. I will have to testify that she offered me a wealthy life with her if I would kill Eddie before the general died. I’m sorry, Charles. With Cliff and my testimony, it’s open and shut as they say. All I need do is call Sergeant Fidgery. He has already heard Cliff’s confession. It’s in motion. She will be in custody before the sun goes down. Again, I’m sorry, Charles. I know what this means to you. But this can’t be swept under the table.”

  “She couldn’t have done it, Mr. Kile.”

  “I didn’t want to believe it myself. There is no evidence to the contrary. Nothing.”

  Charles remained slumped in his chair, his bones still missing. “I did it,” he mumbled. Then he looked up. “I killed Ileana. I bribed the witnesses. I did all of it, except for whomever hired Podkin to detain you. My guess is Eddie did that. He believed you were trying to prove he had been guilty, that you wanted to help Karen that way. The key Podkin had to get into the building on 22nd had to come from one of us. No one else would have access.”

  “If you did kill Ileana, you would not have provided Eddie an alibi. You would have only framed him.”

  “Like you said about Karen, I couldn’t bring myself to let Eddie be convicted. Oh, I didn’t give a moment’s concern to Eddie. I love the general and could not bring about the death or life imprisonment of his grandson. I couldn’t let him lose all three, his son, Ben, his grandson, and his great grandson. I gambled that, once arrested, Eddie would come apart. The general would see him for what he was and give Karen an appropriate portion of his estate. In the worst case, what the general was leaving me, the two million I had that he paid for the alibi, and the two and a half million he was leaving Karen, even without an adjustment, would take care of us well enough. He has talked with me many times about doing that, and it would not have taken much for
him to make that decision. Had Eddie fallen apart as I expected, the general, well, he has never had any tolerance for weakness in men. But Eddie held up better than I expected and that did not transpire.”

  “I understand your reason for confessing. But, it’s no sale. Sergeant Fidgery will come for Karen as soon as I call him. Are you able to continue with your duties? Care for the general, I mean. If not, I’ll arrange for someone right away.”

  I had Axel on standby. He had spent part of the morning getting groceries for Clara Birnbaum. Buddha was on standby to bring him if I called.

  Charles’s cell phone rang. He answered it. After a brief pause, Charles said, “Right away, General.” Then he turned to me. “The general, sir, has instructed me to bring Eddie and Karen to the study. I suggested we come to him, but he insisted we always use the study for family business. He has asked me to attend and wishes that you stay. He is coming down in his chair and said he can handle it with the elevator.”

  I nodded.

  “Mr. Kile, this is not over. I will make a full confession and I can provide support including the whereabouts of the two million the general paid me for the alibi. Karen will be released.”

  “It’s with the cops now,” I said, “and the district attorney.”

  “If there is nothing else at the moment, Mr. Kile, I should go and get Eddie and Karen to head down here.” Charles bowed slightly, and left.

  I wasn’t sure, hell, I had no idea why the general wanted this meeting. The one thing I knew that Charles didn’t was that the general had heard my conversation with him and also with Eddie. I assumed the general, used to being in command, could not see this play out with him on the sidelines.

  We would soon know.

  Chapter 36

  Karen came in first and walked over to me clearly unsure of herself after my having tossed her fanny out of my condo the last time we were together. “What’s going on, Matt?”

  “I have no idea. Your father has asked us all to assemble. He’s on his way down. Given his health, I assume he has something final he wishes to say to you all. He asked that I stay.”

  Eddie came in and when Karen saw his confused expression, she shrugged, adding, “The general wants to talk with us all. That’s all we know.”

  Charles came in a moment later, leaving the double doors to the study open wide. A minute or so later, the general wheeled through the open doors. Charles walked over to him. When he got close, the general took his hand out from under his lap blanket. In it he held his Welrod British pistol. The one reportedly stolen years ago. He raised it and without hesitation shot Charles in the chest. Then he worked the bolt-action and shot him a second time.

  The general had heard Charles confess and believed him as I did. It was too late for me to do anything, for anyone to do anything. It happened too quickly, too unexpectedly. I draped a napkin over my hand, went to him and took the Welrod with my fingers. I put the British assassin’s pistol on the table; the smell of the firing still flavoring the air.

  The general wheeled himself around Charles’s body and positioned himself so we were looking at him and not Charles.

  He looked directly at Eddie. “Charles killed Ileana and your son, my great grandson. He deserved to die and I wanted to be certain the sentence was carried out in my lifetime. He got swift, certain justice. We need more of that.”

  “But,” Karen said, “but how do we know?”

  “It’s true,” I said. “It all fits. Charles killed them. He spoke to Jackson, Montoya and the Yarbroughs using his own voice, none of them knew him. He disguised his voice to that of a woman when he called the general to sell the alibi, and the second call telling him to throw the satchel with the extortion money over the cliff.” I looked at the general. He nodded.

  “But,” Karen said, waving her arms, “that doesn’t prove Charles was the killer.”

  “Karen, I’m sorry to be blunt. There isn’t enough time to do otherwise. Charles was your father. Your birth father anyway. He felt you were entitled to more of the estate. You lived as the general’s daughter and treated him with respect and dignity. To the contrary, Eddie did nothing to show love for his grandfather. Before you condemn the general, you should recall that you offered me a chance to do something similar. Your reason was greed. The general’s reason was justice.”

  “I always suspected it was one of us,” Eddie said. “That ate at me. But given the friction between us, Mr. Kile, why would you not conclude I was the killer?”

  “I was investigating a murder, not judging a popularity contest. You don’t have the stomach for murder. Now before you feel insulted, don’t be. Not having the stomach to kill for any reason is not something to be ashamed of.”

  “But why not me?” Karen asked. “I mean, after I asked you-” She stopped, letting her words hang up in her throat.

  “If you had killed Ileana, you could have simply killed Eddie as well, but you couldn’t kill Eddie, he was family. You would have expected Eddie to come apart after being arrested, and humiliate himself in front of the general who would then amend his will. That is exactly what Charles anticipated. But Eddie has more inside than any of us gave him credit for having, and held it together through that ordeal. Later, with the general dying and the will not changed, time was running out and you became desperate enough to approach me. As for Cliff, had he helped you kill Ileana, your relationship with him could not have lingered on the same level it has for these past eleven years. And, had he killed for you before, you would have used him to kill Eddie, not come to me. You’re guilty of nothing more than greed poisoning you into inviting me to murder Eddie. In the end, you wouldn’t have gone through with it. You couldn’t kill Eddie, but Charles had several years of covert action behind enemy lines.” Before I finished, Karen had begun nodding.

  “Mr. Kile,” Eddie said, “if Charles killed Ileana, why would he frame me and also provide an alibi for my release? The frame alone would have gotten me out of the way.”

  “Charles saw himself in a difficult position. All Karen’s life, he had given up knowing her as his daughter for one purpose, to afford her the opportunity to share in the general’s estate. He dedicated himself to the belief she was entitled. His conflict came from his concurrent devotion to the general. He could not bring himself to be the cause of you going to prison for life or possibly being put to death. Juries can be incensed when unborn children are murdered. So, Charles crafted a solution that adequately balanced the things he held dear. He expected you would fall apart upon being arrested. And the general, after seeing you crying and begging, would reconsider the division of his estate.”

  Eddie stood up, lowered his head and stayed quiet, then spoke calmly. “Mr. Kile, I see no reason for our calling the police. Nothing here will be changed for the general, only for the rest of us. The general will never see a prison. Likely never even a courtroom. If you agree, what can we do?”

  “Karen, do you agree with what Eddie just said? I understand this is all very confusing and difficult for you, not to mention sudden.”

  She sat still for what seemed longer than it was. Then she nodded, at first almost unnoticeably, then stronger. “Yes, nothing will be accomplished by bringing the police in. I was nearly as guilty as Char-my father. How should we handle it?”

  I disassembled the Welrod and wrapped in a newspaper and handed it to Eddie. “Drive over the Terminal Island Bridge and toss this piece by piece. Stop in an empty lot several miles off the route you drive and burn the newspaper. Then come back immediately. We call the police when you return. Karen, you and Eddie were in here with the general. The shot came from outside, through the opened door. I arrived about five minutes later. After I helped settle things, I spent some time looking around outside. Then we called the police.”

  “Why can’t we just say you were here with us the whole time?”

  “Because of my police background, Sergeant Fidgery would expect me to have behaved in a certain manner. I would have taken flight outside i
mmediately, before the shooter could get away without being seen. No. My skills cannot have been here. You two were shocked. Stunned. Dumbfounded. You did nothing. You just froze. I arrived after the murder of the general’s longtime friend and loyal staff man.”

  The general spoke for the first time. “This isn’t necessary. Call the police. I will confess.”

  “General. No. You don’t want to saddle Eddie and Karen with having to deal with this. You will never be tried, and never imprisoned. Truth is, you simply don’t have enough time left for any real legal proceeding. You don’t want this hanging over them forever. Scandal sheet gossip, talk shows, my guess is even a made-for-TV movie. There could be legal challenges to your will, who knows. Don’t make this your legacy to them. If you insist on confessing, the fact that Karen is not your daughter will come out. After that she will always be known as the daughter of the man who killed General Whittaker’s great grandson. You don’t want that for her.”

  I explained that Cliff had been absent at my instruction. That he had remained loyal to the family and his not being around should in no way be held against him. I also advised them to not share what really happened with Cliff. It will provide no benefit, and each person who knows stretches the rubber band closer to the breaking point.

  Eddie walked over to the general. “Grandfather, Mr. Kile is right. We need to get moving. Do it his way.” The general looked up and said, “Okay, Eddie.”

  “And, Grandfather,” Eddie said, “Karen is your daughter. That is how she was raised. It is time for all this to stop poisoning this family. Please contact Reginald Franklin and have him revise your will to provide equal portions for Karen and myself. Charles, of course, should no longer be included, but Cliff should and also Ileana’s parents, just as you have them now. Have Franklin bring your new will here immediately for your signature.” The general started to speak, but Eddie put his hand on the general’s shoulder. “Grandfather, your will has caused too much pain, too many suspicions among us all. I’m sorry for the way I have acted. It’s time I grow up, past time. I want you to do this.”