The Yoshinobu Mysteries: Volume 2 Read online

  “We havent been able to get in touch with Saul. Do you know where he might be?”

  “Sure. He called me just before you arrived. Hes in Hawaii. Noelle and he were planning a vacation about now, and they thought it might be a good idea to go over and see Ruth and Ken. Saul and Noelle will be just as willing to help out as we are.”

  “You were aware Ken had a hand gun, werent you?”

  “I knew he had one a few years back. It was an old forty-five automatic, something of a collectors item. His Dad was the one who owned it originally. Ken brought it out to the range where some of us were doing target practice.” Pat gave a short laugh. “It was really intended for hunting bear rather than target shooting.”

  “Have you seen it since.”

  Pat shook his head.

  “Who helped Ruth pack up when she moved to Hawaii?”

  Sid thought he detected a slight hesitation before Pat answered. “All of us” “All of you?”

  “Not Ken, come to think of it. He was off at some conference. I think it was in Washington. And not Clayton. There was no love lost between him and Ruth.”

  Andrea broke in. “I wasnt up to doing much in the way of packing, but I was there along with Pat, Saul and Noelle.”

  “Did either of you see Kens gun while you were there?”

  The couple both paused and seemed to be trying to avoid looking at each other. Andrea was the first to reply. Her “no” was emphatic. Pat shook his head.

  Sid now faced the most difficult part of the interview. There was never any satisfactory way to ask friendly witnesses where they were at the time of the crime. He solved the problem by asking the question directly.

  Pat laughed. “You can cross Andrea off. I dropped her at the hospital at San Francisco at eight in the morning for her treatment.”

  “You can cross Pat off,” Andrea said.“He drove back here, worked on one of his inventions and called me twice during the day. He even came back to San Francisco the next morning to pick me up.

  Sid made a quick calculation. The direct flight from San Francisco to Honolulu, which Pat could have caught comfortably, left at one-thirty West Coast Time to arrive at Honolulu Airport at three-thirty, Hawaii Time. If Pat was the murderer, he would have had to catch the one-thirty flight. The last flight back from Honolulu would have gotten him into San Francisco in the early morning hours, with plenty of time to pick Andrea up at the hospital.

  The interview continued for another half hour when Sid finally became convinced the bases were as covered as they could be.

  As he was about to leave, one last line of questioning occurred to him. “Who else might have known Clayton was going to Hawaii?”

  Pat shook his head, and looked at Andrea.

  Andrea hesitated, then said. “Its just possible Celia Lincoln might have known.”

  “Celia Lincoln?”

  “Thats a possibility,” Pat added. “Celia Lincoln was our office manager at work for a short while when we first formed the corporation.”

  “Why would she know?”

  “Shes Claytons ex-wife.”

  Chapter 18

  Theyre a nice looking family, Kay thought, as Sarah and Chet both went over to where Ruth was sitting.

  Ruth introduced Kay as Kens attorney.

  “Do you work for my Daddy?” Sarah asked.

  Kay, who always felt rather uncomfortable around children, looked to Ruth and Chet. Ruth stood up and rescued her. “Yes. Mrs. Yoshinobu is doing some work for your father. Now you come along and well do a little cleaning up, and then well check out the refrigerator.”

  Sarah had one parting question. “Whens Daddy coming over to visit us again?”

  “Soon, Sarah.” Very soon, if I have anything to say about it, Kay thought, having been immediately taken by the child who seemed to so much have her mothers looks and positive qualities. “Hes busy right now.”

  As soon as Ruth and Sarah had passed out of earshot, Chet said, “Ruth told me youd be here this afternoon. We were both appalled when we heard about what happened. I met Ken only once, but Im sure he couldnt possibly have murdered anyone. Ruth and I have already agreed well help out any way we can. I cant testify on his behalf because our meeting was only a brief one, but Im sure Ruth would be an excellent witness.”

  “I think you could be of some help right now. May I ask you a few questions?”

  “Of course. Go ahead.”

  “Did you know Clayton Heinicke?”

  “No. I didnt want to know him, either. Ruths hinted at some of his qualities. I told her I didnt want to hear about them.” The handsome dark face grew darker. “Maybe it was the wrong thing to do. The company psychologist is always telling the executives they should listen to the employees troubles, and I imagine the rule should apply within families. But I told Ruth I wouldnt be able to stand hearing about her being mistreated. She understands. We have a good relationship.”

  “Do you know either Saul Epstein or Pat Crosby?”

  Chet shook his head. “I worked out of San Francisco, and Computech Systems is in San Jose. Ruth still had her apartment down there when I was transferred to Honolulu, but I didnt have any contact with the firm. Auto parts and Silicon Valley dont have much in common.”

  “Did you see a hand gun in any of the boxes Ruth had sent from the Mainland?”

  “No. If I had, I would have given it to the police. I feel very strongly about having guns around where there are children.”

  Kay began to weigh the big questions. Like Sid, she felt this was always the most touchy part of any questioning of potential witnesses. How much should she risk alienating them by asking questions with obvious and embarrassing potential? As Sid had done with the Crosbys, she decided to take the plunge.

  “Could you tell me how you spent the Saturday when Ken came to visit?”

  “Sure. I kept out from underfoot. I love Sarah, but Im not about to try to take Kens place. There was a big backlog of work at the office, so I figured this would be a chance to catch up. It was eight something when I got home. It came as a surprise to hear Ken had gone back that night. Id assumed he would stay the weekend.”

  Kay made some quick calculations. There was a seven-thirty flight from Napua to Honoluluthe last flight. The departure time could have allowed enough time to get home by eight “something” since traffic would have been light. It was also be more than enough time to commit a murder at the Malalani shortly after seven and still make it to the airport in plenty of time to catch the last plane.

  “Sarah must have been disappointed to have her father leaving so soon,” she said, deciding to work around the topic.

  “I imagine she was. I didnt get to see her that day. Fortunately for her, one of her school friends was having a birthday party the same afternoon. Ken dropped her off there on the way to the airport. She probably enjoyed herself in spite of having to say good-bye to her father. She stayed there overnight. Theres nothing like a pajama party to make young kids forget their troubles.”

  Kay made another set of quick calculations. Ken had caught the five-thirty plane. There was also a six oclock flight to Napua. It was close, but either Ruth or Chet could have flown to Elima late in the afternoon and come back the same evening…or both of them could have.

  ***

  “Putting any pieces together, Qual?”

  Qual had been surprised to see the Lieutenant drop by the office. While Hank was no

  stranger to the firm, there was always good reason for any visit, though the good reason was not readily apparent this time. “ Since the Cole case is the only one were working on which youre involved in, Hank, I take it those are the pieces youre referring to. If so, I have to admit Ive accumulated a lot of them, but about all Ive laid out so far are the four corners. Nothing much else seems to fit.”

  “ Maybe this will help to connect up some of those corners,” Hank said, handing Qual a slip of paper. “Thats the names and address of an old couple who seem pretty definite about seeing your
client on the lanai at sunset on the night of the murder. Theyve identified his photo. It doesnt clear him, by any means. They could be mistaken. Even if they arent, all it means is he wasnt in the room when room service brought up the drink.”

  “Thats progress. I appreciate your letting me know of their existence, but Im mindful of the old saying. „Beware of Portuguese, especially when bearing gifts.”

  “Not quite the way Ive heard it, but if you mean I expect something in return, youre right. I understand Sids gone to the Mainland to do some interviewing, and Kays doing same in Honolulu.”

  Qual nodded.

  “Theyre both going to tape all the interviews, I take it.”

  Qual nodded again.

  “Well, Im being torn in two different directions. Emil wants me to send someone to both places to do some background checking, and…”

  Qual interrupted, “Chief Yamada says the budget doesnt allow for any traipsing around.”

  Hank grinned. “You guessed it right off. You should be a detective.”

  Qual shook his head and returned the grin. “I wonder what one of those big shot Honolulu lawyers would think if an HPD lieutenant came in to ask for cooperation on a case the lawyer was handling.”

  “Hed never ask. Be glad you dont have your office in Honolulu.”

  “I am. I am. I tell you what. Its really Lauras case. Ill check with her and get back to you. My guess is shell go along with letting you have copies of the tapes, but she should be the one to decide. Anyhow, theres really no rush, since the case wont be going to trial for another two months.”

  “Fair enough. Tellher Ill have Emil go easy on her in court, if she plays along.”

  Qual guffawed. “Tell Emil if hes lucky, the case will never get to court.”

  *** The address wasnt hard to find. Celia Lincoln lived less than a mile away from the Crosbys. Sid had not expected her to be home that time of day, and she wasn't. Planning to come back in the evening, Sid was about to leave when he realized the building manager might be able to tell him where Celia worked.

  The building manager provided the information and did so with enthusiasm and the offer of coffee, after only the briefest look at Sids card. It was soon evident Charlie Harrigan was both lonely and garrulous. Sids scanty explanation for his own interest in Celia Lincoln had more than satisfied the manager. And it took only a few minutes of Charlies company to make Sid thankful he was not one of the managers tenants, though he was more than happy to tap this fount of information. Unfortunately, while copious and with the exception of one fair sized trout, the waters were almost devoid of fish.

  “Mrs. Lincoln, I guess Im supposed to call her Ms. Lincoln these days, is OK. Shes been living here for four, five years. I wish all the tenants were like her. Theres none of this calling at three in the morning to fix a banging screen door, and she remembers me at Christmas.”

  Sid allowed the conversation to roam over the other tenants in the apartment, the neighborhood, the thirty years in the army, the state of the world and back again to how much the area had changed in the past decade. Gradually, Sid steered the conversation once more in the general direction of Celia Lincoln, and then to her whereabouts on the weekend of the murder. While eager to help, Charlie proved unhelpful. Though probably more than happy to waylay a tenant for a long conversation, Charlie was not one to snoop, preferring to do the talking himself, and he was none too observant. He remembered the weekend, but could not say one way or the other if Celia had been there.

  Thanking Charlie for p roviding Celias address, Sid finished his coffee and started for the door.

  “Sorry I couldnt help you any,” Charlie said. Then, hating to relinquish his audience, he followed Sid to do the door, saying, “Ms. Lincoln never went much of anywhere from what I can make out, except on business trips. She never had much in the way of company, either. Only person I know of to come by recently was a pretty blonde woman. She came by a few weeks ago.”

  Sid turned to look at Charlie and raised his eyebrows.

  “I felt sorry for her. She looked real tired when she came by to ask me where she could find Ms. Lincoln.”

  “Tired?”

  “Yeah. She looked sick like. She reminded me of my wife when she was being Xrayed for her cancer and just before she died. She had a real puffy face. You know what I mean.”

  Chapter 19

  An exclusive dress shop. Sid was surprised to find such an establishment in downtown San Jose. He was equally surprised to find there was still a downtown San Jose. The drive from San Francisco seemed to be a jump from one sprawling shopping mall to another, each with its own separate access to and from the freeway, and all of them with state signs announcing their presence miles in advance to the motoring public.

  This shop was exclusive. Sid knew little about womens clothes, but there was something about the store which exuded opulence. Later, he decided it was the three customers, themselves reeking of wealth, who had convinced him of the value of the goods hanging on the racks.

  As it turned out, Celia was the manager of Fashions Unlimited, and Sid had no difficulty in persuading her to retire with him to her office in the back to talk about Clayton.

  Celia Lincoln was a tall, rather clumsy looking person with large hands. Not unattractive, she still somehow seemed unfeminine and out of place in these feminine surroundings. “You arent connected with the police, are you?” she asked, dubiously. The first thing she did when theyd settled down was to light a cigarette.

  Sid hoped the air-conditioning was working. He shook his head. “Im an attorney, representing Ken Cole. Hes been accused of Claytons murder. Im trying to find out as much as possible about Clayton Heinicke.”

  “ Seems to me you should be trying to find out as much as possible about Ken Cole,” she remarked, as she examined the business card which Sid had handed to her.

  Sid smiled. “Well leave it to the police to do that, but thats worth a question. Did you know Ken Cole?”

  Celia nodded. “Slightly. I guess you might say I worked for him. He wasnt around the office much when I was there. I do know he was married to Ruth Landry whod lived with Clay for a year or so.”

  “Is that it?”

  “Pretty much. I know the company involves a partnership, but thats about it as far as the business is concerned.”

  “Did you speak to Clayton recently?”

  “Of course. Isnt it what brought you here? He spent Thursday night at my apartment. Actually, it was Friday morning by the time he got there. It was the morning of the day he went to Hawaii.”

  The bonus he had suddenly uncovered caught Sid off guard, but he recovered quickly enough to benefit from the discovery. “When did he make his plans to go to Hawaii?”

  “The same night, actually. Im not sure what it was all about, but he said something about combining business with pleasure. He mentioned Ken was going over there to meet a penpal. It sounded wild to me, and Clay didnt know much more about it than that. I got the impression he was flying over with Ken, but maybe not.”

  Sids mind was racing. Where would an ex-wife fit into the picture? Now there was the possibility Ken and Clayton had been on the same plane. At first he dismissed the thought as unlikely since Laura had been at the airport to meet Ken, then he began to wonder if it had not been remotely possible.

  “Are you sure he flew out on Friday morning?”

  “No, it couldnt have been Friday morning because he didnt leave here until late in the morning. He might have been planning to go home to Carmel first and pick up a change of clothes. So, I doubt if he got away until late Friday or Saturday.”

  Sid could see nothing of great significance in the information, but the role of the exwife plagued him, especially one where she had apparently renewed her relationship with the victim. In any event, she showed no signs of being broken up by the loss of her partnerex or not.

  Celia seemed to sense what he was thinking. “Clay and Iwerent having an affair. Id had enough of his kinkiness back
when we were married. The current relationship was strictly platonic. I didnt mind his coming by once in a while, but there was no way I would have taken him back.”

  Sid sensed more than passing bitterness in those remarks, and decided to shift the topic to his discovery of the previous hour.

  “Do you know Pat and Andrea Crosby?”

  “Sure. As I said, I worked for the firm when it started. I was between jobs, and Clay called me up. He wanted to know if Id give them a hand in organizing the office. I was there for about six weeks or so. Pat was around the office more than Ken, and thats how I met Andrea. She dropped by there once or twice.”

  “Have you seen anything of her lately?”

  Celia smiled with just the right half of her face. “Youre not terribly subtle, Mr. Chu. Its obvious you know weve seen each other recently. Isnt it what you really wanted to see me about?”

  Sid dodged the question by asking another.“Do you mind telling me when, and the reason?”

  She shrugged and took a long puff on her cigarette. “I suppose I should refer you to Andrea, but shes got enough problems without my pushing you off on her. She came by a couple of weeks ago. I think she found out where I work, the same way you did.”

  She smiled, this time with her full face. Sid suddenly found her to be surprisingly attractive. “Charlie should run an information service. It must have been a couple of weeks before all this other stuff happened. Yes, Im sure. It was the Monday after I flew to New York. She came into the store, and I hardly recognized her. She looked awfully weak. I invited her back here, and we sat and chatted about nothing in particular for a few moments. Then she got to the reason why she wanted to see me.”

  “Clayton?”

  “Exactly. She wanted to know what I knew about the partnership arrangement at Computech Systems. Im afraid I wasnt much help. I was strictly an office manager in a one-employee office.”

  “Did you find out why she wanted to know about the partnership agreement?”