B is for Burglar

"You'll have to pardon me," he said, "the doctor has me on some medicine that does this to me. I'm on disability for my back. What is it exactly that you want?"

"I've just recently been assigned to this case and I thought it might be helpful to hear your own account of what happened that night."

"What on earth for!" Mrs. Howe said.

"That's all right, Lily," he broke in, "I don't mind. I'm sure she's got her reasons for wanting to know." His voice was stronger now, dispelling the original impression of feebleness.

He took a deep drag of his cigarette, letting it rest in the fork between his index and third fingers.

"My sister's widowed," he said, as though that might explain her belligerence. "Mr. Howe died of a heart attack eighteen months ago. After that, Marty and I got in the habit of taking Lil out to dinner every week. Mostly it was a way to keep up with each other and visit back and forth. Well that night, Marty planned to go as usual, but she said she felt like she was coming down with the flu, so at the last minute she decided to stay home. It was Lil's birthday and Marty was disappointed because she knew we were going to have a little cake brought to the table and waiters singing… you know how they do. She wanted to see the look on Lily's face. Anyway, she felt if she wasn't well, she might spoil everybody's evening so she didn't go." He paused, taking a deep drag of his cigarette. He'd accumulated a long ash and Lily pushed an ashtray toward him just as it tumbled.

"Did you tend to go out the same night of the week each time?" I asked.

He nodded. "Tuesdays as a rule."

I made a note dutifully on the legal pad on my clipboard. I hoped I looked like I had some legitimate reason to be asking all this stuff. I pretended to consult a form or two, flipping back a page. I thought the clipboard was a nice touch. I guess Lily did too. She peered over, wanting to see me write down something she said too. '

"That's the best night for me," she ventured. "I get my hair done on Tuesdays and I like to go out when it's looking nice."

"Hair on Tues.," I wrote. "How many people knew you went out on Tuesday nights?"

Leonard's eyes slid over to mine with a curious look. The medication had opened his pupils to the full, perfect black holes that looked like they'd been made with a paper punch.

"Pardon?"

"I wondered how many people knew about your nights out. If the intruder was someone you knew, he might have thought she'd be out with you as usual."

His expression flickered with uncertainty. "I don't understand what this has to do with the insurance claim," he said.

I had to be careful how I framed my reply because he'd put his finger on the flaw in my charade. My questions had nothing to do with anything except trying to figure out if

Elaine could have seen a murder. So far, I didn't even know what had actually happened that night and I was trying to weasel the information out of him. Lieutenant Dolan wasn't going to tell me, that was for sure.

I smiled briefly, keeping my tone light. "Naturally we're interested in seeing this crime solved," I said. "We may need a determination on the case before the claim is paid."

Lily glanced at Leonard and then back to me, alerted by his wariness. "What kind of 'determination'?" she asked. "I don't understand what you mean."

Leonard shifted back to his original attitude. "Now, Lil, it can only help," he said. "The insurance company wants to get to the bottom of this just like we do. The police haven't done anything on it for months." He glanced at me again. "You'll have to pardon Lil…"

She flashed him a look. "Don't apologize for me when I'm sitting right here," she snapped. "You're too trusting, Leonard. That's what's wrong with you. Marty was the same way. If she'd been a little more cautious, she might be alive today!"

She faltered, clamping her mouth shut, then surprised me by filling in some details. "She was on the phone to me that night and someone came to the door. She rang off to see who it was."

He chimed in. "The police said it's possible she knew the person, or it might have been someone off the street. Police said a lot of times a burglar rings the bell if the lights are on. If someone answers the door, he can act like he's got the wrong address. Nobody answers, he might go ahead and break in."

"Were there signs of a struggle?"

"I don't think so," Leonard said. "Not that I ever heard. I went through the house myself, but I couldn't see anything missing."