Red Man Down(19)

‘Except Cecelia seemed to think she had an idea. I got the impression she had shared her thoughts with you and you didn’t disagree.’

He lifted both hands in a helpless gesture. ‘What’s the use? Might as well stand in front of an avalanche as disagree with Cecelia.’

Sarah and Oscar kept their eyes on him and waited.

He did a funny little flouncing maneuver that Sarah would not have thought possible in a hammock. ‘But she’s partly right.’

The two detectives waited again while Chico poured the last of his beer down his throat, took one more fierce drag from his cigarette and dropped it sizzling into the can. ‘For different reasons we both think the one who got the money was his wife.’

Oscar said, ‘Eddie’s wife?’

‘Yes, of course Eddie’s. Frank’s wife died years ago, don’t you remember that?’

‘Yes, yes … why does Cecelia think Angela’s got it?’

‘Angela was working in the credit union   – she had access. She could have forged Frank’s signature on the receipts.’

Sarah said, ‘Mr García—’

‘Chico. Everybody calls me Chico.’

‘OK, Chico. But where’s the evidence? Has Angela taken nice trips, or bought a new car?’

‘No.’

‘Has she paid off the house?’

‘No, apparently not.’

‘Then why does she think Angela got the money?’

‘Cecelia thinks she’s hiding it somewhere. Partly it’s just anger. Cecelia says she never fit in, and she always spoiled everything for Eddie. She was jealous of his family – she wanted Eddie all to herself.’

‘What did she spoil?’

‘Well … we’re a big family, we share birthdays and holidays, help each other out when there’s an emergency. Till Angela came along, Eddie and Frank could always be counted on when somebody moved house or had a baby.’

‘Or needed a loan?’

‘That too. But Angela seemed to resent our closeness – she wanted Eddie to herself. She would always say they were too busy to move the furniture, they couldn’t afford potlucks right now, they had no money to spare.’

‘I can see why that would hurt. But what has it got to do with the missing money?’

‘Cecelia says Angela got Eddie to rescue her from her stupid job in the used clothing store and help her get a job with Frank at the credit union  . Then, when the going got rough and Eddie wrecked his car and got fired, she divorced him and kept the house they bought together.’

‘I don’t see how that shows she got the bank money.’

He suddenly laughed. ‘Now that I say it out loud, you’re right, it sounds ridiculous. I told you, Cecelia has no proof, just a strong feeling.’

‘What do you think?’

‘About the marriage part, I think nobody understands anybody else’s marriage and we should just accept the fact that Eddie was crazy about Angela and quit trying to figure it out.’

‘Fair enough. But you have different reasons for suspecting her? Tell me about that.’

‘She left the bank soon after Frank killed himself. And she went back to that used clothing store Eddie rescued her from. Do you realize what a steep drop in living standards that caused her? Much harder work, lower salary, no benefits? Why would she do that? Unless she has money we don’t know about, she must be very hard up. I think the management at the credit union   must have suspected her too, forced her out somehow and refused to give her a reference.’

‘But you don’t know.’

‘No, but you could find out, couldn’t you?’

‘Yes. Anything else?’

Darkness was falling, the streetlights coming on. In Chico’s yard, one tiny bulb burned above his patio entrance, but didn’t produce enough light to brighten the space under the ramada. In deep shadow, Chico fished in the cooler and came out with another can. ‘I guess if I’m honest,’ he said as he wiped it off on his blanket, ‘I’d have to admit I want her to be the guilty party because I just don’t like her. She can’t be trusted.’

‘That’s refreshingly candid,’ Sarah said. ‘Any reasons you want to share?’

Chico waved his drink vaguely. ‘Have you talked to her yet?’

‘Tomorrow.’

He smiled. ‘You’ll see what I mean,’ he said.





FIVE


At the station on Tuesday morning Ollie Greenaway had everybody’s attention – for a while. He’d attended yesterday’s autopsy, and while the written report was not ready yet, he felt certain he already knew what would be in it. Unlike some detectives who had to keep a stern watch on themselves to get through an autopsy without hurling, Ollie got rosy and cheerful at his. He enjoyed the precision of the work the doctors did, and was always glad to draw that assignment.