GUNNED

  Now here’s the thing. I’m petrified of dolls. And clowns. There is nothing creepier on the face of the earth than dolls and clowns. And this room, the room I was in with the locked door, and the odd man dressed in a doctor’s lab coat, was full of them. Hundreds of them ready to pounce the moment I turned my back.

  “Lovely, aren’t they,” Jerry Spiegel said from behind me, causing me to gasp loudly. His warm breath was right on the back of my neck. Any second now the guy was going to taser me, I just knew it.

  “Wh…wh…what are they doing here?” I finally squeaked out.

  “They’re my life. Well, they have been for the last five years. I’m a doll doctor. People send me their precious babies from all over the country and I fix them. When you arrived I was just about to begin work on Delphine. Poor thing. She suffers from CCD and needs my undivided attention.”

  “CCD?” Annie asked, then looked at me with wide eyes.

  “Oh, yes, I’m sorry. CCD. Cracked composition disease. She was made before they started using hard plastic. She has these fine cracks. It’s called crazing, and I need to sand her down and then repaint her. It’s a very painstaking process and needs my complete concentration.”

  “Oh. Uh-huh,” I said, staring at Jerry and his pursed lips, which were now curved into a freaky smile that was actually more disturbing than the dolls, if that was at all possible. There was nowhere else to look except at him or his precious babies. I was breaking out in a sweat.

  “Is there somewhere else we could talk, maybe the kitchen?” Please God, just get me out of this room.

  “Come into my work room while I prep Delphine. We can talk there.”

  Annie grabbed onto my arm and whispered in my ear. “Alex, I do not like this. He is crazy, no?”

  I nodded and mouthed, just a few minutes more, while I wiped sweat from my face with the sleeve of my shirt. We followed Jerry down the hall and into a room with a small table covered in a sheet that looked like a miniature hospital operating table. There was a rolling cart full of instruments and one of those bright lights they use at the dentist office. Was this guy for real? Were we on some TV show with a hidden camera?

  Now here’s another thing. In all the conversations I’d had so far, not one person mentioned the dolls. I would have thought that Jackie might have said something like the man plays with dolls. Or Andrea. What about her? Hadn’t she mentioned something about her uncle being odd? Couldn’t she have finished that thought with the addition of a few more words, something on the order of, don’t talk to him. He’s crazy. But no.

  And then there was my husband. My soon-to-be-ex-husband. Surely he had interviewed Jerry Spiegel here, in this house, and he knew Annie and I would eventually end up contacting the man. John was well aware of our not-so-secret investigation and yet he never mentioned the dolls even though he knew of my phobia. Oh, yes, John Van der Burg was toast.

  “This is Delphine,” Jerry said, stopping me from further pursuing my musings of exactly how I would inflict unbearable pain upon my husband when I got home. “She came to me from a woman in Minnesota. Delphine was handed down to her from her great grandmother, who originally found Delphine in Poland. She has one of the worst cases of CCD I’ve ever seen, poor dear. Be still, Delphine, this won’t hurt. Now, how can I help you?” he said turning his attention to me.

  I looked at Annie. She had her arms crossed and her head down. I couldn’t tell if she was trying not to scream or laugh.

  I watched Jerry sand an area on the doll’s upper leg and then wipe away the residue with a cotton swab dipped in some solution.

  “Your brother showed up out of the blue, is that correct?” I wanted to establish the fact that if Jerry killed Sheldon, it couldn’t have been pre-meditated, though I don’t know why I bothered. One look at this place and any lawyer would shoot for an insanity plea immediately.

  “Yes, that’s right. He just knocked on my door with no notice and at a most inopportune time. Delphine had just arrived and I was anxious to start on her repairs.” Jerry resumed the sanding process again, gently moving the paper over the doll’s leg in an almost erotic way. Delphine was looking straight at me, ready to attack the minute I turned my back.

  “Uh-huh. So, tell me what his mood was? Did he tell you why he was in town?”

  “My brother and I didn’t talk much. We weren’t that close as children. Do you know who the Smothers Brothers were? Perhaps before your time, but they had a comedy routine. One brother was always saying that their mother liked the other brother better. That’s how it was with Sheldon and me. Mother always liked Sheldon better. It made it difficult to get close when one feels shunned in favor of another. But in truth, with the passing of time, I saw that Sheldon was a good man. He was a decent man and he had honor. I don’t know why things happen in life, and maybe it was because I felt I had to fight for every bit of attention, but I became more devious and manipulative. These traits did not serve me well in my relationships, and so as you see, I am alone. But Sheldon wanted to make amends. Jackie told him I wasn’t well. I have heart problems, you see, among other things, and so Sheldon showed up on my doorstep. It was a very Sheldon thing to do.”

  “So you were happy to see him?” I asked.

  “Happy? No, not particularly. I’m also a petty man and Sheldon had everything in life that I thought I should have had. My resentment of my brother has lasted all these years. He offered to help me out financially if I got too sick, and he said I could stay with them in North Carolina if I would like. I knew he didn’t want me there, but like I said, my brother was an honorable man. He was willing to put everything aside to help me no matter his true feelings. You see, there was an incident with Jackie. Just a few more minutes, Delphine. Jackie and I had a relationship way back. She of course went back to Sheldon. She really did love him. And in retrospect, I guess she was right. They’ve been together all these years. I’ve lived a rather solitary life, but now I have my dolls. They keep me busy and restoring them brings in some added income to my retirement. I was an analyst for many years, but with my declining health I chose to retire. Both Sheldon and I inherited some land. He still has his and I guess now it will go to Jackie, but I sold mine for a nice profit. It helps.”

  “What did you think of your brother’s desire to find his biological child?” I asked, my head down, looking at my shoes. Anything was better than looking at the evil Delphine or the pursed, almost purple lips of Jerry.

  “I wasn’t at all convinced he was correct, but he assured me tests were done. Andrea was a nice child and so like her mother that I couldn’t believe she wasn’t their real daughter. I admit I didn’t have much contact with her in years, but I always thought of them as the perfect family.” The sanding became agitated. “I let Sheldon stay here. I was surprised he wanted to. He could have well afforded a hotel, but he said it was time we buried the hatchet and made amends. I didn’t care one way or the other. I told him he could stay, just stay out of my way so I could do my work. There. Perfect. See, Delphine. It didn’t hurt at all.”

  “I understand Jackie came to see you. Any chance you two could rekindle your relationship?” I felt certain Jackie had no desire to take up with Jerry, but I was interested to see where his thoughts stood on the subject of a possible romance.

  Jerry waved a hand in a dismissive fashion. “Water under the bridge, as they say. And besides, for Jackie, well, she was lonely all those years ago. And for me, the only joy came from knowing I had taken something of Sheldon’s. It was never a love match. I have my work, and she has her life. She came by to collect Sheldon’s things and I have to admit that there was no feeling there at all.”

  “Well, thank you for your time,” I said, and turned to leave. Annie was way ahead of me.

  “There is one thing,” Jerry said, causing us to turn back. “It probably means nothing. Sheldon and I were having a coffee one night. The last night I saw him, as a matter of fact, so it must have been Monday. It was rather late. He was looking at th
e newspapers I had sitting on the end table and I was watching TV. I love Jeopardy and record it so I can view it later without all the commercials. And all of a sudden he said, another lie. I should have known. And then he went to bed.”

  “That’s it? Did he say anything else? What lie? Did it have something to do with an answer on Jeopardy?”

  Jerry shook his head. “I have no idea. That was it. I called after him, but he just went upstairs and was gone in the morning. I never saw him again.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  “He’s a strange one, no?” Annie said back in the car. “And he does not seem to have much feeling for his brother.”

  “Yes, he is definitely different, and he certainly had a big chip on his shoulder where Sheldon was concerned,” I agreed.

  Jerry Spiegel was an odd duck, to be sure, but at the same time, what was wrong with being odd? But did he have to restore dolls? Couldn’t he have taken up gardening? But I guess someone had to do it, though I wish they wouldn’t. Just let them rot and bury them for good. And, okay, he did talk to them, but I talked to my house plant and it seemed to thrive. I felt bad for thinking Jerry was crazy. Perhaps a nicer word was eccentric. And lonely.

  “I think he’s just lonely. Sounds like he grew up feeling he was second best at everything, or worse still, not worth anything at all. So he talks to dolls,” I said with a shrug.

  “Perhaps Sheldon insulted Delphine or made fun of Jerry and his dolls. Do you think that would be a reason to kill?” Annie asked.

  I shrugged again. “Well, if Sheldon was mean about his brother’s hobby, coupled with a lifetime of feeling inferior to the man, maybe Jerry snapped, but according to what he just told us, it doesn’t sound like Sheldon would be so petty and mean spirited. Jerry’s been jealous of his brother all these years. Why would he all of a sudden decide to kill him now?”

  “Opportunity,” Annie said. “They did not see each other often, but with Sheldon’s arrival back in Connecticut, a perfect opportunity presented itself.”

  “Maybe.” It sounded flimsy to me. Could Jerry have been sitting at home all these years waiting for his brother to knock on his door so he could finally kill him? I really didn’t think so, but stranger things have happened. “Let’s stop by Shirley’s on the way home and see if she’s found out anything more on any of the suspects.”

  It was pretty much a straight shot south to Shirley’s home/office combo in Westport. She ushered us in with a big smile.

  “Did you get my messages? I left several.” Shirley looked at me and then shook her head. “Your phone’s off, right? Alex, Alex, Alex. It works so much better when it’s turned on. I guess I should have called Annie’s phone instead.”

  She had me there.

  “So what’s up? Sounds like you found something?”

  “Tea okay?”

  Annie and I nodded and Shirley went off to make tea. When she returned we settled in her living room.

  “What have you two been up to?” Shirley asked, as she passed me a mug of steaming Earl Grey. “I know you went to see Jerome Perry the other day.” She grinned at me.

  “How do you know that?”

  “Twitter. He posted a couple of comments about the snoop sisters. A couple of old broads—his words, not mine—who started stalking him. I figured he meant the two of you.”

  “Geesh. Is nothing sacred anymore? And we are not old! For goodness sake, I’m not even thirty-nine yet. Almost, but I’m not there yet.”

  Annie and Shirley both smiled at me. Okay, so maybe my impending fortieth birthday was making me a bit crazy. But I still had more than a year before I crossed that threshold. I needed to calm down.

  I got off the subject of age and told Shirley about our talk with Mr. Perry and that the police had scratched him off of their ten most wanted list.

  “And who have you been stalking today?”

  “We just came back from Danbury.”

  “The brother? The doll guy, right?”

  I looked at Shirley and sighed. “How the heck did you know that? And why didn’t you warn me first.”

  “He advertises on the Web. Restores old dolls. Don’t you like dolls?”

  “No. Not the kind he has. And he has a lot. They’re all over the place. The only good thing is I didn’t see any clowns. That would have tossed me over the edge.”

  Annie shuddered. “Very creepy.”

  “So, what do you have?” I asked, quickly dropping the doll topic.

  “You talk with Jennifer Shalt yet?” Shirley asked.

  “Yes, we did. She was the first person we spoke with after the wife. Why?”

  “Oh right, you mentioned that on Sunday. Impressions?”

  I gave Shirley a shrug and then looked at Annie. “Nothing much. She said Sheldon disrupted their Sunday dinner. Her mom got a little ruffled, but not much there, I don’t think.”

  Shirley leaned back in a well-worn chair, cradling her mug in her hands. “The Shalt’s nursery is in some serious financial trouble. They can’t keep their prices low enough to compete with the big box stores that have nursery centers. Did she tell you that?”

  “No. She didn’t say anything about the business really, one way or the other, and I’m afraid I never asked. Why? Is that important?” I thought back to the last time I had the need to go to the Shalt’s nursery and my shock when I got to the checkout counter.

  “The nursery was started by Jennifer’s great grandfather way back. It was nothing more than a farm stand selling fresh vegetables that the family grew on their land. Then things picked up, people moved into the area, etc. But the point is the land is very valuable and there’s a lot of it, and the old man was kind of a kook and thought of it as his own little kingdom. Kind of like Monaco.”

  “Meaning what?” I asked.

  “Meaning that only direct descendants could inherit the business, or the proceeds from the land, if it was ever to be sold. Not even a spouse can inherit. At least he wasn’t crazy enough to exclude female heirs. And if there aren’t any direct descendants, everything goes to some charity the old man designated.”

  “And is the family thinking of selling?”

  Shirley smiled. “My friends on the city council here in Westport get around. And I’ve been told that there’s been some interest from a three-man investment group out of New York. They want the land and some other parcels around it.”

  “So?” I reached for a cookie from a plate Shirley had set out. I still didn’t see how this had anything to do with the Spiegels.

  “So. Here comes Sheldon Spiegel with his claim that his kid was switched with another. He’s not sure who that kid might be yet, but he’s pretty certain it’s got to be one of the five other babies born at the same time as his daughter Andrea. It would have to be. Who else was there, right?”

  “And if it turns out that Jennifer is a Spiegel and not a Shalt, she’d be cut out of the proceeds from the sale of the land,” I said, warming to this scenario.

  “And she did tell us that she always felt different from her family,” Annie pointed out. “Maybe she thought there was something to Mr. Spiegel’s story.”

  “Okay, but wait a minute,” I said. “She told us that she always felt different after Sheldon was already dead. If she killed him, why toss out a little tidbit that might induce us to concentrate on her?”

  Shirley held up a hand. “For one thing she would have no reason to believe that you knew anything at all about the possible sale. After all, it’s pretty hush-hush right now. And she certainly wouldn’t think you knew about the terms of the family business. How could you? I only know because I have friends on the city council and they like to talk. And their talk made me do some digging. Jennifer Shalt is in debt up to her eyeballs. She bought a house last year, she has a big car payment and some student loans. And this is only rumor, mind you, but there was talk about a year ago that they were selling more than just plants.”

  I glanced at Shirley over the top of my mug. “What does that mea
n?”

  “It means that it wasn’t only orchids and roses they were growing in their hot houses. But like I said, purely rumor. There’s nothing new on that front, so maybe they stopped, or maybe all they were growing was flowers. And that comment she made about feeling different was probably a totally unconscious slip. Did it make you look at her more seriously?”

  I shook my head. “No. I totally dismissed it. I even told Annie that as a kid I always thought I was adopted. I think most kids feel like that at some point.”

  “Exactly. I know I did,” Shirley said. “Especially when I was mad at my mom for something.”

  “I don’t think Sheldon was seriously considering Jennifer as his daughter. My gut tells me he thought Christine Jamison was his real daughter.”

  Shirley thought about this for a moment. “Jennifer didn’t know that. All that family knew was that a man came by their house saying Jennifer might be his kid. Bye-bye to her share of the money if the business got sold.”

  I sighed. “I guess we need to go back and talk with Jennifer Shalt again.”

  “Alex, you said we cannot get emotionally involved. We have to look at everyone as if they are a cold-blooded killer.”

  Annie was right. Jennifer seemed like such a nice young woman, running her own business, and maybe she was. But I knew one thing. When a lot of money was involved, even a saint might be tempted to kill.

  “Oh, and there’s one more thing I thought you’d like to know about Jennifer Shalt. A couple years back, she was working late one night. All alone, and it’s pretty secluded out where the nursery is. A couple of punks showed up with the intention of robbing the place, but her sister had already left with the daily deposit for the bank so there was no money left in the till. They ransacked the place a bit and hit Jennifer a couple of times. Not hard enough for her to go to the hospital, but enough to scare the daylights out of her.”