Murder Is Private (19 page)

Chapter 45

“Dr. Jacobs, those pills you gave me are working wonders, but I’m almost out. Have to admit I took a few extra some nights when my back kept me awake. You truly are a miracle worker.”

Dr. Jacobs listened to Susan’s heart and lungs. Then he wrote her another prescription.

“These will help. Come see me when you need more,” he said. When he started toward the door, Susan spoke quickly in an effort to keep him in the exam room.

“I think the Florida humidity is aggravating my back. Didn’t have quite so much trouble in New York. This is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live here,” said Susan. “Have you always lived in Florida?”

“No. I grew up in the Midwest. Went to Indiana University. Then Atlanta for medical school.”

“What brought you to Florida?”

“The job opportunity was too good to pass up.”

Susan had come to this visit with the goal of getting fingerprints from Dr. Jacobs. He was about to move on to his next patient. She had to think quickly. These days, doctors wore gloves for everything. Even holding a tongue depressor while looking down a patient’s throat.
Think, Susan.

“Dr. Jacobs, I’m getting to be an old lady. I forgot what you said about taking these pills with other drugs. I can pop some Aleve on top of these, right? And sometimes I take something to help me sleep.”

“No, I told you not to take it with other pain relievers or sedatives.”

Susan fished a pen out of her purse. “Here, would you mind writing that down for me?”

The doctor sighed, but took the pen from Susan. He scribbled down directions on his clipboard and handed her the paper on the board.

“Here. Now you have no reason to forget.” He left the examination room.

Susan was cautious not to hold the pen by the part the doctor had touched. She grabbed a paper towel from the dispenser by the sink and wrapped the print-laden pen in it. Then she stashed it in her purse. This was going straight to Kevin.
Wait a minute. What if they can only get a partial from that pen?
That’s what had happened on the
CSI
episode she’d seen recently. It wasn’t easy, but she stashed the doctor’s clipboard into her purse too, just in case.

Susan flew through the doors of the police station. She’d run all the way from the cab and spoke in a breathy voice.

“Kevin, look! I got Dr. Jacobs’s prints on this pen and clipboard.” She handed them to him.

“Fantastic! How’d you manage that?”

“I have my ways.” She winked at Kevin.

“I’ll send these to the lab right away. There’s no guarantee this Dr. Jacobs has prints on file, but we’ll give it a shot,” said Kevin.

“Will you let me know when you get the results?” Susan asked.

“Sure,” he replied. “After all, we wouldn’t have the prints if it weren’t for you.”

When Susan got back to Audrey’s, Lynette said, “Mom, do you want to come to the beach with Annalise and me? We only have a few more days here.”

“Yes. I’ll go change.”

Susan loved late afternoons at the beach. It was cooler and more peaceful than it was at midday. The three of them spread a blanket down on the sand, and Lynette handed Annalise a plastic pail and shovel. Susan helped her grandbaby scoop up sand.

“I hate leaving Audrey like this,” said Susan.

“You’ve done a lot for her already. Subbing at the school benefited the students and Audrey tremendously,” said Lynette.

“Truthfully,” replied Susan, “I had fun doing it. I just wish we could solve the case in time to salvage the school. The students are going to be devastated when they find out they have to change schools next year. I was sure Alonzo had killed Celia.”

“And before that, Mom, you thought Schwartz was the killer. And before that, Celia’s husband, Derrick.”

“I had good reason to suspect each of them. They all were guilty––just not of murder.”

“And now you think it was this Dr. Jacobs.”

“He’s lying about his identity. I know it, Lynette. He may not even be a real doctor. He has motive. Must be a mighty lucrative drug business he has going.”

“He has his cronies, too,” added Lynette. “If the motive was to keep the drug business going, any one of them could have done it.”

“And then there’s George,” said Susan. “I think maybe he brought me here to keep tabs on the investigation. He was afraid the police wouldn’t share information, but he knew if I found out anything by hanging around the school, I’d tell him. After all, I’m his sister. But he sneaks around campus, and he lied to Trish. He told her he was police. Can you imagine?”

“I can’t put my finger on it,” said Lynette, “but George is hiding something. And you think Dr. Jacobs is the one who abducted you in the auditorium?”

“I think he’s the mastermind, if not the actual attacker. I think Alonzo drove the boat. We know for a fact he owned one.”

“So does George,” said Lynette.

“Really?” asked Susan, amazed. “How do you know that?”

“The other night at Audrey’s, he offered to take Annalise and me for a ride up the Intracoastal.”

“Then he could have been the driver also. I think Celia and Alonzo were both killed to protect the drug ring. Trish went to Celia about buying drugs on campus, and Celia was going to go straight to the police. Alonzo was talking about going back to Argentina to be with his sick mother. Maybe he demanded a payout to keep quiet before leaving the country.”

“What do you say we head back? Annalise will want dinner soon.”

“Help me shake out the blanket, and back we go,” said Susan.

Chapter 46

A few days later, Lynette and Susan stopped at Peking Garden for take-out. Susan hoped it would cheer Audrey up. When they got home, Audrey was sitting on the sofa, staring at a blank TV screen. Crumpled tissues littered the coffee table. Audrey didn’t even turn her head when the door opened.

“We brought dinner,” said Susan. “Smells delicious.”

“I’m not hungry,” said Audrey.

“Come on,” said Lynette. “At least try some soup. We have egg drop and wonton.”

Audrey complied as a result of Lynette’s coaxing. Mid meal, Kevin knocked on the front door.

“I hate to interrupt your dinner, but you’re going to want to hear this,” said Kevin coming into the living room.

His eyes were bright and he spoke quickly.

“Hear what?” said Audrey.

“You were right, Mrs. Wiles. The fingerprints from Dr. Jacobs came back. They don’t match the prints of the doctor working at Trinity Village.”

“Whose prints are they?” asked Susan.

“They belong to a Craig Perkins. And you’re going to love this.” Kevin rubbed his hands together like a gerbil. “The prints were in the system because this Perkins fellow was arrested for writing counterfeit prescriptions. He served time in Georgia, then disappeared.”

“Disappeared?” said Lynette.

“Last thing we know, he went down to Honduras. Some
doctors without borders
sort of thing.”

“Then he is actually a doctor?” said Lynette.

“Yes and no. His license was revoked when he got arrested,” explained Kevin.

“Then what was he doing in Honduras?” asked Susan.

“He went as a non-medical volunteer. Story is he contracted a tropical disease and died down there.”

“But he didn’t die. He’s here,” said Susan.

“Yes, he is. It gets better.”

“Go on,” said Lynette. She leaned in closer.

“Do you know who else made that trip to Honduras?”

“Let me guess,” said Susan. She scratched her chin. “The real Dr. Jacobs?”

“Bingo. The real Dr. Jacobs died in Honduras, and our Dr. Perkins assumed his identity. Came back to the states and began practicing medicine using Dr. Jacob’s credentials.”

“So we have our killer!” said Susan.

“Not so fast. We’ve arrested him for practicing medicine without a license, and for stealing Dr. Jacob’s identity, but he didn’t kill Celia.”

“How do you know?” said Susan.

“The man has an airtight alibi. He was at a retirement party the night Celia was murdered. Twenty witnesses vouched for him.”

“What about Alonzo’s murder?” said Lynette.

“He was out of town during the window of time during which the coroner says Alonzo was killed.”

“You’re kidding,” said Susan. “I was sure you were going to tell us Dr. Jacobs, I mean
Mr. Perkins
, was our killer. How disappointing.”

“Disappointing? We got a dangerous doctor off the streets, and without him, the drug ring will fall apart. We’re now trying to get him to finger the others in return for a lighter sentence.”

“That still leaves us without the murderer,” said Audrey. “We’re back to our original problem.”

“Yes, but the suspect list is shrinking,” said Susan. She put her arm around Audrey.

George rushed through the door.

“I heard what happened!” cried George. “You arrested Dr. Jacobs!”

Susan wondered how he’d heard so quickly. The evening news hadn’t yet aired, and George was coming from the school.

“Good work, Detective!” said George. He gave Kevin a fist bump.

“If it hadn’t been for your sister Susan, we wouldn’t have caught on to him. At least not yet,” said Kevin.

“I knew bringing her here would be a good thing,” said George, smiling at Susan. Then, he looked at the table. “Is that Chinese take-out?”

“Grab a plate!” said Susan. “We bought plenty.”

“Look! Fortune cookies!” said Lynette. She handed one to each of them. “Audrey, you go first.”

Audrey broke open her cookie and read the fortune out loud. “Brighter days lie ahead.”

“Read yours George,” said Lynette.

“Secrets never lie dormant.”

“Mine says,
Old friends are the best friends
,” said Kevin. “Read yours, Mrs. Wiles.”

Susan cracked open the cookie, read it and then said, “These things are silly. I’m not going to read mine.”

Lynette took the cookie from her mother and read it aloud. “It says,
Stay away from danger!
in bold letters.”

Chapter 47

It was Susan’s last day subbing. Bibi brought in a butter cream frosted cake. It said,
We will miss you
and was decorated with clef signs and music notes. Manolito handed her a bouquet of pink roses. Susan put her nose to the flowers. “These smell wonderful!”

“Let me take a picture,” said Starr. “Get behind the cake.”

“I want everyone in it,” said Susan. The entire class squished together next to Susan.

“We all chipped in to get you a present to remember us by,” said Starr.

Susan unwrapped the present. “This is beautiful! Thank you. Help me put it on.”

Starr closed the silver necklace around Susan’s neck. A quarter note charm dangled from the chain. “Come over to the mirror,” she said.

“I’ll treasure it always,” said Susan

“I wish you could stay longer,” said Bibi.

“I’m really going to miss you guys,” said Susan. She gave each one of them a hug. She’d enjoyed teaching this age group more than she’d imagined she would.

“You’ll have to come back next year for our graduation,” said Starr.

“Except we may not be graduating from here. I heard rumors that the school is going to close,” said Bibi.

“Closing? Where would we go? That can’t be true, can it? Mrs. Wiles, have you heard anything about Hemingway shutting down?” asked Manolito.

Susan swallowed hard. She didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news. Besides, there was still a chance the killer could be found.

“I haven’t heard any announcement about Hemingway High shutting down,” said Susan. She couldn’t look Manolito in the eye. She still held out hope that the school would survive.

“Let’s eat this cake,” said Bibi.

“Mrs. Wiles, are you coming to the Master class this afternoon?” asked Starr. “A soprano from the Florida Grand Opera is presenting it. I’m singing an aria from
The Magic Flute
. I’m so nervous. I’d feel better if you were in the audience.”

Susan didn’t have specific plans, so she said, “Sure. I can’t wait to hear you. You’re going to sound great.”

Before she knew it, it was time for lunch. It was a beautiful day, so Susan brought her lunch outside and sat on a bench next to Gabby.

“I’m going to miss you,” said Gabby. “With Dr. Jacobs in jail, do you think we’ll still have a drug problem on campus?”

“It depends. He was the key provider, but with him out of the picture, who’s to say that someone else won’t step in. That nurse Marshall went to the police and told them Alonzo was sneaking into the patient rooms, but I know it was Marshall himself who did that. He spilled the beans to the police about Dr. Jacobs writing prescriptions for all the first floor patients at Trinity Village, but it was after the fact. He made it look like he was cooperating and had nothing to do with the drug ring.”

“What about that kid, Kymani?”

“The police have nothing on him. They never caught him with drugs, and no witnesses have come forward to say he was dealing.”

“Does Marshall still work at Trinity Village?”

“As far as I know. There must be a way to trap him. He can’t get away with not having any consequences for what he did,” argued Susan.

“If I were him, I’d lay low for a while,” said Gabby.

“Me too, but it depends on how greedy he is. Is he willing to live on just a nurse’s salary?”

Gabby checked her watch. “Time to go back. I’m counting the days till summer break.”

“Hate to point this out, Gabby, but you have another two months.”

“Party Pooper.” See you later.

True to her word, Susan attended the Master class and Starr sang like an angel. The presenter’s comments were right on, and as Starr took her advice, she sounded even lovelier. What a great opportunity these students had. Susan would bet money you’d never see a professional singer give a Master class at a public high school. What a shame to think of Hemingway High shutting down.