Wednesday Story Day – AKA – Hump Day

~ John W. Howell
Twiggy and Lucy
“What is that, Little One?”
“It’s my gotcha cake.”
“Ah. One year since we gotcha.”
“Yup. Happy Gotcha to me.”

 

It is Wednesday Story Day again and last week we were part of a discussion between Andrew and Larry to the point that Janice and Alexis Rafferty might have had some discord in their marriage that could have been a motive for murder. As clichéd as it sounds the detectives will need to follow-up with a careful investigation of the Raftery’s to see if there is that possibility. In the meantime, it appears that Larry is keeping Cortez on the suspect list given the five-million-dollar policy and the fact that Rafferty refused to sign the report that said Sandusky’s machine didn’t work. We better check in with Larry and Andrew and see where the heck we are on this whole mess.

 

“Hey, Larry. You hear from Evon on that contract?”

“As a matter of fact, no. I totally forgot that he was going to send it over.”

“Well, I have some news on Miss Janice.”

“Do tell.”

“it seems she filed for a divorce a year ago.”

“You’re kidding me? That is all too pat.”

“Get this though. She never went through with it.”

“How do you know that?”

“There was a subsequent filing requesting a withdrawal of the petition which was granted. Guess who was Janice’s lawyer.”

“I don’t have to guess. Evon, right?”

“You got it.”

“So what does this tell us?”

“In my mind, there was something not right in the marriage and then for some reason whatever was not right was corrected.”

“Or some hot-shot lawyer talks the petitioner out of pursuing a divorce for some reason.”

“And the husband dies within the year.”

“And five-million is up for grabs.”

“We need to talk to that police chief in South Tahoe to see if the insurance company contacted him.”

“I also have to call Evon and find out the status of that employment contract.”

“Who’s on first?”

“Let’s do the police chief. Dialing now.”

“I hope he is available.”

“Me too¾Yes this is detective Dunfee of the Boston Police depart. Is Captain Swartz available? Sure, I’ll hold.”

“Bet he’s out.”

“Hello, Captain. Thank you, sir, I hope your day is good as well. Yes, sir. The reason for my call is to quickly check to see if an insurance agent or investigator has contacted you regarding the Rafferty matter?  They have. I wonder if you could tell me about the nature of their discussion. Uh huh. Yeah. Okay. So, you told them it was an accident. No, no that’s all the information you have about it. What you said was fine. One more thing, captain. Could you give me the name of the company and the person who contacted you? Why? As you know we are investigating a murder that has some elements involving Mr. Rafferty. We just want to make certain that the company understands some of the circumstances around the five-million-dollar policy. Yes, that’s right five million. He never mentioned the amount? No, I still think what you told him are the facts as you see them at this point. No, of course, I don’t think you were part of any scheme. Captain take a breath. No one is accusing you of anything. We just think it is prudent to let the company know some facts that we have uncovered. It will be their decision to pay or not. So are we good? Great. Now, who were the investigator and the company name? Yes, just read me his card. Okay, I’m ready. Randall Davis, special investigator, World Life, and Casualty. Um, Hum. Yes. 212-555-1212. Okay, I got it. Thank you so much, captain. Yes, we will keep you informed. Yes, sir, you have a good one as well.”

“What the hell?”

“I know right? The captain became unglued when I mentioned the five million.”

“Sounded like he was declaring his innocence.”

“Yeah, don’t you wonder when people do that?”

“I’m not sure but if I were the head of the police department, I would have thought a drunken ski accident would be suspicious.”

“Maybe there is more to his denial than meets the eye.”

“God, I hope we are not adding another suspect.”

“We need to keep our eyes open, but I agree with you. This whole case is getting to be bigger than a breadbasket.”

“Where do you get sayings like that?”

“I don’t know. They just come to me.”

“You sure you didn’t work in a Dilbert kind of company?”

“Yeah, I’m positive. Anyway, let’s do the call with Evon. I think I’m going to have to talk to Gloria soon if we get any more complex here.”

“Sounds like a good idea no matter what.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

57 thoughts on “Wednesday Story Day – AKA – Hump Day”

  5. Happy “gotcha” day to Twiggy!

    As for the case, where do I start? The more people they talk to, the more people become a suspect! That phone conversation was covering a whole lot of someones. Hmmmm.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. The photo of the pups with the gotcha toy cake is precious. It is hard to believe it’s been a year since Twiggy’s arrival. As for the story, I’m thinking it’s dangerous to have a big policy. Have a great day, John. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Yikes! More and more layers are being revealed. Andrew and Larry have their hands full with this one!

    The gotcha cake is adorable! Happy Gotcha day to Twiggy! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, Mae. I sense Larry is getting a little frustrated. To quote Gloria, “You need to look for a motive first and then the murderer will follow.” Now we have at least three with motive. Yikes is right. 😀

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Happy Gotcha Day to Twiggy! Love it.

    As for this case. Good gawd, man! Every time we think we are going in one direction, we are lead down another path! Can’t wait for the next “episode”!

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Very strange reaction by the Captain. I look forward to another communication with his wife. Happy Gotcha day to Twiggy:)

    Liked by 1 person

  12. And another twist is added to the already contorted pretzel of a mystery. But, I think ultimately, it will all somehow lead back to Cortez. We shall see. Great segment, John!

    Liked by 2 people

  13. Wait, Gloria’s advice was follow the money. She didn’t mention that that road had a fork in it with $5 million down each way. If the ski area cop didn’t know about the $5 million, either he didn’t know or he didn’t get a big enough piece of the action. Another suspect…I think my head hurts.

    Liked by 2 people

  15. I’ve long thought Gloria holds the key to something (what, I’m not sure!). But you didn’t bring her up in the first place without having a reason, right? Happy Gotcha Day to the little potato — love her cake, too!

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