Not So Model Home - By David James Page 0,67
work to do tomorrow.
I met Jerry for breakfast to discuss our game plan for the day and weekend. We had to strike in a matter of days, so we had a lot of people to talk to, a lot of leads to investigate.
“I called Anderson & Sheppard at one A.M. and gave them a list of the guys on the show, including Ian and Lance Greenly, just to make sure.”
“Lance spends some big bucks on clothes. It could have been him.”
“They said they would look through their list of clients and would get back to me today. Do you know that besides suiting Fred Astaire and Gary Cooper, they made suits for Marlene Dietrich?”
“I knew that. That’s why when I saw the label in the suit, I knew we’d have no trouble finding the owner. They’re very, very high end, so very few men would be clients of theirs. Plus, they keep detailed records of their customers, besides their measurements.”
“Oh, they said they got the pictures of the suit when they got in this morning. They wanted to impress upon you that they can replace the pants since they still have some cloth from that pattern left over. Isn’t it wonderful that your attacker was wearing well-tailored pants?”
“My neighborhood has a very strict dress code for muggers, Jerry.”
“Oh, I got the Chief of Police to put a rush on our DNA samples. We should have the results early Monday. And I talked to Jeremy last night on the phone.”
“Did he reveal anything?”
“Certainly not the contest winner.”
“I tried that already with Aurora. She’s staying mum on that matter. So Jeremy wasn’t able to shed any light on the murders?”
“No, he’s ecstatic that the show is doing so well. And that it’s about over.
“What about the footprint, Jerry. Of my mugger?”
“We weren’t able to match it with any of the shoes belonging to the guys in the show. Ian and Lance Greenly included.”
“But the suit showed up.”
“But no shoes. I checked with the Hyatt. The Dumpster is emptied twice a week. If they were dumped in there with the suit, they’re long gone. So the homeless guy didn’t have nice shoes on when you got the suit?”
“No, he wasn’t wearing any shoes. Oh well, it doesn’t matter, Jerry. The suit ties one of the cast members to my attack. It’s proof.”
Jerry’s phone rang. “I better get this. It’s from overseas from the look of the phone number,” he said, hitting the Answer button and putting the phone to his ear. “Detective Jerry Hallander here. Oh yes, thank you so much for calling back. You did? Noooooooo! Are you sure? . . . Yes, I’m sure you keep very detailed ledgers. Now, you’re sure? Okay, I thank you for getting the answer to me so quickly and on such short notice. Thank you very much.”
Jerry hung up the phone and stared at me.
“Yes? Jerry?” I said, snapping my fingers in front of his face to wake him from his trance.
“You’re not going to believe this, Amanda.”
“What?!” I asked, dying for the answer. “Who do the pants belong to?”
“What?” he asked, still in disbelief.
“I’m sorry, Jerry. That was grammatically incorrect. To whom do the pants belong?”
“Darryn Novolo.”
By the time the shock wore off Jerry’s face, I was smiling from ear to ear.
“I just can’t believe it. I just can’t,” he repeated over and over.
“And why is that, Jerry?”
“First of all, he’s seems like such a really nice guy. Not capable of harming a fly.”
“And what’s your second objection?”
“He wasn’t even in town when Keith was murdered. I checked. He was just finishing a show for Prada in Paris. Hundreds of people saw him walk down the runway.”
“I know that.”
“So how do you explain it, then?”
Still smiling from ear to ear, I told him, “He had help.”
“Who?”
“I’m not going to say quite yet. There are a few things I need to prove yet.”
“But, Amanda, another innocent person could be killed while you’re sleuthing around. This isn’t Agatha Christie. This is real life. Someone could be in very serious danger!”
“I’m the only one in danger anymore, Jerry. The guys are fine now.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because the threat to Ian’s inheritance and the only witness who saw something he shouldn’t have seen have been eliminated. And the odds are better now, with two contestants gone.”
“I get Keith’s death. Someone was worried that he might somehow have a stake in Ian’s fortune, or at least that Ian might change his mind once he knew he had