Three-Day Town - By Margaret Maron Page 0,34

board took out on his life with Denise as the beneficiary.”

“How much are we talking about?” asked Jim Lowry.

“A quarter-million. I know that’s not much in today’s economy, but it should allow her to start a new life. If she can. But here.” She handed him the folder and her thin bracelets tinkled softly against each other. “I made copies of the job application he filled out when he first came, along with his references. I wasn’t on the board then, of course, but it all seems very straightforward and I see no reason you shouldn’t have it.”

Elaine Albee looked over his shoulder as Lowry opened the folder and read through the simple job application form. Their eyes immediately went to the box labeled Sex and saw that the M had been checked. Marital Status had the M checked, too. He turned the sheet over and they saw three references listed.

“Do you know if the board actually checked these references?” he asked.

“Probably not,” she replied with a sad smile. “I’m told that the building had been without a reliable super for several months. I don’t know who found Phil, but he came over in an emergency and handled it so promptly and without any dramatics that the board practically begged him to apply for the full-time position.”

She took a sip of tea and cradled the cup in her hands. “Besides, anyone could see that Phil was competent and dependable and so honest that he could make George Washington look like a pathological liar.”

“So if we told you that he had taken a gold earring?”

Her fingers tightened around the cup and then she set it back on the tray very deliberately. “Phil steal? Never! He wouldn’t pick up a penny in the lobby without trying to find out who had dropped it.”

Albee sat back in her seat and decided it was time to go fishing. “Mrs. Wall, you say that everyone loved Phil, but is that really accurate? Isn’t it true that there’s at least one shareholder who didn’t get along with him?”

Mrs. Wall sighed. “You mean the people in 7-A?”

“For starters,” Lowry said, trying to sound as if there might be several others.

Resigned, the woman tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said, “We should never have approved the Rices. We should have realized they were trouble when they were willing to pay ten percent above the asking price in a down market. And all those glowing references from their former neighbors? They lied through their teeth just to get those awful creatures out of their own building. The Rices started alienating people here even before they moved in.”

She ticked off several incidents on her fingers: the remodeling that went on too long because they tried to ignore building codes, the extra two dogs, the cavalier manner in which they repainted and recarpeted the common hall to suit their own questionable taste without asking anyone, their rudeness to the other owners, the tub they let overflow twice, and finally the illegal electrical wiring that could have burned the building down.

She topped her cup from the teapot and took another long swallow. “They tried to bribe Phil not to report it and they threatened to sue him for slander when he testified at their hearing before the board. We’ve begun the eviction process, but it takes time, and Phil was worried that they might try to do something to hurt the building before they’re actually gone even though they would be hurting themselves if it lowers the value of their own apartment.”

“Judge Knott and Major Bryant found him in 6-A when they got in Friday evening,” said Lowry.

“Who?” She looked puzzled and then her face cleared. “Oh, yes. I forgot. Jordy Lacour did say a couple from North Carolina would be using his place this week. This is awful for them, too. Have they left?”

Albee shook her head. “No, ma’am. I think they’re planning to stay. Anyhow, Lundigren told them he was worried about a leak from the apartment overhead.”

“The Rices! It would be just like them to think that if the Lacour apartment was empty, no one would notice a leak until it had done considerable damage.” She set her teacup down so firmly that it rattled the spoon in her saucer. “Unconscionable!”

“What about the other employees in the building?” they asked.

“So far as I know, there are no serious animosities, but you’ll have to ask them.” Again, she reached into the file and pulled out another sheet