Santa Fe Dead

35

EAGLE AND SUSANNAH drove Sandi Wilen to her home, and she insisted that they stay overnight. They consented, and Susannah cooked dinner for them that evening.

“Ed, you think Walter Keeler’s widow had something to do with this, don’t you?” Sandi asked over dinner. “You told us at dinner the other night that she could be dangerous.”

“I have no doubt that she is responsible,” Ed replied. “She probably hired someone, because it would be too dangerous for her to do it herself, given the clause in Walter’s will, cutting her off if she committed a crime.”

“Did you tell the police detective about her?”

“Yes, I did, and Joe’s law partner, Lee Hight, added her weight to the opinion.”

“Lee is a good person and a good lawyer,” Sandi said. “Joe made her a partner in the firm just this past week.”

“Does the firm have a lot of clients?”

“One or two of Joe’s friends. Most of the work was for Walter Keeler, and Joe said that would continue to be the case, because they’ll be administering Walter’s estate, which, as you can imagine, is considerable.”

The doorbell rang, and Sandi went to answer it. She came back with Lee Hight. “Lee, you’ve met Ed Eagle; this is his friend, Susannah Wilde.”

Lee sat down. “Mr. Eagle, you should know that, tomorrow morning, I’m going to cancel all payments from Walter Keeler’s estate to Mrs. Keeler and issue an eviction notice for the apartment.”

“Lee, do the terms of Keeler’s will allow you to do that because you suspect Mrs. Keeler, or does she have to be convicted?”

“The will says she has to be convicted, but what the hell, she can sue us.”

“Please don’t do this,” Eagle replied.

“Why not? Do you think she’ll pursue it through the courts?”

“Yes, but more important, I think you would be placing your life in danger. If she has already had Joe killed, do you think she would hesitate to go after you? She’s a very angry woman.”

Hight looked worried. “I hadn’t got that far in my thinking,” she said.

“My advice is to continue to make the payments, and as soon as she’s convicted, stop them.”

“I guess that’s good advice,” Hight said. “I’m just so fucking angry about this, I’m not thinking straight.”

“Sandi tells me Joe made you a partner last week. Do you have that in writing?”

“Yes, Joe took care of that.”

“Then go run your law firm and don’t worry about Mrs. Keeler. Let the police do that.”

“All right, Mr. Eagle. I’ll do that.”

“And if I were you, I’d get a gun permit from your local police department, take some instruction, and carry it until Mrs. Keeler is locked safely away.”

“I think that’s good advice, too,” she said.

THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Eagle called Cupie Dalton.

“This is Cupie.”

Eagle told him about Wilen’s murder.

“Man, she’s something, isn’t she?”

“Yes, and she’s probably in L.A.”

“So I should watch my ass?”

“So you should watch your ass.”

“Do you know where she is in L.A.?”

“Probably at her friend Jimmy Long’s house.”

“I could tail her.”

“Better somebody she doesn’t know. I’m going to speak to the chief of police about that; maybe he’ll authorize surveillance. God knows, the D.A. would like another crack at her.”

“Good idea.”

“You might look into who the hit man could be, Cupie. My guess is that Jimmy Long found somebody for her, since she doesn’t really know a lot of people in L.A.”

“I’ll look into it.”

Eagle said good-bye and hung up. Next, he called his friend, the Los Angeles Chief of Police, Joe Sams.

“Hello, Ed, how are you?”

“I’ve been better, Joe. You remember my former wife, Barbara?”

“The double murderess? How could I forget.”

“Well, she’s done it again.”

“Not in L.A., I hope.”

“No, in Palo Alto. I believe she hired someone from L.A. to kill a lawyer named Joe Wilen.”

“Why from L.A.?”

“Because she doesn’t know anybody in San Francisco, where she’s now living. A couple of weeks ago, she married a very rich retired businessman named Walter Keeler.”

“I knew Walter; I read about his death in the papers. Did she have anything to do with that?”

“No, it was a traffic accident.” Eagle explained about the terms of Keeler’s will and Wilen’s part, as well as his own part in preventing her from inheriting everything.

“So she got Wilen, and you’re next?”

“Probably. Don’t worry, I’m carrying, thanks to your help with my license.”

“Do you have anything on the woman that would give me probable cause to arrest her?”

“No. I think what your people could do best would be to find out who she hired to do it.”

“And where do we start?”

“She has a friend named Jimmy Long, a successful movie producer. He was her alibi at her trial, and it was his story that got her off. He’s her only friend here, as far as I know, so she might have turned to him to help her find a contract killer.”

“Would this Jimmy Long be likely to know a contract killer?”

“He’s in the movie business, Joe.”

“Oh. All right, I’ll assign some people to track down his connections and see if a likely hit man turns up. Anything else I can do?”

“If I can think of anything, I’ll call you, Joe. Thanks for your help.” Eagle hung up.

“You’re carrying?” Susannah asked.

“You know I usually do, especially when I’m in L.A.”

“Should I be carrying?”

“Maybe so. Barbara saw you at the trial, and she may have recognized you from the movies. Do you have a license for L.A.?”

“Yes. So you think she would really come after me?”

“Yes, because she knows it would hurt me.”