Shell Game – Chapter 9 – Judith Silver
It was ten-thirty by the time Evan had laid down, got up, put himself together and, entered his office. All the while, his mind took its sweet time getting up to speed and was barely able to maneuver his face into a smile when he saw Sophie Landis positioned at her desk, pleasantly sorting through the morning’s mail.
“Good morning, slugger,” Sophie chimed.
Evan pointed to the pile of opened envelopes on Sophie’s desk, “You look rested. Anything good?”
“Nothing from your mother, if that’s what you mean,” Sophie said. “I figured you’d be up and at ‘em already trying to figure out who shot Gabe. Something happen between you weaseling out of calling on Judith and now?”
“Don’t start. I got a visit by some of Athens’ finest after we spoke on the phone,” Evan said.
“I wondered,” said Sophie. “They stopped by and started asking all sorts of questions when I was over there. Speaking of which,” Sophie lowered her voice and leaned forward. “She’s in there,” Sophie pointed at Evan’s office door with her head. “Wanted to see you first thing.”
“Are you joking?” Evan asked.
Sophie shook her head.
“I didn’t weasel out.”
“You absolutely did, and now you can make things right, slugger.”
Evan rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and closed his eyes.
“How long’s she been in there?”
“A while,” Sophie smiled.
Just then, the door to his office opened, and Judith Silver, the sudden widow of Evan’s partner, made her presence known. She was tragically stunning in a black dress and hat veil, which covered her face. Evan was confident both items still had the tags on them.
“I love what you’ve done with the place, Evan,” Judith said, hooking a thumb toward the inner office. “What is it called, Minimalist Disaster?”
“You know how it is,” Evan managed, “when people break into the office, they never leave it better than they found it.”
“We were broken into last night?” Sophie asked, surprised.
“Yeah, it’s amazing how much bad got crammed into one night.”
Judith crossed her arms. “Thanks for stopping by last night, Evan. It was nice to get such bad news from my husband’s partner’s secretary.” She all but spat the last word.
“That’s not fair, Judy,” Evan said. “You can imagine I had a lot on my plate last night trying to figure out who did this to Gabe.”
“Sure,” she said with a bitter laugh, “it’s the thought that counts, right?”
Evan looked at Sophie and said, “Don’t listen to her, Soph; she’s still in shock.”
“Oh, I’m not mad at Sophie,” Judith said, “she was a real pal last night. Helped me get rid of those detectives who couldn’t wait till morning to try my patience.” She looked at Evan, “You, on the other hand…”
“Let’s talk inside, huh?” Evan said, walking up to Judith and placing his hand on her back. “I think it will be more comfortable for everyone.”
Once inside, Evan closed the office door and said, “Look, Judy, I am sorry I didn’t make it down last night. I was broken up about Gabe, and I just couldn’t bear to see your face to tell you the news.”
Judith tilted her head to the side and looked at Evan disapprovingly, “I don’t understand how you can be so tough in one part of your life and coward somewhere else. Gabe was the same way. Never made sense to me.” Judith plunked herself down in Evan’s desk chair. “The reason I came down here was not to punish you. No, wait, that was part of it. You should be ashamed of yourself, Evan Gold.”
“What was the other part of it?” Evan sighed.
Judith turned and stared out of the grime-coated window. The fog was thinner that morning but still put everything in a shadow. “Listen, I know you and Gabe never saw eye-to-eye much.”
“My momma told me where two or more people are gathered, there shall be conflict,” Evan said. “We worked together. Sometimes we disagreed. People do that from time to time. You know? Disagree? It’s how we get to the right conclusions. Gabe was a stand-up guy. Sure, he had a different style, he had his faults, as you say, his weaknesses, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he was an excellent detective. You should be proud of him.”
“Please don’t tell me what I should or shouldn’t do, Evan,” Judith said, lifting her veil, “I’m not in the mood. Already today, I’ve had someone from the Medical Examiner’s office, the hospital, and the funeral home telling me what I should do next. I’m quite tired. Can we at least be honest with each other? Gabe might have been a good detective, maybe he wasn’t, but as a husband, well, we both know he was easily distracted by anything in a skirt. And that on more than a few occasions, he conveniently eluded his better judgment and discernment. So, I’m not going to give him a grade as a husband. He put a roof over my head and gave me two beautiful daughters…” at this, her voice choked. “Somehow, I’m going to have to break this to them. They idolized their father. I think in all of this, that is going to be the hardest part.”
“You haven’t told them?” Evan asked.
Judith shook her head. “Couldn’t. I will, though. When they get back from school.” She laughed to herself and dabbed at the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand, “Maybe I’m a coward, too.” She picked up a pencil from Evan’s desk and started to trace abstract designs with the eraser. “But I’m interested in your thoughts about one thing, Evan Gold. There is one question no one has asked me yet, and I wanted to get your thoughts. Can you help me out?”
Evan removed his hands from his pockets in an open-handed gesture and said, “If I can. But there may be some ground I can’t walk into with you just yet.”
“The detectives asked me last night if Gabe had any enemies or former clients that might have a beef with him. You know, someone who would want to murder my husband in cold blood.”
“What did you tell them?” Evan asked.
Judith frowned and shook her head. “I told them I couldn’t think of anyone. You know Gabe,” she said, forcing a beaming expression, “that smile, that charm he reserved for special occasions to save his hide. I mean, the guys he sent to the slammer thought he was their pal!” She paused, stopped her tracing, and relaxed her face. “But that led me to another thought, a different question.” She darted her eyes at Even and asked in even tones, “Did you kill my husband?”
Evan felt himself take a step back, almost as if the verbal jab had some physical effect on him. It was a similar question the police had asked him last night, and the accusation didn’t feel any better the second time. He snorted and said, “Why would I do that, Judy?”
“I don’t find the question funny, Evan,” Judith said.
“I don’t either,” said Evan, “I find it stupid. How did that thought get inside your head? Regardless of what our professional relationship was, why would you think I’m a killer?”
Judith didn’t give a reply. She only looked at Evan, slowly tapping the eraser on the desk.
“I get that this job has a reputation for being only for the lone wolf. But we don’t kill our own, Judy. He was my partner. In this line of work, that means something. That means something more than just a guy I share an office with. We weren’t best friends, but if I wanted him gone, I would’ve moved offices or gone out on my own, but I wouldn’t kill him. I wouldn’t rob you of a husband and your kids of a father. For crying out loud, Judy, that’s really something to say to a man.”
He took a step toward her. “I’m sorry I didn’t come to see you last night, but I didn’t lie. I don’t like seeing women cry. It makes me feel helpless. I don’t like feeling helpless; especially when I know, I could do something to help. So, I sent Sophie. But that doesn’t mean Gabe’s murder means nothing to me. I promise you I’ll figure this out. I don’t know who would want to kill Gabe, but I’ll start making a list, and I’ll find them. You can count on it. They will see their day of justice. You need to believe me on that, Judy.”
Judith Silver looked down at her hands. They were trembling. She rubbed them together to settle them down, rearranged her mesh veil, and stood. “See that you do, Evan. See that you do.”
Evan went over to Judith, took her by the elbow, and guided her to the door. “The next few days are going to be rough for you, that’s the truth, but you’re a strong woman, Judy. This will not break you.” He opened the door and said, “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,” he looked her in the eye, “I mean that.”
Judith nodded and turned to leave the office. Evan slowly shut the door and walked to his desk chair, and sunk into it. A moment later, he heard the outer office door close at almost the exact moment Sophie entered his office.
“So, how did you and the widow make out?” Sophie asked a little too cheerfully.
“I tell you,” Evan said, “if it’s not one thing, it’s another.” He gestured to the door. “She thinks I killed her husband. The police think I killed the other guy. Jason Charles, that reprobate Molly hired us to follow.”
Sophie stared at Evan for a long while.
Evan asked his secretary, “What?”
“Did you?” Sophie asked as a matter of fact.
“Did what?”
“Kill him?”
“Sophie,” Evan warned. Sophie crossed her arms and arched her eyebrows.
“No,” Evan said, “I didn’t.”
Sophie immediately relaxed and said, “Then, you should have nothing to worry about.”
“Depends,” Evan said.
“On?” Sophie asked.
“On how fast the police want a conviction. Small town like Athens and two murders in one night, and both can probably get linked up to me. It’s flimsy, but even if the evidence is thin, if the DA wants a quick conviction to show he’s tough on crime, my mug on the stand will do just as well as the next guy. Maybe better because I might have a reputation downtown.”
Sophie sat in the chair across from Evan. “I worry about you, Evan,” Sophie sighed. “I know you say I shouldn’t, but you’re too clever, sometimes. I worry your cleverness is going to get the best of you, and-” her voice cut off.
“And what?” Evan asked.
“And you’ll get bit.”
Evan laughed to himself, “That’s what Bobby Short told me this morning at my apartment.” Evan leaned forward and rested both forearms on his desk. “Listen, everything’s going to be just fine. I just got to know you’re in my corner. We stick together, and we’ll come out of this just fine.”
He noticed his watch, stood up, and started to walk to his office door. “I need to run,” Evan said.
“Where to?” Sophie asked.
“I need to find Molly Brandt,” he said and put his hand on the doorknob.
“Hey, Evan,” Sophie said, standing, “What do you want me to do about the name on the door. You want me to get it repainted?”
“Nah,” Evan said with a wink, “Silver and Gold Detective Agency has a ring to it. Maybe we’ll keep getting these high-end clients.”
