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“Sister Teresa and Sister Magdalena both say they saw him leave the front of the church. They noticed Leon specifically because one of the parishioners had to steady him on the way out. They said he was moving slow and wasn’t looking well.”
“Certainly not well enough to fight back against whoever had the dagger.” I sewed Leon back up and pulled the sheet up over him. “So no one saw him outside the church or slip around the side of the building to get to it that way?”
“No, in fact, a couple of different people mentioned that they saw him get on his bike and head toward his house.”
“What the hell?” I said. “This doesn’t make any sense.”
“Tell me about it. There were more than a hundred people in that church on a Saturday afternoon. Everyone saw Leon inside the church and dozens of people saw him leaving. No one puts him in the vicinity of the courtyard.”
“Where’s Leon’s bicycle?” I asked.
“Good question. It wasn’t at the crime scene.”
“So maybe Leon circled back around to the side of the church for a meeting he didn’t want anyone to know about, his killer stabs him in the chest, and then escapes by stealing Leon’s bicycle and making a clean getaway.” It sounded ridiculous the moment the words started coming out of my mouth. But it was all I had at the moment.
“Yeah, pretty much. Something isn’t adding up. Someone is lying.”
“That’s a huge surprise,” I said, batting my eyelashes. “Everyone is always so good at telling the truth. You think it’s the priests?”
“That’s the most logical explanation if you’re just looking at time of death and location. But it’s the explanation that doesn’t sit well with my gut.”
“What about motive? Anything popping that will tell us why Leon was killed?”
“Not a thing. I’ve checked financials. This island isn’t exactly an economic hotspot. And by island estimations, the Steins were considered well off. They own some of the businesses in town. A gas station, a flower shop, the boat rental place, some of the cabanas along the water. They’ve got everything diversified in safe places and they don’t spend above their means.
“Three of Leon and Maria’s children are deceased. Their two sons are both retired—one was a doctor and the other an attorney—and they’ve both lived in the states with their families for more than forty years. The three remaining daughters all still live here on the island with their families. They manage some of Leon and Maria’s properties, collect rents, and stay on top of upkeep. One of them has some gambling debts, but Maria and Leon have always bailed her out of trouble. And I’m not seeing anything that pops from the younger generations either.
“Everything is in both their names, so if one passes the other inherits. I’ll need to see if Leon had a will. Maybe he made some recent changes to it that Maria didn’t agree with.”
“We need to talk to her too. But if her health is as bad as people are saying then she wouldn’t have the strength to kill her husband.”
“I know, but we always look at family first. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the spouse or family member is responsible. Especially when it’s up close and personal like that. That takes a lot of rage to look into the eyes of someone you know and plunge a knife in their chest.”
“That’s something else,” I said. “We know the killer was covered in blood. He got brushed up against the fence and left evidence. It would’ve been really hard to intermingle back with the crowd without being noticed.”
I peeled off the latex gloves and took off the trash bad I’d used to protect my clothes. My skin could breathe again and I rolled up all the soiled material and dumped it in another trash bag, tying it up tight. And then I stood in front of one of the fans and held my shirt out away from my skin.
“Maybe he was wearing all black.”
“Maybe. But we’re not talking about a little blood. We’re talking arterial blood. He would’ve been saturated. I’m surprised we didn’t find more blood farther down the path to the road.”
I backed up from the fan and went to stand in front of Jack. “If I’m stabbing you in the chest I’m going to give the initial strike, and then I’m going to put my entire weight behind it. Especially as a woman.”
“So a woman could’ve done the job?”
“Sure, but you and I both know the knife isn’t a particularly favorite method of killing by women. So the percentage is small. But it exists.”
I demonstrated by making a fist and striking Jack in the middle of his chest. And then I used my other hand and my body to push against him. My entire front was pressed against him with the effort to show how much force would be needed to push the knife into the heart.
“See. The killer would’ve been covered in blood. Even the neck and face if he was shorter than Leon.”
“Don’t get me wrong,” Jack said. “I always enjoy it when we do the reenactments. But you don’t smell all that great right now, so maybe we can go through the motions from a distance.”
I rolled my eyes and gave him a middle finger.
“Ooh, that’s a very romantic proposition. I’m happy to accommodate you after a shower.”
My elbow connected with his gut and he groaned dramatically. And then he smacked me on the behind.
