“I’m glad to see you could make it.” Philip’s piercing eyes seared through Matt like a red-hot poker.
Ten minutes late for the meeting, Philip’s remark stung. But Matt had no intention of letting him know that. Nor did he have any intention of letting him gain leverage over him. “There are other ways to look at this,” he said, “and they start with asking ‘Why?’ Or do you prefer ‘you can please some of the people some of the time…but…” And he sat in the vacant chair and stared back at Philip. “But I think we both know that the latter remark doesn’t fit my profile.”
Bertie and Bill remained frozen in silence.
Philip harumphed. A smirk transitioned to a smile, and he nodded his acquiescence. “Why are you late?” he asked, sitting forward, and clasping his hands on his desk.
“Thank you for asking,” quipped Matt with a smile. “It all started with the SHO this morning.”
“Constable Leyland? How?”
“He handed me a #11 envelope with several interesting items in it along with a letter. I asked him to find out who left them. On my way here, he sent along these two attachments plus the accompanying text.” Matt called up the information on his cell and handed it to Philip while he positioned himself strategically to one side of him..
Philip put on his reading glasses and peered at the information. “The hat obscures the face.” He removed his glasses and peered at Matt. “I don’t see how this is going to help you.”
“Check out the person’s hands,” replied Matt.
By this time, Bertie and Bill had gathered round Philip’s desk and were also scrutinizing the same information.
“There’s a ring next to the pinky on the left hand,” Bertie said. “It looks like a pentagram within a circle.”
“More,” replied Matt. His fingers were in the form of a V that pointed to the hands of the person in the photo.
“I see what you mean. They’re woman’s hands,” Bill rejoined. “I’m sure of it.”
“Hmm…I didn’t notice that before,” Matt murmured pensively.
“What?! Didn’t notice what?!” Philip asked, putting his glasses on again and re-examining the attachment closer.
“Oh, nothing,” declared Matt, reflecting on his unexpected observation. It was a small scar that was barely visible on the right hand of the messenger. And he was sure that Susan had a similar scar on the same hand. He decided to say nothing now and to redivert their attention away from himself. “By any chance, have you heard of the Bahn-Kart Corporation?”
“Funny you should ask that,” replied Philip, returning the cell to Matt, and sitting back in his chair. “That is part of this morning’s discussion.”
Matt, Bertie, and Bill regained their seats which were arranged in a semi-circular fashion in front of Philip’s desk.
“As you all know,” Philip continued, “Sir Reginald was the head of the board of directors in several companies. The Bahn-Kart Corporation was just one of them.” He gave Matt an askance look while he absently rotated his reading glasses between his hands. “How did that particular Company come to fall within your purview?”
“It was among the paraphernalia I received this morning from—I’ll call her Madame X for the moment. More importantly, two names were highlighted in that document that may be linked to at least six murder victims, all young females, over a ten-year period.”
“Out with it, man! Don’t keep us in suspense!” snarled Philip.
“One name was Archibald Hendley, a business partner of Sir Reginald.”
“But, Matt,” interjected Bill, “he can’t help us.”
“Have you ever wondered why he was murdered? It has been a prickly thorn in the back of my neck ever since we found his body in the kitchen at Sir Reginald’s mansion. That is until I saw the second highlighted name. Alexander Stoffer.”
“Alexander Stoffer?” queried Bertie.
“He’s learned to ride under the radar—at least until now—in favour of Archibald Hendley taking the full limelight,” asserted Matt with a slight snicker. “As a result, only a select few of three knew, four if you count Sir Reginald’s lawyer, that Stoffer was also Sir Reginald’s partner. But he also played another dangerous game. Behind Archibald’s back, Alexander had hooked up with his wife. Before she married Archibald she was known as one of Sir Reginald’s scarlet women. And she went by the name, Nadia Price.”
“Price,” stammered Philip, the name trailing off. “Are you sure that’s the name?”
“As sure as I can be under the circumstances,” assured Matt. “Why?”
A frown blanketed Philip’s face. He shook his head. “Go on with what you’ve discovered,” he insisted.
Matt drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly before he continued. “Stoffer and Hendley were likely co-conspirators in the murder of those six young girls. We’ll have to check the MO of other similar murders to discover if they can be linked to any of them. I’m sure that Stoffer did not murder Sir Reginald. Nor did he kill the gardener and his wife, Chris and Claire Finlay. But I am sure he killed Hendley. I think Hendley and Stoffer had a falling out and Stoffer decided to shut him down. Unfortunately, Constable Curtiss was collateral damage—wrong place at the wrong time. The question I’m struggling with is ‘Who benefits the most from Sir Reginald’s death?’ I don’t have a clear path to answering it, yet.”
“What about the grandson, Alan? Where does he fit in to all of this?” Philip probed.
“Nothing definitive that I’m ready to discuss at the moment.” Matt’s mind drifted back to Susan, and how protective she and Aunt Isobella were of the boy. That’s where he would start again to answer Philip’s query.
There was a knock at the office door. Bill, Matt, and Bertie turned to discover Judge Jenkins entering the room.
At that moment, all Matt could hear in his head was Audrey’s revelations about Philip and Judge Jenkins earlier that morning. “They’ve been quietly carrying on an affair for quite awhile.” And him asking: “Judge Jenkins?! Now how would you know that?” And her reply: “Because that’s why he’s my Ex.”
Matt glanced at Bill and Bertie. The surprise on their faces was like how he felt. And the question that came to his mind was: Why was she here? He had no doubts that she was the masked individual who came with Philip to Antonio’s and conducted the meeting from the background.