Page 12 of Dead O’Clock
Ten leaned closer to Ronan. “She’s telling the truth. All they want to do is live their lives in peace. Carson was wrong when he said the warden had a chance with his ex. Janet won’t leave Steve under any circumstance.”
“That’s the impression I got too. Jude, what about you?”
“Same. Look around this room.” He pointed to the collage of family pictures on the wall. “Graduations, birthdays, Christmases, school dances. This family is the Brady Bunch. A perfectly blended, happy family.”
“Okay, here we go.” Janet came back into the dining room with a manila folder. “These are the reports from the last month or so. Steve is printing you out the notes he took when Paul sent police officers to his workplace.”
Ronan’s eyes widened. “The warden sent men to intimidate your husband?”
“Yes, they were in uniform with badges and guns. If this harassment keeps up, Steve’s going to lose his job. He’s only two years away from retirement. He’s been with this company since college and has a pretty hefty benefits package and a pension that he’d lose if he were fired.”
“That sounds like motive to me,” Jude said.
“Motive for what?” Janet asked, looking confused.
“I don’t only work with the Salem Police, Mrs. Robinson,” Ten began, “I’m a psychic at West Side Magick. Several hours ago, Warden Jones came into the shop screaming about how someone was going to kill him at midnight. He was begging for our help to identify the person who was coming for him.”
“None of this makes any sense,” Steve said. He set a second folder in front of Ronan. “Unless of course he’s set it up to look like I’m the potential murderer. God, will this bullshit ever end?”
Ronan picked up the folder of police reports and started thumbing through them. Accusations had been made against Steve for benign things like jaywalking or double parking, but quickly branched into more serious potential charges for theft, trespassing, and domestic abuse against Janet. The most serious charge accused Steve of being involved in a hit and run accident. “These are some pretty serious police reports, especially the hit and run.”
“All of them are baseless. The police officers who came to the house knew that, but had to check out the allegations, which I understand, but when is enough, enough?” Steve took a deep breath. “I’m a law abiding citizen. I pay my taxes, coach my company’s softball team. I love my wife, our kids and grandkids. I would never raise a hand against them or Paul.”
Ronan nodded. He got that same impression from Steve Robinson. He grabbed the second folder filled with Steve’s notes and was appalled by the accounts of armed men visiting him at work, threatening him if he didn’t divorce Janet.
“Do either one of you know how to write in calligraphy?” Jude asked, seemingly out of the blue.
“What?” Steve asked, wearing a confounded look. “I would have no idea how to do that.”
“Same here,” Janet said. “My handwriting is horrible and I can’t draw worth shit. My stick people don’t even look like stick people. Why are you asking?”
“The letter Paul brought to us this morning was written in calligraphy.” Ronan showed Janet the picture he’d taken with his phone.
“…for you die when the midnight bell tolls.” Steve shook his head. “What kind of fucked up bullshit is this? You said you’re a psychic, Tennyson. Couldn’t you tell Paul was lying when he visited your shop?”
“I wasn’t able to get a lot of information from him thanks to how agitated he was. What I can tell you is that he seemed genuinely scared.”
“He always seems genuinely scared,” Janet said on a sigh. “He tells me all the time how scared he is that something is going to happen to me at Steve’s hands. To be honest, I’m more afraid of something happening to me at Paul’s.”
Ronan felt the same way. He stood up from the table and pulled a business card out of his wallet. “We’re sorry to have bothered you this morning. Please feel free to call me if there’s anything I can do to help with Paul. You both might want to apply for protection orders, and you need to keep track of his stalking behavior.”
“Thank you, Detective O’Mara. We appreciate your time.” Janet led them back to the front door and set a hand on Ten’s shoulder. “My youngest daughter has been trying to get pregnant for the last six years. She and her husband are on their last round of IVF. Is it going to work?”
Ten burst out laughing. “Is it ever! Do you want to hear the details or do you want to be surprised?”
“I want the details.”
“Quadruplets!” Ten gushed. “Three girls and one boy. You better get some sleep now because you’re going to need it helping to care for those babies.”
Janet hugged Tennyson. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome. Baby news is always my favorite to deliver.” Ten grinned brightly. He was seemingly back to his old self.
“Like I said, call me if there’s anything we can do.” Ronan held the door for Ten and Jude before walking out of the house.
“What do you think?” Jude asked when they were settled into the SUV.
“I think the letter is a hoax. The warden might not have written it himself, but he’s definitely behind it.” Ronan hated to say it, but Paul Jones was full of shit. “This is just the latest act of a man desperate to get something he can’t have.”
