Thai Die by Monica Ferris Read Free Book Online Page B

results, he was shot with a small-caliber gun, probably a twenty-two or twenty-five, and the Valentine gun is a thirty-eight.”
    “So her gun wasn’t taken?”
    “No, it was found on the floor of her bedroom. Ms. Valentine said she kept it inside a pillowcase.”
    “So what is missing from up there?”
    “Ms. Valentine says a piece of handwoven silk brocade, a ruby necklace and earrings, and a silver ring, all bought in Thailand. And her laptop.”
    Betsy said, “That sounds pretty much like a burglary to me.”
    “Well, the stone statue of the Buddha she says she took to St. Paul wasn’t found in the Fitzwilliam store. And it isn’t in her apartment, either.”
    “You think she didn’t take it over there? And that it was taken from her apartment?”
    “What do you think?” He narrowed his eyes, reluctant to admit he really wanted her opinion.
    “Of course she took it over there. The way she talked about going over there, the story she told of his reaction, it was all too complicated to be anything but the truth.”
    “So where is this Buddha statue?”
    “In the hands of the person who bought it from him, I’d say. Probably the woman who got out of the Hummer. Paid for it and left, I’d guess. What do you think?”
    “I think his murder and the search of his store, and then the search of Ms. Valentine’s apartment are no coincidence, and this statue is what they have in common. It could be that Ms. Valentine found out the statue was valuable after all and decided to keep it for herself. In order to do that, she had to murder Mr. Fitzwilliam.”
    “Apart from the extreme ridiculousness of thinking such a thing of Doris Valentine, you have to assume she shot him with a different gun than the one she owned,” said Betsy.
    “If she’s an intelligent person, sure.” Mike was turning pink around the ears.
    “But why murder him? Why not just fail to deliver it?”
    “Because Mr. Fitzwilliam would want to know why it wasn’t delivered, and when he can’t get hold of Ms. Valentine, he will contact the Bangkok dealer, who will give him her address.”
    “Oh. But he wouldn’t have had to contact the Bangkok dealer, since Doris said she talked to Mr. Fitzwilliam on the phone. He knew her name and probably that she was coming to his store from Excelsior. But all right, then, how about Mr. Fitzwilliam decided not to hand it over to the customer? And the customer murdered him to get it.”
    “Fine—except in that case, why come over here and ransack Ms. Valentine’s apartment?”
    “It was just a burglar in Doris’s apartment. Coincidences happen, you know.”
    “No, this place was tossed by someone looking for something. He left a huge mess, spilling and dumping all kinds of things. He even took the covers off the exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathroom.”
    Betsy looked up at the ceiling as she pictured the ruins. What a horrible thing to walk into! But a search . She quashed her empathy in an effort to think clearly. Why would someone go on a search of Doris’s apartment? She couldn’t think. She shrugged.
    Mike said, “Suppose Doris didn’t hand over the Buddha because she found out it is really ancient and valuable? Countries have laws about exporting their antiquities.”
    Betsy nodded.
    “And the person who was to buy it thought Mr. Fitzwilliam was the one holding it back and killed him. If Doris is right and the woman who went into his shop was the customer, she searched his shop, and when she didn’t find it, she came looking for Doris.”
    Betsy bit her lower lip as her heart began to thump. Was Doris in danger? “Do you think that’s what happened?” she asked.
    “I’m still collecting information.”
    “You know, if this was such a secret deal, why was everyone being so aboveboard about it, her going to the Bangkok man’s office and phoning ahead to Fitzwilliam in St. Paul?”
    He said, “I thought Fitzwilliam was upset because Ms. Valentine showed it around.”
    “Well, yes,