P Is for Peril

been submerged since the night he dropped from view. As soon as the post is done, I'm guessing they'll cremate the remains."
    "I'm sorry to hear this. It's too bad."
    "It has to be worse when the questions are unresolved. At least now his family knows and they can get on with life."
    We chatted on in this vein, exploring our reactions and speculations until the subject petered out. Henry picked up my plate and took it to the sink.
    "I can do that," I said.
    "Stay where you are." He ran hot water in the sink and picked up a dish sponge with liquid detergent in the handle. He soaped the plate, rinsed it, and set it in the rack. "By the way, I saw a friend of yours tonight."
    "Really. Who?"
    He put the cutting board in the sink and began to put the condiments away. "Tommy Hevener came into Rosie's. He was looking for you, of course, but we ended up having quite a chat. He seems like a nice fellow and he's clearly smitten. He asked a lot of questions about you."
    "I have a lot of questions about him, too. That's the part of my day I haven't told you about yet."
    He paused with his hand on the refrigerator door. "I don't like the tone of this."
    "You won't like the rest of it, either." I waited until he returned to the table and took a seat.
    He said, "What?" with apprehension, like he really didn't want to hear.
    "Turns out Tommy Hevener and his brother hired a punk down in Texas to break into the family home and steal the valuables, including close to a million in jewels. The burglar did as instructed and then set fire to the house to cover his tracks. What the boys failed to mention to him was that Mom and Dad were stashed in the closet, bound and gagged. They died of smoke inhalation while the place burned down around them."
    Henry blinked. "No."
    "Yes."
    "But that can't be true."
    "It is," I said. "The insurance investigator-this is a woman named Mariah Talbot-came to the office this morning and showed me the clippings from the Hatchet Daily News Gazette or whatever the hell it's called. I left the file at the office or you could see for yourself."
    "But if that's the case, why aren't they in jail?"
    "There was never enough evidence, and since the 'boys' were never charged, they managed to collect on the fire loss, life insurance, and the inheritance. All told, they walked off with a couple million bucks. Their aunt and the insurance company are preparing a civil suit, hoping to recover whatever assets remain."
    "But how do they know the burglar wasn't the one responsible? He might have surprised the parents, thinking they were gone when he broke into the house. Maybe he was the one who tied them up and gagged them."
    "Unfortunately, the burglar hasn't been heard from since. Speculation has it they killed him, too."
    "But they can't be sure," he said.
    "That's why they've reopened the investigation. Recently, an informant stepped forward and Guardian Casualty is prepared to go forward on the basis of this new information."
    "I can't believe it."
    "I had the same reaction until I saw the articles. I mean, here's what gets me. The first time I met Tommy? He told me his parents died in an accident. He didn't want me to mention it to Richard because he said his brother was still 'touchy' about the subject. I thought, well, those poor dear fellows. Here I am, thinking about my parents and feeling sorry for these guys. It really galls me to think how easily I got sucked in. Such bullshit. According to the paper, they even offered a big reward-a hundred thousand dollars-for 'information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer or killers of Jared and Brenda Hevener.' Why not offer millions? They're in no danger of paying unless one rats the other out."
    "How can you do business with them?"
    "That's what I'm getting to. I signed a year's lease and paid six months in advance, plus a cleaning deposit. We don't want to forget that little item. Now I can't figure how to get out of it. I'm willing to forfeit the money, but it pisses me off."
    "Let Lonnie handle it. He'll know what to do."
    "Good thought," I said. "Not that it ends there."
    "Why not?"
    "Mariah thinks the jewelry's still somewhere in that big fancy house of theirs. She's hoping I can locate the safe so the cops can get a search warrant. She says the Heveners' funds are just about depleted. They've been traveling in the fast lane and now they're close to broke. She's hoping they'll try to sell at least a portion of the jewelry. Since they filed a claim for