Simon Says Die

me.”
    â€œDo you . . . think you can help me?”
    â€œThat depends.”
    â€œOn?”
    â€œOn whether you tell the truth.” He turned and opened the door, then stepped out into the hallway.
    â€œCome on.” Pierce put his hand on the small of her back.
    â€œAm I getting out of here?”
    â€œWe’re just going to a conference room. As for getting you out of jail entirely, that depends on the answers you give us, and how many strings we can pull.”
    â€œWe?”
    â€œAlex, Casey, and me. Alex isn’t the only one with influence in this town. Casey has his share, and I worked a few cases back in my time that left me with some pretty hefty favors to call in. Between us three, we have dirt on half the judges in Savannah.”
    â€œW E NEED M ADISON’S computer.” Pierce rested his crossed arms on the conference room table. “Hamilton has it in evidence. Madison said she has files on there she copied from her husband’s computer. We need to look at those. And Casey has some fake contracts Damon apparently created. I can get you those.”
    Alex shook his head. “None of that does us any good unless Damon McKinley is really alive and involved in all of this somehow.”
    â€œHe’s alive, and he’s most definitely involved,” Madison said.
    Alex didn’t respond to that. He sifted through the folder of notes sitting on the conference room table. “They’ve already identified the woman’s body that was buried in your yard. Her name was Leslie O’Neil. She’s from New York. Ever heard of her?”
    Pierce watched her closely to gauge her reaction.
    She shook her head. “No, the name isn’t familiar.”
    She seemed to be telling the truth. “How did they identify her?” Pierce asked.
    â€œShe had a pacemaker. The police traced it through its serial number. Looks like Miss O’Neil was divorced, estranged from her family, so no one ever reported her missing.”
    â€œJust like the yardman,” Pierce said. “Was she wealthy?”
    â€œNo, although she did have a fairly healthy bank account, at one time. She was a career woman. Started out in computers, then later became a pharmacist. Her ex-husband said she’d been laid off from her job shortly before the last time he saw her. He assumed she’d moved somewhere else for a job opportunity and never thought anything of the fact that he didn’t see her again.”
    â€œShe had a healthy bank account at one time ?” Madison asked.
    â€œThere were substantial withdrawals over a period of about twelve months, beginning almost a year and a half ago and stopping right around the time of her death—which has been placed as about four months ago.”
    Pierce glanced at Madison. “The same time you purchased your house.”
    She nodded, wrinkling her brow in confusion. “What does this mean?”
    â€œMy guess,” Pierce said, “Is that when Damon disappeared he took up with Miss O’Neil to use her as his meal ticket. It probably took him a few months to get in good with her, and then she opened her bank account to him. When the money started running out, he began to resent that you had inherited so much money and he was probably close to being broke. He eliminated Miss O’Neil because she had no more value to him. He may have been keeping tabs on you, maybe in the hopes he could get some of his money back someday. When you bought that house, and didn’t move in, he might have seen an opportunity. He was living there, maybe to make it look like he was upper crust in Savannah, so he could blend in with the wealthy.”
    Her eyes widened. “He was looking for another target? Someone else to con so he could get their money?”
    Pierce nodded. “Makes sense.”
    â€œBut when I moved here, he was forced to leave the house.”
    â€œRight, and his entrée into society. You ruined his get-rich-again-quick plan. He probably thought he could make your life difficult so you’d leave rather than face the problems. Then he could go back to his original plan, find a new rich person to con, and his money problems would be solved.”
    She winced at his “leave rather than face the problems” statement. He took her hand in his and gave her a reassuring squeeze.
    Alex flipped the paper over. “Those are decent theories to pursue. But why wouldn’t