A Striking Death Page 6

  Louise Stephens had been sitting back listening, her hand to her mouth again. Now she leaned forward. “I won’t have it said I’m nosy, Detective Singh. I don’t pry into other people’s business. I keep to myself, but I am observant, and I do have a lot of time to sit.”

  “Fine. So, did you ever hear them arguing?”

  “When I am up to it, I enjoy gardening. One time I did hear loud voices coming from Daniel’s backyard. I think he has a patio just behind his fence.”

  “Loud voices? Shouting, you mean? Could you hear what was said? And who was saying it?”

  The widow was shaking her head. “Not shouting, no, just loud talk, angry. Daniel was anyway. I couldn’t make out any words and I didn’t want to. I was just outside picking some flowers and it was none of my business. I’m sure Daniel would have been embarrassed if he knew I could hear.”

  “And who was the other person? Was it Arthur Billinger?”

  “It could have been. It probably was. I never saw him, just heard his voice, much quieter but still angry. But that Art was the only man I ever saw going over there so it stands to reason it was him, doesn’t it?”

  Lori said, “It does indeed. When was this, Mrs. Stephens?”

  “Oh, maybe a month ago.”

  Lori looked at her watch, thanked the older woman for the tea and prepared to leave. She left her card on the table, saying, “If you think of anything else, Mrs. Stephens, please give me a call.”

  “Daniel couldn’t have done that to his friend, Detective. He just couldn’t have.” But the worried expression on her thin face said otherwise.

  “I’m sure you’re right,” Lori said politely. “Thank you for the tea.”

  eighteen

  “It’s not much, Nick.” Lori was looking at Drumm doubtfully.

  Drumm snorted. “Not much? It’s barely anything, and definitely not enough for an arrest warrant. But it’s something. Certainly enough to get Levine in here and see what else he knows.” Drumm sat back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. He was feeling tired but mellow. The lunch date with Emily had gone well, his stomach was pleasantly full of chilli and his blood sugar level was a healthy 6.4.

  “You want me to bring him in then?”

  “No, Dick can do it. Where is Dick, anyway?”

  “I have no idea. I told you, he buzzed off and I haven’t seen him since. He’s not answering his phone either.”

  Drumm shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. He’ll check in eventually. But if we can’t find him in an hour or so, you’ll have to go get Levine. I want him in here tonight.”

  Lori stood up and left the office, then immediately poked her head back around the door. “Staff’s coming.”

  Drumm swung his legs down from the desk. “Stay then, Lori.”

  Staff Sergeant Chappell strode into the office. “Progress, Nick?” He sat down in Lori Singh’s recently vacated chair.

  For a fleeting moment, Drumm thought about updating his boss on his lunch date. It went well, he might say. Emily’s office looks prosperous, we didn’t fight and the chilli was tasty. Mellow he might be, stupid he wasn’t.

  “We were just discussing suspects, sir. We don’t have a lot to go on yet.” He updated the Staff Inspector on the conversations with Mike Bailey and Daniel Levine.

  “So, a gay basher and a lover. What else?”

  “We’re going to bring Levine in for another talk. I think we’ll get Bailey in here too.” Drumm nodded to Singh. “See to that, will you, Lori? We’ll leave Levine for Dick like we said.”

  As Lori was leaving, Drumm said, “Where is Detective Dick, Staff, do you know? I’m supposed to have a team here but one member is incognito.”

  Chappell looked startled, and then smiled briefly. “He’s doing a little job for me, Nick. He should be back soon. But I think you mean incommunicado, don’t you? Out of touch?”

  “Whatever, it’s inconvenient, sir. And Dick is annoying enough as it is.”

  Chappell stood up. “He’ll be here. I want to know what Levine has to say. Arguing with the victim – maybe he was jealous? We need to find that out. And he has no alibi. Add to that he’s Billinger’s lover. When a man dies, cherchez la femme, right, Nick? Even if, in this case, the femme is a man. Keep me posted.” And Chappell left the room.

  Drumm thought, cherchez la femme? He supposed with a gay man bludgeoned to death, his lover might be considered a woman. Then he pictured Levine in his mind and shook his head. No way.

  nineteen

  Visibly angry, Mike Bailey was in Interview Room #2. On the monitor he could be seen fidgeting in his chair, glancing at his watch, looking for all the world like a caged tiger. Lori Singh was enjoying the sight even more than she had enjoyed picking him up. To be on the safe side, she had taken a couple of uniforms to the construction site. Mike Bailey had come along reluctantly but not quietly.

  “I told you everything last time!” Bailey was angry.

  “Just a few more questions, Mr. Bailey. Won’t take long.” Lori had raised an eyebrow at him and waited. She was prepared to detain him and Bailey obviously knew it because he had gotten into the back of the patrol car without too much more argument. And now here he was, waiting impatiently.

  Lori watched Drumm enter the room and introduce himself. She adjusted the volume so she could hear better and sat on the edge of a desk to watch. She sensed movement behind her and turned to see Detective McDonald enter the room. He gave her a mock salute and put his finger to his lips when she opened her mouth to question him. He pointed to the monitor and gave her a cheeky grin and took up a position beside her with his arms crossed in front of him.

  Lori switched her attention back to Drumm who was going over the same questions she had asked Bailey the day before. Drumm was getting the same answers and Bailey was becoming more agitated with each question. Drumm had to ask the big man several times to calm down. The detective didn’t seem bothered by the tradesman’s truculence. Lori leaned forward as Drumm began a new line of questioning.

  “Do you own a gun, Mr. Bailey?”

  “A gun! Of course I don’t! Why would you ask that?”

  “You asked Detective Singh if Arthur Billinger had been shot. I wondered.” Drumm sat calmly, watching the other man.

  “I don’t own a gun! I don’t know why I said that. Besides, he was beaten to death, wasn’t he?”

  “He was. With a baseball bat. Do you own one of those, maybe?”

  Bailey’s neck was starting to get red, Lori noticed. She looked over at McDonald who had a huge grin on his face. He saw her glance and winked. She switched her attention back to the interview room.

  “I don’t have a bat! For Chrissakes I’m a drywaller. I don’t have time for baseball,” Bailey said.

  “You sure? We can check on that.” Bailey started to speak but Drumm went on. “Never mind. Did you ever play baseball? In school maybe?”

  Bailey stared at him. “In high school, sure. That was years ago.”

  Drumm said, “You’re a big man – I bet you could really hit.”

  “You’re nuts! Because I played baseball in school, you think I killed Billinger? You’re out of your mind!”

  “Not just because of that, no. Arthur Billinger was gay and you made it clear you didn’t like him. So here’s what I think. He bothered you. He bothered you more and more all the time. You kept running into him on the street, with that faggoty walk of his, and his funny way of talking. He spoke to you one time too many and you decided to do for him. One less queer in the world, right Mr. Bailey?”

  Bailey was shaking his head. “You’ve got a helluva imagination, I’ll say that. I didn’t like him but I didn’t kill him. And you can’t prove I did because I didn’t!” This last word was shouted in a loud voice.

  Lori turned to McDonald. “He’s telling the truth, isn’t he?”

  “Oh yes, love, I’d say so.” McDonald had stopped smiling. “I imagine Nick knows that too.”

  Drumm joined them a few
moments later. “It’s about time you showed up, Dick.” He stared hard at McDonald, and then switched his gaze to Lori. “When he’s calmed down, you can release him.”

  She said, “It wasn’t him, was it? That was genuine surprise he was showing.”

  “Oh, yes,” Drumm said. “Not only that – did you see the size of his feet? He’s got to be a 13 at least. No way he made those footprints we found in the yard.”

  “Why go after him so hard then, Nick?” asked McDonald.

  Drumm stared at him. “He deserved it. I don’t like gay bashers. Even if it’s just verbal bashing.” He paused. “Let’s meet in my office in a few minutes. I need a pee.”

  “Where have you been, Dick?” Drumm was seated at his desk. He’d had his bathroom break, checked his blood sugar again.

  McDonald was also seated. For once he seemed a little subdued. “I was on assignment for Chappell. Nothing special.” Before Drumm could ask the inevitable next question, McDonald went on, “He asked me to keep it quiet.” His thin face was carefully blank as he watched Drumm’s reaction.

  Drumm looked at him for a minute, and then sighed. “Fine. Let’s get everyone up to speed here. Lori?”

  “We’ve basically turned up nothing suspicious on anybody. Aside from a few parking tickets for Bailey, nobody has a record at all. We’ve checked phone records for Billinger, Garmand, Daniel Levine and Mike Bailey and there’s nothing out of the ordinary.” Lori had undone her hair, Drumm noticed, and she was absentmindedly smoothing it as she spoke. “There’s nothing suspicious there at all for any of them. Same for the financials. Arthur Billinger was well off; he didn’t need to be working. That’s clear, just like Levine said. No mortgage, credit cards paid off, healthy bank accounts with no large withdrawals or anything unusual at all.” Lori shrugged in frustration. “Just a boring old retired teacher, it looks like.”

  “And yet someone killed him, love,” said McDonald.

  Singh glared at him but said nothing.

  “What about the others?” Drumm asked.

  “Same thing. Cameron Garmand, another absolutely squeaky-clean retired teacher. Good pension, not much debt, everything routine. Our friend Mr. Bailey needs to work: he’s got a mortgage and a big line of credit. But he pays his bills on time. Again, nothing unusual. Same for Levine, although he is just making ends meet, it seems. That bookstore of his doesn’t earn much money.”

  McDonald said, “Just wondering, Levine and Billinger were lovers. Would Levine stand to inherit, do you think? Have we come across Billinger’s will?”

  Drumm said, “Not yet. Good point, Dick. We’ll check on it.” He waited to see if there was more from Lori, and then said, “OK, so in essence we have a dead old man and not much idea of why he was killed.” He looked at the two of them for a rebuttal which was not forthcoming. “Maybe it was because he was gay, but if so, we don’t have a real suspect. And maybe it was because he was killed as the result of an argument. Although, if that was true, why was he done in bed? It doesn’t fit. It’s time we got Levine in here. Dick, go and get him.” He looked at his watch. “His store will be closing soon, anyway. We’ll order in some food and then question him.”

  twenty

  Daniel Levine was not at all happy to be sitting in the York Police Services interview room. McDonald said that Levine had protested strenuously, had, in fact, only come along when told it would look like he had something to hide if he didn’t.

  Drumm introduced Lori Singh to the portly bookstore owner and apologized for the inconvenience. “I know you don’t want to be here. We just need to ask a few more questions.”

  “I don’t know what those could be. I told you everything this morning.”

  Drumm said, “Perhaps. Earlier you said that you and Arthur Billinger were lovers, that you wanted the two of you to live together. Do I have that right?”

  “That’s right, yes. But Art wanted to live by himself.”

  “And how did that make you feel?”

  Levine shrugged. “I was fine with it, Detective. I had to be, didn’t I? It was what he wanted.”

  Drumm asked, “Did you argue about it?”

  “Of course we did, a little bit. I was disappointed. I said some things I wish I hadn’t.” Levine was looking upset. “I’d give a lot to be able to take them back now.”

  Lori spoke for the first time. “How bad were these arguments, Mr. Levine?”

  Levine switched his attention to Singh. “How bad were they? What do you mean?”

  Lori said, “I mean, was there shouting? Swearing at each other? Pushing or hitting? Anything like that?”

  Levine’s shoulders sagged. He looked like he was about to cry. “No, nothing like that. And we didn’t argue often. The worst time, I may have said something like, ‘If you love me, you’d want to stay with me.’ I don’t remember exactly what I said.”

  “I only ask because we have a witness who says she heard you raising your voice and arguing with Mr. Billinger. It’s not unreasonable to assume that it might have escalated into something more serious.” Lori sat back and crossed her legs. She had her notebook out and her pen at the ready. “Did it?”

  “To assume….? Who is this witness anyway?” Levine was agitated. “Did it escalate?” He started to stand up. “You think I killed Art?”

  For a big man, Drumm was fast. He was on his feet with his hand raised before Levine could get to his feet. “Sit down. Nobody’s saying anything like that. These are just routine questions.” He glanced at Lori.

  Levine slumped back into his chair. “I can’t believe this.” The bookstore owner looked weary. There were dark bags under his eyes, as if he hadn’t slept well. His clothes were looking much more rumpled than they had before, Drumm noticed. He needed a shave.

  “Let’s take a break,” Drumm said, standing up. “Lori, would you mind getting us some refreshments? Mr. Levine’s had a long day. I’m sure he could use some coffee. I know I could.”

  Singh nodded and quietly left the room.

  Drumm said, “Come on. Let’s take a stroll.” Levine rose wearily to his feet and followed Drumm out into the hallway. The detective led the way to a stairwell, up a flight of concrete steps and out through a steel door with a handwritten sign that said, “Kew Gardens”. They emerged onto the roof of the building.

  “I come up here sometimes for solitude,” said Drumm. There were two green tables with patio chairs and umbrellas. Around the edges of the space were rectangular gardens. Tall grasses competed with bushes and some dying petunias and marigolds for room. “This was an environmental initiative a few years ago. You know, one of those projects to turn an ugly roof into a usable green spot. It looks better in the summer.”

  Drumm went over to the edge of the roof and pointed to the south. “On a good day, you can see the CN Tower from here. Too dark to make it out right now, though.” Then he turned to Levine. “I’m sorry we have to put you through this. Believe me, if it weren’t necessary, we wouldn’t do it. Sit down, relax for a bit. I’ll bring the coffee up.”

  Levine nodded and sank gratefully into one of the patio chairs.

  As Drumm left, he saw the bookstore owner lean over and put his head in his hands.

  Drumm found Lori standing in the hallway outside the interview room with a tray in her hands, looking puzzled. She raised an eyebrow when she saw him. “Garden,” he said. He took the tray from her. “We’ll be back down in a few minutes.”

  When Drumm returned carrying the refreshments, he stopped dead. Daniel Levine was right over at the edge of the roof, leaning way over, looking down. They were only three floors up but still…there was only a small railing separating him from a nasty drop to the parking lot below. Drumm put the tray down in a rush, spilling the coffee, and strode over to Levine. “Daniel!”

  Levine turned quickly and lost his balance, looking startled. Drumm, reaching him, grabbed Levine’s arm to steady him. “Careful! Don’t want to lose you!” He let go and looked at the man carefully. Reassur
ed by Levine’s expression, he led the way back to the table. “I’m afraid I spilled the coffee.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” said Levine. “Doesn’t matter at all.” He sat down and picked up a cup, exhaustion apparent in his every movement. He said nothing for several minutes, the silence gathering along with the evening. He looked at Drumm. “We’re not done yet, are we? What else is she going to ask me? I don’t have anything else to say.”

  “We’re just trying to learn as much as we can about your friend,” said Drumm. “Every little piece of information helps. Shall we go back down?”

  Lori Singh was waiting for them back in the interview room. She stood up as she heard them approaching. Levine slumped wearily back into his chair.

  “Let’s get this over with,” he said. “I have to get out of here.”

  Lori sat down. She said, “This morning you told Detective Sergeant Drumm that Arthur Billinger had other things going on in his life, other people.” This last part she read from her notebook. She looked directly at Levine. “We need you to expand on that. Who did you mean?”

  “He had other friends, former colleagues, that kind of thing.” But Levine’s eyes slid away from Singh’s and Drumm again had the sense that the bookstore owner was being evasive.

  “Don’t you get it, Daniel?” Drumm was exasperated. “We need names. Who are these people? Your friend was brutally murdered. One of these mysterious people you keep referring to might be involved. Can’t you see? It looks like you’re protecting someone.”

  “I’m not protecting anyone! I just don’t know who they are. I didn’t want to know.” He paused and ran his hand back over his thinning hair. “He had a regular weekly date at Tim Hortons for coffee. Cameron Garmand would always go and there were other people there, but I don’t know who. I couldn’t go because of the store. Didn’t want to anyway. Who’d want to sit with a bunch of teachers reminiscing about old times?”