Murder.com (24 page)

The shocked guests made way for
the officers, and Mike didn't realize they had arrived until they
had surrounded him. We could see John say something to Mike. Ginny
and I jumped out of our chairs and ran over.

"Step back, please," one of the
officers directed Ginny and the rest of the guests.

"You are under arrest for the
murder of Ted Baxter."

"Mike!" Kate screamed, then came
running over to Mike. When she arrived, one of the officers held
her at bay and talked to her. She wasn't listening. She kept
screaming, "Mike! What is going on here? Mike!"

"What is this? What are you doing?
I haven't done anything wrong. I didn't kill Ted! Are you crazy?
This is a mistake!" Mike protested loudly, and in a shocked state
began to babble, proclaiming his innocence.

"Give it up. We found the gun,"
John said.

"What gun? I didn't kill Ted? I'm
innocent. Let me go!"

John took out a pair of handcuffs,
turned Mike around, and then placed the cuffs on his wrists. "You
have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be held
against you…" He read Mike the rest of his Miranda rights, and then
John and his fellow officers began to escort Mike out of The
Club.

Ken had run from the other side of The Club over to
Mike as he was in the process of being arrested. He was screaming
at the officers that they were making a big mistake and for Mike
not to worry. He would meet him down at the police station.

"This is crazy!" Mike screamed as
he was led through The Club.

Kate was walking next to the
detectives, frantically waving her hands and proclaiming Mike's
innocence. Within moments, Kate, Mike, and the police had exited
The Club.

The room was buzzing. Some of the guests were
whispering about what they had just witnessed, and many more were
loudly discussing it. It was shocking. A prominent businessman was
just arrested, for murder, at his own holiday party in the company
of no less than three hundred people. As the brouhaha was
unfolding, Jake had made his way over to me.

"What the hell was that?" Jake
asked. "Do you think this is going to fuck up my funding? I mean,
Ken should be fine to invest, right? On behalf of BMC,
right?"

I ignored his comment. Ken walked
over to the microphone, picked it up, and, still looking a bit
shaken up, started to speak. "Everyone, everyone, can I please have
your attention." He tapped the microphone with his finger. The
crowd started to silence itself. "Obviously you have all just
witnessed a grave injustice done to my partner Mike Miller. He is
completely innocent of all the charges, and I will be heading down
to the police station to straighten this out shortly. In the
meantime, this is an occasion for us all to celebrate together, so
please stay and enjoy the party." He handed the microphone back to
a member of the quartet to place back in its holder, and then
walked back toward his office.

The crowd began to buzz again as people resumed
enjoying the party. This party had shifted into a communal
discussion about what had just taken place.

"I simply cannot believe what just
happened," I overheard a woman in a group next to me
say.

"Murder. And I've done business
with the man. I can't believe it," another added.

After an hour of listening to the
shared shock of the guests, the majority of them began making their
way out of The Club. Despite Ken's earlier statement imploring
everyone to remain and enjoy the party, it had become evident that
this party was over. Ken became aware of the exodus, so he moved
himself toward the entrance, trying to entice the partygoers to
stay.

"Stay. Enjoy some drinks," I
overheard him saying. "There's no need to leave so soon.
Please."

Despite his pleas, the guests continued to walk
through the door. Ginny and I had decided that we too would exit
and make our way over to the police station so that we could find
out what had actually happened. We followed the crowd and bumped
into Ken as we were exiting.

"Max, you're leaving too? And
bringing this lovely lady with you?"

"I think it's time to head out,
Ken. It was a lovely party." That was the understatement of the
year.

"I wouldn't say lovely. Before you
both head out, would you mind if I grab you for a
moment?"

What did he want?

"Sure."

He motioned toward the large
doors. "Can we talk in my office?"

What's wrong with right
here?

Ken escorted Ginny and I through the open doors,
past the now dejected Santa, through the reception area, and into
his office.

Ken's office was almost a replica
of Mike's. It was stately, stuffy, and dark. When we entered, Kitty
was standing in one of the corners, looking at one of her nails.
She noticed that Imogen and I had arrived.

"Well, hello, Dutch," Kitty said
coldly. "And Miss Whitehall, so nice to see you as
well."

"Why don't you two have a seat,"
Ken forcefully suggested, ushering us into a couch that formed a
sitting area off to the side of his desk. Ginny and I sat
together.

Kitty made her way over to the
door while Ken spoke. "Can you believe what just happened out
there? What a travesty of justice. To just walk into a man's place
of business and accuse him of murder. I've never…"

"It's shocking," I
said.

"And how the police just barged
into the party and arrested him in front of all of those people,"
Imogen added.

"I believe you had a hand in
helping us catch this killer," Ken said. "Over the past few weeks
Mike had been hinting that you thought that he killed Ted. He
thought it was why you contacted us about POP. To, well, keep an
eye on him."

"I'm glad the police got him. I
did think that Mike did it. It certainly looked that way.
Especially with Kitty's help. She pointed us in the right
direction. That email was great, Kitty," I said, trying to appeal
to her sense of pride.

"I'm glad that it helped,
Dutch."

"You said Mike was innocent out
there," I said.

"Well, what was I supposed to
say?" Ken said. "We have a killer in the company? That would be bad
for business."

"So, you're not planning on
helping him?"

"Max, there's no way to help him.
The man killed his business partner. He's going to prison for a
very long time."

"But—"

"Anyway, that's not why I asked
you to join me. I wanted to personally thank you for your
help."

I just listened then asked, "So,
why is Kitty here?"

"Oh, Mrs. Baxter, well, she wanted
to thank you too."

"Yes, thank you Max," Kitty said
coolly. "You've been a great help."

This was a sham. I had seen Ken
and Kitty pull out of the offices of BMC together in Kitty's car. I
decided that I needed to speak. "So, Mike killed Ted.
Why?"

"Oh, Dutch," Kitty said, giggling.
"You do make me laugh. Isn't it time that we end this
charade?"

"Kitty, I don't know what you're
talking about."

"I think you do, Max." Ken pulled
out a gun and pointed it at Ginny and I.

"Surprised?" he asked.

"It was you," I said, playing
dumb. "You're the one killed Ted."

He ignored my comment.

"You shouldn't be surprised, Max.
I saw you the other day when you were following us. We both did,
and I know that you saw me." Ken was getting angry. "And then you
put two and two together, didn't you? You should have just followed
your leads, Max, instead of following us. After all, Mike was your
man. But you couldn't do that, could you? You had to go ahead and
keep snooping around."

"Things weren't adding up," I
said. "Like you investing a hundred million in POP."

Ken laughed. "I had to keep an eye
on
you
, my dear
boy. Make sure you were taking the bait that we threw your way.
Money is always a good insurance policy to keep people around.
Email helps too."

"So, you're Delator?"

"Boy, you really are slow on the
uptake, Max. We're actually both Delator. It means informer in
Latin. You like that touch? Sometimes it was me sending the emails.
Sometimes Kitty over there sent them. I figured you had that one
figured out from the get-go. Well, now that you have the whole
story, I'm going to give you the ending. Here is where the story
takes a tragic turn. Two more people are going to have to
die."

"So you set Mike up to take the
fall?" I was grasping for anything to keep this conversation
going.

"Really, Max, are you always this
slow? How on earth do you run these companies? I'm really beginning
to regret that POP investment," Ken said. "If we didn't set up
Mike, how else were we going to get Kitty her money? You must know
it's all tied up."

"I do, but what the hell do you
want Ted's money for, Kitty? I mean, you and Ken must be…" I was
still stalling for time. "So you and Ken are a couple?"

Kitty laughed. "We've been
together for years. I couldn't stand Ted. I've been asking for a
divorce since I married him, but he never would. Said it would cost
him too much. All that bastard ever cared about was money." She
stopped for a minute and thought. "Funny, you never heard anything
about that at the country club. I figured it was common
knowledge."

"But if you and Ken were a couple,
what did you need the money for?"

"You can always use more money,
Max. See, that's the part you never could understand. You can never
have too much money," Kitty enlightened us.

Rich people always want more.

"So you decided that the easiest
way to be together was to kill Ted? Didn't you realize that would
ruin both your lives?" I asked.

"Ruin my life? Are you kidding? I
put a bullet through his head. It was simple. One shot and he was
gone. If anything, getting Ted out of the picture made my life
easier. Ted was a pain in the ass. Screwing up the SCV deal and
then refusing to divorce Kitty."

"Did he know you two were
together?"

"Yes, he knew. It was an open
secret. But he still wouldn't divorce her. He was out to make her
life miserable. Killing him really was the only way to, well, make
things right. And you think that ruined my life? Thanks to you, the
police have Ted's killer in custody and Kitty has a resolution to
the whole estate issue. Problem solved on all fronts."

My eyes darted frantically around the office for
something that I could use to attack Ken. I could take him. He was
an older guy, albeit in good shape and about six inches taller than
me, but with the right weapon I would be able to disarm him. In the
meantime, I would continue to keep him talking. He was now lounging
a bit on the front of his desk, leisurely holding the gun in front
of us, almost begging for us to try to make a move.

I had to keep him talking. Maybe
even appeal to his vanity. "And you killed Seth Cohen
too?"

Ken looked at me, his body taut with anger,
clenching the gun.

"You shouldn't be talking about
things you know nothing about," Ken said sternly. As if I were his
student.

"I know all about it," I said.
"That you stole his patent. That he knew something about you that
could sink you. That you needed him out of the way so that you
could own everything free and clear. His company. His patent. His
invention."

Ken couldn't control himself. He
walked over to me and backhanded me across my face. It stung. First
my head jolted to the side, and then the pain set in. He might have
broken my cheekbone. That fat Harvard school ring did some damage
when it hit the bone.

"You don't know anything," Ken
said, bits of saliva flying out of his mouth into my face as he
bent down to yell at me. "That patent is mine. That invention is
mine. Seth was an inconvenience that had to be dealt with. He was
another one who couldn't leave well enough alone. He was paid for
his work. He had more money than he could spend."

I was still reeling from the hit.
My head throbbed, my cheek swelled, and my pride was bruised. I
focused and managed to say, "But you want the fame. You want to be
the man who started a revolution. The man who killed the cell
phone. The man who changed the way human beings communicate." My
words came out the way one would expect someone with a broken jaw
to talk. Slow and drawn out, but slightly more
articulate.

Ken spat in my face. "You smug
little bastard."

"And when did you figure that one
out?" Kitty asked me.

"It all came together tonight. I
knew someone killed him, but tonight I knew it had to be Ken. But
what I don't understand is why you wanted my help, Kitty? Why
me?"

Kitty smirked, then smiled, then
started laughing, as laughing has quickly become the norm in this
moment. "Oh, Dutch. You were part of the plan all along. You've
always been a sap. I knew if I told the police about our past and
made you out to be the jealous lover, they'd consider you a
suspect. They had to. It was all they had to go on at the time. And
if they pinned your back against the wall, you'd have no choice but
to help us set up Mike. Mike was the fall guy all along; you were
just the one who was going to help him take the fall. That's why I
came to you and told you that the police suspected you were the
killer. I needed a willing sap. So I came knocking, and you took
the bait. Even after I dumped you all those years ago for Ted.
You're such a sucker. You can't help it. That's your nature. But I
also knew you were smart. I just didn't count on you being this
smart." Kitty walked over to Ken so that she was facing me then
continued her backhanded compliments. "You took every morsel I, we,
threw your way, and followed up on it. Then turned over your
information to the police. Mike was a goner, but then you had to go
ahead and discover that Ken and I were behind it all. Too smart for
your own good. Underestimating you was my one mistake."