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<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I started to walk across the lawn towards my car, but Henry spoke up again.\u00a0 As I turned I saw his gun pointed at me.\u00a0 \u201cSimba, I really insist that you stop ignoring me.\u00a0 I asked a simple question, and I don\u2019t think that it\u2019s too much to ask.\u00a0 So I\u2019ll say it again, and this time I want an answer.\u00a0 Why was Sylvia here?\u201d\u00a0 This time he was pointing the gun at Simba.\u00a0 I reached into my purse to feel Sam\u2019s gun.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHenry,\u201d quavered Simba, \u201cSylvia used to be Goddard\u2019s teacher in school, and they have been friends since then.\u00a0 Sylvia has always been very kind to Goddard and to Dessa too, and that\u2019s where Dessa has been for the past few days, so I was very grateful to Sylvia.\u00a0 That\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she ever ask about me?\u201d\u00a0 said Henry quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I\u2019m sorry, I didn\u2019t know that you knew her.\u00a0 It never came up,\u201d said Simba.<\/p>\n
\u201cHenry, put that gun away, or at least aim it at me and not your sister,\u201d said Sam.\u00a0 We both knew Sylvia, of course, and maybe it\u2019s time to educate you a little more, because she is not what you think.\u00a0 You see, Sylvia came to me\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStop Sam, is this really necessary?\u00a0 How can you be so cruel?\u201d said Simba.\u00a0 I started to inch closer to Henry.\u00a0 He seemed so confused and lost I thought that I could perhaps grab his gun, now pointed at Sam.<\/p>\n
Sam pressed ahead undeterred.\u00a0 \u201cYou see Sylvia came to me knocked up and asked for my help.\u00a0\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t seen her much since she was your whore, but what the hell, Simba was in a bad way \u2013 frankly I think that you Murphy\u2019s are a pretty unstable bunch \u2013 anyway I wanted to have a peaceful home life, so I offered to adopt her baby, and Sylvia was agreeable.\u00a0 So there you have it, actually you might be the last to know \u2013 Dessa figured out with Penny\u2019s help.\u00a0\u00a0 You see, Sylvia is Dessa\u2019s birth mother.\u00a0\u00a0 What do you think old man, think you might be the secret baby daddy after all these years?\u00a0 What about it, could it be you, or maybe you’re just one among many possibilities?\u201d<\/p>\n
I briefly wondered why Sam seemed to be just asking for it, taunting an unstable man with a loaded gun, but Sam then made a sudden move to try and knock the gun out of Henry\u2019s hands.\u00a0\u00a0 Simba was screaming, \u201cSam how could you, how could you?\u201d\u00a0 I leapt forward and slammed into Henry\u2019s body, and hit his outstretched arm with a chopping motion.\u00a0 I heard the sound of the gun go off and then there was silence.<\/p>\n
A few seconds later I heard the low rolling chuckle of Sam\u2019s voice.\u00a0 \u201cMissed again, big fella.\u00a0 Might be time for you to go home.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure that we can manage a way to never see each other again.\u201d\u00a0 I looked up and saw that the gun had been flung into the wet grass a few feet away.\u00a0 I crawled over and grabbed the gun; now I had two guns in my pocket.<\/p>\n
Henry was shaking and Simba had her arms around him, they walked off together, and I headed back to my car, leaving Sam alone.\u00a0 \u201cExcuse Ms. Blue,\u201d he said, tapping on the table where his gun had been sitting, \u201cI think that you maybe have something of mine.\u201d\u00a0 He held out his hand.\u00a0 I ignored him and kept walking to the car.<\/p>\n
I met Simba and Henry in front of the house.\u00a0 \u201cWould you like me to drive you two back to your house?\u201d I said.\u00a0 Simba shook her head and was helping \u00a0a very feeble Henry get into the car.\u00a0 I nodded back at her and headed over to my car, and followed then closely down the canyon, and satisfied that Simba was not driving erratically, I headed back to my apartment.<\/p>\n
Chapter 50<\/b><\/p>\n
I thought I had slept in the next morning.\u00a0 After all, there didn\u2019t seem much I could do except update Henry\u2019s lawyer Jimmy Earle and wait for the police investigation of the car. \u00a0When I woke up, it was light out, so I knew that it was at least 7 AM.\u00a0 I got up and closed the curtains, hoping to sleep for at least another smooth 4 hours.\u00a0 I felt I deserved it.\u00a0 That was one long day, starting with Simba on my doorstep with the worrisome purple thumbprint on her wrist, and crisscrossing from the Murphy house, to Cutter City, to dead Chloe, to the Murphy house and back up the canyon, the day ending with me tackling a man with a loaded gun.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t sure what I had accomplished, except that maybe I had prevented a death, even though the man clearly wanted to be murdered.\u00a0 I got up took a shower, got dressed and didn\u2019t look at the clock until I went into the kitchen.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t believe it, it was only 8:30.\u00a0 As soon as I saw the clock, all my renewed energy from my supposed deep sleep evaporated.\u00a0 I was also standing in front of a sink filled with the detritus of Simba\u2019s breakfast the previous morning.\u00a0 There were plates sticky with congealed egg yolk pockmarked with adherent bread crumbs.\u00a0 Another smear of egg yolk was on the counter, and greasy frying pans were still on the range.\u00a0 I started the clean up while contemplating getting back into bed for a do-over.\u00a0\u00a0 However, the ringing phone made it clear that the day had started.<\/p>\n
\u201cLiza, it\u2019s Jimmy Earle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJimmy, I was going to call you to bring you up to date on the details, but it might be better for me to stop by your office.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLiza, haven\u2019t you heard, Henry Murphy is dead.\u00a0 Committed suicide.\u00a0 Left a note and everything.\u00a0 Confessed to the hit and run.\u00a0 Liza, are you there, didn\u2019t you hear yet.\u00a0 Sorry to break it to you so abruptly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJimmy, I was just with Henry last night.\u00a0 It was an emotional night for sure, but when I left him, he was driving to his house with his sister Simba, and I thought they\u2019d be okay.\u00a0\u00a0 Have you talked with Simba yet?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, just talked with Grimes of the police force.\u00a0 Apparently they\u2019re satisfied that the case is closed.\u00a0 Looks like he just wandered into the ocean.\u00a0 They\u2019re going to do a tox screen, but with the note and all, it doesn\u2019t look accidental, and there\u2019s nothing like a written confession to close a case.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI find it hard to believe,\u201d I said.\u00a0 \u2018Henry was a troubled man, for sure, and I\u2019m willing to go with the suicide \u2013 that\u2019s within the realm of possibilities, but it hard to believe that that timid man would \u00a0run down a young girl.\u00a0 I just don\u2019t see that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, what can I say?\u00a0 My job as a defense attorney is typically over when the defendant dies, but give me a call if I can be of further help.\u201d<\/p>\n
I just sat down at the kitchen table with my head in my hands.\u00a0 What had gone on last night after I left Henry and Simba?\u00a0 Well, I could probably guess.\u00a0 And then I started to feel guilty that I was trying to convince myself that I shouldn\u2019t feel guilty.\u00a0 But ultimately I decided that the least I should do is stop by Simba\u2019s to offer my condolences.\u00a0\u00a0 So I left the dishes idling in the sink to turn into a perfectly congealed ugliness, and off I went through Santa Teresa to the Murphy used-to-be mansion.\u00a0\u00a0 The gates had been left open and there were a few cars in the driveway that I didn\u2019t recognize.\u00a0 The front door was unlocked and I just walked in.\u00a0 The morning light was streaming through the windows, highlighting the fine mist of dust in the air and on the furniture.\u00a0 I could even make out dusty footprints in the front hall.\u00a0 I thought I could hear some voices in the back toward the kitchen, but it didn\u2019t seem right to make myself at home, so I stepped back out and rang the doorbell.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t hear any response and assumed that the doorbell was broken.\u00a0 I stood there for a moment trying to figure out what to do, when I caught sight of Simba in the front hall mirror crossing from the kitchen to the dining room. \u00a0I knocked on the door again to get her attention.\u00a0 She turned and started at me briefly, and then wordlessly turned her back on me and headed back to the kitchen, carefully closing the door behind her.<\/p>\n
My first reaction was to find some way to defend myself, make sure that Simba knew that whatever had happened last night, it was clearly not my fault, but then I backed off, thinking that her chilly reception just indicated her grief.\u00a0 I turned to leave, thinking that I would send a condolence card, or perhaps attend the service.\u00a0 I almost ran into a florist with an arrangement so large that it covered his face, and he almost tripped on the first step.\u00a0 I took his elbow and guided him up the steps.\u00a0 I rang the door bell again, and was surprised to see Simba emerging from the kitchen this time.\u00a0 \u201cOh it\u2019s a florist.\u00a0 Who are those flowers from young man?\u201d she asked.\u00a0 He held out the card, she looked at it briefly and said, \u201cWell you can take them right back, we\u2019re certainly not accepting any flowers from a Sam Todd.\u00a0 Actually, why don\u2019t you deliver them to the church of your choice, or take them to a cemetery.\u00a0 Just get them out of here.\u00a0 The delivery boy turned and stumbled down the steps, and suddenly Simba and I were face to face.<\/p>\n
\u201cMs. Blue, I think that you have done enough for this family.\u201d\u00a0 I was grateful at the very least that she used the phrase \u2018for this family,\u2019 instead of \u2018to this family.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 \u201cBut I am sure that you can understand that we want to be left alone, now that we can put this awful business about that tattooed girl\u2019s death.\u00a0 What Henry did is heartbreaking, but he has done a lot for this family and that I am grateful.\u00a0 So please send me your bill.\u201d\u00a0 And with that she closed the door in my face.<\/p>\n
Time to head back to my home base.\u00a0 Ralph and Fanny would be just finishing up the breakfast crowd, and it would be peaceful to rinse some dishes, swab some tabletops and rehash.\u00a0 My timing was perfect \u2013 Ralph threw me a sponge and a rag as I walked in.\u00a0 It was somewhat ironic that I was contentedly cleaning up the same sort of eggy mess as the one that irritated me so much in my kitchen.\u00a0 That was the magic of Ralph and Fanny, who somehow conveyed a joy in the rhythm of household chores.\u00a0 I recounted my last couple of days for them, the drama of last night, concluding with the fresh news of Henry\u2019s confession and suicide.\u00a0 Both Fanny and Ralph stopped abruptly, but I kept head down and continued to push the sponge around the counter.<\/p>\n
Ralph spoke first, \u201cYou cannot hold yourself responsible for this death, Liza.\u201d<\/p>\n
And then Fanny chimed in, \u201cWhat are you supposed to, tuck your clients into bed every night?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I agree with you both,\u201d I said, \u201cBut there have been plenty of times when I have helped women to get to a women\u2019s shelter, but of course that was to protect them from abusive husbands.\u00a0 This was the first time there has been a suicide on my watch.\u00a0 I just didn\u2019t see it coming.\u00a0 Even though Sam presented it to him in the cruelest way, Henry seemed excited about the possibility of being Dessa\u2019s father.\u00a0 And then of course he was with his sister Simba, who was also appalled by Sam\u2019s behavior.\u00a0 Sam had a gun, and I was mostly relieved that both of them got out of that household.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLiza, of course you\u2019re right,\u201d said Fanny, \u201cand if the family holds you partially responsible for his death, it just reflects their grief.\u00a0 Just imagine what Simba is going through.\u00a0 Sometime during the middle of the night, her brother went out and killed himself.\u00a0 She is going to have to deal with a lot more guilt than you.\u00a0 So just put it out of your mind.\u00a0 But let me ask you a question.\u00a0 What do you think about Henry\u2019s confession?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI just don\u2019t believe it,\u201d I said, and I saw Ralph nodding in agreement.\u00a0 \u201cHe was perfectly at ease with the police when they came looking for his car.\u00a0 I just don\u2019t think that he is that good an actor.\u00a0 And my guess is that he thought he was saving Dessa.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you think, did Dessa killed Penny?\u201d they both said in unison.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo I really don\u2019t.\u00a0 But Sam was also totally unphased by the police coming to pick up the car.\u00a0 And if Sam didn\u2019t do it, and Henry knew he didn\u2019t do it, that started to point the finger at Dessa if the police found that the car was the murder vehicle.\u00a0 So here is the scenario.\u00a0 Henry finds out that he might be Dessa’s father, and earlier he had sent the policy up the canyon because he knew that Dessa was driving the car.\u00a0 He\u2019s feeling entirely guilty about that, and then he had also embezzled some money from Dessa that Penny had found out about, so that would give the police a motive if they really wanted one to go with the confession.\u00a0 So Henry probably thinks that he is doing the family, and particularly Dessa, a great big favor by walking into the ocean.\u00a0 And then of course, he clearly had too much to drink.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut wouldn\u2019t that mean that Sam had won.\u00a0 From what you\u2019ve said, he would do anything to keep Sam from winning,\u201d said Ralph.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right about that,\u201d I said, \u201cbut he might have been more concerned about Dessa not losing.\u00a0 And also, maybe he know that Simba was finally going to leave Sam, and that would be victory of sorts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you going to do?\u00a0 Do you think that Sam did it\u201d said Ralph.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe might have,\u201d I said, \u201cbut I\u2019m not sure what his motive would be.\u00a0 All he cares about is money and prestige, which are basically the same thing in his book, and this whole thing about Dessa\u2019s birth parents \u2013 well he treated that like no big deal.\u00a0 If he did do it, I bet that Penny discovered some other long buried secret.\u00a0 And if he did do it, I\u2019m sure that he has an alibi all locked up, or planned it out carefully.\u00a0 Frankly, I\u2019m not sure what I can do, or what I should do.\u00a0 Granted Henry\u2019s death was pretty fresh when I saw Simba, but I must say she looked actually pleased that Henry had tied off a lot of loose ends for the family.\u00a0 She certainly made it clear that she really didn\u2019t want my help anymore.\u00a0 And from what I\u2019ve seen Dessa is a remarkable young woman, and I think that she will bring this family back together if anyone can.\u00a0 I\u2019ll try and get in touch with her and let her know that she can call me anytime, but I can tell you one thing, that is the last time I\u2019m ever going to agree to be a family mediator.\u00a0 I was in way over my head.\u00a0 I\u2019m beat.\u00a0 I\u2019m just going to dictate my final notes and then go back to my apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n
I went into the back room to dictate, but instead sat at the crossword puzzle for the next several hours working on the sky and water pieces.\u00a0 By the time I left, it was mid-afternoon and Ralph and Fanny had gone upstairs to nap.<\/p>\n
Chapter 51<\/b><\/p>\n
Over the next several weeks, I kept my eye in the paper for the memorial services for both Chloe and Henry, but saw nothing.\u00a0 I called the Great Days facility and asked about Chloe\u2019s service, and I was told that it was a private service for family members only.\u00a0 I\u00a0 left a message for Dessa at Great Days, and also on Goddard\u2019s cell phone, but never heard anything.\u00a0 I had a few more cases to distract me in the interim, including a couple of overnight surveillance cases that really threw off my sleep schedule, but all the loose ends made me uneasy.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t help but think about Dessa and whether she had reconciled with Simba, and then of course whether Simba was still with Sam.\u00a0 I hoped not.<\/p>\n
About a month later I saw an article in the local paper announcing that the City of Santa Teresa was in negotiations with the estate of Chloe Murphy to purchase the Murphy mansion to become a shelter for battered women, which of course was meeting with considerable resistance from the neighbors.\u00a0 The city had countered with a proposal for a community center which would include a child care center and other space for non-profits.\u00a0 \u00a0I recognized the authorship of Nick Nichol in the press release and gave him a call.\u00a0 He told me that the official story was that the family wanted to give back to the community, but in reality, the house was in such a state of disrepair that this was the best solution.\u00a0 The city was dragging its feet, he said, and would only take the property if they could tear it down and build a new community center, and that was the sticking point of the negotiations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is the spokesperson for the family?\u201d I asked, just hoping that it \u00a0wasn’t Sam.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell you won\u2019t believe it,\u201d said Nick, \u201cbut that Dessa is one sharp girl.\u00a0 Very very capable, seems to have a natural feel for negotiating and she is pushing hard for the women\u2019s shelter.\u00a0 She is emerging as the star of the family.\u00a0 I would have thought that it would have been Goddard, but I haven\u2019t seen him at all.\u00a0 In fact, I don\u2019t know what has become of him, but then I haven\u2019t really tried.\u00a0 I\u2019m still steaming over that fiasco of a photography exhibition.\u00a0 I think that Dessa is angling to maintain possession of the caretaker\u2019s cottage at the back of the property.\u00a0 A sweet little house \u2013 I think that it is three or four bedrooms.\u00a0 Nothing fancy, but very serviceable.\u00a0 I think that she is living there now with her mother.\u00a0 And here\u2019s another piece of good news.\u00a0 The Skye Island properties are starting to sell.\u00a0 Mary got the contract as the realtor and two lots are under contract in the past month, and we, or rather she, may purchase a third.\u00a0 All in all, it has been a great month.\u201d<\/p>\n
So maybe it all was for the best, I thought.\u00a0 Perhaps Dessa and Simba were putting some pieces back together and creating a separate life.\u00a0 I also thought about Carla, Penny\u2019s mother, and whether she thought that there was justice for her daughter, and also Johnny Knox, who had just rediscovered his daughter.\u00a0 And then, out of the blue, about six months later, I received a phone message from Dessa, asking if she could sit down with me to discuss a few issues.\u00a0 She suggested my office, and I countered with lunch at Ralph and Fanny\u2019s and she agreed, mentioning that she remembered the place from so many years ago with her brother.<\/p>\n
I got there about 30 minutes early, and set up a table in the back room for privacy.\u00a0 I had only seen Ralph and Fanny a couple of times in the past several month, and I noticed that they had taken down my card table with the unfinished puzzle.\u00a0 Nice metaphor for closure, I thought.\u00a0 I helped Fanny make some tomato bisque soup and a caprese salad.\u00a0 I stood nervously waiting for Dessa, but when she walked in exactly on time, I tried to look unconcerned and casual.\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cDessa, I am so happy to meet you in these better circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dessa greeted me warmly and then turned to Ralph and Fanny and said, \u201cI\u2019m so glad to meet you again.\u00a0 My brother has told me many times how important your restaurant was for him in college, and then again recently.\u00a0 I have a vague memory, but I\u2019ve got to say, I think that I do remember the smell of your soup.\u201d\u00a0 Ralph and Fanny murmured their welcomes, and I ushered Dessa to the back room.<\/p>\n
\u201cDessa, I thought that we might have more privacy back here; here\u2019s the soup that you were reminiscing about, and also a salad.\u201d\u00a0 We then sat down and had some preliminaries about my impressions of her grandmother Chloe and also the potential plans for the women\u2019s center.\u00a0 But it was clear that we could not continue this pleasant chit chat forever.\u00a0 Dessa had called for this meeting, but I decided to take the lead.\u00a0 \u201cDessa I want to say that I was so impressed with your performance that night up at your parents.\u00a0 That took a lot of courage, and you managed to diffuse a very dangerous situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAh, yes, my Tiananmen Square moment.\u00a0 I can\u2019t say that I really thought that much about it, but there I was.\u00a0 I was just so tired of being in the middle of so many people.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t think that my dad or Uncle Polly was going to shoot me, but then after I left, I realized that both had too much to drink, and I was shaking for about an hour afterward.\u00a0 I never really heard about what happened next.\u00a0 Mom wouldn\u2019t tell me much.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, the detective came looking for the car, and then things got really ugly and your father said some pretty cruel things to your uncle.\u00a0 Turns out your uncle once knew Sylvia and wanted to know why she was there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou probably know that Sylvia is my birth mother, and she hadn\u2019t told me yet who my birth father was and actually I didn’t really want to know.\u00a0 That was something that Penny was working on, even though I expressly asked her not to.\u00a0 I loved her, and she taught me a lot of things, but she was driving me crazy.\u00a0 If she had left well enough alone, she would still be alive, but in some ways blowing the whole family up was the only way to reconstruct it, so I guess I am trying to honor her memory by seeing this thing through.\u00a0 So I have come to ask your advice.\u00a0 As you know my Uncle Henry confessed to killing Penny, but I don\u2019t really think that he did it, do you?\u00a0 And if you agree with me, what should I do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDessa, what I think is not that important, but maybe you can tell me why you think that he confessed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis death was just way too convenient for everyone.\u00a0 I think that he did it to save our family and mostly to save me.\u00a0 Here look at this letter,\u201d she said as she handed me a much-folded piece of paper.\u00a0 \u201cSimba gave the actual suicide note to the police, but apparently before he walked into the ocean, he mailed this letter to me.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t shown it to anyone.\u00a0 Read it and tell me what you think, and then I have some other information.\u201d<\/p>\n
My Dear Dessa,<\/i><\/p>\n
I am writing this letter to you on the last night of my life.\u00a0 There are many things that I have not been proud of in my life, and I think that you can guess many of them.\u00a0 Tonight you said that you loved all of us individually, but not as a family, and perhaps I am one of the reasons why.\u00a0 I have loved you all my life, as if you were my own daughter, and then over the last year I am ashamed that I tapped into your ample resources.\u00a0 I hope that you can forgive me for that, and I have tried to make things right for you, as you will see.\u00a0 Please do not feel sorry or guilty for me.\u00a0 This is the one thing that I want to do for this family, for you and your mother and Goddard, and I am excited to envision you joyfully sharing your lives once again.\u00a0 I understand that you know my friend Sylvia.\u00a0 I hope that she will become part of your family also.\u00a0 She is a kind and gentle person and I know that you will grow to love her. \u00a0\u00a0Please give her my love and tell her that I am ashamed that I could not be there for her when she might have needed me the most.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/i>With all my love,<\/i><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/i>Uncle Polly<\/i><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/i>As I looked up Dessa said, \u201cDon\u2019t you see?\u00a0 That poor sweet man thinks I killed Penny, and he confessed just to protect me. \u00a0Do you see where he says, \u2018I\u2019ll make things right as you will see<\/i>.\u00a0 Simba also told me that he thought he might be my biologic father, and maybe this was the sacrifice he wanted to make for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDessa, I can\u2019t imagine what was going in his head that night, you will have to ask your mother, but I do agree \u2013 I think that he thought he might be your father, that you might be the killer.\u00a0 What does your mother say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe doesn\u2019t really want to talk about it.\u00a0 She only says that when the two of them got back to the house, they both had too much to drink and he kept muttering, \u2018What have I done, what have I done, I\u2019ve got to fix it for Dessa.\u2019\u00a0 But why he thought I killed Penny is beyond me.\u00a0 We did have an argument that night.\u00a0 You see, I discovered that Penny had made friends with me for the express purpose of finding my birth parents, which as you might understand was quite a shock, both because of Penny\u2019s conniving and also the fact that I had birth parents.\u00a0 But she had gone through the same issues, and convinced me that I should know, so I went along with her for a while.\u00a0 We went up to my parents and got some of Simba\u2019s DNA from a hairbrush and also some of Sam\u2019s.\u00a0 So we found out that Simba was not my birth mother, and then she told me about Sylvia.\u00a0 Of course, I had known Sylvia for many years \u2013 she was a teacher friend of Goddard\u2019s \u2013 but all of a sudden Penny told me that she was my mother.\u00a0 And then Penny got really hot about finding my birth father, and I just didn\u2019t want to do it.\u00a0 I figured that I could just ask Sylvia at some point, but not until after I had let my mother know that I was interested in my birth parents.\u00a0 I had taken Penny with me to visit Chloe and that\u2019s when we found out about the missing money, and Penny then wanted to investigate that.\u00a0 I told her again and again to lay off, but she just kept nosing around.\u00a0 Her interest went way beyond birth parents, she started looking into finances \u2013 I\u2019m not really sure how she did it.\u00a0 I really needed to get some space, and Goddard suggested that we hang out with Sylvia and get to know her, and that\u2019s what we did.\u00a0 That\u2019s when you got dragged into this, she wanted to find me to tell me something important, but I\u2019d had it.\u00a0 But Penny finally convinced me to meet her that last night and told me that she had found something really important at Henry\u2019s house.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t believe it, she had broken into Henry\u2019s house, also into Goddard\u2019s studio, and I told that she’d better stop, or I was going to report her to the police.\u00a0 We left the restaurant, and I was a couple of paces behind her when that car came out of nowhere and just slammed into her and drove off.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell why didn\u2019t you come forward then?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI probably should have,\u201d she said, \u201cbut I was scared.\u00a0 I saw the car that hit her, and it was a big black car with a man driving it and I thought that it could be my father.\u00a0 And then last week, I found this when I was cleaning out my old apartment.\u00a0 The neighbor had collected my mail and had forgotten to pass this along to me.\u00a0 Penny had sent this to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it? I asked.\u00a0 I started to look at it, but it looked like a complicated legal document that I couldn\u2019t digest with a casual glance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t shown it to anyone else, and I have been trying to piece this together on my own, so I could be very wrong, but you know how Henry and Sam had this argument about the \u00a0supposed loan from my grandfather that Sam said he had repaid? \u00a0 Well I think that this document says that Sam never paid him back, and if fact took out another loan and in exchange gave my grandfather a 75% share.\u00a0 So Henry was right.\u00a0 Most of the money from the real estate development should have been Chloe\u2019s, then his for the 12 hours or so that he outlived Chloe, and now mine.\u00a0\u00a0 You see, Henry left everything in his will to me.\u00a0 So maybe that is what Penny has on Sam, and there\u2019s his motive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSam said that he had an airtight alibi, so how do you suppose that he did it?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell I thought about this also, and it\u2019s beginning to make more sense.\u00a0 First of all, I\u2019m absolutely convinced that Sam would kill someone to get his way.\u00a0 That was hard to accept, but I know that he is a very ruthless man.\u00a0 But he probably wouldn\u2019t want to get his hands dirty himself.\u00a0 After Henry\u2019s death, I went to call on Penny\u2019s parents, Carla Piccinini and Johnny Knox.\u00a0 Carla is basically a wreck, not so much because of Penny\u2019s death, but according to Penny she was a wreck about life in general, but she did seem relieved that there was some justice for her daughter.\u00a0 \u2018Man kills himself out of guilt, that should be punishment enough,\u201d she said.\u00a0 But Johnny Knox was a different story.\u00a0 You know that he worked for Sam for years.\u00a0 Well he couldn\u2019t have cared less when I talked with him on the phone, told me that what was done was done and that he was ready to move on.\u00a0 After I saw Carla I was in the neighborhood and I thought I might as well stop by.\u00a0 Well he did everything he could to get rid of my quickly, but as I was walking out I saw a big black car in his back driveway.\u00a0 Looked just like the car that hit Penny.\u00a0\u00a0 Looked like Henry\u2019s car also.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you think that Sam paid Johnny Knox to run down his own daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n
“I don\u2019t know, that\u2019s why I\u2019m coming to you for advice.\u00a0 Makes sense to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut wait a minute, the CCTV at the ATM machine caught a picture of the license plate.\u00a0 It was a partial match for the plate on Henry\u2019s car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThought of that too.\u00a0 I think that Sam and Johnny just switched the plates.\u00a0 You know that Johnny Knox was up at Sam\u2019s that night.\u00a0 I think that\u2019s what he was doing.\u00a0 I had told Sam that Simba and I were coming up to talk with him, and he asked me what car I was using, and I told him that I was borrowing Henry\u2019s.\u00a0 He had to switch the plates back because he knew that the police had a warrant out on the car.\u00a0 He knew that Henry\u2019s car didn\u2019t kill Penny, so that our family would be in the clear if they picked up Henry\u2019s car.\u00a0 It suddenly made sense to me.\u00a0 I was confused that night when I left.\u00a0 I saw the car parked exactly where I left it, but noticed that it had different plates, so then thought it might be your car.\u00a0 I just left it alone, and drove away with Goddard and Sylvia.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that you\u2019ll need a pretty convincing case for the policy to open a closed case with a confession.\u00a0 Is that what you\u2019re asking me \u2013 how to present this evidence to the police?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot really, I think that I\u2019m asking if you think that it would be worth it.\u00a0 Rehashing all of this tragedy.\u00a0 Putting my fragile family through all this. \u00a0Simba and I are just starting to get along, although we have a ways to go.\u00a0 You will be happy to know that we are seeing a real family mediator and counselor, so you are off the hook on that one.\u201d\u00a0 She smiled at me wistfully.\u00a0 \u201cAnd Simba has expressed interest in having Sylvia be part of our life also.\u00a0 In fact, that\u2019s where Goddard is living right now.\u00a0 They are quite a couple, and they seem very happy.\u00a0 Oh, you did know that Goddard is actually my father, didn\u2019t you?\u00a0 I might have forgotten to tell you that juicy detail.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it really isn\u2019t any of my business,\u201d though I was going to be sure to tell Fanny that her guess in the paternal sweepstakes had been correct.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll that time that Goddard and I visited Sylvia when I was growing up, hard to believe.\u00a0 But truthfully, I am okay with it, as long as it wasn\u2019t Sam.\u00a0 Imagine my mother, wondering if the birth father was either her husband, brother or son, so I could be either her step daughter, niece or grandchild.\u00a0 Pretty wild isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 I think that like me, she was just glad that it wasn\u2019t Sam.\u00a0 I can see the look on your face, but truly I\u2019m all right with it.\u00a0 That is the curious thing about Penny.\u00a0 She was so intent on finding her own birthfather and my birthfather, but at the same time she would say to me that you can create your own family and that genes are only a point of curiosity.\u00a0 I never really did find out how she was going to leverage her dirt on Sam.\u00a0 Maybe she was looking for a big payoff.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know, and don\u2019t really care.\u00a0 You see I have gotten very good at defining what I care about and what I chose to let go of, the product of may hours of therapy.\u00a0 Okay, let\u2019s see where was I?\u00a0 My worry is that bringing forth all of this innuendo and circumstance will only disrupt the fragile balance that we have right now, and we won\u2019t ever be able to pin Sam down.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes I think that the only way that you could get Sam is to get Johnny Knox to turn on him.\u00a0 And I don\u2019t know how to do that, unless we could get a hold of that car and prove that it was involved in the hit and run.\u00a0 And even if you couldn\u2019t get a criminal conviction, I suppose that you could file a wrongful death suit and get some justice that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if we got a hold of the car, do you think it would still have damning evidence?\u201d asked Dessa.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d hate to put this all in motion, only to have the car come up clean.\u00a0 Bringing up all of this tragedy.\u00a0 What would it prove really?\u00a0 Two people have already died, and it might be devastating to Carla to learn that Johnny ran down his own daughter,\u201d said Dessa.<\/p>\n
\u201cDessa, if you are looking for professional advice, I suggest that you contact a lawyer, and I\u2019d recommend Jimmy Earle, who is somewhat familiar with this case \u2013 he represented your uncle when the police first approached him.\u00a0 But if you\u2019re looking for a neutral party to just brainstorm, I\u2019m happy to discuss this with you.\u00a0 But I just want you to know that I\u2019am not a lawyer, and we all know that I\u2019m not a family mediator.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGo ahead, Liza, I\u2019m just looking for a sounding board.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I think that you have to carefully consider what you want to accomplish.\u00a0 Is your target really Sam, and where does he stand now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, it\u2019s an interesting question, the subtleties of vengeance and justice.\u00a0 Yes Sam is the target.\u00a0 Right now it\u2019s business as usual with him, but I get the sense that he knows that it could all come crashing down at any moment.\u00a0 He keeps calling Mom and asking when she\u2019s coming back.\u00a0 I consulted a contract lawyer and he feels confident that the entire Skye Island development actually belongs to me.\u00a0 And then of course there\u2019s the Murphy Mansion which we\u2019ll sell or donate to the city \u2013 there\u2019s some sort of complicated tax scheme there that I\u2019m just learning about.\u00a0 And finally Simba is getting ready to file for divorce.\u00a0 So between all of these Sam will be pretty impoverished and Simba and I will be pretty well set.\u00a0 So I don\u2019t know if that is justice or vengeance.\u00a0 So do I also want him in jail?\u00a0 Sure I guess so, but Simba still has a soft spot for him.\u00a0 I think that she\u2019s getting closer to divesting herself of her social standing, but it\u2019d be difficult for her to the be the ex-wife of a prisoner.\u00a0 Actually quite ironic, since these are the women that she tried to help way back when in Cutter City when she met Sam in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut how do suppose Sam motivated Johnny Knox to kill his own daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell there\u2019s money of course, and I did notice that his garage was for sale when I stopped by, so maybe he\u2019s about to get out of town.\u00a0 But then I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if Sam had some dirt on him.\u00a0 If that\u2019s the only missing link in this scenario, I\u2019m going to assume that Sam had his ways.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, but finding that out might be an important piece of evidence to get the police to open the case, or to get some leverage on Johnny to implicate Sam.\u00a0 Of course the best piece of evidence would be to get a hold of the car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know, what do you think that I should do?\u201d asked Dessa very quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell I\u2019m just a simple person and I don\u2019t have a complicated life,\u201d I said, \u201cso I don\u2019t really see the overlap between vengeance and justice.\u00a0 Justice is truth, and I suppose that vengeance is a type of truth, but the motives behind the pursuit of truth are different.\u00a0 But in my book solving a murder is never about vengeance. \u00a0Remember that Henry\u2019s legacy is that of a murderer.\u00a0 Do you want that?\u00a0 And then there\u2019s Sam, even if he\u2019s reduced to a hardscrabble existence, he could always start over, and he would be highly motivated to be successful.\u00a0 So against this you have the pain of Simba and Carla.\u00a0 In this whole equation, the most vulnerable one would seem to be Carla.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you\u2019re right, and who knows, if Carla filed a wrongful death suit perhaps she could get some money out of it.\u00a0 I know that sounds crass, but truly I\u2019d like to help her in some way.\u00a0 I have a lot to thank Penny for.\u201d\u00a0 She signed and stood up slowly.\u00a0 \u201c Thanks for your advice, I\u2019ll think about it.\u00a0 Do you have Jimmy Earle\u2019s card?\u201d<\/p>\n
I gave her the card, she reached over and grabbed my hand with both of hers, shook it and off she went.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t see Dessa again, but followed her progress indirectly through the local newspaper and occasionally I would check in with Nick Nichol.\u00a0 A couple of months later there she was on the cover of the Santa Teresan; the article said that her father was retiring and had appointed her as the new head of the Skye Isle development.\u00a0 I was glad to see her emerge as a business woman, but sorry to see that she had allowed a soft landing for Sam.\u00a0 And then the bombshell.\u00a0 The paper breathlessly announced a wrongful death suit brought by Carla Piccinini against both Johnny Knox and Sam Todd.\u00a0\u00a0 The article included a quote from Dessa, Simba and Goddard.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur family supports Carla Piccinini in her lawsuit against Sam Todd and Johnny Knox.\u00a0 This lawsuit will finally exonerate our brother and uncle Henry Murphy who confessed to the manslaughter of Penny Knox in a confused attempt to protect his family.\u00a0 We feel confident that the new evidence will finally provide justice to Penny Knox, who was a friend and inspiration to seek the truth where ever it might lead you.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nFollow Liza Blue on: I started to walk across the lawn towards my car, but Henry spoke up again.\u00a0 As I turned I saw his gun pointed at me.\u00a0 \u201cSimba, I really insist that you stop ignoring me.\u00a0 I asked a simple question, and … Continue reading <\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"