Chapter 22: A Strange Retirement

Detective Yamazaki was not having a good morning. His headache was getting worse, and he was very stiff and sore. He closed his eyes and wearily leaned back in his old rickety swivel chair, pinching the bridge of his nose. This case had him -and a lot of others- baffled. As he reviewed the facts, he tried to ignore the whispered comments and snickers of amusement around him.

They'd brought the entire family in for questioning, while the lab techs made a thorough search of the house and the family's cars for evidence, and with Mr. Lionel Colman's help, a complete check of the family's finances was made. So far no evidence of a homicide had shown up, nor had there been any evidence to prove a body had been disposed of. However, there was plenty of motive.

The old biddy who lived across the street swore that Cinnamon never left after arriving home from the library the night before; nor did her step-parents. The step-brother had come and gone, but never with Cinnamon, nor had he taken away any object big enough to carry a body in.

While there was no evidence, so far, of foul play, there was plenty of evidence, however, of some questionable financial dealings. It turned out that Cinnamon was worth far more financially than they'd first thought. While not in the millions, the trust fund was still worth a substantial amount - enough to live on, if used wisely. In addition to the trust fund, there were several stocks and bonds, as well as property, including the house. However, money sent to Mrs. Anderson to pay for the house's small mortgage - taken out to cover the cost of some remodeling that had occurred shortly after Cinnamon's father remarried - was not being used for that purpose. Instead, the mortgage was being paid by Mr. Anderson.

Where and for what the money had been used was under investigation, as was the money sent to her for Cinnamon's care. Mrs. Anderson claimed to have used the money on Cinnamon. While some had no doubt been used on the girl, he doubted very much she saw much of it, or else she wouldn't have had to work to pay for college.

And then there was the matter of the step-brother's car; it was registered in Cinnamon's name, however, it was widely known as her step-brother's. Moreover, that Cinnamon was not allowed in it at all. He'd thrown quite a fit when a car boot was put on it, and a locksmith changed the door locks and ignition switch.

These two things alone were enough for Mr. Lionel to freeze Mrs. Anderson's assets, and lock the entire family out of the house so that a thorough inventory could be made. He was very interested in seeing the lawyer's findings.

Detective Yamazaki sighed again, and then groaned as Detective Johnson cheerfully called out, "Good Morning!" as she walked into the squad room.

The rest of the squad members broke out laughing. Andrea looked around surprised, "Huh?" she said, completely bewildered. One of the other detectives pointed to Howard and said, "Not for him!" making the others laugh harder.

"Uh? But why? Didn't you enjoy your party Sir?" she asked, innocently, to more laughter.

Howard pinched the bridge of his nose harder, and wished he'd taken more aspirin. The two he'd taken, clearly, weren't enough. "The party was just fine, Andrea," he said, without looking at her, missing her smile at his use of her first name.

"It wasn't the party, Andrea," one of the others said. "It's what happened this morning that has him down."

"Why, what happened this morning?" she asked.

"He and his wife had a fight."

"Oh my!" Andrea exclaimed, startled and saddened by this news. "I hope it wasn't the matching metal detectors. I just thought they'd be something you'd enjoy doing together."

He groaned. "No those were a big hit," he muttered. They sure had been, she'd hit him with the red one.

"Oh, that's good, I'm glad!" Andrea said, relieved. Then she said, cautiously, "If it was about the free massage passes, I can explain."

"Whoa! What? Say that again," were just some of the things shouted by the other detectives.

"No Andrea. It wasn't the massage passes." And it wasn't, his wife, knowing how officers could be, was more than prepared for joke gifts. As jokes went, he'd thought they were rather tame compared to some other gifts he'd received. They'd even joked about them, and she planned to use the passes.

"Oh! That's good! I thought it would be something romantic you could share," Andrea said, relieved.