I'm sorry for the long wait, but I was so busy that I didn't have much time to write anything. Enjoy the new chapter and thanx again to Molly who does a wonderful job!

The Case of the Returning Relative

Chapter 13

When Della and Perry returned to Mae's house, the snow fell heavier than ever. Glad to have arrived safely, Della unlocked the door and switched on the lights. She stopped dead in the doorway and a low scream escaped her throat when she saw Mae standing right in front of her. Perry bumped right into her and pushed accidentally against the older woman.

"Aunt Mae!" Della struggled and clung to Perry who had caught her arm and was already annoyed. "Why are you sneaking around in the dark?"

"I could ask you the very same!" Mae retorted hectically and fastened the belt of her robe. "I heard the car. I was in the kitchen."

"You should use the lights. That way an intruder would be scared off." Perry helped Della out of her coat and took his off.

"Where have you been?" Mae asked, ignoring Perry's advice.

"Working," Della answered shortly without paying Perry one single glance.

Mae first checked her watch before she gave her niece a disbelieving look, but remained silent. She was aware something was in the air and prepared herself. The lawyer cleared his throat.

"Mae, I think we have to talk about something," Perry started and let his eyes roam up the old staircase. Mae said nothing and waited.

"I'll show you," Della nodded to Perry and climbed up the stairs. Realizing Della knew something she shouldn't, Mae followed them, now far from being passive.

"What are you doing? What is going on here?!"

Without paying Mae the attention or the required answer, Perry followed Della to Ian's room. Before she had left the house she had carefully locked the room and had hidden the key in her purse. Until now. Mae's jaw dropped when she watched Della pulling it out and opening the door.

"I've learned a thing or two in the last few years. Working for a lawyer has several advantages. One is to learn how to keep some things under the rug…" Della explained with a hint of sadness in her voice. "As children Ian and I never thought of locking the door and we thought our secret place was safe – until you found it and were angry because we hid some of sweets there we had scrounged from our neighbours after Christmas."

Mae exhaled deeply as Della pushed the door open. "Please, go first," Della said and waited until her aunt had passed her and Perry. They entered the room and Della switched on the light. The room was cold and a bit messy after the bed had been moved. The lost poker lay in an hole in the floor where Della had removed the plank in the afternoon. The lawyer pulled out his handkerchief and took the poker in his hand. He examined the tip of it closely. "Blood, I guess," he said and gave Mae a look. The old woman had become pale. She was trembling and had the facial expression of someone who was going to break under the burden a former lie had formed.

"Mae," Perry said lowly and gave her a long, penetrating glance. "It's time to tell us the truth. For Ian's sake and for yours."

Ben Levin was nervous. He sat in his office, Della's photograph lying on his desk. His fingertips traced the features of the teenage girl, but the usual smile didn't appear on his face. Instead deep wrinkles covered his forehead. It was too late to call Della tonight, but first thing tomorrow he would to talk to her. If he only knew how to tell her that he had already messed things up and that it was maybe too late to make things right?

Knowing he was facing losing her trust he made a decision. He opened his address book and searched for a certain telephone number. When he started dialling it was already after 1 am and he wasn't the only one who couldn't even think about sleeping.

"He was already dead, when we found him," Mae's voice was shaken with fear. They were sitting downstairs in the living room. Her eyes were fixed on the point where the police had found the dry blood underneath the small carpet. Perry held Della's hand in his and squeezed it tenderly. He observed her from the corner of his eye. This time there weren't tears in her eyes. He noticed with amazement how steady and controlled she was now.

"Where had Ian been at the time Richard was killed?"

"He had been asleep after he had taken an aspirin. He had hurt his head when that woman had hit him. He told me he had heard strange noises and had gone downstairs. When I arrived he was bending over Richard… he was dead."

"And then?" Perry asked calmly in the very same voice Della had heard so often before when he had interviewed a suspect. And yet everything was different now that the suspect was related to her.

"Ian had touched the poker… there was blood on his hands… he had argued with Richard." Mae looked up to Perry and shrugged. "We decided it was best to bring him out of the house."

"And the best thing you could think of was to bring him into the garden and to hide the poker in Ian's room under a lose plank in the floor," Perry concluded in disbelief. "I don't have to tell you that it wasn't exactly wise to do something like this." Now it was Della's turn to let her thumb caress the back of his hand. She heard the rising anger in his voice and understood it. Mae and Ian could only blame themselves for the mess – and yet they were her only family left.

"We have to talk to the police," Della said.

"No!" Mae yelled. "What if they think we did that to cover the murder up…"

"They probably believe so!" Perry cut her off.

"Maybe they can detect other traces on the poker… maybe someone else left a fingerprint," Della said and knew immediately it was hopeless. Someone had set Ian and Mae up. Whoever the killer was wouldn't have left his or her fingerprints on the weapon.

Perry's eyes focused on Mae: "Are you sure you told me anything I need to know? You haven't seen or heard anyone? There was no strange car in front of your house or in the street when you came home? No one was close to the house? A person you didn't know? Think Mae!"

"No," Mae shook her head. "There was nothing… only the snow… I remember that."

Della rubbed her aching forehead. Right now she felt as old as Mae looked and she had no idea what to do. Things looked worse than ever for her brother and if he was convicted Mae could end up in jail as well. An ironic situation, since Della had been facing the same issue several weeks ago when Hamilton Burger wanted to prove Janet Brent's guilt.

"What will happen now?" Mae asked Perry in a less bossy tone than usual. The lawyer checked his watch and decided frankly: "The two of you will go to bed… and I'll go thinking. But you better pray Paul knows something that will save Ian and you, because I have no idea how to get you out of this!"