Chapter 9
Olivia knocked on the door of the neighbor to the left of the still empty lot. There was a "For Sale" sign on the land that had once contained Darlene Cox's body. She didn't know much about buying property in the City, but she knew that even an empty lot that once held a dead body would probably hurt the sale. There of course would be the developer that wouldn't care or the weirdos who would want it just because of what was found there, but the price must have been prohibitive. Lots didn't stay empty around the City for long.
She knocks on the door again. Both she and George could see lights on inside. Suddenly, there is a voice behind them and Olivia's hand goes right for her weapon as she turns around.
"You're going to have to knock really loud," a man told them. He's wearing a Yankees hat and some jogging clothes.
"Why is that?" George asked him.
"Mrs. O'Leary is deaf as a stump. Nice lady, but if she has her hearing aids out, forget it. Course, even with them in, she has trouble," he admits. Olivia moves her hand from her gun to her badge and flashes it.
"Captain Benson. This is my colleague, Doctor Huang. How well do you know Mrs. O'Leary?" She asked.
"I'm Doug Hoffman. I live down the street. Mrs. O'Leary has lived here since the sixties. I usually check in on her and get her mail. Her kids live out of state," the man explained.
"That's nice of you to do," George said.
"I went to school with her son, Mike. She was almost like a second mom. What did she do?" It was hitting Doug now that he was talking to the police.
"Nothing. We were hoping she knew more about the property next door," Olivia told him.
"Geez. What a mess. I felt so bad for the poor lady. Mr. Bailey passed away in twenty-eighteen. I thought his nephew was going to take care of the house but obviously something else was going on," Doug said.
"His nephew?" This immediately piqued both Olivia and George's interest.
"Yeah. Weird dude. I never bumped into him during the day when I would swing by Mrs. O'Leary's but there were always multiple black garbage bags out for garbage day. The mailbox would overflow and the few times I talked to the mailman about it, he said that he'd taken to throwing the mail on the porch. It would build up for like a week and then it would disappear. Eventually, it stopped disappearing and then the City condemned it," the nice neighbor told them. Olivia gave George a look.
"Can you get Mrs. O'Leary's attention? Even if she can't help, we'd like to speak to her," the Captain said.
"Let me get my keys and we'll scoot in," Doug fished around in his pocket and then went to the door. Unlocking it, he reached inside the door, with just his arm. He pressed a button on the table next to the door and it sounded an incredibly loud doorbell.
"Coming Doug!" A voice seemingly from the ether announced and he beckoned them all to enter.
"Hi Mrs. O'Leary!" He shouted.
"I've got those blasted hearing aids in!" She spoke loudly as she came out of the living room.
"Oh, company!" her tone lowered slightly.
"It's the police. They're here to ask about the nephew of Mr. Bailey and what happened next door," Doug lowered his tone. It wasn't shouting, but it was louder than the usual conversation level.
"Oh Lord. What a mess!" Mrs. O'Leary shook her head before she turned back toward the living room. Doug indicated they should follow and he shut and locked the front door.
"I'm worried someone would rob her blind and she wouldn't even know it," Doug lowered his voice to George.
"Have you got a security system for her?" The former FBI agent wondered. It was like a light bulb went on and he raised his left index finger and shook it. He ducked into the hallway, leaving the two alone for a few minutes.
"Who are you?!" The elderly woman asked.
"I'm Captain Benson and this is Doctor Huang. We wanted to know about next door," Olivia raised her voice and Mrs. O'Leary nodded, offering them the two overstuffed chairs opposite the couch to sit on.
"Poor Greg Bailey. Had a heart attack while he slept," she explained in an equally raised tone.
"What about his nephew?" Olivia wanted to know.
"A putz is what Ephram called him," Mrs. O'Leary said.
"Ephram?" George asked.
"Nice Jewish man next door. He brings me Pumpernickel and Challah bread," she smiled.
"That's nice of him. Why was the nephew a putz?" Olivia pressed.
"Ephram thought that maybe he'd like some food after the passing of Greg. So, he offered him some free baked goods and even some Kosher meals. Ephram's wife, Yael, is a fantastic cook. Apparently, nephew was rude and shut the door in Ephram's face. Honestly, I'd sit shiva with Yael's brisket any day but…" Mrs. O'Leary shrugged.
"I have something that I think Captain Benson would like to see," Doug interrupted them.
"You go ahead sweetie. Thanks for getting the mail," Mrs. O'Leary smiled. The Captain quickly left the two and followed Doug into a hallway and then into a room that looked like a den. Bookshelves on two walls with an old computer on the third wall. Olivia highly doubted that the elderly woman had the internet.
"I gave her one of my old computers mostly to download the camera footage from the camera that I mounted toward the street. I changed the direction once Mr. Bailey passed," Doug said.
"Didn't the police ask for the video when they stopped by? Or about the nephew?" Olivia was wondering how Detective Klass could have missed this. Doug heaved a sigh.
"This all happened when I was on vacation. Ephram didn't know about the camera and he was just helping with the mail and keeping an eye on Mrs. O'Leary. Besides, when I got home from vacation, the camera itself was missing. As for the nephew, I'm not sure if Mrs. O'Leary or Ephram mentioned him. He'd been gone long enough that they condemned the house," he explained.
"What happened to the camera?" Olivia cocked an eyebrow. It was convenient that it was missing. As for the nephew, they still had to talk to the neighbor on the other side of the lot. Of course, the house had been left seemingly empty for a long time and it's quite possible that the nephew slipped all of the neighbor's minds since they had not seen him for just as long.
"I could never figure out what. I went to see if we got footage of the demo but it was missing. The last video I have is the day before I left town. The camera and the card inside of it were gone. I'm guessing someone wanted it. I didn't bother to replace it, since the lot has remained empty and Mrs. O'Leary doesn't know how to use it. Since it went missing, I've stepped up my visits and so has Ephram. We figure that'll keep most people away," Doug shrugged.
"How long were you gone before the demo?" The Captain wanted to know.
"Twelve days. The demo happened on day thirteen and I came back the next day," he let her know.
"Can I have all of the memory cards?" Olivia asked.
"Sure. We don't need them. I'm not entirely sure why I saved them, but then again Mrs. O'Leary has the room for them," he smiled slightly and handed the Captain a box full of memory cards.
"Who should I be looking for on these?" Olivia inquired.
"The nephew is five ten, about a hundred and seventy-five pounds. He had short brown hair and wore glasses. I never got his name but I suppose you could look it up," Doug said.
"Thank you, Doug," the Captain told him.
To Be Continued…