Why Not Murder

9. Expecting

9. Expecting

Once Maya was able to walk about and was steadily building her strength back, her guardian angel, as Maya thought of her, no longer came around. Maya never even caught a glimpse of her except for the one time she surfaced very briefly and was in the dwelling of her guardian angel. Maya wondered if this being may be a manifestation of one of her deceased female relatives, her adopted mother or perhaps her daughter. Finally Maya felt strong enough to continue her investigation. She had been mulling over everything she had learned about the situation and carefully reviewed her notes many times over putting the information on small pieces of paper and arranging them like a jigsaw puzzle on the floor. She often dreamed she was looking at the pieces of information and a draft crossing the cabin would lift and scatter the pieces repositioning them. Then she would study the new arrangement and see the solution to the mystery, but when she woke, she could never remember it and the pieces were still in their previous position.

Maya followed the road to the Laymuir residence. There were no more patrol cars and no other traffic passed her. She saw no one and the only animals were the chattering birds, ground pheasants and chipmunks. The only sign of a large animal was fresh moose tracks beside the road and they were only evident for a short distance and then led back into the forest. As Maya was traversing the Laymuir grounds towards the kitchen entrance, Winnie Laymuir came rushing up to her.

"Finally," Winnie exclaimed standing in front of Maya, "How am I supposed to contact you? I phoned the insurance company and they never heard of you! And they have not started their investigation yet. What scam is this? Why are you even here?"

"I've been hired to ascertain who stole your husband's sports car," Maya answered.

"By who," Winnie asked, "and why?" Maya looked away from Winnie's eyes towards the ground, feeling uncomfortable.

"It must be my husband," Winnie said irritated. Grasping Maya's arm she led Maya to a part of the garden where they could not be observed by anyone in the house nor by the gardeners. "It must be my husband or he wouldn't let you on the property. You'd be trespassing, therefore you have his permission. There has to be a larger picture in which what I know is only a small part. And of course you are not at liberty to discuss, are you?"

"That's right," Maya answered.

"I found some more photos I want to show you," Winnie said and she pulled them out of her deep skirt pocket and handed them to Maya. These photos were smaller than the ones she showed Maya before. They were photos of Hudson and Heather arm in arm and kissing each other at some kind of professional event. "I should have been there with him," Winnie stated. "It's awards night for architects. In terms of professional influence and the value of my husband's client base, my role is far more important than that of his admin assistant. These photos are more recent than the others. The affair is ongoing and worst of all, it's become public knowledge. It must be stopped. It's damaging my reputation. My father also knows about it and shames me, as though it's my fault. These photos are evidence, along with my husband's credit card statements, that Hudson is being blackmailed and that he killed his blackmailer to free himself."

"Why do you think he killed his blackmailer?" Maya inquired cautiously.

"He wouldn't stand for it," Winnie answered, "When my husband does not like something he puts an end to it. He is ruthless, especially professionally, and will let nothing stand in the way of his goals. He never plays fair."

"To the point of murder?" Maya asked.

"Absolutely," Winnie replied, "What's to prevent a man like him from murder? He has no empathy and does not believe in God or the commandments. Who does anymore? Tax evasion is the central key in his accounting strategy. He considers himself all-powerful and has contempt for the rule of law. He's a compulsive liar. Ever since his major competitor disappeared a few years back, never to be seen again, and which is now a cold case abandoned in some ancient police records..."