A Brilliant Plan

Chapter 49

LOOKING BACK AT this setup, you could always argue that it was overdone and theatrical, the whole thing just done for effect, a maximum effect to flush out the killer of Phoebe Eastman.

Whatever I had tried to achieve worked well. Benito had come along to San Diego, not suspecting anything, expecting the ultimate pay-off to his little history science scheme, called 'The Max.' And within a few minutes the con had been blown, a convenient cover-up had taken place and now the mad jewel-woman struck again! Benito's face had regained a little of his composure and color but when I jumped at him, his whole facade crumbled immediately.

I shouted at him again, not caring if we could be heard in the hall.

"How did you kill her, Benito? I swear, I will kill you, if you don't tell me."

He stumbled backwards a few steps and Ron and Juanita grabbed him.

He squeaked. "I didn't mean to... " Victory! "It wasn't like you may think."

Ron pushed Benito toward the big conference table and into one of the chairs. Juanita quickly produced a small recorder from her purse.

Benito gave a sob and rubbed his eyes with his arm.

Ron leaned down. "What is this? You didn't mean to? You mean you didn't plan it beforehand, is that what you are saying? You killed her but you didn't plan to, it was an accident?" Ron played along well, his face close to Benito's face, breathing down on him, not giving him an inch to regain composure.

The words started to fall from Benito's mouth. "Yes, no, I didn't plan it. It simply happened. I was looking for the Maximilian necklace she had been wearing earlier. Calendar had told me about the extraordinary piece around Phoebe's neck. And I called Phoebe. She claimed that she had given it back to Altward, that it had been a mix-up. I didn't believe her because I phoned Altward immediately after that and he feigned surprise, informed me that the Maximilian Jewels had been stolen during the heist."

"You didn't know that before?"

"No. I had heard of the break in and the killing, it made the news even up to L.A. But never in my mind would I have thought that the Maximilian Jewels could have been involved. It was a crazy week for Altward and we weren't in frequent contact."

"So you believed or didn't believe Altward? It didn't occur to you that he may have arranged a little swindle of his own?"

"In retrospect, I am not sure," Benito looked genuinely confused. "I added one and one and came up with the stolen 'Max' in Phoebe's possession. So it could have been her, with a little help from her dad." He looked at us, pleadingly. "Could have been."

"Go on, what happened."

"I called up Phoebe, drove down to meet her, and confronted her. We started a shouting match, I pushed her, she started to cry for help, we struggled and it appears... " He stopped.

"Appears what, Mr. Salanca?" Juanita asked softly, from very far away.

"That I killed her," Benito swallowed. "Got her throat, pressed, pressed and pressed and shook and shook her. Until... I don't know. Then I searched the apartment, didn't find anything. Simply left her there on the floor."

Of course, I couldn't correct him, since I had found Phoebe wrapped up and 'stored' in the bathtub in Altward's Newport residence.

"And then what, brought her to the beach later, dumped her body with a dinghy in the bay?" Ron asked.