The Wheel Of Knives

Christmas Eve

Now Benoit was intrigued, both his eyebrows now raised as his forehead crinkled.

"The wrong body?" he asked Mr. Bensley.

"Yes. In fact, the body in the casket looks very similar to George Delaware, but it's not even a body at all," Horace explained. "It's a replica."

Now Benoit was very intrigued. "A replica, you say?"

"Yes."

"Hmm," Benoit said. "Would you mind showin' me this replica?"

"Of course," Horace said, directing them to the casket in the showing room.

Once Benoit got to the casket, he cocked his head to the side. "Who figured out it wasn't the real Mr. Delaware?"

"His wife did," Horace said with a frown.

Benoit took note of Horace's facial expression before looking at the body. It sure looked real enough. "I suppose that would make sense, though it looks real enough. Who would go to all this trouble to replace a body with a fake, I wonder?" he asked, looking at the three men.

"Maybe he faked his death?" Officer Lopez observed.

"That would be quite impossible. The body I worked on was definitely Mr. Delaware," Horace said.

"And you know this for sure?" Benoit asked.

"Oh yes. He was well known around these parts."

"How so?"

"Oh, just a local humanitarian. He did a lot of charity work and all that," Horace explained.

"Was he wealthy?"

"Yes."

Benoit scratched his head. "How did the wife know it wasn't him?"

"Apparently he had a scar on his left hand, and this dummy here," Horace pointed to the replica's left hand, "has no scar."

"Hmm," Benoit hummed. "Strange case. Who was here for the viewin'?"

"The wife, Janet, their two children, Logan and Tammy, and some friends of the family," Officer Henson answered. "The viewing was a uh, private event, while the funeral is supposed to be a public one."

"Did you get a statement from all of them?" Benoit inquired.

"Yes. All of them were at their own homes this morning to get ready for the viewing."

"What time did they all arrive?"

"A Mr.," Henson got out his pocketbook, "Mr. Joseph DeCavalcante got here first. He showed up around 10:15. His two sons, Tommy and Jack, showed at 10:20. Casket was placed at 10:25, then five minutes later the wife and kids showed up. Wife took one look at the body and knew it wasn't George."

"Why would friends show up first? That seems a little fishy," Benoit thought.

"Hmm. The people out front, I assume are the relatives and friends?"