Page 89 of Puzzle for Two

Flint stared at her. “The college roommate? The CEO of Old Timey Fun, Ltd.?”

“Exactly. It looks to me like Jordan is in serious financial trouble.”

“Jordan or his company?” Zach asked.

“I don’t know about his company, but there’s a tax lien against his home in Carmel and another on his luxury condo in Oakland. Plus, Jordan’s accumulated over half a million in unsecured personal debt. That’s almost double his annual income.”

“How do you know his annual income?”

“I Googled it. By the way, did you know one of the biggest sales drivers in the toys and games industry is kidults?”

“Kidults?”

“Adults buying toys for themselves.”

Flint said, “I’d say half a million in personal debt is a good reason to take a closer look at Jordan.”

“Is it?” Zach asked. “Because I’m not seeing how this gives Jordan a motive. How does Alton’s death help Rusty Jordan out of the financial hole he’s in?”

“He must be in Alton’s will,” Brooke said.

“We don’t know that.”

Flint said, “Maybe he plans on marrying the rich widow.”

Zach shook his head. “He’s already married.”

“There are a couple of remedies for that.”

True enough. Murder could be habit forming. But thinking back to that little smile Jordan had given the photo of his wife? Zach didn’t buy it.

Then again, if that smile was as genuine as it seemed, if Rusty was truly, madly, deeply about his missus, those liens were againstherhome too. Rusty’s financial peril was inevitably shared by his spouse. And love was every bit as motivating as hate when it came to crime.

Flint was still thinking. “Then maybe heisin Beacher’s will.”

“Maybe. It didn’t seem like they were on those terms, but who knows how old Alton’s will is.”

Brooke suggested, “Maybe Jordan plans on taking over Beacher’s company.”

“I guess it’s possible.” It would give Jordan access to a customer base not currently available to him. But surely there were less violent and risky paths to entering the high-end toy market.

“We’ve got to verify the details of Beacher’s will, one way or the other,” Flint said.

“That’s easier said than done,” Zach said. “The contents of a will don’t become public record until after the probate proceeding has concluded.”

“There’s got to be some way to find out before that,” Brooke said.

Flint nodded. “There is. The police can get a subpoena if there’s reason to believe the contents of the will are material to their investigation. The executor has fourteen days to comply, but in most cases, they’re going to cooperate with law enforcement right away. Why don’t you contact Bill Cameron, tell him what we’ve found out so far, and see if he can get hold of Beacher’s executor.”

Zach tried to imagine a world in which Lt. Bill Cameron jumped to provide him with evidence in a police investigation. “I’m pretty sure Bill is already trying to get his hands on that will. Especially since the Ensenada del Sello PD seems to have focused on Ransford.”

“Ransford sure thinks so,” Brooke said. “He was freaking out this morning.”

Flint thought it over, said to Zach, “You met Jordan. What do you think?”

Zach considered his brief meeting with Jordan. While Jordan hadn’t been openly antagonistic, their conversation had an odd undertone of hostility, no question. In fairness, not everyone welcomed visits from law enforcement, let alone private investigators. But had something else been going on? Had there been an undercurrent that had nothing to do with intruding on someone’s privacy, maybe nothing to do with Zach at all?

Rusty Jordan had known Alton Beacher half his life. He probably knew him about as well as anyone could outside the Beacher family circle. And Rusty did not like Alton. Did not pretend to like him.

---