Page 97 of Reckless Chance
“We pay our performers well. Why did Reese have money problems?” Sean asks.
“Reese owed a small fortune to the Rossi family for gambling debts. He’s the gambler you’ve been trying to identify.”
“So, the gambling and murder are related after all?” Sean asks.
“Yes. Brentwood was also in financial trouble. He didn’t have a job and was mooching off women he conned. Somehow, he learned that Amelia was from a rich family and hooked up with her for the free ride. In reality, however, he was romantically involved with Mr. Galanis, who was also broke. Amelia found out about Brentwood’s affair with Galanis and dumped Brentwood, leaving him in need of money again.”
“How did that lead to Brentwood’s death?” I ask.
“As they drank, Brentwood mentioned to Reese that he had a ticket to the upcoming show and that he wasn’t going to giveit back. He’d always wanted to appear onstage, and this was his chance. That’s when Reese cooked up the idea for Brentwood to fake an injury to extract a quick settlement from the Athena. Then they would split the settlement. Reese would pay off his debt to the Rossis, and Brentwood and Galanis could pay their bills until they found another mark to con.”
“So, Brentwood wasn’t supposed to be hurt. He was going to fake his injury?” I ask.
“The plan was for Brentwood to stand on the edges of the tree’s platform and pull the lever to set off the pyrotechnics for the show’s finale. Then he’d kick the platform underneath him. That would cause the screws Reese had loosened to fall out, exposing the opening. Brentwood would drop to his knees quickly and lower himself down into the tree’s trunk. When he was found after the curtain went down, he’d feign extreme pain from severely spraining his back. It was supposed to be a fake fall. He certainly wasn’t supposed to die.”
“Reese must have been in shock that night,” I say.
“Absolutely. Not only was he upset that his friend was dead, but also his only hope for paying back the Rossis was lost.”
“Let me guess, Reese and Galanis then decided to team up and still come after money from Sean. Am I right?” I ask.
“You are. The original plan went to hell when Brentwood died. The problem was that Galanis still needed money and figured someone should pay for the death of his lover. So, he and Reese decided to go through with a modified plan and demand compensation from the Athena for Mr. Brentwood’s death.”
“That explains why they hired an actor to play Galanis’s attorney. They couldn’t risk a real attorney investigating the accident,” Sean says.
“Exactly. Reese also admitted that he staged all the accidents, including his own, essentially for the reason we suspected. He wanted everyone to believe Brentwood’s accident was one moremishap resulting from ongoing negligence by the stage manager and the Athena. Reese also worried about being caught. The earlier accidents were experiments to see if he could get away with them. He wanted to make sure that if anyone checked the videos from the cameras, they wouldn’t recognize him. That’s why he opted for the crew shirt and baseball cap. Lots of people wore those. He figured he’d fit in, and he did.”
“Why didn’t Reese arrange for his own accident to be more serious and collect money for that? Why involve Brentwood in the first place?” Sean asks.
I respond, “That’s easy. Reese was one of your employees. He wouldn’t be entitled to anything except workers’ compensation for an on-the-job injury. That wouldn’t be nearly enough to pay off his debt to the Rossis. He needed a guest who could claim an injury and sue the Athena for enough money to solve his problem.”
“Of course. I should have thought of that,” Sean says.
“Detective Fielder, did Amelia know what they were planning?”
“No. She had no idea. She really had washed her hands of Brentwood entirely.”
“Then why didn’t Amelia mention that she knew Brentwood? That still bothers me,” I say.
“The answer is simple. The night Brentwood died, the police officers only interviewed people directly involved with the tree prop. She wasn’t one of them, so no one spoke to her. Later, she learned we suspected sabotage, but she didn’t want to get involved. Had she been forthcoming, she might have avoided arrest.”
“Or you might have arrested her sooner,” Sean says.
“Well, there’s that. I need to get back to the station now.”
“One last question. Why had Amelia packed her car to leave town if she wasn’t involved?” I ask.
“She hadn’t. That morning, she cleaned out her closet. The bags of clothes in her trunk were for charity.”
“Oh no. Has she been released?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“Detective, thank you for your help. We appreciate you coming in person to give us the update,” Sean says.
When we’re alone again, Sean joins me on the sofa, commenting, “It’s a relief to have the murder and gambling issue solved. I’d contemplated they might be linked if Rossi’s guys were to blame. When they weren’t responsible, I was sure we were looking for two separate people: a murderer and a gambler.”
“I know. If I hadn’t gone to the theater to meet Ron when I did, I’m not sure we would have ever figured it out.”
