“Maybe she was afraid of being fired herself.”

“It just seems so petty,” said Theo, and turned to face the solicitor, “We’re sure these earrings are not worth any money?”

“No, because he just wanted to be buried with them. I never saw a need to have them appraised, but I doubt they’re worth much.”

“Can we take a copy of this photo when we interview the other nurses?”

“Glad to make a copy, in fact three copies.”

They thanked him and made their way back to the incident room. Theo was determined to find out the cost of the earrings. Trying first an Internet search, he quickly came across similar types of earrings. Nothing was outrageously expensive, not that he could tell anyway. He was beginning to think that this lead would turn out to be nothing but rubbish.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Theo, prompted by Dorland’s insistent pestering, finally stopped for Fish Supper off of Old Street. Dorland ordered fish and three large gherkins. Dorland shovelled the food into his mouth. Theo just gnawed on a chip. He didn’t feel much like eating. The case was going nowhere. Two of the three nurses they interviewed had alibis. With really few suspects or in fact a single motive, he was worried the case would eventually stop without success. He hoped Sophia Evans could come up with something on her end.

“So, what do you think?” Theo asked, then placed a small piece of battered haddock into his mouth.

“About our witnesses? I think it’s impossible, the case, just impossible. I don’t know. I doubt Mr. Tipring’s death was a random murder. I don’t see where we go next. I suppose we can go to different shops to see if anyone has tried to sell the earrings but do you think it likely?”

“No. We could be barking up the wrong tree with these earrings. Perhaps the old man gave the set of earrings away and forgot to tell his solicitor. I will be so angry if the killing turns out to be a senseless murder and our killer, probably some juvenile on a dare, walks away.”

1

Mrs. Chu, who owned the dry cleaners, did know Dorie Armes. “I like that girl, she is very good girl. She take care of her mother, like nice girl. Girl should take care of their mother.”

“Do you remember if Ms. Armes came in on Wednesday?” Theo asked.

“Wednesday, last week? I don’t know, hold on, I check. My son say ‘Mum, buy computer that way you know who the shirt belong to.’ I never lose shirt, you know how many shirt I lose and I work here twenty-two year, I lose none. Why? Because I know where shirts are, they are all here, in my brain.” She tapped on her temple and then continued punching keys on the computer, Dorland took a wrapped mint from the bowl near the cash register.

Finally, she replied, “One dress, three shirt no starch, trousers two. She came in Wednesday morning, yes.”

“Does it say what time?” Theo asked.

“Yes, it say seven-oh-three, it need say time because I do one-hour dry cleaning and people complain, they say to me, ‘I drop off trouser eight in morning and now it nine, where my clothes?’ Now I can tell them no, you drop off eight-thirty so keep your trouser up.” She laughed.

“What time do you open in the morning?”

“Seven. Oh that right. There she was, Dorie was waiting as I opened, five other people were there too, I very popular that morning. I very popular girl.”

They left directly from the dry cleaners to the next witness. Yet another possible dead end.

The last substitute nurse, Gina Victor, lived north near the edge of the city and they arrived at her residence near on nine at night. The light was on in the front room when Dorland knocked and a man dressed in neat shirt and trousers promptly came to the door.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“We’re looking for Gina Victors.”

“Ginny,” the man yelled up the stairs. He motioned them into the house. “My wife was in the bath but I believe she’s out now.” He called her name again.

A woman, young, early thirties came down the stairs, she had on a silk bathrobe and slippers, “Oh, I didn’t know there were people here.” She gave a stern look to her husband.

“Sorry, dear.”

“We’re the police, Gina,” Theo said, taking out his warrant card, “We just have a few brief questions about your previous employer, a Mr. Tipring. Do you remember him?”

“Yes, I believe I do, did he only have one leg?”

“That’s right.”

“Yes, I remember. I thought of him not as Tipring but as Tipping, you know with the one leg, it would be easy for him to tip.” The man groaned at his wife’s joke, she punched him in the arm and then said, “Oh, I guess I shouldn’t do that, eh, spousal abuse and all that. Could go to jail for that. Wouldn’t you be happy, dear?” She led the officers into the front room and shut off the television.

He followed her in and immediately turned on the television again, muting the sound. Theo noticed that he was watching a match, a match that Theo may have watched if he ever had a day off. His team was winning, by one point. He watched the ball being kicked and passed around the pitch.

Dorland broke the silence with an extra loud, “The reason we’re here is because Mr. Tipring, I don’t know if you heard or not, but he was murdered. Last week, last Wednesday. Have you heard?”

It was obvious that she had not, she stood there stunned, even her husband stopped watching the game to ask, “What happened?”

“He was stabbed,” Theo explained. “Someone walked by his house as he was fetching the paper and stabbed him.”

“Why the hell would anyone do that?” she finally said. “He was an old man. My God! What the hell is this world coming to? People can’t even go out to pick up their newspapers. I’m sorry, what does this have to do with us? I haven’t seen the man in months.”

“Oh yes, we know. This is the dilemma: the nurse you were substituting for at that time came back from her vacation and was almost immediately fired because she was accused of theft.”

“What did she steal?”

“Well that’s the thing, she never stole this item. She said it might have been one of the nurses substituting for her, and although we are not accusing you, we have to ask all the nurses if they might have noticed seeing this pair of earrings.” Theo took out the photo from his pocket and handed it to the nurse. The husband came and stood by his wife to look at it. But Gina had never seen it before.

“I only worked at his house for two days, and then I got sick. A substitute had to substitute for me, I’m afraid. I don’t remember any jewelry in the house. Why would he have any jewelry?”

“They belonged to his mum,” Dorland explained. “If you have no idea what happened to the earrings, maybe you could tell us if you know why anyone would want to murder him.”

“Why anyone would want him dead? Now that is a question, isn’t it? I don’t get on with a few people, especially my in-laws, but I would never harm them or kill them. You would need a good reason why before you risk your life or someone else. Sorry, I don’t know enough about the man but in the two days that I spent with him I saw nothing unusual, he didn’t seem to be worried or in fear of his life, if that’s what you are getting at. Stabbed. Wow, I can’t believe it.”

Theo and Dorland returned to the incident room. Theo’s team went over the evidence, every piece of it: from the insurance, to the alibis, to the earrings, to the motives. They had nothing. No one had motive or opportunity. If the killer was amongst the suspects, they managed to cover their tracks well.

“No one has any idea who killed our Mr. Tipring. No one?” asked Theo.

Everyone in the room sat there silently.

“We’re missing something,” he continued, “Something important. There has to be a motive in this mess somewhere. No one just approaches an old man fetching the paper and stabs him in the heart. Come on, people.”