Wedding Belles. Beth Albright

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      5

      Wayne and Wynona Aaron arrived right on time. Wanda Jo got everyone drinks and we headed into the conference room. The Aarons’ third sibling, Walter, had been killed in a barge accident two months ago and his body parts had washed up on the banks of the Black Warrior River. My cop, Sonny, always believed Walter was helped off that barge, but the barge company was trying to say he jumped. Sonny and his assistant homicide investigator, Bonita, were on the case like CSI, looking for clues about Walter’s death on the sequestered boat.

      “Hey, y’all, so glad you could make it in today,” I said to them as I took my seat at the table across from them.

      The older brother, Wayne Aaron, was a skinny man of average height with dark hair. His face was sad and earnest. “Thanks so much for taking our case, Ms. Heart. We tried to fight this on our own, but we got nowhere fast.”

      The sister, Wynona, was the middle of the three children. She was quiet and rounder than her brothers. “We’re simple people. Not used to all this fuss, and we only want this settled as quickly as possible.”

      I was trying to make sure I did just that, but I had a feeling this case was about to get really messy. “It’s not going to be easy. The barge company will not admit to any negligence, and since Walter had a perfect safety record, it’s become a battle to prove what happened. The insurance company will not pay out in cases of suicide.”

      “Ms. Heart,” Wynona said, “there is no way my brother would ever take his own life. Even though we were somewhat estranged, we knew he was the happiest he has ever been. He was in love and talking about getting married.”

      And there it was. The detail that could be the end of the Aarons’ case. “Do you know if he ever did get married?”

      “Not that we know of. Why?”

      “Because, if Walter did marry, and he changed his will, then the bride might be his new beneficiary. If he died before they officially tied the knot, then you two would inherit.”

      “Oh, I don’t like the sound of this,” Wynona said. “People might get the wrong idea.”

      “That’s true,” I agreed. “The fact that your parents are dead and your uncle recently left Walter a huge inheritance already has the insurance company questioning suicide for his cause of death, though that’s still their preference. The possibility that Walter was pushed is being investigated by the police now. This new information about Walter maybe having a wife will give the insurance company even more reason to stall.”

      “They can’t think we were involved,” Wayne protested. “We’ve already been cleared for the night of Walter’s death. Sure, things got a bit complicated between us since our uncle left the money to Walter, but, as we told the police, we haven’t been in touch with him, except by phone, for several months before he died.”

      The open-and-shut inheritance case I had envisioned with the Aarons was quickly disappearing into the horizon. “We need to find out about this woman Walter might have married. See if there are pictures. A name. Something we can check into to clarify the situation.”

      Wayne sighed. “I don’t remember him saying much about her other than he had only known her a couple of months. If he did marry that girl, it would have been the spur-of-the-moment. A real whirlwind thing.”

      “Well, even so, there’s got to be a record somewhere.”

      “We haven’t really gone through Walter’s effects,” Wynona chimed in. “Just kind of packed ’em up and shoved ’em in a storeroom. The thought of looking through all that stuff was too upsetting. There might be something in there, though.”

      I perked up. “Well, that’s a great place to start. Go and see what you can find.”

      “He sounded so in love,” Wynona added wistfully. “Why would his wife want to kill him if they just got married?”

      “Money can motivate people to do desperate things,” I said. “Then again, we have absolutely no proof that she’s had anything to do with Walter’s death at all. Do either of you know if Walter had any enemies on the boat?”

      “No,” Wayne said, getting upset. “Everyone loved him at work. He had been working that barge for over ten years. Walter did not jump, but I refuse to believe anyone killed him. I swear that barge company overlooked a safety measure and now they just don’t wanna pay. They are looking for every excuse under the sun to get outta settlin’ his insurance policy.”

      “I hope you’re right, Wayne, but regardless, we still have a possible new beneficiary floating around out there. That issue has to be resolved,” I said. “For our next meeting, I will need any insurance papers you can find. Information on his death benefits and all the policies he СКАЧАТЬ