“You think Margo had something to do with the death of her mother?” Lucy asked, lounging back on Leo’s leather couch with her legs resting on the ottoman. She tossed back her thick dark shoulder length hair and sipped leisurely on a glass of her favourite, Curly Flat Pinot Noir. This Friday night it was Leo’s turn to cook and the pre-dinner cheese, crackers, and wine were an essential ingredient for a successful evening.
“Not just something to do with it,” Leo said. “I reckon she killed her.” He paused and looked at Lucy as he stood at the kitchen bench. She was dressed in tight jeans and plain white tee-shirt and Leo couldn’t suppress a fleeting thought about the events of the night ahead.
“I don’t usually rush to make judgments without all the facts of these cases, but this Margo is such a miserable, nasty bitch, I think she must have done it,” Leo said with a smile.
“You’re not serious?”
Leo filled his wine glass. “Not really, but I think she should be locked up because of her cranky disposition.”
“She’s certainly got under your skin,” Lucy said.
Lucy Ying was Leo’s sounding board. As much as he enjoyed discussing issues with his Burmese cat Andre, Lucy was much better with feedback. He and Lucy had been seeing each other for over a year and had developed a comfortable relationship. They were both in their forties, with careers and separate living arrangements to manage. They connected routinely for companionship, sex, affection, and fun, without needing to compromise on their individuality. Leo would rarely admit how important Lucy was to him. He loved her temperament, always calm and clear thinking. He thought it had something to do with her genes. Lucy’s Chinese and Aboriginal ancestry was unusual, if not unique. The history of persecution of both these groups in Australia could have had a negative influence on Lucy – it didn’t. At any given time she was 100% Chinese, 100% Aboriginal or just 100% Australian, and she harboured no grudge against the early colonials. They were a product of their times and the environment, Lucy thought, same as her Chinese great grandfather who came to the Australian goldfields and married an Aboriginal woman. Lucy had deep empathy for her ancestors who had to deal with violent racism but she didn’t think putting shit on Captain Cook or changing the national anthem would make much of a difference for today’s problems. Leo’s more recent Scottish ancestry – his parents emigrated in 1960 - made it difficult for him to take ownership of the colonial atrocities and he was pleased with her pragmatic view.
Leo sauntered from the kitchen with his wine glass in hand and sat beside Lucy. “I can’t say the interview I had with Margo this morning went well. I thought she was defensive and arrogant. She didn’t seem to be upset at all about the death of her Mum – in fact, I’d say she was pleased,” Leo said and took a sip of wine.
“So why did they send you to interview her. Was the death suspicious?” Lucy asked.
“Suspicious… bloody oath, electrocuted in the bath with a hairdryer, no fingerprints on it, and with a life policy of half a million dollars - what do you reckon?”
“Accidents can happen, Leo,” Lucy replied.
“Yeah, but this looks so dodgy,” Leo said with a frown. “I mean who, in their right mind would sit in a bath of water and use an electric hair dryer. Of course, there was no Earth Leakage Device in the old house.” Leo said holding his left-hand out palm upward.
“A what?”
“Earth Leakage Device… safety switch, to cut power if there’s a short.” Leo said, hoping he sounded like he knew what he was talking about.
“Okay, does seem odd, but the lady was old, wasn’t she? Maybe she didn’t know any better,”
“Yeah, 83, but old doesn’t mean stupid,” Leo said, pausing in contemplation.
“It’s difficult to prove anything criminal in a case like this. Margo was living with her mother, Violet, as a sort of carer, and on the night of the … accident, Margo’s friend Leah was staying the night. The way they explained it, Violet was having a bath and they were watching TV when they heard a crackling noise in the bathroom. Margo went to investigate and there she was, sitting in the bath sizzling, with the hair dryer set on high. The police haven’t come up with anything and I’m at a loss with what to do next.”
“I know what I’d do,” Lucy said.
Leo raised his eyebrows and looked at her. “Enlighten me,” he said.
“I would go back for another talk with Margo and I would tell her that her fingerprints had been found on the dryer.”
“Okay… and why would I do that?”
“To see her reaction, of course - is she surprised or not surprised? If she did it and wore gloves, or wiped the hairdryer clean, she would be shocked to hear that her prints were on it. She might even blurt out something incriminating.” Lucy said casually.
Leo stared at her with unblinking admiration. “Not just a pretty face and gorgeous body,” he said with a wicked smile.
Leo jumped up and headed towards the kitchen. “I’d better get on with dinner so we can get to dessert,” he said giggling as he went.
The house was a lowset brick pre-war cottage at Newmarket in Brisbane’s north. Leo didn’t let Margo know he was coming. He wanted her to be off-guard if possible. He knocked on the solid timber front door.
“Shit, you again, I told you everything yesterday. It’s Saturday for Chrissake,” Margo spat, with the door half open.
“Yes, sorry Margo, I have a couple more quick questions and I’ll be gone. Just need a couple of minutes of your time.”
“Leah’s here with me, Okay?” Margo asked, and opened the door.
Leo hesitated, he thought Margo would be alone. “Sure, no sweat, and I will need to use my recorder, if that alright with you.”
“No bloody way, you’re not recording anything. So you may as well piss off.” Margo said angrily.
“It’s only to save me having to write things down Margo, saves time. I’ll have to stay longer if I have to write everything. It’s not a big deal really,” Leo said with a supercilious grin, pleased with his quick thinking.
Margo’s frown softened a little. “Well, okay if it makes it quicker.” She showed Leo through to the small lounge room and introduced him to Leah who was sitting on the sofa reading the paper.
Leo thought Leah was the exact opposite of Margo. Both women looked to be in their fifties, but where Leah was quietly spoken and mousy, brown long hair and no makeup, Margo was loud and brassy, short blond hair and painted. Leo wondered about their relationship.
Leo sat opposite the two women and turned on his small recorder. “Now Margo, you mentioned that you were unaware that your mother had a life policy with Sun Country Insurance until recently.” Leo didn’t want to go to the fingerprint question first-up.
“Yeah, she only told me about a month ago. She said it would be something for me for looking after her all these years. I said ‘thanks’, but told her she’d likely live to 100 just to be a pain. Guess I got lucky,” Margo said with a wry smile.
Leo wanted to slap her but controlled himself. “The police have been involved to investigate Violet’s death, I understand?” Leo asked.
“Yeah, they have questioned us both extensively.”
Okay here we go, Leo thought, feeling tense.
“You know they checked fingerprints in the bathroom and on the hairdryer?”
“Yeah, so?” Margo replied.
“You know they found your prints on the hairdryer.”
“No, they couldn’t have,” Leah said abruptly, her eyes wide.
Leo and Margo both turned and looked at her. Leah hadn’t said a word until then.
“I mean… it’s not Margo’s hairdryer. It’s Violet’s. There wouldn’t be any of Margo’s prints on it, would there,” she stammered. “How do you know it Margo’s prints?”
Leo looked down and peered at his notebook. “Sorry, my mistake, Margo’s prints were on the doorknob, not the hairdryer.”
That was unexpected, Leo thought. Leah has reacted, not Margo.
After leaving the house, Leo decided to arrange a private meeting with Leah. She was hiding something and came across to Leo as a person who may crack under pressure. He rang her first thing on Monday morning. She worked at the local shopping centre florist and agreed to meet for coffee.
“I thought I would hear from you,” Leah said and took a tentative sip from the cup. The café was directly across the aisle from her florist shop and perfect for her to keep an eye on it while she was away.
“Yeah, why is that?” Leo asked as he gazed around. The corner table where they sat was private enough for his liking.
“A feeling I got from our conversation at Margo’s.”
“You did react a little strangely at one stage Leah.” Leo decided he would ease into the subject. Then follow up with a direct confrontation that might rattle her.
“I killed Violet,” Leah said softly.
Leo had his coffee up to his mouth and appeared frozen as he stared over the lip of the cup. Time seemed to have stopped.
“What did you say?” Leo blurted, putting the cup down slowly.
“I killed her… I went to her room when she was in the bath, got her hairdryer, went to the bathroom, plugged it in, switched it on and dropped it in the bath. I wore gloves and that’s why I reacted when you said Margo’s prints were there.”
Leo was stunned. His mind buzzed trying to process what he’d just heard.
“You said that you and Margo were watching TV?”
“Yes, after I killed Violet, I went back out and sat with Margo. She heard a noise and went to the bathroom.”
“Why did you kill her?” Leo had to ask.
Leah took a deep breath and looked at Leo. “Because Margo deserves to have a life. She’s been looking after Violet for so many years. When I found out about the life insurance I thought it was the best thing to do.” Leah clasped her hands together on the table as if in prayer. “ Violet wasn’t a nice person you know.”
Must run in the family, Leo thought. The shock was wearing off and he was getting his mind back on track.
“So you went to the bathroom, waltzed in - Violet didn’t say anything – like ‘what are you doing in here I’m naked’?”
Leah didn’t respond immediately. “I knocked and said I needed to get my comb. Then I went in and did it.”
“Did you plug the dryer into the wall socket or the one near the basin?” Leo asked.
Leah hesitated again. “I don’t really remember, could have been either,” she said sheepishly.
Leo knew then, that she wasn’t the one who killed Violet. She was covering for Margo.
“Okay Leah, this is serious and I will need to let the police know. I’ll do that later. You can finish work and they will contact you soon.”
Leo wasn’t planning to contact the police. He was heading over to see Margo.
Leo parked his yellow Suzuki outside and went to the door and knocked.
“Okay this is bloody harassment,” Margo groaned through the half-open door.
“Margo, this is important. We need to talk. Leah’s confessed.” Leo said quickly before Margo could close the door.
Margo opened the door with a look on her face like a bewildered owl. “She what?”
Leo went through to the lounge and sat down in the same chair he used last time. Margo followed.
“She has confessed to killing Violet.” Leo paused and stared at Margo. “I don’t think she did it. I think you did.”
“You think I did it?” Margo said loudly. Now her face was like an angry owl.
“Yeah, I spoke to Leah today and it was obvious that she was covering for you. She is not a good liar.”
“Leo Budge the investigator, you are so bloody clever,” Margo said with the sarcasm dripping from every word. “I have something to show you.” She stood and went down the hallway.
Leo waited quietly, hoping she wasn’t getting some kind of weapon. Margo returned with a folded piece of paper in her hand. She handed it to Leo.
Leo unfolded the paper and read out loud the hand-written message.
‘Margo, I am truly sorry for being a burden. I know I have not been easy to live with. I don’t want to be here any longer so at least you will get some money. Love Mum.’
Leo looked up. Margo had tears in her eyes. She wasn’t as tough as she made out. “Where did you find this?” he asked.
“When I found her in the bath, it was on the wash basin.”
“Why didn’t you say anything about it?” he asked.
“Oh c’mon smarty, you’ve worked with insurance before.”
Leo hesitated. “ Yes, of course, they don’t pay out on suicides,” he said looking down at his shoes.
“Anyway, it’s all out in the open now. So that’s that. You’ve done your job, arsehole.” Margo said with a tone of resignation.
“Well, what the hell is Leah on about then?” Leo asked.
“She really thinks I’ve done it… silly tart. She was trying to protect me.”
“She really cares about you, you know Margo. You’d better ring her and let her know what’s going on,” Leo said.
“Yeah, I like her too. She’s going to move in with me now. So that’s good, even though we won’t have any money.” Margo said softly, with her head bowed.
Leo stood and started towards the door. He stopped and turned back to face Margo. “How long has your mother had that life policy?” he asked.
“Five or six years I think. Why?” She looked up.
“Did you know that if a life policy is active for over two years the company will still pay out on suicide.”
A smile split Margo’s face. “Leo you really are an arsehole.”