David walked wearily into Mackinaw’s and flopped into the seat next to Elizabeth.
“I’ve talked to Sean again,” said David quietly.
“I suppose it would be too much to ask for good news?” Elizabeth said.
“I’m afraid so. He said that if nothing breaks by the weekend, he’s going to turn the investigation over to a colleague.”
“Why would he have to do that?”
“Because he hasn’t made much progress. And because his superiors are worried that his judgment may be clouded by the fact that he’s friends with all of us…or at least some of us.”
“Well, that would be very sad. But you say we have until the weekend?”
“That’s what he said.”
“Well, maybe we can come up with something before the weekend.”
“You sound optimistic all of a sudden,” David said brightly, sipping the cappuccino that Elizabeth had ordered for him in advance.
“I’ve been thinking,” Elizabeth said, a faint smile on her lips.
“So have I,” David said. “And I’m wondering if maybe we’re overlooking Wade Nelson and Danny Moore after all? Is it possible that one or both of them saw their chance and took it?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Elizabeth said. “As you said yourself, they’ve both got alibis for the time of Morgenstern’s death and I’m not at all sure they’d have the courage to do something like that anyway, however much they’d like to cash in on some of Jeremy’s good fortune.”
“Okay, then. Who have we been missing?”
“First of all,” Elizabeth said eagerly, “I want to admit that just a couple of hours ago at our little group gathering at Jeremy’s apartment, I was totally confused by the whole situation. It seemed to me then that we had at least two different adversaries—two or even three people who wanted the manuscript so badly that they wouldn’t shrink from cold-blooded murder.”
“Yes,” David agreed. “You seemed to be leaning in that direction.”
“But I think that I’ve now had a breakthrough. And it’s all because of something that was said at our little meeting with Jeremy and Melissa. You see, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was quite possible that there was really only one mastermind behind this whole thing, although that person was getting some important and rather sinister help from somebody else.”
“Well, don’t leave me in suspense.”
“I think Melissa is behind all this. I think she has the Beethoven manuscript right now.”
“You’re joking.”
“Do you remember days ago when Jeremy told us that Melissa had never even glanced at the manuscript?”
“Right!” David said. “You told him it didn’t matter because it just wasn’t her type of music, which I thought was very kind.”
“But when we were all talking earlier today, Melissa remarked on the fact that Beethoven didn’t make any comments at all on the last several pages of the manuscript.”
“Yes, she did,” David said. “She said something about Beethoven getting bored with his own piece.”
“How did she know that? When did she look at the manuscript?”
“Jeremy said that he made a photocopy.”
“Which he kept in a safety deposit box until this afternoon. Remember, he announced that when he placed it on the table in front of us.”
“Right, but I don’t think I see what you’re getting at.”
“The crucial question is—at what point did she see the manuscript?”
“Now that you mention it, I’m not sure.”
“She initially had no interest in the Beethoven manuscript. She had never even looked at it. But the more she heard about it and how valuable it was, the more she became intrigued by it. It didn’t take her long to decide that she was more interested in the money it might bring than in Jeremy. So she stole the manuscripts from him—in installments.”
“What?”
“First she followed Jeremy to the coffee house where you and he met to talk about the Beethoven manuscript for the first time. You left. Jeremy turned his back for a few seconds and...Voila! She took her opportunity. If Jeremy had turned around at just the wrong time, it wouldn’t have mattered. After all, it was just Melissa, coming to join Jeremy at the coffee house.”
“I can’t believe it.”
“I’m not finished. Now she’s got the first two pages. Maybe she even thought she’d grabbed the whole thing, but it turned how that Jeremy had only put the first two pages in his knapsack. She quickly realized that the first two pages were important but, by themselves, they weren’t going to get her anything. But now, having lost the first two pages, Jeremy grew very cautious and he didn’t allow the rest of the manuscript out of his sight. Melissa had earlier expressed her disinterest in the manuscript so it might be suspicious if she now told him she wanted to read it. So she waited. She bided her time. She waited until you and Jeremy took it to Morgenstern’s office.”
“This can’t be true!” David said. “You mean she stole it from Morgenstern?”
Elizabeth nodded. “She or her assistant did.”
“And that means…”
“Yes. She or her assistant killed him.”
“That’s scary,” David said with a shudder. “I never would have imagined it. I knew she was a bit strange, but this is incredible. So you’re saying that she now has the part of the manuscript that Morgenstern had?”
“She now has the entire manuscript.”
“But wait a minute,” David said, shaking his head. “She was attacked in the apartment by someone who was looking for the manuscript.”
“She says she was attacked. There’s a bump on her head. Not a particularly bad one. Really quite a convenient assault. And how could we possibly suspect that she was in any way involved in this whole thing after she was a victim of a brutal attack?”
“So it was all for show?”
“Absolutely, done with the help of her little assistant. You know, the one you were chasing after and who probably killed Morgenstern.”
“So she's really got it. How do we prove it?”
Elizabeth paused briefly. “We'll inform Sean and he'll...”
“He'll never get a search warrant,” David interrupted. “His superiors think he's just wasting his time on this case anyway. He’s as much as admitted it.”
“So?”
“So I'll get it. She can't be hiding it in the apartment she shares with Jeremy, so it must be hidden somewhere in her old apartment.”
“But apparently she's never there.”
“That's what Jeremy thinks, but he doesn't keep tabs on her all the time. I'm sure she's been able to sneak back there from time to time. It wouldn't take long to hide the Beethoven manuscript, especially since no one would think of looking for it there.”
“Listen David, I don't really know for absolutely certain that Melissa's got it.”
“Neither do I, but I think it’s a pretty good guess and I'm going to find out—tonight.”
Elizabeth sat forward in her seat. “Wait a minute! That could be really dangerous.”
David scoffed. “I'm not particularly worried about running into Melissa.”
“Maybe you should be. Either she or someone she was working with probably put a bullet in Morgenstern's head.”
“You’re right, but with any luck I won’t run into her at all.”
“You've got let Sean know.”
"I'll be careful,” he interrupted. “Forewarned is forearmed."
“David! I’ve absolutely got to call Sean. You could be killed!”
“Don’t do it, Elizabeth. I’ll be fine. I’m only going to do a little innocent snooping.”