"What look?"
"That look you get when you've come up with some plan"
"Is it that obvious?"
Neil nodded.
"Well, as a matter of fact I do have a plan", said Suzy, putting her bowl of cornflakes down on a nearby table.
"OK, let's hear it" said Neil.
"I'm going to check in on Jeremy and see if he's found anything useful in the Landgraab archives."
"Shouldn't you wait for him to contact you first?"
"Well, either way I want to make some progress" Suzy said with a shrug. "I'm also revising my notes on the Malcolm Landgraab expose: A bit of background information on the history of the family is what's needed."
"You know, once that expose gets printed they'll come after you...and hard" said Neil with a note of caution in his voice.
"Risk is part of my business..." Suzy said, nonchalantly as she stood up. "And I know that turns you on..." she added with a sly wink.
"Hey!" Neil said, in a half hearted attempt at a protest.
Suzy headed to the study and sat down at her desk to start the next chapter of "Malcolm Landgraab: The Truth". She consulted her notes and referred to the latest newspaper and magazine clippings that mentioned his name in the society pages. Who he's dating, who he dated in the past, his apparent "heirship" to the Landgraab fortune, his business associates...that last one revealed an interesting little titbit; something she hadn't noticed before.
It was a story in the gossip column from about 4 months ago. An argument in a nightclub between Malcolm and Madelyn Buchanan, Alan Cuffe's personal assistant. Suzy had evidence that they were one time partners in selling drugs to the young and trendy in the city but when Cuffe had discovered his assistant was involved in the trade he put a stop to it.
"Hmm, there has to be some fallout from that..." mused Suzy to herself, as she tapped a pencil on her hand, pondering that point. "Maybe...just maybe..." and then a thought occurred to her, a bit of a wild and radical one that departed from the narrative she had been working with recently, but if she could find some more evidence it would clear up some mysteries about this case.
She put the pencil back down on the desk, got up and grabbed her shoulder bag before heading to the front door.
"Hey, what's the matter? You seem in a hurry" said Neil as she sped past him.
"I am! Got an idea...want to check on a few details. See you later..." she said as she left.
"But....hey!" said a baffled Neil.
She headed over to Foundry Cove to visit one of her confederates in the ongoing investigation: Jeremy Saint. As she walked up to his house her mind was still brimming with the ideas and suspicions she was gestating back at her desk only a few moments ago.
She was greeted by Barbara, Jeremy's girlfriend. Although Suzy and her were friends there had been rising tension and frostiness recently between the two of them. Barbara was increasingly worried that all this poking around in the Landgraab's business will eventually hurt Jeremy because they had tried to hurt him before...Suzy, on the other hand, seemed more and more determined to uncover the whole truth which was leading her to becoming hardened and monomaniacal in her pursuit.
"Barbara, I hope I haven't come at an inconvenient time?" asked Suzy.
"No...I take it you want to see Jeremy?" came the reply.
"Well, partly. I like catching up with the both of you, though."
"Well, we're just finishing our dinner. You're welcome to have dessert with us."
"I'd like that" replied Suzy and although the exchange was pleasant enough and the offer from Barbara genuine the look in the latter's eyes betrayed more of a weary resignation look than an overjoyed one.
Jeremy's greeting was more enthusiastic. He was hoping to catch up with Suzy as he had found out things about Affluista Mansion, the home of the Landgraab family, and was keen to share them with her.
"Suzy! Lovely to see you...I'm glad you dropped by, I've got so much to tell you!" he said, effusively. Barbara said nothing but instead offered Suzy a seat at the table and placed a bowl of fruit sorbet and a spoon in front of her.
"Same here...although what I've got is an idea, but one I think is borne out by what we know" Suzy replied. "Hmm, this is delicious, Barbara" she added after taking a taste of the sorbet.
There was some small talk about life in general before Suzy and Jeremy adjourned to the living room couch to share their findings in more detail.
"So I did what you asked and looked into the land records for Affluista Mansions" Jeremy began. Barbara, out of their line of sight, mouthed silently "I did what you asked".
"What did you find?" enquired Suzy.
"There's definitely something there. Shortly after Gregory Landgraab went for his hike up Acquisition Butte he returned and filed a claim with the land office, saying he had found rare minerals up there. That aroused considerable interest and he was able to sell them on the market and then buy the entire Butte for himself. That's when he became a millionaire overnight."
"What were those minerals?" Suzy asked.
"That I couldn't discover...the records don't say. They just say 'rare minerals'."
"That would imply there's a mine on the site...wait a minute! There is a tunnel that runs right under Affluista Mansion! That must be it!" exclaimed Suzy.
"I checked on that and you're correct. However, the mine hasn't been in use since 1925. Land records show it was never that big; certainly smaller than the various houses that have been built on the site since Gregory purchased the land."
"They built homes over the mine? Hmmm, that's unusual." Suzy pondered.
"Second helpings, anyone?" interjected Barbara.
"Sounds good to me!" said Jeremy, springing up from the sofa and heading to the table. Suzy also joined in as that sorbet was delicious and, not too naughty for the waistline.
The conversation had shifted, mainly due to an intervention from Barbara, to what was going on in their lives in general. She mentioned the new shop assistant and excellent sales this last month; in part due to a couple of celebrities shopping at Pack's Clothing such as Jean Shrimpton and Davy Jones, and Jeremy mentioned moving house, which piqued Suzy's interest.
"Moving up in the world?" said Suzy.
"Well, it was a bit of a hard sell to me at first..." said Jeremy, looking at Barbara in a loving way and gently reaching out to touch her hand "...as I'm quite one for the familiar but it's true that this house is getting a bit small for us and with business doing well for both of us it makes sense to go for something bigger with...well...maybe..."
"Room for one more" interjected Barbara.
"Oh...I see..." said Suzy, wide eyed with amazement. Knowing Jeremy as she did she knew he wouldn't agree to start a family without getting married first so this was all big news from the two of them.
"Well, eventually..." Barbara added.
"Yes...lots to sort out in the meantime. Anyway, what's your big news you had to share? Are you and Neil expecting?" asked Jeremy.
"Oh gosh, no. There's no time for that right now! I have made a breakthrough on this case...well, not so much a breakthrough, more like a theory but one that kind of makes sense." said Suzy, excitedly.
"What is it?" asked Jeremy.
"So, cast your mind back to when either Lily Feng or Madelyn Buchanan...Alan Cuffe's assistant...was shot at down in San Myshuno." said Suzy.
"I'd forgotten about that story...do you know who did it?" asked Jeremy.
"I have an idea. Ever since that incident came to light we'd all been thinking that it was that Leanne McGregor, the mysterious assassin, who was responsible. But what if there was someone else, a disgruntled business colleague who wanted to get revenge on a deal gone wrong? Someone who is often rage filled, vindictive and amoral who wanted to rub out a rival?"
"OK...that sounds plausible" said Jeremy.
"A rival to Lily Feng? Well, rumour has it she's a pretty ruthless businesswoman" said Barbara.
"Not Lily...Madelyn. Someone who wanted to kill Madelyn."
"Who would want to do that?" asked Jeremy.
"MALCOLM LANDGRAAB!"
